The Over-Break System

“DON’T LET HER ESCAPE, MELLY!” Controlling the Water Mana net, which had been scattered into droplets, Benny quickly reformed it into several long [Water Whips] and lashed out, trying to capture Selene, who was still in her physical form.

“Yes, ~Heed my Call, Heart of the mountains, Strength of the land, TERRA SPIRIT SUMMONING, CREATURE COME FORTH!~” Melody executed several hand signs, bending her fingers at strange angles while chanting. In response to her call, a brightly shining tan formation manifested under her feet, with a duplicate appearing two meters in front of her. This formation was made of elaborate runic letters that seemed alive as they spun in time with Melody’s singsong-like chants before suddenly….”

“ROHHHHH”

Perched in a tree not far away, Brance and Gabby watched with narrowed eyes as a hulking headless creature made of rocks pulled itself from the ground by using the summoner’s circle as a catalyst and swung its eight-meter-long hand towards Selene, who had stopped and was watching the summoning.

“OH SHIT!” Realizing that this hulking golem-like creature was trying to either swat her away or catch her, Selene Cursed out loud and jumped up, spinning her body, narrowly avoiding the arm.

“OI, OI, ISNT THAT CHEATING; WHAT HAPPENED TO ONLY HANDS AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS AS WEAPONS!” Selene protested as she dove to the ground and dodged yet another sweeping strike from Melody’s summoned Golem.

Benny, ignoring the angry howls coming from Selene, nervously checked Melody’s condition. From what he knew of summoners when they wanted to bring a creature from their plane, realm, or dimension into Vinestra, a long and cumbersome chant was necessary, along with supplying adequate amounts of Mana. However, Melody seemed to have not only cut the chanting time down by a full 1/4th, but judging by how wild the Golem was acting, it was evident that the girl did not have complete control over its movements.

Different from Tamers, who could bind a creature or lifeform to themselves with what was known as a Soul Pact and house them using a particular spatial class skill, Summoners only borrowed the strength of a being from another place by using temporary contracts. These contracts, formed from the Summoner’s Mana and some kind of secondary material, such as a stone, crystal, or other items, would put out a beacon in the world that the chant designates. By entering the summoner’s circle, which acts as a portal, a creature on the other side will be led to the summoner, regardless of the creature’s origin.

The difference between the two classes came down to this; tamers form partnerships based on a tether between their souls and the being, allowing the creature to stay with the tamer for as long as the Soul Pact is in place or unless one side dies. At the same time, Summoners can only borrow the strength of another being in a master/servant kind of way. Once the contract terms are fulfilled, the Summoned creature returns to where it came.

As Benny observed Melody, he noticed her breaths were ragged and strained, and her hair was already soaked in sweat. By cutting the chant short and not fully completing the process, she had brought a random Elemental Spirit here instead of something she had summoned before. He could understand her enthusiasm, and the situation called for a quick decision, but he didn’t want to see her strained or hurt by what she summoned.

“FUCK THIS! YOU WANNA PLAY DIRTY THIS DEMON LORD SHALL PLAY DIRTY! [VOID DOMAIN!].” Stomping both feet on the ground and grabbing at the air on both sides of her body, Selene executed the same move she used against the enemies on the first day on campus. Within half a second, a fog of black gas manifested within a radius of 10 meters, with Selene as its center, clouding everyone but Brance’s vision.

“ROAHHH, RAOOOOHHH ROAHHHHHH!”

“MELODY, BENNY, DROP BACK!” Seeing Selene getting angry and way too serious, Brance released Gabby’s hand and dashed forward into the mist with [Mana Sight] active. He could already tell what Selene had planned. The girl was far from being stupid, and although she was putting on an act, Brance knew that she too had realized that Melody couldn’t control the summoned creature and had chosen to meet it with equal force, putting an end to the little game of tag.

Staying low to the ground, Brance dragged his broom on the floor while using his free hand to coat it in all three of his Affinities, turning the household cleaning tool into an Elemental Greatsword as he rushed forward into the mist.

[[Selene, status report!]] Brance shouted as the shadowy image of the hulking Elemental Creature came into view.

[[What the fuck was the girl thinking, this thing is at least Mid-Tier-2 and way out of her control!]] Selene replied while weaving around the creature, twirling her [Shadow Lance] just out of arms reach.

[[Worry about that later, for now, our objective is to destroy that thing, we can deal with Melody later.]] Jumping over a bush, Brance slammed his makeshift greatsword into the creature’s flank, creating a thin impact crater on its body and knocking it sideways a few paces.

Selene didn’t give the creature a chance to recover, as she instantly jumped forward and rapidly stabbed its body with her floating lance before wheeling to the side, around Brance, and coming up from his left much like how Cynrik does.

