Heroine Creation: All My Summons Are Custom Made

Chapter 68: You Are Here For A Reevaluation [Bonus Chapter]

By Monday morning, as the Academy woke up to begin the usual academic events, Lancet and his roommates — Kasto and Anita — walked down the hallways.

As expected, the topic of gossip was very much on Lancet Leogardt and the rumor that he had summoned yet another legend from the Era of Ash.

Everywhere Lancet looked, he saw eyes following him. First-year students from other Class Groups stopped dead in their tracks, pointing openly. Seniors leaning against the lockers paused their conversations to stare. Even a few curious professors and a janitor sweeping the courtyard paused to watch the trio walk past.

”Is that him?” a girl whispered loudly as they passed a group of Elementalist-Cs.

”Yeah, the Summoner-D kid. I heard he brought out Thor Stormchild and he defeated Grimlake’s shadow summon.”

”So now he has two Platinum legends as Summons?? That’s not even possible for a Bronze Rank!”

Kasto, excitedly nervous as usual, puffed his chest out slightly as he walked next to his newly famous roommate. With Anita, they bombarded Lancet with questions about who he planned to summon next.

”Mr. Leogardt.”

A voice stopped them in their tracks. The trio looked in front of them where a woman in a crisp, dark grey suit had stepped directly into Lancet’s path. She had a strict expression on her face.

”You are needed in the Awakening Hall, immediately,” the official stated.

Kasto blinked, completely baffled. ”The Awakening Hall? Why?”

Lancet’s eyes, however, flashed with sudden understanding. He remembered seeing the notification beside his Talent.

[ Class: Architect (Dull) - Note: Available for reevaluation ]

It seemed the Academy had fished it out too. No one with a bottom-tier Dull Rank Talent should be able to summon, let alone sustain, two Platinum-Rank historical legends.

”It’s fine, guys,” Lancet said, giving his friends a reassuring nod. ”I’ll catch up with you during recess.”

He followed the suited woman away from the crowded corridors, descending into the quiet, heavily warded lower levels of the Academy.

They arrived at the massive gold doors of the Awakening Hall — the very first place in A.S.I Lancet had seen after he transmigrated into this world.

Once inside, he looked around the incredibly vast space. With the hall empty, the cavernous room felt incredibly awkward.

There was nothing to see amongst the crowd so he looked ahead to the center stage.

There, he saw the runic circle was active. Standing around the glowing perimeter were three individuals.

The first was Dean Ordenance. He stood straight-backed, his hands clasped firmly in front of his sweeping, immaculate robes, appearing like he was hiding his excitement.

Beside him stood Miss Maecil who smiled proudly from there.

And then there was the third man. Lancet had never seen him before, but the strong aura of the man’s presence gave him away.

The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and draped in a regal cloak designed with thin spectral feathers. His eyes were sharp and feral, yet completely refined.

Lancet recognized him soon enough as Arcival Egerton, the Head Professor for the entire Summoner Class Group.

He was known as the greatest Spirit Caller on the continent, a man who commanded the spirits of legendary beasts.

Lancet stepped up to the stage, his heart beating a rapid rhythm against his ribs.

”Lancet Leogardt,” Dean Ordenance greeted, his deep voice echoing in the empty hall. ”You are here for a reevaluation.”

Arcival Egerton stepped forward, his feral eyes studying Lancet like a hawk analyzing a field mouse.

”It is an exceedingly rare occurrence,”

Arcival explained, his voice a smooth and baritone. ”A reevaluation is only necessary in two cases; when the rank of an Awakener’s Talent was simply misread by the circle at their Awakening Ceremony or in an even rather case when the Talent self-upgrades.”

Lancet moved his eyes to each of their faces, noticing the slight change in breath when Arcival had said those last words.

”In either case,” Miss Maecil chimed in kindly, ”a reevaluation is strictly necessary. Given the recent... monumental events surrounding your summons, the board has unanimously decided that your current rank is an impossibility.”

”If your case is the latter,” Arcival continued, his eyes narrowing slightly, ”if your class actually upgraded, it means you possess the exceptionally rare ability to level up your Talent’s fundamental tier.”

Now the looks on their faces became even more intense.

Lancet knew exactly why this was such a massive deal. In this world, an Awakener’s Talent was a fixed, immovable ceiling.

One’s Talent decided their Rank limit. Because Lancet was registered with a Dull Rank Talent, he was a Bronze Rank Awakener, meaning he could only ever reach Level 50.

That was the peak of a Dull Rank.

But if his Talent could continuously upgrade... it meant his leveling potential was completely infinite. He could possibly shatter the ceiling of the world’s power system.

Of course that terrified them.

