CHAPTER 40: SPIRITUAL ISLAND!

Chapter 40: Spiritual Island

The moment he read it, his physical body went limp, which was supported by Shyra outside.

Inside, he found himself standing in an endless void.

No sound. No ground. No air.Just infinite darkness stretching beyond imagination.

He tried to move, and though there was no resistance, there was also no direction. So he simply drifted — floating aimlessly through the void.

"Where am I? I have been floating for like hours..." He spoke to no one.

Then he tried looking at himself, or whatever he was.

He looked like a white shining ball of light with no shape whatsoever. Trying to wave his hand, he focused. But nothing.

"Okay... focus," he muttered.He imagined a human shape.

And slowly, light coalesced into limbs. A faint outline of a body took form — faceless, featureless, but human.

Encouraged, he tried something else. Skin, hair, eyes — all appeared faintly, until his familiar self stood there, completely naked in the endless dark.

He frowned and muttered, "...Yeah, no thanks."

At that thought, clothes materialized on him — a simple black pair of trousers, a white hoodie, and Adidas shoes.

He looked down at himself, smirked. "Looking good."

But the humour faded quickly."Still... where am I?"

At that moment, he saw a light in the distance.

Leo instinctively floated toward it, and as he got closer, the light took shape — a small humanoid silhouette, curled up and sleeping peacefully. Barely ten years old in appearance, surrounded by a soft golden glow.

"The Dryad!"

It seemed to be sleeping, holding its knees with its hands and balled up.

"Even though it’s a beast, it’s cute." He said.

He crouched near it, whispering to himself, "So this must be... where my beasts stay when they’re not summoned."

His gaze softened

"It feels so empty. I almost feel bad for Shyra to be stuck here all the time. Wish they had some space to roam around..."

He closed his eyes and thought of the world he once knew.Warm beaches. Blue skies. Rolling waves and green hills.

The Hawaiian island from his vacation...

Suddenly, the void trembled.

A surge of mental energy rushed through him — his mind burning and expanding all at once. Then, light exploded outward.

Before him, the barren emptiness began to shift and form — glowing outlines turning into solid ground, waves of shimmering water flowing into being, lush greenery rising in vivid detail. Palm trees swayed in a nonexistent breeze, mountains loomed on the horizon, and a sapphire ocean surrounded it all, which fell into the unknown like a waterfall from a circular disk.

A floating island... suspended in the void.

A floating Hawaii Island!

"Whoa! Does that mean I can form anything here as long as my imagination allows it?"

He tried adding more — tall cliffs, waterfalls, flowers of radiant light. Each thought twisted into shape. He couldn’t think of any more... or more like whenever he tried to make them, he felt sluggish and sleepy, making his thoughts wander and vanish.

The Dryad was still sleeping, but now there was no emptiness around it. It was filled with things that it will enjoy when it wakes up.

He looked at her softly. "Hmm... I’ll name you Niri."

Then he chuckled.

"And yeah, you’re definitely a she. Delicate features, calm aura... unlike Shyra—who decided to become a muscle goddess, haha."

Ding!

Beast: Dryad has been named Niri

Number of contracted spirits: 2

Shyra (Peak 1-star) - Noble Bloodline

Niri (High 2-star) - Royal Bloodline

Host has made an island in his spiritual space

Spiritual Space:

The Spiritual Space is a reflection of one’s soul — a personal realm where contracted beasts rest when not summoned. It connects faintly with the physical world, allowing objects (and, with enough mastery, living beings) to be drawn in or out. This place overflows with mana and spiritual particles that help boost the recovery of being inside.

Its scale and stability are tied directly to the strength of the soul. The stronger the soul, the greater its expanse — and the safer it becomes as a bastion against soul damage and corruption.

---

Outside, barely 10 minutes had passed. Both Lily and James had opened their eyes after a minute or so, and they could feel their innate mana grow and a warm feeling within. But for James, it was different. He felt much lighter than before, strength overflowing.

At that moment, his Ironclaw Bear stirred. Its eyes glowed fiercely before its body began to expand, bones creaking, muscles swelling. Within seconds, the beast stood nearly four meters tall, releasing a thunderous roar that shook the ground. It had advanced.

James could feel it was now near peak 2-star in strength. Even within himself, he could tell that his soul was repaired and not only repaired.

"I—my soul rank advanced!" James said, almost in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom the price of the petal that Leo gave him in the name of gratitude. People are ready to kill their own family members over such a treasure.

He even has 2 more of those left. Damn!

How could he give me such a treasure? I am pretty sure he knew the value of it since he told me its effect...

"Leo! What happened?" Lily, immediately after waking up, went to Leo to check on him, who was lying over Shyra.

James also noticed and went to check on him. But what he noticed made his eyes pop out of his skull.

"Impossible! He is forming his spiritual space!"

Lily looked up at him, worry etching her face.

"He’s not... harmed, right?"

"Harmed?" James let out a short, incredulous laugh.

"He’s probably standing at the top of the world right now. To form a Spiritual space this early—his talent’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen."

A few moments later, Leo stirred. His eyes fluttered open, and he sat upright, groaning softly. The first thing that appeared before him was a translucent system panel.

Vitality: 36.5 - 45.9

Strength: 43.1

Agility: 42.1

Stamina: 38.9

Intelligence: 47.0 - 61.2

Mana: 3250 / 3760 - 5508 / 5508

{Note: Now that his soul is one rank above, his total rank value is 9(2+7), previously it was 8(1+7). And the formula is still the same: Soul rank value × Intelligence × 10}

Unassigned Attribute Points: 8