Chapter 60 Resonance
The wind slammed against the window violently, as if a storm were brewing.
A few steps from the dining table, the butler watched Luna quietly, a frown forming on his brow.
The sky was clear, and the sun was warming the earth benevolently.
Rigved was known for its gentle breezes. Days when the wind was strong enough to rattle the windows were few and far between.
The butler knew what was causing this.
Whenever Luna’s emotions were agitated, the spirits responded, whipping up the wind and causing the flames in the fireplace and candles to thrust and flicker violently.
He asked Luna, who was quietly dining alone at the table,
“Madam, are you alright?”
Luna’s condition was gradually worsening. Even the butler, who had no expertise in spirit magic or magic, could vaguely sense it. Like being slowly submerged in a swamp, something was insidiously engulfing her.
“…It’s too noisy.”
Apart from the windows shaken by the wind, the mansion was extraordinarily tranquil.
“The noise from the window, madam?”
Luna responded weakly, her eyes unfocused.
“No…… the singing.”
…
There was always a monastery-like stillness here. The butler had never heard any singing while in the mansion.
It meant something unknown, audible only to Luna, was lurking nearby, irritating her.
She left half her meal untouched on the plate and set down her fork.
“I’m done eating. I need to sleep. Please bring me the medicine to my room—the strongest one.”
“Madam, if you rely too heavily on medicines…”
Luna shut her eyes tightly and shook her head.
“It doesn’t matter. Just bring it, please.”
She abruptly rose from her seat and headed toward the corridor, bracing herself against the wall as she walked.
“Madam. Perhaps seeking assistance would be to your advantage.”
Luna snapped back sharply,
“Assistance? What help?”
“There is no need for you to resolve everything by yourself.”
There were plenty in Rigved who would come to her aid if she requested it.
“These entities cannot be killed, and even if driven away, they come back again and again when I’m alone. This is my fate.”
Luna dragged herself back toward the corridor.
The butler watched her retreating figure with a worried gaze.
And then he noticed her shadow stretching out abnormally long across the floor.
“……?”
The butler squeezed his eyes shut and then reopened them.
By then, Luna had already entered the dim corridor, where her shadow could not be traced.
***
It had been a week since I started receiving lessons in spirit magic from Silveryn, but nothing had significantly changed.
No new sights, no new sensations. Although I didn’t expect visible results from such a brief training period, this was confusing, like struggling without even the evidence of muscle soreness to show for it.
On the eighth day after beginning my spirit magic lessons, Silveryn summoned me early in the morning.
She awaited me in the spacious hall.
At the center of the hall, a giant magic circle with a diameter of about ten paces was etched into the floor.
Silveryn, kneeling on the floor, was making final adjustments to the magic circle.
The symbols contained within it were indecipherable, glowing blue, and pulsating as though they had their own life force – waxing and waning like breaths.
Silveryn, aware of my presence, asked without looking,
“Are you here?”
“Yes. Teacher, can I… step on it?”
“Yes, it’s fine. Come in.”
How long had she been working on this?
It seemed like a task that would have taken her hours to do on her own.
I tiptoed, careful to step only in the empty spaces of the magic circle as I approached her.
Silveryn turned to face me and said,
“It’s okay. Just come on in.”
Having stood up, she stretched her arms to the ceiling, arching her back.
“Did you draw all of this by yourself?”
“Yes. It should’ve been a quick task, but I had some additional details to attend to, so it took a bit longer. Come, step inside.”
She gestured toward the center of the circle.
“It seems best to perform your contract first.”
The circle has been made for me. It felt uneasy thinking she had prepared it all on her own.
Standing at the center, I inspected the magic circle and inquired,
“Does that mean this is…”
“No. The contract itself is much simpler. This magic circle is meant to test your abilities.”
“What kind of test?”
“It’s to find the element best suited for you.”
“Do I need to prepare anything?”
“No.”
With Silveryn’s gesture, the butler, who had been standing quietly by the wall, approached with a hefty leather pouch held in his hands.
He opened the pouch in front of her.
She reached inside and pulled something out before moving to the edge of the magic circle.
What came out of the pouch were stones.
They were different from ordinary stones, each transparent like amber and casting different hues.
