“Of course! We’re sorry, it’s just … people aren’t invited down to meet Goria a lot,” they explained, and Ryan did understand where they were coming from, but right now? After a literal terror attack in the city? He wasn’t particularly in the mood for that.

  Though, luckily, it didn’t take long until a black car pulled up, and a demon stepped out of it. Ryan grabbed his bag and awkwardly smiled at the acolytes. “Sorry, I’ve got to go. Uh … thanks for the help with everything? Oh, right, here—” Ryan pushed his hand into his pocket and quickly returned the shell that he had been given before heading down to the reservoirs. He then rushed over to the car, signing, “Thanks for picking me up,” to Yamada. She nodded, opening the door for Ryan, and he hurried in.

  Once Yamada pulled away, Ryan let out a long sigh. “Gods …”

  Finally, Ryan had the time to do something he’d been itching to do for hours now, but he had wanted to get back to the surface first. Plus, being there on a cushioned seat after hours of jumping and running was just heavenly. He closed his eyes, trying to step into his own mind. Ryan soon found himself in the space between the domains.

  Turning around, Ryan stood in front of the small pond that had been created through Goria’s help. The sapling on the small island on the center of the pond was standing there quite solidly. Goria had called it the ‘seed of a blessing,’ so, clearly, this was something that would be good if he managed to nurture it properly. He had that other, smaller seed that had been left behind when he cured the spirit of the lake as well … maybe he could expand this even further if he somehow got that in there, too.

  Ryan slowly approached the water, squatting in front of it. Putting his hand into it, the water was cool, and almost calming to just look at. He walked through the water, closer to the sapling. Just looking at it like this, he had no idea what kind of tree this was supposed to be. But … maybe he could get the help of someone who did.

  He looked over toward Gaia, who was sitting in her domain. The spirits were all quite nervous after hearing what happened in town and were trying to distract themselves the best they could. And Gaia did this by just staying calm and practically meditating.

  Ryan used the Spirit Link skill, connecting to the Golem. He could see a thick thread connecting the two of them that wrapped itself around Gaia’s domain. And then … the walls of her domain disappeared. Ryan hadn’t known that this was going to happen. He had just thought maybe Gaia could use her Garden Golem’s Eye skill to identify the sapling so they could get some more info on it, but this was completely unexpected.

  Gaia quickly noticed what happened, standing up from where she was sitting. Before, the walls of the domain hadn’t allowed her to look out beyond it, but now, she was able to see not just Ryan and the sapling but Maximus and Gregor’s domains as well as the rest of the cores floating in the air nearby.

  “Sorry, I didn’t expect that your domain would open all of a sudden …” Ryan apologized, but Gaia seemed pretty excited about it. She walked out into the white space that surrounded the domains. She was truly enormous, and when she was walking like this, Gaia was pretty intimidating. But even so, Ryan was just happy to see her get to walk around with her regular, full size.

  “Can you use your Appraisal skill on this sapling over here?”

  Gaia nodded. After hearing Goria call this a “seed of blessing,” Gaia seemed pretty excited, as he would expect. She approached Ryan and leaned down toward the seed. A sparkle appeared around Gaia’s eyes as her skill activated, and a message appeared in front of Ryan.

  [Seed of Blessing]

  [Growth Stage—Sapling] [Growth Rate—2%]

  [A Seed of Blessing that has taken root in a living being. Connected to that being’s mana, the more the seed grows, the more blessings it will bring]

  Ryan’s eyes widened as he read the message. So, he was just going to get some kind of benefit from this over time? He thought maybe he would have to wait until fruit grew on it, but this was even better. Of course, he had no idea how fast it would grow, but if Goria found it so special, then it had to be a great benefit.

  “Awesome.” A broad smile formed on Ryan’s face. “Thanks, Gaia.”

  The Golem nodded once again, seemingly quite happy and excited to learn more about this seed, even though there still wasn’t a lot of information there. Maybe Ryan could find out more on the internet later.

