SSS Awakening: Only My Summons Evolve

"Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Verso’s voice was barely a whisper as he looked over at Moon from the passenger seat of the high speed sports car. He was holding the ability crystal he had just looted in his hand, as it shone a deep red.

"How many times do I have to tell you, scum? I do not have the slots for such a bullshit ability!" Moon shouted out angrily, his eyes fixed on the road as he pushed the car to its limits.

"Why the hell would I waste a slot on turning invisible like a coward?" He sounded slightly annoyed by the fact that Verso had not stopped asking him the same question despite his answer the first time.

Verso looked down at the crystals in his lap, as he felt slightly guilty, he had came out of this hunt with three attribute crystals that he could sell for almost quarter of a million. And he had also ended up acquiring Moon’s rightful ability crystal for which he had contributed absolutely nothing.

But after hearing Moon complain for so long he started to understand what the boy meant.

Up until now he had not given ability slots much of a thought as his only ability was Water Manipulation, which was more of a perk from his talent than an actual ability, meaning that it did not take up any slots.

However, for any normal summoner or hunter, their body was like a vessel with a limited capacity, depending on their core rank.

’I only have three slots myself,’ Verso thought, his fingers tracing the cold surface of the crystal.

’If I absorb this, I’m essentially committing one third of my effective slots to a stealth skill.’

Even though selling it was also a pretty lucrative option, this was not what Verso wanted to do at all. Considering how his system worked, he was unable to bring back any crystals into the real world, which meant that him keeping this crystal with him would ensure that he had a conceal ability whenever the desperate need arose.

’Tch... I guess keeping it is the best choice.’ He decided, tucking it into a secure inner pocket of his worn out dirty hoodie.

The drive back to the Star Complex was a blur as both boys were lost in their own thoughts.

When the car finally screeched to a halt in front of the Star Complex, Moon did not bother with the parking. He hopped out, tossed his keys to a wide eyed valet who looked horrified by the state of the car’s interior and marched straight toward the lobby.

Verso followed close behind, quite literally feeling disgusted by the weight of the swamp on their shoulders.

Both of them were covered in a mixture of purple mud and swamp water. They looked less like the students of the Elite Phoenix Academy and more like some rats that had just crawled out of a sewer.

As they stepped into the pristine lobby of the Star Complex, the air hit them, carrying the scent of expensive lilies.

The contrast of smells that they had gone through today was staggering.

"Oh, look at that," an irritating scrappy voice cut through the quiet hum of the lobby.

"It looks like the Academy allowed a couple of pigs to move into the Complex this year."

Hearing this comment, Verso stopped, his eyes shifting toward the lounge area.

A group of five students were lounging on the white velvet sofas. The person who had spoken was a bulky, tall man with dark bronze skin and hair styled into aggressive spikes.

He was grinning, looking at his friends who had already started snickering into their hands.

’I really don’t understand people’s problem here,’ Verso thought, his exhaustion outweighing his anger.

’It’s my second day. Can I just get a shower without a social crisis?’

He tried to keep walking, intending to ignore the provocation, but he suddenly collided with Moon’s back.

"Huh?"

Verso looked forward and felt a cold drop of sweat hit his neck. Moon wasn’t moving. He was standing perfectly still, his head tilted at an unnatural angle as he glared at the boy on the couch. His red eyes were dilated as a degree of bloodlust filled the air.

’Oh... they fucked up,’ Verso realized. ’They really, really fucked up.’

Moon didn’t care about social standing or how people perceived him at all. But he cared very much about his pride.

He took a slow, deliberate step toward the bronze skinned student, the mud on his boots leaving a dark filthy trail on the white marble floor.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" Moon’s voice was low, indicating that he was ready to wipe the floor with these idiots.

The snickering stopped instantly. The bronze skinned student stood up, his bulky frame tensing, clearly realizing he had poked a tiger instead of a stray dog.

He opened his mouth to retort but before the situation could escalate into a bloodbath, a deep elegant voice drifted from the elevator door.

"Juniors... surely you know that fighting is strictly prohibited within the housing complexes?"

The authority in the voice was absolute. Verso turned to see a tall, slender man standing by the lift.

He wore a simple, dark blue shirt that made him look looked plain, but the way he stood there with perfect posture and a dangerous aura, suggested he was on a completely different level than anyone in the lobby.

"I don’t think any of you want to spend your first week of classes under suspension." The man said smoothly. He did not even wait for a response as he simply stepped into the lift as the doors slided shut.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Moon stood there for a long second, his fist clenched so hard that the mud on his hands started cracking off. He looked at the bronze skinned boy, who was now visibly sweating and then back at the elevator.

"Tch. Lucky bastards," Moon spat.

He turned completely, ignoring the group entirely as he headed towards his room, his mood completely sour.

Seeing this, Verso let out a long, shaky breath, looking at the bronze skinned boy one last time before hurrying after Moon.

"...I guess that was the end of it?" Verso mumbled.

But as he followed Moon towards the direction of their room, he couldn’t help but think about the senior in the lobby.

The slender boy who had interrupted them had not don’t anything to them physically but because of Verso’s maxed out Mana stat he could feel it.

The boy had completely suppressed the mana in the entire lobby to pressure the students to not fight, which only meant one thing, he was a rank above Apprentice.