Silence had pervaded the atmosphere until Auron finally spoke up gently, 'Hey... your name is Rentaro, right?'
'Uh-hm' Rentaro nodded his head in response as Eremic and Anu curiously watched Auron.
'Your thoughts and desires are rather similar to Master Twileigh's.' Auron spoke, while Rentaro was startled by the comparison coming from Auron, the spirit of the Grimoire of Twilight.
'Huh? What makes you say that?' Rentaro questioned in confusion.
'Oh, I guess your system didn't tell you when I woke up earlier, huh?' Auron mused in response.
'Hah? You know about Wil— Hah, I've already asked Roy that question today, I won't bother to ask it once again. Anyway, I thought it would take more time for you to awaken...?'
'Oh, well your system definitely noticed my awakening. I woke up when you sent some of your energy into the grimoire, as I'm the one who scanned your stats at that time.'
'I presume you've seen my memories then?' Rentaro shook his head as he sighed, easily accepting the current situation.
'A few of them. I already knew about the system regardless of your memories though, as we were sealed in the system store by the system creator.' Auron spoke in a bitter tone, still harboring resentment toward the one who sealed the grimoire.
Auron continued, 'Anyways, I find you rather similar to Master, so I thought I'd come out and talk to you a bit, while also feeling the outside world once again. As for Eremic and Anu, they followed after sensing your elemental affinities matching with their own and were reminded of Master.'
'Oh, what about your current forms?' Rentaro questioned.
The three spirits looked more like blurry orbs of light, Rentaro thought they looked like ghosts, rather than actual spirits, which made it difficult to distinguish their appearances.
'Well, I only woke up not too long ago, so my body is currently recovering. Same for Eremic and Anu, along with the other elemental spirits and contracted summons of Master Twilight.'
'Other elemental spirits and contracted summons? And, what do you plan to do from here on out? You're free to exit now, aren't you?'
'Hmph, we're going to return and restore our bodies in the grimoire for now, our goals lie elsewhere however. We've agreed that we will watch over you for the time being under Master Twileigh's request and if you impress us enough, a few of us might one day make a contract with you. We all have a strict desire however, one you might never be able to accomplish. Eremic, Anu, let's return to the grimoire and talk with the others.' Auron slowly vanished back into the grimoire.
'Uh... B-Bye, Ren-Rentaro.' The shy fire spirit, Eremic, quickly followed after Auron.
'Cya later, Ren-bro.' The dark purple colored spirit, Anu, spoke in a cool and collected manner before following after Eremic.
Like this, the mental connection that Rentaro linked between the four of them had disconnected as they vanished into the grimoire.
Mouth agape and feeling bummed out, 'They left so quickly, I didn't even have time to say goodbye. And the strict desire they speak of, is it what they once sincerely desired? Or have their desires become much darker with time and sorrow?'
[The situation ended in a rather good way. Based on your previous memories, the only word for me to describe Auron would be "tsun~dere".] Wilhelm interrupted Rentaro's train of thoughts as he attempted to pull out words from Rentaro's previous life, exaggerating the pronunciation in a strange light.
'St-Stop that Wilhelm! The way you say it is just plain weird! And, you didn't even tell me that Auron had woken up back then." Rentaro flustered.
[Oh, that. Well, based on the situation, it was best for you not to know. That way, you showed your sincerest of character traits, not worrying about hiding anything or acting a certain way under pressure.] Wilhelm teased in a voice as if he had been wrongfully confused.
Rentaro started, 'Huh? I-Sorry, Wilhelm.'
[Hehe, no problem. Remember, you've unlocked a new system function. Why not take a look at it?] Wilhelm advised happily.
'Oh, that's right. Open "Cultivation Milestones & Achievements function.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
[Cultivation Milestones & Achievements]
[Complete Affinity Awakening]—[Reward] [2.0 credits of one credit type or 1.0 of each]
[Unique Affinity Awakening—Heart, Mind, Soul Affinity Awakening] [Reward] [Special Summoning Shard 1/3]
[Elemental Affinity 1] [Reward] [1.0 credits... 0.5 of each]
[Elemental Affinity 2] [Reward] [2.0 credits... 1.0 of each]
[Elemental Affinity 3] [Reward] [3.0 credits... 1.5 of each]
[Collect All Rewards]
Rentaro's eyes lit up, 'Collect! Split all credits towards each type!'
[Obtained—Special Summoning Shard 1/3]
[New Credit Balance] [Syndicate Credits: 10.5] [Spatial Credits: 10.5]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
'A special summoning shard?' Rentaro questioned.
[Some milestones and achievements, as well as missions, offer unique rewards, A summoning shard is one of them. Summoning shards are used to form a summoning crystal, which generally increase the chances of summoning rarer summons. Gathering three special shards in this case would create a special summoning crystal. As for how it compares to a normal summoning crystal, I imagine the summon would be anything but ordinary.]
Hearing the rather simple, yet logical explanation, Rentaro moved on and decided to see how his stats have changed, 'Wilhelm, can you give me a stat update only on the stats that have changed after Affinity Awakening?'
[Yeah, sure. Here's a summary of your stat changes.]
Looking at his updated stats, Rentaro was rather pleased.
Cultivation Stage: Affinity Foundation Stage 3
Elemental Affinities:
Fire—Assimilation Stage
Dark—Assimilation Stage
Light—Assimilation Stage
'My elemental affinities have already risen to the Assimilation stage? And I reached Affinity Foundation Stage 3?'
