Leonardo let out an exasperated sigh as he lay sprawled out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts were a swirling mess, but one thing was clear—he needed to train. Hard.
Leonardo exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Damn… this is going to be a pain."
"Well, no rest for the wicked."
Leonardo sat at the edge of the bed, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. His shadow beneath his feet darkened, rippling unnaturally as it stretched outward across the floor. A flicker of light sparked within the darkness—orange and warm—before a small, bipedal creature slowly emerged.
An orange-scaled reptilian figure, no more than two feet tall, stood before him. A thin, burning tail swayed lazily behind it, casting soft flickers of light across the walls. Its bright blue eyes glinted with quiet curiosity as it stretched its small claws.
"Char…" the creature muttered.
Leonardo opened one eye, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Took you long enough."
The creature blinked, tilting its head before flashing a toothy grin.
Leonardo leaned back slightly, his smirk deepening. "Alright… it didn't suck that much mana out, but man, it's still unbelievable that whatever I imagine can be real."
His shadow pulsed again, dark tendrils snaking outward across the floor like ink spreading through water. Another flicker of light sparked within the darkness—a cool blue glow this time.
Slowly, another small creature emerged. This one was a bipedal turtle-like figure with smooth blue skin and a light brown belly. Its tough, red-brown shell glinted faintly in the dim light. Its deep purple eyes blinked as it yawned lazily, its long tail curling into a spiral behind it.
"Squirtle…" the creature muttered, rubbing one of its eyes with a stubby hand.
Leonardo chuckled. "Oh, this is too good."
Squirtle glanced at the orange reptile standing beside it, who narrowed its eyes with a low growl. The flame on its tail flared slightly.
"Char…"
Squirtle tilted its head, unimpressed. "Squirt."
Leonardo sighed, running a hand down his face. "Great. They're already sizing each other up."
Charmander puffed up its chest, orange flames licking at the edge of its mouth. Squirtle gave an exaggerated yawn, showing no fear.
"Alright, enough of that." Leonardo stood up, his shadow retreating beneath his feet. "I'm not going to have my first two creations try to kill each other."
Charmander and Squirtle both huffed but backed down.
Leonardo crossed his arms, studying them. "Okay… so far, so good. I'm not drained yet. Small creatures are easy enough… But if I scale them up?"
His eyes narrowed. He could feel the slight tug of mana as the two creatures stood there. It wasn't much—a steady drain, but manageable. But that was just two small ones. If he summoned something bigger, stronger…
"One step at a time," Leonardo muttered to himself. "No point in overdoing it."
Charmander and Squirtle both stared at him expectantly.
Leonardo grinned. "Alright, let's see what you guys can do."
Squirtle raised its small fists, a cocky smile playing on its face. Charmander's tail flame flared higher in response, eyes narrowing with excitement.
"Alright, both of you, take your positions."
Both of his creations moved to opposite sides of the room, their eyes locked on each other.
Leonardo crossed his arms. "Charmander, use Flamethro— No, wait—use Ember! I don't want this room to burn down."
Charmander's mouth flared with orange light as it took a deep breath. A small but concentrated stream of fire shot out toward Squirtle.
Squirtle's eyes sharpened as it lifted its stubby arms. A thin veil of water rippled into existence, forming a translucent wall in front of it. The Ember attack struck the water barrier with a soft hiss, steam curling into the air.
Leonardo's smirk deepened. "Not bad…"
Charmander growled lowly, the flame on its tail flickering brighter. Squirtle lowered its hands, the water wall dispersing into droplets that rained down around it. The two Pokémon stared each other down, tension hanging in the air.
"Alright…" Leonardo's eyes gleamed. "Let's take this up a notch."
Leonardo's grin widened. "Charmander, follow up with Scratch!"
Charmander's claws glinted under the dim light as it dashed forward. Its small frame was quick, closing the distance between it and Squirtle in seconds.
Squirtle's eyes narrowed. "Squirt!"
Water swirled beneath its feet as it slid backward, narrowly avoiding Charmander's swipe. The sound of claws scraping against the floor echoed through the room.
Leonardo's eyes gleamed. Their reaction time is better than I thought.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!"
Squirtle inhaled deeply before releasing a thin, pressurized stream of water from its mouth.
Charmander pivoted, planting its feet. Its eyes burned as it opened its mouth.
"Use Ember to intercept it!"
A small burst of fire shot toward the Water Gun. Steam erupted as the two attacks collided midair, leaving a brief mist between them.
