NOVEL WEB Chapter 1016: Dark Spirit
Though Vale had vanished for some time after entering the Shadow Realm, he had left various instructions to his close friends, slaves, and even his one and only disciple.
At this time, Armin was already an eighteen-year-old First-Class Arcanist. He had reached this level about two years ago, and he was already on the verge of becoming an Expert Class. It was ranked below Master and above the First Class.
Once an orphan with nothing but determination and the taste of blood and dust in his mouth, Armin had risen through the ranks of the Marshall Academy—an institution personally established by Vale in his Shadow Domain's Clovis City.
The Academy had since become a powerhouse for producing elite Arcanists, especially those who walked the Dark Arts, Mystic Arts, Psychic Arts, and Elemental Arts...
Armin's days began early. At around five in the morning, he would find himself drenched in sweat on the outskirts of the Marshall Academy...
He trained in the rocky courtyards with a weighted spear, his preferred weapon, imbued with Draconic Runes…
Well, after several missions against Evil Creatures, Rogue Arcanists, and even hunting Chaos Arts Practitioners, he realized that his Dark Arts wouldn't be enough… He had no choice but to keep up with his Combat Arts and learn more skills…
Thanks to his Talent and Shadow Immortal Vale's blessings, he was able to do just fine…
His strength had far surpassed the average First-Class Arcanist.
He had forged his foundation with Dark Arts for stealth, misdirection, and control, and Combat Arts for raw strength, reflexes, and speed.
His dual mastery made him a feared duelist and a specialist in special operations.
When not training, he would be found buried in the Academy's underground archives, poring over scrolls, dissecting spell models, and reverse-engineering some techniques left by powerful Arcanists from a long-gone era.
Armin was filled with ambition.
He had already set his sights on a third Arcane Path—Spirit Arts.
But gaining access to that particular branch of knowledge was difficult. Spirit Arts required a deep understanding of soul energy, resonance fields, and often, a special affinity.
To even request a beginner's manual, he needed to accumulate enough merit points from the Academy.
That's why, despite his current strength, Armin still took on missions—even the lesser ones.
***
Late one afternoon, while returning from a duel match, Armin stopped by the Mission Hall. The queue was short, and the clerk at the counter was one of the newer apprentices—nervous, young, and overly polite.
"Ah! Senior Armin!" the boy stammered. "There's a small-scale exorcism request. A local couple in Mistvale Village reported ghost activity. They reported about doors slamming, objects floating, and strange whispers at night. No fatalities, so it's listed as low risk. The reward's only 130 zen and fifty merit points."
Armin took the parchment, scanned it once, then nodded.
The mission may not be dangerous, but the old couple needed help immediately. However, missions like this would normally be ignored, as issues like this could be fixed by purchasing talismans or just getting it blessed by a Holy Arts Practitioner.
There wasn't really a need for the expertise of Dark Arts Practitioner.
Many students wanted a more challenging quest…
Still, Armin likes these easy missions. Not for the reward money but for the merit points.
"I'll take it…" he said.
"Y-You will?!" the clerk blinked. "I thought you'd be eyeing the Fire Beast hunt in Krailfen—"
"It's just perfect. I only need fifty more points," Armin interrupted. "This mission will get me the Advance Spirit Art Manual."
The clerk nodded as he swiftly made the record.
After all, who would've thought the rising star of the Academy, a disciple of the Shadow Immortal himself, would personally respond to ghost trouble for an old couple?
***
Mistvale Village.
This place was a small, fog-drenched settlement located in a valley. When Armin arrived on the next day, dressed in a light grey Arcanist Robe and black leather boots, the villagers instantly recognized the Marshall Academy crest on his shoulder and led him to the house.
He had just travelled through an Airship to a Bill City and walked to this settlement… Still, he didn't feel tired and immediately went to work.
The old couple, Wain and Meila, were kind, wrinkled, and clearly worn from weeks of disturbed nights.
Their home was modest, like many other houses. It was made of darkwood and clay tiles…
"We don't know what it is, young sir," Meila said weakly...
"At night, it gets cold… a few objects fly… and Wain here swears he saw a figure float near the ceiling."
"We hear that thing whisper, too… I thought we're going crazy… We asked the priest for help but nothing happened…" Wain added with a haunted look.
Armin nodded. He didn't expect that a priest had already checked it.
It seemed that this place had a stronger Evil Spirit.
"You've done nothing to anger spirits recently? Disturbed a graveyard, bought cursed antiques?"
"No," Meila said. "But… this used to be our daughter's room. She… she passed two years ago. It started a few weeks ago."
Armin's eyes narrowed. That was a vital clue.
He could probably resolve this with his Dark Arts by controlling the Spirit, but he also learned a lot more things that could possibly be more helpful in this situation.
***
That night, Armin set up a small Dark Barrier Formation, dampening all sound and sealing the flow of external energy…
Then he waited. He was seated in a lotus position at the center of the room, where ghostly activity had been reported the most…
'I can't find the spirit, but there are a lot of traces… I wonder where it is during the day?' He mused…
Then, as midnight struck, the temperature dropped.
The candles flickered, then blew out.
Soon, he heard the whisper of the Evil Spirit…
"Why… did you leave me…?"
Armin opened his eyes—and saw her.
A female spirit, no older than sixteen, hovered just inches from the ceiling, her hair like black vines floating in water; her eyes were also empty… She looked sad, not malevolent.
Armin took a deep breath as he saw this… He still remembers Lotus' teachings, and he was looking forward to his success on this mission.
'She's definitely suitable for my experiment… I hope she can agree to become a Dark Spirit…'