The Summoner And Contractor System 20 Spirit Of The Fallen; Always A Calm After The Storm

[In all honesty, Lil' Bro, your current stealth isn't enough to fool the others. Don't bother trying to be too stealthy, or you'll make yourself appear suspicious, possibly causing misunderstandings to arise.]

'Fair enough, just keep me up to date on whatever you know. As a matter of fact, keep my informed on your thoughts and theories about the situation.'

[Previously, I thought I picked something up when the crystal pillar repulsed Icrin. It was as if the pillar had intelligence of its own, or more specifically, there was a spirit sealed within it.]

'And after sensing the aura cast its senses across the village, you firmly believe that there truly is a spirit within?'

[Yup, pretty much sums everything up, Lil' Bro. As for whether my theory is correct, we'll find out soon enough.]

As Rentaro closed in on the pillar's location, he noticed dozens of small animals kneeling down and praying in direction of the pillar. The small animals didn't even seem to take notice of Rentaro, though he took caution as to avoid disturbing any of them.

Thankfully, none of the animals attacked Rentaro for blasphemy as he approached the location of the crystal pillar which they seemed to be praying to. In the night, the pillar emanated an even brighter purple light, a dazzling slight as moonlight reached through the openings of the trees, highlighting the hazy covering of mist formed from the atmospheric qi covered the surroundings. The forest clearing with the pure, crystal lake was beautiful in the day time, let alone at night paired with all these natural qualities.

What stuck out the most however, was a phantom-like figure of a squirrel that stood atop the pillar. Its fur was of a natural-green and sky-blue color, it had a long tail, long pointy ears, and it was around the size of an average squirrel. Its hazel eyes seemed to carry much more than the wisp of intelligence shown by the other animals and it seemed that the animals were praying to it, not the pillar itself, though the pillar seemed to be the cause of their intelligence.

The green squirrel directed its glare towards Rentaro's direction, the gaze caused Rentaro's body to tremble unconsciously as the suffocating atmosphere from earlier descended upon him.

Rentaro felt as if the spirit was able to see through all of his secrets, viewing into the depth of his soul. Naturally, such thoughts were rather exaggerated, but the aura that the spirit emitted carried a frightening pressure for Rentaro, who only reached the third stage of Elemental Establishment.

Thankfully, the spirit stopped pressuring Rentaro with its aura, though its glare seemed to carry slight disdain in place of the pressure.

[System Notification]

[Investigate the Strange Anomaly] [Intermediate] - [Step 1] [Complete] Discovered a strange spirit.

[Investigate the Strange Anomaly] [Intermediate] - [Incomplete] [Chain-Quest: Step 2] Investigate the cause behind the animal's evolved intelligence; Find out the story of the spirit.

[Rewards] [1,000 credits of on credit type or 500 of each] [Sub-Function - Research and Investigations]

'Looks like that's some progress and we've found the right trail, huh, Wilhelm?'

[Naturally! And don't forget about your Spirit Whispering skill. Try establishing a mental conversation with the spirit, whether it accepts or not is another story though.]

Rentaro glared back at the small spirit, focusing all his concentration on the spirit as he willed a bit of his mental energy to initiate a conversation with it. This was only the second time he used this skill, the first being with the three Grimoire spirits: Auron, Eremic, and Anu. It took a little bit of effort to manage, but thanks to accessing the system, he was slowly, but consciously, comprehending the concept of controlling mental energy.

In response, the spirit's glare now seemed to carry an intent of interest, as he sent out a little of his own energy towards Rentaro's energy.

'h.e.l.lo, Little Spirit?'

'Oh? A human who seems to be rather low in his cultivation stage, yet dares to call me "Little Spirit"? While I admit that it's interesting that you know an ability to spark a transmission between us with your puny cultivation level, you're too weak to undermine my t.i.tle like that!" The spirit shouted into Rentaro's mind with a voice that seemed to have worn through many ages and clearly distinguished the squirrel as a male. It took a standing posture, one of indescribable pride and dignity, as his gaze remained locked onto Rentaro's eyes.

'Huh? I didn't mean to undermine your t.i.tle or anything! What should I refer to you as?'

'What should you refer to me as? I'll answer you after you answer my questions! Hmph!'

