Spirit and Fai...ry (2)
Spirit and Fai...ry (2)
The sandwiches were more than enough for three regular people, but in that warm, cozy atmosphere, we polished them off without a trace.
After all, the two I'm with here—despite how they look—are actually big eaters.
Especially Professor Liana and Ellia. They have to eat a lot to maintain bodies like theirs.
"Phew... That was a wonderful meal~ It was so delicious!"
[I'm happy you enjoyed it]
"Hehe, I'll treat you to a feast sometime, too."
[Yep]
Fortunately, the reactions were all positive. Ellia gave her belly a few pats and, with a playful look, promised to return the favor. Beside her, Professor Liana was still bringing the sandwich to her lips, a mildly surprised expression on her face.
"Ahem, shall we begin slowly now?"
And so, with our stomachs filled and a bit of time to digest under the warm sun, the lesson finally began.
"...Your Majesty Lee Ha-yul, shall we start with a nap?"
[Pardon?]
To be precise, that random suggestion came out of the blue right before we started.
As I tilted my head, unable to comprehend, Professor Liana—who was just about to begin the lesson—was staring at me with a peculiar look.
[What do you mean by that?]
"Well, you just look incredibly sleepy right now. You were nodding off earlier, too... It's not like this is urgent, so why don't you take a quick nap?"
With that, Professor Liana subtly stretched her arms open. I wasn't so dense as to miss what that gesture meant.
I shook my head, my expression a mix of temptation and wryness.
[...No, I'm fine]
"If you get really sleepy, you absolutely must tell me, okay?"
[Mmyep...]
A full stomach, the warm sunlight, the gently blowing breeze, and above all, the comforting presence of Professor Liana and Ellia right beside me—every element for inducing drowsiness was in abundance. It was true that sleepiness was creeping in.
But I wasn't so sleepy that I'd lose consciousness on the spot. This body of mine is perfectly fine even after pulling all-nighters for over a week straight.
...On the flip side, it can also get so sleepy that it could sleep for an entire week straight.
Maybe because of that, the way people treat me has been getting progressively weirder. I can't say I hate it, but it does make my heart feel complicated...
.
.
.
"Spirit Ascension is something I've already taught you, but let's go over it once more as a review."
Anyway, Professor Liana's explanation continued. Perched on a stump, she looked down at Ellia and me sitting in the grass and began to speak.
"Over 90% of the spirits that exist in this world are lower spirits."
Spirits are measured on a different scale than monster ranks.
Three classifications: lower, intermediate, and upper. It wasn't a system arbitrarily devised by humans. In reality, spirits go through a qualitative change across these three distinct stages.
"The spirits people commonly know are lower spirits. They take on a color matching their attribute and have the form of a light-scattering orb. In practice, all lower spirits look fairly similar. The only real differences are their size and the intensity of their light."
Professor Liana stretched out both arms. Long, slender arms. Above her left hand, mana rippled, and with a pop, a wind spirit burst forth.
It was the type of spirit I usually describe as a light cluster. A sphere-like mass of wind that scattered a pale green light, matching its attribute.
"In other words, there are no clear distinguishing features between individual entities. As you all probably know, lacking individuality isn't exactly a good thing in this world."
- Wheeeing...
She held up the left hand where the spirit rested. Ppyo-byo-byop— other lower wind spirits popped into existence around it, but exactly as she'd explained, there was nothing to differentiate them except for the intensity of their light or their size.
Individuality, innateness.
Traits that distinguish one from others tend to be highly advantageous in this world. If those elements become extremely pronounced, they can even function as a supernatural ability.
"Lower spirits have very little individuality or innateness. Because of that, their sense of self is also extremely faint. It's not even at a young child's level; you could practically consider them lumps of an attribute that simply act on instinct."
I nodded along to that explanation.
In practice, you can't really convey any complex intent to a typical lower spirit. At best, they like the energy that matches their attribute, and the most they do is instinctively demand more of my mana.
"That is precisely the difference between lower and intermediate spirits."
Snap! Professor Liana snapped her fingers to shift the mood, and then waved her empty right hand this time.
"From the intermediate rank onward, spirits begin to develop their own individuality and innateness. Their appearance changes, and their sense of self opens up, giving them personalities and preferences."
Mana coalesced on her right hand. The flow was the same as before.
Whooosh! The wind rushing out made my hair flutter. Right after, as if sucking back in what it had just expelled, the wind gathered at a single point and took shape.
- Piiiie!
Sharp talons and a beak, wings stretched out wide to either side. A bird formed entirely of wind perched on Professor Liana's right forearm.
