Chapter 459: Alvaraite’s Mana Spirit (4k)
What was even more terrifying was that Dark’s implication was that he could also awaken the sentience of other people’s mana spirits!
This was another level altogether!
Alvaraite took a deep breath and said, “Let me fix your bangs first.”
After fifteen minutes, Alvaraite put down the tools with satisfaction after looking at her reflection in the mirror. “It’s barely acceptable.”
Dark stood up from the chair and said, “Find an open place.”
Alvaraite nodded and said, “To the training hall.”
The indoor training hall in the Duke’s mansion could accommodate two 120×80 areas with some room to spare.
When the mother and son arrived at the training hall, hundreds of maids were already sweating profusely inside.
They did not stop their training because the Duke appeared; whether they were swinging swords or punching, their movements were powerful.
Only when Alvaraite lightly clapped three times did everyone stop simultaneously.
“Wait outside.”
The maids immediately filed out.
A moment later, only the mother and son remained in the vast training hall.
Dark looked at the overly spacious training hall and couldn’t help but recall the days when he used to be lazy during sword practice, shaking his head involuntarily.
If he had worked harder back then, he might have been able to compete with Diana.
But those past events were over. Now, he was neither a warrior nor a swordsman, but a versatile magus!
“Mother, let’s start with your magical beast.”
Dark pondered for a moment and took out a capital sin card with the least side effects from his deck—the “Pride I.”
“My emotion cards are refined based on my own traits and mental power; they cannot be replicated.”
Dark had long confirmed through the professors’ reactions that these capital sin cards wouldn’t be associated with “Demon Gods.”
Therefore, he had no hesitation in taking them out.
After carefully observing the “Pride I,” Alvaraite summoned her magical beast as he said.
Dark had seen Alvaraite’s magical beast before, but he had never heard of “magical beasts” until now.
Moreover, Alvaraite’s magical beast bore no resemblance to those one-star magical beasts.
Mainly, it was just too massive!
In the splendid light of summoning, a giant white cat with a crystal crown atop its head, standing three meters tall, leaped out with a “meow.”
This mana spirit, which looked nothing like a magical beast, emitted an overwhelmingly powerful aura that was far beyond a one-star.
Dark recalled Professor Kazel’s Snow Feather Golden-eyed Beast and asked curiously, “Mother, has this magical beast undergone secondary refinement?”
Alvaraite nodded with a smile, stroking the giant cat’s smooth snow-white fur gently. “Yes, this imperial cat has undergone secondary refinement and is now a three-star mana spirit.”
Dark couldn’t help but think about his own two magical beasts and asked, “Is there any secret to secondary refinement?”
“If there is a secret…” Alvaraite pondered for a while and said, “Apart from preparing suitable upper-level materials, it mainly involves stimulating the mana spirit’s survival consciousness.”
Modern magi generally believe that mana spirits are merely condensed mana and very fragile in form, but in reality, they are not.
If you can form a bond with your mana spirit, making it burst forth with a strong will to survive, it won’t easily vanish during secondary refinement.
After saying this, she added, “Of course, even so, it doesn’t change the fact that the failure rate of secondary refinement remains extremely high. Unless you’re absolutely sure, don’t attempt it.”
“Mental bonds, is it related to mental power?” Dark thought for a moment and raised his head. “I’m going to start!”
Alvaraite said, “What changes will occur after awakening their sentience?”
Dark replied, “There will be temporary loss of control in the mind, but the duration won’t be long.”
“That’s good.” Alvaraite nodded and said, “Then let’s begin.”
So, Dark picked up the “Pride I” and cast the usual summoning spell: “By the name of Dark Demon, I invoke the mana summoning!”
Three seconds later, a dark golden orb slowly flew out from the card surface of “Pride I,” resembling a large tadpole, drifting towards the imperial cat.
The intelligent level of the imperial cat clearly reached 3.0, exhibiting playful behavior like a real cat, lifting a giant paw to slap at it.
But the dark golden orb passed through its palm and quickly drilled into its forehead.
The imperial cat’s actions instantly halted.
In its golden vertical pupils, originally somewhat lively eyes suddenly became incredibly active.
Then its eyebrows arched, and its face, which was already quite authoritative like a king, instantly gained a true “imperial demeanor”!
Even Dark could see the difference, and Alvaraite certainly couldn’t miss it.
Her astonishment lingered, finally confirming what Dark had said wasn’t false.
Moreover, the process of “awakening sentience” was really, really simple!
Most likely, all the essence lay in Dark’s “emotion card.”
Just like how she found it easy to refine armed cards after inventing the Trinity Armored Conjure Array.
Thus, despite her shock, pride surged from the depths of Alvaraite’s heart.
This emotion card capable of awakening sentience was undoubtedly a product of the times!
If there was anything lacking, it was probably its accessibility.
Dark’s emotion card, if not replicable, couldn’t change the entire mana system like Merlin’s first conjuration array.
That was somewhat regrettable.
But upon careful consideration, it might not be entirely bad news.
If everyone could easily create sentient beings, the world might deviate from its course soon.
Mana technology was already developing too rapidly.
Alvaraite extended her hand toward the imperial cat while pondering.
However, this newly sentient cat did not lift its paw as she expected, causing her to frown.
The imperial cat, influenced by “Pride I,” felt an intense sense of coldness, shivering despite its long fur.
Its gaze changed instantly, obediently placing its huge paw in Alvaraite’s hand.
Alvaraite pressed her fingers against its paw pad, her brow relaxing.
“How does it feel?” Dark asked.
Alvaraite couldn’t help but narrow her eyes. “It feels great. Does your emotion card have a cooldown period?”
Dark nodded. “Each card has a cooldown of about an hour. I still have… well, within an hour, I can awaken six mana spirits.”
