Novel Full Chapter 1668: Spirit Cores
Chapter 1668: Spirit Cores
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Chloe had gone out after Khione whispered something to her, and before long, she returned, just before we were to depart to the city to check the Hunter Guild and then the Market Center.
She brought many boxes, making them float around her using her Spiritual Aura, and placed them on a long ice table Khione made on the spot.
“Here… I’ve brought you one of such rewards… I am sure you will like these,” Khione said timidly as she waved her hand, and the boxes opened, revealing what seemed to be Spirit Cores, but of strange shapes.
“Crystals? No, wait, Spirit Cores?” Rita asked.
“No, these are Spirit Cores,” Khione explained. “They belong to incredibly strong Spirit Beasts that I have personally hunted down throughout my long life. They’re national treasures, but I think I’ve been hoarding too many. They belong to the highest levels of Spirit Beasts, S Rank.”
“Wait, what?!” I asked. “Wow, so this is the reward, Lady Khione?”
“Only a part of it. You will get the other part once we can be sure the city is safe,” Khione said. “Of course, these won’t disappoint you… I think.”
“They sure look weirder than the others we’ve been hoarding,” Rita said. “Wait, now that I think about it, don’t we have, like, thousands of those?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking of ways to absorb them, but they aren’t as easy as absorbing monster cores or the cores of Hollows,” I explained. “We need a different method or technique…”
“So that’s why we haven’t even tried it yet… makes sense,” Mark nodded. “These rewards are great, but maybe we’ll have to use them for equipment then, as we don’t know how to absorb Spirit Cores currently…”
“But how don’t you know…? I-I thought you had several Spirits with you?” Khione wondered, surprised.
“We do, but… what does that have to do with it?” I wondered as Ignis and Gardenia appeared by my left and right shoulders.
“We don’t really know ourselves,” Gardenia said.
“I’m sorry… I’m only good at forging materials,” Ignis apologized.
“It’s fine, it’s not your fault, guys,” I smiled.
“I suppose your Spirits, despite being of Divine Origin, don’t know the method…” Khione said, rubbing her small chin and nodding. “Then let me help you with that… Um, Chloe, can you bring the Spirit Heart Device?”
“Immediately, young lady,” Chloe nodded, flying away.
“While she brings it, let me ask you a few questions… Um,” Khione muttered. She was talking more comfortably and confidently over time. “Why do you think you cannot… absorb the Spirit Cores?”
“Well, that’s… I don’t know. I’ve tried before, but it simply didn’t work. It would let me absorb spirit energy by itself, but that would only fill the reserves…” I said. “Not make me stronger than I already am.”
“Indeed, that’s because, despite how spiritually attuned you are, you lack a special organ that all Spirits and Spirit Races have. That’s the Spirit Heart,” Khione explained. “It is a very rare thing to obtain, and even Druids dream of ever having one, but it’s good that you’re already Druids yourselves. Having a Nature Soul has already attuned you perfectly to having a Spirit Heart. You simply have never formed it.”
I looked at Gardenia, who looked at me with confusion.
“What?! I had no idea about that stuff!” she said.
She taught me how to get a Magic Circle and even a Physique, but not this?!
I guess there are things that Arcadia doesn’t have.
While Arcadia cultivated Magic Circles and Physiques before the System arrived, and well, they still do, mostly the NPCs, Earth and its Realms are an entirely different matter.
Apparently, the Magic Circles and Physiques we have are not techniques found within Earth. Those that work in the underworld, the supernatural world, have other ways to use their powers.
Magicians seem to inscribe runes or magic circles into their equipment, grimoires they bind their souls to, and even their bodies, I believe.
There are also those who reinforce their bodies over time using raw mana and other supernatural abilities, but they are not the same as Physique cultivation.
And there’s… well, Spirit Hearts?
“But first, as you were not born as Spirits or Spiritual Races, you must go through a special process known as Spirit Gate Opening,” Khione explained. “You’ll let Spiritual Energy enter the depths of your Origin, which is the deepest… the deepest part of your soul and what you believe is your own consciousness.”
“I see…” I said. “Seems interesting!”
“I honestly had no idea about any of this. We come from another world, you see…!” Gardenia said. “But this is pretty fascinating.”
“Yeah, do we even have Spirit Hearts ourselves?” Ignis asked.
“I don’t know. There’s a clear difference between the Spirits from Arcadia and those from Earth and its Realms,” Gardenia explained.
“So it’s true that your power is a combination of both this world and the other…” Khione said. “Is this why you feel it is your duty to save us from the invaders?”
“Yeah, those Undead serve the Demon King of Death, a powerful being from Arcadia that was sealed long ago but is now threatening that world and this one,” I explained. “He’s still within Arcadia’s Underworld, sealed within its depths, but he has been constantly trying to pry into Arcadia’s world of the living and this one through Gates. The First Contact outside of this Realm, on Earth, was also provoked by another of these entities, the Demon King of Miasma, but we were able to slay him, and I reincarnated his soul into a pure-hearted fairy that is currently helping us in Arcadia.”
“W-Woah, that’s… a lot to take in…” Khione muttered, feeling slightly overwhelmed. “But I think I understand… Um, if you let me be honest, it’s… really incredible. I wish we could talk more about that other world. I am fascinated by it… if Spirits are different from ours, I wonder what else could be different?”
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