The In-between

"Ugh!"

Adam groaned as his eyes began to open slowly, his senses returning to him little by little, and when they did, the first thing he noticed was the cold, sterile scent of paper and ink, the faint hum of an unseen energy coursing through the air. He was sitting, not in the white void, not in front of the spirit altar, but on a chair made of dark, polished wood, the smooth material oddly warm to the touch.

"Whattt?"

He questioned his mind still very much in a daze.

He found himself in a place he could only describe as an office of some sort. Of course, with a great deal of differences from your typical office for one, there were countless amount of floating shelves carrying books that had no titles. The ceiling was a swirling sky of constellations or things that looked like stars, but each of those star-like things, if you looked closely, was similar to the words or symbols you would see in a magic circle.

But that aside, a massive desk sat before him, perfectly arranged with documents that seemed to glow faintly with golden runes.

Looking at the world around him from where he sat, everything felt surreal, like a dream.

And although Adam's throat felt dry and his head was still hurting him, he couldn't help but ask and wonder.

"Where... am I?"

The moment he asked this question, a voice reached out to him and replied back.

But the problem here was that the voice itself was his own voice.

His body tensed as his gaze snapped forward. Seated at the desk, flipping through a stack of papers with an amused expression, was him. Or something that looked like him. It had his face, his eyes, even the faint smirk he sometimes wore when something piqued his interest.

The entity, his doppelgänger, set the papers down, met his gaze, and replied to his question.

"You're in the In-between."

It said smoothly, causing the real Adam to slowly question.

"The In-between?"

At these words, the doppelgänger replied back.

"Yes, the in-between; it is a place where reality and the spirit world converge. It is here that all contracts are formed basically... and you came here after that brute of a woman started the spirit-calling ritual; now for starters, I got to say. You are quite the little monster; I have never seen the spirits so riled up to form a contract as they are now, hmm... perhaps you are one of those sons of destinies."

The look-alike joked around; however, he himself gave it a look of confusion and replied.

"Son of destiny... are you comparing me to a webnovel character?"

"Hmm, of course. You see, there are certain individuals in this world who are loved by the universe far more than the average person. They're almost like the protagonists you'd find in those things you humans call anime or novels."

The doppelgänger said and then continued.

"It is quite an entertaining concept, you know. Given that these favored individuals' presence tends to stir up spirits, either because of their absurd potential or the sheer favor the universe grants them. Spirits are naturally sensitive to a person's existence; in simple terms, they can recognize a diamond in a rough sea of copper."

"My, my... you truly are an interesting existence, Mr. Novels. I can always tell when Losdeus favors someone, but you... oh no, Losdeus doesn't just dislike you; it outright hates you. Lucky for you, though Losdeus still has to follow its purpose. Although I've never seen the Universe System be so blatantly biased against a mere human, how fascinating indeed... it makes me wonder why."

Said Adam looked alike, but Adam was equally baffled as well; this thing not only knew his name but also knew that Losdeus hated him.

But then and again, if his soul gets strong enough, sooner or later, he will be able to re-enter Kalpanas World as Warlock the next time around, and then Losdeus will see just how Bias a motherfucker could be.

But that aside, he began to wonder, wasn't there supposed to be a spirit here, or was this being the spirit Minerva managed to summon, but then and again, it wouldn't make sense given the claims this look-alike has made thus far.

And Adams doppelgänger seemed to catch up and begin speaking.

"Oh my... how rude of me... I have yet to introduce myself, have I?"

The entity smiled and continued.

"My name is Medea, the Divine Spirit of Promise. It's a pleasure to meet you, Adam Novels."

The Divine Spirit said, causing Adam to open his eyes in surprise and reply.

"That's right… Most call me Medea the Middle."

Said Medea as she continued her introduction.

"I got that name because I act as the middleman between spirits and their contractors. My job is simple: making sure both parties are happy with the terms of their contract. After all, Astrum needs an Attribute to take shape, to become something useful, and spirits? They exist to color it into subjectivity. Magic, science, miracles, phenomena… all the things you mortals believe to be separate forces? They're all just the work of spirits."

Medea leaned back slightly, crossing his arms.

"You know, Mr. Novels, you're quite the individual. Based on the vastness of your Astrum Sea, you could easily contract all Divine Spirits without effort, and they would still look small. Not even the gods possess a sea that large. Honestly, it makes Losdeus hatred for you all the more justified... You're an imbalance, a flaw in its grand design."

 Medea sighed and continued.

"But my job isn't to criticize you. My role here is simple, to ensure that you and your summoned spirits can coexist in harmony."

"That said, this is a problem. A very serious problem."

