Joshua lost his balance and fell down on his knees. Catherine helped him up and he sat behind the desk.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"That remains to be seen... Luna, how much energy is left?"
[Energy reserve at 1%]
A progress bar appeared on the center screen showing the energy total and a log file opened up on the left screen.
> Rebirth Successful
> Executing Soul Changing Form: human appearance - 5 points from reserve
> Creating object: chair *2 - 2% upkeep
> Creating object: table - 1 % upkeep
> Creating object: coffee cup*2 - 2% upkeep
> Creating consumable: coffee - 1 point from reserve
> Dismissing object: chair*2 - 2% upkeep recovered
> Dismissing object: table - 1% upkeep recovered
> Creating object: desk- 1 % upkeep
> Creating object: desk chair - 1 % upkeep
> Creating object : plant - 1 % upkeep
> Creating object : carpet- 1 % upkeep
...
> Creating object: illusory ocean view- 5% upkeep
> Creating object: computer- 5 % upkeep
> Creating program: Luna - 30 points from reserve
> Executing program: Luna - 20 % upkeep
> Executing program: scan user: Joshua Lockman - 10 points from reserve
> Executing program: scan user: Catherine Lippi - 10 points from reserve
The info was relatively clear. He had a limit to his ability to create objects in this space. A solid object like a table or a chair would take some energy to remain "real". However, some actions like changing his appearance, creating a consumable item or executing some tasks with the system would energy from his reserve. He didn't know yet how to recover energy but at least he could perform a quick win.
The plant, carpet, library, and books and other random items he had created to decorate the room vanished. So did the ocean view.
The progress bar filled itself back up. He had a limit of a 100 points. He had used 5 points to take his human form, 1 to make some coffee, 30 to recreate the basic Luna & 20 to scan himself & Catherine.
That left his stock at 44. However, he was also maintaining his desk, chair & computer as well as Luna for an additional 27%. So his available energy was a mere 17/100.
Catherine had never seen a computer but she understood he had exhausted his soul energy.
"Do you know how to recover soul energy?" she asked.
"Nope, but I suspect you might."
She nodded.
"The easiest way is that I give you some of mine, but it will be for the best if you learn how to do it for yourself. You're still pretty depleted for now though, so I'll help you this time."
Catherine placed her hand on Joshua's forehead. A light green aura surrounded her arm. The hand a warm feeling to it.
"You normally gather energy around your body and absorb it. For now, I'll pour some into you so you can focus on absorption. Close your eyes. I'm sending a bit of energy into you. Can you feel it?"
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Joshua had the impression some liquid was pushed inside him. He imagined himself drinking it.
*gulp* *gulp* *gulp*
Catherine couldn't help give Joshua a weirdly amused look as his expression was extremely silly. Still, it seemed to be working.
Despite being spoon fed, the whole process lasted over 10 minutes since Joshua was a complete beginner in absorbing energy.
When the bar on the screen indicated 73, Catherine stopped. Joshua was full but the rest of the available energy was taken by the upkeep cost.
"Phew, I'm feeling much better, I owe you, one Missy."
"Don't mention it, at my current level the amount I gave you is nearly nothing. Next time you'll have to gather it yourself though. Don’t worry, I will teach you how."
"Very well. I've always been an eager student."
"Good. First and foremost: I don't know what you're trying to do with those "computers" but since using them consumes your soul energy, do not use them until you can replenish it by yourself."
Joshua nodded. "I'll probably regret asking, but what happens when a soul has no more energy?"
"You’ll fall into a coma until your energy gets restored. You would probably absorb a little bit unconsciously while in said coma, but it would take months for you to wake up."
"I understand, better safe than sorry."
"Now listen carefully. There are many different worlds, but as far as we know they were all created the same way; billions of years ago a great energy mass exploded."
"The Big Bang?"
"Is that how they call it from where you're from? Then you should realize that every part of the world, our bodies, and our souls originate from that original explosion, and there is still a lot of leftover energy around in the air."
"So you're saying you're absorbing that energy to grow stronger?"
"Indeed, this energy can be used to reinforce your body as well as your soul. In your case, you don't have a body so you should just learn how to refill your soul with it. Training one's soul is much harder than your body, however, but it has a huge advantage. When people die, the energy inside their body is released into the air again, but the power of their soul remains. Which means in your next life you will start much more powerful."
"Judging by your reaction after the summon, I assume my soul is pretty much at the bottom right now?"
"Correct. After absorbing certain amounts of energy, a body or a soul can evolve and grow stronger.
We divide such an evolution into 10 ranks, both for the soul and the body. For example, my body is currently 2nd rank and my soul is 3rd rank."
"Didn't you say training your soul is much harder than your body?"
"It is, I was born with a 2nd rank soul, which I assume is a result of a previous life."
"You don't have any memories about it?"
"No, all souls have their memory wiped clean before reincarnating... well except a summoned soul like yourself."
"So I'm a first rank soul then?"
"Actually no, currently you're at level zero. Oh, don't look so sad. Most people in our world are. A lot of people manage to reach rank 1 for their body but few are those that manage to train their soul successfully."
"Uhu... Is there any hope for me?"
"From the way you've been creating objects in here, I would say you have a good chance of making some progress soon.It seems the room you were trapped in has increased the power of your soul to nearly the first rank. For both our sake I hope I'm right about this."
All this new information intensely motivated Joshua. But when she mentioned "for both their sake" he remembered what she had told him earlier.
"Hmm, you did mention Soul Guardians aid their summoner in battle, right?"
She nodded.
"So if I were to engage in battle right now, I would be totally useless, right?"
She nodded.
"Considering you summoned me, I expect you’re to engage in battle in the near future, right?
Once again, she nodded.
"Look, I'm a rather practical guy, so just spill the beans. How much time do we have?"
"I was granted a month to perform my summoning ritual and get familiar with my Soul Guardian. It took me two weeks to finish the summoning. We have another two weeks before I have to report to my family."
"And then?"
"As the leader of a summoner family, my father has a high rank in the kingdom's military. It will be expected of me to assume command of a military squad soon after my return."
"But were you to show up with something of my level...?"
"It would certainly be... problematic."
"I see... By the way what kind of person is your father exactly?"
Catherine had been rather stoic during this little exchange but that last question caught her off guard. A sweet expression appeared on her face.
"Oh, my father is a Saint! I love him! To be completely honest I'm kind of a daddy's girl."
She giggled slightly embarrassed as a cold sweat went down Joshua's neck.
Joshua suddenly had this mental image of an overprotective father standing in front of him and yelling: " YOU USELESS PIECE OF TRASH! HOW DARE YOU BECOME MY DAUGHTER'S SOUL GUARDIAN?!? I WILL SEND YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG AND RIP YOUR SOUL IN A THOUSAND PIECES." Her father would then perform some exorcism spell and destroy his poor soul.
He gulped, took a deep breath, and kneeled.
"Catherine, I understand my presence here may cause you great trouble in the near future. But I'm willing to do anything in my power to help you. Please, teach me how to gather energy and how to improve my soul. I'm your Soul Guardian, after all, I'm yours to command."
This change in attitude from Joshua's previous carefree demeanor left Catherine perplexed.
"Very well. Let's get started."