Everyday, Leo trained. He would spend his free time after work to train. He would repeatedly summon his staff over and over again until he got so exhausted he couldn't anymore.
One night when he summoned his staff, something else happened. When he summoned his staff, not only did his staff appear, but his clothes had changed. A flash of golden flakes encircled his whole body and transformed his clothes. When the light and flakes disappeared, he was wearing fingerless gloves that went up to his elbow. The part around the hand was soft but the part on his forearm was thicker and more stiff. He wore a green long sleeve shirt that was tucked into his brown pants. The pants were comfortable and had what looked like leather straps covering it with a belt. He also wore tall boots that went up just before his knees. Around his shoulders and a small dark green hood that was already covering his head.
If someone had just randomly seen him on the streets, they'd think he was a cosplayer. Though what had surprised him the most was that his ears were slightly pointed. They weren't as dramatic as classic elf ears, but definitely still more pointed than his regular ears.
He ran over to a mirror and looked at himself. He held the staff in his right hand as he looked at his new clothes. The clothes fit him perfectly. There was nothing pinching in awkward places and each and every piece of clothing was snug to his body, but fit well.
Leo moved around and kept moving and looking in the mirror. He was amazed since all the other times he had summoned his staff. Nothing like this had happened. It was truly shocking, but really cool.
Not only had he finally been able to summon his staff practically instantaneously, he also got a whole body transformation.
Leo took a seep breath and let go of the staff. The staff, as usual disappeared into thin air, but so did the clothes. When he let go, his body was once again encircled with gold flakes and his clothes reverted back to normal.
He looked back down at his hands, then at the mirror. He smiled widely, "Now this is cool."
The next time the crow appeared was the day after this had all happened. Leo was sitting down at his table drinking coffee, when he heard tapping and scratching. He looked towards the balcony and who did he see, none other than the crow.
Leo opened the door and the crow flew in. It asked, "So have you done what I instructed? Did you continue to train? Can you summon your staff instantly?"
Leo smiled, "Yes, yes, and yes. But that's not all."
"Well then, what is it?"
"Just watch."
Leo grabbed the potted plant and placed it in front of him. He summoned his staff and the same thing that had happened that night, happened again. His body was covered in gold and his clothes had completely changed.
When it was done, Leo turned to the crow, "Well, how do I look?"
The crow hopped closer, "This is amazing! You cam already achieve your spirit form!"
"Spirit form?"
"Yes, yes! A spirit form is something that is necessary. The spirit form is what you use tp battle in. Your regular body is for day to day life, but your spirit form is what you will use when either fighting, or simply in the forest. Now the question is, can you maintain it even without the staff?"
"The other night when this had happened, when I let go of staff, everything else disappeared to. I haven't actually tried to maintain it yet."
"Well then try. Let go of the staff and try to main tain the form. The staff is the concentration of your power, but you don't need to constantly be holding it. If you practice enough, maintaining this form will be as natural as breathing to you."
"Hm, alright I guess Ill give it a shot."
Leo carefully let go of the staff and placed it on the floor. When his fingers left the wood, his whole body became tense. It felt like each muscle was flexed, trying to keep his body together. Bits of sweat was forming along Leo's forehead and some dripped down his face. After a couple minutes, the clothes disappeared and Leo fell to the ground on his knees panting.
He was back to normal and the crow hopped next to Leo, "Are you alright?" it asked.
"Yeah, just exhausted. But other than that, I'm alright."
"Good news however. I didn't expect you to hold it as long as you did to begin with. So even though it doesn't feel exactly natural yet, you'll get there so don't worry."
"Hm, thanks. I just gotta go take a shower and drink the rest of my coffee, then I should be fine."
Leo got up and sat back down at the table to finish his coffee. The crow followed his and flew up onto the table.
"Tonight is the eclipse. Your power will be at it's peak so be careful. If it comes to a situation where you're in trouble, your powers may spiral out of control and you could harm someone or yourself. Just be cautious."
"Okay, I promise I will. What will you teach me after I can maintain my spirit form?"
"After you are able to do that, I won't teach you anything. There is a book filled with a lot of information hidden by the entrance of the forest. You will find the book and read through it. It contains the history of the tree spirits. How they came to be and so forth. It also contains many chants as well as information about your guardian spirits. Also, about other related beings."
"Wait, spirit guardians? What is that?'
"Spirit guardians are spiritual creatures that are basically the tree spirit's companions and comrades. For example, I am one of your spirit guardians. So, there are two more. You may know them, you may not, but they're never to far."
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