SSS Awakening: Only My Summons Evolve

A few minutes had passed since Verso had collapsed onto the stone bench, his head buried in his hands.

He could not stop thinking about that leaderboard.

With Team Han, sitting at 6th place he had felt a wave of relief wash over him. This placement meant that their group had practically confirmed his position in one of top summoner academies.

’I get to keep my life...’ Verso thought back to the mission which should get completed the moment results come out.

He let out a long sigh of relief and lifted his head up to look around.

The area around the gate was bustling now.

Candidates were now trickling out of the blue rift in increasing numbers, their faces full of exhaustion or despair as their bodies were covered in blood.

"It looks like a lot of people are coming out now." Xavier said, sitting down on the bench beside him.

Verso turned to look at the blonde boy.

Xavier didn’t look tired at all, instead he was focused completely on his high tech smartphone, his thumbs tapping the screen with an aggressive speed.

Curious, Verso leaned over slightly, catching a glimpse of the display.

Xavier was not on the academy app, neither was he texting someone from his family. He was busy playing a colorful, pixelated tower defense game. His face set in a look of extreme concentration as he placed tiny archer towers along a paved path.

’So this part of him hasn’t changed at all.’

Verso watched him for a moment, a strange sense of familiarity settling in.

During this entire exam period, Xavier had occupied a large space in Verso’s thoughts. The transformation in his character was jarring.

The rude, entitled elite who had looked down on everyone had seemingly been replaced by a patient, humble and oddly quiet summoner.

It was weird to see the boy’s personality shift so drastically in just a month, but seeing him get frustrated by a mobile game reminded Verso that the old Xavier was still buried in there somewhere.

Before Verso could give him a comment on his gaming skills, Moon chimed in to the conversation.

"They were obviously waiting for us to leave," Moon said, his red eyes fixed on a group of limping students who were being helped through the portal by their teammates.

He didn’t offer any sympathy to these people, instead if anything, he looked bored.

"Not like any of that matters. The exam time will be over soon, and those who haven’t submitted their trophies by then are just nobodies."

Hearing Moon mention the end of the exam, a sharp spike of concern shot through Verso. He looked back at the swirling blue energy of the gate.

"I am a little worried about Lua and Han-"

Smack.

A heavy hand slammed into the back of Verso’s head, sending his hoodie over his eyes.

"Hey, scum! Stop obsessing over my sister. That’s disgusting even for someone like you." Moon barked.

Verso quickly adjusted his hoodie, his face heating up in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.

He shot a sharp glare at the red eyed boy who just chuckled, clearly enjoying the reaction.

"They’ll be fine," Moon continued, his tone shifting to one of full confidence as he went back to scrolling through videos on his own phone.

"Lua is weaker than me, sure, but she’s still a Bloodveil. She’s more than good enough to take on any of the losers left in this venue. Besides, she has that green haired lunatic with her."

’But I am not worried about Lua,’ Verso thought, his gaze lingering on the gate.

’It’s Han that I’m worried about.’

He could not shake the off feeling Han had given him back when they were discussing the split.

That dead look wasn’t just any other normal expression, it was gaze that felt way more dangerous than he wanted to admit.

Deep inside, a gut instinct Verso had honed in the Realm Menu was screaming at him that something was wrong.

It wasn’t necessarily that Han was in danger, but that Han was the danger.

"I think I will go back in and check it out." Verso said, standing up.

To his surprise, Xavier stood up alongside him. The blonde boy tapped the screen of his phone one last time and shoved it into his pocket.

Verso gave him a confused look, but Xavier just stared back at him as if he were the idiot in the room.

"What? I thought you wanted to go in and check on them?" Xavier said.

A slightly irritated look flickered across his face almost like a momentary reminder of the arrogant elite he used to be.

’Okay, I guess I was wrong. He can definitely still make that face.’ Verso thought, nodding a silent agreement.

He looked over at Moon, hoping the boy would show at least a shred of brotherly concern and join them, but all Moon did was shoo them away with his hands without even looking up from his screen.

Letting out a sigh, Verso and Xavier turned and stepped back through the shimmering blue rift.

As they emerged on the other side, the perpetual sunset of the Lost Island washed over them once more.

They had not even taken five steps before they ran into a group of four injured students who were frantically trying to reach the gate.

The moment the students saw the two figures emerging from the gate, they froze in their tracks, their faces turning a ghostly white.

One of the boys, whose arm was in a makeshift sling, actually fell to his knees. He looked at Xavier with tears welling in his eyes, his voice trembling with pure terror.

"Please! Please let us go! We really don’t have any more points! You already took everything!"

Verso blinked, then turned to see Xavier’s reaction.

The blonde boy’s expression shifted into a look of annoyance as he clicked his tongue loudly.

He did not say a word to the students, instead he just stepped around them and walked toward the edge of the cliff.

Xavier coughed slightly to get Verso’s attention, refusing to look back at the people he had apparently traumatized earlier.

"So..." Xavier started, gesturing vaguely at the empty air. "The summon."

He was clearly reminding Verso that if they were going to find Han and Lua in time, they couldn’t walk. They had to fly.

And since Xavier did not have a flying beast of his own, they were both going to have to share the Stone Gargoyle unless Verso revealed his backup Gargoyle.

’There is no way I am letting this guy ride behind me... and there is definitely no way I’m riding behind him.’

The thought of former mortal enemies clinging to each other on the back of a gargoyle while soaring over a monster infested ocean was not something he was prepared for.

"Fine," Verso muttered, flicking his wrist to open the rift.

"I have another gargoyle that can carry you."