About to go sit down in a meditative position once again, [Lil" Bro, you don"t need to sit down like that anytime you want to talk to me. Heck, you don"t even need to close your eyes, just think of the system in your mind and the interface will appear. If possible, get used to using the system while you do normal activities. Otherwise, it"d be difficult to communicate with me while walking around a city in the future.]Contemplating for only a few seconds, "Alright, I see what you mean. Wilhelm, what is this grimoire? It says it"s sealed, so is it rank even higher than rare?" Rentaro questioned as he inspected the grimoire in his left hand.
[Naturally! As I have less authority than the automated commands left behind the creator, I could only manage to procure one item from the shop after a great deal of trouble, but I won"t be able to help out in such a manner anymore.]
[As for what the grimoire is, it was created by one of the twelve Supreme Summoners, the Arch Summoner of the Twilight, Twileigh. The grimoire"s rank is beyond your imagination, it even has a spirit inside of it, but the spirit is currently in slumber.]
"So, I"m unable to use it?" A question which seemed more like a statement of disappointment rang out.
[While you are unable to sign a contract with the spirit, you are able to bind the grimoire by giving it a drop of your blood and binding it to your soul. However, you won"t be able draw upon the grimoire"s true power or start unlocking the seals until the spirit awakens and you make a contract with it.]
"Alright, how does the grimoire function exactly?"
[Any and all of your contracts will appear in the grimoire. There, you can read all the information about your contracted summons, including and not limited to: their bios, abilities, and contract information.] Wilhelm"s mannerism almost made Rentaro laugh, reminding him of television commercials in his previous life.
"Pshh, Alright, but Big Bro, wouldn"t you have done all of that anyway as the Summoning and Contractor System?"
[I have the same function for statistics on your contracted summons. However, the grimoire offers additional functions that I don"t. Once you make a contract with the spirit inside of the grimoire, you"ll experience more benefits. For example, channeling elemental spells through the grimoire will use less energy than by relying only on your self to channel them. Furthermore, as you unseal the grimoire you"ll be able to obtain special skills and even summons that Twileigh had left as an inheritance.]
"Is there any notice to when the spirit will awaken?"
[Not yet. If the spirit shows any signs of awakening in the future, I"ll notify you immediately. You might also find items in the future that may stimulate the spirit"s awakening. We"ll just have to wait and see what fate has for us.] Wilhelm gave a rather simple explanation and brushed the topic off.
"Alright, Big Bro. I"m going to bind the grimoire, then I"ll try out this "Soul"s Calling" Summoning." Having learned enough, Rentaro decided to get some work done.
[Alright, I"ll watch over you in case anything unexpected happens.] Speaking in a protective manner, Wilhelm focused all his attention on Rentaro as the automatic commands maintained the system"s functions.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Opening his eyes, "One drop of blood to bind the grimoire to my soul. Wait- how am I supposed to offer a drop? Just bite my finger or something... that seems a bit unnecessary...."
[New inventory item: Sacrificial Knife - A rather normal knife you"d find in a kitchen, not useful for combat, but useful for offering blood at the least.]
[Pshh, there you go, Lil" Bro.] Wilhelm laughed aloud as he spoke in a comical tone.
"... ... ... ... Nice job, Wilhelm... you killed all of my momentum with that...." Speaking in a sarcastic tone while feigning anger, Rentaro placed the grimoire on the small wooden desk and equipped the "Sacrificial" knife, making a small p.r.i.c.k on his left fore-finger. A small bit of blood oozed out, of which Rentaro allowed a drop to land on the grimoire while lifting his finger into his mouth instinctively to clot the blood.
Taking in the drop of blood, the grimoire glowed with a gentle blue light, enveloping Rentaro"s surroundings. A strange golden runic pattern shined on the cover of the grimoire. The cover opened up, revealing the back of the cover page.
Written on the back of the cover: "I, Twileigh, was one of the twelve Supreme Summoners. I was the Arch Summoner of the Twilight, known for my dark elemental affinities. I leave all of my contracts to you to inherit. However, you must first gain the acceptance of Auron, the spirit of my grimoire, to inherit my mantle. If you manage to do so, I hope that as my successor you can forgive my selfishness and help me with my last wish: Fulfill all of my contracted summons" agreements if you have the chance in the future."
"Wilhelm, what does he mean by fulfilling the contracted summon"s agreements?"
