Chapter 44: The Summoning Book

A projection of the Magic Arms with up to 99% of the full power – that was Zheng Yichen’s final setting for the Magic Arms Summoning Contract. It was an Equal Contract, drafted with Loris’s help, and all other aspects of the contract were modified too, specifically meant for the Magic Arms. This kind of contract was the most lenient. Any slightly stricter contract would likely make Zheng Yichen’s method ineffective or require extra, very troublesome effort.

The creation of this Summoning Book took a full week. Since he used physical materials, many parts required meticulous work. But the biggest cost was Zheng Yichen’s Mental Energy. Almost eighty percent of the massive amount of Spiritual Power consumed went into engraving the magical mark inside the Summoning Book.

Thanks to this mark, Zheng Yichen could activate the Magic Rune Array inside the book remotely, even if someone else didn’t pour Mana into it to trigger the Projection Spell. This was mainly for adding new Magic Arms later…

The pictures inside the book were imprinted using an image-capture spell. Because the magical mark in the book contained a large amount of Zheng Yichen’s Mental Energy, any magic someone else applied to the book would trigger his ‘Talent’ upon touching it. After passing through a transformation magical rune array inside the book, it would be converted into the Mana reserve within the Summoning Book. Loris had personally guided Zheng Yichen step-by-step to engrave this rune array.

Even an item made of ordinary materials could turn into a top-tier material under the nourishment of abundant Mana. However, this required considerable Mana and time to cultivate.

Furthermore, through her design, a Summoner only needed to sign a Contract with this book. Because the book contained a large amount of Zheng Yichen’s Mental Energy, she used her Arcane Art to establish a wireless-like connection between the Mental Energy within the Magic Arms and the Mental Energy inside the Summoning Book. After all, they were of the same origin, making this connection quite easy.

This method made the Summoning Book much more convenient to use. The thing to note was that when summoning a new Magic Arm for the first time, it would consume an extra portion of Mental Energy to establish a real connection with the replicated summoner’s mark.

This tremendously saved Summoners the trouble of contracting each Magic Arm individually. It wasn’t so bad now, but what if they ended up with dozens later… Zheng Yichen might not mind the trouble, but those Summoners would probably go crazy. Even though contracting one Magic Arm didn’t consume much Mental Energy, doing it for dozens at once could exhaust them completely!

Throughout the creation of the Summoning Book, Zheng Yichen experienced the feeling of having a pro guide you. The idea was his, and his unique Talent provided the possibility for the whole plan. Yet Loris was the one who filled in and polished most of the details. With her help, the finished Summoning Book turned out several times better than Zheng Yichen had imagined, solving problems he had planned to tackle slowly in the future.

“How are you so skilled at this?” Zheng Yichen asked, setting the completed Summoning Book down in front of Loris. He looked curiously at Loris, who was holding a cup of black tea. The main ingredient of that tea… was his blood.

Well, Loris’s constitution ensured that anything ‘living’ she touched would mutate. Normal water, upon her touch, would turn into a potent venom deadly to ordinary people. Though it didn’t affect her, Zheng Yichen had foolishly tasted it once.

It instantly felt like he was chewing ultra-concentrated sweet root… He nearly cried on the spot, his whole body jolted by the intensity.

“I’ve done similar things before,” Loris said softly, looking out the window. “Back then… probably about four hundred years ago.”

“Ahem, that is a long time ago,” Zheng Yichen chuckled lightly. He decisively gave up on delving deeper. The time span was just too vast; getting the clear picture didn’t seem very meaningful right now. He didn’t catch the slight hint of somberness in Loris’s tone.

“Hmm~ Let’s send this book tomorrow.” Flipping through the Summoning Book, Zheng Yichen had also added several extra new Magic Arms while making it. These were Basic Magic Weapons, with similar attributes. The types were… Sword, Spear, Saber, Halberd, Axe, Pike, Staff, Mace. Making these basic arms didn’t waste much energy anyway.

If some weren’t so obscure and likely unused, Zheng Yichen would have probably gone for the full eighteen traditional arms set. For more advanced ones, he hadn’t made them yet due to insufficient energy, but with over a month left, there was plenty of time to improve slowly.

“Alright then? Who wants a Contract?” Zheng Yichen waved the Summoning Book at the group of Ghost Maids standing before him. Summoning Magic wasn’t impossible to learn alongside other skills. It was like regular Magic; as long as one had enough energy and Talent, they could learn it while pursuing another path. It mainly depended on what they focused on primarily.

Though considering the storage limit of the Mind Sea, it still wasn’t very advisable. However, just signing one Contract wasn’t a big deal. Even a Mage or Warrior might encounter companions like battle pets during their careers.

“I’ll go first,” Loris said, claiming the honor without hesitation. Zheng Yichen didn’t hesitate either and simply tossed the book to her. She’d had a major part in designing this book. Though it was primarily built using Zheng Yichen’s power, she still had the authority to influence it.

With her setting the example, the Ghost Maids also stepped up one by one for Contract signing… That day, Zheng Yichen finally realized just how many Ghost Maids there were. Almost eighty or so!!

“How are there so many of them?” Zheng Yichen asked, clicking his tongue in surprise.

“Time accumulates,” Loris said, looking out the window with a detached expression. “Half of those Ghost Maids are victims… from the Forest of Illusions.”

“…” Zheng Yichen’s heart stirred. He flipped through Bona Kaine’s Magic Book and indeed found a relevant spell – a magic specifically for creating spirit servants. But the required materials made Zheng Yichen feel a bit uneasy.

It wasn’t that they were harsh, but rather quite… something. They carried a distinct sense of ‘not leaving the dead alone even after death.’ It required the Soul of the deceased… and the bones of the corpse as the main material, transforming it into a special existence among the Undead.

Existing somewhere between having a physical body and being incorporeal, Ghost Maids could easily shift between these states.

The Magic Arms connected to the Summoning Book were temporarily held by Loris. Zheng Yichen didn’t possess her ability to open a Personal Space – which was, in itself, a type of magic. This magic allowed one to manifest a connected space based on the self, requiring a Space Fragment. Those things were far too rare.

Unless collected immediately after appearing, they would quickly vanish, corrected by the world itself. As for storage equipment like Spatial Rings, yes, they existed. But they differed from tradition. Ring types also required a Space Fragment as a foundation, plus other special materials. Rather than spending materials on a Spatial Ring, wouldn’t it be better to bind it directly onto oneself? Hence, while such items existed, they were extremely rare. Spatial Pouches were different storage items. They didn’t need Space Fragments; their principle was to magically expand the internal space several times, even dozens of times, but they didn’t gain the weight-ignoring property.

“What’s this, Connor?” Petty asked Zheng Yichen, looking puzzled at the unusual book he brought as they stood on the outskirts of the Forest of Illusions. A strange ripple emanated from it, one that felt both familiar and unfamiliar to her.

“Something good,” Zheng Yichen replied, tossing the book to her. “See for yourself.”

Catching the Summoning Book Zheng Yichen threw over, Petty traced the patterns on the leather cover. Intricately crafted, it clearly showed a master’s touch. The pattern’s purpose was merely to differentiate front from back; it didn’t bear a name.

As for the content, besides the opening two pages with relevant explanations, the following dozen or so pages were illustrated catalogs of various weapons. Beside each illustration were descriptions of the respective weapon.

“This… lets people summon Magic Arms?” Petty asked, surprised. Although the main Magic Arms covered were few compared to the Basic Magic Weapons – with the vast majority of the book’s pages still blank – the content was still astounding to her.