Outworld: Awakening

'It doesn't look like anyone is following me. Maybe this is a good spot for the summoning.'

Adam paused in his tracks while his eyes wandered around his surrounding. Unlike the grassy plain, an oak grove surrounded him, and just ahead, he could see the lights from Valar.

"Come out."

Just then, two Familiars appeared out of thin air. They kneeled before Adam while lowering their heads.

"Engage anything that wanders towards my location," Adam said.

With a nod, both Familiars sprinted into the distance.

At that same moment, the surrounding air slowly distorted, and everything within fifty meters of Adam paused in time.

[Skill: Illusion Inducement activated!]

A flickering luminescence glowed in the space affected by Adam's skill. A moment later, two corpses lay on the ground in front of him. Wasting no time, Adam reached for the corpses with his blackened hands. With just a touch, the corpses underwent a series of grotesque changes.

The magma salamander's body had swelled two times in normal size, with several spikes akin to horns covering its back and tail. Gallien's corpse, on the other hand, looked no different from Klien's and the other Familiars.

'System, establish a connection to The Omen for it.'

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

{Skill}

-Summoner (Activated!)

After the system's message, a shock wave originating from the changed corpses spread in all directions.

[Connection unsuccessful!]

[Summoning failed!]

"What?" Adam blurted out.

That the summoning failed surprised him, especially when his level had gone up.

'Why did it fail?'

Adam's brows creased as he stared at the corpses.

'System, why did the summoning fail?' Adam asked mentally.

However, silence greeted his words.

'System, establish a connection to The Omen for it.'

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

{Skill}

-Summoner (Activated!)

For a second time, a shock wave spread out from the corpses while their bodies spasmed. Adam could see the Familiars struggling to open their eyes and move their limbs.

'It seems the first time was just a fluke. They are about to wake up.'

A smile donned Adam's face as he stared at the awakening Familiars.

[Connection unsuccessful!]

[Summoning failed!]

The corners of Adam's eyes twitched and his hands curled into fists as he saw the message. The corpses had returned to their motionless state and silence had enveloped the area once more.

'Why isn't it connecting? I can't be doing this wrong, right?'

Adam paced around the corpses, hoping to find something that would give him a clue to the successive failures.

Two minutes later, Adam's countenance had darkened. No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find anything wrong the corpses. And, since the system didn't answer his question, he found himself in a dilemma.

'Using my Omen, Manipulator alters the corpses, then the system establishes a connection to The Omen. But, why does it keep failing to connect?'

Adam suddenly crouched. Taking his time, he observed the black-red skin of the corpses. There had to be a clue for the successive failures. However, the more Adam looked, the more his brows creased.

'This is pissing me off. Why can't I… huh? What's that?'

Adam stared at a small opening in the magma salamander's neck. With his curiosity piqued, he stretched his hand through the opening. Only stopping when he touched a meaty pebble-like organ. Blood soaked his forearm while a strange acidic and molten smell filled his nose. Wasting no time, Adam yanked out the organ.

'Blood? There shouldn't be any left. How did this survive the Manipulation process?'

A stranger to the anatomy of magma salamanders, Adam didn't know what part of the demonkin he removed. That there was an organ to remove in the first place surprised him. Because, Manipulator ensured that it completely changed all components of the body to prepare it for the summoning.

'This means that higher ranked Awakened would require a long time to change their bodies…'

With his sudden realization, darkness covered Adam's hands once more, before placing it on the corpses. This time, Adam didn't stop until it covered the corpses completely.

'System, establish a connection to The Omen for it.'

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

{Skill}

-Summoner (Activated!)

Adam watched in bated breath as the corpses spasmed. If the summoning failed again, he would have to abandon them, and it wasn't something he planned on doing.

[Connection Successfully Established.]

[Familiars Successfully Created!]

Name: None.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Berserker.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Unranked Demonkin.

Name: None.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Warrior.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Unranked Demonkin.

'I was right. The bodies of higher ranked Awakened would take a longer time to change... Berserker? Who would have thought?'

Adam smiled as he stared the Familiar formed from the magma salamander. It wiggled its spiky tail as it noticed Adam's gaze.

[Skill: Illusion Inducement activated!]

Unlike the salamander's class, that the two Familiars were unranked demonkins didn't surprise him that much. He expected that much, after all, the corpses came from a Plague ranked demonkin and a rank C Awakened.

With the deactivation of the illusion inducement skill, the Familiars Adam sent out earlier returned.

'The Familiars not having names feels odd…' Adam mused as he stared at the Familiars.

"All right. From today, your name is Salma while yours is Nokum," Adam said.

Adam knew he was terrible at giving names, however, he didn't want the hassle of giving the Familiars instructions individually, when he could just call the name of the Familiar he needed.

[Are you sure you want to name the Familiars?]

'Oh. Why does it feel like it's warming me that I'm about to do something stupid?' Adam rubbed the sides of his ears as he stared at the system's message.

