Aren woke up to sunlight streaming through his window and the sound of his brother arguing with someone outside.
"—not taking him anywhere until he's fully recovered!" Torrhen's voice was loud and angry.
"The law is clear. Ancient-rank classes must report within one month. I'm simply ensuring he understands his obligations." That was the Priestess from yesterday, her voice cold as ice.
Aren groaned and sat up. His body still felt weak, but better than yesterday. The fever was completely gone now.
He could see them through the window—Torrhen blocking the door, the Priestess in her blue robes standing in the yard with two guards behind her.
"Mom, what's happening?" Aren called out.
Elara came into his room, looking worried. "The Priestess wants to talk to you. About your class. I tried to tell her you need rest, but…"
"It's fine. I'll talk to her."
Aren got dressed—just simple pants and a shirt—and walked outside. The morning air was cool and fresh. He could see the spirits more clearly now in daylight. They were everywhere. Floating over the garden, drifting through the trees, spinning around the well.
How had he never noticed them before? How did everyone just walk through them without seeing?
The Priestess turned as Aren stepped out. Her eyes narrowed, studying him like he was a puzzle she couldn't solve.
"Aren Valewood. I need to ask you some questions."
"Okay."
"Your class… when the System assigned it, did you feel anything unusual? See anything strange?"
Aren's heart jumped. Did she know? Could she tell something was wrong?
"Like what?" he asked, trying to sound calm.
"The classification ceremony has been performed thousands of times. I've personally witnessed hundreds. What happened with you was… irregular. The System hesitated. The display glitched. That never happens."
She stepped closer. "So I ask again—did you experience anything unusual during the assignment?"
Aren thought fast. He couldn't tell her the truth. But he needed to say something believable.
"I… I saw white light. And I felt really cold. But I thought that was normal?"
"Cold?" The Priestess frowned. "The System's touch is typically described as warm. Cold suggests…" She trailed off, thinking.
One of the guards spoke up. "Could be variant class manifestation, ma'am. Ancient-ranks sometimes have different sensory experiences."
The Priestess didn't look convinced, but she nodded slowly. "Perhaps. Aren Valewood, I'm required to inform you of your legal obligations. As an Ancient-rank class holder, you must report to the capital within thirty days for official registration and evaluation. The Classification Bureau will want to study your class variant."
"Study?" Torrhen stepped forward. "He's not some experiment—"
"It's standard procedure," the Priestess cut him off. "Ancient-rank classes are rare. Understanding them helps the kingdom. He'll be compensated, of course. And if his abilities prove exceptional, he'll receive academy sponsorship."
She pulled out a scroll and handed it to Aren. "Your summons. Report to the Classification Bureau in Cairnhold within the month. Failure to comply is a criminal offense."
Aren took the scroll. The paper felt heavy in his hands.
"What if I don't want to go?"
The Priestess's expression hardened. "Then you'll be classified as a rogue class holder and hunted down. The System's order must be maintained. Those with power must be registered and controlled."
Controlled. There it was.
"I understand," Aren said quietly.
"Good. I'll be watching your progress with interest, Aren Valewood. Don't disappoint the System."
The Priestess turned and left, her guards following. They climbed into a wagon and headed down the road toward the next village.
Torrhen punched the fence post. "Damn capital bureaucrats. They want to control everything."
"It's alright," Aren said. "I was probably going to the capital anyway. A-rank class means opportunities, right?"
"Opportunities or chains," Torrhen muttered. "Just… be careful, little brother. People with power always want more power. They'll use you if you let them."
Aren looked at the scroll in his hands. Thirty days. One month before his life changed completely.
But first, he needed to figure out what being a shaman actually meant.
…
After breakfast—which was actually good for once, his mother had bought real bacon with yesterday's celebration—Aren walked into the forest behind the village.
He needed to be alone. Needed to test his abilities without people watching.
