Chapter 023: Karyong, the Black Dragon Spirit
Kalen's days didn't change much. As usual, he'd finish all the housework and only wake Sinat once he had some spare time. It wasn't particularly manly behavior, but given her status, there was nothing strange about it. After all, Kalen had originally been taken in as a servant.
The time he'd spent at the Rakatus Duke Estate felt almost meaningless now—he'd fully reclaimed his old life. He spent most of his time glued to Sinat's side: learning magic from Blamia, handling chores, taking walks outside with her, and before he knew it, the day was over. Blamia didn't seem thrilled about teaching him magic, though. Kalen had picked up on that, so he never asked first.
The whole Rakatus ordeal had been meant partly to dilute Sinat's obsession from the start, but if anything, her attachment had only grown stronger. He'd mull over those vague worries, and another day would slip by. Enough days to wash away every bit of fatigue from Rakatus.
"Kal, check this out!"
Sinat was the type who never woke up easily once she fell asleep. It was routine for Kalen to finish his morning preparations and head to her room. But the sight that greeted him when he opened the door this time was a little different. No drowsy girl murmuring in her sleep—instead, there was a girl pointing at something on the room's floor.
"What's that?"
"My spirit!"
Kalen wondered if Sinat had developed sleepwalking on top of everything else. Otherwise, why would she point at some drab lump and call it a spirit?
"Sinat. Spirits are noble, sacred beings. There aren't any that dark in color..."
Kalen trailed off and froze. A scene had flashed through his mind: the day he'd shoved 2nd Hierarchy magic into his own body for her sake. The same day a strange mark had been etched onto his heart. There, on Sinat's wrist, was the pattern symbolizing a spirit contract.
"You don't mean..."
"Yup! That's right!"
Only then did Kalen shift his gaze to the lump. But it wasn't a lump. Spirits fundamentally took the forms of wondrous creatures that didn't exist in the world. Some called them a type of animal upon seeing them, but that was just speculation. The inky mass was no different—a form belonging to some otherworldly creature. Its features were simply too famous, making it feel familiar, almost like a real beast.
A dragon. The very thing people commonly called a dragon was curled up right there.
"...A black dragon?"
"First time I've seen it myself too, Kal."
Sinat carefully scooped the dragon up in both hands.
"No, more importantly—a spirit taking physical form means..."
"Cute, huh?"
A spirit manifesting a physical body meant the bond with its contractor had surpassed a certain threshold. Until then, it existed only as a thought-form within the contractor's consciousness. Magic began with the basic 1st Hierarchy, then branched into attributes at the 2nd Hierarchy. For those suited to Contract Attribute magic, it happened right at the entry to early 2nd Hierarchy.
"When did it take form?"
"Hmm... about two weeks after you left?"
"Does Master know?"
"Of course. I ran straight to Grandpa, just as shocked as you at first."
Sinat was the same age as Kalen. In other words, she'd reached 2nd Hierarchy before her coming-of-age ceremony. They'd forcibly severed the contract back then, so he'd braced for side effects. Instead, she'd gone ahead and mastered 2nd Hierarchy Contract Attribute magic.
He'd only come to wake her—what kind of situation was this? He'd assumed Blamia would have canceled the contract after he left. Sinat's question helped sort through his jumbled thoughts.
"It listens to me really well."
"Listens?"
"Yeah, wanna see?"
Sinat set the spirit down again and straightened her index finger. With her other hand planted firmly on her hip, she shouted decisively.
"Sit!"
But nothing happened.
"..."
"Wh-why? Are you shy or something?"
The spirit cracked one eyelid to glance at Sinat, then yawned hugely and shut its eyes again.
Spirits were contracted beings, not obedient pets performing tricks on command. Sinat's approach hardly qualified as proper handling.
"...So that's how you're gonna play it?"
Kalen felt like he was watching some third-rate street theater. A contractor treating her spirit like a trained animal. On second thought, it was pretty amusing.
But Sinat looked dead serious as she straightened her posture and crossed her arms.
"Karyong. Attention."
Kalen twitched involuntarily, nearly responding himself. The spirit jolted awake, eyes snapping open as it assumed a perfect at-attention stance.
"Whoa! It worked! You saw that, Kal?"
Kalen stared, at a total loss for where to even begin. He settled on the most ridiculous part.
"Its name..."
"Karyong! Cute, right?"
"Mm."
Kalen. Karyong. Anyone who didn't see the connection would be the weird one.
"Did you name it after me?"
