C5 Basic Summoning Circle

Lee Kai couldn't afford to take any chances. As two zombies charged at him, he raised his shotgun but didn't immediately aim for their heads—their weak spots.

He doubted his own shooting skills. Sure, he had experience with firearms in holographic games, but he knew all too well that there was a significant gap between virtual reality and the real world.

In a holographic game, the system assisted your movements, ensuring precision regardless of your posture. The characters were controlled by the player's mental agility, meaning that even if you were a master of acrobatics in the game, in reality, you might just be an overweight couch potato.

Lee Kai was no stranger to guns; his quick reflexes in disengaging the shotgun's safety were proof of that. But he wasn't confident he could land a headshot on a zombie with a single bullet. He couldn't afford to take on a zombie capable of inflicting critical damage when his body might not keep up with his mind. So, as the zombie turned and charged at him, Lee Kai watched it close the distance with a focused gaze.

A loud 'bang' echoed from Lee Kai's direction. The two zombies were no longer attacking in tandem. One was blasted away by the shot and collapsed, its twitching limbs indicating it wasn't yet dead.

Lee Kai hadn't intended to kill the zombie with that first shot; otherwise, he would have aimed for its head.

He reloaded his gun with a 'click'. With steady hands, he took aim at the second zombie, still sprinting towards him. The challenge of hitting a moving target was less daunting now. It was certainly easier than facing two zombies at once.

As the gunshot rang out and blood splattered, Lee Kai let out a soft breath, "Not bad, I hit it." The zombie lay still on the ground. Lee Kai remained in place, not bothering to check the body. He had fired two of his seven bullets. As long as nothing unexpected happened, he was confident he could handle the zombie that was once again getting up and coming at him.

Bang! Another gunshot echoed, and Lee Kai lowered his shotgun without reloading. He skirted around two zombies and moved forward. He needed to call Lee Chao and Zhu Ying back to the rest stop; he felt uneasy about leaving them there alone.

Before Lee Kai could reach them, two heads popped up from behind a sandbag. They reminded him of whack-a-mole at the amusement park, comically bobbing up and down.

Realizing Lee Kai had dispatched all the zombies, relief washed over the pair as they approached him. Lee Chao, a step ahead of Zhu Ying, eyed the shotgun and exclaimed, "Wow, brother, you're impressive, taking down two zombies! That's a nice piece you've got there. Mind if I take a look?"

He extended his hand, but Lee Kai didn't let him near the gun, pulling it back with a firm gaze. "It seems you're in security, but not familiar with the protocol. You should know better than to touch another person's weapon without permission."

A flicker of understanding crossed Lee Chao's eyes. "Haha, my apologies. I didn't realize you had such strong reservations." Zhu Ying, having overheard the exchange, took Lee Chao's arm and approached with a smile. "Please, don't take it to heart. We were just a bit shaken."

"It's fine. I was tense myself," Lee Kai admitted. "Killing those zombies rattled me a bit, even though they weren't human."

At the mention of the zombies, both instinctively glanced at the corpses. The adrenaline of their escape had masked the horror, but now the sight of the carnage made them queasy, especially Lee Chao.

Predictably, Lee Chao staggered a few steps and vomited. Zhu Ying, though visibly uncomfortable, managed to keep her composure. She was, after all, from the same world as Lee Kai. Despite her celebrity status, she had experienced her share of gruesome scenes in holographic games—this was just her first real-life encounter.

"What's our next move?" Zhu Ying inquired of Lee Kai after taking a moment to compose herself.

Lee Kai glanced at Lee Chao, who was still retching, and replied, "What else is there to do? I figure the sun will go down in another two or three hours. Naturally, we should head to the rest stop to take a break. It'd be smart to block off the windows and doors too. That way, at least the three of us can rest without worrying about zombies barging in from outside."

"Absolutely, let's not waste any time. I can already catch the whiff of those dead zombies," Lee Chao said, and then he grabbed Zhu Ying's hand and they both made their way toward the rest stop. Lee Kai watched them go, offering no further comment, and trailed behind.

Upon reaching the rest stop entrance, Lee Kai didn't immediately follow them inside. Instead, he took a seat on an old car outside, quietly listening to the sounds from within.

He was waiting for them to safely emerge. He had only checked the counter area and hadn't conducted a thorough search inside, so he was unsure if any zombies were lurking there. It seemed wiser to let them check it out first, considering the potential risks, and he had no intention of facing the danger himself.

With time to kill, Lee Kai began to absentmindedly doodle on the seat. The design was simple: the basic summoning circle from the holographic game "Holy War." There was no summoning circle more elementary than the one he sketched.

This had become a habit for him. Since he couldn't choose the warrior class, he ended up with the summoner. Lee Kai was a conscientious person; he didn't want to be useless.

While others might use their summoning skills haphazardly, he had already started researching summoning circles. The one he was drawing now, for instance, was something other summoners would use just to hone their proficiency. That's because advanced summoning skills required a certain level of mastery in the basics. They didn't care what creatures the basic summoning circle could bring forth. After all, a skill like Basic Summoning Magic could only conjure up animals such as dogs, porcupines, or wild horses. Though they had some offensive capabilities, they were easily dispatched in combat. A Mage's basic Fireball or a warrior's Jump Slash could easily take out such creatures. Even a Priest's basic skill, Prayer, could empower them enough to take down these animals with a single punch. Hence, summoners were quite vulnerable until they mastered more advanced skills.

Lee Kai had no interest in the most basic summoning circle. The skill's name alone suggested it was merely for summoning ornamental pets. Upon further research, he discovered that this skill could only summon three types of animals: rabbits, guinea pigs, and pigeons, with no variation regardless of how many times it was cast.

Consequently, Lee Kai thoroughly investigated the fundamental Summoning Magic capable of conjuring a greater variety of animals. His research paid off, as he learned to specifically summon certain creatures, though he had to inscribe the summoning circle manually rather than using the skill directly. As a result, he would only manually inscribe the circle during the game when no one else was around, which led to him becoming the preeminent Summoner in the entire game.

The summoning circle he had inadvertently drawn was one he used before each battle to summon an eagle, scouting for nearby or approaching individuals.

This time, his unintentional action was successful. After tracing the final line on the seat, the summoning circle vanished without a sound, and a small bird, roughly the size of a palm, materialized. Lee Kai hadn't noticed until he felt a peck on the back of his hand, which left him dumbfounded. He then looked down in astonishment at the tiny creature beside him.

[Black-Shoulder Bird]

Category: Familiar

Rarity: Common

Duration: 1 hour

Attribute: Insufficient strength of the familiar; attributes not displayed.

[Unofficially joined the platform. Class advancement failed. Special energy value display failed. Skill acquisition failed.]

[Unofficially joined the platform. Skill bar not activated. Skill imprint failed.]

Lee Kai gazed at the newly appeared life form and the platform's notifications with a stunned expression. "Can the game's skills actually work here? That can't be right," he thought. But the Black-Shoulder Bird hopping energetically on his palm was unmistakably real.

"Holy smokes, is this for real? Can skills from 'Holy War' be used on this platform?" Lee Kai was astounded by the sight before him.

After a moment, he snapped out of his daze, reached out with his other hand, and gently tapped the little bird. Mentally, he issued a command, and in an instant, the bird took flight into the room.

The house erupted into chaos when the Black-Shoulder Bird made its entrance. It brushed against numerous objects, jolting the two individuals who were taking a breather. They had only just settled down, and the sudden disturbance within the house was quite unsettling.