[Spirit Contracts]

﹄ Galaxy Destroyer

Glancing at this Arbiter panel, Klein smiled faintly.

Erica facepalmed herself "How did you even come up with that name?" she muttered, rubbing her temple.

"You just contracted an elegant Gale Jaguar, and you named it Galaxy Destroyer?"

Klein chuckled softly and patted the jaguar’s head, "It’s a great name. I can shorten it as Gale. You like that name, right? Gale?"

The Gale Jaguar let out a contented rumble and affectionately rubbed its head against his palm, clearly approving of both the full name and the nickname.

Its golden-green eyes narrowed in pleasure as it leaned into the touch.

Erica crouched down beside Klein, looking at the spirit.

She reached out and gently stroked the jaguar’s back, feeling the swirling wind energy around it.

"Contracted spirits usually stay in the Spirit Realm or within your body," she explained.

"You can summon them whenever you want by calling their name and channeling mana. They exist in a spiritual form inside you until needed."

She paused, watching as Gale nuzzled closer to Klein.

"To keep them in the material world for long periods, it consumes your mana continuously. If you run out of mana, the summoning will end automatically, and they will return to the Spirit Realm or within you."

"The stronger the spirit and the longer you keep it manifested, the greater the drain on your reserves."

Klein nodded thoughtfully, "So I’ll need to raise my mana capacity and control if I want to keep Gale out for extended fights."

"Exactly," Erica muttered.

"For now, since you’re still F-rank physically and your mana core is developing, it’s best to summon Gale only when necessary."

"As you grow stronger and form more contracts, managing multiple spirits will become one of your biggest challenges."

"Many talented spirit users fail because they cannot handle the mental and mana burden of multiple contracts."

He just smiled ’This is the reason I did the five mana core technique in my past life, even though it’s dangerous.’

’I get a lot of mana reserves compared to someone with one mana core.’

Erica stood up and stretched her arms "Shall we continue? I will also teach you some Spirit Binding techniques."

Gale walked proudly by his side, occasionally brushing against Klein’s leg.

Erica led them to a quieter part of the forest.

"Spirit Binding is technically like a barrier technique used to seal or restrain a spirit," she explained, raising her hand.

A soft violet light gathered in her palm, forming a glowing cage of runes. "It is usually used to control a rampaging spirit or to subdue one before initiating a contract. It can also be used defensively to trap enemy spirits."

She demonstrated by waving her hand.

The violet rune cage expanded and locked onto a nearby small glowing fox.

The fox yelped in surprise as it was trapped inside the barrier, unable to escape.

"Watch carefully. The key is balance. If the cage is too strong, it might break the Spirit’s essence, but if it’s too weak, the spirit will break out of it."

Erica released the fox, which scampered away with a disgruntled huff.

She then turned to him "So while doing this- Huh?"

Her eyes widened in shock as Klein raised his hand and formed a golden cage of runes.

Her words died in her throat.

Klein had already raised his hand. Golden light swirled around his palm as he replicated the technique instantly.

With a gentle wave, the cage shot forward and captured the same fox that had just escaped.

The fox looked more surprised than distressed this time, tilting its head inside the golden prison.

Erica’s eyes widened in genuine shock as she stared at the scene.

’W-What...? He just saw it once and immediately replicated it?’

Klein, however, frowned slightly, ’Aeloria used something else... That was...’

He gently extended his hand again. The golden cage dissolved, freeing the fox.

But instead of stopping there, small golden swords began forming in the air around his palm.

With a casual wave, the swords shot forward and enlarged mid-flight, arranging themselves in a perfect circle around the fox.

The fox froze in fear, surrounded by the floating golden swords.

Erica just stood still, staring at the spirit-binding technique.

As someone who had studied spirits for decades, this was simply mind-blowing.

This young man not only copied her Spirit Binding technique after seeing it once, but he also created his own variation, turning it into a sword-based formation.

’Just what kind of monster did I take in as my disciple...?’

Klein lowered his hand, and the golden swords dissolved into light particles.

The fox who was bullied scrambled out of the place as fast as it could.

Looking at his palm, Klein’s frown deepened ’My mana pool is still F rank. I need to level it up.’

