The Summoner And Contractor System 9 Grimoire Of Twileigh Spirits; Meditation & Training

'Uh-hm" Rentaro nodded his head in response, as Eremic and Anu looked curiously towards Auron.

'Your thoughts and desires are rather similar to Master Twilight's.' Auron spoke in a complicated tone, while Rentaro was startled by the comparison coming from Auron, the spirit of the Grimoire of Twileigh.

'Huh? What makes you say that?'

'Oh, I guess your system didn't tell you when I woke up earlier, huh?' Auron mused in response to Rentaro's confusion.

'Hah? You know about Wil-... Hah, I've already asked Roy that question today, forget about bothering to ask it once again. Anyway, I thought it would take a lot more time for you to awaken....'

'Oh, well your system definitely noticed my awakening. I woke up when you linked your stats to the grimoire, as I'm the one who scanned you at that time.'

'I presume you've seen my memories then?' Rentaro asked, easily accepting the current situation.

'Yeah, a few of them. I already knew about the system regardless of your memories though, as I was sealed in the [Store] by the system creator.' Auron spoke in a bitter tone, clearly still harboring some resentment toward the one who sealed the grimoire. 'Anyways, I find you rather similar to Master, so I thought I'd come out and talk to you a bit, while also feeling the outside world once again. As for Eremic and Anu, they followed after sensing your elemental affinities matching with their own and were reminded of Master.'

'Oh, what about your current forms?' Rentaro questioned, as the three spirits looked more like blurry orbs of light, rather than actual spirits, which made it difficult to distinguish their appearances.

'Well, I only woke up not too long ago, so my body is currently recovering. Same for Eremic and Anu, along with the other elemental spirits and contracted summons of Master Twilight.'

'What do you plan to do from here on out? You're free to exit now, aren't you?'

'Hmph, we're going to return and restore our bodies in the grimoire for now, our goals lie elsewhere however. We've agreed that we will watch over you for the time being and if you impress us enough, a few of us might one day make a contract with you. We all have a strict desire however, one you might never be able to accomplish. Eremic, Anu, let's return to the grimoire and talk with the others.' Auron slowly vanished back into the grimoire.

'Uh... B-Bye, Ren-Rentaro.' The shy fire spirit, Eremic, quickly followed after Auron.

'Cya later, Ren-bro.' the dark purple colored spirit, Anu, spoke in a cool and collected manner before following after Eremic.

Like this, the mental connection that Rentaro had between the four of them had disconnected as they vanished into the grimoire. Mouth agape and feeling b.u.mmed out, 'They left so quickly, I didn't even have time to say goodbye.'

[Hehe, Lil' Bro, the situation ended in a rather good way. Based off of your previous memories, the only word for me to describe Auron would be "tsun~dere".] Wilhelm spoke in a strange tone, trying to pull out words from Rentaro's previous life.

'St-Stop that Big Bro. The way you say it is just plain weird! And, you didn't even tell me that Auron had woken up back then." Rentaro spoke in a fl.u.s.tered manner.

[Oh, that. Well, based on the situation, it was best for you not to know. That way, you showed your sincerest of character traits, not worrying about hiding anything or acting a certain way on pressure.] Wilhelm responded as if he had been wrongfully confused.

'Huh? I- Sorry, Big Bro.'

[Hehe, no problem. Remember, you've unlocked a new system function. Why not take a look at it?]

'Oh, that's right. Open [Cultivation Milestones & Achievements] function.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Cultivation Milestones & Achievements]

[Complete Affinity Awakening] - [Reward] [2,000 credits of one credit type or 1,000 of each]

[Unique Affinity Awakening - Heart, Mind, Soul Affinity Awakening] [Reward] [Special Summoning Shard 1/3]

[Elemental Affinity 1] [Reward] [100 credits... 50 of each]

[Elemental Affinity 2] [Reward] [150 credits... 75 of each]

[Elemental Affinity 3] [Reward] [200 credits... 100 of each]

[Collect All Rewards]

'Collect. Split all credits towards each type.'

[Obtained - Special Summoning Shard 1/3]

[New Credit Balance] [Syndicate Credits: 7,725] [Spatial Credits: 7,725]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'A special summoning shard?' Rentaro questioned.

[Some milestones and achievements, as well as missions, offer unique rewards, A special summoning shard is one of them. Gathering three shards in this case would allow a special summoning, generally increasing the chances of summoning rarer summons.]

Hearing the rather simple, yet logical explanation, Rentaro moved on and decided to see how his stats have changed, 'Wilhelm, can you give me a stat update only on the stats that have changed after Affinity Awakening?'

[Yeah, sure. Here's a summary of your stat changes.]

Looking at his updated stats, Rentaro was rather pleased.

Cultivation Stage: Affinity Foundation

Elemental Affinities:

Fire - a.s.similation Stage

Light - a.s.similation Stage

Dark - a.s.similation Stage

Innate Talents:

[Elemental Sensory] [Novice 8] - Feel the elemental energy around you, utilize the energy to sense any changes in your surroundings.