Leonardo's smirk deepened. Interesting…
Charmander and Squirtle stared each other down, breaths steady but controlled. Despite their small size, their movements were quick and coordinated.
Leonardo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not bad for a first try."
He could feel the steady drain on his mana—nothing overwhelming, but noticeable. Summoning them was easy enough. They were at most low-tier creations.
After a few more minutes of living his dream of being a Pokémon trainer and having them spar, Leonardo finally waved his hand. "Alright, that's enough."
Charmander and Squirtle both stopped mid-motion. Squirtle yawned lazily while Charmander's tail flicked with a slight crackle of heat.
Leonardo's shadow pulsed beneath his feet. Charmander and Squirtle shimmered faintly before dissolving back into dark tendrils that slithered into the floor.
Leonardo rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the lingering tug of mana stabilizing as the drain finally ceased. His breathing steadied.
"Hmph." He stretched his arms over his head, exhaling slowly. "Not bad for a first try."
But his eyes darkened. A thought had begun forming in the back of his mind.
"What if I create something with a mana core?"
He sat up, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His shadow flickered unnaturally beneath his feet.
"If it works…" His eyes narrowed. "That would mean they'd draw power from their own core instead of leeching off of me."
He smiled darkly at the idea.
Creatures with independent mana sources. That would free him from the constant drain and allow them to fight longer, harder. His mana would no longer be a bottleneck—his creations would essentially become self-sustaining weapons.
"But…" His gaze sharpened. "That brings a whole new problem."
He leaned back, scowling at the ceiling.
Creating a mana core means tying part of my mana directly into their existence.
The larger and more complex the creation, the more mana it would require to form the core in the first place. And unlike regular summoning, creating a mana core would permanently tie that mana to the creature. It wouldn't return to him upon dismissal—it would stay with the creation, locked into its form.
"And if the creature is destroyed…"
He ran a hand through his hair, eyes narrowing. "That mana is gone. For good."
And worse—
"If I don't have enough mana to sustain the creation of a core…"
His smirk twisted into a grimace.
"Then I wouldn't even be able to summon it in the first place."
Low-tier summons like Charmander and Squirtle were simple because they didn't require much mana to maintain. But larger, more powerful monsters would demand cores far greater than his current capacity.
It's not like I won't be able to create creatures like dragons and phoenixes, but it will be that they won't be at their full potential; at most they'll have half of my mana or full, but I won't be able to create anything else if they drain me of everything.
"Shit…" Leonardo clicked his tongue. "That means until my mana pool increases, I'm stuck creating small-scale creatures."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"But…"
He leaned forward again, a glint in his eyes.
If I can create mana cores—and somehow make them self-sustaining or able to absorb mana from the environment…
His smirk deepened.
"Then there's no limit to how big or powerful they can get, and what if I create something with a large mana core but only fill it halfway or a quarter of the way and let them absorb mana from surroundings or a mana potion if they exist in this world?"
Leonardo's shadow beneath him rippled unnaturally as his thoughts began to spiral. His fingers twitched, already calculating possibilities.
"…It'd be pretty damn nice if my powers worked like Sung Jin-Woo's." His smirk curled with amusement. "That lucky bastard's army can stay in his shadow indefinitely. The only time they drain mana is when they die or need to be revived."
Leonardo's eyes gleamed darkly.
"Guess I've got some work to do."
Leonardo's smirk froze as the thought clicked into place.
"…Wait a second." His eyes narrowed.
The definition of Annihilation Maker is the ability to create any creature from imagination… He leaned forward, his shadow rippling unnaturally beneath his feet. But the definition of a "creature"—that's not limited to living beings, is it?
"What exactly defines a 'creature' anyway?" Leonardo muttered, his eyes gleaming. "Living organisms? Or anything with structure and form that functions under its own system?"
He sat up straighter, the glint in his eyes sharpening.
"If I can imagine a creature as a complex biological structure with independent function… why wouldn't that apply to objects or constructs?"
A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"After all…" His fingers curled as a dark tendril rose from his shadow, coiling into the shape of a small dagger. The darkness solidified, gleaming under the dim light. "Weapons are just extensions of intent."
The dagger shimmered, a faint pulse of mana resonating through its dark surface. He could feel the connection—it was structured exactly like his summons, only simplified. No need for independent thought or complex motor functions—just form and purpose.
He twirled the dagger between his fingers, his smile deepening.
