"Huhh… Just what are you even bringing?" asked Angus curiously.
"Emm… This is material for my elemental spirit." said Axel.
Then, Axel explains that the elemental spirit is love natural material such as rare plantations or ore. Some of the elemental spirits even consume this kind of material to improve themself.
Inside Axel's big case are various rare natural materials he procured during the last few months. Because of the enormous amount of materials, his space storage is not enough to accommodate them.
His space storage is filled with rare herbs or plantations, while all the rare ore or material is in the big case. This makes the big case heavier. Because of his recent large purchase, Axel was somewhat left with little money.
Hearing this, everyone begins to think that Axel is a big spender. But, knowing his family background, everyone didn't think too much of it. The Axel family is a famous merchant that dwells in many exotic things such as art, sculpture, painting, and rare docile animals.
They even have a construction side company to create many famous landmarks and buildings. Whenever someone wants to search or make something beautiful, they will always think of the Pomel merchant guild.
Apparently, Axel needs all this material to satisfy the requirement contract with the elemental spirit and summon the elemental spirit. There are even elemental spirits that require a lot of material just to summon them. Hearing this, Angus couldn't help but be intrigued.
'Elemental spirit? Maybe they could help me teach or give some advice about natural Firecast.' thought Angus.
"If I am not wrong, there are a lot of elemental spirits, right? Are there fire elemental spirits?" asked Angus.
"Yes, they are. Why do you ask?" asked Axel back.
"Well, I happen to reach a bottleneck in my Firecast skill. Since they come from nature, maybe they know one or two ways to help me. So, could you ask those fire elemental spirits?" said Angus.
Hearing this, Axel begins to speak in an unknown language with the nearby elemental spirit.
"It is possible to ask them. However, the fire elemental spirit here couldn't help you too much. They said only the high-grade elemental spirit could completely manipulate natural fire." said Axel.
"Hmm… Then, could you call them?" asked Angus.
"I could try to summon them, but…" said Axel.
"What is it?" said Angus.
"How do I say it.. I need some compensation for the material summoning." said Axel.
"Ahh.. Don't worry about that. Here, take this. You could also have the space pouch." said Angus while giving pouch storage that was filled with money.
During the battle inside the Endless Battlefield, Angus managed to get a lot of pouch storage from a high-grade combatant. He also didn't lack money and could always make more. So, he decides to give all the cash he brings to Axel.
Checking the amount of gold coins in the space storage, "T-This… Too much.. Angus, this is too much." said Axel.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, I may need your help to call them." said Angus.
"B-But, I am not sure that I could even call them. The high-grade elemental spirit is quite eccentric. They may or may not answer my summons unless I contract with them. With my current power, I could only summon them without contracting them." explained Axel.
"It's okay. I trust you. Besides, I could even supply the material to you." said Angus.
"Alright, then let me put this thing first. Wait for me in the backyard." said Axel while putting the case inside the space pouch before going to his room.
Later, everyone began to gather in the backyard. In the middle of the backyard, Axel is drawing some magic diagrams with special chalk and arranging some rare ore on top of it.
While Axel prepares the summoning circle, "This looks like some kind of ritual." said Ian.
"Actually, this is a ritual. The Elemental Spirit is also called the force of nature. Summoning them is almost the same as summoning the force of nature. In ancient times, the elemental spirit is even symbolized as a disaster." said Millie.
"Ehh… Disaster? Is it safe to summon them?" asked Mia.
"It should not be a problem. As long as the one that called them is a spirit contractor, it should be okay. Yeah, It should be okay." said Millie, trying to convince herself.
"You seem to know about this spirit thing a lot." asked Ian.
"There are some records about them in my master book. Apparently, the elemental spirit is born from the accumulation of soul power in nature. They said their soul power is very pure and strong." said Millie.
'Hmm.. That's new. Perhaps, I should also learn more about this soul power from Millie. Well, let's focus on this first.' thought Angus.
After a while, "Alright, everything is ready. Huft.. I am going to summon the fire elemental spirit now." said Axel before taking a deep breath and beginning to chant.
After a few minutes of chanting in an unknown language, the magic circle on the ground began to shine while the material on top of it was engulfed by fire. Then, the fire rises in the air before becoming one. *Whoosh*
A small plump old man smaller than a dwarf appears in the air. Despite his small stature, his appearance is quite terrifying as his beard and mustache are made of fire while his eyes are burning like an eternal flame.
"Hohoho… It's been a long time since someone managed to call me." said the old fire elemental spirit.
"Grandpa El"
"Grandpa El"
"Grandpa El"
The nearby elemental spirit runs around the old fire elemental spirit while calling the old fire elemental spirit. Getting around by the young elemental spirit, the old fire elemental aura turns from a menacing one to the harmless old man.
"Hohoho… It seems all of you are quite grown up since the last time I saw you." said Grandpa El before chatting a little bit with the nearby elemental spirit in an unknown language.
Then, Grandpa El looks towards Axel, "So, you must be the rumored contractor. Why did you summon me? You are still not ready to contract with me." said Grandpa El.
"Ahh.. I am sorry to bother you, Grandpa El. My name is Axel Powel, the spirit contractor. Here my friend Angus is…" said Axel while telling Angus's current predicament.
After hearing Axel's story, "Manipulating natural fire? That's a hard one. Even a mature fire elemental spirit could not easily do it. Fortunately, I am an elemental spirit that specializes in fire manipulation." said Grandpa El.
"Really?? That's great. Then could you guide me?" asked Angus.
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. First, it takes a long time to master natural fire manipulation completely. Since I am not contracted with Axel boy, I could only exist for at least a dozen minutes in this place before going back to the spirit world."
"Next is natural fire manipulation is kind of the pinnacle art of fire mastery. Each living being has its own comprehension and way to achieve it. My path as an elemental spirit may not be as suitable as yours."
"Still, I could give you some advice based only on my experience. So, why not show me your current progress and let us see the problem." said Grandpa El while playing with the young elemental spirit near him.
"Alright, let me show you." said Angus while taking out a candle before lit it up with the match.
Then, Angus immediately tries to manipulate it and make the fire intense. As he tries to control it, the entire match completely burns out.
"Huft… That's all I am capable of." said Angus.
"Fascinating!! At such a young age, to be able to manipulate fire to such a degree. Even the many fire elemental spirits may not be capable of doing it. Well, I get the gist of the problem."
"It seems you still lack the understanding of natural fire. My advice is you need to let your fire loosen up more before trying to control it." said Grandpa El.
"Understanding natural fire? Loosen it up?" said Angus.
"Yeah, rather than try to control it from the start, why not make it burn more. Fire's nature is to burn. What you did before is like fighting against its nature. Keep the fire burning like no end." said Grandpa El.
Hearing this, Angus begins to contemplate something. Looking at Angus's silent contemplation, Grandpa El couldn't help but nod his head.
'Such a monstrous talent. He could already reach this far just by self-learning. However, it is probably because of that man's blessings and power. But it is still a huge achievement. Maybe another fire monster like that man will be born.' thought Grandpa El.
Then, Grandpa El looks towards Axel.
"Axel boy, I know you want to help your friend, but you should not carelessly summon high-grade elemental spirits unless you are ready to contract with them. This time you are quite lucky that I was the one that came out.
"If it has some temperamental high-grade spirit, they will not hesitate to kill or harm you. So, unless you are strong enough, I suggest you not carelessly summon a high-grade elemental spirit." said Grandpa El.
"I understand, Grandpa El" replied Axel.
"Alright, It seems my time is up. Please take care of these young ones." said Grandpa El.