'Wilhelm, how did my Elemental Sensory jump from Novice 3 to Novice 8 so suddenly?'

[Well, your three elemental affinities have reached the a.s.similation stage. As long as you practice using them and get used to feeling the energy around you, [Elemental Sensory] will go up even further. Another important reason would be Auron, Eremic, and Anu. Their current cultivation bases are sealed, but they used to be very powerful and are elemental spirits at the end of the day. Earlier, they had unleashed their aura into your body, helping you to increase your sensitivity to the elemental auras in your surroundings.]

Rentaro's face lit up with a smile as a sense of grat.i.tude and warmth towards the spirits formed in his heart, he decided he would give his all in helping them accomplish their desires in the future, regardless if they formed a contract with him or not.

'Alright, Big Bro. Now that I've entered Affinity Foundation, what's the best way to continue training from here on out?'

[The route I suggest you take is daily meditation to level up your [Elemental Sensory]. When you're not meditating, you need to start training your elemental control. Once you reach elemental manipulation, you'll be able to use elemental energy to cast elemental abilities and techniques.]

[When you have sufficient control over your abilities, then start hunting in this forest with Roy, sharpening your abilities while creating a synergy between the two of you. Another key factor is changing the time that you meditate and hunt. I recommend you get used to hunting not only during the day, but also the night.]

'Hm, alright.' Rentaro responded in a rather bland manner.

[Kid... you ever hunt before?] Wilhelm's voice slightly rose, giving off a slight sense of alarm that he tried to hide.

'... ... ... ... No....' Rentaro's response weakened from the bland charade he put on to an irresolute manner.

'Hah. Oh boy, this is going to be a problem.' Wilhelm thought to himself, sighing about how Rentaro would have to get adjusted to a different lifestyle, one where you must kill at times if you want to survive, in this realm where the strong rule. [Alright, Lil' Bro. Just know, now isn't the time to be shaken and lose your resolution. In the future, when you have to fight alongside comrades and your companions, you'll understand that there are times you must make decisions to protect those you care about, even if it means killing others to protect them.]

[When you're hunting, you'll see what I mean. The animals in the forest are different from what you'd expect them to be based off of your previous life's expectations. In this realm, animals have the ability to cultivate as well. Furthermore, the environments they live in and their innate talents are advantageous for them, putting you as a hunter in a difficult position if you blindly enter their territory.]

[To summarize the gains of hunting: you'll be able to sharpen your abilities, build up your synergy with Roy, and experience live combat. Only with live combat will you strengthen your mind and learn to keep your calm in even the most perilous of situations you may face in the future. For your first hunting trip, you'll hunt during the day times and only travel into the depths of the 1st Forest Zone. After enough training, I'll let you know when you're strong enough to enter the 2nd Forest Zone and so on.]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Late afternoon, a youth in a summoner robe lie on a bed in a meditative position. Strands of elemental aura surrounded him, the most abundant colors of which were a bright gold, a red, and a dark purple. The strands slowly became more apparent, enlarging from their initial size to the size of a fist. The other strands also enlarged quite a bit, if not compared to the three first sized auras.

Slowly, the auras diminished and seemed to vanish back into the surroundings, the boy's eyelids fluttering open as he a.n.a.lyzed his situation, 'I'm able to sense elements other than light, fire, and darkness with my current level of sensory. Eventually, I should be able to build up an affinity with them. At my current pace however, I don't see that happening in the near future.'

[Your progress is already ineffable, you managed to level up your [Elemental Sensory] to Novice 9 in a period of three days. Naturally, you have the three elementals to thank for increasing your sensitivity to elemental energy, they practically gave you a blade and all you have to do is sharpen it. And don't try to rush your cultivation, it will only harm you in the end.]

[If building elemental affinities was so easy, everyone would have done it. You're lucky enough to have awakened three innate affinities. There are few people of the cultivation realms who manage to do so, most having special medicines or bloodlines. Alright, alright, enough of your meditation. You need to get some actual training in.]

[I recommend you spar with Roy and even that boy, Icrin. It's always good to make friends, people who you can trust and rely on in the future. ]

'It's not that I disagree with your decision, but how am I supposed to hold my own against them? Roy has special techniques and the day I met Icrin, I could barely keep up with his casual speed. Icrin's physique must be rather strong, and I have yet to even see any of his combat techniques.'

[Auron did more for you than just increasing your sensitivity to elemental energy. Although he didn't make a contract with you, he unlocked the first seal on the Grimoire of Twileigh. Now, you're able to channel elemental energy into the grimoire to use different offensive and defensive techniques. The techniques will be weaker, but as you strengthen your control and manipulation, you'll be able to channel more power into the grimoire, giving your techniques more power.]

[You should be able to hold your own against them, for the most part at least. Roy has also been working hard these three days, having consolidated his affinity with the element of light through his soul contract with you.]

'So, my chances of holding my own against Roy have dropped even more?' Rentaro feigned a bitter smile as his eyes flashed with antic.i.p.ation to the idea of sparring and finally having the chance to try casting elemental techniques through the grimoire.