Extra Of The Magus Academy

[A Few Hours Later…]

"Haa…"

Ash felt more strength return to his weakened body as he slowly rose from his dormant position and took a meditative pose.

'Now that my body has recovered to an extent, all that's left is my Soul.'

Just as he had feared, 20 Spirit Stones was not enough to get his Familiar to the Medium Grade. In order to make up for this deficiency, Ash had to use some of the pure Magia in his Soul, which ended up causing a big depletion in his Soul Energy.

'That's the main reason I was so exhausted once it was over…' He sighed. 'And now that my body has recovered, I need to find a way to siphon energy to my Soul to replenish that core energy.'

There were, of course, two main ways to go about this.

One was to wait for the Soul to naturally replenish its lost energy. Since Mages used the Magia in the Soul often for basic Spells, without the aid of the Familiars, it wasn't a strange thing for the energy in the Soul to reduce.

With sufficient time and rest, the Magia within would restore itself.

'But that will take too much time, since the energy I lost is too big. Plus, with my Familiar now being a Medium Grade, it requires a certain level of Magia quantity and quality in my Soul to maintain, which means waiting isn't an option…'

Even if it was an option, Ash still wouldn't opt for that.

Why?

Because the Exchange was in just a few days, and he couldn't afford to wait around for his Soul to replenish its energy.

'The second main method is Spirit Stones, but I doubt I can get my hands on more anytime soon…' Ash sighed.

Did this mean he was stranded? Did he regret his decision?

The answer to both questions was NO.

'I haven't read about this particular method in the novel, but considering how something similar happened, and the fact that it should be possible in theory, I think I can invent a third method.'

And what was that?

'I can transfer some of the energy in my main Soul to Ashfelt's Soul, which should balance things out considerably…' He smiled. 'My main Soul has a lot more pure Magia, and I can also take as much time restoring it passively, so there's no problem.'

As for how he was going to achieve this transfer, it wasn't as complicated as one would expect.

'My consciousness is linked to both Souls, which means there is a link to them. All I have to do is transfer energy from one to another… though it will definitely require a lot of concentration.'

In the future, if he got a hang of it enough, he could even use it for other reasons.

'It will especially be useful in combat, since I would be able to constantly transfer energy from one Soul to another.'

Unfortunately, he was nowhere near that level yet.

'So, for now… I'll have to exercise the utmost concentration and do this.'

Ash closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts, simply focusing on the task he had embarked on.

Everything was pitch black, until he saw one cluster of light.

Then two clusters of light.

His Souls.

One of the Clusters was evidently bigger than the other—at least five times bigger—and it glowed far brighter than the first Cluster. Like Neurons firing, the energies that made up the Clusters danced around and sparkled with power.

The larger Cluster looked energetic and bright, but the smaller one had a pale glow about it, not very energetic and also warbling rather weakly.

This showed just how weakened it was.

'The damage is more severe than I expected.' Ash sighed. 'Fortunately, there is a connection, just as I expected.'

The same way the body had nerves connecting one part to another, these two Souls had a bunch of pathways that resembled tiny pipes and strands of wires that connected the two of them. They also had a larger pipe—like the windpipe connecting the lungs—leading to a place high above that Ash couldn't observe.

It seemed like a dark place, a blot in his body that he couldn't comprehend.

Ash was tempted to wonder about it, and perhaps investigate, but he couldn't afford to break his concentration. Rather than dwelling on what he didn't know, he focused on the task at hand and began the transfer of energy from the bigger Soul to the smaller one.

Within the two white Clusters, there were varying colors within them, representing the Spirits that inhabited the Souls.

One was bright green, representing the Medium Grade Wind Spirit.

As for the other, it glowed bright golden within the larger Cluster, majestically spreading its influence within its confines.

This was, of course, the Golden Phoenix Nyx.

As soon as Ash began the transfer, it alerted both Familiars, and while the Wind Spirit remained submissive and silent, the Phoenix stirred and its voice entered Ash's consciousness.

"It's been a while, Master."

Ash sighed.

He was really trying to concentrate, yet this Familiar was interrupting a very delicate process.

He couldn't really blame Nyx, though.

After all, Hosts and Familiars shared a particular bond that made them communicate constantly with each other—of course, depending on the kind of contract they employed. Many Mages referred to their Familiars as their best friends and closest allies due to the nature of this relationship.

However, for Ash, he hardly ever spoke to his Familiars.

The former Lesser Grade Wind Spirit had very low intelligence, and it behaved more instinctively, so it wasn't really a problem for it. However, Nyx was different.

Even though she was childish—clearly revealing her relatively young age compared to much older Spirits—she was very intelligent and could hold proper conversations with him. This component of hers made her desire said conversations, which were not reciprocated by Ash, the Host.

Normally, it wouldn't matter what Ash wanted, but since he was the Master in their relationship, Nyx had to do his bidding.

And so, if silence was what he wanted, that was what he got.

For this reason, Nyx never spoke to him until he wanted her to—which was very rarely.

'Why are you talking to me now?'