BSS 07

chapter 07

╻I’ll do it myself, it’s too dirty!

How could I have forgotten that I could do it without being taught?

Yes, it was because of a lack of willpower. Once I realized that I just had to do it, I suddenly tried to act bright and cheerful.

“That was a difficult topic, wasn’t it? That’s why I want to hear it again!”

“…It wasn’t exactly a difficult lesson, though?”

It must have been difficult because I don’t remember it! Maybe I nodded off a bit.

“Still, I want to hear it again! Theory classes are important.”

Teacher Iel, wearing an embarrassed expression, opened the thick Spirit Studies book he was so proud of.

“If it’s that lesson, let’s see… here it is. Contract circles can be divided into four main forms. First, the summoning circle for air elementals, which includes these characters here. These are spirit words. The fire elementals use spirit words for fire on the right and left, and in the center… Genie, do you understand?”

Ignoring Iel as he wrote simple spirit words on the blackboard with chalk, I peeked into his thick book.

I wanted to see what the contract circle looked like, and it was simpler than I expected.

Compared to the contract circles I saw in the academy library three years ago, this was far too simple.

I began to suspect that what I had seen back then might not have been a standard contract circle. The more I listened to Iel’s explanation, the more I realized that the contract circle I had seen before was rather unusual.

“Using four words representing fire, water, wind, and earth, you can distinguish what elemental spirit a circle summons. And within those four, they are further divided into lower, middle, upper, supreme, and Spirit King levels.

Among these, the contract circles for Spirit Kings and supreme elementals have almost vanished, making contracts nearly impossible… Yes, Genie, do you have a question?”

I, who had once been desperate to doze off during class rather than ask questions, suddenly raised my right hand. Iel looked surprised.

“Then the total number of contract circles is sixteen, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But seven of those circles—those for Spirit Kings and supreme elementals—are considered nearly lost because their forms are unrecognizable.”

“Then what about cases where only one contract circle is drawn?”

In that book, only a single contract circle was illustrated. The rest were just drawings of lower-elemental spirits.

“One, you say? Well… this contract circle has been passed down for about 8,000 years, made very systematically and safely as a general-purpose circle… Ah, in ancient times, there was only one contract circle. And the others were derived from it to become today’s contract circles. How did you know that without being taught?”

“Right? There was just one, right? But why did it split into sixteen? One would’ve been easier.”

“That’s an excellent question. The ancient contract circle couldn’t choose which spirit would be summoned. So, you never knew which spirit would appear.”

“A random system?”

“Hmm… not exactly random. It depended on whether the summoner’s wave matched the spirit’s wavelength; the spirit would appear if it wished.

But it wasn’t efficient. Often, a spirit wouldn’t be summoned, or a dangerous spirit could be brought into the world. If a wicked person summoned a spirit, an evil spirit would appear.”

That was intriguing.

Why didn’t the teacher teach us that earlier? Everything tested in exams seems useless anyway.

Iel, unaware of my thoughts, seemed pleased that I was finally paying attention and enthusiastically continued.

“In the era when only this one circle was used, a wicked individual summoned a spirit with a corrupted heart. That spirit was the first-ever ‘Cursed Spirit’ in the ancient world, which already had countless kinds of spirits.

Spirit mages who made contracts with Cursed Spirits committed all sorts of wicked acts. It was a disaster like summoning a demon.”

“Cursed Spirits exist too? I thought there were only the four elemental ones.”

“They do. There are spirits beyond the comprehension of human mental power. Death spirits, for example, can only be handled by beings with very strong mental power, like dragons. Spirit Kings fall into the same category. They’re almost like gods.”

“…Death Spirits must be nearly invincible, then.”

“You could say that. But those who made contracts with Cursed Spirits died in less than a year.

These Cursed Spirits are dark-aligned, not light, and their contracts consume the summoner’s life instead of mana. They are very dangerous, like demons. Death Spirits, as far as we know, cannot be summoned within a human lifespan.”

I had always imagined spirits as cute, fairy-like beings flitting around, but apparently, they could be quite wicked.

Of course, like humans, if there are good ones, there must be bad ones too.

“When the Dark Spirit became known to the Spirit Academy, the leadership developed the sixteen contract circles after long research.

They stabilized the system. They also created nine additional circles, but their whereabouts are unknown. Many circles were lost because the number of spirit mages drastically decreased over time.”

“Oh, I know! As the ancient human golden age ended, fewer humans were born with affinity, while the number of mages who didn’t need affinity increased. Spirit mages’ roles diminished, and spirits avoided making contracts with humans, right?”

“Yes, you weren’t listening to the class idly.”

“Spirits avoid humans because we die too quickly compared to other races and exploit spirits excessively. We call that ‘passion pay.’”

“…Passion what?”

“Passion pay.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

It means working them hard for very little compensation!

I shrugged and asked the question that really interested me.

“About the ancient contract circles… can they still be used? Or are they completely obsolete?”

“Basically, yes. You might find samples for academic purposes, but they’re practically useless. They can’t summon spirits anymore. Ironic, isn’t it?”

“Summoning circles that can’t summon?”

“Yes. After the havoc Cursed Spirits caused in the human world, spirits avoid contracts through that route. Some say the Spirit Kings restrain it.”

“Restraining? Not banning?”

“The spirit world operates differently from ours. It has rules, not laws. Look at nature—it’s free, everything follows the flow. Does nature have laws? No. They may have their own taboos, but we can’t know everything about the spirit world.”

“So if we used an ancient circle, a Cursed Spirit could appear?”

Iel shook his head lightly, as if I had asked something silly.

“That’s impossible now. There are no humans today wicked and strong enough to summon a Cursed Spirit. Back then, it was possible because the world was saturated with magic. That era, when the demon, heavenly, and human worlds intertwined, is what we call ‘ancient times.’”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“After the Celestial-Demon War, demons were almost completely cut off from the human world. Temples were built to block their influence and suppress magic.

So yes, summoning Cursed Spirits is something that could only happen in a mythical, ancient era. Back then, hybrids between humans and demons were common, and humans’ strength far exceeded today’s.”

I realized that the contract circle I had seen in the library must have been ancient. A risky summoning circle—anything could appear, or nothing at all.

“Time’s already gone by so quickly. Let’s continue the lesson… Genie? Genie! Where are you going?”

Ignoring Iel’s desperate calls, I ran toward the library. The class just starting was irrelevant.

“Genie!”

“Where are you, Mia?”

I peeked into the alchemy class and called out.

Mia, sitting near the experiment table by the door, turned toward me and ran over with a happy face.

It was rare for me to seek her out first. Not because she disliked it, but because she was lazy.

“Ah! Genie? What brings you here?”

“I need a favor.”

“What is it?”

Mia removed her gloves, soaked in some unidentifiable liquid, and looked at me expectantly.

“Do you have any Mana Concentrate? Could you give me a little?”