The inside of the temple was just as gaudy and pompous as the outside. Statues of lesser saints lined the walls in alcoves while rows of stone benches led the way to the altar, behind which stood a massive statue of the god of light. And, as if that weren’t enough the entire ceiling had been carved into a bas-relief depicting a climactic battle between fiends and celestials. I guess when you’re building with magic you can afford to be a little extravagant, Sophia mused.
“Good morning Cassandra, hello there little Sophie, what can I do for you this fine day.” Before they had passed the first few rows of benches, a rather handsome middle-aged priest wearing white robes came over to greet them.
Cassandra greeted the man with a smile. “Good morning Brother Lloyd, we’re here because Sophia just turned eight.” Priests came in all types, just like anybody else, but even Sophia had to admit that Brother Lloyd was the good sort. He was never quite as pretentious as the other priests and acolytes, and he had earned himself a good reputation for going out of his way to help others.
“Oh my goodness, eight already!” he said, kneeling down until he was equal height with Sophia. “Why, it seems like only yesterday that you were being brought in for baptism. I guess that means that I’m getting old!”
Sophia grinned. Lloyd was definitely friendly and charismatic. Perhaps that’s why he was sent out to shepherd such a backwater town. “Don’t worry Brother Lloyd, I’m sure you still have a few good years on you. Although… I think you should hurry up and get married before all your hair turns grey!”
Lloyd gasped in mock indignation, “I’ll have you know missy that we men are like fine wine. We get even better with age!”
Cassandra giggled as she watched the exchange between the two. “All right Sophia let’s not take up any more of Brother Lloyd’s time.”
“You’re here for a Soul Delving, right?” Lloyd asked, standing up. “I can take care of that.”
“Thank you Brother Lloyd.” Cassandra bowed formally, but Lloyd only waved his hand and motioned her to stand up.
“There’s no need for that. Please, follow me you two.” Lloyd led Sophia and her mother trough a corridor that branched off from the main sanctuary. Eventually, he stopped at a particular room, checked to make sure that it was empty, and ushered the mother and daughter inside.
The room was small, only a few square meters, and Sophia noticed that every inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling was covered with mysterious diagrams. “Privacy wards,” Lloyd explained, “we take Soul Delving’s very seriously. Aside from high ranking members of the church, no one outside this room will know of your results unless you want them to.”
Sophia wasn’t sure why the shape of one’s Spirit Realm needed to be such a closely guarded secret, but she nodded gratefully, regardless.
Lloyd led Sophia to a small table in the center of the room with two chairs facing each other while Cassandra stood to the side so as not to disturb them. Lloyd had Sophia sit down before sitting across from her and extending his hand. Taking ahold of it, Sophia felt an unknown energy enter her body.
The energy felt strange, but not unpleasant, this must be Spiritual Power, she realized. Sophia remained calm and didn’t resist while Lloyd’s Spiritual Power meandered through her body for a while. Eventually, it seemed to find what it was looking for abruptly delving deep into her core.
Suddenly, Sophia gasped as a new world opened up before her eyes. A boundless sea stretched out to the horizon. Its waves crashed with earth-shattering power, while its depths seemed unfathomable. Overhead, foreboding dark clouds roiled, threatening to unleash violent storms and torrential rains.
Is this my Spirit Realm? She wondered, it’s enormous! Now, she finally understood why her martial arts training was so effective near the ocean. My Spirit Realm takes the form of a boundless sea, of course my training would be most effective near a large body of water.
After a long time, Sophia opened her eyes to find both Lloyd and her mother staring at her with complicated expressions. Cassandra looked happy, and proud, and a little bit sad, all at the same time, while Lloyd seemed astonished and… slightly worried “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Aha… Ahahaha,” Lloyd started laughing uncomfortably before letting out a long sigh. “Nothing’s wrong Little Sophie. I was just a bit shocked, that’s all. I never expected to see a child with such a high quality Spirit Realm!”
“Eh! Then my Spirit Realm’s good?!” Sophia was practically beaming. A good Spirit Realm meant that she could use magic! How could she not be excited?
