Since the Flume was inactive, it was no different from any other stone structure; however, looks can be deceiving, and Aoni knew exactly how important this artifact was to not only his life but the sustenance of his territory.
Making his way several feet until he stood before the Flume, all Aoni could do was cross his fingers and pray, the reason being that the summoning was the most RANDOM and practically BS thing the Flume could do.
On one end, you could end up summoning beings of immense power, albeit neutered down to be weaker than the Lord, yet still obscenely overpowered in the way their potentials were off the charts.
In contrast, he'd heard stories of people getting so unlucky as to have summoned a single worn-out boot or tire. So, in not so many words, Flume Summoning was no different from a Gacha game, where the rates were in the dirt, but the TOP prizes were insanely good.
As previously mentioned, there is only one constant when it comes to the summons, and that is no matter how GOOD or BAD the pull was, you would get something that was acclimated to the Lord's Territory, IE, Terrain, and Climate.
"Honestly, as much as I'd like a creature or subject, a sturdy jacket or some cold-weather gear would be more useful to me." Glancing toward the mouth of the cave, Aoni could see the faint flicker of heavy snow falling in the pitch black of night.
Then, with a shake of his head, the lad picked up the combat knife that he had left on the desk after opening his Flume and pricked all five fingers on his right hand this time and placed them against the rightmost column of the artifact before chanting.
"Iglateem Sumano, vassris baleium tatosum."
*hhhhhhhuuuuuUUUMMMMM*
As with any time the Flume was activated, it suddenly sprang to life and began emitting a soft hum that grew louder as time went on; however, there was a significant difference from when Aoni had traveled through the artifact.
Unlike before, where the transfer tunnel would form, this time, a shimmering and cloudy veil filled the entirety of the artifact's center, causing him to take several steps back and hold his breath in anticipation.
It was yet another moment Aoni had been dreaming about, his first summoning ritual.
Still, budding emotions and excitement aside, he didn't get ahead of himself and tried to stay as calm as possible while shifting his eyes away from the Flume and toward his still-opened TD.
'Summon's Display.' Aoni thought without looking back at the Flume.
The mental command shifted the appearance of the ethereal window, and his statistics vanished before being replaced by a new Screen altogether.
_________________________
Flume Grade: ☆
Territory Climate: Artic/Mountainous
Summon's Available: 0/1 *In Progress*
_________________________
Upon reading the Summon's Display, his eyes flickered with a strange light as they trained in on the word Progress, and as if bending to his thoughts, a slight change occurred on the Display in the form of the same expansion arrows as Aoni saw on his Status appearing beside the Flume Grade, and Summon's Available.
_________________________
Flume Grade: ☆ (►)
Territory Climate: Artic/Mountainous
Summon's Available: 0/1 (►)
_________________________
| 5.0 PP earned |
"Holy shit, FIVE WHOLE POINTS!" The small notification window startled Aoni to the point that he nearly fell over.
'So far, the most I had been able to earn was a fraction of a point, yet this time, I got a full five points.' Narrowing his eyes, Aoni began to understand that unraveling the secrets of his attribute was going to be a very lengthy process.
Unfortunately, before he could delve too deeply into those thoughts, he noticed the humming coming from the Flume was growing to its final decibel.
Soon enough, there was a bright flash of light that forced Aoni to instinctively shield his eyes with his forearm, followed by the fading of the hum…and a new sound he hadn't ever heard before.
"Ooo Gaooo, huff, huff."
Moving his arm away from his face, Aoni was greeted by a sight which, honestly…he wasn't prepared for it in the least.
Standing at the mouth of the Flume was a small, furry white creature looking around with wide eyes as it took in its surroundings.
"Uh…hey there…little guy? I think?" Trying his best not to frighten the small creature who, at best, stood as tall as his calf, maybe a little over a foot and a half high, Aoni crouched down and extended his right hand toward it.
"OooO?" At first, the small creature flinched away from the lad as if it was extremely shy, taking a step backward in the process only to realize it was basically trapped between the wall and Aoni.
"It's ok, I won't hurt you," Sitting all the way down and crossing his legs, Aoni dropped his arm and observed the frightened creature with interest.
At a glance, it kind of reminded him of a baby chimpanzee, but only several leagues cuter and less wrinkled. Still, it had round ears that were practically the size of its entire head and a furry circular face, maybe around the size of a rice bowl, where only its mouth, nose, and eyes weren't furred, exposing dark grey skin and a short muzzle.
The creature was clearly some type of Ape Species, as most of its characteristics definitely matched; only its fur was as white as snow, and its eyes bright blue.
Then there was the fact that it apparently wasn't adapted to walking completely upright because its arms were twice the length of its legs, meaning it would use them not only for hanging and climbing but also for walking.
Both its hands and feet were fairly furry; however, as it moved, Aoni caught sight of its palms and the soles of its feet, where the skin looked slightly harder and a dark shade of grey. There was also a clear distinction between them in the form of dagger-sharp claws tipping each of its fingers, whereas its feet looked more like paws.
The longer he examined his first summon, the more Aoni caught strange characteristics, leading him to believe it was some type of cross between an ape and a bear.
While examining the creature further, Aoni noticed him and the small animal's eyes finally meet, and they both felt like puzzle pieces clicking into place.
Followed by a flood of emotions rushing into their heads, causing a slight headache for not only Aoni but the summon;
'Apparently, our connection is only now being formed,' clutching his left temple, Aoni thought without breaking eye contact with his first-ever Summon.