"Yup. You catch on quick! My friend wasn't showing any signs of coming back no matter what, so I just went with it."
Her usual nickname for him: Kal. The legendary dragon-shaped spirit that Contract Attribute mages were said to have witnessed when magic first emerged. Put them together... Karyong.
"...What was with those weird commands?"
"Aw~ It wouldn't even respond when I talked to it, so I got a little upset. I was just making it clear who's the contractor."
This was Sinat, after all—the girl who expressed affection by suddenly hugging him out of nowhere. Given her bulldozer personality, he didn't need to imagine the process.
"Is it dangerous?"
Having pieced together the situation, Kalen cut to the most crucial question. Blamia knew about it, so it was probably fine, but still—who knew? That spirit had nearly killed both of them back then.
To contract it after that ordeal? Sinat was something else.
Sinat scooped up the now-stiff spirit in a hug and shot Kalen a sly glance.
"Worried about me right now?"
"That's the real question. Aren't you still scared of what happened?"
"Kalen has this habit of subtly changing the subject."
Sinat tossed the spirit into the air. It vanished in a burst of brilliant light—returned to the Spirit Realm. At the same time, she stood from her spot.
"It's not certain yet. That monster from back then was way bigger and uglier than Karyong."
"Hard to imagine another spirit that color, Sinat."
"Hee~ You think?"
Sinat grinned and leaned her face in close to Kalen's, hands clasped behind her back, upper body tilting forward.
But a spark of defiance ignited in Kalen. Fine. She was right—he was worried. What guarantee was there that another monster like that wouldn't pop out? Whenever Sinat got too pushy, he'd step back or pull away.
Sinat loved that side of him. It didn't match his cold, composed appearance at all.
She fully expected him to panic and retreat this time too. But Kalen's response was a little different from her prediction.
He didn't flinch—instead, he took a bold step forward.
"Eut...!"
Sinat, caught off guard, stumbled backward and tripped over her own foot. Kalen caught her falling body.
"Wanna bet?"
"Hut...!"
"On whether that's the same one or not."
"W-wait, Kalen! Too cl—!"
Kalen didn't stop there. He leaned his head in even closer.
- Just the word “bet” makes him super excited (usefulness level: 10!!)
The moment that notebook entry surfaced in her mind, Sinat blanked out at the sight of Kalen's face—close enough to feel his breath.
Kalen, oblivious to her state, pressed on.
"Bet. You in or not?"
"I-I... fine..."
Sinat slumped bonelessly to the floor. It took a little while before she snapped back to her senses.
*
"No?"
"Aye. Rare case, not guaranteed, but slim chance it's the same one."
Blamia clicked his tongue at the cooled breakfast, took a bite of bread, and answered Kalen's question.
"S-see... I told you it wasn't..."
Sinat poked needlessly at her soup, mumbling in a tiny voice.
"You said spirits are sacred beings, Master."
"Kid. I'm a pro at established magic. Can't teach legends from back when I was learning the ropes."
"Then..."
"Mage association's archive has some records. Lucky for that."
When magic first emerged, the system now divided into five attributes wasn't so clear-cut. Magic was inherently organic—tough to pin down like that.
Sinat's contracted spirit was one from those ancient days. No contractors now—maybe none even existed.
Blamia took another bite of bread.
"Old tome said some spirits are called lords, or monarchs. And those monarch spirits handle sealing things away."
"So Sinat's spirit is one of those monarch-grade ones?"
"Hard to swallow, but yeah. Matches the description to a T."
Hard to buy that the spirit trembling at Sinat's word was some monarch.
They'd risked derailing her mage path entirely, and what came back was an unprecedented "lord" spirit.
"That thing you two saw was probably what it had sealed... Looks like Sinat broke the seal, and the guardian spirit contracted with her instead. Pass the milk, brat."
Kalen handed over the milk and asked,
"Did Sinat really master 2nd Hierarchy?"
"Fits the definition, so yes. At this point, I'm just glad."
Blamia smiled wryly, lost in some old memory. Kalen turned to look at Sinat.
"The bet... I won, right?"
Sinat, still mumbling weakly, sneaked a glance his way.
"...Yeah."
"...Heh."
The corners of her mouth twitched upward as she sipped her soup.
"I won this time..."
Her faint mutter trailed off as Blamia wiped his mouth.
"Speaking of Sinat's situation—and that thing you asked about—I've got something to say. Follow me, kid. Sinat, you stay put."
Blamia headed straight for the makeshift training ground in the backyard. Kalen glanced down—his breakfast sat untouched on his plate.