  But for now, he just had to get home. Liam was probably not doing too hot. He had already been a mess a few weeks before, when they were in the Channel because of the giant berserker’s rampage and the attack of the White Shadow Society’s soldiers, and now he had lived through something else horrible that he probably struggled to really process.

  Ryan was about to ask Gaia to go back to her domain so that he could pull back out of his mind when he noticed the spirit walk over to one of the cores floating nearby. It was the only one that was complete: Jester’s core. Gaia stood in front of it, and Ryan could sense something that he hadn’t noticed from the Golem before. She was … annoyed. Angry.

  Gaia extended her hand toward the core, slightly tapping it, and Ryan saw Jester’s core quiver in response.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Jester Joins

  Gaia tapped Jester’s core again, making it quiver in response. It was like it was reverberating the space around it, giving off small pulses of magic. Once those pulses hit Gaia, she seemed to react in kind, giving off small pulses of magic that were moving out from her core. Were they … talking to each other? Ryan did notice that the spirits seemed to understand each other a lot better than Ryan could understand them, but he thought that it was just because of the memories of each other they had lost. He thought that maybe those memories left behind some kind of trace, like they knew each other but they couldn’t remember each other, so they could understand what the other wanted better. But was it because they had been communicating through magic this whole time?

  Could Ryan learn how to do that? It seemed like it was similar to how Geodes communicated, just instead of using pulses of light, they used pulses of magic.

  Of course, in his “conversations” with Jester in the past, Ryan had reacted to those pulses as well, but Jester would only give off a single pulse whenever Ryan was right about what he was saying, like Jester was confirming it. That was why it had taken him a pretty long time to figure out what exactly Jester wanted.

  The two spirits continued speaking to each other for a while, and though Ryan didn’t know what exactly they were saying, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Jester would start “saying” something, but he would soon be interrupted by Gaia, who had a barrage of magic pulses ready for him. And though Jester tried to get a word in, Gaia’s magic was overshadowing his. And even when Jester did manage to say something, Gaia just came back even stronger and faster.

  Gaia was scolding Jester; that was what was going on. And Ryan couldn’t help but feel like that was pretty in line with what he knew about Gaia. She did give off a pretty motherly air all the time. But even so, Ryan didn’t want Gaia to just keep scolding her fellow spirit like that.

  “What’s going on? What are you saying to him?” he asked, looking up at Gaia. The Golem turned toward him and tried to find a way to explain things but clearly didn’t know how. In the end, she pointed at Jester and then at her own domain.

  “Ah … Are you upset that Jester still hasn’t accepted me as his keeper?” Ryan asked, and the spirit immediately nodded.

  Ryan had to admit he was a bit annoyed that nothing seemed to be enough for Jester. He was supposed to react to the excitement of those around him, or at least that was what Jester had confirmed when Ryan confronted him before. But no matter what happened until now, it wasn’t good enough for him. And of course, Ryan didn’t want to force Jester to join him, but it was getting a bit confusing. After all, what else could be done to potentially satisfy the spirit? He seemed to have reacted quite a bit when Ryan met with Goria, but if neither one of the most famous events during all of New Riverside’s Spirit Week nor meeting a Great Spirit could satisfy him, then what else could Ryan do?

  “Listen, I get it, but if Jester doesn’t want to complete the quest, we can’t force him to. I mean, his condition was for me to excite him, and if I haven’t managed to do that yet, then that’s that,” Ryan pointed out. “I mean, of course I would love to have Jester join us all, but what can I do? If he doesn’t want to see things with his own two eyes, then that’s on him.”

  Gaia looked down at Ryan, tilting her head to the side. Realizing that she wasn’t sure what he meant, Ryan explained. “Well, things are a lot more exciting if you’re doing them yourself rather than just watching. I imagine that the way you guys see the world around me from in here is like how I can see things during a Spirit Link. You know everything that’s going on, but it’s just the raw … information, I guess. The knowledge of what’s going on and how others are feeling. That’s different from actually going out and experiencing it on your own. Since it seems like all of you guys lost your memories, I figured that Jester might have forgotten what it feels like to actually walk around with a real body.”