[Based on the system notifications, it seems you had a special Affinity Awakening. It's not very surprising for your elemental affinities to have risen under such a circumstance. Another important reason would be Auron, Eremic, and Anu. Their current cultivation bases are sealed, but they used to be very powerful. And, the three of them are elemental spirits at the end of the day. After your breakthrough, they had unleashed their energies around your body, increasing your sensitivity to their elemental auras.]
[As for reaching Affinity Foundation Stage 3, you have achieved an affinity with three different elements. In your case, being a Stage 3 doesn't mean you're stronger than a Stage 1, however. Your strength is determined by the stability and affinity behind each stage, not by the number. Cultivating each stage to a specific degree before starting the next one is a good idea. Please, keep that in mind, Rentaro.]
Rentaro's face lit up with a smile as a sense of gratitude and warmth towards the spirits formed in his heart; he decided he would give his all in helping them accomplish their true desires in the future, regardless of whether they formed a contract with him or not.
'Having entered Affinity Foundation, what's the best way for me to continue training from here on out?'
[For now, you need to follow an all-round training route. Your primary goal is increasing your sensitivity to the different elements, which can be done best through daily meditation. When you're not meditating, you need to start training your energy control, so you'll be able to use your energy to cast techniques.]
[Once you have sufficient control over your abilities, then start hunting in this forest with Roy, sharpening your abilities while creating a synergy between the two of you. Another key factor is shuffling the time that you meditate and hunt. I recommend you get used to hunting not only during the day, but also the night.]
'Hm, alright.' Rentaro responded absentmindedly.
[Kid... have you ever gone hunting before?] Wilhelm's voice slightly rose, trying to hide a sense of alarm that crept into his voice.
'... ... ... ... No....' Rentaro's response weakened from the bland charade he put on to an irresolute manner.
'Hah. Oh boy, this is going to be a problem. Considering I've seen his memories, there wasn't much point in asking either.' Wilhelm thought to himself, sighing about how Rentaro would have to get adjusted to a different lifestyle, one where he'd have to kill at times if he wanted to survive.
[Listen up, now isn't the time to be shaken and lose your resolution. When you have to fight alongside comrades and your companions in the future, you'll understand that there are times where you must make decisions to protect those you care about, even if it means killing others to protect them.]
[When you're hunting, you'll see what I mean. The animals in the forest are different from what you'd expect them to be based on your previous life's expectations. In this realm, animals have the ability to cultivate as well, and are more appropriately referred to as beasts. Furthermore, the environments they live in and their innate talents are advantageous for them, putting you as a hunter in a difficult position if you blindly enter their territory.]
[To summarize the gains of hunting: you'll be able to sharpen your abilities, build up your synergy with Roy, and experience live combat. Only with live combat will you strengthen your mind and learn how to keep your calm in even the most perilous of situations. For your first hunting trip, you'll hunt during the day times and only travel into the depths of the First Forest Zone. After enough training, I'll let you know when you're strong enough to enter the Second Forest Zone and so on. That's the gist of the plan at least, perhaps too ideal to come to fruition.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Late afternoon, a blue-robed youth assumed a meditative position on a bed. Strands of elemental aura surrounded him, the most abundant colors of which were a resplendent gold, a blazing red, and a dark purple.
The gold, red, and purple strands slowly became more apparent, enlarging from their initial size to that of a fist. The other elemental strands also enlarged quite a bit, if not compared to the three first sized auras.
Slowly, the auras diminished and seemed to vanish back into the surroundings, the boy's eyelids fluttering open as he analyzed his situation, 'I'm able to sense elements other than light, fire, and darkness with my current level of sensory. Eventually, I should be able to build up an affinity with them. At my current pace however, I don't see that happening in the near future.'
[Your progress is already ineffable! Your sensitivity towards the elements has become more prevalent over your three days of constant meditation. You've practically been given a blade, all you have left to do is sharpen it. But no matter what, rushing your cultivation is no different than chipping a blade!]
[If building elemental affinities was so easy, everyone would have done it. You're lucky enough to have awakened three innate affinities. There are few people in the cultivation realms who managed to do so, most of which had access to special medicines or were born with bloodlines. Alright, alright, enough of your meditation. You need to get some actual training in.]
[I recommend you spar with Roy, perhaps even that boy—Icrin. It's always good to make friends, people who you can trust and rely on in the future.]
'It's not that I disagree with your decision, but how am I supposed to hold my own against them? Roy has special techniques and the day I met Icrin, I could barely even keep up with his casual speed. Icrin's physique must be strong, and I have yet to even see any of his techniques.' Rentaro grumbled.
[Auron did more for you than just increasing your sensitivity to elemental energy. Although he didn't make a contract with you, he unlocked the first seal on the Grimoire of Twileigh. Despite it only being labeled as a rare tier, you're now able to channel elemental energy into the grimoire to use different offensive and defensive techniques. The techniques will be weaker, but as you strengthen your control and manipulation, you'll be able to channel more power into the grimoire, giving your techniques more power.]
[You should be able to hold your own against them... for the most part at least. Roy has also been working hard these three days, having consolidated his affinity with the element of light through his soul contract with you.]
'So, my chances of holding my own against Roy have dropped even more?' Rentaro feigned a bitter smile as his eyes flashed with anticipation to the idea of sparring and finally having the chance to try casting elemental techniques through the grimoire.