Chapter 71: Spiritual Companion
It was a small, fluffy creature with the appearance of a miniature fox, barely larger than his two hands placed together. Its fur shimmered with a faint silvery-white glow, while two enormous ears stood upright on its head, twitching as though it were listening to every sound in the room. Its tail was unusually large compared to its tiny body, curling around its paws as two bright, curious eyes stared directly at Ethan.
He stared at the tiny creature hovering in front of him, still trying to convince himself that he was not imagining things.
He had sneezed.
And somehow, he had sneezed out an animal.
A very small, very fluffy, very adorable animal.
The little animal blinked at him with its enormous eyes, its tiny ears twitching as it floated lazily in the air, surrounded by a faint layer of spiritual energy.
Ethan slowly reached out and touched its head again.
Warm.
Soft.
Real.
His eyes widened.
"So you’re actually my spiritual companion?"
The creature tilted its head before letting out another soft chirp.
Ethan’s lips slowly curled upward.
He had been shocked at first, especially because according to Aster’s book, a spiritual companion was something a Guide normally manifested after reaching the higher ranks, but the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
He immediately picked up the book again and flipped through the pages, his eyes scanning the information about Guide ranks one more time.
His gaze eventually landed on the section describing B/AClass Guides.
B/A-Class Guides possess heightened spiritual perception, greatly increased spiritual capacity, and the ability to manifest a spiritual companion.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
He looked at the little creature.
Then back at the book.
Then at the creature again.
"Wait."
His excitement slowly grew.
"If you’re really a spiritual companion..."
He hurriedly looked through the earlier pages, checking the descriptions of D-Class and C-Class again before returning to the B/AClass section.
The heightened hearing he had experienced in the infirmary had already proven that he had surpassed his previous rank, but this...
This was something else entirely.
A spiritual companion was not supposed to manifest for an ordinary C-Class Guide.
Which meant there was only one reasonable conclusion.
Ethan had reached either B or A-Class. He settled on B-class since it was more believable.
His mouth slowly fell open.
"I’m B-Class."
The words came out almost disbelievingly.
Then a huge grin spread across his face.
"I’m actually B-Class!"
The little creature chirped.
Ethan laughed.
"Do you know what this means?"
The creature stared at him.
"I skipped 2 whole ranks!"
He jumped off the bed, unable to contain his excitement anymore.
After everything he had gone through, he had finally reached B-Class.
And he had a spiritual companion.
A real one.
Ethan turned toward the creature again, his eyes practically shining.
"I don’t even know if I can handle having you yet, but who cares? I have a spiritual companion!"
The creature fluttered closer to him.
Ethan raised both hands instinctively, allowing it to settle against his palms.
Now that the initial shock had faded, he could not help feeling ridiculously happy.
He had always thought Guides were forced to remain behind the Sentinels, supporting them from the back while others handled the dangerous parts of a battle, but Aster’s book had made it clear that higher-ranked Guides were different.
A spiritual companion could fight alongside its Guide.
It could sense spiritual energy, detect changes in the surrounding environment, assist its Guide in locating monsters, and communicate simple thoughts and emotions through their mental connection.
As the bond developed, the companion could also help protect its Guide from spiritual attacks, strengthen the Guide’s perception, and carry out commands without requiring the Guide to constantly control it directly.
More importantly, a mature spiritual companion could fight independently.
The stronger the Guide became, the stronger the companion could become as well.
Some companions specialized in defense, some in detection, some in speed, and others developed offensive abilities that allowed them to directly attack corrupted creatures.
Their abilities were not completely predetermined either.
Training, bonding, spiritual energy, and the Guide’s own growth could influence their development.
Ethan’s eyes brightened as he read further.
"So if I train you properly..."
He looked down at the tiny creature sitting comfortably in his hands.
"...you can become stronger too?"
The creature’s ears perked up.
Ethan laughed softly.
"That means I don’t just get stronger by myself. I get another fighter."
He could already imagine it.
A stronger rank.
A stronger body.
A powerful spiritual companion fighting beside him while he supported the Sentinels through Guiding.
For the first time, the thought of becoming stronger did not feel like something he had to struggle toward alone.
He had another advantage now.
And judging by how easily this little creature had manifested, Ethan had a feeling that it might not be an ordinary spiritual companion either.
