BSS 09

chapter 09

The mana inside my body resonated with the spell, filling the small space and starting to hum.

I could feel the candles’ flames flare up all at once.

Though the windows were tightly shut, the air in the room shook wildly on its own.

And then—
from the contract circle that had still been glowing, an even stronger flash of light burst out. Startled, I squeezed my eyes shut.

It felt as if the mana in my body was being yanked out all at once, draining rapidly.

A dull stomachache followed. It was as if someone was ripping out chunks of my mana by hand.

Who…?

“…Huh?”

The commotion suddenly disappeared.

It was like a gust of wind had blown through and vanished.

The room was completely still, as if nothing had ever happened.
The only differences were that my mana had noticeably decreased…and every inch of my skin was covered in goosebumps.

When I touched my arm and looked around, I realized the mana solution that had filled the contract circle was gone.

Fairy dust floated in the air like tiny fireflies.

It proved that I had activated the contract circle—but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t see any spirit.

Did I fail the summoning?

Did I just waste my mana?

If the summoning worked, a spirit should be standing on the circle.

No matter how I looked around, I was alone.

“…Spirit?”

I tried calling out just in case, but nothing answered.

I had been so confident, which only made the disappointment hit harder.

Spirit-users like me—those who received early training—usually managed to summon their first spirit in their late teens.

But actually being acknowledged and forming a contract didn’t usually happen until their twenties.

It was a matter of mental strength. Weak or immature mental states couldn’t control spirits, so most people only became proper spirit-users as adults.

Spirits demanded not only affinity from their summoners, but strong willpower.

In short, spirits were picky.
They did not obey anyone weaker than them.

“I really thought I could do it…”

Summoning a spirit at age ten was normally considered impossible—something only prodigies could do.
But I wasn’t an ordinary ten-year-old.

If I counted my previous life, my mental age was well over twenty.

“This is strange. Only my body is young—my mind should be more than capable…”

Was teacher Eiel right after all?

Was I still too young to form a spirit contract?

“No. No way. It must be because this summoning circle is old and barely functional. It’s practically an ancient relic…”

I’d heard that outdated circles often failed to summon spirits at all. That had to be it.

I might not be a genius, but there’s no way my mental strength was so weak that I couldn’t even control a low-level spirit.

According to Eiel, modern circles directly call a specific spirit.
But this older type I used… was more like fishing in the ocean.
Indirect, random, and largely dependent on luck.

If a spirit with matching affinity happened to hear the call and felt like it, it would respond.

Of course such a messy system went out of use.

“Yes. Definitely the circle’s fault. Nothing else!”

I was barely holding my pride together when—

At my feet, the candlelight shadows trembled uneasily.

Why did it feel like strange waves were still in the room?
The candle flames shouldn’t be flickering anymore.

When I lifted my head toward the ceiling—

A faint vibration spread from every direction.

It was not natural at all.

Too small and quiet to hear clearly… but unmistakably a voice.

Like a dolphin’s ultrasonic cry—something humans shouldn’t be able to hear—
the voice of a spirit.

I focused all my attention on the tiny trembling sound.

“Spirit? Are you here? Where are you? Let’s form a contract!”

I’ll treat you well!

The moment I looked around and shouted “Let’s make a contract!”,
the voice became clearer.

[A name… give me, a name…]

I did it.

I smiled—though I still couldn’t tell where the voice came from.

It wasn’t really a sound, but more like the tremor in the air on a rainy day—
a small, fragile resonance.

“Where are you? Why can’t I see you?”

…Did I summon a ghost instead?

Thinking about it, what I was doing felt suspiciously like some creepy occult ritual.

Summoning with candles and a magic circle in the middle of the night—
yeah, definitely spooky.

[A name.]

“A name? But spirits already have names. Like Sylph or Salamander…”

[Of course. Light spirits do.]

I froze.

Light spirits were the famous elemental spirits—fire, water, wind, earth.
And besides them, there were…

The dark spirits.
The reason modern mages avoided this kind of circle.