  Jester’s core began to vibrate shakily, like he was uncertain what he was supposed to “say.” Gaia responded to him with pulses of magic on her own a few times, and Jester’s core soon stabilized. A message appeared in front of Ryan, but it was the first time that one had appeared there. Instead of being the size of a computer monitor, this message was massive, like the wall of a building that simply sprang up behind Jester’s core.

  [The Harlequin Spirit Jester has been convinced by your words]

  [You have completed the Quest -Jester’s Excitement- through hidden requirements]

  [You have become the keeper of the Harlequin Spirit Jester]

  [The Temporary Domain has become a true Domain]

  [The -Spirit Domain- skill has leveled up]

  Ryan stared at the writing on the “system wall” and then let his eyes wander over to Jester. The spirit’s core moved back a few steps as the walls of a new domain were being constructed. The floor was covered in thick rugs and carpets, and drapes of fabric covered the ceiling and acted as walls, like this was the inside of a tent. A number of trinkets were scattered around the space, and a large pile of pillows and blankets seemed to act as a bed, together with a hookah that was sitting right beside it.

  “Well … alright, then,” Ryan let out, swiping his hand to the side to make the system messages disappear. He closed his eyes for a few moments and took a long breath. “I’m … I’m not going to say anything about this. I’m … trying to … not get upset as easily, so … excuse me for a moment. Gaia, uhm … thank you so much for your help. The Spirit Link skill’s effect should be running out soon, so make sure you’re back in your domain by then, alright?” Gaia nodded, seeming both concerned for Ryan and excited that Jester had finally joined them.

  Meanwhile, Ryan opened his eyes in the car again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. By then, it didn’t take long until they arrived at home, and Ryan stepped out of the car, thanking Yamada for driving him home. She nodded with a smile and quickly drove off, probably heading out to meet with Runar again.

  Ryan walked around the building to the front door leading up to the flat and rushed up the stairs. He unlocked the door and could hear footsteps immediately, as his mother seemed to have jumped up the moment she heard the door open.

  “I’m home,” Ryan said as he walked inside, and his mother came up and gave him a hug.

  “Welcome home; are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Are you?”

  Mary slowly nodded. “Just a little shaken up … How was everything down there? What was it like to meet Goria?”

  Ryan smiled awkwardly. “I can tell you a bit about it later, but for now I just want to take a bit of a break. I just came back from a pretty insane hike, so—”

  “Of course, of course! Do you want me to make you something to eat?”

  Though Ryan was about to decline, he quickly realized that he was actually still pretty hungry. Really, Tiar got more gluttonous every day.

  “That would be great … Is Liam in his room?”

  Mary turned toward the door to the young boy’s room, slowly nodding.

  “Alright, I’ll talk to him in a bit,” he said, though his first step was to his own bedroom. Ryan changed out of the clothes that he was wearing. They were completely drenched, though not from water but because of his own sweat. After jumping into the shower and scrubbing himself down for a bit, he changed into some more comfortable clothes and stepped out. He had already let Gaia out so that she could check on the plants upstairs in the garden, but neither Maximus nor Gregor seemed to be in the mood to come out right now. Rather, it was like they were anxiously preparing.

  Maximus was training with the recently upgraded dummy, while Gregor was eagerly working on some kind of new machine. Ryan would build Jester’s body in a bit, but right now, he was still too annoyed at how easily the spirit had ended up changing his mind.

  For now, he knocked on Liam’s door. A few moments later, the boy pulled it open and looked up at Ryan, surprised. “You’re back! I was told it would take you until dawn at the very least!”

  Ryan smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I managed to hurry a little. But more importantly, how are—”

  “I’m fine. Really, I’m … I’m okay,” Liam said, interrupting him, but Ryan could tell that it wasn’t exactly the truth. Liam’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and he had built a mountain of blankets and pillows on his bed.

