Elemental Spirits and the Whispers of the Soul

For the entire morning, Leon was in a state of mixed excitement, anticipation, and a little anxiety. He forced himself back to his room and tried to "calm his mind" as Elisa had told him, but with little effect. The peculiar meditation experience from breakfast, those faint points of light, and the even stranger, more elusive dark "veins" repeatedly replayed in his mind.

"Full attribute affinity... although weak..." Aunt Margaret's assessment made him both relieved and uneasy. Relieved that he wasn't entirely devoid of talent, uneasy because this talent seemed mediocre. And while "full attribute" sounded impressive, based on his experience reading novels, it often meant being a jack of all trades and master of none, making cultivation difficult.

Time crawled by amidst his apprehension. At a quarter to two in the afternoon, Leon arrived early outside the door of Elisa's magic laboratory in the eastern wing of the Count's mansion. It was a heavy oak door, inlaid with intricate silver runes that faintly emanated magical fluctuations. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, before gently knocking.

The door slid open silently. The sight within the laboratory made Leon's eyes light up.

The room was more spacious and brighter than he had imagined. The dome was inlaid with magic crystals emitting a soft white light, illuminating the interior as if it were daytime. Surrounding the room were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, crammed with thick books and scrolls bound in various leathers. In the center of the room stood a massive workbench made of some dark metal, upon which were arranged an assortment of crystalware, grinding tools, scales, and various minerals and plant specimens that glowed with different colors, their names unknown to him. The air was filled with a faint scent of herbs, sulfur, and a fresh aroma akin to ozone—the smell of active magic elements.

Elisa stood before the workbench, her back to him, intently gazing at a crystal ball suspended in mid-air, within which stardust-like points of light slowly swirled. She had changed into a more formal, deep blue magic apprentice robe, her long hair neatly tied back, revealing a fair, slender neck. Her posture was upright, exuding the unique charm of someone focused on academic pursuits.

"Come in, close the door," Elisa said without turning around, her cool voice exceptionally clear in the quiet laboratory.

Leon entered as instructed and gently closed the door. The magic energy within the laboratory seemed several times denser than outside, making his skin tingle slightly, yet invigorating his spirit.

Only then did Elisa turn around, her violet eyes calmly meeting his. "You're punctual." She gestured to a relatively simple wooden chair in front of the workbench, seemingly prepared for a student. "Sit."

Leon sat down somewhat awkwardly, feeling out of place in this environment filled with knowledge and mystery.

Without further pleasantries, Elisa began the lesson, her tone as if stating a physical law: "The foundation of magic is spiritual power. Spiritual power is the fuel that drives the elements and the cornerstone for constructing spell models. Your first step is to learn how to effectively condense, control, and grow your spiritual power."

She walked up to Leon and extended her right index finger. A soft white light suddenly appeared at its tip. "Focus your attention, feel it."

Leon held his breath, staring intently at the point of light. At first, it was just a light spot, but gradually, he seemed to "see" that it was composed of countless finer, almost living, dancing particles of light. They vibrated with a peculiar rhythm, emitting a calm and pure wave of power.

"This is the most basic external manifestation of spiritual power," Elisa said, retracting her finger, the white light vanishing. "Now, try to imitate the method I told you this morning, but this time, don't try to perceive external elements. Instead, gather your consciousness inward, explore your innermost self, the origin of your thoughts. Then, try to 'push' it, like pushing a still pond, to create 'ripples'."

Leon nodded, half-understanding, and closed his eyes, trying his best to follow Elisa's instructions. Emptying his mind, exploring inward... this was harder than perceiving the outside world. His mind was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous thoughts: curiosity about magic, worries about the future, even the subtle interference from Elisa's cool presence nearby.

Time ticked by, and he felt like he was fumbling in a chaotic fog, unable to find the so-called "core of consciousness."

