The Fire Spirit
After arriving at Red Fang Village, they unloaded their supplies first and steadily assisted the lizardmen in the most urgent need. The situation gradually began to improve. Bagan had been helping distribute goods inside a makeshift relief station alongside Dawn's Wolf when he stepped outside for a moment. He leaned against the station's wall, quietly observing the village.
It was far better than before, yet the sight remained utterly heartbreaking. That was when it happened.
“Are you a spirit mage?”
It was Elizabeth. Her first words, delivered without so much as a greeting, were completely absurd.
“Hmm, well… if I had to classify it, I suppose I’m a mage?”
He did use a sword, but after losing the Blade of the Dead he had no suitable weapon anymore, and he was now a mage without circles. Yet Elizabeth tilted her head at his answer, looking puzzled.
“Hmm. From the scent I sense and what the spirits are telling me, you clearly possess spirit affinity. You must be a spirit mage.”
No matter how much she suspected, Bagan had no idea what she was talking about. He had never seen a single spirit in his life.
“It’s a spicy aroma—quite a powerful one. There is definitely a fire spirit here. But what exactly…?”
Elizabeth leaned in until her nose was practically touching Bagan and sniffed intently.
This is way too close.
When a beauty of Elizabeth’s caliber suddenly pressed this near, any man would be thrown off balance. Bagan froze like a statue, unable to move, simply waiting for her to pull away.
“What? A high-ranking spirit, you say? Understood. I’ll locate it right away.”
Muttering to herself, she leaned in again and sniffed once more.
Good grief…
Bagan had been about to slip away while he had the chance, but he gave up and considered her words. She had definitely mentioned a fire spirit. He himself was not a spirit, but fire was certainly connected to him—the Blessing of Flame that Barret had passed on with her dying breath.
Could it be this?
Hoping she would back off quickly, he activated the trait at once.
Blessing of Flame
His hair blazed crimson, and a ring of fire formed around him, warding off the bitter cold of Zairan Forest.
“Ah! That’s it! The scent just grew much stronger. Where is the fire spirit? Who is it?”
Elizabeth’s childlike reaction nearly made Bagan laugh. So the Blessing of Flame really was connected to spirits. In the game it had simply been a trait, so he had never bothered to wonder about the mechanics behind it.
“There you are!”
Elizabeth greeted the empty air with a bright smile. The fire spirit, invisible to Bagan, must have approached her.
“Haa… so warm.”
True to her elven nature, Elizabeth befriended the spirit almost instantly. After exchanging a few words with it, she turned back to Bagan.
“Your name is Bagan, correct? This child says it wants to grow stronger so it can protect you. What exactly have you been doing all this time?”
Her expression suddenly turned icy. Just as Bagan began to feel flustered, she continued.
“How did such a powerful fire spirit attach itself to someone with absolutely no spirit affinity?”
To her puzzled question, Bagan answered simply.
“It was a gift from a dead friend.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“It’s all right. Thanks to you, I finally learned that a spirit was even here.”
“…Don’t you want to speak with this child?”
“How do I do that?”
Of course he already knew the theoretical answer. The mysterious stone that formed when a spirit with nowhere to go lingered for a long time—a spirit stone. Carrying one would naturally raise spirit affinity. But that method took far too long, and acquiring a spirit stone was extremely difficult. Without it, one had to be born with at least some affinity and then befriend a spirit the old-fashioned way.
Elizabeth answered Bagan’s question as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Elves can see spirits from the moment we are born. Until we reach adulthood, we play with them as much as possible to build our affinity. After all, affinity is required to form a contract.”
“But as you can see, I can’t even see them.”
Because she explained everything purely from an elven perspective, Bagan’s tone grew slightly flat.
Elizabeth blinked, realizing her mistake.
“Ah, that’s right—you cannot see spirits. Then we should begin with the method to see them and hear their voices. However…”
She scanned him up and down, clearly thinking it would be difficult for a human.
“You don’t seem like an ordinary low-level human, so I can explain it to you.”
Elizabeth looked startled, as if he had read her mind.
“Sorry. Then I’ll teach you. You said you are a mage, so you know how to manipulate mana, yes? First you must create attribute mana.”
Bagan nodded. He immediately tried to draw it forth.
But then he remembered.
That’s right. I don’t have any mana.
Even so, he felt no disappointment. He understood the role of the foreign core inside his heart.
Absorption.
He absorbed the mana of nature through every breath in his body. Then the mana that flowed into his heart—
Refine.
The foreign substance within his heart could be called a dragon core. It refined natural mana into draconic mana. The process did not take long. Soon the mana within him brimmed with power. Bagan used it to create attribute mana. Since the spirit was a fire spirit, he chose fire without hesitation.
“I made it fire attribute.”
“Good. Now spread that fire-attribute mana around you. Uncontracted spirits have no physical body, so they cannot remain in this world without attribute mana to support them.”
Elizabeth’s explanation was trustworthy. The spirits Bagan knew all lived in the realm managed by Spia, the Goddess of Space and Spirits.
The Spirit Realm, Harmonia.
They possessed physical forms there. Without a medium or the spirit power granted through a contract, they could not cross into the human world.
Following her instructions, Bagan maintained the Blessing of Flame and enveloped the surroundings in fire-attribute mana. The air grew as gentle as a warm spring day, and a crimson creature of light materialized.
“Haa, how warm. I knew you could do it. Can you see this child now?”
