Darius’s capital, Darius City was at the center of it all and was the largest island of the kingdom. It was about 20 kilometers wide and 40 kilometers long.

The majority of the island was inhabited, except for a small patch of land in the south that was a desert.

Ning and Saphandra landed at the eastern port of the city and walked in. They took a small carriage to a hotel in the city and registered themselves there.

Once done, they went out into the city to check it out. They ate some local delicacies, bought some clothes, and overall had a great time.

It was evening when they returned back to the hotel and went to their separate room.

The next morning, Ning met up with Saphandra down in the lobby.

”Come, you have to try this tea. It’s so… cooling,” Ning said when he saw Saphandra.

”Ning, I want to talk to you about something,” she said.

”Oh, this seems serious,” Ning said. “What is it?”

”I… I’m kind of feeling like I’m being spoiled right now,” She said.

”I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean,” Ning said.

”You know. You pay for my food, you pay for my clothes, you pay for where I stay at, you pay for my travels,” she said. “Hell, you’re just one step away from making me your wife.”

”Oh… no…” Ning said. “Look, you’re a beautiful woman, and any man would be lucky to be with you, but… I already have a woman.”

”I… wasn’t coming onto you, but good to know,” Saphandra said. “What I’m trying to say is… I need to be independent. I can’t just rely on you all the time.”

”Oh, sure… I don’t mind helping you, but if you feel bad about it, sure, go ahead,” Ning said. “What exactly can you do though?”

”I… ” Saphandra thought for a second. With how bad her language was, anything that required communication was a no-go.

”Can you create stuff you can sell?” Ning asked.

”Ye… no,” Saphandra said disappointedly. “I can’t cook, I can’t create. I can do labor work, but I don’t know if I want to do that or not.”

”Well, what exactly are you good at?” Ning asked.

”Fighting!” Saphandra said without hesitation.

”Remind me again what exactly did you do back on your planet?” Ning asked.

”I…” Saphandra sighed for a second and said, “I was part of a law keeping group.”

”Oh, so police. Hmm… you can’t do that here without your language fixed up.”

”Maybe the Circle will take you here if we explain to them,” Ning said. “Can you really not summon at all?”

Saphandra shook her head. “Little blue takes away all the spiritual energy,” she said.

”You made such a bond?” Ning asked.

”Kind of like that,” She said.

”Well, can’t you just unsummon her? Or are you afraid of losing your skills?” Ning asked.

Saphandra still shook her head. “I can’t really explain it,” she said.

”Well, I guess then we should go to the Summoning Circle. I have to go there anyway to rank up in any case,” Ning said.

”Alright, let’s go,” Ning said.

The two of them left the hotel on a cloudy day and reached the Summoning Circle not long after.

Ning walked in and saw that this place was quite a lot better looking than the one in Tyrana city.

The building was large, the room was spacious, and it was a lot more crowded than it was back there.

”So many people,” Ning said as he looked around. “Do they even have quests here for folks like us?”

Ning walked over to the quest board and saw that it was at least 3 times larger than the board back in Tyrana city. Starting from the right with rank 1, the quests got more and more difficult as it moved towards the left, ending with quests that required one to be Rank 5.

”That’s the best?” Ning wondered.

”Come on, let’s go,” Saphandra said as she looked around and noticed the dirty gazes of the men around her.

”Sorry, you’re right,” Ning said and walked over to the clerk.

”Hello, my friend here would like to register into the circle, but she already has a beast summoned. Can she still register?” Ning asked.𝑜𝑽𝑙xt.𝓒𝞸𝓜

”Yes,” the clerk said. “We just need to check the rank of her summon.”

”Great,” Ning said.

”No, not great,” Saphandra said. “Little blue isn’t a beast with a rank. I can’t show her around.”

”Eh?” Ning said. He quickly turned around and said, “My friend here has only summoned the beast’s skills and not the beast itself. What can she do?”

”Just unsummon the beast and summon it again,” the clerk said in a monotone voice.

”You can’t unsummon little blue, right?” Ning asked her.

”I told you before, no,” Saphandra said.

”I know, I was just checking,” Ning said and turned around. “That is not possible either. My friend cannot remove her bonds. Is there any other way?”

”If she can’t summon a beast to show us, then she can’t join the circle,” the clerk said.

”Is there any other way then? I can assure you she’s super strong, she just can’t summon any beast right now,” Ning said.

The clerk finally got angry. “If she’s so damn strong then take her to the damn arena to fight and stop wasting my time,” he shouted at Ning.

Ning didn’t get offended at the clerk’s outburst. Instead, he got curious. “Arena? Care to tell us more about it?” he asked.

”How do you not know about the arena? It’s where you go to fight and earn money from fighting. If you’re strong, go there,” he said.

”Oh, thanks for telling us. We’ll definitely go there,” Ning said. “But first, I need to change my rank.”

Ning took out his summoner’s card and asked, “What do I need to do for that?”