n

n

nVale was expecting a horrifying appearance behind the darkness covering the Dark Spirit… He thought that it was a monster that could scare away children and adults after seeing it.

nHowever, Vale was stunned to see a beautiful female spirit! Those models in many foreign magazines he read can’t even hold a candle!

nJust a few seconds ago, he thought of peeking through the darkness to see its appearance… Then, as if it could hear his thoughts, the Dark Spirit actually allowed him to see her!

n“Beautiful…” Vale muttered as he knows how to appreciate one. His voice was soft but Professor Stella Harwin didn’t miss it.

n“You… Are you being beguiled by the Dark Spirit? What beautiful are you saying? It’s clearly not showing itself. It’s hidden in that cloud of dark mist…” Stella frowned as she pulled out an item in her coat’s inner pocket.

nIt’s a golden handbell and obviously a mystical artifact. Vale wasn’t sure what it does but he can guess that it was an artifact that can break beguilement or perhaps, even illusions.

nVale raised his hands signaling to the professor to stop for a moment.

n“Professor, I’m not being beguiled… The Dark Spirit just showed its face briefly to me after I requested it. You can say that she’s a bit shy since she can’t show it under everyone’s scrutiny… Besides, I’m sure you can tell that the Dark Spirit wasn’t planning of harming anyone. Right, I think that can be considered a friendly spirit already… The spirit is inactive. It certainly heard my request and granted it instantly… If it’s not considered friendly, then I can’t tell anymore what would you like me to do.”

nAt this time, he also heard his classmates agreeing. Thankfully, he has someone who can support him although it probably wasn’t needed.

n“That’s true… Forming a communication is already a sign of it being friendly and can’t be considered hostile. We may not see its face but I believe Vale is telling the truth.” Chad Bulmung supported Vale’s claim. Although he hadn’t summoned a spirit yet, he felt that he had gained some inspiration after watching Vale.

nHe doesn’t feel any form of envy at all since he already knows that Vale was special.

nIt was the same for others.

nPerhaps, if they were asked who has the chance of summoning a Spirit faster, then all of them would consider Vale if they put aside their pride.

n“Congratulations on passing, Vale. Was it just one attempt?” Aubrey added before Professor Harwin can even announce the result.

n“That’s right…” Vale nodded and thanked his classmates.

nIn the end, Professor Harwin investigated the Dark Spirit with the two assistants she brought. It didn’t take that long before the three of them confirmed that there wasn’t any hostility from the summoned Dark Spirit.

nThey still can’t see the face of the Spirit but it’s enough.

n“Very well… Congratulation in passing, Vale Chambers… However, I would like to talk to you outside regarding the method of your ritual. Is that alright?” Professor Harwin asked.

nVale didn’t mind this as he answered.

n“Of course.” Vale stood up at this time and it seem to have signaled the Dark Spirit to hide back to his shadow. 𝙡𝒃𝒆𝓪.𝒎

n“Are you not going to cancel your summon? You can already return the Dark Spirit to the Spirit World… It should be consuming your Dark Energy as it stays here.” Stella reminded.

nThis is something that she had taught in her class as well.

nHowever, the strength of the summoned spirit should be relative to the summoner. This is the reason why Professor Harwin isn’t too worried about the summoned spirit even if they are hostile.

nAt most, these spirits would be harder to deal with since they don’t have physical bodies. They can only be attacked by specific Dark Spells which she certainly has including the two assistants.

nVale jolted at her sudden reminder since she was right… He was supposed to feel the draining energy in his body but now that he observes his body, he realizes that something is different!

n‘This… I can’t feel my energy draining at all. Is it because it’s hiding in my shadow? Something is really strange with this spirit…’

nVale was confused as he had no idea why it wasn’t draining his energy.

nAs soon as the two were in the corridor outside the classroom, Vale decided to ask the Professor about this.

nStella looked at Vale doubtfully as she entered her Phantasm State to confirm what he just said. In this state, she would be able to vaguely see the flow of Vale’s energy, especially if they were standing close to each other… 𝑖.𝑐ℴ𝑚

nAfter a few seconds, her eyes widened as she realized that he was saying the truth…

n“What? How is this possible? It’s not draining your energy… Wait-I might’ve made a mistake. Even if you have plenty of Dark Energy in your body, you should still feel it if you concentrate. Can you try to wait for a while in case the drain is just too slow?”

nStella recalled that Vale has a very high Spirit compared to the others, it might be the reason why the Dark Spirit wasn’t draining much of his energy.

nUnfortunately, Vale had the same answer after observing it for another five minutes. It wasn’t making any sense since Stella didn’t teach them anything about this.

n‘Why am I not getting drained? Did I really summon you?’ Vale muttered to himself but to his surprise, he somehow heard the Dark Spirit’s thoughts…

n“Professor, the Dark Spirit just mentioned that it’s not using my energy to stay here… It mentioned something weird.” Vale said after listening to the voice in his head.

n“What did it say to you?”

n“The Dark Spirit mentioned that the path opened from the inside and not from the outside so it was able to stay here as much as it likes… Do you know what it means?” Vale asked.

nAfter hearing this, Professor Stella Harwin can only sigh as she finally understood what was happening.

n“No wonder… no wonder… It was granted freedom after you called for it in your ritual. You did well, Vale… You did well.”

nNew novel chapters are published on 𝒊𝒆𝓪.𝙘𝙢

n