'Al-alright... what questions do you have?'

'What questions do I have?! You even dare to ask that?! Do you not know who I am?! Let me tell you this, kid, I wouldn't have any luck finding answers to any questions I ask you! In fact, I would have answers to any questions you ask me! Go ahead, ask away and find out for yourself!'

[Lil' Bro, this thing seems insane. Try not to upset it too much. In fact, the best way to talk with it would be goading its self-esteem, giving it a crown if you will.]

Though Rentaro agreed with Wilhelm, he couldn't help but feel like coughing out blood. This spirit was just too unreasonable! It seemed as if it desired to constantly push someone even deeper into a corner with its egotistic att.i.tude.

There was nothing to except concede against this formidable spirit, as Rentaro gave a slight bow and replied in a respectful tone, 'Mighty Spirit, please tell me of your exalted ident.i.ty.'

'Bahaha, no need for such formalities, kid! Believe it or not, I'm actually a descendant of the Ratatoskr Clan! Well, I mean- I should be part of it! If not for those d.a.m.nable direct branch members!'

'The Ratatoskr Clan?' Rentaro's facial expression being of confusion and lacking respectfulness stirred the spirit's emotions.

'Huh? Kid, your ignorance knows no bounds! Hah, I guess I offered to light your way out of the tunnel, so I'll clear up your confusion. The Ratatoskr Clan is a n.o.ble Clan, you should be able to see that just from looking at me!' The spirit's voice was even louder than previously, as he moved his pudgy arm and pointed towards himself.

'I- I should be happy about my n.o.ble birth! But alas, I'm afraid that my poor little self was kicked out of the clan. My bloodline wasn't pure enough, that's what they say at least, and I was even insulted as a b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I was different from those born with an affinity with our clan's innate elements of nature, like earth and wood. Instead, I was born with the wind element.'

Rentaro couldn't help but empathize with the little spirit as he listened to its sorrowful voice, sensing a strong loneliness from his tone which pushed him to try and cheer the spirit up.

'Oh, come on, it's not that bad! In fact, why not look at it this way: They represent earth with their elemental affinities, but with your wind elemental affinity, you represent the sky! The earth has its own limits, whereas the sky is boundless!'

'H Hah Hahahaha! I should've thought of that sooner! Those d.a.m.nable direct descendents can represent the earth all they want! But I- I'll rise into the sky one day! I'll grow a pair of wings, whereas they'll be stuck climbing a tree their entire lives! Haha, Kid, you've got me feeling good! Just call me Kyon! What's your name, kid?'

'My name's Rentaro.' Rentaro smiled as he befriended the little spirit.

Although the little spirit seemed to have an eccentric att.i.tude, Rentaro thought Kyon was rather cute and perceived his eccentric mannerism as an act in order to hide his sorrow.

[Hey, Lil' Bro, here's some extra information that he didn't bother going over, as the information wouldn't really help you with anything at the moment. The ancestors of the Ratatoskr Clan are the ones who deliver messages along the World Trees. They were originally a small clan, but their devotion to the World Trees and those Beyond allowed their clan to rise to power.]

[As they rose to power, their population increased greatly with the birth of newer generations, who were given the freedom and ability to descend into other realms through the World Trees. It's not very surprising that the elders of the clan would sit around as the direct descendents and pure-blooded members chased those with impure bloodlines into different realms.]

'Um, Kyon, how did you get here exactly? And well, what's with your current form? You seem to be in the form of a phantom, appearing more illusionary than existing in reality'

'I'm afraid I was sealed in this crystal pillar by some direct descendents who held strong hatred towards me, thus forcing me to take on a spiritual form when I exit the crystal. Perhaps, they had the same outlook you came up with, one of me soaring into the sky, leaving them upon the earth, and felt jealous because of it.'

'As you may have guessed, this pillar is quite the treasure! A treasure in these realms that is, as the clan would find such an item trivial and useless. You may have already guessed its ability, it is what has given the little animals here intelligence. You see, the crystal pillar is made up of a special material, it's known as Twinkling Lanaosite. It's a crystal that is often formed at places of slaughter and death, as it is composed of the condensation of remnants of people's memories. Twinkling refers to the last inkling of hope, as their memories are stored within to be pa.s.sed to the future generations.'

