CH 2

Fair warning!

***

The blood activated the magic pattern to stimulate the spirit.

Swoosh!

The flame grew bigger.

The flame is now shaped like a lizard.

It was a low-grade fire spirit salamander.

He looked up at me with a disgruntled face and lashed his tongue.

“I’m glad to see you too, but I would want to meet your brother today.”

Dripping!

This time, I shed a lot of blood.

I drop it between the second and third circle.

This was a magic pattern created by the most famous spirit mage in the kingdom.

I even elevated its rank.

SWOOSH!

A pillar of fire sprang up.

The low ceiling seemed to burn, but the Spirit’s fire did not exert any physical force.

The reason was, a contract wasn’t signed yet.

It was just a reflection of the spirit world with the magic pattern, I didn’t even feel the heat.

‘It’s like an illusion.’

Knowing was power.

I walked inside the red pillar of fire without hesitation.

I wanted to sign a more High-Ranking spirit, but in a poor situation without even a spirit stone, summoning an intermediate spirit was the limit.

‘Ruby must be doing well.’

My youngest sister Ruby was gifted enough to summon an intermediate water spirit on her first time, she then signed a contract with a High-Ranking spirit water at the age of 13.

It was all thanks to the support of the Duke of Vreio.

Even after I was trapped underground, Ruby often visited me. The four-year-old Ruby was the only family member who showed no hostility towards me.

‘If she used this magic pattern for summoning, she could have signed a superior spirit……. Well, it’s none of my business now.’

Inside the pillar of fire was another world.

As if I had moved dimensionally, I faced the Intermediate Fire Spirit in a completely different space.

“I am Lewis Hebron. I want to sign a contract with you.”

<You’re only qualified.….>

It was a telepathy, not of words.

I felt as if the spirit was in me.

‘Yeah, this is the space inside the contractor’s magic.’

The Spirit didn’t utter any word.

I learned that the spirit does not show emotions, however, this spirit showed signs of discomfort.

“Am I only qualified?”

<Uh, how… Did you come in here?>

“I’ll ask you again. Am I only qualified?”

That was a pretty good answer.

In my previous life, I didn’t even have a chance to face any spirits.

The Spirit must have seen the possibility in me, but he seemed troubled.

He can see the possibility, so whether to sign a contract now depends when my talent is in full bloom.

I tried to put an end to the obvious worry of the Spirit.

“Then, I have a suggestion. Would you look at my potential and sign a contract with me?”

The way the Spirit spoke changed.

His attitude towards me became polite.

In the space of the contract, the Spirit and their temporary contractor were bound by a provisional contract.

There were very few spirits who were theoretically familiar with this space.

The was because Spirituality is needed to awaken natural spirits, which rarely happens.

‘It’s not just emotions that I share with the spirits. I can feel his heat and restraint here.’

I pulled a dagger out of my waist.

The blade of the sword was aimed at my neck, not at the flame.

“Do you want to live with me or disappear with me?”

A spark flashed before my eyes.

The spirit fluctuated as if it were going to go out right away. His absurd feelings were conveyed to me.

‘As expected, we are connected.’

I wasn’t sure until I checked with my eyes.

It was because I had never actually experienced what I theorized.

“I’m a greater man than you might expect. I can increase your power. You can check for the truth if you want.”

SWOOSH!

The Fire Spirit checked on me by wrapping me around his flames, and in it, the Spirit confirmed that I was telling the truth.

“I’ll follow you. On the day your soul dies down, my flame will return to the spirit world.”

I know for sure that spirits would become part of the spirit world when their contracts were over.

Spirits don’t call it death.

It was called a Return.

The was because their existence was not completely erased, and some of them even remained.

“Your name shall be Inferno.”

Inferno.

It was the name of the incarnation that once shook the world.

Spirits’ level are already established on their birth.

From the lowest level to the king Level, they lived to the fullest with the talents they were born with.

However, Inferno broke that logic.

Born as an intermediate spirit, he became a High-Ranking Spirit and eventually returned to the Spirit world after challenging the spirit king.

“I, Inferno, will live as the flame of Lewis Hebron.”

This is the end of the process of the contract I know.

And the actual contract began.

Flames that filled the space poured into me.

I could feel the heat on my eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

Eventually, my internal organs began to burn down next.

‘This, it wasn’t on the record……! You damn spirit bastards!’

The Spiritual’s contract was kept strictly confidential.

There was also a rumor that people would die if he was not chosen by the spirit, but this rarely happens.

Screech!

Suddenly the view brightened.

As the red flame disappeared, the pain faded.

I came back to my room.

It was a shabby room where the eldest son of Baron Hebron lived.

My memory about that happening was clear, however, there was no trace of pain anywhere on my body.

‘Was that a dream?’

“Inferno.”

Argh!

A small flame appeared in front of me.

It soon turned into a human form.

Inferno was muscular.

He was not more than 10 centimeters long, possessing a very sturdy upper body, but there was no lower body to support it.

