"Hello Jonathan Randal Guilliman."

Jon blinked, hearing the voice of the little ginseng king in his mind. An astonishing amount of information and experiences had just flowed into his Sea Of Knowledge. Words that he had never seen before in languages that existed long before the birth of the humanity appeared within his mental construct.

Data permeated throughout his Sea Of Knowledge. How a single strand of spiritual energy was able to contain so much knowledge Jon did not know. The human was unable to comprehend with the limited amount of information that he had in his possession. Ru Luan Di had shared with him a shared universal language used throughout the integrated universes, although not the entirety of it, about one tenth of all the words in existence.

Even with his twice-fold enhancement to memory retention and his increase to memory recall, Jon still paused, his pupils dilated which comprehending the enormity of the information given to him.

Extending one of her smaller branches towards her summoner, Ashvattha Rana wiped away a thin line of drool which pooled at the corner of his mouth. Even with his [Monstrous Intuition] and [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge], Jon had decided to drop his mental defences and allow Ru Luan Di inside. He was now experiencing the consequences of his own actions.

The average English-speaking human possessed about fifteen thousand to twenty thousand words in their vocabulary.

Jon thought that he had learnt about one tenth of that total number in Nain, and about one twentieth of that total number in Pluntian.

However, Ru Luan Di had just given Jon the equivalent of fifty thousand words in Avant, which was quite crudely referred to as Common throughout the integrated universes.

Ru Luan Di and Ashvattha Rana both knew that this method of sharing information would not result in the completion of his ninth mandatory task, but the former asked the bodhi tree for permission before transferring this knowledge to Jon. Rana was quite capable of doing this herself, but her oath to Jon was undoubtedly in favour of the human.

Given that Rana promised never to bring harm to Jon, she was unable to transfer the information and knowledge regarding universal languages throughout the integrated universes. The sharp burst of pain in addition to the debilitating effects of so much information were akin to striking Jon's mind with a powerful spiritual construct.

There existed methods of utilizing knowledge as weapon, overwhelming mental defences with torrents of useless data or controlled showers of condensed information. It was the most common offensive methods for those who possessed the Knowledge Mana Core, considering that knowledge was not a tangible concept.

The young human continued to blankly stare off into the distance, comprehending all the information given to him. Avahni and Wilheim had noticed this peculiarity, although noticed Ru Luan Di wave them both off, alerting his summoner that the human was completely fine.

After roughly fifteen minutes, Jon started to regain most of his mental faculties. The eighteen-year-old blinking rapidly, no longer acting on unconscious reflex taking his first deep breath for more than a fourth of an hour.

Slowly tilting his head down, Jon opened his mouth and spoke, but not in a language that originated from Earth.

"Ru Luan Di… remind me not to agree to something like that ever again", the human said, rhetorically while watching the little ginseng king nudge him with one of its half-grown limbs.

"Jonathan. Or Jon as you prefer. That was just one small thank you on behalf of my summoner. Avahni considers you a friend, and as such for the time being, I consider you an ally," said Ru Luan Di, the words translating themselves from Avant to English within Jon's mind, causing him to furrow his brows in response.

It was a near-automatic process. Jon could not help but associate meanings and sounds in Avant to those meanings and sounds in English, the language that he had spoken for over eighteen years now. Although Jon was able to speak and understand this new language, he had not reached the point where he was able to dream in Common quite just yet.

The words that Jon was speaking earned him a strange glance from the other four humanoids around the fire. Conversation around the camp ceased, as the lutin, floresiensis and two satanas stared at the human chatting with the little ginseng.

"For what, giving away fragments that I have no need for? Perhaps once we are closing in on the final days of the System Introduction will I hesitate to share a Fragment Of Mouth or a Fragment Of Beetle with Avahni or Wilheim. For the foreseeable future however, all you are doing is lightening the load that I intend to carry in the coming days," Jon admitted, causing Ru Luan Di to pause glancing towards the enormous form of Ashvattha Rana across the campfire.

His gaze lingered on the bodhi tree for a couple seconds, before turning back towards Jon, nodding in understanding.

"A word of advice, outside of the other thank you I intend to give you. Do not continue to share the fragments that you accumulate, even with Avahni or Wilheim. Unless you possess a Fragment Of Contract, or even a Fragment Of Binding after the establishment of this "guild" of yours, I would not enter any sort of agreement with you, even if you are being completely truthful with your intentions," said Ru Luan Di, causing Jon to narrow his eyes.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Is that some sort of threat?" the human asked, unsure of the meaning behind Ru Luan Di's tone.

The little ginseng shook his head in response.

"Not towards you. Although perhaps about the individuals that you will interact with both during the System Introduction and the wider world after leaving it. From what I understand, you are the type of prepare extensively beforehand, so may I suggest integrating one such fragment. It will serve you well in the years to come, I assure you," said the little ginseng, watching as Jon lifted his head and glanced towards Ashvattha Rana.

Through the mental connection the two possessed, Jon was able to communicate without having to use his mouth to speak.

"Is this true Rana? A Fragment Of Binding or a Fragment Of Contract would enforce an agreement, ensuring its sanctity through spiritual energy rather than honour or trust?" Jon could not help but ask.

