Chapter 39 – Soul Confrontation

Two earth-element magical beasts were not enough—Lin Wei summoned another beast skilled in the ice element. White frost instantly covered the black ground, freezing the faint shimmer of water that had just begun to rise in the swamp, further reinforcing the earth-element beasts’ magic that solidified the ground.

In this way, if the thing controlling the swamp maintained its previous strength, the area where Lin Wei and Duan Yu stood could remain safe for a long time—as long as it was a conscious and intelligent creature, it would change its strategy and unleash stronger magic. Duan Yu, who had sensed the first wave of magic, would undoubtedly be able to detect an even stronger one.

The sky grew darker, and the now-calm unicorn displayed its innate light-element magic. Not only its horn but its entire body emitted a soft, radiant white light. Centered around it, the gentle glow illuminated a considerable area—Lin Wei had to admit that the ancient practice of revering light mages as divine messengers was not without reason. At least in this situation, even a mid-tier light-element magical beast could significantly diminish the eerie atmosphere brought by the surrounding withered trees, preventing one from falling into fear.

While waiting for the thing to strike again, Lin Wei chanted a few more spells. A group of small arcane bats flew out from the Gate of Contracts, quietly choosing nearby withered trees to hang upside down, awaiting their master’s command.

The mental magic of arcane bats was extremely rare and highly useful in combat, but the biggest drawback of summoning them was that their mental attacks spread like ripples, indiscriminately targeting all creatures with mental energy in the area. Even Lin Wei, as the summoner, was not exempt.

However… the arcane bats were one of Lin Wei’s most frequently summoned creatures, both in this life and the last—if they could inflict the most effective damage on the enemy, the Young Duke didn’t mind suffering a bit himself. Moreover, if the thing was indeed hidden deep within the swamp, mental attacks were the only means Lin Wei could use to penetrate the muck and harm it before it emerged.

As for Duan Yu, who was standing nearby—Lin Wei was quite confident about this. Since they often sparred at the academy, Duan Yu had encountered these little creatures many times and had grown increasingly resistant to mental attacks… Thinking back to their sparring sessions, he had already become almost unaffected by these small bats!

As for luring the thing out, if it truly was an elemental spirit, Lin Wei was determined to form a master-servant contract with it—or even a lifebound contract. As a summoner, he didn’t have the robust physique of a warrior, nor could he freely attack, defend, and maneuver using magic elements like a mage—his body was no different from an ordinary person’s. Even if he summoned powerful defensive beasts and relied on agile movements, he couldn’t guarantee complete safety due to the need to divide his attention. But if he possessed an earth-elemental spirit, it would be a different story! These magical creatures possessed higher intelligence than beasts and could provide more perfect defense, compensating for the summoner’s lack of agility and physical fragility.

The ground was now solid enough. Duan Yu dismounted the unicorn and stood to Lin Wei’s right front, the Gungnir Spear gleaming with a cold light, a sign that magic elements were beginning to fill it.

After Duan Yu obtained the Gungnir Spear, Daniel had come to claim it, studying it carefully for a day—the final conclusion was that it was an exceptionally outstanding magical artifact. When returning it, Daniel had said in an exaggerated tone: “Great Creator God—this is a perfect magical weapon! I can’t imagine who could have created it, not even my teacher. I almost suspect it’s the work of the outstanding forging race from before the Dark Age—the dwarves! No, not just the dwarves, but also a powerful alchemist master proficient in various magic arrays. The arrays on this are dizzying—even if you don’t want to put in much effort and simply infuse it with magical energy, with the assistance of these arrays, the resulting spell would still be a formidable, fully-formed magic!”

“And, there’s one more thing…” Daniel gazed at the Gungnir Spear, treating it with an incredibly tender, almost gentle touch, not complaining about its coldness. His ice-green eyes sparkled, no different from when he was tinkering with the Magic Wheel: “You must know, no matter how ancient the magic arrays are, they and the current ones rely on the same rules—they are interconnected. But here, I’ve discovered a completely different set of rules! This has never appeared on any magical weapon or artifact before!”

Lin Wei took the Gungnir Spear from him, eyeing him suspiciously: “Daniel, from what I know, you’re not one to lavish praise.”

“My dear Lin Wei—you’re always so considerate. I have a small request. When we return to the academy, could you let me study it with the teacher…”

Before Daniel could finish, the brown door slammed shut with a loud “bang”: “Every moment it’s in your hands is a moment of anxiety—your teacher is the same. Master Sirius’s reputation for ruining three top-tier magic arrays in the name of research is still being brought up by Mr. Sylvester!”

Daniel was not granted permission to further study the Gungnir Spear. In fact, whether Lin Wei and Duan Yu could even return to the academy was now a serious question, let alone hand over the Gungnir Spear to Master Sirius for study upon their return. But Daniel’s words did confirm one thing: the Gungnir Spear’s power was undeniable. After Duan Yu became a high mage, it could become even stronger—it perfectly matched Duan Yu’s combat style. Without using the Gungnir Spear, Duan Yu could completely defeat the skilled wind mage Ah Lan. With it, his combat power was on par with a high mage.

