Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

Business at the clinic increased with the presence of the young clergy and the 'Blessed Spirit'. Helping at the clinic as a Holy battery and helpful poltergeist became Shada's job. Shinobin even, secretly, created an employment contract so he could get paid for his contributions. Not that he needed money as spirits needed little and his family provided for his studies.

Between the Purge, working at the clinic, and playing with Luca; it was several days later before he could return to the Mound to practice magic. He had already made strides towards the Material Banishment Skill. It was just an inverse of the Material Conjuring Skill. He suspected Material Manipulation and Shaping would be harder until he got exampes.

However, today he decided to try something different. "Raelis we will be deviating from my training plan. I got a new Skill from my Path. I really want to see the impact it has on the Material Conjuring Skill. I imagine it will be important to have the right materials when creating artefacts in the future," Shada told the ever helpful butler Spirit.

"Of course, master Shada. I suggest simply starting from the beginning of the conjuring lists."

"Sounds like a plan, Raelis." Shada said as he prepared the Holy Flash Spell form. He wanted to be thorough in his experiments.

As soon as the spell activated Raelis screamed in pain. Shada was shocked. Had he done something wrong?

"Raelis? Are you ok? What happened?" Shada said as he focused on the ghostly goat man who now appeared burnt and smoking.

"Masstteer Shaasda, what was that?" Raelis hissed.

"Holy Flash…it is just a Flash Spell form using Holy Essence from my new Skill…what happened?"

"Foolish young Master…didn't your family explain what I am!?" Raelis hissed loudly. His affable nature was missing.

"Just that you were a contracted spirit tied to the Mound."

"A contracted demonic spirit, Master Shada."

"You're a demon? Like a hellfire and brimstone demon?" Shada asked curiously. He might have been afraid if Vanestra had ever given any indication that Raelis was dangerous.

"What do you know of demons, Shada?"

"Earth religions had myths about demons. They were considered evil spirits and were often depicted as fallen angels who rebelled against God and were punished. They were said to reside in Hell, which is where mortal sinners who committed evil acts, were supposed to go to be tortured for eternity."

"Tortured for eternity? What mad god thought up that nonsense? Demons come from the Infernal Plane. Yes, it could be called a hell by some. It is a prison for those who have betrayed the Gods. Often through acts you might indeed consider evil. We are cursed to never bask in the light of the Divine. Holy Essence literally burns us!" Raelis hissed that last part.

"So you are evil?"

"I have done evil…whether I am inherently so is up for philosophical debate. You are missing the point. You used Holy Essence and you can not use Holy Essence around a demon unless you are purposely trying to harm them! I can't believe they didn't warn you," Raelis ranted as he recovered.

"That really limits my planned experiments. Does that apply to just when you are around or to the Mound as a whole?" Shada asked in frustration. He had no enmity with Raelis and didn't want to hurt him, but Holy Essence had become part of his Path. He had to practice.

"Just when I am present. We will designate a specific workroom for Holy Essence and I will not be able to assist while you work there, young master Shada." The last was added almost as an afterthought. Raelis continued to collect himself and return to a more professional mindset.

"So I imagine this workroom is already tainted…One day I would love to hear how you ended up in prisoned and bound here." Shada said thoughtfully. He made a mental note to ask Vanestra more about Raelis.

"Of course, master Shada. I will take my leave now so you can continue your…experiments," Raelis said before disappearing out the door.

Raelis seemed irritated with him, Shada thought.

—

It became clear that he could use Holy Essence to conjure various Holy Materials, but cost more and the exact benefits were unknown. Going through his whole list didn't give him a new Skill. Maybe Material Conjuring covered Holy Materials? He would have to ask someone from the Temple about the use of Materials Conjured with Holy Essence.

He had another experiment he had been thinking about for a while. Was there an Essence Conjuring Skill or better yet an Essence Mastery Skill? Conjuring required a resonance and an Etheric Planar bridge and he had learned Material Conjuring by doing manually what he could already do with spell forms. He didn't have a simple spell form for Essence Conjuring though.

As he thought, he questioned what he knew. Didn't Essence Control already use resonance to move and shape Essence? Could he copy that for Essence Conjuring?