Just as he was becoming discouraged, his brow furrowing tighter, Elisa's cool voice sounded again, carrying a peculiar guiding force: "Don't force it. Relax. Imagine your mind is a lake, and distracting thoughts are fallen leaves on the water's surface. Don't try to retrieve the leaves; let them drift away naturally. Your consciousness is the water itself beneath the lake's surface—calm, profound."

Her voice seemed to possess a certain magic, and Leon's agitated emotions gradually calmed down. He stopped forcing it and instead tried to "observe" his own distracting thoughts, letting them come and go freely. Gradually, a strange sense of "sinking" emerged; he felt as if he were diving into a tranquil inner sea.

At that moment, he "saw" it again—not external points of light, but from within himself! In his mental "vision," a hazy area of swirling mist, like a nebula, appeared. Its color was a chaotic dark gold, within which seemed to be mixed some extremely faint points of light of various colors, similar to what he had perceived at breakfast, and... that faint, heart-pounding dark vein!

This... is this my spiritual origin? Leon's heart was shaken. That dark gold color seemed to share the same origin as the Battle Qi of his Hohenzollern family? And what were those multi-colored light points and dark veins? Were they reflections of elemental affinity in the spiritual world? Or... was it a mutation caused by his transmigration soul?

He tried, as Elisa had instructed, to "push" this nebula.

At first, the nebula showed no reaction. He concentrated all his intent, imagining he had extended an invisible hand and gently nudged it.

It moved!

The nebula's rotation very slowly accelerated slightly! Simultaneously, a faint, "ripple"-like fluctuation spread outwards from the nebula as its center! Although this fluctuation was minuscule, almost imperceptible, Leon could definitely feel it! This was the fluctuation of spiritual power!

"Very good," Elisa's voice sounded at the opportune moment, with a barely perceptible hint of praise. "You have preliminarily touched the threshold of spiritual power. Although weak, the direction is correct. Remember this feeling; this is the beginning of meditation. Now, continue, try to maintain this 'pushing' and 'rippling,' let them stabilize, like maintaining continuous ripples on the water's surface."

Leon felt a surge of excitement and quickly collected his thoughts, fully maintaining the faint spiritual fluctuations. This process was extremely mentally taxing; he had to maintain intense focus. With the slightest lapse, the "ripples" would subside. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Elisa stood quietly observing, not disturbing him. She watched Leon's slightly furrowed brow and pale complexion, signs of extreme concentration, and a hint of surprise flickered in her violet eyes again. She hadn't expected Leon to be able to condense and activate spiritual power so quickly. Although the degree was pitifully weak, this focus and... a certain indescribable "malleability" seemed to exceed her expectations. This was certainly not something a frivolous prodigal son could easily achieve.

After about fifteen minutes, Leon felt extremely mentally fatigued, as if he had run a marathon. The faint "ripples" could no longer be maintained and completely subsided. He abruptly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his vision even darkening slightly.

"First meditation, fifteen minutes. Barely passing," Elisa's voice was still calm, but the evaluation made Leon breathe a sigh of relief. Passing was good enough!

"Next, we'll perceive elements." Elisa walked to the other side of the workbench and picked up a transparent crystal box containing several stones of different colors that looked ordinary. "These are basic element sensing stones; they slightly amplify your perception of specific elements. Now, enter a meditative state again, but this time, while maintaining your inner focus, spare the slightest bit of perception, like extending an invisible tendril, and try to touch those light points you 'saw' earlier. Don't force it; just gently, friendly 'greet' them."

Leon closed his eyes again as instructed. With the previous experience, he sank into the inner observation state more quickly this time, found that dark gold spiritual nebula, and managed to maintain faint fluctuations. Then, he tried to spare a wisp of consciousness, like extending a fine thread as Elisa had said, and carefully reached out towards the nearest red light point he could perceive.

As his tendril of consciousness was about to touch the red light point, an anomaly occurred!

The red light point, which had been moving slowly, suddenly recoiled like a startled little beast, simultaneously emitting a faint but clearly discernible "burning" and "repelling" emotion!