"To a degree yes. There are other fragments, such as a Fragment Of Lies, or even a Fragment Of Deceit that can create loopholes or ambiguities in such agreements. Even some more uncommon fragments, such as a Fragment Of Sever or a Fragment Of Rend can slash through such agreements, destroying them and voiding them as a result", Jon felt his eyes widen, hearing the names of such fragments.

To be honest, the human had not thought of such fragments before.

Given that there was some sort of conceptual or spiritual promise between himself and Ashvattha Rana, it did occur to Jon that their might be fragments capable of mimicking or even matching the oath or agreement the two of them had. Jon had partially thought that it was something unique to abilities with the Summon Trait, although in hindsight, did not delve into this category of fragments quite as much as he should have.

Turning back towards Ru Luan Di, Jon gave the little ginseng a small nod, continuing to speak with him in Avant.

"Thank you for the recommendation. I will be sure to take it on board sometime in the future," said Jon, pleased with the suggestion that Ru Luan Di had given him. Beyond just the knowledge of language, this advice about certain fragments and their usages intrigued Jon, especially after he had decided to form this "guild" of his.

"Other than the gift of knowledge and the suggestion about Fragments Of Contract, I intend to give you one other thing in return, for the numerous Fragments that you have gifted Avahni, with no desire for anything in return," Ru Luan Di did not even so much as hesitate before snapping off one of its two remaining limbs, discarding the appendage before reaching down and retrieving a spherical red-silver coloured gemstone, alongside a crystal clear teardrop-shaped jewel.

Ru Luan Di almost dropped the two gemstones but were swiftly caught by one of the roots that Ashvattha Rana extended towards him. The bodhi tree lifted the two gemstones, both shining amidst the crackling embers just a few feet away.

Jon extended his hand towards the root that Rana had stretched towards him, raising an eyebrow after noticing the names of both the Fragment and Mana Core in his hand. Peering back down towards the little ginseng, Jon could see where it had concealed the two objects within itself, small indents from where the limb had grown around the gemstones.

Jon opened his mouth to speak but found himself being cut off by the little ginseng king.

"Do not thank me Jonathan Randall Guilliman. This completes the transaction that arose from you gifting the Fragment Of Mouth to my summoner. With this we are even, anything that you decide to give Avahni from now on will not incur any sort of debt or obligation, no matter how valuable the gift. Is that under- Oi!" Jon did not let the round little ginseng finish, patting him on the head, smiling as Ru Luan Di was unable to resist his touch.

With but a single limb attached his main body, the ginseng king would have to wait until morning before the remaining three limbs had completely regenerated. Although Jon knew that Ru Luan Di was both significantly older than him and more knowledgeable than him, the human could not help but embarrass the straightlaced creature, ignoring its pleas for him to stop patting its head.

Considering that Avahni had given Jon a thumbs up, the human did not feel the need to stop until Ru Luan Di decided to roll away, back towards its comfortable position against Ashvattha Rana's main trunk.

Taking a deep breath, Jon glanced down towards the singular fragment in his hand, being unable to conceal the smile on his face as he stared at the fragment in question.

Fragment Of "Summon" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Ice Mana Core or Spear Mana Core?

Y/N

Glancing towards Avahni still sitting beside Sariel, Jon could see the lutin give him a thumbs up. While her smile had not completely regained the gorgeous and magnetic qualities that he usually associated with it, Jon knew that Avahni would not linger too much on the death of Huo Liyu.

At least until she could obtain another Fragment Of Fish and summon the Crimson Nine-Tailed Carp once again. Holding the rare and powerful Fragment Of Summon in his hand, Jon grinned, before selecting his Ice Mana Core. The near transparent-looking teardrop gemstone vanished into tiny ice blue motes of light, swirling in strange archaic patterns before flowing into Jon's chest.

Jon smiled knowing that while Fragments Of Summon almost as valuable as universal fragments, their assumed value meant nothing to someone like Avahni. Knowing that there was something unique about the lutin that allowed her to manifest so many summoning abilities, meant that he could integrate the Fragment Of Summon without worrying that she would not be able to use it.

'I wonder what sort of creature I will summon this time. I suppose this process is usually quite random most of the- '. Jon felt his breath hitch and the Seir-Glacial Heart in his chest pound, his ice natured spiritual energy surging for a fraction of a second, causing all the summoned creatures present to turn the focus of their attention towards the human.

Titus Claudius opened all six of its eyes, turning its head toward Jon, feeling the presence of a familiar cold flow around him.

Metzli retreated further into the ambient shadows around Avahni, her instincts warning her of some approaching danger.

Ru Luan Di lifted his little head, peering at the emanations released from Jon's integration of this Fragment Of Summon, realizing what manner of existence the human had managed to obtain.

Ashvattha Rana could not help but flutter her leaves and branches, knowing that her contractor had lucked out from this specific Fragment Of Summon. Although there was something strange about spiritual energy around him, Rana could tell what Race of creature Jon had managed to form a connection with.

"Oh wow. A Spirit from the White Heavens, you do not see that every-", the bodhi tree's words were cut off, feeling the emanating of a familiar spiritual energy. There was something… other than the usual ice natured spiritual energy radiating from within Jon's Ice Mana Core.

It did not even take ten seconds before the System notification prompt appeared before Jon.

[Fragment Of Summon] [Schwarz Eis; White Lady Of The Winter Castle] (Summon, Ice, Spirit, Spell, Defensive, Shield, Spell, Memento, Debuff)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.