SSS Awakening: Only My Summons Evolve

"Hey, man, you really need to stop throwing those tongues on the ground!" Verso’s voice echoed through the damp shallow cave. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He glared at Little Bone, who had just finished extracting the newest trophy from the mangled Siren’s maw.

The massive skeleton did not even look at him, it simply tossed the slimy, blue tinged tongue onto the dirty floor with a gesture of pure revulsion.

It then immediately began frantically wiping its bony hands against its tattered black cloak, trying to rid itself of the sensation of Siren mucus, which Verso was not even sure the skeleton could feel.

Four hours had passed since Verso had set out on his own.

In that time, the Island Hopping strategy had proven to be a best form of efficiency. By utilizing the Gargoyle to fly between the Islands and the Sea Serpent for the combat, he had managed to bypass the slow, grinding process that he had previously adopted.

The Sea Serpent which was buffed by his [Son of The Seas] talent, was an absolute nightmare in the water, which made the fights against the Sirens literal Childs play.

In those four hours, Verso had explored over fourteen unique islands. While many were already being picked clean by other groups or showed signs of recent battle, he had found five more Sirens in these secluded coves.

’Thankfully, I haven’t had to face anyone yet.’

Verso slowly bent down, picking up the sixth tongue from the dirt and stuffing it into his hoodie pocket. It was a disgusting, squelching sensation but he had to bear it for the points.

Throughout the hunt, he had been obsessively careful, keeping a wide distance from any signs of human activity. The moment he saw another group or even a footprint on a beach, he commanded the Gargoyle to turn away and find a different Island.

’It would be stupid of me to not go and submit these right now...’

He patted his pocket, feeling the slimy bulk of the six tongues.

To any other candidate these tongues were golden tickets to the top of the national rankings.

If anyone found out a lone candidate like Verso was walking around with six points in his pocket, they would not hesitate for a second and just descend on him like a pack of starved wolves.

Walking out of the dark cavern, Verso flicked his wrist.

In a swirl of dark mana, Little Bone vanished back into his summoning space and in its place the Stone Gargoyle manifested with a heavy thud.

Verso climbed onto its back and gripped the ridges of its neck tightly.

"Head for the main island at full speed." He commanded.

The beast shrieked and took off, its wings beating the air with powerful strokes.

As they got up in the air, Verso looked down at the smaller islands surrounding the central Main Island.

From this height, the layout of the smaller stone Island was even more striking. They were arranged in a semi circular pattern, spaced out with a strange precision.

’They really do look like teeth.’

The thought made a cold shiver run down his spine.

The islands he had visited were almost uniform in their distance from one another, just like the rows of teeth in a predator’s mouth.

He wondered briefly what the System’s version of this realm would look like once he explored it in his dreams, but the thought was cut short as the massive silhouette of the Main Island loomed in his vision.

Verso’s eyes widened. The beach he had left only a few hours ago was unrecognizable.

"What the fuck happened here?"

The pristine beach was now a chaotic battlefield. Huge, blackened craters marked the shoreline, and long trails of dark red blood stained the sand.

Even from this distance, he could see the carnage. Multiple human bodies lay scattered across the beach surrounded by pools of blood that the tide was slowly pulling back into the sea.

He squinted his eyes as his heart started hammering loudly.

Most of the bodies were still moving, twitching in agony which meant that these people were still alive, but Verso could tell from this far that they were missing limbs.

’So this is why they made us sign that wavier.’

Verso did not hesitate. He instantly reached into his soul space and pulled at the best weapon in his arsenal.

Dark mana condensed in his hand, forming the long, curved blade of a pitch black scythe, the manifestation form of Little Bone.

He did not want to land on that beach nor did he want to find out who were the ones responsible for this carnage.

’I need to get out of here quick!’

"Avoid the beach!" Verso shouted to the Gargoyle.

"Head straight for the top of the mountain! Go for the gate!"

The Gargoyle screeched loudly and its wings folding hard as it picked up speed.

It cut through the thick mist surrounding the mountain peaks like a stone arrow, instantly flying up the mountain. Within seconds, the bright dungeon gate entered Verso’s vision.

But turns out he was not the only one heading for the exit.

"Hey, fetch up, fucker!" A voice roared from below.

Verso’s vision was suddenly filled with a blinding, crackling yellow light as a massive bolt of lightning tore through the air, missing the Gargoyle’s wing by a mere fraction of an inch.

"What the fuck is going on!" Verso yelled, his grip tightening on the scythe as he commanded his summon to use its aerial dive ability and head toward the gate.

But just as the Gargoyle began its descent, another sentence cut through the wind.

"Wait... is that the scum? Since when did he have a summon capable of flight?"

Verso’s eye twitched as he instantly recognized the voice, he did not even need to look down to know who this was.

There was only one person in this entire exam who called him a scum with such persistent.