“Yes… so this is the fire spirit.”
Bagan stared at the spirit that had been following him all this time. Its appearance was far more beautiful than any graphic could convey, and he studied it with analytical eyes.
“Nice to meet you too. Sorry I didn’t notice you until now.”
Whether or not it was appropriate to call her “her,” she resembled a fairy whose hair burned like a campfire. Her gestures were witty, and her expressions were drawn in flame. Right now, perhaps shy from their first meeting, several streaks of red flame like a blush bloomed above her head.
More importantly, a high-ranking spirit…
The first spirit he encountered turning out to be high-ranking was far more significant than he had expected. Of course it was thanks to his trait, but the hierarchy went low, mid, high, and then Spirit King. Excluding the singular Spirit King, the Blessing of Flame essentially guaranteed the highest possible rank among lesser fire spirits.
That realization made Bagan curious.
“Were you with Barret before?”
Perhaps because her personality had always been bright, Seleana spoke of Barret’s death without hesitation.
Bagan would have agreed immediately if possible. However—
“Not right now!”
Elizabeth answered for him.
“Bagan’s spirit affinity is still too low. If you contract now, Seleana’s power will weaken. Her rank would drop and her existence would be diminished.”
In other words, Seleana would fall from high-ranking to a mid-rank salif or even a low-rank salamander.
Seleana struck a proud pose with hands on her hips, and above her head she drew twin flaming biceps with her flames to show off.
“If she’s all right with it, then I have no objection. But are you truly sure?”
Elizabeth, with her incredible spirit-obsessed enthusiasm, continued worrying about Seleana until the very end.
“…Then let’s form the contract. If Seleana truly wishes it.”
Elizabeth finally gave her permission.
What about my opinion?
It was smoothly ignored.
“I will use my spirit power to link your fates. All you need to do is answer.”
Seleana gave a thumbs-up. Bagan nodded. Seeing their readiness, Elizabeth invoked the contract with spirit power.
"I inform the Goddess of Space and Spirits, Lady Spia. In this place, the fire spirit Seleana and Bagan have met through a passionate bond. Please permit their connection and allow them to harmonize within an ardent relationship."
"High-ranking fire spirit Seleana, do you wish to form a contract with Bagan?"
“Bagan, do you accept Seleana’s contract?”
“Of course.”
"With this, the contract between the two is established. May Lady Spia’s grace overflow upon you."
Elizabeth finished the ritual and looked at Seleana with concern. Then—
Shwoooosh.
Seleana’s form began to change. She had originally been a knee-high fairy, but the flames dimmed and her body shrank until she became a small fire lizard. A low-ranking salamander.
The salamander could not speak at Seleana’s previous level. Seeing her like this, Bagan’s resolve burned hotter than ever.
“I promise to restore your original form soon.”
The salamander spun once in the air as if to show her trust. Flames trailed from her tail, drawing a perfect circle.
While the two shared their wordless conversation, Elizabeth spoke.
“My curiosity has been satisfied, so I’ll take my leave. Once your spirit affinity rises and you wish to see our Elestra, feel free to visit anytime.”
The Elestra she mentioned was a high-ranking water spirit. As expected, Elizabeth was a first-rate practitioner; she had formed a contract with a high-ranking water spirit through her own pure ability. No matter how much she loved spirits, such skill commanded respect.
After Elizabeth departed, the salamander asked,
“Hmm? What should we do?”
Now that he finally had a conversation partner, Bagan decided to let the salamander choose their first action after the contract.
“Is there anything you want to do?”
“What do you mean?”
He couldn’t understand every word, but interpreting her meaning—
“You’re saying this cold energy is related to a spirit?”
The salamander spun once more, drawing another circle in the air.
With the information she had given him, Bagan finally had a clear goal. Even after the dragon that brought the cold energy had died, the freezing continued. He had been unable to find any clues until now. At last he had a hint.
“I see.”
He already had a rough idea of the special work Elizabeth did as an adventurer. In the game she had been famous for handling unusual tasks. Elizabeth was what people called a Guide—one who returned lost spirits to Harmonia. Spirits could not exist in Pangea without a medium; if they remained lost too long, they would eventually go berserk. That was why Guides were necessary. Elizabeth was one of them.
“Now that I know what I need to do, I should let the others know.”
Bagan returned to the temporary relief station to speak with Dawn’s Wolf, the group that had helped him reach this place.
Bagan explained the situation to Dawn’s Wolf and told them he would be abandoning the request midway. Fortunately they respected his decision. Only Natalie looked heartbroken; she grabbed his arm and threw a tantrum, begging him not to go. Reina, true to her tsundere nature, grumbled that if he died again she wouldn’t bother saving him. Yet neither of them asked for details. They simply trusted him completely.
For that alone, Bagan felt deeply grateful.
After leaving the relief station, he headed straight for Acklay’s barracks. Acklay was in the middle of a headache-inducing conversation with Raksh.
“Acklay.”
“Hm? Ah, Sir Bagan, is it?”
“You know me?”
“Of course. News about promising adventurers travels fast.”
“Then this will be quick.”
Bagan was about to say he was dropping the request when a voice called from behind.
“Bagan?”
“Elizabeth!”
“Lady Elizabeth?”
Bagan and Acklay reacted at the same time.
“What brings you here?”
To her question, Bagan answered with a small smile.
“I thought I’d try my hand at being a Guide too.”