The Summoner And Contractor System 8 Embracing The Desire Of The Heart, Mind, And Soul

'Big Bro, can you explain some of Roy's stats? What does it mean by grade and cla.s.s? Furthermore, Roy's cultivation stage appears to be linked to my cultivation...?'

[It's rather simple, Lil' Bro. The grade of a summon is generally common, uncommon, rare, etc. As Roy was summoned in such an unusual and miraculous manner, his grade was cla.s.sified as "unique". Another point to take into consideration is that he is a chimera, a creature that can always mutate and strengthen its potential further beyond its current capabilities. Aside from giving him a broad grade as unique, no other cla.s.sification would be accurate enough for his potential.]

[Cla.s.s on the other hand, depicts the area your summons specialize in. Areas of specialization include offense, defense, support, tank, and jack of all trades. Naturally, summons may specialize in more than one area and if a summon specializes in all areas, its a jack of all trades. A chimera would naturally fit under all categories, due to its varying bloodlines.]

[Lastly, we have the topic on contracted summons' cultivation stages. Contracted summons are only able to wield so much power, having their power limited by your own cultivation stage prevents the balance and harmony between the realm's laws over summoning and contracting from breaking. There's no need to worry however, as a summons' cultivation stage is able to pa.s.s your cultivation stage by two stages, excluding sub-stages like Affinity Foundation stages 1-9. For example, say you have the cultivation stage of Affinity Awakening, the first cultivation stage, they can still reach Core Formation.]

'So, my summons wouldn't be able to reach a cultivation stage above Core Formation unless my cultivation increases? Why is that system even put into place?'

[Correct, the laws of the realm would seal their cultivation bases at the peak of Core Formation, preventing them from going any further. If you made a contract with a summon already above stage three, their cultivation base would then be sealed and their power would be limited to stage three as well. This is to protect the natural order and flow of cultivation. Otherwise, even the youngest of summoners could get lucky and contract a powerful beast, causing the realm to turn chaotic and fall into turmoil.]

[The seventh World Tree, t.i.tled Quiescent, had been an example of such turmoil. It had fallen into turmoil after a young summoner ignorantly contracted a heaven defying existence, an existence that had been sealed during the Corrupt War. The World Trees and laws of the realms were recovering at that period in time and no one had expected such an event to occur, bringing forth even more chaos for the seventh World Tree.]

[Luckily, an emissary from beyond had been sent to handle the situation and the seventh World Tree was given their support to recover. In the end, the seventh World Tree had fallen into a period of dormancy and remains so, recovering from the consistent troubles it had encountered.]

'What about the "Bloodline Prime" skills?'

[Bloodline Prime skills are very interesting, in fact, it's even more useful as you have access to the system shop. When in his chimera form, he isn't able to bring out all the skills and power of a specific bloodline, but [Bloodline Prime] let's him take on a specific bloodline form.]

[If Roy had a dragon bloodline, per se, he'd be able to fully transform into a dragon. In that form, he'd be able to use the abilities of that dragon bloodline, bringing out the full power of that bloodline.]

'Huh? How would the shop be useful in this situation?'

[Well, regardless of what you summon, the shop will be especially useful. In the shop, you can purchase a variety of medicines and materials. If you summon a spirit weapon, you can purchase materials to strengthen it. If you summon an elemental, you can use elemental essences to improve its grade. If you summon any type of beast, you can purchase different containers from the shop that are filled with refined bloodlines to mutate their original bloodline and increase their potential.]

[For Roy, that means giving him more forms to take on and more abilities. Naturally, refined bloodlines aren't easy to get and are rather costly, so you'll have to wait until the future for that. As for [Obsidian-Scaled Armor] and [Skeletal Control] having their bloodline prime forms sealed at the moment, they will naturally unseal as Roy's cultivation stage increases or his bloodlines strengthen.]

[Even though Roy doesn't have any other bloodline skills or prime forms unlocked at the moment, he is still fairly strong, especially for his current cultivation stage. Roy's innate talent, [Black Flame Embrace], not only gives Roy the ability to control the elements of darkness and fire, but also the primal chaotic combination of the two, black fire. Furthermore, as his body was constructed by the two elements, he formed a Primal Chaotic Physique for his original form.]

[Remember, your foundation is currently in a mess and fixing that mess is your primary objective. If you wish to get stronger, fix your foundation first. Only after going through Affinity Awakening will you be able to fully enter Affinity Foundation.]

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

Sitting down in meditation inside the small guest house, Rentaro closed his eyes that had burned with fiery flames of resolution. Slowly, he was overtaken by a strange feeling as he closed all of his thoughts off, not paying any heed to the system, to Wilhelm, to Roy, to the village, to anything around him.

Strange thoughts bubbled inside of him, reminding him of his earlier questions.

'Affinity Awakening... am I stuck with a specific affinity my whole life? I'd rather choose which one I like the best, if that's possible of course.'

'Why can't I choose which element to embrace in the deepest part of my existence, my soul?'