Medea rubbed his temples as if dealing with a massive headache.

Adam, still struggling to process everything, finally voiced the thing that had been bothering him the most.

"I see... so, um, where exactly are my summon spirits, Mr. Medea?"

"Hmm... Mr. Ha? Well, I identify as female, but I often take the form of those I am conversing with since my true form is non-interactable; that aside, your spirits are in the material world, and I must say you summon quite a few of them... well, that brute did at least to catch the attention of some strong ones, and I must say your affinities are quite vast."

Said Medea, on the other hand, this caught the interest of Adam as he began to question while folding his arms together.

"Really, what kind of spirits have I summoned, or rather, how is affinity even determined?"

Asked Adam and responded as such.

"Affinity is all about your soul quality. But having an affinity does not mean you can handle said spirit; you need a reserve just as great as your affinity, so it goes both ways."

"It's because this magic isn't really something many practice, since it's too demanding to begin with."

"But that aside, you are one of the extremely lucky ones, because with your soul and Astrum Sea, you have the reserve and the affinity to contract Divine Spirits, but good luck actually getting their attention. You can't just bait them in with a massive pool of Astrum like you could with the other 3 types of spirits. Given if someone can release a certain level of Astrum, that already means their Astrum Sea is big enough to handle that power. But that's only half the equation."

Explained Medea as she folded her arms, giving Adam a knowing look.

Continuing to speak.

"Your soul is what determines your initial compatibility with a spirit. See, when a person is born, they're born with a unique attribute, something that usually stays dormant. Awakening that attribute is what turns someone into an Enlightened. In other words, a being that doesn't need spirits to use magic."

Medea smirked, gesturing her hands as she spoke.

"People call them True Magic Users since the magic they awaken is unique to them and them alone. They're basically non-spirit beings with the potential to become spirits themselves, true transcendents in the making. That's why they're so rare."

Medea said as she leaned forward, tapping a finger against her temple.

"Now, here is the fun part: everyone has a dormant attribute. Your affinity is based on that dormant attribute, and yes, it is possible to have more than one, but that is insanely rare."

"For example, let's say someone has a dormant attribute that lets them reverse the flow of destruction. That could allow them to contract heat spirits, or maybe even time and space spirits, etc."

"That's just how things work, but you Mr. Novels, are quite the anomaly...

These were Medea's words to Adam, who closed his eyes and sighed lightly as he asked.

"Well, not to brag, but I know I'm built differently, so no need to gas me up like that."

Adam said, waving off the praise.

 "Let us just get down to business. Tell me, what are my spirits?"

He leaned forward with interest as he continued to speak.

"I know magic isn't something everyone can use, given that only a tiny percentage of people have access to it. But if it's reserved for a select few, the so-called rare minority, then all that means is I have something rare enough to crush the majority with. Either way, it's a win in my book; there can only be one MC in this world, and those other special someone, I am so sorry, but they need to get demoted or murdered eventually. Nothing good will come from multiple MC-type existences existing in one world. That alone is already a formula for making a bowl of chaos, and I know for a fact that I am going to cross paths with them, and when that happens, all hell will break loose... so it's either me or them."

Adam smirked.

After all, he already made up his mind to cut any loose ends that will hamper his new life, and those MCs are definitely going to be a pain.

As such, what do you do with things that are a pain?

It's simple: you unalive them, or in his case, take their worth away from them.

After all, Adam was well aware that magic wasn't what he should be worried about, well maybe he should be, and he will be keeping his guard up of course, but in this new world, Lore abilities were the main issue.

For that reason, he said and asked once more.

"Lore Abilities will always overshadow magic in terms of popularity, but I want every possible tool at my disposal to counter any threats. So tell me, what exactly is my dormant Attribute? And what Spirits did I manage to summon with my dormant affinity?"

Medea smiled at this question as she replied, but what she said completely took Adam by surprise.

"That's the thing I don't know."

Said Medea causing Adam to raise a brow and reply back.

"Haaa?! What do you mean you don't know."

"It's like I said, I don't know... it's a first even for me. No matter how deeply I gaze into you, I simply cannot discern what your dormant attribute is. That alone makes you… remarkably unusual Mr. Novels."

Medea said to Adam, as she continued once more.

"It's precisely because of this unknown that I find your very existence intriguing. But let me tell you something, whatever your dormant affinity is, it allowed you to summon sixty-seven elemental spirits. Each of those elemental being various from each elemental type that exist. And as if that wasn't absurd enough… you also summoned three unique spirits, and one Great Spirit as well."

"But that aside... You have also piqued my interest. For that reason, I have a personal offer; would you be interested in forming a contract with me, Mr. Novels?"