21. Spirit Society (X)
Linus lay on his back, staring at the tree-house ceiling. Occasionally, a black leaf slipped through the slats, and Linus found a simple joy in monitoring its descent, guessing which floorboard it might land on. This game provided a welcome distraction from the ache of his body fast-healing. Oh - and from the spirits too.
Their coldness pulsed at the edge of the protective circle.
“That’s the priest?” Linus heard one [Ghoul] say to another. “Is he really allied with the wraith?”
“Yes. We should be respectful.”
“I don’t like the feel of him…”
“Manavoid says that the priest can hurt Last Wish. For a mortal, he’s simply too strong.”
Linus sighed loudly. “Can you all please scram?”
The [Ghouls] didn’t leave - in fact, over the course of the night, even more arrived to take a peek at this foreigner. Linus was sure many of them had never seen a priest before. His holy magic made them wary. Holy magic - or as some circles called it, radiant magic - directly countered spirit magic. Just a bit of holy magic could greatly damage spirits, so it was no shock that the [Ghouls] found Linus’s presence discomforting.
What Linus disliked the most was hearing the [Ghouls] chatter.
They sounded so human. It always made him question himself. Was it right to kill beings that could feel and think?
However, it was all an act.
Much like the whispers that echoed through the Dark Forest, the spirits were mimics, reenacting their former personalities as if on a grand stage. In the end, their hunger would consume everything including their mask of humanity.
There was a second thing which disturbed Linus too. Realizing just how many Bramblebog villagers had never had proper funerals.
Had the Wealcrofts really cajoled and wheedled this many families to forgo a funeral for their loved ones? Just to create an army? Just for power - senseless power? Linus’s heart broke for Olster. If the A-Rank talent boy had been born into a proper alchemist family in the continent, he could’ve risen as a significant figure in the alchemy world. Instead, he was a Wealcroft. The boy was destined to become the [Demon Mayor] and fill the seat of the so-called ‘Spirit Lord’.
[Demon Mayor] was an extremely powerful Level 1 class. Imagine having Last Wish as a servant to do your bidding? But it was also a dead-end class. Once Olster accepted the class, he would turn into something half-alive and half-dead, and give up his potential to ever advance to Level 2 and beyond.
[Demon Mayor] was a death path class. There was always a price to pay with death magic.
Olster didn’t even realize that the True Families pitied him - he was their sacrificial lamb. Linus only hoped that when the time came, Olster would be braver than he and whole-heartedly embrace the responsibility.
Groaning, Linus sat up, his internal organs sloshing uncomfortably.
“Damn that sadist,” he cursed the wraith, hoping the spirit heard him wherever he was. “You injured me on purpose that first time, didn’t you? I knew you would get back at me for dragging you into this.”
After all, in comparison, Raziel had barely suffered any damage from the wraith unleashing his presence.
The thought of Raziel having a powerful soul wasn't surprising, especially if Linus's theory about him being descended from The Vagrant was true. But…
Linus pulled up his soulpane.
> [PRIEST]
>
> Level - Mortal
>
> —------
>
> Species: Human
>
> Specialization: Blessed
>
> Aptitude: B-Rank
>
> HP: 42/100
>
> Mana: 25/100
>
> —---------
>
> ATTRIBUTES
>
> Strength: 10/10
>
> Dexterity: 10/10
>
> Body: 10/10
>
> Soul Power: 20/20
>
> Magic Power: 10/10
>
> Cognition: 10/10
>
> Insight: 8/10
>
> —-----------
>
> CARD REPOSITORY
>
> [Minor Purification] - Rank B
>
> [Radiant Flame] - Rank C
>
> [Minor Clarity] - Rank D
>
> [Black Flame Technique] - Rank D
>
> [???]
Linus had a fully maxed out soul.
True, souls were profoundly mysterious, but his 20/20 should be stronger than any 5/20. The wraith had definitely protected his descendant while allowing Linus to experience the full brunt of his presence.
“ - the priest could probably beat Seven Whispers, but Mistdancer would - “
Oh, Zu’en. Why couldn’t they leave him alone?