”Alright then,” Dean Ordenance said with a calm breath. ”Now that has been explained, please step onto the circle, Mr. Leogardt.”

Lancet looked at the Dean and nodded respectfully. Then, he stepped over the glowing runes and moved to the center of the array.

The official in the suit stood by the crystal terminal at the far corner. That terminal helped to depict the intensity of the light, which defined exactly what rank Lancet’s Talent was.

It did not take very long for the runic circle to light up.

Like a flare, the ambient magical energy in the room rushed toward Lancet, swirling up his legs and chest. Above his head, the construct of his Class’s crest — a glowing gold quill — began to manifest.

But this time, it wasn’t dim and pitiful. Not like the grey, barely-gold light from his first day.

The quill basically ignited.

The glow was so strong that Miss Maecil was forced to shield her eyes with her sleeve, while Arcival and Ordenance squinted against the radiant pressure of Lancet’s Talent..

”What is the light intensity?!” Ordenance turned to the terminal, shouting over the light.

The official was staring at her terminal, too dumbfounded to speak. ”It’s... Brilliant! His Talent’s rank is Brilliant!”

The light snapped off, leaving the room plunged into a momentary, spot-filled darkness. As Lancet’s vision cleared, he looked at the faculty.

For a second, Lancet thought he had grown another head from how they were staring at him.

”From Dull Rank... directly to Brilliant?” the official whispered, her hands shaking on her clipboard. ”We’ve never seen a jump like that before. It’s never been recorded in Academy history.”

Arcival Egerton stepped closer to the circle, studying Lancet with profound awe and apprehension in his emerald green eyes.

”One doesn’t just leap past Glimmer, Luminous and Radiant in a single bound... If he gets reevaluated again in the future...” the official trailed off, looking at the Dean. ”Could there even be a Talent Rank higher than Solar?”

They all shared short, tense glances. The geopolitical implications of a student with a potentially infinitely evolving Talent were staggering.

Arcival straightened his feathered cloak. ”I shall inform the board immediately.” He raised a hand, and in a flash of greenish Grace, a massive spectral bird beast manifested beside him. He mounted the creature and as it flew out of the window, they vanished.

Lancet stared at the ceiling where they had been just a second ago. He was still getting used to seeing magic used so casually.

He snapped out of his trance when he felt a strong, steady hand on his shoulder.

Dean Ordenance was standing right in front of him, right on the edge of the circle.

”You hold a heavy destiny, Lancet,” the Dean said quietly. ”Now, all you must do is keep your mind sharp and continue to master your abilities. There will be many who fear what you might become. Go to the Student Affairs room immediately and update your Student Card... from Bronze to Gold.”

”Yes, sir. Thank you,” Lancet said, giving a respectful bow.

He stepped off the circle and walked back toward the gold doors, his heart pounding for reasons he couldn’t really explain. Behind him, the adults watched him leave, all awestruck.

”I thought Renan Falconhart would be the one to lead us to finally defeat the Second World,” Ordenance murmured to Miss Maecil, ”But it seems... we have a new contender.”

Lancet practically collapsed through the door of the nearest ground-floor bathroom.

”Woah,” he gasped, leaning heavily against the row of porcelain sinks. ”That was suffocating.”

All that pressure had clogged his throat and pressed his heart. He didn’t really know why but for some reason standing in a room with the Dean and the Summoner Head Instructor was blood pumping.

It was the strange thing with meeting characters from a novel you loved to read.

While some characters were written so badly you had no reason to respect them, others — like Ordenance and Arcival — made you feel like you were in the presence of cult legends.

Lancet sighed the thought away and turned on the cold tap, splashing water over his face and running wet fingers through his hair.

He stared at his reflection, a shaky smile breaking across his face.

’A Brilliant Rank. That means I’m upgrading from a Bronze to a Gold Card.’

He chuckled quietly to himself, wiping his face with a paper towel. ’Since I’m the one that creates my Summons, it makes sense for my Talent Rank to increase. That’s why I was a Dull Rank when I had no Summons.’

’Creating more powerful Heroines increases my Talent’s Rank in some way.’

He tossed the towel into the bin, taking a deep, steadying breath. It was time to head to Student Affairs and claim his new status.

BAM!

The bathroom door burst open, slamming violently against the tiled wall.

Lancet flinched, spinning around.

Standing in the doorway, blocking the only exit, he saw Kallan Kallahan. And a second later, like a pack of rabid hyenas, Stacey Blue, the Temperature Twins, and Baroq Chairhead poured out of his sides.

Kallan stepped into the bathroom, a sadistic, ear-to-ear grin stretching across his face. He slammed his fists together.

Sizzling blue lightning sparked and danced around his knuckles. ”Hey there, Slum Rat,” Kallan sneered.