Chapter Fifty-Four: Why Did You Summon Me?

Summon Fire Elemental
Rank: Fifth Circle Summoning
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 meters
Spell Components: Incantation, gestures, materials (sulfur and phosphorus)
Duration: 1 hour
Effect: Cast this spell in a location brimming with fire (such as a campfire) to summon a fire elemental servant. The creature vanishes when its health drops to zero or when the spell ends.
Description: The strength of the fire elemental depends on the mental energy expended, its level not exceeding the sum of Intelligence and the caster’s class level, and capped at level 50.

There are two prerequisites for casting this spell. The casting materials, sulfur and phosphorus, had always been kept in Paimon's travel bag, which Chu Yun now carried with him into the Mirror World.
Secondly, the spell must be cast in a place filled with flames.

For his first summoning, Chu Yun chose a more extravagant medium. He took out a first-circle fire crystal, then activated the elements within. Soon, the fire crystal ignited, unleashing a torrent of flames.
Fire crystals serve not only as spell components but also as luxurious fuel; adventurers often bring a few as backup for warmth when journeying in the extreme north or cold regions.

Chu Yun then arranged the sulfur and white phosphorus on the ground in a precise pattern. Once everything was in place, he began chanting the incantation.
By now, the flames and heat from the fire crystal satisfied the requirements, and the concentration of fire elements nearby increased significantly.

As the arcane words flowed from Chu Yun’s lips, his mental energy guided the fire elements around the crystal, drawing them into the sulfur and white phosphorus magic circle on the ground.
The materials burst into dazzling light, and from the fire-laden floor, a figure began to emerge. Chu Yun’s mind reached out, forming a subtle connection with the being.
Dozens of seconds later, the fiery silhouette finally solidified.

“Why have you summoned me...”
A distant voice echoed in Chu Yun’s mind, signaling the spell’s completion.
“Show me your power. Let the flames purify everything!” Chu Yun issued the command, his excitement barely contained.

The fire elemental before him was level 26, boasting formidable attributes.

Fire Elemental Lv26: HP 158, Magic Attack 25, Magic Defense 26, Physical Attack 15, Speed 22
Note: Elemental beings are immune to 99% of physical attacks, and their attacks can ignite living targets.

A fire elemental is nearly impervious to all physical assaults. Furthermore, it can absorb fire magic attacks to restore its health. In this sense, it is both the trump card and the nemesis of fire mages.
For warriors, overcoming a mage’s fire elemental usually requires magical equipment or slaying the mage directly. Sometimes luck offers an advantage, like fighting in the rain or near water.
But for the prisoners in this dungeon, most were incapable of any resistance.

Though the fire elemental summoned in the Mirror World was only a mirror image, like Paimon, it would not attack Chu Yun due to their contract.
However, compared to reality, there were limitations—it could not stray too far from Chu Yun, or their bond would break, and the elemental would slip from his control.
Chu Yun’s perception was strong; as long as the elemental stayed within his range, the contract held firm.

At Chu Yun’s command, the fire elemental strode toward the first cell housing a criminal. Any patrolling guards met along the way were instantly dispatched with a single blow.
Chu Yun ignored the experience orbs dropped by the guards—they were too meager, and he bore them no ill will.

The fire elemental soon reached the cell. The prisoner, chained tightly within, struggled to break free and attack Chu Yun. Yet even as a mirror image, he was as helpless as his real-world counterpart, unable to move.
To Chu Yun, they were nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter.

Relying on its elemental body, the fire elemental passed straight through the iron bars and into the cell. It struck the prisoner with a mighty blow.
The man, possessing considerable vitality, crossed his arms to block the attack, but flames caught hold of his body. Unable to extinguish them, he was swiftly killed.

Experience gained: 45 points
This was a second-circle professional, thus yielding a fair amount of experience, though no other items dropped.

Chu Yun was in no hurry; at least twenty notorious criminals, many of them second-circle professionals and possibly stronger, were imprisoned on the lower level. It was enough to level up, and even with low drop rates, something useful would always turn up.

Experience gained: 55 points
Experience gained: 18 points
...
Under the fire elemental’s overwhelming assault, the prisoners were quickly dispatched.

Total experience gained: 737 points
Some yielded nothing, but the largest drop came from a blond man—132 experience points, likely a third-circle professional.
“I’ll have to return regularly to harvest skills until everything drops.”

Chu Yun had observed that mirror images of zero-circle professionals took a day to recover, first-circle took about two days, second-circle three days; the rest remained untested.
However, after Paimon signed a contract with him, the recovery rate for contracted mirror images seemed much faster than ordinary beings, with some variation among different species. Chu Yun’s tests focused on humans.
He marked all this on his map, planning his daily dungeon runs in advance.

Having cleared this level, Chu Yun had accumulated enough experience to level up, but he did not rush to do so. Instead, while the fire elemental still lingered, he led it down to the first basement.
Though the prisoners here were mostly weaker, being first-circle professionals, they were numerous—over two hundred in total. With the bonus from the Neutrality Law, Chu Yun gained a total of 1,895 experience points in this round.

He also tallied his other spoils:
Basic abilities: Lockpicking x3, Disguise x2, Inscription x1, Bluff x4, Riding x2
Class features: Two-handed Sword Mastery, Dagger Mastery
Additional skills: Stonebreaker Sword Technique 1

Any skills already known would improve Chu Yun’s current abilities; redundant class features could not be stacked and were discarded. The rest, though not immediately useful, were welcome—one could never have too many skills, and Chu Yun was satisfied.
The first-level Stonebreaker Sword Technique, in particular, might prove handy if he ever wished to disguise himself as a warrior or develop a magic swordsman class.

Only the petty thieves on the upper floor remained, but just then, a powerful presence entered Chu Yun’s perception.
Before he could react, the aura launched an attack.
“Stop him!” Fortunately, the fire elemental had not yet vanished, and Chu Yun’s commands, issued mentally, ensured it intercepted the enemy at once.
Chu Yun hurried to identify the assailant, only to find an all-too-familiar face.
It was Hager, Captain of the Blackstone Knights, a fourth-circle Platinum Knight!