The forest was quiet except for bird songs and rustling leaves. Aren found a small clearing and sat down on a fallen log.
"Okay," he said to himself. "Let's see what I can actually do."
He pulled up his status screen.
[STATUS - AREN VALEWOOD]
Class: Ancient Shaman (Displayed as: Nature Mage)
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 150/150
STATS:
∙ STR: 8
∙ VIT: 10
∙ AGI: 9
∙ INT: 12
∙ WIS: 15
∙ LCK: 7
∙ SPI: 50
SKILLS:
∙ Spirit Sight (Passive) Lv1
∙ Spirit Speech (Active) Lv1
∙ Minor Offering (Active) Lv1
∙ Spiritual Sense (Passive) Lv1
ACTIVE QUESTS:
∙ "Find Your First Spirit" (0/1 Spirit Contracted)
Four skills. He'd already used Spirit Sight and Spirit Speech last night. What about the others?
He focused on Minor Offering.
[SKILL: MINOR OFFERING]
Description: Offer items to curry favor with spirits. Quality and relevance of offering affects spirit disposition.
Cost: Item + 20 MP
Cooldown: None
Simple enough. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of the bacon he'd saved from breakfast. Not much, but it was something.
"Uh, spirits? Anyone want some bacon?"
Nothing happened.
Aren felt stupid. Was he supposed to do something special? A ritual? Magic words?
Then he remembered the skill cost MP. He focused on the bacon in his hand and mentally activated the skill.
His MP dropped from 150 to 130. The bacon glowed faintly blue for a second, then the glow faded.
Still nothing.
"Maybe spirits don't like bacon?" Aren muttered.
"BACON?!"
Aren jumped. A small red spirit—like a floating flame with tiny arms—zoomed out from behind a tree.
"You have BACON? Real meat bacon? Not just offering energy but actual FOOD?"
The spirit zipped around his head excitedly.
"Uh, yes? You want it?"
"YES YES YES! Nobody offers real food anymore! Just boring energy! I love bacon! My name is Spark! I'm a fire spirit! Not strong yet but I will be! Can I have it please please please?"
The spirit's enthusiasm was kind of adorable. Aren held out the bacon, and Spark dove at it. The bacon caught fire—but not burning fire, more like it was being absorbed. The meat disappeared in seconds.
"SO GOOD!" Spark did a happy spin. "You're a nice human! Most humans can't even see spirits! Are you special?"
"I'm a shaman," Aren said.
"A WHAT?! No way! Shamans are extinct! All gone! The System killed them!"
"The System didn't kill them," another voice said. Softer, gentler, like wind through grass.
The small green spirit from last night floated down from the trees. Up close, Aren could see it looked like a tiny person made of wind, with translucent wings.
"The shamans faded when people stopped believing," the wind spirit said. "When the System came, people forgot the old ways. The shamans had no students. No teachers. They just… disappeared."
"You're the one from last night," Aren said. "You said you were going to tell the big spirits about me."
"I did! The big ones don't believe me. They think I'm just a baby making up stories. But I know what I saw. You can hear us. You can see us. That makes you a shaman."
"Do you have a name?"
The spirit paused. "Not yet. I'm too young. When I get stronger, I'll earn a name. For now, you can call me… um… Breeze?"
"Breeze works," Aren smiled. "Nice to meet you properly."
Spark zipped between them. "Ooh, are we making friends with the shaman? Can I be friends too? I gave him my name already! I'm Spark!"
"You literally just met him," Breeze said.
"Yeah, and he gave me BACON. That's friendship!"
Aren laughed. These spirits had personalities. Real, distinct personalities. They weren't just magical energy or mindless forces. They were… people. Sort of.
"I have a quest," Aren said. "I need to contract with a spirit. Form a real bond. Can either of you do that?"
Both spirits went quiet.
"Contract?" Breeze said slowly. "Like the old shamans used to do? Where we share power and you share your life force?"
