The blue vortex lit up the dark forest like a localized hurricane, kicking up dead leaves and dirt.
Time seemed to stop.
Just a few yards away, the monster hung in mid-air. It looked like a mix between a wolf and a panther, but completely covered in bone plates instead of fur. Its jaw was unhinged, showing off rows of needle-like teeth dripping with spit.
It was aimed right at Sam's throat.
'Please,' Sam prayed to whatever sadistic god was watching his life. 'Please don't be a rusty sword. Please don't be a healing potion.'
A foot stepped out of the light.
It wasn't a claw. It wasn't a heavy boot. It was a perfect, elegant heel wrapped in pristine white metal.
The vortex shattered into harmless sparks. And there, standing between Sam and the bone-beast, was a girl.
Sam forgot to breathe. He entirely forgot about his crushed ribs, the car crash, and the zero percent survival rate. He just stared.
The woman stood there with absolute authority. Long platinum hair flowed down her back like liquid silver. One side of her bangs fell forward, hiding half her face, but her single glowing amber eye was sharp and impossibly bright.
She wore a sleek suit of white and silver armor. It wasn't bulky like the heavy plates the Vanguard class wore at the Academy. It was smooth, dangerous, and elegant, with black accents and glowing marks near her thighs.
She didn't look like a fighter. She looked like a goddess who came down from the heavens just to judge the dirt.
*Thud!*
The bone-beast crashed into the ground, blinded by the flash. It scrambled to its feet, shaking its heavy, plated head.
The woman didn't even flinch. She stayed perfectly cold and composed. With a slow motion, she turned her head. Her amber eye swept over the massive trees, the glowing moss, and finally, the frail, blood-soaked boy sitting in the mud.
Her lips parted. Her voice was rich and demanded absolute obedience.
"Where am I?"
Before Sam could even reply, the atmosphere shifted.
This forest had zero mana. It was a void. The moment the woman took her first breath of the dead air, the world reacted. The glowing marks on her armor flickered wildly like a dying flashlight.
Sam watched as her cold expression completely shattered. Her amber eye went wide with pure shock. She gasped, grabbing her chest.
It was like an invisible wall just slammed into her. The magic keeping her strong was violently sucked dry.
*Crack...* *Shatter!*
The white Celestial armor literally broke into a million pieces of blinding light. The metal dissolved into thin air.
When the light faded, the armor was gone. Now, she was just wearing a stunning midnight blue silk dress that left her shoulders bare. It was beautiful, but it offered exactly zero protection.
She stumbled backward, her delicate heels sinking into the mud. Her quiet authority was gone, replaced by sudden panic.
'My authority... my domain...' Lumielle's mind raced, completely short-circuiting.
'Gone? All of it?'
She reached inward, looking for the massive ocean of mana she had used for centuries. Nothing. Just an empty void. Her god-like status had been crushed by the laws of this world. She wasn't just weak. She was a mortal now. A squishy, fragile mortal.
A low growl snapped them back to reality.
The bone-beast recovered. It lowered its massive head, dripping spit. It didn't care about magical ranks. It just saw two pieces of soft meat.
Sam scrambled back.
"Hey! Hey, pretty girl!" Sam yelled, his voice cracking.
"Can you do something about the monster?!"
Lumielle whipped her head around.
The moment they locked eyes, a bond snapped into place in her head. The Summoning Pact. Her eye widened with disbelief and burning annoyance.
'I, Lumielle, Sovereign of the Silver Veil, was summoned? And not by an arch-mage, but by this?' she thought.
He was frustratingly average, covered in mud and crusty blood, looking at her with wide, panicked eyes.
'This frail bastard summoned me? How is that even possible?!'
The bone-beast roared, rattling Sam's ribs.
"Seriously!" Sam pleaded.
"Do the magic laser thing! Smite it! Destroy it! Just do it now!"
Lumielle gritted her teeth. She refused to be embarrassed by a brainless mutt. Even without her full power, she was still Lumielle.