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Good? Hahaha, Sophia, we actually have a way of ranking Spirit Realms from one to nine based on their quality, with one being the best and nine the worst,” Lloyd explained, “your Spirit Realm, Vast Ocean, would be considered a tier four Spirit Realm!”
“Only four?” Sophia couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. After going through the trouble of reincarnating into another world, she would have preferred to at least have a tier two Spirit Realm, if not a tier one. Plus, the way that Lloyd described it made it seem like her Spirit Realm was something amazing, for it to be a measly tier four…
This kid! Seeing Sophia’s disappointment, Lloyd’s eye started twitching, and he had to remind himself that she was just a child.
“Haha, Sophie…” Cassandra decided to step in before Lloyd started spitting up blood. “Tier four is actually really incredible. Most people only start out with a tier eight or nine. Even amongst high ranking noble clans, tier four would be considered extraordinary. What’s more, Vast Ocean should be at the peak of the fourth tier, so I imagine that reaching the third or even the second tier should be possible within your lifetime.”
“Wait!” Suddenly Sophia’s attitude took a complete one-eighty. “You mean that it’s possible to improve the quality of my Spirit Realm?!”
Lloyd seemed to recover once he realized that Sophia really didn’t know any better. “Of course,” he said, “no one starts out with a high tier Spirit Realm. It’s something that has to be obtained through years of hard work.”
This changed everything! At that very moment Sophia vowed that she would strive to obtain the ultimate Spirit Realm and reach the pinnacle of this new world. I have an advantage that others don’t, so there’s no excuse for failing to become number one! “Brother Lloyd! How do I obtain a high tier Spirit Realm?!”
For a moment Lloyd seemed shocked by her zeal, but eventually he smiled. Good, good, he thought to himself, with such determination and innate potential, this child will definitely go far! “The best way would be to study at a magus academy,” he said. “There you’ll be able to learn magic and further your understanding of the natural laws.”
“Great!” Sophia wasn’t too keen on going through school all over again, but, if it meant learning magic, she’d put up with almost anything. “Can I go Mommy?! Can I, please?!”
For a moment, Cassandra looked uncertain and frightened, but she couldn’t resist her daughter’s unbridled enthusiasm. “All right Sophie, I’ll let you attend a magus academy.”
“There shouldn’t be any problem getting accepted,” said Lloyd. “Your Vast Ocean Spirit Realm alone would be enough to make even the most prestigious academies beg you to join them.”
“Wait,” Cassandra interjected, “for the time being I don’t want Sophie’s true potential to be openly publicized.”
Lloyd seemed shocked for a moment before furrowing his brows in thought. “You’re right,” he said, “right now the truth of the Vast Ocean Spirit Realm would only draw attention that Sophia isn’t prepared to handle. I can only shudder at the thought of what those noble clans-”
Lloyd suddenly stopped, realizing that Sophia was still in the room. “Ah, um… Ahem! Anyway, I’ll be sure to make all of the arrangements. Don’t you worry about a thing Sophie, I’ll make sure that you get into an excellent magus academy! Cassandra, I’ll need to notify some of my superiors about this, but I’ll make sure to only talk to people that I trust.”
Cassandra bowed formally. “Thank you Brother Lloyd. I really appreciate your help in this matter.” She seemed relieved, as if a great weight had been taken off her shoulders.
“Mom, is something wrong?” Sophia asked.
“No, no, of course not Sweetie, but we should go home, I’m sure that Brother Lloyd has a lot of things that he needs to do.” The three of them quickly exchanged farewells before Cassandra rushed her daughter out of the temple while trying to make it look like she wasn’t rushing.
What neither Lloyd nor Cassandra realized at the moment was that Sophia had been able to follow every word they said and read between the lines. Hmm, it seems that my situation is more serious than I realized. Damn! I really wanted to just play around, but it looks like I can’t avoid getting caught up in this world’s politics. Hmph, just try and come after me then! I think you’ll find that you’ll get more than you bargained for!