He turned to look at Erica’s dumbfounded face and smiled teasingly "Was that acceptable?"

Erica remained silent for a few long seconds, processing what she had just witnessed.

Then, a slow, almost helpless smile spread across her face "...Acceptable?"

Before Klein could react, Erica stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his neck in a loose, playful headlock, pulling him slightly toward her.

Her long purple hair brushed against his shoulder as she laughed softly "I made the right choice. You are going to surpass all my expectations, you little rascal."

Klein couldn’t help but chuckle, though he was mildly surprised that a dignified woman like her was acting so casually.

She grinned "Come on, I will teach you more."

As they moved through, Erica continued teaching him concepts such as strengthening the bond with a contracted spirit, sharing senses with them, and the basics of multi-spirit coordination.

Klein listened to her words intently. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

For the first time since arriving at the academy, he felt genuinely excited about the path ahead.

---

The world blurred for a moment.

When his vision cleared, they were back in the underground chamber of the Spirit Division.

The door sealed shut behind them.

Erica turned to him, brushing a strand of purple hair behind her ear "You did well today, Klein. Exceptionally well. Your comprehension speed is frightening."

"Your Gale Jaguar has already formed a strong initial bond. Continue nurturing it."

With a smile, he nodded "Mhm."

---

As the elevator doors opened with a soft chime, Erica and Klein stepped out together into the quiet hallway.

They were chatting and laughing lightly as Erica was talking about how she caught her first spirit.

"...and then I chased it for hours before finally catching it."

Hearing this, Klein couldn’t help but chuckle "Seems like you were really persistent even back then."

Erica had a playful smile on her lips "You have no idea."

Evelyne, who had been waiting on the bench outside the office, immediately stood up when she saw them.

"Master, I have brought what you asked for."

Erica’s violet eyes lit up "Oh, nice. Thank you, Evelyne. You’re always so efficient."

She turned to Klein and grasped his hand without hesitation, pulling him along with her toward the office door.

"Come with me."

He smiled dryly and let himself be pulled inside the room.

Evelyne followed quietly behind them, closing the door once they were all inside.

The office was as breathtaking as before, with its panoramic view of the academy now glowing under the soft afternoon lights.

On the desk, there was a black spear and a simple silver ring beside it.

The spearhead was razor-sharp and emitted a faint aura even when sheathed in a protective casing.

Klein’s eyes widened slightly as a look of genuine surprise crossed his face.

Erica noticed his reaction and smiled internally.

She let go of his hand and gestured toward the items on the desk "Consider this your welcome gift as my personal disciple."

"It’s an Epic-grade spear."

She then pointed at the silver ring "And this is a Spatial Storage Ring. It has a large internal space, and it’s bound to your mana signature once you wear it."

Klein walked closer to the desk, with his eyes fixed on the spear. He reached out and gently ran his fingers along the shaft.

"Thank you, Master."

Erica waved her hand casually, though her smile showed she was pleased by his reaction.

"No need for such formalities. As your Master, this is the least I should do."

She then picked up the silver ring and handed it to him.

"Put this on. It will recognize you immediately."

Klein slipped the ring onto his finger, and a brief flash of light occurred as it bound to his mana.

Erica smiled faintly and patted his shoulder "Good. Go and rest. For the time being, focus on stabilizing your new contract and getting used to academy life."

Her smile softened "You may leave. We’ll meet again tomorrow."

He returned her smile "Yes, Master."

Evelyne watched their conversation in amazement ’It seems like they have gotten pretty close in one day.’

She would be lying if she said she is not jealous.

Erica had always been strict and somewhat distant, even with her.

Yet with Klein, she was already showing such a level of warmth and generosity.

As Klein left the office, Evelyne glanced at Erica "Master, if there’s nothing else, I will take my leave as well."

Erica waved her hand lightly, still smiling as she sat back down behind her desk.

"Go ahead. And Evelyne... keep an eye on him. He is going to shake things up around here. I want you to support him when needed."

---

As he stepped out of the Spirit Division building, he got a message from Liora.

[Liora: Come to the Spear training ground right now.]