No way.
Did I summon something that dangerous?!

I panicked.

“No! Don’t tell me you’re a dark spirit—”

[No. I am neither light nor darkness. Merely a unique being—one of a kind in this world.]

Relief washed over me.
I almost doubted my own noble, pure heart!

“Then what are you? If you’re not light or darkness… are you a ghost?”

[Such labels are petty things humans made. If I must call myself something in your language… I am a ‘non-attribute’ spirit.]

I vaguely remembered learning something like that.

There was a theory that other than light spirits, most spirits didn’t have fixed names or classifications.

When you think about it, spirits are the consciousness of nature itself.
Dividing them into a few neat categories was arrogant.

The world wasn’t made of just fire, water, wind, and earth.

Not everything had a name.

“So… I need to give you a name?”

[Yes. To exist and use power in the human world, I need proof of my presence—contract and name.]

“A name…”

So it was very important.
But as I hesitated, a critical problem hit me.

Oh no.

“Hold on. Before naming or contracting, shouldn’t I know what you ARE?!”

[…]

“So you! What kind of spirit are you?!”

I almost signed a contract without reading the terms!
How stupid would that be?!

[There are no words in the human language that fully describe me.]

“What if you’re dangerous?!”

[A spirit follows the will of its summoner. Misused, we are dangerous. Properly handled, we are power.
Like a sword—we exist in the wielder’s hand. The one who swings it is the summoner.]

The many whispering voices merged into one.

Meanwhile, my mana kept draining. Soon I’d hit zero.

I needed to contract fast.
An uncontracted spirit consumed far more mana and mental energy than a contracted one.

“You’re really not dangerous?”

[Not unless you are a dangerous person.]

I wanted to argue more, but I was running out of mana.

I had to decide.

At least it wasn’t a dark spirit.
And it wasn’t like I had summoned something world-ending.

I nodded.

I trusted in… my eternal laziness.
A dangerous tyrant needs motivation. I have none.

“Alright, then…”

[Contract!]

I didn’t feel anything threatening from it.

My instincts said so—and spirit-users were known for sharp intuition.

“Okay. Let’s contract. I’ll be your master!”

Maybe it was just a rare type.
Like a spirit of nails or buttons.
Or ribbons.
Something cute and harmless.

Since it responded to a beginner like me, that seemed likely.

“But I only have enough mana for a low-level spirit.”

[That is enough.]

“So you’re weak?”

[I possess infinite potential. Unlike light spirits, I have no rank. I only manifest power equal to the strength of my master.]

“No rank? Spirits always have ranks.”

Low, mid, high, supreme… and Spirit Kings.

[There is no rank because there is only one of me.]

“Oh… I guess that makes sense?”

[Humans do not yet understand us fully.]

Everything I learned in class—useless.

[If you must describe me with human words… I am a spirit of minerals… no—of metal.]

“A spirit of… metal?”

That was new.

Then I noticed the trembling objects around me—

The candlesticks, the washbasin, the metal rings holding the curtains, and the nails in the walls—all quivering, echoing the spirit’s voice.

Every piece of metal in the room was the spirit.

[Most things born from the earth are under my domain. But stone and soil are not mine.]

“So you’re rare… but what are you even good for?”

[…Before that, hurry. At this rate, I’ll be forcibly sent back.]

“Ah! Right, the name!”

This wasn’t the time.
I seriously needed more mana training.

If a spirit was forcefully unsummoned due to mana depletion, it left a terrible backlash on the summoner.

“Um! Are you female? Or male? I can’t tell from just your voice.”

A name needed a gender.
Like choosing between ‘Kkam-soon’ or ‘Kkam-dol’. Very important business.

[I have no gender.]

“Right. Spirits usually don’t.”

[I am not even neutral—just genderless. Some high-grade spirits choose a gender, but for us it is meaningless.]

True enough. Spirits didn’t marry or have children.

“So a neutral name will do.”

I racked my brain, but nothing brilliant came.
So I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Very half-heartedly.

“Rai.”