“Bliss III? Moon” didn’t need to be brought out to be embarrassing.
Alvaraite said, “Six are enough. Let’s awaken six today, and the rest can wait.”
Dark: “Okay.”
So, Alvaraite carefully drew a special mana spirit card from her deck.
Dark glanced at the deck and couldn’t help but recall how he used to play with mana cards like playing cards when he was younger…
“Those were truly ignorant times…”
Dark couldn’t help but wipe his sweat secretly.
Immediately afterward, a divine-like aura suddenly caught his attention.
Instinctively turning his head, he saw Alvaraite quickly summon a spear using a regular summoning spell!
Just a glance told Dark that this spear was a type of mana spirit similar to “Solo Sword Sheath.”
Clearly, weaponizable mana spirits weren’t his exclusive invention.
Alvaraite’s spear had a cross-cone tip, cloud-patterned handle, blood-red tassel, and fiery phoenix soaring at the grip, beautifully resembling a decoration.
“This ‘Immortal God Spear’ is refined with a phoenix tail vertebra as the core material. Initially, I wanted to refine it as an armed card, but midway, I discovered it was still alive despite death, harboring a fire spirit, so I changed it to a mana spirit.”
Alvaraite gripped the spear handle and casually twirled it, causing the tassel to suddenly ignite, forming a fire wheel.
But when she retracted the spear, the flames instantly receded, returning to calm.
The wondrous aspect of the “Immortal God Spear” lay in the word “immortal”—it could continuously provide vitality to its wielder, granting them the powerful ability of “high-speed self-healing.”
Compared to its “spiritualized” form, it actually had some flaws.
After glancing at Dark, Alvaraite injected mana into the “Immortal God Spear,” activating its “spiritualized” state.
The spear tassel then erupted into fierce flames, engulfing the entire spear instantaneously.
A phoenix’s cry pierced the sky, and a fire phoenix emerged from the flames, circling once before landing, transforming into a mana spirit resembling a maiden!
Just looking at that mana spirit, Dark couldn’t help but show surprise.
Because unlike the “Solo Sword Sheath” mana spirit, which retained its four-star rank after spiritualization, this human-shaped mana spirit had a weak aura, clearly only one star or two stars!
Alvaraite looked at the mana spirit named “Phoenix Girl,” her fair face revealing a hint of anticipation.
“As you can see, the ‘Immortal God Spear’ can transform into a phoenix girl, but she isn’t strong. In a sense, she’s very weak.”
“She’s only two-star, although she has 1500 mana points, her attack and defense are only 100 points, making her very frail.”
“And she only has two ultimate skills.”
“One is ‘Armed,’ and the other is ‘Undying Seed.'”
“The ‘Armed’ ultimate skill allows her to transform into the ‘Immortal God Spear’s’ armed form.”
“While the ‘Undying Seed’ ultimate skill gives her continuous mana regeneration.”
“As long as she isn’t instantly killed, she can recover 100% of her mana in one second.”
“This is due to the divine attribute derived from the phoenix.”
“With this ultimate skill, she can stay outside without worrying about mana consumption.”
“But that’s all she can do.”
“Without attack or defense capabilities, Phoenix Girl’s maximum mana is only 1500, providing little help in battle.”
“But with intelligence, she will become extraordinary!”
Alvaraite turned to Dark, slightly excited. “Now it’s up to you!”
…
Dark nodded, his gaze serious as he selected a “Pride II” and began the summoning.
As “Pride II” activated, a dark golden light shone, enveloping “Phoenix Girl.”
Under the light of pride, Phoenix Girl’s originally stiff, beautiful face gradually gained vitality. Her phoenix eyes revealed a cold determination, and her fiery red hair fluttered as if on fire.
“It worked.”
Dark retrieved “Pride II” and continued to observe Phoenix Girl.
He roughly guessed Alvaraite’s intentions.
With the ultimate skill “Undying Seed,” Phoenix Girl could continuously produce mana. Once she gained human-like intelligence, she could enhance herself through learning like the vampire noble.
Whether becoming a mage or a magus, it was an excellent path.
And for the vampire noble, the difficult problem of mana was non-existent for Phoenix Girl.
“It seems Saint Maryann Academy will have another new student this year.”
…
Following Phoenix Girl, Alvaraite continued to summon five more mana spirits.
Among them were second-tier and fourth-tier mana spirits.
Especially the last summoned “Divine Armor Knight,” which left a deep impression.
That “Divine Armor Knight” was actually a ghost-type undead!
It had no physical body, only a silver armor, and rode a tall, pale skeletal unicorn.
It was a whopping eleven-star, with the ultimate skill “Soul Attachment,” allowing it to attach itself to a magus, transforming them into a true “Divine Armor Knight”!
At that time, the skeletal unicorn would grow flesh and become a living unicorn.
Alvaraite performed a bit under Dark’s strong suggestion, leaving him amazed.
There was no record of the “Divine Armor Knight” in the tales of Valkyries, indicating it was likely created recently.
…
With seven mana spirits now possessing intelligence, Alvaraite’s excitement hadn’t diminished, but she didn’t demand more.
In fact, she was very rational.
Mana spirits with intelligence would have significant advantages in certain situations, but not always.
Having intelligence meant having emotions and personalities.
Tension, fear, arrogance, and many other factors could negatively impact battles.
Mana spirits without intelligence could face death without fear and follow orders when their owner was in danger.
Of course, the most important thing was that if all her mana spirits suddenly gained intelligence, Dark’s ability to easily grant others intelligence would be exposed.
Therefore, she felt that seven were sufficient for now.
…
Afterward, the mother and son left the training hall with Phoenix Girl, temporarily entrusting her to Dark’s mana spirits.
Time passed swiftly, and dusk approached. The melody played in the Duke’s mansion’s banquet hall.