'There are naturally other methods to use such minerals, like extracting the memories from the crystals. Some powerful beings tried to resist, but it was inevitable that their consciousnesses dwindled as time pa.s.sed after their pa.s.sing in wars, their memories eventually forming into the crystal. On the other side of the spectrum, plenty of powerful beings allowed their memories to form into crystals, hoping to pa.s.s on their inheritances through their memories.'

'Sorry for rambling off subject, kid. Back to the story, it was many years ago that I wound up here, around eleven hundred years ago actually. The exact area I had wound up in was actually an ocean, which sucked as I was sealed in the crystal pillar. The pillar sunk deep beneath the ocean's surface, where I was trapped in solitude below the surface for a hundred or so years, as if I were a fallen spirit sealed away from the light. One day, a young gentleman with grey eyes and donning a grey robe happened to be pa.s.sing by, he was being pursued by people who wore the same grey robes as him, their eyes flashing with the same grey.'

'Such a situation, it reminded me of my own. Those d.a.m.nable bunch who chase after their own clan members! I couldn't still my own urge of fury at the time as my flashbacks blinded my senses and I ended up utilizing some of the little energy that I managed to hold onto as I was sealed to scare those pursuing him away.'

'With our common story, the two of us became friends with one another. I requested that he move the crystal pillar to a safer location with him and together, we journeyed off! It wasn't until later that I found out he belonged to the Krose demon clan when the young man told me his name was Nento Krose.'

'A little less than two hundred years or so ago, he decided to set up his own village here and leave off on his own. As for where he left to and what he did to attract his clan's pursuit, I'm not entirely sure myself, and I don't really care about the specifics. I've already accepted him as a friend, regardless of what he may have done in the past.'

'After he left, I experienced a long period of loneliness. I couldn't blame him for leaving, I didn't want to be the burden that held him back, for he was a good friend whom I had traveled with for so long. If only I could break this seal and leave, then maybe one day, I could find out what happened to him. I wonder,is he still in the world of the living? Perhaps he already perished, perhaps he had fled to another realm, or maybe, just maybe, he managed to surpa.s.s everyone else and reach beyond their grasps.'

'Kyon, do you know of any methods to break the seal?'

'Of course! Brute strength, over-riding the seal with someone who is even more skilled in sealing than the one who cast the seal to begin with, and items which counter sealing. Forget about the items that can break the seal, the chance of coming across someone who happened to stumble upon such miraculous items and use them on me is practically impossible.'

'As for someone breaking the seal, only the strongest and most skilled in this realm are capable. What's the chance of them ever coming to this forest, which is comparatively small in comparison o the size of this realm, however? Furthermore, unsealing me means they have to be willing to offend the direct descendents of the Ratatoskr Clan who sealed me, as my clan doesn't mind creating chaos and mischief.'

[System Notification]

[Investigate the Strange Anomaly] [Intermediate] - [Step 2] [Complete] Learned the spirit's history.

[Investigate the Strange Anomaly] [Intermediate] - [Incomplete] [Chain-Quest: Step 3] Option 1) Leave the spirit sealed in the pillar. Option 2) Release the spirit, requires overwriting the seal, can be done through a soul contract.

[Rewards] [1,000 credits of on credit type or 500 of each] [Sub-Function - Research and Investigations]

Reading the mission notification and seeing the two possible options, Rentaro paused his conversation with Kyon, transmitting his thoughts to Wilhelm.

'Wilhelm, I have the ability to override the sealing?'

[Remember, it's not just a Summoning System, but also a Contracting System! Using the system's soul contracting ability, you are able to do such a thing, as a soul contract utilizes the world's laws in a stronger manner than a seal manages to. However, think carefully before you make your next decision.]

[Both outcomes have their own consequences, unsealing Kyon means you have another summon, but you might also offend some Ratatoskr Clan members, who enjoy brewing up storms. Furthermore, you haven't had much contact with Kyon, only just meeting him now. The mission doesn't require you to make your decision right away, so ponder everything over carefully before you go through with a decision.]

'I understand what you're saying, Big Bro! However, I've already made my decision! Even if a storm brews, I'll hold on until the wind calms and the storm subsides!