Chapter 6: Soul Chain
Today was a holiday at the academy, with no scheduled classes, so Janna had spent the entire day curled up in her dorm, focused intently on the contents of the Low-Rank Spirit Summoning Ritual scroll. She hadn’t even moved her chair an inch.
“Grrrr—”
Though her mind remained focused, the hunger in her stomach finally forced Janna to momentarily leave her workbench.
She retrieved a leftover piece of bread from the cabinet by her bedside and nibbled on it.
“It’s already nine o’clock?”
Looking at the ticking mechanical clock on the wall, Janna rubbed her slightly sore eyes.
“Besides the altar and spiritual materials, I also need to master the engraving of the summoning array before I can truly begin practical application...”
“Moreover, I have to learn the ‘Soul Chain’ spell from the scroll. Otherwise, if I encounter an uncooperative otherworldly creature, I’ll have no effective means of control.”
Unlike the mutual agreement between summoner and creature in Contract Summoning, Spirit Summoning leaned more toward forced coercion.
Although Contract Summoning depended somewhat on luck, it lacked the risk of retaliation from otherworldly creatures, unlike Spirit Summoning.
Even if a summoned creature didn’t like the summoner, they could simply wait for the next visitor until both parties were satisfied.
“If not for the fact that Contract Summoning can only be used once before level 10, I wouldn’t have had to spend so much money on a Spirit Summoning scroll.”
Due to the high soul quality required for Contract Summoning, Janna, as a First Tier Wizard Apprentice, could only form a single contract with a spirit realm creature before reaching level 10.
Even though Janna’s soul was naturally strong, she didn’t dare to risk soul backlash by contracting a second spirit realm creature.
Because of this, compared to the more balanced Contract Summoning, Spirit Summoning imposed less of a burden on the caster’s soul.
After all, unlike the mutually supportive nature of Contract Summoning, the contract rules of Spirit Summoning were more about force and command, with the summoned creature relying less on soul nurturing.
Therefore, as long as the summoner captured the creature properly and leveraged the Soul Chain’s unpredictable nature, there was a high chance of successfully contracting a powerful otherworldly being.
“Even though Soul Chain is a First Tier Wizard Apprentice spell, it requires more than 15 points of Spirit Power... No wonder Miss Bell advised me to wait a little longer.”
Fortunately, Janna had already done some homework before renting the Spirit Summoning scroll.
“Character Panel.”
She silently invoked the system and, looking at the panel, nodded slightly at the line that read [Spirit Power: 17 points], then shifted her gaze to the skill panel.
[Wizard Skills: Contract Summoning (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable), Soul Lash (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable), Vine Bind (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable), Acid Spray (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable), Spirit Summoning (Level 1 - Upgradeable), Soul Chain (Level 1 - Upgradeable)]
The first half of the Low-Rank Spirit Summoning Ritual scroll mainly explained how to engrave the summoning array.
The second half covered coordinate positioning, ritual chants, and the casting techniques for Soul Chain.
Thanks to her exceptional soul talent, Janna had already begun simulating the rituals in her mind while reading the scroll, barely managing to grasp the basics of both Spirit Summoning and Soul Chain.
Now, at this crucial moment, the only thing left for her to do was...
“System, upgrade Spirit Summoning and Soul Chain to their current maximum levels.”
Whoosh—
As Janna issued the command in her mind, a white glow suddenly enveloped the skill entries for Spirit Summoning and Soul Chain on the virtual panel in front of her.
When the glow faded, the skill descriptions had changed from [Spirit Summoning (Level 1 - Upgradeable)], [Soul Chain (Level 1 - Upgradeable)] to [Spirit Summoning (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable)], [Soul Chain (Level 19 - Temporarily Unupgradeable)].
“Although the first-tier wizard class only covers levels 1–10, my system can enhance skills up to the second-tier cap. That gives me a lot of flexibility...”
Knowledge determined a wizard’s upper limit, while magic determined their combat floor.
Second-tier Spirit Summoning would allow Janna to establish more stable soul coordinates, and second-tier Soul Chain would let her challenge stronger otherworldly creatures.
…
Silver moonlight poured in through the window, casting its glow over the verdant magical plants in the room.
Raising her head and looking at the star-filled night sky, Janna, who had been studying for nearly ten hours, closed the scroll with a tired gesture.
Unlike the fatigue of her body, Janna’s eyes were now filled with confidence.
“Stat allocation really is the most powerful divine ability. Compared to how obscure and difficult this all seemed at first, it’s much easier to understand now. Even the engraving of the contract array is no longer a problem.”
Stretching lazily, Janna decided not to stay up any longer in order to prepare well for the upcoming summoning ritual.
After a quick wash in the restroom, she sat cross-legged on her rosewood soft bed and began her routine of deep meditation.
To reach a breakthrough sooner, Janna had replaced sleep with deep meditation.
Aside from some initial discomfort, she had long grown used to it.
Not only could it increase her Spirit Power, but it also accumulated mana and gradually raised her wizard level.
Although she had said farewell to sleep, deep meditation was far more efficient at relieving physical and mental fatigue.
…
“Tick—tock—tick—tock—”
The mechanical clock on the wall continued to tick without pause.
At this moment, Janna, already in a meditative state, gradually relaxed.
As her breathing slowed, green points of light began to swirl around her.
Each light point resembled a firefly that could breathe, dimming and brightening in rhythm with Janna’s inhaling and exhaling.
Bathed in the faint green glow, the magical plants in the room also expanded and contracted gently with her breath—quiet and mysterious.
“Inhale—exhale—inhale—exhale—”
As the rhythm between the glowing lights and magical plants intensified, Janna, sensing something strange, suddenly opened her eyes.
“Tick—tock—tick—tock—”
The clock’s mechanical second hand still ticked rhythmically, but in the instant Janna emerged from her deep meditation, the surrounding lights and illusions quietly faded.
“Another anomaly...”
Looking at the magical plants in her room, her eyes grew shadowed and unreadable.
“Perhaps only after advancing to a full-fledged wizard will I have the chance to truly uncover the secrets of the system...”