"If I treat a weapon as a creature… one with no instinct but designed for destruction…" His eyes glinted dangerously.
"Then there's nothing stopping me from creating swords, spears… hell, even armor."
His gaze darkened further.
"And if I give those weapons a mana core…"
The dagger dissolved into smoke, but the idea remained. He stood up, his mind already working through the details.
"A sword that generates its own energy—one that can siphon mana from the surroundings to repair itself." He grinned. "Or maybe a spear that drains the life force of whatever it pierces, feeding the energy back to me."
His thoughts spiraled further.
Shields that reflect magic… Gauntlets that enhance strength…
Hell, I could create a blade of chaos and go full God of War mode after all. There's no shortage of gods in this world.
"And if I shape them from my shadow…" His smirk widened. "I could create an arsenal that responds to my will instantly just like gilgamish and show this mongrel who they are messing with but first I have to find a way to store my creation in my shadow or anywhere else."
His shadow pulsed beneath his feet, tendrils slithering across the floor like ink spreading through water.
"And what about artifacts?" Leonardo's brow furrowed. "If I can make weapons, artifacts should be no different."
An artifact is just an object imbued with magical properties, right? If he structured the core properly, gave it specific functions and reactions…
"I could create artifacts that enhance magic, store mana, maybe even warp reality itself…" He chuckled darkly.
His mind flashed with possibilities—a ring that allowed him to teleport, an amulet that nullified hostile magic, a cloak that bent light around him, rendering him invisible.
His shadow writhed beneath his feet.
"I wouldn't just be summoning weapons or artifacts…" His grin sharpened. "I'd be creating a whole damn armory."
Leonardo's eyes glowed faintly beneath the dim light.
A dark tendril rose from Leonardo's shadow, twisting and coiling until it solidified into a pair of sleek, black glasses. He held them up to the dim light, the surface gleaming faintly with a subtle sheen of magic.
They looked like ordinary glasses—thin black frames, clear lenses. Completely unassuming.
But the moment his fingers brushed over the bridge, a faint pulse of mana resonated through them.
Leonardo's smirk widened. This is going to be fun.
He slid the glasses onto his face.
Immediately, his vision shifted. A faint, translucent screen hovered at the edges of his sight, tiny strings of magical data scrolling across it.
"It works," Leonardo muttered. His smile deepened. "Like a scouter from DBZ…"
But that wasn't all.
He focused, adjusting the mana flow tied to the glasses. A subtle pressure formed in his chest as his mana wrapped around the lenses.
The magical data recalibrated—his own mana signature appearing on the screen.
Mana Level: 50%
Leonardo's grin sharpened. "Perfect."
He could have hidden his mana completely or even masked his Sacred Gear if he wanted to. That wouldn't have been hard—after all, his control over his shadow-based creation ability was already reaching terrifying levels.
But why the hell would he want to do that?
What's the point of having power if you're too scared to show it?
No—Leonardo wasn't planning on hiding his strength completely.
He was going to show just enough.
Just enough for people to think they had a chance.
Most people's first thought when they encountered someone who used summons was simple: take them down fast before they summon something strong or stall until they burn out. If they saw Leonardo's mana level at half capacity, they'd think he was already weakened. Vulnerable.
And when they moved in for the kill—
BANG.
A big-ass monster would be waiting to have their asses for breakfast.
Leonardo adjusted the glasses slightly, feeling the light weight against his face. The lenses adjusted as his thoughts focused, recalibrating the readings.
"And the best part?" His smirk twisted into something darker.
He wasn't actually sealing his mana.
He was just manipulating the data that others would perceive. The glasses were essentially a filter—a crafted illusion tied to his mana. Anyone trying to measure his strength would sense half his true capacity.
And when that half-powered kid suddenly pulled out a creature with enough mana to flatten a battlefield—
Yeah… Leonardo chuckled darkly.
"They're going to shit themselves."
He leaned back against the wall, adjusting the glasses again as his shadow pulsed beneath his feet. The tendrils coiled lazily, reflecting his satisfaction.
"Let them think I'm weak." His eyes glinted behind the lenses. "It'll make crushing them even more fun.
And finally, exhaustion took over.
Leonardo dropped onto the bed, the mattress creaking beneath his weight. His head hit the pillow, and the cool fabric against his face sent a shiver down his spine. His body was practically screaming for rest.
"Guess… I'll leave everything else for tomorrow…" His voice was slurred, his eyelids already drooping.