Adam assumed a contemplative demeanor as he analyzed the potential outcome of naming the Familiars. He couldn't rush in deciding. Unbeknownst to him, the two unranked demonkins had an indiscernible gleam in their eyes as they lowered their heads. With Adam falling silent, only the howling wind and rustling leaves echoed.

A moment later, Adam snapped out of his pensive state. His eyes glistened as that of a man determined to live or die by his decision.

[Are you sure you want to name the Familiars?]

"Yes."

[Familiars Successfully Named!]

Name: Salma.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Berserker.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Unranked Demonkin.

Name: Nokum.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Warrior.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Unranked Demonkin.

'Huh? That's it?'

A wry smile tugged at the sides of Adam's lips. Although he hoped nothing bad would happen, he didn't expect such an anticlimactic end.

'Should I name the others too?'

At that same moment, the other Familiars appeared from his inventory. Under the radiance of the crescent moon, Adam stood amid the hulking Familiars as a sovereign who would trample upon anything in his path.

'Who am I kidding? I probably won't remember all of their names. I should just—'

Midthought, Adam felt the earth underneath his feet trembling. Before he could react, he noticed that Nokum and Salma's body glowed a deep red and obsidian black.

[You have given names to beings of Omen origins!]

[You have corrupted a blessed being!]

[You have infringed on The Omen Order!]

[The Omen has recognized your existence!]

[Connection to The Omen has strengthened!]

[The Omen has bestowed upon you a reward!]

[Familiars Successfully Strengthened!]

Name: Salma.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Berserker.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Demonkin (Disaster).

Name: Nokum.

Race: Familiar.

Class: Warrior.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Demonkin (Disaster).

Name: None.

Quantity: Six.

Race: Familiar.

Class: None.

Creator: Adam Staples.

Omen Rank: Unranked Demonkin.

Before Adam could comprehend the sudden turn of events, Salma and Nokum's bodies morphed at a rapid pace. Salma's huge body further increased, with several new spikes emerging. The tip of its tail had turned into a spiked mace, and several openings which emitted heat lined the sides of the Familiar.

Nokum's body, on the other hand, became more streamlined. His previously molded face became more humanoid, which differed from the Familiars who had just attained the rank of Unranked Demonkin.

Just then, a thunderous whip crack echoed in all directions. Startled, Adam raised his head to the skies.

"Is that…"

Just when Adam thought the situation couldn't get any weirder, the clouds above Valar had formed a massive whirlpool, with purple and red lightning snaking at its center.

"Adam, you don't want to be here when that thing descends. Run! Now! Even if your tendons tear, don't stop running."

Adam flinched as he heard the warning. He could sense the apprehension in its voice. With a thought, Adam sent all the Familiars into his inventory, while stacking majority of his stats on agility. Five seconds later, Adam had covered over two miles.

At that same moment, all the citizens of Targarth had their gazes focused on the skies. Some prostrated on the ground while praying to their gods, while others cried while screaming for forgiveness. Others ran helter-skelter.

The Awakened from the various guilds all watched in horror as the whirlpool grew larger and larger. None of them could fathom what could cause such an anomaly, neither could they imagine what would emerge from it. Whether or not one was a citizen, they all believed the apocalypse had come.

Twenty minutes after Adam left the oak grove, a blue portal opened in the same location. At that same moment, however, a figure emerged. He wore a standard shirt, buttoned up fully to support the elegant tie he wore. On top of the shirt, he wore a classy vest with three buttons; it had a fairly deep v-line, which caused the vest to line up perfectly with the jacket's v-line when buttoned up.

The jacket fit him perfectly. It has an elegant windowpane pattern which radiates confidence. The six buttons of his double-b.r.e.a.s.ted jacket were all buttoned up, a stylish and elegant choice. He wore pants which had the same color as the jacket, but a slightly different pattern and they made an ideal combination with his shoes. To top it all off, he wore a sleek belt, coupled with top hat, a scarf, and he held an ornate cane.

" Strange… I thought they said the culprit would be here? I can't find anyone around here."

Even in speech, he exuded class and confidence. His baritone voice was akin to that of a singer only kings and queens would have the fortune to listen to. Hidden under the shadow of an oak tree, the man remained silent while leaning on his cane. Behind him, the blue portal remained.

"This is terrible. Lord Jolran won't be pleased… Oh? It seems they have detected my presence. Time to leave."

Saying nothing further, he strutted towards the portal with his left hand on his cane while the other halfway inside his pocket. The radiance of the swirling portal fell on elegantly dressed man, revealing a face that would send shivers down the spines of those who saw it. Despite having a body most men would envy, he had a face that herald death. Devoid of any form of flesh or facial organs, the portal's light fell on his black skull. A few seconds after he entered the portal, it gradually shrunk until it totally disappeared. However, the strange phenomenon in the skies persisted.