Because of this, with Duan Yu by his side, Lin Wei didn’t feel that facing an elemental spirit was dangerous—being on the same side as Duan Yu in this life, rather than being his enemy, was truly something to be grateful for.

Perhaps because the Withered Wood Forest was so silent, time passed very slowly. Layer upon layer of ice and earth-element magic was applied to the swamp, making the ground beneath the two of them incredibly solid.

Lin Wei extended his right hand, and one of the earth-element beasts spat out a small magical light, which flew to his hand and condensed into an oval-shaped gray stone.

Lin Wei threw the stone far into the distance. It remained on the black ground for a moment before being silently swallowed, disappearing without a trace.

“This place has completely turned into a swamp,” Lin Wei said. “I think it won’t be long before it makes its move…”

After saying this, Lin Wei fell silent. He knew that the quieter it was now, the more accurately Duan Yu’s spiritual power could detect the thing’s location.

Not long after, Duan Yu’s right hand, which was resting on the Gungnir Spear, slowly tightened: “There’s a fluctuation.”

As soon as he spoke, the black swamp began to churn. The withered trees on its surface rose and fell with its movements, and the putrid stench of the swamp wafted out. Lin Wei had to urge the unicorn to cast a light-element purification spell to reduce the discomfort caused by the smell.

The swamp’s churning grew more intense, gradually forming a pattern as it attempted to create a massive vortex that would envelop the area where the two stood.

At the same time, the earth-element magic was being eroded by magic of the same element!

—Element against element, with purity determining superiority!

The earth-element magic cast by the beasts was immediately and completely suppressed, and the ground began to loosen—this further convinced Lin Wei that the thing controlling the swamp was undoubtedly an earth-elemental spirit.

Fortunately, there was still the ice-element magic to rely on. Lin Wei immediately recalled the now-useless earth-element beasts and focused on casting support spells for the ice-element beasts to counter the earth-element magic.

Previously, the thing had only controlled the swamp, and the swamp’s soil didn’t possess magical power. But now, the ice-element magic, which was countering the earth-element magic, immediately felt the strain—though this also meant one thing: since it was now using its true magical power, it wouldn’t be long before its hiding place was discovered!

White spiritual energy gathered around the ice-element beasts, while a thin strand also monitored the external situation—Duan Yu’s pale golden spiritual energy, which had originally covered a vast area and penetrated deep into the swamp, was now gradually shrinking—only a faint glow remained at the edges, while the rest followed the veins of the earth-element magic, slowly converging toward one spot.

No matter how powerful a magic was, its elements weren’t evenly distributed based on range and distance. Therefore, as long as one understood its pattern, the source of the magic could be tracked.

“Found it?” Lin Wei asked softly.

“To the left, very far away, very deep, and moving toward us.”

“Far away?” Lin Wei said. “We can’t wait for it to come—the ice beasts won’t hold out. I’ll solidify a path. Can you get as close as possible?”

The thing’s magic control was wide-ranging, and wide-area magic meant that the closer one was to the caster, the stronger the magic. These ice-element beasts were only mid-tier and could hardly withstand it.

“No need to get close,” Duan Yu said calmly.

The cold light on the Gungnir Spear grew brighter until it became like a solid blade. Then, Duan Yu released his grip on the spear—it didn’t fall but instead floated up, rising high into the air, its blade pointing directly at the thing’s location.

After a brief pause, it shot through the dark sky like a dazzling meteor, streaking straight toward the target. In its original position, an identical phantom appeared, hovering quietly.

Lin Wei suddenly remembered what Daniel had said after being shut out, pounding on the door: “Lin Wei, you brat—you’re absolutely heartless! Do you know what those special rules might be? I’ll bet ten high-tier magic crystals that it’s the legendary ‘blessing’! A divine blessing! It grants the magical weapon incredible abilities, on par with the ‘indestructible’ blessing on the War God’s axe in the legends!”

Lin Wei had mercilessly retorted at the time: “That does sound good—but who’s ever seen the War God’s axe?”

Though he said this, Lin Wei also knew that this weapon indeed had something special, especially after he learned some of the basic rules of the magical world and alchemy… The Gungnir Spear’s performance in battle was truly beyond the current craftsmanship of the magical world.

The powerful Gungnir Spear, the Common Language of the Continent used to write the Book of Contracts, and the “Elf’s Tears” given to Haitie, which appeared in the bards’ songs… The items the three of them had obtained from the old man all seemed to trace back to the distant era before the Dark Age.

Lin Wei pulled his wandering thoughts back and watched the Gungnir Spear as it streaked through the air—the spear tip began to tilt downward, heading toward the swamp. Around it, an invisible magical current surged, but this didn’t harm the soul tendrils Lin Wei extended.

