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"I’m back, young lady. Sorry for being late. It took a while, but I’ve found the Spirit Art Scrolls," Chloe said, stepping forward and placing a series of scrolls made of old paper imbued with strange spiritual runes on the table.
"Well done, Chloe..." Khione nodded, hovering behind the table and gesturing to the scrolls. "Listen, everyone. These are Spirit Art Scrolls. Once you use them, you can learn a Spirit Art."
"W-What are Spirit Arts to begin with?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They’re expressions of your Spiritual Heart’s power," Khione explained. "They can help you fight, protect yourself, grow stronger, and further cultivate your Spirit Power, Mana, or Lifeforce. The best thing is that, unlike Spells, these Spiritual Arts will become embedded in your Spiritual Heart and gain the ability to grow stronger over time as you master their powers and evolve with them."
"Really?! Sounds really great!" Lily said. "So what are these?"
"There are two types of scrolls here for two different Spirit Arts, which are usually taught to my soldiers, knights, and so on," Khione explained. "However, for now, you can only choose one of the two. I’ve prepared scrolls for everyone here, and giving scrolls to others is not allowed this time."
"Why?" Gabriel asked. "It’s not like I’ll need them! Can’t I give mine to big sis?"
"I knew you would say that, so we didn’t bring any for you, little angel," Chloe giggled.
"Eh?! Ah..." Gabriel sighed.
"As for Katherine, you would probably do better by learning one of the two," Khione said.
"Okay... I guess I’ll give them a try. I’ve always mostly specialized in Spirit Magic," Katherine said. "But perhaps putting my Spiritual Heart to some use wouldn’t be bad. I was born with it, after all..."
As Katherine nodded, Khione presented the two choices.
The two scrolls were distinct: one had red runes, and the other had blue runes.
"The first scroll is the Spiritual Armor Embodiment Art. It transforms your Spirit Power into a hard armor around your body, essential for taking blows from powerful foes and surviving," Khione explained. "Based on how you use it, you can learn to combine it with Spells and other Techniques you might have already created. It also reinforces any Magic Armor you wear beneath it, further strengthening your defenses. This was a vital Spirit Art for us fairies, who are usually small and frail."
"Interesting..." I nodded. "And the other?"
"The second scroll is the Five Elemental Spirit Palms Art," Khione said. "This one is made for attacking and fighting. It can be combined with weapons, even though it says ’Palms,’ and it lets you channel your Spirit Power offensively, infusing it as Elemental Power into your hands or weapons, further increasing the power and explosiveness of your attacks, allowing your Weapon Techniques to evolve to the next level. Using this scroll turns an ordinary fairy into an Initiate Fairy Soldier, allowing their attacks to pierce through the hard hide, skin, or scales of Spirit Beasts."
"Oho, that’s interesting..." I nodded. "I guess... Hmm."
I wasn’t desperate to obtain either of the two, but offense or defense? What should I prioritize? Perhaps defense, as I’m pregnant, but the second technique also sounds so great!
"Khione, why are you limiting how many we can learn?" I asked her.
"Ah, it’s not that I’m being mean. You cannot usually learn both because their Spiritual Powers fluctuate oppositely to one another, so they may clash and create a Spirit Power Deviation inside your Spiritual Heart, causing cracks that would take months to heal," she said. "Or worse... cripple your Spiritual Heart entirely."
"So these techniques clash with one another, meaning that your soldiers either specialize in defense or offense?" I asked.
"Not everyone, but they start as teams, usually in pairs to complement each other..." Khione said.
"Oh, so that’s why Snowflake and Frosty were together?" Lily asked.
"Yes, it’s rare to see soldiers that aren’t in pairs," Khione nodded. "However, it doesn’t mean they cannot learn the other technique. Once you achieve Tier 2 of either of the two, the energies no longer clash, and you can choose the other to complement yourself. But the path to reach Tier 2 of those techniques is the first trial and challenge for these pairs, as they must work together to overcome obstacles and train to become stronger."
"I see..." I nodded. "Okay then, I suppose... what are you guys choosing?"
"Hmm..." Lily rubbed her chin. "I don’t think I need more defense, so this!"
"I’ll go for offense as well," Rita nodded.
"I would like some more defense..." Jenny said. "I’m like the frailest around..."
"I’ll go with defense too," my daughter said. "It’s not like in BNLO, after all, so prioritizing our lives should always be on our minds."
Anna, Monica, and Elisa all chose the defensive technique too, and Mark ended up going for offense.
I looked at them and ultimately agreed with my daughter, choosing defense, which was also backed by Katherine, who did the same.
"Alright, so how do we use this?" I wondered.
"Simply hold the scroll, open it, and try to read the runes," Chloe explained.
"Sure..."
I nodded, opening the scroll... the runes inside began glowing with blue light, then green, and yellow... for a moment, I could understand what was written there. The runes flowed into my hands and arms, rushing through my entire body.
FLUOSH!
I felt their knowledge, their power, everything flowing through me... I opened my eyes wide as I felt these Spiritual Runes engraving themselves into the depths of my Spiritual Heart.
And it was done...
[You have absorbed the Runes of the [Spiritual Art Scroll], learning the Spiritual Art: {Spiritual Armor Embodiment Art: Tier 1: Rank 1}!]
[You can now manipulate your Spirit Power to create a protective armor around your entire body, protecting you from all damage. The stronger and higher your Spirit Power, the tougher the armor becomes.]
[This armor can regenerate using Spiritual Energy, and if it runs out of energy, it will shatter and disappear, requiring you to activate the technique again.]
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