[Ah, that one from before]
It was a spirit I'd met previously. I'd encountered it occasionally back when Professor Liana was transporting me around in China.
- Piiiie!
[Ah, that tickles... Hehe]
The spirit seemed to recognize me too; it let out a clear cry and rushed over to me. As it rubbed its head against my cheek, I petted it in return.
At her side, several other spirits revealed themselves.
They were colorful and varied: some had animal forms, and others had curious shapes that looked like something out of a fantasy game.
Professor Liana's expression grew odd as she watched them throw themselves at me instead of their own master.
"...This is why lower spirits make up such a large proportion of the whole. It's the same logic as how few humans awaken as superhumans, and even fewer superhumans awaken a unique ability."
Just as a human awakens mana and gains a unique ability,
Spirits, too, awaken their innateness and transform from lower beings—essentially lumps of mana—into intermediate spirits with their own individuality.
"Even among the remaining 10%, few reach the intermediate rank alone in nature. Question! What is the reason for that?"
"It's thanks to the mindscape shared by their contractor. It's hard to build it up alone in nature, but with a contractor, you can rapidly gain far more varied records."
"Oho, studying ahead paid off, I see. Cadet Ellia, it's not your time yet, but this will be useful later, so watch closely! Here's a candy as a reward!"
"Ah, thank you."
Professor Liana beamed and pressed a candy into her hand.
"It's a Royal Candy that a certain Majesty hasn't touched in well over half a year!"
[Geh...]
"Ahaha, just a joke~"
The sudden jab made me choke up. Professor Liana giggled and patted my head.
"Ahem, jokes aside, Cadet Ellia's answer is exactly what Cadet Lee Ha-yul needs to do."
The hand that had left my head then poked my cheek.
"You've already shared experiences by being together under a contract, but what you need to do from now on is a more direct connection and transmission. Among spirit casters, this is called Ascension."
Spirit Ascension. A procedure also mentioned in the original story. There wasn't a proper spirit caster route, but there were iterations that utilized spirits.
"Before we begin, I'll ask just to check. How many spirits are you contracted with now?"
[I... have 711 now]
"Wow... 700 in just over half a year? And Ascension already, too... You're really fast. You said you brought about 100 with you into this dungeon?"
[Yes]
"So the targets for Ascension are roughly 600... An average spirit caster would manage maybe 10 a day, but..."
Squiiish... Professor Liana kneaded my cheek and flashed a grin.
"From my judgment, Your Majesty Lee Ha-yul can probably do them all within today. Honestly, it's fine even if you fall short. Today isn't the only day, is it? Let's take it easy today and just see how far we can go."
[Okay!]
The explanation was over. I gently rubbed my cheek against the kind touch, and without any further delay, immediately began the Ascension.
- Whoooosh...!
A bright red flame kindled in my cupped hands.
It was the fire spirit I had contracted. This one also seemed to know what this act was, as expectation flickered within its wavering flames.
"The Ascension procedure isn't complicated. You just manipulate your mana and connect it to the spirit. The mana is used as the power necessary for Ascension, and through the mana as a medium, you imbue the spirit with your own mindscape."
Professor Liana, seated right beside me, added to the explanation.
"At the same time, it's also a procedure akin to an additional contract. If a contract with a lower spirit was something like a simple signature, then an intermediate spirit is similar to leaving an imprint by deeply soaking it with your mana."
Ellia was also next to me. Professor Liana was here for guidance and to prepare for any unexpected situations, and Ellia was here to observe the Ascension in advance for when she would eventually undergo it herself.
'Phoo...'
I took a deep breath while listening intently to Professor Liana's explanation.
According to her, all I had to do was manipulate my mana and connect it to the spirit.
'Hmm...'
I could feel the fire spirit crackling with anticipation.
The Observation Authority. Through it, information kept accumulating and updating.
But right now, more than that, the warmth nestled in my palms and the mana I sensed through my qi sense felt far more vivid.
The mana composing the spirit, its providence, its innateness, the contractual bond connecting it to me, the spirit's boundaries. I could perceive them even without using Observation.
I released the mana stored in my core. Pushing steadily through my mana circuits, it reached my hands. After shaping the mana into a line, I stabbed it right into the spirit cradled in my palms.
- Woooong!
In an instant, the bright red spirit was dyed white. Whooosh! The flames flared up violently for a moment, swallowing up to my wrists, then immediately contracted back to their original size.
A strange sensation. The contract between me and the spirit had already been firmly established before, but now the bond felt even deeper than before.
