Level 0 Summoner

Ren was taken aback, watching his beautiful summon bow before him. He wasn't sure what to say or how to react—he hadn't expected anything like a cute fox girl emerging from the summoning portal. His expectations had been something more along the lines of an actual "beast," not… this.

"D-Did she just say master?" Emma whispered, tapping Ren's shoulder, her tone brimming with disbelief. "Is that the beast you summoned?"

Emma looked just as stunned as Ren. The fox girl kept her gaze fixed on him, maintaining her bow as she waited for his response, her demeanor calm and respectful. The silence grew, and Ren quickly realized that she was waiting for him to speak.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Ren said, a bit flustered. "You're… definitely different from what I expected."

The fox girl's ears perked up slightly. "In a good way or a bad way?"

"A good way, of course," Ren replied quickly. "I thought some kind of big, ugly beast would come out of the portal. This is much, much better," he added with a laugh, feeling his cheeks flush. "Do you have a name?"

She smiled sweetly, tilting her head just enough to make Ren's heart skip a beat. "Well, you can choose, Master!" she replied, giggling. "I am your summon. I'll listen to whatever you tell me!"

Ren could feel his cheeks turning red as he sneaked a glance at Emma, who stood there, mouth open in shock. Her eyes shifted between Ren and the fox girl as if trying to piece together a dreamlike scene.

Emma tapped his shoulder again, her voice hushed. "Is she actually real? Is that truly your summon?"

Emma looked as though she'd seen a ghost. The idea of Ren's class evolving was surprising enough, but this… was on an entirely different level.

Ren forced himself to ignore Emma's incredulous expression and turned back to his summon. "Do you have a name you'd prefer? Did you have one before?"

The fox girl's expression softened, her gaze turning introspective. "Hmm… I think I might've had one, but nothing's coming to mind." She paused. "It feels like there's something there, but it's faded—like I've left that name behind."

Ren nodded, realizing what had likely happened. By summoning her, the skill must have erased or blocked her memories, likely to secure her loyalty. Despite this, she seemed perfectly content, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Then, would you like to pick a new name?" he asked gently. "I want it to be something that feels right for you."

But she shook her head, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye. "No… I want you to choose, Master! I want to belong to you," she said eagerly, her face lighting up with joy.

Ren was even more taken aback. After all, even if he wasn't meaning to, the mentions of belonging to him, or being able to ask her absolutely anything gave him some naughty thoughts, especially because of how pretty she looked. He blushed even more.

The fox girl's brow furrowed as she noticed his flushed expression. "Master? Are you okay? Why are you so red? Did you get sick? Did someone hurt you?"

She rattled off her questions so quickly that he didn't have a chance to respond. But he could see the genuine concern in her eyes.

"It's fine… Don't worry," Ren assured her, waving a hand dismissively. He could feel Emma's inquisitive gaze on him, too, which only made him blush harder.

The fox girl started to speak again, but Ren gently placed a finger to her lips. "Shh… I'm trying to think of a name for you."

He paused, thinking carefully. He wanted her name to be special—something meaningful. She'd already proven herself to be much stronger than any creature he could have imagined summoning, and he could tell from her stats that she was worth investing in. Her unwavering loyalty made him want to choose something unique.

"Ori? Hmm… maybe Luna?" he murmured, testing a few options in his mind. But they didn't seem quite right.

Then his eyes brightened as inspiration struck. "I've got it! How about Suki?" he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "What do you think? Do you like that name?"

"Suki?" she repeated, as if savoring each syllable. Her face softened, her tail even started wagging she gave him a radiant smile. "It sounds cute! If you like it, I love it, too… Master."

Suki was the name of his beloved cat from Earth, and using it made him feel a connection to his old life, which filled him with warmth.

Her fluffy tail began to sway side to side, a lively motion that made her seem even more endearing. Ren wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but he hoped it was a good sign.

But there was one thing he wanted to change about Suki's current behavior. "Suki, could you stop calling me 'Master'? It makes me feel a bit… weird."

She tilted her head, looking confused. "Of course! What would you like me to call you?"

"Uh, just 'Ren' is fine."

She beamed. "Ren it is, then! So, what do you want to do next, Ren?"

Before answering, Ren opened his Status panel, wanting to assess the changes that came with his class evolution. He wondered if leveling up would be easier now, or if his curse of being stuck at Level 0 still persisted.

