The importance of talent is beyond question.
Alongside Contract Meditation Methods and contracted spirit beasts, it forms one of the three foundational pillars of the Spirit Tamer system. The three complement and reinforce each other, containing endless possibilities.
Take, for example, the well-known purple talent, Sequence No. 763 — Dragon's Heart. While it restricts the Spirit Tamer to almost exclusively contracting dragon-type spirit beasts, its effects are correspondingly powerful: it enhances dragons in all aspects, improves communication efficiency, and greatly amplifies their skill power.
Talents like this—those that specialize in one field while rejecting others—tend to provide extremely strong boosts within their domain. And Heart of W is no exception.
Lin Guang could likewise enhance W lifeforms, and this enhancement wouldn't diminish over time. On the contrary, as his level increased, the amplification would grow stronger, and the scaling would become higher.
This was precisely why many powerful Spirit Tamers could stand among the strong with only one or two contracted beasts, venturing alone into dangerous secret realms filled with wild spirit beasts and still return unscathed.
Because in Spirit War Chronicle, talent bonuses belonged to a superior, independent multiplier category.
But this wasn't the end.
In the next moment, Lin Guang raised his hand again. Along with a glow of white light, a seed-like phantom floated above his palm.
W suddenly sensed something. A strange impulse surged in her chest as her eyes widened.
"This is—"
"This is our contract… and your past."
She murmured, "My past…"
Lin Guang looked at the seed in his hand and said softly, "In your original world, you already possessed your own extraordinary power—what you called Originium Arts."
"After crossing over, it may seem like it disappeared, but in reality, it merely fell dormant within your body, turning into potential, waiting to be awakened."
"Take it. Reclaim your past."
A ripple of aether spread outward. Almost instinctively, she raised her hand and grasped the seed.
At once, a contract sigil appeared on the back of her hand. Golden particles gathered in the air, condensing into a weapon that landed firmly in her grip.
It was a handgun, entirely black, about 25 centimeters long. The barrel was large-caliber, giving it a crude and rugged appearance, full of mismatched seams—like it had been forcibly assembled from various spare parts.
In the world of W, firearms were rare. A Sarkaz without status or identity would have no chance of obtaining a complete firearm from Laterano. The patchwork nature of this weapon spoke of its history.
No one knew how many hands it had passed through.
But this was the first gun W had ever owned.
[Your partner W has learned the skill: Explosive Shot · Green]
"Eh?!"
W 's face lit up with delight as her hands traced over the weapon.
This was her beloved firearm from the W continent—though, admittedly, she had taken it from someone else.
Lin Guang explained, "It looks like an object, but it's actually formed from my spiritual power, my talent, and your aether. You can think of it as part of you… or like a staff, a casting medium, or a supernatural organ from another world."
After a pause, he tapped his phone a few times. Soon, another Crying Scarecrow was delivered into the room.
This one wore a tattered blue shirt and a dusty white baseball cap. It was noticeably larger than the previous one—Level 10.
In other words, it had reached Tier 1.
Just like humans, spirit beasts underwent a qualitative transformation every 10 levels.
Lin Guang led W to the other end of the room and stood beside her.
"Go on. Give it a try."
W said nothing. She simply turned, raised the gun in one hand, and aimed at the large scarecrow.
A familiar yet foreign sensation filled her.
Aether danced like fluttering butterflies, eagerly pouring into the weapon in her hand. A dark red glow began to gather at the muzzle, growing brighter and brighter.
The charge lasted a full ten seconds. The fire-element aether fluctuations were on the verge of spilling over.
Then—
She pulled the trigger.
BOOM!!!
In the next instant, a dark red projectile burst from the barrel, crossing over twenty meters in a flash. The dull firing sound and the deafening explosion rang out almost simultaneously.
Flames and shockwaves engulfed the room, accompanied by rolling smoke. The blast whipped through W and Lin Guang's clothes and hair.
Three seconds later, the crying sound finally followed.
"Waaahhh—!"
Unlike before, the Level 10 scarecrow's cry sounded weak—like it had been beaten half to death.
Under the violent interaction of different aether attributes, even its Loud Cry trait was weakened. It only caused a slight pause in their movements.
"Cough… cough…"
The ventilation system quickly activated, clearing the smoke and revealing the aftermath.
Everything was scorched black.
The Crying Scarecrow's clothes had completely vanished. Including its head, only about 30% of its body remained. Its regeneration was painfully slow—barely visible to the naked eye. It would likely take days to fully recover.
[Your partner W has defeated a Gray-grade Level 10 enemy. Stardust progress has increased.]
[Stardust progresses 100%. Obtained 1 Stardust.]
—Direct settlement. It had truly been on the verge of death.
"What incredible power."
Lin Guang clicked his tongue in amazement. "Good thing there were past incidents. Now it's mandatory for training rooms to have barrier-linked impact absorption systems. Otherwise, using a skill like this in a confined space… I'd probably be dead or crippled."
"Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Through their contract, Lin Guang could feel that W's aether was completely depleted. Even her legs trembled slightly from exhaustion.
And yet, she couldn't stop laughing.
She jumped up and slapped Lin Guang hard on the shoulder, her eyes blazing with excitement.
"This is interesting! Way too interesting!"
"Huh? Weren't you much stronger before? Why so excited?"
Unable to suppress her excitement, W lowered her head and gripped the gun tightly again.
"It's hard to explain… but I can feel it."
"I've become stronger!"
Lin Guang opened the interface and confirmed that terror had leveled up. He nodded.
"That's right. You leveled up."
To be honest, even though it was just a single level—from Level 3 to Level 4—spirit beasts with higher potential grew more slowly. Under equal conditions, a Gray-grade beast might grow several times faster than a Blue Elite-grade one.
Lin Guang hadn't expected W to level up after just two battles.