Aivrel was satisfied with Igor’s contract.
An elementalist’s contract could provide positive feedback to an elemental spirit. The moment the contract succeeded, the Lesser Ice Spirit she had enlightened experienced a great surge in its sentience.
Not only the lesser spirit, but Aivrel herself also benefited.
As the higher being governing the spirit in the youth’s contract, she also received a clear benefit at the moment Igor’s contract succeeded.
This benefit was not reflected in a direct increase in mana, but acted upon her consciousness.
The success of the contract brought a backflow of sentience, nourishing this wisp of Aivrel’s consciousness. The most obvious change was a massive increase in the range of her conscious perception.
Aivrel roughly tested it. Previously, her perception range did not exceed twenty meters, but now… it had directly skyrocketed to nearly five hundred meters!
Furthermore, the changes in Igor himself also pleasantly surprised her.
Just as she had guessed, Igor’s potential far exceeded her expectations.
His successful contract also awakened new memories within her, some knowledge about elementalist contracts.
An elementalist’s first Spirit Contract was the most important.
During this initial contracting process, the elementalist had a chance to attract the resonance of elemental laws, forming a Radiance of Law.
This was a unique opportunity for every elementalist. The more Radiance of Law awakened at this moment, the greater the elementalist’s talent and potential.
Three Radiant Laws, three Innate Spells…
This was indeed extraordinary.
Even based on the knowledge Aivrel recalled, Igor could absolutely be considered a genius!
For one thing, according to the common sense emerging from her new memories, the growth potential brought by three Radiant Laws was enough to support the young mercenary in achieving the rank of 【Manifestor】 in the future!
As for what level a 【Manifestor】 was…
After the contract, Aivrel was able to read the surface thoughts of the youth.
Judging just from the youth’s wild thoughts during his initial surge of excitement, in the Kingdom of Northeland, to which her Blackwood Forest belonged, a nation of nearly ten million people, the total number of Manifestors did not exceed three!
Manifestors… were already high-level forces on the continent, even hailed as 【Legends】!
Of course, this was just potential.
The upper limit of an elementalist’s rank was almost always tied to their contracted spirit. An elementalist’s breakthrough also depended on their contracted elemental spirit.
To achieve the rank of Manifestation, the contracted spirit must be a Spirit Lord.
This could be achieved either through the contracted spirit’s own breakthrough or by the elementalist contracting a higher-level elemental spirit.
Naturally, that was a matter for the future.
Aivrel didn’t know what rank her main body was, but it was certainly higher than the Greater Spirit in Igor’s understanding.
The reason was simple: just this wisp of her consciousness, if she truly went berserk, could also destroy everything within dozens of kilometers.
According to the youth’s understanding of power levels, such destructive capability was equivalent to that of a Greater Spirit.
Of course, that would also mean this wisp of her consciousness would be completely expended.
The image Aivrel deliberately crafted before the youth was that of an ancient and mysterious Greater Spirit.
The fact that this identity also made Igor spontaneously keep secrets was an unexpected bonus.
However, although the other party’s character seemed acceptable, rashly contacting a meticulous human bearing deep-seated hatred still carried uncontrollable risks.
Therefore, during the contract signing, Aivrel, leveraging her master-servant contract with the lower spirit, also left a safeguard on the youth.
If he betrayed her in the future, she could directly reclaim the lower spirit, and the youth would instantly lose his transcendent power and die from the violent rampage of the icy mana she deliberately left within his body.
“It’s more prudent to keep a backup plan,” the girl murmured to herself.
At this thought, her gaze swept past Igor and landed on the infant sleeping soundly in his arms.
In Aivrel’s perception, the child named Elena had a soul of astonishing purity and an incredibly high elemental affinity, like a bright lamp in the darkness, its glow gentle yet dazzling.
This talent even far surpassed that of her father.
Aivrel’s thoughts stirred slightly: ‘Perhaps the Orion family’s pursuit is not only because of Igor’s own talent.’
She also fully agreed with Igor’s plan to head north to Shadowgrove Bay in search of ancient ruins and knowledge of spirits.
This aligned with her own plan to recover her memories and power, and it was clear the other party had considered their contract.
Thinking this, Aivrel let out a soft sigh.
Let the youth act as her eyes and hands in the Prime Material Plane, taking one step at a time for now.
…
One month later.
Shadowgrove Bay County.
