Chapter 439

James eyed the creature he’d summoned up and down, taking in its full appearance. While its entire body was made of fire, much of it seemed condensed, and almost flesh like. If not for the slight flickering, and the shifting of oranges and golds and reds across its body, it would have been hard to tell for sure. That, and of course, the fact that it’s hair was literally just bright blue flames burning in a vicious way.

Flame body aside, the Djinn looked to be male, with a slim, muscular appearance. Its chest was bare, while around its waist, a, uh, codpiece formed of some sort of black stone, perhaps obsidian, provided a slight bit of modesty for the Djinn. That, particular piece of design, seemed to be in the shape of a frozen tongue of flames.

Around its hips, a sword belt, attached to which were two curved swords, scimitars, if James had to guess. The Djinn stood there silently, taking in James and its surroundings just as much as James was taking in its appearance. Without thinking about it, James mentally pulled up its information, curious as to what exactly his Djinn was, and more importantly, what it could do.

“Well, that’s rather rude.” The creature before him said, even as the screen with its information appeared in James’s vision. The voice was young, almost boyish, and the creature’s eyes narrowed dangerously towards James, the pupils flashing from yellowed flame, to blue. “I didn’t realize my new master was such a voyeur.”

Startled, James closed out the information, before he could even scan any of it. Steve had mentioned the Djinn were more intelligent than the demons a warlock could summon, but James hadn’t expected it to be so, obvious.

“Uh, sorry.” James mumbled. This was not how he’d expected his summoning to go. “My name is,” James paused. He’d almost said James, but that wasn’t right. Nor was Glyax. In this form, in this avatar, he was someone else. “My name is Nyx.”

The Djinn’s eyes cooled, dimming back to a warm red. “I’d give you my full name, but I doubt you could even pronounce it, much less remember it.” The creature smiled at James, showing pointed teeth of flames. “So, I believe out of ease, the stereotypical name for one such as myself, is Ifrit?”

Steve, at this moment, started laughing. It was abundantly clear, this particular summon had a special level of sass.

“Unimaginative, yeah.” James responded, refusing to let his own summon get under his skin. The AI was right. He’d come across at least a dozen different ifrits in games, all as fire summons. “But I guess we can go with that.”

“Perfect.” The Djinn nodded, and James got an immediate notification.

Djinn Status Update: Name – Ifrit

James opened, and closed his mouth, saying nothing. Had he literally just been played by this creature? What did he know about Djinn? Didn’t mythology usually have them as wish granting entities? Or, no, there was something more to that. Weren’t they usually seen as devious, manipulative creatures? Then again, he had planned on being a warlock, which would summon literal demons. A Djinn shouldn’t be any worse than that. Still, James figured it was best to be cautious, regarding his newfound summon.

“Don’t worry about it, Nyx.” The Djinn said, seeming to notice his panic, and also, more disturbingly, seeming aware of what had caused it. “It was just a simpler choice, for the both of us, to get that out of the way early on.” He waved a fiery hand, his fingers burning in an intricate manner, “ask me any questions you’d like, regarding my skills, stats, and the sort. I’ll answer truthfully, considering if you wanted, you could just look up my information and all of that.” Ifrit let out a sigh. “Truly, these new forms of binding magic are much more…intrusive, than the lamps used to be. If possible, I’d ask you at least give me the decency, to learn about me, through me, rather than just reading my information.”

It wasn’t really that unreasonable of a response. Hell, some players viewed reading each other’s information as intrusive, and in some games, it was even taboo. People who maximized skills that let them view other’s information, were shunned even, to a degree. Then again, knowledge was the greatest weapon you could have on the battlefield, so such skills were always tempting.

“Alright, sorry about earlier then.” James said, easing back into conversation with his summoned companion. Steve had said the Djinn were smart, and it was best if Ifrit and the rest of the party were on the same page. Especially if James was going to be relying on his Djinn in battle.

“It’s fine.” Ifrit waved a hand. “Perfectly human thing to do.”

“If you insist on me learning about you by talking, can we at least speed things up?” James pressed. “I need to know your level, and your basic stats and skills, so we can get a gauge of how best you will fit into our party. The last thing I need, is for you to end up dead purely because you were too proud to let me look at your stats.” If the Djinn wanted to make side comments, James wasn’t going to hold back either.

The Djinn’s eyes shifted back to their blue for a moment, before simmering back down.

“Currently I’m a level 1 fire Djinn. My class is Dervish.” He pulled his scimitars free. The metal had been shaped to resemble flame tongues, the hilts, golden fire, and the pommels, were inlaid with rubies. “These are my weapons. As I level up and evolve, they will unlock more of their hidden potential as well.” Ifrit glanced between James, Rue, and Steve. “With regards to my stats,” the summoned mob shrugged, “they’re decent, and they’ve been enhanced by my bond with you. As long as its just one or two of these level 10 mobs at a time, I’ll be fine.”

“Any actual numbers?” James pressed. He knew the full numerical stats of every creature on this floor. Meaning it would be an easy numbers game, if Ifrit would give him an inch. Granted, if the summoned creature was going to be so proud and foolish, James had every intention of just going behind the mob’s back, and looking at its stats a little later. Ifrit may be able to tell when James was looking at his stats, as a player. But nothing said the fire Djinn would be able to tell when James was pulling up his info later on, say, when James was back to being a Dungeon Core. It, seemed a little underhanded, but James didn’t want to lose his first ever summoned Djinn, purely because the damned creature’s AI was too proud or secretive to give James the vital information he needed.

“You can see my HP easy enough,” the Djinn shrugged, “and my swords ensure at least 10% of my damage will make it through my opponents’ defenses, no matter what. As I level, and as you level and get better gear, those numbers will go up. That, should be fine for now, yeah?”

James rose a hand, intending to run it through his hair out of annoyance. Instead, his hands ran along one of his avatar’s horns. It, probably looked awkward, and he quickly brought his hand back down to his side, where it brushed against the handle of his whip. It was a weapon, but also, a tool he knew, for controlling and punishing his Djinn, if needed. For a second, he felt the impulse to draw the weapon, and he could feel Ifrit’s eyes watching him carefully. The AI may be strong willed, but James was the player.

He shook his head, pushing the thought from his mind. He still considered the world of DCO to be more of a home to him, than the real world. And just because the AI was being snarky with him, didn’t mean he needed to resort to such dire measures. That wouldn’t get him anywhere. Besides, he knew full well, from his interactions with Xander, that fear and threats didn’t make for cooperation.

“Alright Ifrit.” James said, his eyes searching the area for a set of mobs. “If you insist on not giving me exact details, I won’t force you. And, it just means we need to grind out some levels for you, quickly, so that we can safely all move forward, and tackle this dungeon as a team should.”

James looked back at Rue and Steve, a smile creeping across his face. “So, now that our party is fully formed, how about we clear the first floor?”