Silveryn then placed seven stones evenly around the circle and said,
“We’re starting right now. Stay where you are. You don’t have to do anything.”
She then moved out of the circle. As she began reciting a spell, the blue glow of the characters intensified.
Suddenly, the stones placed in the circle trembled.
What exactly was she testing?
Out of nervousness, I found myself holding my breath.
The hall lamps, hung to provide light, flared with a blue flame, influenced by the magic circle.
Given the large scale of the magic circle, I expected something dramatic to occur, but aside from the light growing brighter, nothing else extraordinary happened.
And after about a minute, the radiance of the magic circle gradually began to fade.
Silveryn crossed her arms and entered the magic circle.
“Is that everything…?”
“Yes.”
Silveryn’s expression was less than pleased.
She scanned the stones that had been placed on the magic circle and let out a small sigh.
“Every spirit rejects you.”
“…What?”
“Your affinity for spirits, I mean. I had some suspicion, but…”
Something obviously hadn’t gone as planned.
“What exactly happened?”
“This circle was meant to identify the element of the spirit that suits you best by forcibly drawing spirits to you and making them react. Even those with no affinity at all wouldn’t usually be this unresponsive. You are… uniquely deficient, in a sense.”
“…”
Seeing my expression, Silveryn tried to console me.
“…Don’t take it too badly. Remember what I said, each trait has its own advantages and disadvantages.”
Silveryn picked up a red stone that had been on the magic circle and explained,
“You are strongly antipathetic to almost all spirits. Only the fire spirit feels somewhat closer to you, and even that is a minute amount, barely there.”
“Why is that different with the fire spirit?”
“Perhaps because your work in Haman often involved fire?”
“Yes.”
“That must have contributed… as well as…”
“Does one’s way of life influence their affinity?”
“Right. If you had been a fisherman, water spirits would likely be closer to you. If you were a farmer, then it would have been earth spirits.”
She paused, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.
“And then…”
Silveryn began to say something but then promptly closed her mouth and averted her gaze from me.
“…Why?”
Suddenly, she turned her back to me and said,
“There could be several reasons. Anyway, the important thing is, no matter how tiny, you need to utilize this little advantage you have.”
Spirit magic was an entirely unknown realm to me, and I had no clue how to proceed or what direction to take.
“What should I do now?”
“Follow me. We’ll proceed with the contract right away.”
***
A red bird, even smaller than a fist, perched on the back of my hand.
This was my spirit.
Just as Silveryn had said, the contract with the spirit concluded much too simply. So easy that it made me wonder if that was alright.
The contract was completed with Silveryn casting a spell over me.
The saying that a contract could be made with a street dog was no exaggeration after all.
It felt odd to suddenly have a spirit from one day to the next.
Of course, the contract wasn’t everything. I wasn’t capable enough to manage the spirit right away.
Even the lowest grade spirit, considered basic level for spirit masters, was too much for me to handle.
Therefore, the spirit I contracted with was a spirit essence.
It was even lesser than the lowest grade, not yet a year old since its birth.
It was possible to contract with higher grade spirits, but then, according to Silveryn, I would have been unable to manage them properly, and the strain on my body would have been too much to bear.
The essence spirit I had contracted with was so youthful that it had not yet developed its own consciousness. It wasn’t even aware that it had entered into a contract with me.
It was more akin to a primitive natural object than a sentient being, circling around me with nothing else it could do yet not repulsed by my lack of affinity.
Considering my nature, it was best to grow and advance step by step alongside the essence spirit.
“Here.”
Silveryn handed me the red stone she had placed in the magic circle.
“This is a spirit stone. Since you can’t summon it with your abilities even after the contract, use this to call it.”
If one had the talent, summoning a spirit was as easy as a monkey climbing a tree, but I couldn’t even do that without help.
“Understood.”
“Now that the contract is complete, let’s continue to train.”
Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I asked her,
“Teacher, I have a question.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Am I doing alright in this training?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I haven’t done anything besides lying down next to you.”
Silveryn’s lips curled slightly upward. She leaned down slightly to meet my eye level and said,
“You’re doing fine. Growth isn’t only about sweating and pushing your body. It’s also important where you plant your feet and with what you resonate. That, too, changes and grows you.”
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