  Ryan squatted in front of him. “Do you remember Silvia and Yanna’s father?” he asked, and Liam nodded, a bit surprised.

  “Yeah … I don’t think he liked me very much,” he pointed out, and Ryan smiled awkwardly. Liam probably wasn’t wrong about that, since Dimos had had some issues with vampires in the past.

  “Of course he does; how could he not? You’re a pretty cool kid, you know? It’s just not every day you meet a king, so he was probably just nervous,” Ryan explained, though Liam clearly wasn’t particularly convinced. “Listen, Mr. Redhorn is a therapist. He helped Silvia a ton when she was a kid before he and his wife adopted her. Do you think you’d want to talk to him sometime? I can ask him if he has any openings.”

  Liam frowned, confused. “Isn’t a therapist someone that pokes around in your head, trying to steal your secrets?”

  Trying not to make his smile drop as he wondered what sort of idiot had told Liam that, Ryan shook his head. “No, no, that’s not it at all. A therapist helps you learn how to deal with your emotions and how to get through the hard parts of your life. I had one for years before I moved to this town, and I’m planning on getting one again sometime,” Ryan explained. “Plus, Mr. Redhorn is a great person. I mean, you like Silvia and Yanna, right?”

  The vampire boy slowly nodded.

  “See? If someone could raise two amazing daughters like that, they must be okay, right? If you say you really, really don’t want to, then that’s okay, but I ask you to at least give it a shot. Just once, and then we can talk about it again,” Ryan suggested, and Liam slowly nodded.

  “Okay. If you say so …” the boy replied, looking down at the ground. “Can I go back to bed?”

  “Of course. If you need anything, I’ll be here, okay?”

  Liam nodded, and slowly closed the door. Ryan would need to talk to Runar about this, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer there, anyway. Especially since Dimos was already a bit more involved with all of these things than Ryan thought, his uncle should be easy to convince. But the issue was Dimos himself. Though Ryan was sure that he was a good therapist and he could look past his personal feelings, it was still a fact that Dimos had some biases toward vampires.

  He took a few deep breaths. Now there were just a few small things he had to check out before he crashed on the couch to sleep for the night. Ryan stepped out onto the balcony with his backpack, joined Gaia upstairs, and sat down on the bench at the rooftop’s edge. And then Ryan pulled out the two remaining items that he had been given by Goria. He was still wearing the earrings.

  The bead didn’t seem to be doing anything. Though Ryan had no idea if that was because there was no core of a spirit related to water around there or because he had to somehow activate this first. Ryan didn’t know a ton about magic items, but he knew that some of them needed attuning. Luckily, that wasn’t necessary for his earrings, but something like this felt like it might need it.

  Carefully, as Ryan’s fingers lay on the golf-ball sized orb, he tried to make some of his mana flow into it, just in case. The moment he did, it lit up for just a moment, and something inside of it seemed to move. It was like some kind of mist, moving around like waves in there. And somehow, Ryan could instinctively tell that there was no water spirit around him besides Violette’s two core fragments that were already with him. It was like the bead was giving him a constant status report so he would know if something changed. Ryan didn’t know the range, but maybe Runar could somehow boost it and they could search a larger area.

  But for now, Ryan put the orb away, then took a closer look at the drinking horn. He slowly removed the cap. Inside of it was a flat surface of clear water, though it wasn’t flowing out even when Ryan tipped the horn over. Goria had said this could turn into whatever tool he wanted, right?

  Just like with the bead, Ryan let his mana flow into the horn, and as he did, it was like he could feel the entirety of the water in the horn, all at once.

  With just a thought, he had it move out of the horn, and a stream of water slowly flowed out. It wasn’t any stronger than the water coming from a faucet, though. Taking a deep breath while concentrating, Ryan thought about a shovel, though that was only the case because he could see one leaning against the railing on the other side of the balcony. Immediately, the water turned into the shape of a shovel, freezing into that shape.