Clenching his jaw, he staggered to the treehouse entrance, a rant about shoddy etiquette on his tongue.
Instead his attention landed directly on Bramblebog.
The village… it was falling, and growing closer by the second.
Thankfully, the village paused its descent before Linus could have a heart attack. He looked up at rippling moon, noticing it had become a fraction more full.
Could that be it?
As the moon grew fuller, Bramblebog fell deeper into the Spirit World? Linus carefully contemplated what he knew.
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When Kindred Holt ran into the Dark Forest, it had been the night of the full moon. Could she have slipped out of their veil and into the Spirit World?
Last Wish must’ve noticed her immediately. A mortal appearing in the Spirit World… the girl had no chance.
It was the perfect explanation. Except for Raziel, people rarely left Bramblebog. Even if they did, the superstitions about spirits stopped them from venturing outside on the full moon. And Raziel… well, Linus was sure the wraith was hovering over him like a mother hen, keeping anything too dangerous away from his precious descendant.
Linus looked at the moon with a calculating gaze.
Time went by faster in the Spirit World. They had five nights before the moon became full once more.
Five nights before Bramblebog fell into the Spirit World, the veil threadbare and unstable.
If another fight broke out among the spirits, the veil would fall completely. The moment Bramblebog touched the ground spirits would flood the village. This was the worst case scenario.
Raziel and the wraith should be back by tomorrow. Linus needed their help now. With two [Devouring Manahounds] at their side, they could raze through the less powerful [Ghouls]. As Linus was no master at card refinement, it would take perhaps half a day for him to refine Raziel’s Beast Cards into [Devouring Manahounds]. Linus was better at this art than his own father, but he didn't compare to the stories of true prodigies. As a mortal, the Great Immortal Zu'en crafted his first card in seconds with just a few stalks of grass and the sunlight as materials.
Linus sighed. He hoped nothing would delay the pair. In the meanwhile…
He gazed down at the [Ghouls] with a cold expression. ‘Sorry,’ he thought. ‘But some of you just have to go.’
Linus took out his circular shades, wiping them on the tattered ribbons of his cassock. He set them on the bridge of his nose.
Three cards flickered into existence between his knuckles; small, white fires.
He revered holy magic, but not its migraine-inducing brightness.
//
Many miles away, a young boy was also holding cards in his hand. Since Sublime had more health and mana than Subtle did, Raziel was going to try repairing his Beast Card first.
Black bones lay in front of him in a half circle.
Raziel could see wisps of dark, shadowy mana ensconcing them. The wounds across his stomach responded to their presence, as though they were connected. It wasn’t necessarily painful - in fact, it was the opposite. The effect was strangely numbing. Raziel was a bit worried about his wounds. Even though it hadn’t been long, he had 8/10 Body. Shouldn't his injuries have started to heal?
To be fair, he was basing his expectation off of Father Linus. Maybe the spirit fruit didn’t give advanced healing?
The bones felt slick and greasy to the touch. Raziel didn’t enjoy the feel of them, but held a shard of it anyway.
Raziel channeled his mana into Sublime’s Beast Card. An avatar of pastel fire in the shape of a dog beast appeared in front of Raziel. The flames were lethargic and faded. Furrowing his brows, Raziel sustained the flow of mana as best as he could, and fed the bone shard into the avatar.
His [Hyper-Vigilance] flared as the bone soared in.
“Crap!” Raziel covered his head with his hands, the bone exploding as soon as it touched the flame.
The corners of the Beast Card crumbled to dust. Eyes of pastel fire looked at him sadly, the avatar even more faded than before.
Frustrated, Raziel dropped the Beast Card and massaged his hand. Maintaining a steady flow of mana was too difficult. While Raziel had the new ability to see mana, even the smallest, unnoticeable fluctuation caused disaster. In this case, it would be better if he were more sensitive to the ebb and flow of his mana, but he was still an amateur.
He thought about what Father Linus had said earlier about the nature of alchemy.
Everything was connected.
Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong. He wasn’t repairing the Beast Card - repairing was just a side-effect of the process. What he was actually doing was acting like a liaison between the Beast Card and the dark path material. Convincing both of them to accept each other.
What good was a bone without a body to work inside?
What good was a crumbling body, about to fade away and die?
Merging the whimsical nature of an [Elusive Dreamhound] with the hungry and manipulative nature of the [Devouring Manahound]... could it really be done?
Raziel despised [Devouring Manahounds]. He hoped the augment wouldn’t give Sublime too much of a personality change. If Raziel had the time, he would’ve tried to find other materials to work with, but he didn’t. This would have to do.
Raziel thought deeply. The two hound variants actually did have something in common. They both preferred an indirect fighting style. Subtle and Sublime even possessed the [Play Dead] ability to get out of dangerous situations.
Trying again, he failed miserably.
This time, though, he knew it was because of his lack of mana control.
What if…?
For the first time since connecting with his magic, Raziel tried channeling his mana into his eyes. He blinked, his eyes feeling pleasantly warm.
Enhanced [Hyper-Vigilance]!
He slowly introduced the two materials together. The moment his [Hyper-Vigilance] flared, he retreated his arm.
‘This is definitely a cheat for refining cards,’ thought Raziel excitedly. His specialization and his new mana-seeing talent worked together seamlessly. Previously, his [Hyper-Vigilance] only sparked when an explosion was imminent. Now, however, it warned him the moment his mana began to fluctuate, even more sensitive to the potential for danger than Raziel's own eyes.
For the next three hours, Raziel practiced his mana control. He picked up the smallest bone shard he could find and tried refining it into Sublime’s avatar. His [Hyper-Vigilance] was like a slap on the wrist whenever his mana made the smallest fluctuation, and Raziel would quickly withdraw the bone shard before anything happened.
Keeping his mana steady was like holding a cup perfectly level. The difficulty occurred because of involuntary twitches.
“This is it!” celebrated Raziel after three hours, face slick with sweat.
During his last practice run, his [Hyper-Vigilance] hadn’t flared at all.
With bated breath, he grabbed the obsidian spine and fed it into the pastel flames. This was the real attempt. Slowly, the two began to merge. Flames rekindled, growing brighter and brighter. Raziel breathed out slowly, sustaining the mana flow with complete focus.
Minutes went by.
The card in his hand began to mend. Little bits of obsidian materialized within the torn spots, then seamlessly integrated with the rest of the card's appearance. Raziel didn’t dare to blink. He kept his flow state going even as the card seemed completely repaired, afraid that the process was only 98% or 99% complete.
A notification broke his focus, but he happily found that his Beast Card was totally stable.
> New Ability Available!
> [Sublime the Elusive Dreamhound]
>
> Level 1 Beast
>
> XP: 290/15000
>
> —------
>
> Species: Basic Hound
>
> Specialization: Spirit
>
> HP: 100/100
>
> Mana: 100/100
>
> —---------
>
> ABILITIES
>
> Common Abilities
>
> [Mind Sense] - Rank IV
>
> [Dream Rend] - Rank IV
>
> Uncommon Abilities
>
> [Spirit Claws] - Rank III
>
> [Entrance] - Rank II
>
> [Shapeshift] - Rank II
>
> Rare Abilities
>
> [Play Dead] - Rank I
Then…
> [Sublime the Elusive Dreamhound]
>
> > Add/Discard Ability
>
> > Upgrade Ability
>
> > Change Path [Currently Spirit Path]
>
> > View Evolution Tree
>
> > Upgrade to Level 2 [Locked]
Raziel selected the ‘Add/Discard Ability’ option, morbidly curious.
> Abilities Available
>
> Common Abilities
>
> Uncommon Abilities
>
> Rare Abilities (1)
>
>
> [Nightmare Transformation] - Rank I
>
> Warning: Incompatible with Uncommon Ability [Shapeshift] - Rank II
>
> Ultra Abilities
>
> Legendary Abilities
His mouth curved down slightly. It was a Rare-Grade Ability, but… why was it giving him an uneasy feeling?