"I… guess? I'm not really sure how it works yet."
Spark flew in nervous circles. "Contracts are serious. Really serious. Once you contract with a spirit, you're bound together. Can't break it easily. And if you die, the spirit suffers. If the spirit dies, you suffer."
"But we'd get stronger together, right?" Aren asked.
"Yeah," Breeze said. "That's how the old contracts worked. Shaman and spirit growing together. But…" The little wind spirit looked uncertain. "I'm really weak. Just born recently. I don't have much power to share."
"Same," Spark said sadly. "I'm just a baby fire spirit. Can't even make big flames yet."
Aren thought about it. He could wait. Try to find a stronger spirit. But these two had been kind to him. Friendly. And honestly, he liked them.
"What if we grow strong together?" Aren said. "Start from the bottom and work our way up?"
Both spirits stared at him.
"You'd contract with a weak spirit?" Breeze asked. "On purpose?"
"Why not? You've got to start somewhere, right?"
A notification appeared:
[QUEST UPDATE: FIND YOUR FIRST SPIRIT]
Potential contract candidates detected:
- Breeze (Unnamed Wind Spirit, Lesser)
- Spark (Fire Spirit, Lesser)
Note: Contracting with Lesser Spirits will limit initial power but allow for greater growth potential over time.
Aren looked at both spirits. "So who wants to be my first contract?"
Spark and Breeze looked at each other.
"I spoke to him first!" Breeze said.
"He gave ME bacon!" Spark argued.
"That's not a good reason for a sacred contract!"
"It's a GREAT reason!"
While they argued, Aren felt something. His Spiritual Sense tingled. Something was watching them.
He looked up.
In the trees above, a larger spirit perched on a branch. This one looked like a bird made of wind—translucent feathers that shifted and flowed like air currents. It was bigger than Aren's head, with eyes that glowed soft silver.
The moment Aren looked at it, the spirit took off.
"Wait!" Aren called.
But the spirit was fast. It flew deeper into the forest.
Aren ran after it without thinking. Breeze and Spark followed, shouting for him to slow down.
"That's Zephyra!" Breeze called. "She's an Intermediate Spirit! Don't chase her, she doesn't like humans!"
But Aren kept running. Something told him this was important. This spirit—Zephyra—had been watching him. Why?
The forest got thicker. Aren pushed through bushes, jumped over roots, following the glimpse of translucent wings ahead.
Finally, he burst into another clearing.
And stopped.
The spirit—Zephyra—perched on a broken stone pillar in the center of the clearing. Around her, dozens of spirits floated. Fire, water, earth, wind. All watching Aren.
This was a spirit gathering. A place where spirits came together.
Zephyra looked down at Aren with intelligent eyes.
When she spoke, her voice was older than Breeze or Spark. Mature. Cautious.
"You are truly a shaman. The first in five hundred years."
"How do you know?" Aren asked, breathing hard from the run.
"Because only shamans can find this place. The Spirit Grove. Normal humans walk past it, never seeing. The System blocks their perception. But shamans… shamans see what is hidden."
Zephyra flew down and circled Aren slowly.
"I watched your class ceremony yesterday. I felt the old magic awaken. The System tried to suppress it, but couldn't completely. You are an anomaly."
"Yeah, I'm getting that a lot," Aren said.
"The question is—what will you do with this power?"
Aren met the spirit's eyes. "I want to help people. Protect my family. And maybe… maybe fix whatever's wrong with this world. The System, the spirits, all of it. Something feels broken."
Zephyra was quiet for a long moment.
Then she landed on the stone pillar and bowed her head.
"Then I offer you a contract, young shaman. Not out of need. Not out of weakness. But because I have waited five hundred years for one who can see. One who can hear. One who remembers the old ways."
