The Intrigue of A World Beyond

It wasn't until they returned to the Dragonheart residence that Celly gave him the two grimoires for him to begin studying: "Sea of Mana Majesty" and "The Astral Teachings."

The first he was lent by the young woman pertained to water spells, and the second was one she herself said she could hardly use—it focused on spirit arts.

While he was studying at the desk in his room, his nose was pleasantly greeted by the aroma of warm broth.

Before he could peel his eyes from the words on the page, a bowl of piping hot soup was placed on the desk.

"Thanks," he smiled, looking up at the woman who placed the bowl down.

Of course, it was his mother.

"How's it going?" Treyna asked, looking over his shoulder at the text.

He nodded, "Great. I'm learning a lot from Celly."

"I'm glad to hear that. Just make sure not to cause trouble for that girl," Treyna said, playfully pinching his cheek, "You're your father's son, so…control those urges."

What's that supposed to mean?!…Oh. Yeah, he realized.

He nodded, "I'm not like dad."

"I know. Thanks to my amazing job as a mother," Treyna held a proud smile.

Though he was clearly lying—he was very much like his father, and like his mother.

–

After expending quite a bit of mana in his first day of lessons under his new tutor, the soup added much needed energy to his body before he delved right back into the book laid open on his desk.

For him, studying like this came easy.

Before, I was trapped in my room for my entire life. All I had were books for a lot of that time. If I couldn't experience the world outside firsthand, I could learn about it. When I read the text on those pages, describing the world I couldn't touch for myself–I didn't feel better or sad; I felt a fire light up in me. 'One day, I'll explore it for myself'--I carried that resolve for years.

But eventually…I guess I just gave up. Spending nineteen years cooped up in your own room does that, he thought.

Having so many new teachings to explore made him giddy, making it almost a struggle to stay focused on the pages of the grimoire as he wanted to get up and put the spells on the page into practice right away.

As night came, he hardly took any breaks as he delved deep into the knowledgeable scriptures.

He had already gained an understanding of plenty of novice water spells and was now focusing on intermediate castings and even a few Keeper spells.

The main difference between each ranking of spells is how difficult they are to use. It actually doesn't specifically mean that an intermediate-class spell will be stronger than a novice one, but it is usually a safe bet. To me, it seems like novice spells are a bit more vague and able to be shaped with more imagination, while upper-ranks are more of singular use cases, he thought.

Irene was already asleep on the other bed in their shared room, so he definitely didn't want to risk being loud or causing a splash with his newfound water spells.

He sat there boredly for a minute, resting his cheek against his hand as he stared towards the window, gazing towards the star-filled night.

"--"

As he looked down, he saw the other grimoire that Celly had lent to him for his personal studies: "The Astral Teachings."

Grimoires tended to be much larger than a normal book, but the scripture of spirit arts took that to a new extreme; it nearly encompassed the entire surface of his desk with its gray-and-black design. The fabric that was laden across the cover was stringy and tattered as if the book was old beyond years.

"...Hmm…"

It was because of his display of the grand-class spell from earlier that Celly had given him the book pertaining to spirit arts, but he still wasn't quite sure what "spirit arts" really was.

This curiosity led him to opening the large book, laying his amethyst gaze on its scribings.

He muttered what he read; it was something that occurred when he was truly enamored with the text he was reading.

The man who wrote "The Astral Teachings" seemed to be some sort of legend in this world: "Torvald, The Realm Walker,"--it wasn't just a book simply teaching the mechanics of spirit arts, but also delving into its origin as a whole.

[Torvald I: 'The 'Astral Realm' is something that has always existed since the dawn of this world. It's only that it's been discovered more widely in recent times–if only those fools at the Archives would understand that. Nonetheless…It's the domain in which spirits reside. Yes, spirits do roam our world freely–it's not an uncommon occurrence, but they do come from somewhere–a home, a sanctuary–whatever you may call it. It's a dark place. It does not function like our world. Thought is given form and sanity is challenged by merely standing still in that place. However, if you wish to contract with your "soulbound spirit"--you will have to be able to enter this realm.]

The passage from the man who at the very least seemed abrasive had piqued his interest by quite a bit.

"Soulbound Spirit"? He thought.

Wanting to learn more, he continued reading the text inked onto the page with less-than-beautiful handwriting, sloppily strewn across the parchment, but still decipherable through a squint of his eyes.

From the sounds of it, obtaining a "Soulbound Spirit" was a rare feat, but one with a lot of merit behind it.

It says here that they're spirits that are perfectly in tune with the person seeking them. It's not something pre-ordained, like how it sounds. It seems…this "Soulbound Spirit" is one who chooses you; the difference between a normal spirit contract and a contract with a Soulbound Spirit is that these Soulbound ones apparently are able to grow with you? Hmm…I should really do this, if I can–sounds handy, he thought.

[Torvald II: 'Let me preface this and save you some time: in truth, I don't believe spirit arts are a tool that can be grasped simply through hard work and dedication. You either possess a link to the astral realm, or you do not–it's that simple. Fortunately, in my time between both realms, I've discovered a flawless technique to decipher if one has such potential to cross between realms.']

More than ever, he felt his heart racing with excitement as he wanted to understand what it was that could achieve a contract with a spirit, and to enter this elusive "Astral Realm" that the knowledgeable man described.

He turned the page:

[Torvald III: "Creating The Gateway": 'This will be your very first lesson, and perhaps your last if you fail to make it work. What you will need to do is forge a "gateway" to the Astral Realm; a catalyst from our world into the world of the spirits…]