In confusion, Rentaro couldn't help but ponder over his earlier questions. Why had they suddenly filled his mind and what was going on in his current moment. No matter what, he couldn't awake or break out of his current situation, it felt as if he were trapped in a strange s.p.a.ce, the same situation he was in when his body was under reconstruction. His current situation left him in a state where he could only ponder and sort out his current thought process.

'Roy was created from the elements of darkness and fire, elements which supposedly came from the depths of my soul. Wilhelm presumed that I still have another element in the depth of my soul, a depth that "Soul's Calling" had been unable to reach.'

'However, what if fire and darkness came from not only the core of my soul, but also my mind? What if we've been looking at Affinity Awakening the wrong way this entire time? Maybe... Affinity Awakening is a combination of the three concepts: the heart, mind, and soul.'

'My heart desires warmth in the form of fire, my mind desires sincerity in the form of light, my soul desires companions.h.i.+p forged by traveling alongside one another through the darkness.'

'Roy was formed by my heart and soul's desires, desiring both warmth and companions.h.i.+p. I had already embraced both of those desires at that time, but had never taken into consideration the idea of embracing my mind's desire, sincerity. Just because I can make contracts with summons doesn't mean we'll automatically have the sincerest of feelings towards one another.'

'Only by experiencing the best and worst of moments together will we have a genuine companions.h.i.+p, learning about each other's earnest desires and wishes in life, accepting one another for who we truly are.'

'My mind's desire, sincerity, a genuine companions.h.i.+p with true acceptance towards one another, it can only be represented by the element of light.'

Rentaro's thoughts poured out steadily and resolutely, clearing his mind of any muddled thoughts. He had realized that the experience of Affinity Awakening was unique for each individual and that his awakening required the synergy of the heart, mind, and soul. Suddenly, numerous system notifications resounded in his mind.

[Elemental Affinity Obtained] [Light - a.s.similation Stage]

[Elemental Affinity Upgraded] [Fire - a.s.similation Stage]

[Elemental Affinity Upgraded] [Dark - a.s.similation Stage]

[Completed Affinity Awakening] [Reached Affinity Foundation]

[New System Function Unlocked] [Cultivation Milestones & Achievements]

Acknowledging the system notifications, a sudden stream of gentle heat flowed along his veins, pus.h.i.+ng Rentaro into opening his eyes. His sight was filled with a resplendent golden aura that surrounded his body, followed by a warm, yet seemingly shy red aura, then a dark purple aura that gave off an intimate feeling. Each aura filled Rentaro's surroundings with strange murmurs, as if the auras were whispering towards him, until they gave out sighs as if saddened their voices couldn't reach out to him.

Feeling a unique connection to the auras that surrounded him, 'Wil-Wilhelm, what's going on? These- these "voices" and this aura? Are they mere auras of the elements or are they spirits?'

[Lil' Bro, what did you just experience? You had been sitting down in meditation, when all of a sudden these three spirits surrounded you in unison.] Wilhelm teased, astonished by the current situation just as much, if not more, than Rentaro.

'I- I know even less than you!' Rentaro fumed in a childish voice under Wilhelm's teasing.

[Alright, alright. Neither of us know what's going on, just try establis.h.i.+ng a mental connection with them by using the [Spirit Whispering] skill.]

Focusing his attention on the three auras in front of him, Rentaro focused his mind in the same manner which he uses to open the systems interface. Suddenly, he felt three auras mentally connect to his mind.

'He-h.e.l.lo? Can you three hear me?' Rentaro questioned in a wary tone.

'What's up? He-h.e.l.lo. You're the inheritor?' Three voices rang out simultaneously, immediately sending pain throughout Rentaro's consciousness as his mind was overwhelmed. As Rentaro grabbed his head, the voices abruptly quieted down, seemingly having realized that they had caused him to undergo pain.

The three spirits had stopped jumping around him, standing still with what one could only guess to be expressions of concern as they watched Rentaro, who was gritting his teeth and enduring the splitting pain, which had started to ease up thanks to the constant soul bindings strengthening his soul and tempering his mind.

'I'm alright now, who are you three exactly?' Rentaro gave one question to maintain the situation in a calm and orderly fas.h.i.+on.

The three spirits appeared to look at each other before the spirit covered in a golden aura moved forward and spoke up, 'I am Auron, the spirit of the Grimoire of Twileigh, also a spirit of light. The red spirit is Eremic, a fire spirit, while the dark-colored spirit is Anu, a dark spirit. The three of us are elemental spirits who were contracted to Master Twilight.'

At mention of their master, Twilight, the three couldn't help but choke up in sorrow, as they looked towards the distant sky. Rentaro didn't speak as he watched quietly, feeling empathy as he too knew the feeling of living a life alone, let alone living in such a state for seven hundred million years. As if time was caught, the four of them didn't speak and acted as if they were in their own worlds, their individual thoughts unknown to one another, continuing to watch as the clouds drifted by and the sun slowly set on the horizon, changing the scenery around them.