A man covered in travel dust, his face largely concealed by a deliberately grown thick beard, holding a baby girl wrapped in soft cloth, followed the flow of people into this bustling port city.
He wore a faded old mercenary leather armor, over which was draped an ordinary traveling cloak with a hood. He looked no different from the countless wandering mercenaries eking out a living here.
It was Igor, who had successfully traversed the perilous Blackwood Forest and arrived here.
Using his rich mercenary experience, the youth skillfully altered his walking posture and accent, even using some herbs to slightly change his skin tone and the distribution of scars.
And now, he also had a new name—Bolo.
This was Igor’s way of commemorating the old man who had sacrificed himself for him, and also to completely leave behind the past of “Igor,” a name that could bring death.
“Lord Ale” had not appeared since his successful contract.
Igor thought this might be because the other party had expended too much energy and was still dormant.
Of course, he didn’t know this was simply because Aivrel hadn’t yet decided how to interact with this lower-level contractor in the future.
Aivrel’s main body was in the Realm of Frozen Silence.
Over the past ten years, during her boredom, she had long since explored the entire Realm of Frozen Silence.
That plane was clearly a shattered, post-destruction world: small, cramped, lifeless, and utterly uninteresting.
Therefore, after gaining a contractor, Aivrel focused all her attention on the vibrant and colorful Prime Material Plane.
But this raised a question—
What should she do next? Should she act like an aloof, ever-backstage mastermind, observing everything indifferently, only intervening secretly at critical moments to secure benefits for herself?
Or… could she appropriately increase her frequency of interaction with the outside world, guiding Igor’s rapid growth, acting as a mysterious “mentor in the pocket”?
Aivrel hadn’t made up her mind yet.
She wanted to observe a bit longer.
However, although “Lord Ale” was still dormant, the Lesser Ice Spirit that had successfully contracted with Igor was quite active.
After the contract, the lesser spirit’s intelligence had also grown noticeably and could now understand Igor’s simple commands.
Igor had even given it a very straightforward name—First Snow.
These days, First Snow had been staying with the youth almost constantly.
Watching the youth train, watching the youth hunt.
Also participating in the youth’s battles against unfortunate magical beasts they encountered.
It liked its contractor very much and most enjoyed transforming into an ice-crystal snow eagle to perch on his shoulder.
However, before entering the city, First Snow, at Igor’s urging, had returned to the contract space.
That space automatically opened upon a successful contract, anchored within the youth’s soul. It served as the contract spirit’s home and also had a storage function.
As for the nanny goat Igor had captured, the youth had released it back into the wilderness before leaving the Blackwood Forest.
He knew the pain of losing a child and was unwilling to separate another mother and offspring for his own convenience.
The air of Gray Harbor was mixed with the salty tang of seawater, the smells of cargo, timber, livestock, and the sweat of laborers.
The towering lighthouse, the forest of masts, the noisy docks, and the faintly heard foreign accents of differing styles all showcased this port city’s prosperity and vitality.
Igor had no time to appreciate these in detail.
Holding the child, he headed straight for the Mercenary Guild located near the city’s central square.
The guild hall was spacious and noisy, its stone floor worn smooth by countless boots.
All sorts of mercenaries, merchants, and even some well-dressed clients gathered here to hand over tasks and post information.
Igor walked directly to the guild counter.
Under the slightly curious gazes of a few idle mercenaries, he took out several items from his seemingly inconspicuous backpack—
A pair of sickle-like forelimbs, as long as an adult’s forearm, shimmering with a dark metallic luster.
Several pieces of carapace covered in strange patterns, hard as iron.
And a fist-sized gray eyeball emitting a faint magical fluctuation.
“Materials for sale,” his voice came out low and hoarse through the beard.
The previously somewhat indifferent counter manager’s eyes widened instantly upon seeing those items, and he sucked in a sharp breath:
“Th-this… these are Shadow Mantis forelimbs and core carapace?!”
“And… this is a Basilisk’s eyeball?!”
Seeing the swirling icy mist around Igor’s fingertips, the manager immediately realized something, his demeanor becoming respectful at once:
The Shadow Mantis and Basilisk were both magical beasts from the depths of the Blackwood Forest that struck fear into people’s hearts, their strength comparable to that of a proper Elementalist!
Especially the Shadow Mantis, swift as the wind, its sickle forelimbs capable of slicing through iron like mud, extremely difficult to deal with. Often, several mercenary groups experienced in fighting magical beasts had to cooperate to kill one.