[Some contracts are simple, while others are not. It isn"t uncommon for one party to demand something from the other while making a contract. For example, the summon might have a desire in life, stating that in the future you"d have to help it fulfill its desire in the future should you get the chance. In turn, the summon would offer its allegiance to you. Of course, some contracts are made without any complicated deal, with both sides having the goal of reaching the peak of strength in mind or just looking for an adventure. Completing their agreements increases the bonds between you and your summons. You"ll learn more in the future, especially with the system missions.]
Looking to the first page of the grimoire, Rentaro paused after noticing the phrase: "Imprint Soul Signature" with a small hand-print below it.
[Don"t worry, Lil" Bro, just put your hand up to the hand-print. This will bind the grimoire to your soul, just like how I"ve been binded to you soul]
"Alright." Rentaro placed his hand up to the small hand-print, his hand clearly overshadowing the print which was only half as large as his own hand. Immediately, Rentaro felt a surging headache, his heart throbbed harder, and his body boiled as sweat rippled from his pores. Shouting aloud, "Ah, agh, d.a.m.n, so painful. My head feels like it"s splitting!"
Although Wilhelm knew the situation was normal and would be okay in the end, seeing his little brother experience such pain as he watched made him feel useless, as if he couldn"t do anything for his brother who game him a sense of belonging, though he overlooked that he gave the same feeling to Rentaro.
After what seemed to be two minutes of excruciating pain, [Don"t worry, it"s almost over. The soul binding has almost finished.]
Most of the pain had subsided by now and Rentaro lay on the small bed. His breaths drawn, as he began to felt a tingling sensation and flow of warmth throughout his body. Worried about what was going on, Rentaro asked in a weak voice, "Big Bro, what"s going on now?"
Pained by Rentaro"s current look, [The soul binding has finished, you don"t need to worry about anything else for now.]
[Soul binding with the Grimoire of Twilight complete. Linking Grimoire of Twilight with the [Contract] function. 3%, 42%, 79%, 99%, 100%. Link completed.] The automated system command conveyed.
Giving Rentaro time to recuperate, Wilhelm decided to give him an explanation about his soul"s current state before he fired off six questions at a time.
[After experiencing repeated soul binding, your soul has repeatedly broken down and reconstructed, becoming even stronger. Unless using special cultivation techniques, treasures, or medicines, most cultivators wouldn"t dare to try strengthening their souls until the Nascent Soul Formation level.]
[However, as a summoner you"ll repeatedly make contracts. It is up to you whether you make a Soul Contract or a simple Contract. A Soul Contract strengthens the bond between the contractor and his summons, tying their lives together. In case one perishes, the other will perish as well.]
[With risk comes reward however, as you"ll have a stronger synergy while battling together, your elemental affinities will strengthen based on the summon"s affinities, and their potential for future evolution will be further strengthened as their souls are reconstructed over like your own. A normal contract on the other hand means that even if one of you perish, the other will only suffer a few temporary internal problems at most. Aside from that, there are no other positives and your relationship between one another will be plain and pretty emotionless.]
[Additionally, Contracts can be broken as long as both sides agree or be upgraded into Soul Contracts, should you and the summon come to a conscientious agreement in the future. A Soul Contract on the other hand can never degrade into a normal Contract or be broken.]
Wilhelm explained the two different types of contracts, telling Rentaro the pros and cons for each different type. The explanation was kept simple, so Rentaro didn"t have any questions to ask in addition to the explanation as he continued lying down, contemplating on the matter.
Laughing, "It"s rather foolish of me to even bother contemplating over this matter. My desire before death was to have companions in life. I want nothing more in life than true companions, so I"ll obviously stick with Soul Contracts even if I have to face a little bit of pain. However, there"s something I still don"t understand. How did Arch Summoner Twileigh"s contracts survive in the grimoire if he died, were they not soul contracts?"
[Eh? Oh, that. They were indeed soul contracts. It"s a rather heroic method as a matter of fact. When a contractor or a summon is facing death, it is possible for them to split off the contracts to prevent their contracted summons" or contractor"s death, but said person would face an agonizing pain in doing so. It would be more accurate as to say an intense torture which goes on for millions of years until they finally die, done by one of those who are "beyond" and watch over the world to make sure all contracts are upheld.]
[The Arch Summoner of Twileigh was truly a loyal man, his legends were praised by all of the major realms and World Trees seven hundred million years ago, alongside many other legends. That was at the time the Corrupt War occurred, where a vast majority of heroes sacrificed their lives to protect the World Trees from the Unceasing Corruption. Those "beyond" stayed out of the war, but besides garnering hatred in their heart, no one dared to speak out against such existences.]
"Big Bro, all of that is too complex for me at the moment. I"ll keep it in mind for future reference. As for right now, I"ve already made up my mind and my next step before I start my journey is making my first contract."