Level Up Legacy

"Not earth," said Arthur with confusion. Then, he turned toward his hand, staring at it turn ethereal. "This place might be an ethereal dimension."

"An ethereal dimension?"

"This is from where the summoners get their creatures. I heard stories about such places, but all of them were heavily guarded by the Tanera Kingdom and summoner guilds. However, in their essence, these creatures are spirits."

"Does this make this place a gate to the spiritual world?" asked Rain again as Arthur brought them to the shore. However, Arthur shook his head while inspecting the forest.

"This is different from the one I visited. It can be a small dimension where spirits gather. The Spirit World is diverse, with many different worlds corresponding to ours. Rexus met the first seeker in his previous world, and I met him in ours."

"Then, how do you explain the voices?" asked Rain as she jumped down from the boat which came ashore. As soon as she landed on the soil, she sank into it. Arthur caught her in time and raised her before carrying her in his arms.

"You need to use your spiritual energy to interact with this world," said Arthur as he stepped on the soil. Then, he turned toward her. "Do you know how to do that?"

"…a bit," said Rain with a shy smile as she wrapped her arms around him. Arthur sighed and lowered her; this time, she did not sink into the soil. However, unlike Arthur, whose control over spiritual energy was seamless, the daughter of calamity was clumsy.

Spiritual energy flared from her feet like a flame, and Arthur stared at it until she was embarrassed. Thus, she nudged him forward, but he did not move until the voices returned.

"…someone is here…"

"I will protect you."

The two children were speaking, albeit in whispers. This meant their guess was correct: the voices came from this place. Arthur started following and went deeper into the forest. All of a sudden, the pair met a giant serpent spirit.

"Is this a spirit, too?" asked Rain as she prepared for combat. However, the serpent did not attack and simply hissed while staring at Arthur. Then, it bowed down to him, bringing its head toward the ground.

Arthur smiled and walked toward the spirit. He caressed its scales, making it hiss in joy. Then, the spirit raised its head before giving Arthur a last glance before slithering away into the forest.

"…what just happened?" asked Rain with confusion as it stared at the spirit. "Did that spirit recognize you?"

"It did not, and we never met. However, ethereal creatures seem to favor me for some reason. It might be my spiritual energy and my character, but that has always been the case."

"…you are loved by all."

"Except humans."

Arthur then resumed walking, and the scene from earlier happened a few times again. Whenever the two came in contact with a spirit, it bowed to them or showed respect. Some even gave Arthur spiritual fruits, which he stared at in amazement.

"This is the first time I see such a fruit," said Arthur at the irregular fruit, which looked like a heart. "This might be the source of spiritual alcohol, which can make the strongest awakeners drunk."

"I heard each fruit can be used to create fifty bottles, and each bottle would sell for quite the price," said Rain while leaning over. "I wonder what would happen if someone ate it directly? Although that can be dangerous…."

Before the calamity could finish her words, Arthur took a bite from the fruit. As he munched down on it, Rain looked at him with a gaping mouth. Spiritual energy exploded from him, and Arthur stared at his etherealized hands.

"Are you insane? How can you eat something a spirit gave you on a whim?" said Rain with panic as she tried to grab him, but her hand could not hold his. "…what…"

"This increases spiritual energy," said Arthur with great surprise. "Although it does not give enough spiritual energy to make a contract, it would greatly boost an awakener's amplifying abilities."

"You still should not have eaten that!" said Rain with a frown as she stared at him. "You seem to be fading…."

"You are the same," said Arthur with a smile. "You are fading more than I am. This is the effect of this dimension. It is converting us into spirits."

"…and you say this just now?" said Rain with panic as she stared at her arms. Only an outline remained of them, and she tried to grasp it with her other hand, but it went through. "Arthur…!"

"Do not panic. This is a normal occurrence, given the nature of this place. The good thing is that it is not permanent," said Arthur as he raised his other hand and infused it with spiritual energy. The golden energy coated his hand, and it soon returned to normal. "Let me reverse it for you too."

Arthur then grabbed her arm, and it returned to normal as well. He did the same for her other arm, which finally calmed Rain down.

"I thought I was going to disappear," said Rain as she sighed in relief with a hand over her chest. Then, she glared at Arthur, who was looking at her with amusement. "You knew about this but decided to keep quiet until I panicked."

"I did," said Arthur with a smirk. "You are not the only prankster."

"…damn brat," said Rain before storming away. Arthur kept munching on the fruit, which tasted too good to be true. He followed after her but realized that she had suddenly stopped.

Inside the blue forest was a single pink tree, and the two stumbled upon it. Below it stood two children who looked to be no older than thirteen. The two glared at the outsiders with apprehension, and the boy shielded the girl.

Rain was frozen in place as she stared at them. Her lips parted as if to say something, but she did not find the words. However, as Arthur stopped beside her, she grabbed his sleeve reflexively.

"The two of them are…" she started, and Arthur nodded. Despite looking young, Arthur and Rain recognized the two children. As they suspected, the two of them were Lyle and Anna. "Is this an illusion?"

"Even if it was, it might be created by their memories of this place," said Arthur as he let go of the fruit. The remains burst into spiritual energy, which also entered his body. "There is one way to find out."

Arthur started walking toward them, and Lyle grew alert. He raised his hands at the two before bringing them to the ground, creating countless hurricanes that rushed toward them. Arthur and Rain were surprised to see him use his original abilities in this place.

However, it was easy for Arthur to use his spiritual energy to diffuse the hurricanes. He scared the two children even more as they saw the golden spiritual energy rip through the wind like a sword.

"We are not here to harm you two," said Arthur with a smile. "My friend and I are here to visit you, Lyle, Anna. We have questions about how you came to be in this place."

Arthur did not reveal that the two should know them because the earlier attack told Arthur that Lyle did not remember them. Instead, it would make them suspicious if Arthur suddenly acted like an acquaintance.

"…we have always found ourselves here," said Lyle, stepping back. Even after realizing that Arthur was too powerful for them, he raised his arm to protect the blue-haired girl. "There is nothing we can tell you!"

"As he said, we are not here to harm you," said Rain as she gathered her courage. We know your mother, Lyle. We are friends of hers."

Lyle then looked confused as he turned to stare at Anna. The girl seemed scared but grabbed his arm to lower it. She believed them, but what Lyle said next shocked them both.

"I… have no mother," said Lyle, lowering his hands and staring at them suspiciously. "Both of us found ourselves here. Please leave us alone."

Arthur and Rain exchanged glances as if both realized that Lyle might look like a teenager, but he had no memories of his past. Before the two could say anything, Lyle grabbed Anna and dashed across the forest, running from them.

"Is this indeed an illusion?" asked Rain as she walked to stand beside Arthur. "He does not remember us or anything from his past life."

"If this were an illusion, the two would have remembered us. An illusion is based on the memories of the perceiver, not the illusion itself. This is… genuine amnesia."