A notification appeared:
[CONTRACT OFFER RECEIVED]
Spirit: Zephyra (Named Wind Spirit, Intermediate)
Type: Mutual Partnership
Terms:
∙ Share power and growth
∙ Regular offerings of freedom (time in open sky)
∙ Never trap or confine wind
∙ Fight together when needed
∙ Honesty between shaman and spirit
Benefits:
∙ Access to wind magic and flight abilities
∙ Enhanced evasion and speed
∙ Spirit can fight independently
∙ Bond strengthens over time
Accept contract? [YES] [NO]
Aren looked at Breeze and Spark, who had caught up and were staring in shock.
"An Intermediate Spirit is offering you a contract?!" Breeze squeaked. "On your first day?!"
"She's strong!" Spark added. "Like, really strong! Way stronger than us!"
Aren looked back at Zephyra. "What about them? Can I contract with more than one spirit?"
"Ancient Shamans contracted with many spirits," Zephyra said. "But start with one. Learn the bond. Then, if other spirits wish it, you may expand your circle."
That made sense. Don't rush it.
Aren reached out his hand toward Zephyra.
"I accept the contract."
Zephyra touched his hand with her wing.
Light exploded.
…
Aren gasped as power flooded into him. Not painful, but overwhelming. He could feel Zephyra's essence mixing with his own. Wind. Freedom. Sky. The joy of flight. The power of storms.
Words appeared in his vision:
[CONTRACT FORMED]
Zephyra (Wind Spirit, Intermediate) is now bonded to Aren Valewood
Bond Strength: 45% (Newly Formed)
New Abilities Unlocked:
∙ Gust (Push/pull with wind, 10 MP)
∙ Feather Fall (Slow descent, 5 MP per 10 seconds)
∙ Whisper Carry (Send messages on wind, 15 MP)
∙ Enhanced Dodge (+10% evasion)
Stats Increased:
∙ AGI: 9 → 14 (+5 from Zephyra)
∙ WIS: 15 → 20 (+5 from Zephyra)
∙ SPI: 50 → 58 (+8 from bond formation)
Level Up! You are now Level 2!
+5 Free Stat Points
+3 Class Stat Points (Auto-assigned: +1 WIS, +1 INT, +1 VIT)
The light faded. Aren felt… different. Lighter. Like he could run faster, think clearer. He felt the wind around him in a way he never had before. Every breeze, every current of air. He could sense it all.
And in the back of his mind, he felt Zephyra. Her presence. Her emotions. They were connected now.
"The bond is formed," Zephyra said, and Aren could hear a note of satisfaction in her voice. "You are my shaman. I am your spirit. We grow together now."
She flew up and perched on his shoulder, her weight barely noticeable.
"This feels right," she said quietly. "Like coming home after a long journey."
Aren smiled. "Yeah. It does."
Breeze and Spark flew up, excited and chattering.
"That was so cool!" Spark spun in circles. "The light and the power and everything!"
"You're a real shaman now," Breeze said, sounding almost proud. "With a real contract."
The other spirits in the clearing approached cautiously. They murmured among themselves, watching Aren with new interest.
"The shaman returns…"
"After so long…"
"Will he remember us?"
"Will the others come back too?"
Aren didn't know what to say. These spirits had been waiting. Hoping. For five hundred years.
"I don't know if other shamans will come," Aren said honestly. "But I'm here now. And I'll do my best."
An old earth spirit—looking like a small boulder with a face—rolled forward.
"Your best may not be enough, young one. The System is strong. It controls everything now. Even we spirits are weakened by it."
"Weakened how?" Aren asked.
"The System regulates magic. Controls how power flows. It feeds certain types of magic and starves others. Spirit magic… is being starved. Slowly. We grow weaker with each passing year."
Zephyra nodded on his shoulder. "It's true. The world's spiritual energy is fading. Replaced by the System's artificial power. If it continues, eventually, there will be no spirits left. Just the System and its classes."
Aren felt cold. "The world is dying?"
"Not dying," the earth spirit said. "Changing. Becoming something else. Whether that's better or worse… we don't know."
