"The contract is now valid." The Sword Saint smiled. "Try to wonder about Ardagan's secret."
"Mhm?" Anna was confused for a moment and tried to form a thought about Ardagan, but she suddenly felt an extreme pain jolting her brain. She instinctively clutched her head and fell to her knees. "Kh. What is this?"
"This is the effect of Soul Contract. I'm sure that you know the consequences if you're prying too deeply, right?"
"Yes." Anna nodded with a serious expression.
"Good." The Sword Saint nodded, satisfied. He then waved his hand as one of the chests on the side opened. Suddenly, a white blade flew toward them. The blade was thin, compared to Ardagan, but even with just a look, both Noel and Anna could feel the sharpness. They believed that the sharpness could rival that of Ardagan.
"This is the blade that my old friend, Simeon Ardagan, created. I was sulking at that time that I always lost against him, so he created this blade for me to defeat him."
"Huh?" Noel was baffled by his statement. "My ancestor can make weapons?"
"You don't know about it? But from your knowledge, it seems that he passed down the secret for Enchantment, which is perfect for blacksmith. This blade has five Enchantments: Extension, Harden, Conductor, Burst, and Blood. I don't think I need to explain it to you about the traits, so use it well."
"Yes." Anna gratefully accepted the reward.
"Alright then. Now that I have given you the reward, can you leave this place? I have things I want to tell him."
"I understand." Anna politely bowed to the Sword Saint and walked away without hesitation. She was curious, but she didn't plan to pry for that information. She was already benefited enough with this blade and the conversation with the Sword Saint that allowed her to solve some hatred with Noel. The fact that Noel's parents were still alive was huge for her.
As soon as they couldn't see Anna's anymore, the Sword Saint turned to Noel and said, "Alright. Let's talk about three things. The first will be the Dark Butterfly, the second one will be about your rewards, and the last one is what I want to tell you."
Noel nodded with a serious expression.
"Alright. Let's start with the Dark Butterfly. Are you aware of the classifications of Spirits?"
"Yes. There are five ranks of Spirits."
"Normal, Superior, Beastly, Demi-human, and Humanoid Spirits. These are the five ranks." The Sword Saint nodded in agreement. "Normal Spirit is a form of spirit that doesn't even have a fixed form like slime and other similar things. Hence, their intact of Spiritual Energy is low, causing your conversion rate low. This is what people usually have.
"Superior Spirit has gotten their form and they can take more Spiritual Energy, but there is a big difference with the Beastly Spirit. As the name implies, the Beastly Spirit means the Spirit has the form of a beast. You can consider them as an animal or a symbol like your snowflake.
"But different for Demi-human Spirit, at this rank, the spirit can form a humanoid body, even though it's not perfect. For example, if the previous form is a cat, when they reach a Demi-human Spirit, they can gain a humanoid body, but they are still covered in fur like that of a cat.
"When you reach Humanoid Spirit, the spirit has reached its peak form, mimicking the humans, allowing you to get a perfect match with your own spirit and causing your conversion rate to be one hundred percent. Well, that's what perfect match means."
"I see." Noel nodded in understanding. "But you said the spirit has reached its peak form… Does that mean the spirits can evolve?"
"Exactly! You can grow your spirits, so even if you get a Normal Spirit, you don't have to feel bad. It's true that your start is far lower than the others, but you can still make your spirit grow." The Sword Saint looked to the distance. "That lass has a Humanoid Spirit, so her starting point is higher. But you have Ardagan, so it means that you're better than her."
"Where does Ardagan come from?"
"Ask Ardagan. I won't say anything about him." The Sword Saint shook his head. "We're talking about the Dark Butterfly Spirit right now, so I think you know what rank she is."
"I have met her." Noel nodded with a serious expression.
"That's better, but I guess she doesn't tell you anything about her past contractor."
"Past contractor?"
"Yes. My sister had the Dark Butterfly Spirit."
"!!!" Noel widened his eyes in shock. "What did you say?"
The Sword Saint smiled. "I think you can guess it by now."
"If the Dark Butterfly Spirit is still alive, doesn't that mean the Spirits are not living within us?"
"Yes. Every humans in this world is the contractor of the spirits. I don't know how it starts, but it seems that there is a trade between the humans and the spirits in the past. The spirits will give their power to their contractors while the latter are giving the opportunity for the spirits to evolve."
"Huh? But knowing humans, they are surely going to betray that expectation, no?" Noel snorted.
"Haha, that's certainly true. I think that's why the conversion rate in the past is so high while right now, the conversion rate has dropped significantly. Even a 95% rate is enough to be the most talented person in the entire kingdom… Don't joke. In the past, every noble family has at least one person.
"However, there are also many humans who are trying to level up their spirits as much as they can. After all, a big reward awaits them."
"A big reward?"
"Yes. If you can reach the Humanoid Spirits, that is."
"A reward that only the Humanoid Spirits have… If they reach the highest rank, it means that their body is compatible with us…"
"Yes. And that reward is to borrow their whole strength. The ability unique to only the Humanoid Spirit that has evolved to the very peak, lending you flesh and soul to give you a power beyond one's imagination, True Spirit Body."
