I looked towards to Sylvidia for an answer but she only shook her head and said it is too complicated to explain.

I keep pestering her until she finally answered plainly, "When a Spirit received mana from their master, they can use those Magic Power to manifest themselves and make themselves visible to the naked eyes of common people. But of course, it will keep draining the Magic Power of the master when they manifested themselves."

"Wait... so you mean if it keeps doing that, Sheena's Magic Power will be drained empty? Shouldn't we warn Sheena about this?" I couldn't help but feel concerned.

"Well... worry not, at most it can only keep that up for ten consecutive minutes." Sylvidia reassured me by telling me that Futaba will not be able to remain in this state for more than ten minutes in a single run.

Something crossed my mind and I couldn't help but ask, "But what's the point of making oneself visible? Wouldn't it be more advantageous in a fight if your opponent cannot see you?"

"Hrm... That is true, but for some opponent, even if they cannot see us, they can sense our presence with Magic Perception. Besides, it's not like it is all disadvantage when we Spirits manifest ourselves. Our power will increase by twofold when we did."Or so Sylvidia said.

"I see... does that mean you can drain my Magic Power to manifest yourself too?" After thinking for a while, I asked Sylvidia.

Sylvidia answered without batting an eye, "Although our relationship is different from that of a master and their familiar, I am soul-bounded with you by means of the Divine Artifact. As long as I can draw Soul Essence from you, it is possible for me to manifest myself."

"Soul Essence? What is that?" I am confused when I heard Sylvidia used a term other than Magic Power.

"You see... I am a little different from the other Spirits. Most Spirit Item usually get stronger by drawing Spiritual Power from their master, yet I didn't get any stronger at all over the past few years that I spent with my previous master. That's why I was unable to unleash my true power back then. It seems I need Soul Essence in order to recover my Spiritual Body." Sylvidia answered with a slightly gloomy face.

Then she asked me, "Do you know what we call the extraction of the Spiritual Body?"

After pondering for a while, I answered, "Don't tell me... that is the Soul Essence?"

Sylvidia nodded and said, "Exactly! That is the Soul Essence. There are two methods for one to obtain Soul Essence, one is to kill your opponent and absorb their soul. The second is to draw the Soul Essence from a Spiritual Being.

Although the process of drawing Soul Essence from a Spirit is much slower, a Spirit can recover their Spiritual Body by absorbing Spiritual Power from third party sources, so it is possible to get unlimited amount of Soul Essence from them.

However, no Spirits would willingly share their Soul Essence with anyone, a Spiritual Body is equivalent to a Spirit's lifespan, as well as power. Every time a Spirit used their power, they are actually using a portion of their own Spiritual Body. When the Spiritual Body of a Spirit is totally spent, they will inevitably die. You are fine because you possess a Material Body, your Spiritual Power will recover naturally, which will in turn mend your Spiritual Body." Sylvidia finally ended her lengthy explanation with this.

"Wait... But why can't you use Spiritual Power to recover your Spiritual Body like the other Spirits?" I couldn't help but ask.

Sylvidia had a distant gaze and began telling another lengthy story, "You see... I am an incomplete Spirit, a Spirit usually required five hundred years or more to take shape and regain their sentience.

I, however, became a Spirit in merely a few decades. The moment my Material Body perished, I immediately transfer my weakened soul to the Blank Slate. After which, the Blank Slate was dropped in the depths of the dungeon.

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My soul was nurtured by the dense Magic Power of the dungeon, and I was able to regain my sentience in merely a few decades. But as a consequence, I am unable to draw Spiritual Power from outside sources directly!"

Sylvidia gritted her teeth in frustration, but her face suddenly lighten up when she looked at me, "However, with you around, I will be able to draw unlimited Soul Essence from you without worry! I can finally see the hope of recovering my former strength!"

I didn't really pay much attention to the latter part of her story when I heard a Spirit required five hundred years to manifest, my mind numbed for a moment, and I blurted out, "Wait... What do you mean a Spirit requires five hundred years to regain their sentience? If I remember correctly... in the Guild Card, it clearly says... I am 163 of age... Does that mean I am also an incomplete Spirit?"

"Well... Your case is slightly different from mine." Sylvidia hesitated for a while and started to explain, "This is an extremely rare case... I have only heard of it happening once in the legend, when a young boy was dying, he was possessed by an incomplete Spirit and was reborn as the first elf in history."

"What happened to the Spirit and the boy in the end?" I am starting to get a little anxious, I asked hurriedly.

But Sylvidia only answered heartily like it's no one else's business, "Well... who knows... maybe the boy and the Spirit became one being and co-existed together, or maybe one of them consumed the others."

"Gulp...... W-where... did you hear this legend from?" I felt a chill down my spine, my future seemed a bit uncertain. Will I perish from this world and be consumed by the real owner of this body, or will I take over this body and carry on the will of the real owner? Nobody knows for sure...

Sylvidia announced, "From the secret village of elves, in the Forest of Alden!"

I thought to myself, "Seems like I need to make a trip to the Forest of Alden in the near future... I need to get to the bottom of this matter!"

While we were having some serious conversations on our side, Sheena and Futaba had explained to the villagers the importance of the vessel, the benefits they will gain from the blessing, they also reminded the villagers to offer their prayers everyday, and guard the vessel properly, or else they will receive the wrath of god.

After that, they briefly explain what happened in the forest, but of course they didn't mention about the Spirit King. When all that needs to be said is said and done, Sheena gave the earring to the village chief, Olaf, and had him enshrine the earring in the temple.

Now... we can finally make our way back to the academy! Or so I thought... but Sheena ordered me to go wash myself in the lake nearby since I stink of drool, and to take along the Goblin Trio with me while I'm at it.

Sheena had somehow tricked the villagers to think that the Goblin Trio are the messengers of the Angel from earlier, so she had them prepare some proper clothes for them. Meanwhile, the villager will prepare a feast for us, we will only go back to the academy after that.

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Author's Note

Oh boy... this chapter took SO LONG to write... suddenly went a little off topic again when a wild idea struck me. Took me so long to restructure the sentence, and logic to make any sense out of them. Sorry if this chapter is full of gibberish that doesn't make sense. Do let me know if there is a flaw in the logic that can be improved :P

P.S. I will be going to China for 1 week so there's no new chapter next week.