He was shaking as if he were going to go out at any moment.

‘It wasn’t a dream. I really contraced a Spirit…’

“Why do you look like that?”

“You can’t handle me yet. If you use all my strength, you’ll die.”

This was true, of course.

One of the reasons why spirit mage needed magic was because of Mana.

The wizard controls mana, the spirit mage uses Mana as the medium to summon the spirit, and priest uses Mana in order to use divine Power.

All of them uses Mana, the difference lies on how to handle it.

“Aura is less efficient than Mana.”

I wasn’t even talented in mana.

As soon as possible, I summoned Inferno with Aura as medium instead of Mana, but the spirit looked as if he had eaten bad food.

It seemed to be upset because he couldn’t eat as much as he could do if he was summoned using mana.

“It hasn’t been long since I got used to this body. Anyway, I’ll fill up your lack of spirituality soon.”

If I were to become a Spirit Mage, I had to awaken Spirituality.

It was similar to Mana, but it was the energy used as food for spirits.

I had no spirituality.

No, there was, but it was absorbed inside of me.

A small power ate up all the other energy.

It was a side effect of learning Aura.

Perhaps that’s why Inferno appeared with Aura as fuel.

It was a very inefficient fuel.

“Now that I checked my spirituality, it’s time for mana.”

Can I even use magic?

Just because Inferno went with a contract with me in the space of the contract, it did not mean that I can already do magic.

It was just that he understood my true feelings and he trusted me.

I am planning to increase his power..

Like Inferno, the spirit who challenged the Spirit King in the past.

“You can’t have my power grow. It’s all nonsense.”

“If I was rich in mana, I could have elevated you to a High-Ranking spirit immediately.”

“Hmph, better be sure of that.”

There were two main ways to know if I am talented in magic.

The first was to use Magic Stone to find out the mana affinity, and the second was to be confirmed by a wizard.

However, there wasn’t any wizard in Hebron Family.

‘There wasn’t even a low-level wizard.’

This was opposite to the Duke of Vreio.

Lewis Hebron had never even seen a Wizard in his 19 years of life.

“Is it because I suffered a lot? I’m a little dizzy.”

My current body was not in a good condition.

My physical strength was terrible.

It was because the previous Lewis wasted his time memorizing royal family and other high ranking aristocrats genealogy in order to become the next lord.

“Inferno.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“You trust me. Because of your decision, I won’t let you regret it. I can only promise you that one thing.”

Hmph.

Two sparks shot out from Inferno’s nostrils.

* * *

“What a mess.”

No matter how poor the land is, the people of the land have long lost their vitality.

However, I couldn’t escape from this responsibility.

Hebron County had a small population of just over 400. They were confined to their territories.

Most of them died without being able to see other areas in their lifetime.

The only time when someone go the outside, is when taxes were sent to the royal family.

At that time, all of the Baron’s forces will be mobilized, and mercenaries were hired.

‘Eacg of the lord of Hebron has been incompetent for generations, but that alone cannot explain the current situation. Who in the world isolated Hebron? for what reason? Are they waiting for Hebron to fail and then swallow it? If it’s not the case…….’

There was no evidence to support this speculation.

In that case, it was better to focus on collecting information rather than making hasty judgments.

“I’ll have to go to that place first.”

To get to the nearest Baron Nurha, I had to pass through the eastern forest.

There are cliffs in the west and wasteland in the south.

The wasteland was in border with Hebron, Nurha, and Delgain.

Since it was dry land, like a desert, adults created fairytales for children about scary wild dogs living in the wasteland in order to prevent them from wondering there.

The wild dog was a monster of Antaria, which went to extinction because of civil war and infectious diseases, it was said that they carry a terrible disease.

After traversing the wasteland, there was Antaria Kingdom, which collapsed a century ago. However, it was now full of monsters.

In the north, the forest spread out and it connects to the east.

For convenience, it was called the eastern forest.

“It’s nonsense that it’s out of control. Although Hebron territory is said to be a barren area, there wasn’t even any military platoon stationed around to exterminate monsters, even though they pay taxes to the royal family every year. The Hebron Family must be a nuisance to the royal family. If it’s not the case…….”

When I thought of Hebron, the only word that came to my mind was “Grass-Eating Baron Hebron.”

It was what my father used to say.

Why did he mention Hebron among the many families?

Why dwell on this humble baron?

The forest was the territory of Hebron, but it was out of control.

Not only the were ferocious beasts but also monsters lived there.

They breed wildly and break into the territory.

Like today.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell rang loudly.

Soldiers rushed to their respective positions, it seems that they were already familiar with the situation.

“Defend!”

At the moment, this was best solution.

The problem was that the walls could not be wide, so only the lord’s mansion and nearby houses were protected.

The fields beyond are left unprotected.

‘That’s why we don’t have much harvest.’

Farmers who worked in the fields rushed towards the gate.

The beasts followed suit.

It was a gray wolf that lived in the eastern forest.