- Gulp... gulp...
Thus, there were now two lines connecting me and the spirit.
The peculiar sensation flowing through the already-linked line was... it was probably the process of sharing experience points, the mindscape.
And through the line of mana I had just stabbed in, my mana was being sucked right up, as if drinking through a straw.
One line dyed the spirit with my mindscape, while the other charged it with the energy needed for Ascension.
'...It's taking quite a lot, isn't it?'
The amount it was taking was a bit large, though. It's not like I've ever felt short on mana, but the spirit was drawing a substantial amount right now.
Of course, it wasn't so much that I'd be gasping. But it did feel a bit insufficient to repeat this hundreds of times.
I figured I'd have to start absorbing external mana partway through to supplement it.
Even as I was thinking that, the mana kept getting sucked out. A thumping resonance was transmitted from the spirit, now full of mana.
A reverberation similar to a heartbeat. Each time that beat repeated, I could sense the spirit changing.
Its mana, providence, and innateness shifted form under my influence, as if fitting together pieces of a puzzle.
- Huff huff...
[Huh?]
How long had my mana been siphoned?
At some point, the spirit I had been holding in my hands had vanished.
No, that was wrong. To be precise, the spirit had become too large to fit in my hands, and was now nuzzling and wriggling against me.
Flame-like rippling fur, four stout little legs, gentle eyes that sparkled red, and a tongue lolling out of its mouth as it panted.
A tail wagging vigorously from its rear.
- Bark!
- I'm hungry...!
[A dog?]
"It's a dog, isn't it?"
"It is a dog, isn't it?"
The changed form of the spirit was a puppy. Its build was quite big. Smaller than me, but just the right size to be held snugly in my arms.
The moment the spirit barked, surprisingly, its intent was conveyed directly to my head. Not something I was interpreting on my own like before, but just... transmitted directly.
'...How is its very first conversation a complaint about food?'
Come on, couldn't there have been a better first line than that? I grumbled a bit internally, but I suppose you can't expect too much from a child-like spirit...
"Wow, a puppy made of fire! It's really cute in appearance!"
[Jealousy]
[Really?]
"...Huh? Now that I think about it, maybe it's a bit less cute...?"
Ahem— Ellia, having corrected her thought, flinched the corner of her mouth and pressed my cheek.
"The Ascension happened incredibly fast. Three minutes at most? Usually, even at the fastest, it takes at least ten minutes... Well, with talent, I suppose you get results like this."
Meanwhile, Professor Liana, who had been tilting her head with a baffled expression, soon convinced herself of it and checked my condition.
"How's your condition? Any headache, or a throbbing in your chest...?"
Condition, huh...
I handed a Calamity Flame over to the puppy spirit that was making a fuss about being hungry, and briefly examined my condition.
[Yes, I'm fine. I can go again right now.]
"If you feel anything strange, absolutely! Do not hide it, and tell me immediately. Got it?"
[Yep]
No problem. The amount consumed wasn't that much, and even that can be recovered right away.
As for my body hurting—well, it always did, so I'll gloss over that.
I shrugged my shoulders and stroked the head of the spirit, who had become docile after eating the Calamity Flame. The puppy spirit, which had been looking up at me from my arms, purred and rubbed its head against my neck.
What kind of appearances and personalities would the remaining spirits take on?
My heart pounded softly with anticipation.
.
.
.
Even after that, I didn't stop the spirit Ascension.
I had plenty of mana, heart power, and physical stamina, so there was no reason to stop.
No problems arose after that either, so I was able to keep ascending the lower spirits into intermediate spirits straight away.
...But...
"It's a dog again, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is a dog again, isn't it?"
- Huff huff...
Differing slightly from Professor Liana's explanation that they would gain their own individuality, many spirits, upon becoming intermediate, ended up taking on a form resembling a puppy.
The water spirit in the shape of a puppy nestled in my arms right now was like that, and so were the multitude of puppies scattered around us.
Puppy spirits, each with their own distinct appearance, all varying in form...
As I kept my wry feelings about it hidden, a strange look came my way from beside me.
"...Well, since spirits Ascend by sharing the contractor's mindscape, there's no helping it; they inevitably get influenced by the contractor."
"Aha? Then that explains it."
[What exactly do you mean, that explains it]
What kind of connection could there possibly be between me and puppies...
Even with my protest, the strange looks from Professor Liana and Ellia didn't change.
It was an unjust situation.
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[Player Correction System: Measurement]
▶ Titles
｢Puppy｣