She stood tall, smoothing her ruined silk dress. She put her cold mask back on and raised her delicate right hand at the monster.
"Begone, filthy creature," Lumielle commanded with absolute confidence.
"Shatter under the weight of a thousand stars."
Sam held his breath.
'Yes! Here it comes! The OP summon saving the day!'
Lumielle snapped her fingers.
*Whoosh~...*
A gentle, slightly chilly breeze blew past them. It rustled Lumielle's hair and ruffled the monster's fur.
That was it. That was the attack.
The forest went completely, awkwardly silent.
The monster stopped, blinking its multiple eyes in confusion. It looked around for the attack, then stared back at Lumielle.
Sam's jaw dropped. Lumielle stood frozen, her hand still in the air. Her eye twitched.
The crushing reality of the 'Restricted Mana' warning finally hit her. She had nothing.
"Damn it!" Sam screamed.
The untouchable goddess illusion was dead. He didn't have an SSR tier summon. He just spent all his points to bring an arrogant aristocrat into a death trap.
The beast roared and lunged.
Sam didn't think. Pure survival instinct took over. He threw himself forward, ignoring his screaming ribs, and grabbed Lumielle's hand.
"Unhand me, you insolent—"
"Shut up and run!" Sam barked, yanking her forward.
*Crash!*
The monster landed right where they just stood, biting empty air. It shrieked and chased after them, shaking the ground.
"Are you insane?!" Lumielle shouted, slipping in her heels.
"Do you know who you are dragging through the dirt?!"
"I don't care if you're the Queen of the world!" Sam yelled back, ducking under a branch.
"Keep your legs moving or we're dog food!"
He gripped her hand tight. If he let go, she would trip and die. They weaved through the giant trees. Sam's lungs burned like he was breathing glass. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his chest. But the heavy footsteps behind them kept him moving.
Lumielle wasn't doing any better. She was used to magic doing all the work. Now, she was gasping for air. Thorns tore at her midnight blue dress, ruining the expensive silk.
"I... I command you to stop!" she panted, her face red.
"I am Lumielle! I do not run from beasts!"
"Well, Lumielle, unless you remember how to shoot lasers, running is our only plan!" Sam snapped.
The beast was gaining on them. Sam's mind raced. They wouldn't last another minute.
"Up there!" Sam shouted.
A massive, ancient tree loomed ahead. A thick vine hung down from a low branch, just a few feet off the ground.
"We're climbing!" Sam dragged her to the trunk.
"I do not climb!" she protested, her pride rebelling at the idea of acting like a terrified squirrel.
Sam stopped and spun around. He grabbed her shoulders.
"Listen to me," Sam whispered intensely.
"I just got dumped, hit by a car, and dragged into a nightmare. I am having a very bad day. You are going to climb that vine, or I will throw you up there myself. Understood?"
Lumielle stared at him. The sheer audacity of this mortal yelling at her short-circuited her brain.
*Roar!!*
The beast burst through the bushes.
Pride instantly lost to survival. Lumielle grabbed the rough vine, ignoring the bark scraping her soft hands, and scrambled up. Sam was right behind her, practically shoving her up as he hauled himself off the ground.
*Snap!*
The monster's jaws clamped shut inches below Sam's boots. He kicked out wildly, hitting its bony snout.
They didn't stop until they reached a flat branch fifty feet in the air.
Sam collapsed onto the bark, out of breath. Beside him, Lumielle sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her hair was a mess. Her dress was ruined. She looked at her bleeding hands, then down at the angry beast pacing below.
She glared at Sam with glowing amber eyes.
"What," she demanded, her voice shaking with rage and confusion, "in the name of the Cosmos is going on here?"
Sam stopped panting and propped himself up. He looked at his entirely useless, overly dramatic summon.
"Welcome to the DreamScape, Lumielle," Sam smiled a bitter, exhausted smile.
"Hope you brought a survival guide, because we're both rated at a solid zero percent."