Shada spent several hours trying to pull Essence from the Etheric Plane like he did various materials. He wasn't sure why it was harder, but it had been the opposite with Materials. Material Conjuring and Banishing had been easier for Shada to develop than Manipulation and Shaping. Maybe Essence was just naturally easier to Manipulate and Shape than materials were? Maybe there were hidden talents or affinities like in novels? Shada didn't know.

Then he realized the problem. He had Essence Perception, which gave him an absolutely unfair advantage when it came to Shaping and Manipulating Essence. He had no Material Perception. In fact his Spirit form limited his senses. He had no sense of taste, touch, or smell. He still didn't really understand how he saw or heard.

He went back to his other question about Essence Conjuring and Banishing. What was the problem? Wait. What was it that Raelis had said about Conjuring? Abundance? The more abundant a material was in the environment the easier it was to Conjure right? Also the more rare a material was the less efficient Conjuring became? Shada could Conjure gold, but the amount of Essence required was worth more than the amount of gold he would get. Was it the same with Essence? Was the ambient Essence too thin and Essence itself too rare? So was the solution that simple? More Essence? Shada tried it and was surprised when he triggered a new Skill.

Since it was possible he decided to try the opposite. Could he Banish Essence? Would that get him Essence Mastery? He could only try.

It took a while, so long he actually skipped Cultivation that night, but he succeeded. He managed to make a tiny amount of Essence vanish. Unfortunately, the Essence had been from an Essence Crystal. This sudden disappearance caused an instability in the crystal, which caused it to shatter and explode into a cloud of crystalline dust. The implications were troubling. Would Essence Banishing allow him to disrupt and break Spells and Enchantments? He literally destroyed the equivalent of money in the local economic system with his experiment, but he got the desired Skill.

He wondered what his grandparents would think.

—

"I envy your Essence Perception Skill far more than you will ever know, Shada. Essence Mastery is an Archmage Level Skill. I am an Archmage, it took me centuries of study! Centuries Shada! To gain what you have in barely more than a year!" Alexzandros ranted the next evening.

"I don't even have it , but magic is not my primary Path. I have Spirit Mastery, but like your grandfather said, it was the work of centuries!" Vanestra exclaimed.

"I have Vitality Mastery, but that is a specialization. It still took decades. Even that is considered fast," Shinobin said with a shrug.

"Impossible child," Vanestra sighed. "You haven't finished Material Mastery as well have you?" she asked.

"No, I don't have a Material Perception Skill to give me the same advantage or examples of Manipulation and Shaping Spells. So I am still working my way through the basic Material Banishment list," Shada answered, much to the relief of everyone's ego.

"As long as you continue to practice diligently between Essence Mastery and Polyglotism there is no known spell you will be unable to learn, no known enchantment you can't recreate. Once you have Material Mastery…You will essentially be able to Conjure Artefacts. Shada, heed my words. You must grow and learn as fast as possible. If people know of your potential and you can't protect yourself? Wars would be fought to control you," Vanestra said with finality.

The conversation ended there. Everyone had too much to consider to continue talking.

—

It took a few months, but Shada managed to acquire the Material Banishing Skill. It immediately merged with Material Conjuring to form a new Skill.

It would take him years to learn the Material Manipulation and Shaping Skills.

—

"Acolyte Vreen, can I ask you a few questions about the Temples and clergy?" Shada asked one day at the Root clinic.

"It would be my honor Blessed Spirit. What would you like to know?" Vreen replied in a meek voice.

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"The clergy have access to Holy Essence via Attunements correct?" Shada asked.

"Of course Blessed Spirit. Why do you ask?"

"How are Holy materials used by the clergy?"

"You mean Blessed materials?"

"Is there a difference between a Holy and Blessed material?"

"Of course! Blessed materials have been made Holy by the infusion of Holy Essence. Holy materials would be inherently Holy by their very nature. Blessings fade or can be lost. Holiness is inherent. It is why we call you a Blessed Spirit instead of a Holy Spirit. You were Blessed with holiness, but holiness is not inherent to your nature. Does that help?" Vreen asked shyly.

"It does actually, thank you, Vreen. I assume that Blessed objects are relatively common then?'" Shada inquired next.

"Blessed water and oil are quite common in religious rituals of all faiths, yes."

