Side Chapter: Jason Bonds with a Spirit!

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"A Spirit… and which spirit would even feel attracted for someone so mediocre as me?" asked Jason.

"Father, you're not mediocre, I think you're more talented than me already. I do not possess any Attribute Affinity and I still got Gaia. Be more positive of yourself" said Ervas, patting his father's hand with his little arms.

"My son… you don't have any? But even your mother had some! I think she even had the Death Attribute Affinity, just how rare is that!" said Jason.

"Well… if I were to have it, I would have known. I don't have it" said Ervas.

Although Ervas was confident in this statement, it was not rare for a child to awaken an attribute affinity when it grew up some more and developed its physique and psyche. He was secretly hoping for this to happen one day.

However, Ervas was a realistic person, he didn't want to fill his heart with this slight and mild hope, it was better to assume that he would never get an affinity with any attribute and work hard with what he already had in hand.

If he were to ever get one, it would be a nice bonus, but he did not want to plan his future around finally obtaining an affinity.

"Anyways, my father. I will do it, so get ready" said Ervas.

"Do what…?" asked Jason.

"I will create thin mana waves in the form of tentacles with both of our minds, and I will transfer you the experience I have about Spirit Magic, so you can learn the incantation fast," said Ervas.

"Y-You will what…?"

"Never mind, just stay still." Said Ervas, doing as he said.

Thin flows of mana, in the form of tentacles appeared from within his body, connecting both his head and that of his father.

"Now… I am just experimenting with this though, I had never done this before, so bear with some mistakes" said Ervas.

"Wait, mistakes?! E-Ervas, I think its better to- Ah!"

Suddenly, Jason saw small fragments of Ervas's memories, alongside his experience. As if his brain was a book, the incantations to call over spirits and befriend them was deeply engraved on this book by a pencil.

The memory fragments he saw were strange… They were incredibly short and momentaneous, but for a moment, he felt like he was once Anastacia.

It was in a time when she was trying to call upon spirits, she was calmly resting beneath a tree in a forest while reciting the incantations… but no matter how hard she tried, nothing came.

She felt dispirited and concerned… what if she did not have an affinity with spirits? She would be truly talentless.

"Sigh… Why don't you hear me…? Please, spirits… hear my call… help me… I don't want to… I don't want to be weak and pathetic… so please, anyone of you… please… I just want… I just want a friend…" she muttered.

"A friend?"

Anastacia was then woken up from her sadness as she heard the voice of a young boy.

"Hm? Where? What was that?" she asked.

"A friend?" the same voice once again said.

Anastacia then realized that this voice was most likely a spirit… it was a strange feeling, something that she had never felt before. Could she really have a friend?

"Can you… be my friend?" she asked, trying to see where this spirit was.

"A friend? Yes, let us be friends… Please, do not look above, but down below. I am quite short," said the voice.

"Short…?"

Anastacia glanced down below, where the dirt and the grass were… and she found, a small doll made out of the dirt.

"Hi. Did you want to be my friend? I am Gnome, the Spirit of Earth. It is nice to meet you. Let us be friends" it said, moving with a similar rhythm as a robot or a golem.

"You're so small…" said Anastacia, offering her hands for Gnome to step on.

"Thanks. And yes, I am small. But I can be at your height if you carry me like this. Oh, it all feels so weird up above" said Gnome.

"You're very little… are you really a spirit?" asked Anastacia.

"I am. What is wrong with being little? Is there some book that says that I cannot be a spirit if I am small?" asked Gnome.

"Ah! No… sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Said, Anastacia.

"No worries. We are friends now, right? We can joke around, that's what friends do, I think," said Gnome, gently patting Anastacia's pale white hand.

This was the little memory that Ervas had when he met Gnome in his previous life… it all went incredibly fast for Jason, so he could barely remember everything in detail.

"Haah… T-That was…" muttered Jason.

"Now, father. Try to call upon a spirit. Make sure to offer them your Mana, it is what they like the most. Oh, and remember, be as humble as you can," said Ervas.

"I… alright, let me give it a try…" said Jason, by using 'Mana Manipulation', he 'offered' his mana to the spirits of the outside world, slowly moving it like rivers around his body.

"Spirits… I call upon thee… hear my call… I am just a humble farmer… please, help me out…�� muttered Jason, in the language of the elves, as if he knew it of memory… and well, he did.

His mana extended far and wide… yet nothing seemed to respond.

"It seems that I-"

"Don't give up, I feel something. Keep going, keep going" said Ervas.

"Ah…! My beloved and respected spirits… you who give us so much… please, hear the call of this old man… give me your aid… even if only once…" said Jason.

From within the floor, the figure of a gray-colored rock appeared out of thin air, revealing itself. It was incredibly tiny, but it had two, barely visible eyes, and a small mouth as if it were painted over by a child.

The rock slowly rolled towards Jason, until it hit his feet, staying motionless while absorbing his mana.

"Pokuu…" it said.

"Is this…?"

"Congratulations, it's a Gnome… finish the ritual to befriend him," said Ervas.

"Ah! Y-Yes… Oh, Gnome, father of the earth, nourisher of our world… please, give me your aid… please, become my friend…" said Jason.

The little gray rock's facial expression changed from neutral to happy as its flow of mana slowly changed and became light brown, merging with Jason's own mana flow.

"Pokuu… Pokuu…!" it said.

[Gnome, Spirit of Earth has taken a liking on you!]

[You acquired the [Spirit Magic; Level 1] Skill!]

"I did it… I can't… believe it… and it was just as the memory… it was a Gnome… is it just coincidence?" wondered Jason, carrying the little, gray rock-like gnome in his hand.

"Pokuu" said Gnome.

"Memory? You saw something?" asked Ervas.

"Ah… nothing, my son. I barely remember by now" said Jason, shaking his head.

"It seems that we both got infant Spirits… well, it is better than nothing. Take good care of him, he seems even younger than Gaia" said Ervas.

"I… I will" said Jason, with a mild slime, while gently caressing Gnome and feeding it his mana.

"A friend…" he muttered.

"Pokuu… Pokuu…"

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