Status, he thought, and the familiar screen appeared.

[Status of Ren Allen]

[Level 0 | (0 / 100,000)]

[Class: Beast Summoner]

[Strength: 1]

[Agility: 1]

[Stamina: 1]

[Free Stat Points: 0]

[Skills: Beast Summoning (Lvl.1)]

[Beast Currently Summoned]

[Suki (Level 1)]

Ren's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he looked at the number of experience points needed to level up. It wasn't a measly twenty experience points anymore. It was one hundred thousand experience points. That amount of experience could be compared to the experience that it would require to go from level 0 to level 100.

Level 100 was only something that extremely talented Awakened could achieve in their lifetime. At an absolute minimum, it would take at least a dozen of years for Ren to even level up once at this point. If he didn't somehow gain an overpowered way to level up, then he would be stuck at Level 0 for the better part of his life from the looks of it.

There was one thing about being unable to level up that annoyed Ren. The fact that his one and only skill wouldn't be able to level up as a result. From the memories he had gained, Ren had understood that the only way for the skills' level to increase was to level up and gain what was called a Skill Point. However, since Ren would be stuck at this level for years, such a thing wouldn't be possible at all.

Does this mean I'll be stuck with just Suki as my summon? Ren wondered. He remembered what was written in the description of the [Beast Summoning] skill, as long as the skill was level 1, he would only be able to handle a single summon at a time. He didn't dislike the idea of focusing on her development, but the flexibility of multiple summons could be useful, especially if he wanted to become stronger.

"Young master! This is amazing news!" Emma exclaimed, pulling him from his thoughts. "With this new class and skill, you could be reinstated into the family. This is perfect!"

However, once again, Ren had other plans in his mind. He had seen just how awful his "family" had treated him when he was determined talentless by the world. They gave up on him and beat him up. He didn't want to get pardoned by his family and reinstated. He wanted to destroy this "family" of his but that would take a long time and Ren knew it very well.

Nevertheless, every single time Ren thought of the Allen family he could feel his blood boil and his face turn cold. Ren knew very well that those weren't his emotions, but they were still affecting his decisions. It was clear that some remnants of the previous Ren was influencing his mind and decisions very slightly. For all he knew, the previous Ren could be in his mind watching over his every move.

"Emma, calm down. There's a catch," he said, his tone somber. "While Suki's definitely a lot stronger than anything I could summon before… I'm still stuck at Level 0. I checked my Status, and I need one hundred thousand experience points just to level up once."

Emma's joy faded as quickly as it had come, replaced by worry. "One hundred thousand experience points to level up once?! That's insane! I thought this would finally change things for you… but if you aren't able to level up…"

Ren placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let them mock me for now. I want to keep Suki a secret until I've trained her to be strong enough to protect us both. If I announce my new abilities now, my siblings will pounce on me like animals."

"But… but this is your last chance to enter an Awakened Academy," Emma said, her shoulders slumping. "If you miss the entrance exams in a month, you won't have access to the resources and opportunities you need to grow. You always wanted to join an academy, to become an adventurer—remember?"

Ren nodded, Emma's words resonating with his own ambitions. Joining an academy would open doors, granting him access to resources that could make him stronger. However, those who had awakened the [Summoner] class had a very low chance of being accepted inside an Awakened Academy. Summoners had an acceptance rate of less than 5%, even at lower-ranked academies. Since Ren's class had evolved it would be slightly better, but even then, it wouldn't be an easy task.

But before any of that, Ren had to figure out how to keep Suki's true nature hidden. If his siblings found out he'd summoned such a powerful creature, rumors would spread fast.

Ren looked at Suki, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Suki, do you think you could transform into an actual fox? Something small enough to pass as a pet?"

Suki tilted her head, her ears twitching curiously. "A fox? I think I can. Let me try!"

A bright light enveloped her, and Ren had to shield his eyes from the blinding glow. When he opened them again, Suki had transformed—she was now a small, fluffy fox, her fur soft and golden, her eyes still holding that familiar sparkle of intelligence.

"Suki?" Ren called hesitantly, looking around until he spotted her at his feet.

"Down here!" she chirped in a high, adorable voice, her tiny tail wagging as she looked up at him.

Ren smiled, realizing his plan had worked. Now, Suki would pass as a harmless pet, allowing him to keep his new powers hidden. As he watched her tiny form, a smirk crept onto his face. Perfect.