"What about Holy Materials? Are there clergy that use Conjuring magic?"

"Conjuring is not common among the clergy. Most clergy walk the Spiritual Paths and not the Magical Paths. Therefore Holy materials are quite rare, very valuable, and coveted," Vreen responded more earnestly than before.

"What are Holy Materials used for?" Was Shada's next question. He was trying to gather leads on how his Path could be used to make Artefacts.

"Those secrets are beyond a humble Acolyte like myself Blessed Spirit, but there are permanent rituals and Artefacts said to be made of Holy Materials. They are rare and heavily regulated by the Temples," Vreen replied with their head bowed.

"Thank you, Acolyte Vreen, for sharing your knowledge with me," Shada replied before moving on to other projects for the day.

—

Shada was working with his Guide to make sense of his progress. He had made personal notes as part of his writing practice, but it seemed he may have made some errors. The Guide, and related System mechanics, were more complex than he had first realized and a few symbols in Wylderfolk Tongue looked remarkably similar to each other creating errors in his notes.

So tracking his progress was proving harder than expected. He finally coaxed the Guide to provide a Visual Status Sheet so he could analyze it section by section.

His name, age, and race really hadn't changed. It was interesting that the Guide recognized him as being older, Shada thought to himself. He mentally chuckled that he wouldn't have to share a birthday with himself.

Level was just total Stats divided by 5. He hadn't increased his Stats since getting his Path.

The most interesting change to the Path, Class, and Profession section of his Status were his new Path and the Path Bonuses. If he was reading things right, then his bonuses only applied to him. Luca wouldn't benefit from Shada's Path.

When he dug deeper the Guide let him know that the Leveling bonuses reduced training time and increased efficiency of Cultivation. That meant he would require less time and Essence to see the same amount of progress he would have before.

His Traits seemed unchanged. Not that he expected them to, but he was a thorough type person, er Spirit.

It seemed that Magic Stat was stuck at Level 19 and he didn't know how to progress it further. His Physical and Social Stats were essentially locked. Without physicality the Stats had nothing to work with. He couldn't Cultivate them and he highly suspected that it would be up to Luca to do so.

The Mind Stat always bugged Shada. He didn't know if both he, and Luca, got the benefit of the full 10 points or if the benefit was split. Luca was very intelligent for his age, but was that natural or from the Stat? Shada simply didn't know enough yet. Attributes were the latest addition to his Status.

Attributes appeared to level just like Stats. They required a combination of practice, understanding, and of course Cultivated Essence.

All together he had, roughly, five times the Essence he started with and his Attuned Essence pools were roughly four times as large. Attunements were really about efficiency and anything he could use attuned Essence for he could use Personal Essence, but less efficiently.

His Traits Skills had leveled from frequent use, but many had also hit what appeared to be some sort of Level cap. He didn't know how to get his Stats and Skills past the cap.

Shada's Guide Skills leveled slowly. He had yet to need Loot and Inventory remained Essence expensive. Analyze and Timekeeping had seen the most use, but Map lagged behind due to what he suspected was simply geographic isolation. He was not well traveled on the world of Sierrallas.

His Path Skills included his new Skills, but had also pulled Spellcrafting from his General Skills list. Of the three Spellcrafting was the most advanced, but he wasn't using it often enough to level it frequently. He hadn't tried Artifice and planned to wait until he understood what Artefacts were. He suspected Holy Essence Conversion would level soon from his use at the clinic. He was surprised to see that he had two Locked Skills under his Path Skills. Based on what he could get out of the Guide he would get more Skills at higher Ranks or if he gained relevant Skills on his own.

He coaxed the Guide into showing him a list for the Ranking system.

Silent Spellcasting had reached the level cap from all his practice. While he used Psychokinesis frequently it was never as often as others. His new Status not only showed Stat and Skill Ranks, but his advanced Skills he got from combining Skills apparently had a Tier system. Tier 2 combined 2 Skills while Tier 3 Skills combined 4 Skills. Would Rank 4 and 5 require him to combine 8 and 16 Skills? Shada hoped not, as that seemed excessive even if it fit the pattern.

Overall he had made incredible progress, but he was far from where he needed to be to protect himself and Luca. It gave him a goal to strive for.