“RAOOOOOO” The creature cried angrily, raising both arms and slamming them down to knock away Brance and Selene, but they were both prepared and kicked off the ground backward.

[[It’s slow, but if we get touched by that thing, we are sure to break a few bones.]] Selene snorted before summoning a second lance and gripping the air as if she was holding them, even though the two Dark manifestations were three times her size.

[[Go for the legs. I’ll handle its upper body.]] Rushing forward and using the creature’s bent knee as a stepping stone, Brance flung himself into the air and began smashing his makeshift greatsword into the pivotal joints of the creature, such as its elbows, shoulders, and abdomen.

Even though it was made of stone, the hinge joints still followed the same properties as an average human body. With enough damage, it wouldn’t be able to function correctly, and as such, its combat potential would drastically be reduced.

Meanwhile, Selene moved like a ghost, weaving between the summon’s legs, stabbing her lances into its ankles, knees, and hips, utilizing the same principle as Brance was, only her goal was to reduce its movement.

Outside of the [Void Domain], Gabby linked up with Benny and the weak Melody, who was on her knees, panting heavily.

“Melly, are you able to cancel the summon?” Kneeling down beside Melody and rubbing her back, Benny asked in concern.

“No…huff…I tried severing the connection, but I messed up big time. I thought I could handle a fragmented chant so long as I poured enough Mana in and used the right hand signs. I…” Tears began welling in her eyes as she looked directly at the concerned look on Benny’s face.

“I only wanted to show you I could be helpful too…I know summoners are usually looked down on in battle because of their long cast times; I thought that if I showed you I could be quick…you guys would let me join your party. And since I don’t have many spells, I’m not the best Mage either.” Melody tried to explain herself by wiping the stinging hot tears dripping down her cheeks.

“Silly girl, you don’t have to try so hard,” Benny said, smiling weakly and wiping away one of the tears she missed.

BOOOOOOMMMMMMM

The sound of constant explosions emanated from the shadowy mist as Selene and Brance fought hand in hand to take down the summon.

Standing off to the side a bit, Gabby narrowed her eyes and tried to peer into the mist. Still, the best she could construct in her sight was the image of three shadows, two small and one massive, one airborne and attacking the larger one’s upper body and the second attacking its legs.

Although Gabby had a soft heart and didn’t like seeing people cry, right now, her beloved Brancie was in battle, so she had no time to worry about Melody. So, without looking back or saying a word, Gabby waited until Selene and Brance separated from the summon and rushed in with glowing light green hands.

With her [Eagle Vision] active, Gabby could vaguely make out the shapes of all three. Using the size difference as a reference, she threw a handful of seeds out before activating her Chloro Affinity Skill [Plant Growth], which immediately transformed all the scattered seeds into long, thorned vines.

Selene and Brance, who had near-perfect vision inside the domain, noticed Gabby’s entrance into the fight and adjusted their formation, allowing the newcomer to set up whatever plan she had.

Planting her left foot forward, Gabby raised both hands up as if pulling the soil towards the sky and controlled all nine vines to wrap around the summon’s legs before pulling tightly and causing it to collapse onto its back with a loud thud.

“ALL YOURS, GUYS!” Exhaling deeply, Gabby manipulated her fingers to wrap each vine several times around the summon’s legs before burrowing them back into the ground and trapping the creature in place.

Not wasting the opportunity to take down an immobile target, Selene and Brance raced forward, with Selene stopping and raising both lances above the creature’s chest, lining them up with where its heart and Codex should be, while Brance jumped high into the air.

Next, Selene slammed her hands downward, forcing the floating lances to surge forward and into the hard stone exoskeleton of the creature. At the same time, Brance used his Wind Affinity in small gusts to push himself higher and channeled even more of his Elements into his makeshift greatsword, reinforcing it and making the blade triple in size.

“RAHHHHH!” Brance howled as he raised the massive and heavy greatsword over his head and brought it down right on top of both lances.

BBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM

CRACK CRACK CRACKKK!!!

Using his weapon like a hammer, Brance smashed both lances through their targets. With a series of loud cracks, his makeshift greatsword shattered to pieces alongside the summon, breaking apart into tan particles of light, before landing on the ground on one knee.

“Hehe, Superhero landing.” Chuckling to himself and using Cynrik’s stolen movie line, Brance stood back up just as Selene dropped her [Void Domain], allowing the outside light of the Cavern of Dorms to flood in.

But before they could revel in the victory, a series of loud, pained screams from their left drew everyone’s attention.

Melody was grasping at her chest in pain and thrashing about in Benny’s arms.

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