A notification appeared:
[NEW QUEST: THE FADING WORLD]
Description: The spirits claim the world's natural energy is being replaced by the System. Investigate this claim and discover the truth.
Reward: ???
Difficulty: Unknown
Aren stared at the quest notification. This was bigger than he'd thought. Way bigger.
"I'll figure it out," Aren said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "I promise."
The spirits murmured approval. Some bowed. Others simply watched.
Then, one by one, they faded back into the forest, returning to their homes.
Soon, only Zephyra, Breeze, and Spark remained.
"So what now?" Spark asked.
"Now," Aren said, "I go home. Practice my new abilities. And prepare for the journey to the capital."
"Can we come?" Breeze asked hopefully.
"I'm not contracted with you two yet—"
"We can still follow!" Spark insisted. "Spirits are free! We go where we want!"
Zephyra made a sound like wind chimes laughing. "They like you. That's rare. Most spirits don't trust humans anymore."
"Is it okay if they come along?" Aren asked her.
"They're Lesser Spirits. Weak. But enthusiastic. They might be useful. Or annoying. Probably both."
"Hey!" Spark protested.
Aren smiled. "Alright. You two can tag along. But try not to burn anything or blow away important stuff, okay?"
"No promises!" Spark said cheerfully.
Breeze just giggled.
As they walked back through the forest, Aren tested his new Gust ability. He focused on a pile of leaves and pushed with his mind.
Wind burst from his hand—not strong, but noticeable. The leaves scattered.
[MP: 140/153]
His max MP had gone up with the level and stat increases. And the ability worked!
"Not bad for a first try," Zephyra said. "But you're using too much energy. Let the wind do the work. Don't force it. Guide it."
Aren tried again, this time imagining the wind flowing naturally. Encouraging it rather than pushing.
The result was smoother. More controlled. And it cost less MP.
"Better," Zephyra approved.
They practiced as they walked. By the time they reached the forest edge, Aren could use Gust reliably and had figured out the basics of Feather Fall.
When he stepped out of the trees, the sun was starting to set.
His mother was in the garden, and she looked up with relief. "There you are! I was getting worried. You were gone for hours."
"Sorry, Mom. I was just… practicing."
She noticed his smile. The way he stood a bit straighter. "Did something good happen?"
"Yeah," Aren said, glancing at Zephyra on his shoulder—invisible to his mother. "Something really good."
That night, as Aren lay in bed, he felt Zephyra's presence in his mind.
"Tomorrow, we train properly," she said. "You have power now. But power without skill is useless."
"I know. I'm ready."
"Good. Because the capital is dangerous for shamans. The System's followers don't like what they can't control. And you, young shaman, are very much out of their control."
Aren closed his eyes. One month until he had to leave. One month to get as strong as possible.
He could do this.
He had to.
…
[STATUS UPDATE - AREN VALEWOOD]
Class: Ancient Shaman (Displayed as: Nature Mage)
Level: 2
HP: 115/115
MP: 153/153
STATS:
∙ STR: 8
∙ VIT: 14 (+4)
∙ AGI: 14 (+5)
∙ INT: 15 (+3)
∙ WIS: 21 (+6)
∙ LCK: 7
∙ SPI: 58 (+8)
SKILLS:
∙ Spirit Sight (Passive) Lv1
∙ Spirit Speech (Active) Lv1
∙ Minor Offering (Active) Lv2
∙ Spiritual Sense (Passive) Lv1
∙ Gust (Active) Lv1 [NEW]
∙ Feather Fall (Active) Lv1 [NEW]
∙ Whisper Carry (Active) Lv1 [NEW]
SPIRIT CONTRACTS:
∙ Zephyra (Wind Spirit, Intermediate) - Bond: 45%
ACTIVE QUESTS:
∙ Report to Capital (29 days remaining)
∙ The Fading World (No time limit)