He quickly turned another page.
There were several instructions regarding the care of spiritual companions.
Ethan’s eyebrows rose.
Apparently, spiritual companions did not require ordinary food in the same way physical animals did.
They primarily survived by absorbing spiritual energy, especially purified spiritual energy supplied by their Guide.
However, that did not mean they could simply be abandoned to feed themselves.
A Guide had to maintain the bond and provide enough energy for the companion to remain stable.
During the early stages of bonding, the companion depended heavily on its Guide because its spiritual form had not yet fully stabilized.
If the Guide neglected it or allowed their spiritual connection to weaken for too long, the companion could become weak, dormant, or even temporarily disappear back into the Guide’s Mental Sea.
Ethan immediately became serious.
"So I actually have to take care of you."
The creature blinked.
"Not that I mind."
He smiled again.
The book also explained that spiritual companions could rest inside their Guide’s Mental Sea when they were tired or when the Guide needed them hidden, and they could be summoned whenever necessary as long as the Guide had enough spiritual energy to sustain their manifestation.
That made Ethan even more excited.
"So you can stay inside me?"
The creature chirped.
"And come out whenever I call?"
Another chirp.
Ethan nodded slowly.
"That’s actually pretty useful."
He continued reading.
As the bond between a Guide and their spiritual companion strengthened, communication would also improve. At first, the Guide might only understand basic emotions and intentions, but with enough bonding, they could communicate through thoughts, allowing the companion to warn them of danger, identify unusual spiritual fluctuations, and even relay what it sensed from a distance.
Some advanced companions could also temporarily merge with their Guide’s spiritual energy, enhancing specific physical or spiritual abilities.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
"Okay, that’s cool."
He looked at the tiny creature again.
"You’re definitely staying."
The creature seemed pleased by that because it immediately rubbed its tiny head against his palm.
Ethan’s smile softened.
Now that he had stopped thinking of it as some impossible phenomenon and started seeing it as something that was actually his, he realized how adorable it was.
He gently stroked its head.
"Now the only problem is your name."
The creature stared at him expectantly.
Ethan thought for a moment.
He considered several names, rejecting each one almost immediately.
None of them felt right.
Then he looked at the creature again.
Its fluffy appearance, bright eyes, and tiny body made one name suddenly come to mind.
"I’ll name you Lumi. Because you’re always glowing."
The creature blinked in response.
"Do you like it?"
It chirped.
Ethan smiled.
"Then Lumi it is."
The moment he said the name, something strange happened.
A faint glow spread around the creature.
Ethan felt the spiritual connection between them suddenly deepen, and a warm sensation passed through his Mental Sea.
His eyes widened.
A thin thread of spiritual energy appeared between them before slowly becoming clearer, almost like a bond being sealed.
Ethan could suddenly feel Lumi’s emotions more clearly.
Happiness.
Curiosity.
Trust.
He could even sense the tiny creature’s excitement at hearing its new name.
Ethan’s expression softened.
"You really like it, don’t you?"
Lumi chirped happily before floating around him in a small circle.
Ethan laughed.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
He reached out his hand, and Lumi immediately returned to his palm.
For a while, Ethan simply admired her.
His little spiritual companion. His first real proof that he had reached B-Class. He could not stop smiling. His excitement grew as he imagined what the future could look like.
He would become stronger.
Lumi would become stronger.
And together, they would be far more capable of surviving whatever this strange world threw at them next.
But before he could start planning how he was going to train her, another thought suddenly struck him.
His Mental Sea.
If he had really ranked up to B-Class or possibly even A-Class, then he needed to check his Mental Sea immediately.
There was no telling how much it had changed after absorbing all that purified spiritual energy inside the rift.
He was about to close Aster’s book when something suddenly struck him.
Ethan froze.
His smile disappeared.
"Wait."
His eyes widened.
There was something he had forgotten.
Something much more important than his rank.
Much more important than his new spiritual companion.
"Rin."
His heart dropped.
How the hell had he forgotten about Rin?
Rin was still receiving treatment in the infirmary.
His best friend had been seriously injured and Ethan had been so caught up in everything that had happened afterward that he had completely forgotten to check on him.
Ethan immediately jumped off the bed.
"Damn it, I need to check on him!"