Leon was startled and instantly retracted his tendril of consciousness.

"What's wrong?" Elisa keenly sensed the fluctuation in his spirit.

"It... it doesn't seem to like me? It felt hot, and it dodged." Leon described, somewhat bewildered.

A knowing look flashed in Elisa's eyes, and she explained, "Elements are not inanimate objects; they possess basic spirituality, which can be called 'elemental spirits.' Your tendril of spiritual power carries your own 'aura.' If they don't 'like' your aura, or feel threatened by you, they will repel you. This is normal, especially for beginners. Continue trying, with a gentler, more patient approach. Imagine you are trying to soothe a wary wild cat."

Leon suddenly understood and tried again. This time, he was even more careful, his tendril of consciousness moving extremely slowly, and he tried to convey "friendly" and "calm" intentions. This time, although the red light point was still wary, it didn't immediately recoil, merely maintaining its distance.

He then tried to approach a blue light point, and this time he felt a "coolness" and "flow," and the sense of repulsion seemed weaker than with the red light point.

Next were the yellow light point (heavy, solid), the green light point (vitality, lightness)... He tried them one by one, finding that the reactions of different colored light points were indeed different, but overall, they remained elusive, maintaining a sense of instinctive distance.

Just as he was about to end this attempt, his consciousness inadvertently swept over that faintly visible dark "vein" at the edge of his spiritual perception.

This time, it was no longer a vague perception! As his tendril of consciousness lightly brushed against that dark vein, a completely different sensation instantly seized him!

Not repulsion! Not distance! But a... indescribable "attraction"! It was as if the dark vein itself was a vortex, emitting a cold, silent, yet deadly alluring pull, wanting to completely devour that wisp of his consciousness! At the same time, an extremely faint whisper, as if from the depths of his soul, sounded at the edge of his mind, indistinct but making him tremble instinctively!

"Ugh!" Leon grunted, abruptly cutting off the connection of consciousness and forcefully withdrawing from the meditative state. His face was even paler than before, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his eyes were filled with uncertainty.

"What is it now?" Elisa asked, frowning. Leon's reaction seemed much more intense than when he was perceiving ordinary elements.

"N-nothing," Leon instinctively avoided the question about the dark vein. That feeling was too bizarre; he didn't dare to speak of it rashly. "It's just... I think I'm a bit tired, my spiritual power is too depleted."

Elisa gave him a deep look and didn't press further, merely saying, "This is the first time you've undergone systematic training in spiritual power and elemental perception, so depletion is natural. That's all for today's lesson."

She walked to the bookshelf, took down a thin, dark blue leather-bound book with no writing on the cover, and handed it to Leon. "This is the most basic Spiritual Power Condensation Method and Introduction to Elemental Affinity Guidance. It contains the most standard meditation postures and spiritual power circulation diagrams. Take it back and practice it once every morning and evening. For each session... start with half an hour. If there's anything you don't understand, you can... mark it down and ask me next time."

Leon took the seemingly ordinary but incredibly weighty booklet with both hands, his heart filled with excitement. "Thank you! I will definitely practice diligently!"

Elisa nodded, turned back to the floating crystal ball, and dismissed him, "You can go now."

Leon knew he couldn't disturb her further. He bowed respectfully—a gesture he performed without even realizing it was different from the original host's style—and left the laboratory.

Walking down the corridor, Leon clutched the Basic Meditation manual tightly, his feelings complex. The door to magic had truly been cracked open. Spiritual Power, Elemental Spirits... the supernatural power system of this world was far more intricate and... "alive" than he had imagined.

But at the same time, those strange, dark tendrils and soul whispers hung over the newly ignited flame of his hope like a haze.

What exactly were they? A hidden danger from the original body's owner? Or... a "special product" brought by his own soul from another world?

Either way, it seemed to foreshadow that his path to magic would by no means be smooth. And for now, he could only face it all alone.