"Velcrissa," Vlad said gently, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder. The young girl looked up, meeting his eyes, uncertain and hesitant.
"What color of aura do you see around me?" he asked, his voice calm but steady. "Deep and rich green… and then a light shade of blue," she murmured after a pause, her voice soft, almost surprised by her own answer.
When a spirit was summoned using the spirit summoning circle, the spirit would radiate an aura, and so would the summoner in the eyes of the spirit.
The first layer of their aura describes their elemental affinity, and the second layer their qualification.
The green represents Vlad's greater grade affinity with the poison element, and the light blue represents his achievement in life on a global scale.
The color of the qualification aura was divided into seven ranks, the same as the seven stages of the mana core: White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, and Black.
The pale blue aura marked his remarkable achievement, placing Vlad among the elite, one of the top contenders in the world.
Velcrissa, on the other hand, had a muddy green aura representing her elemental affinity. Her aura was dark and related to diseases and decay.
Surrounding the green were hues of red mixed in white, showing she had little to achievement in life.
"You see, I'm not just some nobody, and I see real potential in you," Vlad said, his voice calm but firm, pulling Velcrissa from her shocked silence.
"I know ways to help you grow stronger. And once your illness is cured... you will be far more powerful than you think you could be."
"So, I need you to trust me," Vlad said, gently extending his hand to her. "Become my first spirit partner, and together, we will rise stronger than ever."
Velcrissa stared at his hand, her lips trembling.
"W-Wha… Why?" She stuttered, her voice cracking. "I am not special. I-I am broken." Tears welled up again, spilling down her cheeks as she broke down completely.
"You'll regret this, and...and you will leave me like the others." she sobbed, wiping her face with her sleeves in a frantic, messy motion. "Everyone always says I am too much trouble, that I-I hold them back."
She hiccupped, her small shoulders shaking as she tried to speak through her crying.
"And then they go. Everyone always goes away." She cried, voice shrill and cracking. "I don't want to be a burden again… I don't want to experience that sadness once more."
"Hey, look at me," Vlad said, gently but firmly placing his hands on her small shoulders. Her teary eyes met his, still glistening with doubt.
"I am not going to abandon you." He leaned in slightly, locking eyes with her. "I am an immortal adventurer, and in less than two days, I have accomplished things most people can't even dream of doing in their entire lives."
"So, believe me when I say you couldn't possibly be a burden to me." He said, a smile gracing his face. "Even if you were in a hundred times worse state, you still couldn't hold me back."
"W…Wh-Why would you go so far?" she asked after a long pause, her voice small and shaky.
"Why risk contracting with someone like me?" she questioned. "With your status, you could easily find a much stronger spirit, so why?" she asked, her eyes still wet with tears, searching his face, full of doubt yet holding a fragile glimmer of hope.
"To tell you the truth, I think you are special, and maybe I am wrong..." Vlad began, his tone honest. But before he could finish, Velcrissa cut in, her voice trembling yet eager. "So… if I am not special, you will abandon me?"
"If you are not special, then I will make you special," Vlad said, calmly answering with a smile, "So, stop thinking negatively, and answer me,"
"Velcrissa Syth'Mavet," Vlad spoke after a short silence. "I am V and wish to form a spirit contract with you."
Velcrissa looked at him with teary eyes, trying her hardest to say no, but deep inside, she felt that she could trust Vlad, and with tears painting her face, she spoke.
"I will… I will make a spirit contract with you," Velcrissa said, her voice trembling as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. Her small hands clenched into fists at her sides as if bracing herself for the unknown.
"So, let's take the oath," Vlad said, smiling, his eyes scanning the diming circle on the floor. "We don't have much time left."
Velcrissa nodded as she sniffled, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her dress.
Vlad extended his hand, palm open, fingers relaxed, not demanding, but offering. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she firmly grasped Vlad's hand.
"I, V, speak my true name before the Laws of the World. I offer my oath as a spirit bound to forge a pact of trust and unity with the spirit Velcrissa Syth'Mavet."
A faint hum swept through the circle, the runes shone brighter, and the air grew still.
Velcrissa looked up at him, heart pounding, and with a silent nod, she began to speak.
"I, Velcrissa Syth'Mavet, speak my true name before the Laws of the World. I offer my oath as oathbound to forge a pact of trust and unity with the mortal, V."
As the final words left her mouth, the summoning circle flared one last time in a brilliant fusion of sickly green and pale blue.
Velcrissa looked up at him, a bright smile gracing her face as the runes of the summoning circle dimmed beneath her feet. Her elemental form began to dissolve into shimmering wisps of color, the same as the summoning circle on the floor.
"Thank you," she whispered softly.
And then, her form vanished completely, reduced to a swirl of vibrant elemental essence that surrounded Vlad.
Vlad felt a chilling cold take hold of his body as the unseen force of the law branded the mark of the spirit on his soul, completing the spirit oath between the two.
The chilling sensation lasted for a moment before the elemental essence surrounding him began to seep into his being, engulfing his very form. Unseen hands worked in silence to give Vlad the boons of making a spirit contract.
A rush of vitality surged through him as his body began to be bathed in the poisonous essence. His strength grew moderately, his affinity for poison grew stronger, and so did his resistance to its variants.
Since a part of these boons was linked to the mana core, which was missing in Vlad, the unseen forces quickly began to form it.
This was the most common way to create a mana core. The other method for world inhabitants was creating it manually, and players could also create their mana core by completing the Rank ascension quest.
The mana core took form at his solar plexus, a small crystalline sphere resting on the network of nerves, a small mana stream connecting it to the nerve network.
The process was slow, but with Vlad being in a semi-conscious state, it quickly passed, and an hour later, he woke up to the ringing of system notifications.
System Notification:
Congratulations, Player V, for forming a Spirit Contract with [Velcrissa Syth'Mavet].
[Rank Ascension Quest: Failed]
Congratulations, Player V, on Ascending to the First Rank: [Awakened].
Evaluating Performance throughout Rank Zero…
No Bonus Stats Acquired.
Time to Rank Limit: 10 hours, 32 minutes.
Ascension Method: Manual (Through world interaction)
Overall Evaluation: Great
Reward: +35% Stat Multiplier
.
Rank Ascension Reward:
Choose any two skills.
Active Skill(s):
Earth-Cracking Palm: Unleash a focused burst of mana through your palm strike, dealing severe damage in a five-meter radius and also disrupting the target's mana flow.
Whirlwind Step: Increases movement speed by 50% for 15 seconds.
Passive Skill(s):
Iron Body: Continuous exposure to physical and magical forces gradually fortifies your body against them.
Flow of Mana: Your mana flows more efficiently, gradually restoring stamina and slightly boosting all skills.
Vlad closed the system windows without selecting any of the given skills because, after each Rank advancement, one could only acquire two skills, either passive or active.
Vlad knew he could learn better skills, and by doing so in the next Rank promotion, he would earn a better evaluation and receive a bigger overall stat boost.
He knew ways to acquire many hidden classes, the legacies of legendary figures, but while this was beneficial in the beginning, it would only hold him back in the long term.
While it would take great effort to grow on his own, it would help him acquire the perfect skills and stats and have a much easier time contracting the spirits he needed for his plans.
His plans were the reason why he contracted the first spirit on Rank Zero. While it was a near-impossible goal, he was prepared to hunt down all seven shards of the nameless king.
There were Six Ranks of ascension, and only by acquiring a spirit at Mortal Rank could one contract seven spirits.
Vlad was not hopeful of succeeding, but he was willing to do his best because he believed that only by doing well in the world of ascension could he save his own galaxy.