The appearance of these materials not only shocked the counter manager but also drew surprised, scrutinizing, and even somewhat awed looks from knowledgeable mercenaries around.
The noise in the hall quieted momentarily.
“Just came across them on the way,” Igor said flatly, as if it were a trivial matter.
Hmm, it truly was a trivial matter.
Aivrel, who had also witnessed the fierce battles, could attest on behalf of those magical beasts frozen into icy shards.
The manager didn’t dare delay, quickly conducting a careful inspection and appraisal, finally announcing a figure that elicited a wave of suppressed gasps around them:
“A total of 1,200 Gold Crowns.”
Igor paused slightly.
1,200 Gold Crowns…
That was an income his eight-member mercenary team might only achieve after three months of working non-stop without food or drink.
No wonder everyone said that once you became an elementalist, ordinary money would become mere numbers.
After the transaction was completed, Igor immediately applied to register as a free mercenary, releasing a hint of the icy aura belonging to a Imprinter.
Feeling that pure, cold mana pressure, the manager’s attitude grew even more respectful, swiftly processing the procedures for him.
Soon, an iron badge representing the identity of a free mercenary, engraved with the guild emblem and a simple serial number, was handed to Igor.
“Lord Bolo, we also need to record your Spirit Contract method. May I ask, your spirit is…”
The manager in charge of registering the transcendent mercenary roster asked cautiously.
“A Lifebound Spirit,” Igor replied calmly.
“Years ago, I came across a rare Ice Elemental Stone by chance and was fortunate enough to hatch a Lifebound Spirit.”
【Lifebound Spirit】 was a special type of elemental spirit, another important means for mortals to gain transcendent power besides 【Spirit Contracts】.
By implanting an Elemental Stone into their body, mortals had a chance to consume their own life force to hatch a Lifebound Spirit connected to their life, thereby condensing a magical seal and stepping into the ranks of the transcendent.
However, Lifebound Spirits hatched from Elemental Stones had lower sentience, were weaker in strength and could not grow. Their contractors also found it difficult to condense new seals and could not contract with other higher-level elemental spirits.
Therefore, elementalists who achieved their status this way basically had no room for advancement, remaining Low-Rank Imprinters their whole lives.
Such elementalists were also considered 【Inferior Elementalists】, distinguished from 【Orthodox Elementalists】 who contracted with elemental spirits.
Yet, even upon hearing he had become an elementalist using an Elemental Stone, the awed looks from the crowd did not change much.
Elementalists were rare to begin with.
Even an Inferior Elementalist achieved through an Elemental Stone held a status far above that of ordinary mortals.
For instance, in the entire Gray Harbor Barony, with a population of nearly a hundred thousand, even including Inferior Elementalists, the number of registered elementalists definitely did not exceed twenty.
Under the crowd’s respectful gaze, Igor completed his registration.
Afterward, he also posted several tasks in his personal name.
These included long-term acquisition of documents, rubbings, or physical objects related to the Northern Ruins and lost history; and offering high rewards for any knowledge, secrets, or research notes concerning Ice Elemental Spirits.
He deliberately set the rewards quite generously but required the information to be authentic and valid.
However, he did not post any tasks about searching for armored puppets or magical dolls.
That matter was sensitive and could easily lead people to think of High-Level Elemental Spirits. He planned to handle it personally and discreetly.
After leaving the Mercenary Guild, Igor sought out a real estate agent in Gray Harbor.
He rented a standalone wooden house with a small courtyard in the city’s outskirts, near the forest, where the environment was relatively quiet and mana was abundant. He meticulously selected and hired a wet nurse who had once served nobility to take exclusive care of his daughter.
Igor did not settle into comfort for long.
On the third morning after his arrival in Gray Harbor, the wooden door of his new home was gently knocked.
“Here they are…” Igor’s eyes flickered.
He opened the wooden door. Outside was an envoy dressed in well-tailored attire bearing the city lord’s manor insignia.
“Lord Bolo, I am a first-level steward from the city lord’s manor. You may call me Hawthorne.”
The envoy named Hawthorne smiled slightly, then politely offered an exquisitely decorated invitation:
“The Baron, upon hearing of your arrival in Gray Harbor, has prepared a modest banquet and sincerely invites you to his manor this evening. We hope you will honor us with your presence.”