150 Visualization (1/2)

Seiji walked closer and observed the watercolor painting closely.

The first image that caught his attention was a handsome man wearing a tall black hat and clad a white wide-sleeved robe... it was a traditional Japanese hunting robe. The handsome man had a clean-shaven face and a clear complexion. He was making a Naruto-like jutsu pose with one hand while looking off into the distance.

Beside the man were various demons and spirits. Seiji saw a cat demon, a dog beast, a demon fox, a Snow Girl, an Arachne, and a Gorgon... all of these were drawn with impossible detail; Seiji felt as if they could come to life and leap out of the painting at any moment.

”‘Spirit Images’ are drawn by ‘Spiritual Artists’ using their own spiritual powers. There are various types of Spirit Images, and each one has a different use. This one is a Spirit Image that’s used in cultivating spiritual power,” Mai explained.

Spiritual Artist... it was yet another new term.

”‘Visualizing’ in front of the Spirit Image will improve your Spiritual Power if successful, but if it isn’t successful...” Mai paused before continuing, ”The most ordinary result is simply a waste of your time and no improvement in your Spiritual Power. But the worst outcome would be that your soul will become damaged.”

Soul damage—it was his second time hearing this term.

”Just what exactly will happen if your soul is damaged?” Seiji asked.

”It’ll be extremely painful... You’ll be overcome by various uncomfortable feelings, lose control of your body, see hallucinations, lose your memories, and so on.”

”Oh...” That definitely sounded quite awful. ”If the soul is damaged too severely... will a person die?”

”Yes. But ‘Visualization’ won’t cause such damage to your soul, as it’s the most basic as well as safest cultivation technique, which is why it’s also the most commonly used.”

‘That’s the same as what Shika-chan told me,’ Seiji thought to himself.

Mai fixed her gaze on the boy. ”Although it’s the safest and most basic method, you still can’t ignore its dangers, especially for total beginners that haven’t been trained in cultivation.”

‘You’re a total beginner, right? Are you certain you’ll be okay?’ her eyes seemed to say.

”I’ve already resolved myself.” Seiji smiled in response. ”I’ll be fine... probably.”

Mai looked at him searchingly before sighing.

”It’s probably impossible to have you give up now.”

”Of course. I must learn how to cultivate.”

”In order to become a Yin Yang Master?”

”Yes.”

There was a brief silence between them.

”Just having high Spiritual Power alone won’t help you to become a Yin Yang Master,” Mai stated calmly.

”Senpai, please teach me.”

Seiji blinked in surprise. ”Yin Yang... Seal?”

”Do you know what the most important ability of Yin Yang Masters is?” Mai inquired.

”It’s... summoning and controlling Spirit-branded Retainers, right?” Seiji answered after some consideration.

”That’s right, but more specifically, it’s to control demons and spirits, or any creatures with magical powers, so that they can be used to aid the Yin Yang Master.” Mai nodded at his answer. ”And summoning, suppressing, controlling, assisting... the center of everything involving magical creatures is the ‘Yin Yang Seal.’

”‘Yin Yang Seals’ are the main difference between Yin Yang Masters and other ability users. It could be said that it’s the specialty of the job class. And each Yin Yang Seal is unique; each Master possesses a different type. It’s both the source of their abilities to control magical creatures and a way for others to distinguish between each different Master’s magic.”

Seiji rubbed his chin. ”So it’s similar to personal business seals?”

”As an analogy, that would be accurate,” Mai concurred.

”Alright then, how do I go about obtaining this Seal?”

”Materializing it by yourself is supposed to be quite difficult. You need to have talent and be willing to work hard,” Mai stated calmly. ”I don’t know much more than that about it; you’ll have to ask Milady about the details.”

Seiji smiled at her politely. ”I’ll ask her then... thank you for letting me know so much already.”

Another period of silence fell between them.

”Actually, I had another question... right from the start when I entered this room, what... what’s with this area?” Seiji pointed around him and at the sky.

”This is a VR simulation. The entire room, including the walls, floor, and ceiling, are actually gigantic monitors that are capable of displaying high-quality images. This setting is used as the background to help relax the mind.”