Let's Strengthen the Spirit 3
There wasn't even 1 percent of malice in it. It was a statement born purely from innocence itself.
"The falcon's bowing to Kkaman, right? Does that mean Kkaman's the boss now?!"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Hehe, our Kkaman's gotten so reliable! Thanks, Rian!"
Vesperia's bright words blanketed the classroom like a bombardment. Her pure declaration mercilessly shredded Asrion's pride.
'Th-this…!'
Asrion's face flushed red like a tomato plunged into boiling water. Humiliation. It was an extreme sense of degradation he'd never experienced in his life. His majestic blazing falcon, groveling and trembling before that puny black cat.
'Just you wait. I'll repay this disgrace in the name of the Mage Tower!'
Asrion forcibly reverse-summoned his spirit on the floor and hung his head low. He didn't have the courage to lift it and face the stares around him.
'Incredible! Beyond expectations again!'
On the other hand, Ardelia—who had watched the entire process with her own eyes—was roiling inside like a massive tidal wave. Rian had truly accomplished the astonishing feat of strengthening a spirit.
'I need that power. With it, I could gain real combat strength right away!'
Ardelia's red eyes burned hot toward Rian from the seat right beside him. The tiny sparrow spirit chirping in her palm. Even this small, fragile thing, if it passed through that boy's hands, would gain power rivaling her past life's self!
"Rian. That was truly a wondrous sight."
Ardelia spoke in the softest tone she could muster.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you strengthen my spirit with your touch as well? I want to experience that miraculous gift of yours firsthand."
It was a very polite and earnest request. Rian rejected it with a razor-sharp refusal.
"No. Too much hassle."
Not a second of hesitation—a clean cut.
The elegant smile on Ardelia's lips cracked once more with a crunch.
'Rejected again.'
Her insides burned pitch-black. Why did he keep refusing her requests like this!
"Um… Rian."
Vesperia, who had been petting Kkaman beside her, asked in her usual pure, clear voice.
"Is strengthening Her Highness's Bright too tiring?"
It was a question brimming with concern. Rian glanced at Vesperia. Voices like Professor Emilia's or Ardelia's, laced with hidden agendas and sticky persistence, exhausted him. But the black-haired girl's tone was different. No ulterior motives. Even for Rian, this pure voice wasn't unpleasant to hear.
'It's not a big deal anyway.'
His Infinity Mana Circle was spinning steadily. Thanks to the Awakening spell, he wasn't sleepy. A bit of mental effort wouldn't change much.
"Nah, I can do it."
Rian nodded lightly in response. At that moment, Ardelia felt a bizarre mix of bewilderment and relief. He'd rejected her elaborate plea outright, yet flipped his attitude at Vesperia's single word.
'Thanks to this girl, I got my chance.'
Ardelia swallowed her bitterness and shot Vesperia a grateful look. Vesperia just giggled and scratched under Kkaman's chin.
Rian turned to Ardelia.
"What exactly do you want?"
Ardelia didn't need to think. She didn't need a cute toy or pet. She desperately required overwhelming force to protect herself.
"As much as possible. Make it as powerful as you can."
Resolve gleamed in Ardelia's red eyes. Rian nodded slightly at the look.
'Maximum reinforcement. Not just expanding the core capacity—they want a full hardware overhaul.'
He understood perfectly. He turned to Professor Elmiana, who was standing guard at the podium.
"Professor. Mind if we do one more?"
Elmiana's pink eyes widened with a jolt. Inside, her scholarly madness had already devoured any fear. To observe that miraculous mana manipulation up close again—this was a blessing any mage might wait a lifetime for.
"Of course! Go right ahead, Student Rian!"
Elmiana nodded vigorously, cheeks flushed. Before long, the basic summoning magic class had devolved into Rian's spirit modification demo. But no one in the room complained. Even Asrion, head bowed in shame, peeked up and glared at Rian. He refused to believe it was a trick, yet couldn't suppress his curiosity about what would happen next.
"Give me your hand."
Rian extended his. Ardelia carefully reached out her pale hand and clasped his rough, slender one.
Woooong—!
The moment their hands touched, the classroom air grew heavy once more, pressing down.
'Alright, let's get started.'
Rian closed his eyes and rode Ardelia's mana circuits inward. He sensed the core of her light sparrow spirit, Bright, connected within her.
'Customer wants maximum. Can't just pump up the mana tank. For peak combat efficiency, gotta rebuild the physical form itself.'