The soul energy followed the Gungnir Spear, plunging straight into the swamp.

In the pitch-black darkness, a sharp screech rang out—this sound certainly didn’t belong to the Gungnir Spear or any of the magical beasts now gathered around Lin Wei.

Yes, this was it… As the Gungnir Spear struck, the soul energy also discovered it—in a gray, empty void, a white soul stood out starkly to the summoner.

The soul was a tightly glowing orb, its form undoubtedly more powerful than the scattered souls of magical beasts.

The soul had a faint ripple, indicating that its owner was engaged in battle.

Lin Wei felt that this was the limit of his divided attention—the world seen through soul energy, the battle observed through spiritual power, and the surrounding environment visible to his eyes were all intertwined in a complex way, shifting as his focus changed. At the same time, he also had to control the actions of the ice-element beasts and cast support spells—and those little bats!

Teacher Adele had emphasized the training of divided attention for a long time, having Lin Wei control numerous magical beasts to coordinate attacks. Now, it seemed that such training had been highly effective, ensuring that Lin Wei wouldn’t miss any valuable information.

In the spiritual world, dense earth-element energy clashed fiercely with sharp metal-element energy, and a massive magical shockwave erupted. The swarm of arcane bats spread their wings, gliding toward the source like ghosts, their mental attacks mercilessly striking down. The gray earth-element magic noticeably faltered.

The sharp shockwave also exploded in Lin Wei’s mind. His face paled, but he still used the contract to drive the arcane bats, increasing the intensity of the mental attacks. The Gungnir Spear, as a magical weapon unrelated to spiritual power, continued its assault without any hindrance. As the earth-element magic weakened, the spear pressed forward—the earth-element defenses began to show signs of collapse, and the still-sharp Gungnir Spear pierced through them, directly confronting the caster’s physical form.

—This strike was clearly effective. The soul orb’s light dimmed significantly, and at the same time, Lin Wei’s soul tendrils suddenly expanded, branching out into countless strands that stabbed toward the white orb.

The thing seemed to lack the ability to divide its attention. Now solely focused on its battle with the Gungnir Spear and Lin Wei’s soul energy, it could no longer spare any effort to control the swamp. The pressure on the ice-element beasts lessened considerably. After letting out a sigh of relief, Lin Wei immediately took advantage of the thing’s suppressed soul to extend his soul tendrils again, quickly forming a contract seal—soul attacks were short-lived, and establishing the contract was the main event.

In the spiritual world, white threads poked at the pale golden light screen, and after receiving a response from the golden spiritual energy, all of Lin Wei’s white spiritual energy scattered in the area was withdrawn.

The arcane bats’ mental attacks and the ice-element beasts’ freezing magic ceased simultaneously. All the beasts, including the unicorn serving as a mount, were recalled. Replacing the ice-element magic to stabilize the ground was dense metal-element energy seeping into the soil, while the Gungnir Spear still held the upper hand—now, it was Duan Yu who was managing the overall situation.

No matter how many tricks Lin Wei had played with various powers earlier, the process of forming a contract required complete focus—when it came to matters of the soul, all carelessness was strictly forbidden!

Lin Wei stood beside Duan Yu, closing his eyes. His spiritual energy guided almost all of his soul power, pressing down on the thing’s soul orb along the previously extended soul tendrils.

The soul power of a naturally gifted summoner, honed and strengthened through training, was undoubtedly superior to that of any magical creature. A forced contract could be attempted, but it required overwhelming suppression to reduce the soul burden it entailed. The weaker the magical creature’s resistance, the more successful the contract would be.

A summoner could only communicate with a magical creature through an already established contract. Naturally, Lin Wei couldn’t simply talk to it out of thin air, persuading or luring it into forming a contract. To weaken its resistance, he could only rely on the power displayed in battle…

The soul orb’s fluctuations grew more intense, even flickering, indicating that its battle with Duan Yu was fierce and that it was at a disadvantage.

The soul power enveloped the orb, making contact—the thing’s instincts should now tell it that this was the prelude to a contract.

The orb, which had been focused on hunting but hadn’t expected one of its prey to be a summoner, showed clear signs of struggle. At that moment, the phantom of the Gungnir Spear, which had been hovering quietly in the air, suddenly split into countless copies, all stabbing down toward it.

The effect of this strike was obvious—the orb’s light dimmed rapidly, suggesting that its physical form had been severely injured. Fear of death after defeat—this was the best time to form a contract.

The soul tendrils extended toward the orb again, and its resistance was noticeably weaker.

The complex contract seal had already been formed; now, it needed to merge with the soul.

The orb was encircled by Lin Wei’s soul power, and the contract seal slowly descended, making contact.

What Lin Wei didn’t expect, however, was a sharp pain exploding in his soul the moment the contract seal touched the orb!

His vision darkened, and he let out a muffled groan.

“Lin Wei?” Duan Yu immediately noticed his condition and reached out to steady his swaying body.