Knowledge from his past life cascaded through Rian's mind like a waterfall. The spirit before him took the form of a bird. Aves. Biologically, birds belonged to theropod dinosaurs. Birds were a branch of theropods. He'd morph this frail sparrow hardware into a fearsome predator.
'Velociraptor mongoliensis. Threatening look, and it's the limit for now.'
Anything bigger like a T. rex would need a spirit stone. Handcrafting topped out at Velociraptor.
'Here we go!'
His 4D Infinity Circle spun furiously, flooding Bright's core with massive mana. Expanding Kkaman's core earlier took about three minutes. But this involved hardware reassembly, so it needed a bit more time.
"Urk…!"
"The mana’s too heavy…!"
Students clutched their chests against the crushing pressure. Professor Elmiana clasped her hands, gazing ecstatically at the glowing sparrow.
About four minutes passed.
Fwaaaah—!
Dazzling golden light erupted from the tiny sparrow spirit in Ardelia's palm like an explosion. The radiant mass shot into the air and began swelling enormously.
"Wh-what…?"
Ardelia's eyes widened. The light blob's size was unnatural. From palm-sized, it instantly surpassed waist height.
Crack, crunch!
Grotesque sounds echoed as if bones reassembled and muscles swelled within the light. Finally, the expansion halted, the glow faded, revealing the new form inside.
"……."
"……."
Everyone in the room held their breath. Silence fell. No longer was there a small, cute sparrow named Bright. In its place stood a massive beast—body length about 1.8 meters tip to tail, height over 50 centimeters.
Its body was lavishly covered in brilliant golden feathers, giving it a bird-like appearance at first glance. But its visage was far from avian grace.
"What is that?"
"A b-bird?"
"No, it looks like a bird but why's it so vicious?"
A long, stiff-feathered tail. Muscled, sturdy hind legs. And above all, the massive, wickedly curved sickle claw on its rear foot. Jagged teeth lined its protruding snout.
"Kyaaaaah—!!!"
The golden-feathered, ferocious Velociraptor unleashed a chilling roar toward the ceiling.
"Kyaaah!"
"M-monster!"
"Why does the bird look like that?!"
"The sparrow turned into a magic beast!"
Screams erupted throughout the room. In this romance-fantasy world, no one knew the concept of dinosaurs. To them, the creature was just a horrifying, feathered mutant magic beast.
"Eek!"
Even Asrion yelped and tumbled backward off his chair.
"Wh-what the hell…!"
The biggest shock hit the spirit's owner, Ardelia. Pale-faced, she stared up at the massive Velociraptor screeching before her. She'd wanted power, but not this monstrous horror. She'd imagined something grand and holy—a phoenix or majestic golden eagle. Instead, her sparrow had evolved into a toothy monster.
"R-Rian! What did you do to my spirit?!"
Ardelia lost her composure and shrieked. Princessly dignity was long forgotten. But Rian, stretching after finishing the spell, replied with an indifferent, wronged expression.
"What do you mean? You asked me to make it as powerful as possible."
"Not turn my sparrow into this hideous monster!"
"Monster? This is a close avian relative from the Dromaeosauridae family—top-tier predator combat efficiency. Excellent vision, smell, hearing, and paired with its light attribute, it'll be outstanding."
Rian was thoroughly satisfied with the Velociraptor form he'd crafted. By current standards, nothing was more perfectly tuned for battle.
"B-but this form just looks like a magic beast! I had something else in mind!"
"You wanted combat power—what's the problem? It still has flight ability since it's a spirit."
Ardelia was speechless. She'd asked for combat suitability, and he'd delivered. The issue was the savagely ferocious appearance beyond imagination.
'I even considered the looks to avoid something more grotesque.'
Unlike Rian, familiar with dinosaurs from his past life, people here saw them as vicious magic beasts. If he'd wanted, he could've made it repulsive on sight. This was a concession—sacrificing some practicality for a dash of style, courtesy of Rian!
"Kyaak?"
The Velociraptor named Bright wagged its tail feathers and nuzzled Ardelia's skirt hem. Fierce predator exterior, but at heart, a loyal spirit of her mana.
"Eek!"
Ardelia flinched in terror, but the raptor kept rubbing affectionately.
Vesperia hugged the small black cat purring on her lap tightly.
"Phew…."
A deep sigh of relief escaped Vesperia.
"Good thing I specifically told him not to change the appearance. Right, Kkaman?"
"Mrrrow."
Kkaman purred lazily in agreement.