The Copy Mage

4 youths sat on the ground together, next to a bed with a boy lying on it, all talking about their Soul Spirits and trying to figure out their uses.

The boy suddenly jumped up from the bed and clenched his stomach expecting to be in pain from the battle he remembered that he had with Trevor, but was baffled when he felt his body was not only completely healed but also slightly improved.

"What happened," he asked as he noticed his friends who were sat on the ground waiting for him to awaken.

"Finally your awake fatty bro" stated Damian with a happy expression.

Milo joined them and sat on the ground as they filled him on the final results on the competition and just like everybody else, he was shocked when he heard that it was Matilda that avenged him.

Either way, all of them were happy and the group of 5 friends left the room and rushed out of the infirmary, scared that they might get in trouble for being in there.

All of them wore their white Akegria Academy robes as they headed towards the residential area in the central region which was mainly reserved for those with Soul Spirits, who were valued more than the other students, but had students that didn't have Soul Spirits within it and could afford the rent that wasn't free for them.

When giving Milo his ID card for Akegria Academy, just as they were previously instructed, they told Milo to drop his blood onto the card to gain ownership over it so that nobody else could use it and so that he could officially become a student of Akegria Academy.

He did so without hesitation and just like the others felt previously, he could feel a connection with it and could tell the amount of academy contribution points that they had.

As they reached the residential area, there were large walls surrounding the area and headed towards the gate that was closest to them and guarded by a few guards that were all armed.

[Such security, there really must be a high tension between them and the noble families and are prepared for conflict] noticed Damian who found that there were guards everywhere.

"We would like to rent a white ranked residence" stated Damian to the guards that blocked their path.

Looking at the sigil on the uniforms that they were wearing it was evident to the guards that they were students with Soul Spirits and they also recognised them from the newbie competition they watched during their break.

"There are a few rooms scattered around the white ranked area and most residences are split into 4 rooms for 4 residents" informed them the guard.

"You can look around and if you find one you like all you need to do is scan your card over the sign on the front door so that it can only be opened by you and the others that are within that residence with you" stated the guard as he moved out of the way and allowed them to enter.

They were all excited and rushed in, with their first opportunity to have their own place to stay in.

As they walked around, they saw small and shabby houses spread around the area, each with a small yard.

"Why don't we find a residence that all 5 of us can stay in so that we can stay close to each other and cover each other's backs" suggested Damian, who was enjoying the feeling of having friends around him.

"Yeah, sure" they all agreed in unison, happy with Damian's suggestion.

Looking around there was a single house that looked to be the biggest and in the centre of the white ranked residential region.

"How about that one" pointed out Milo, who always thought big and wanted the best house.

They all rushed towards it and looking at the front it was a 5 resident house and it had no residents, from what they could see from the sign at the front that was at every house.

"Perfect" they all exclaimed in unison as they rushed to claim it before anybody else did.

As they all placed their cards on the front and claimed ownership, the door opened to their will and they felt that something that was within their card was used up.

"That must be our free white ranked residence rent" they assumed as they entered the house.

It was quite large and spacious and had a simple design with a central room, a kitchen, and 5 bedrooms that each had their own bathrooms.

It was very similar to Damian's past house and was quite basic and still small compared to other houses that Damian had seen in other places, however, compared to the other shabby white ranked residencies it was amazing and they were all baffled by why nobody else claimed it out of the other students in their class that came before them.

Little did they know, that within the academy the white ranked residencies were open to being battled for and with 1-month notice, those within it couldn't decline and they had basically put themselves on the firing line by choosing the largest and central white ranked residence.

However, Damian and his friends were ignorant to that fact, and despite being slightly wary, all rushed to pick out a bedroom.

All the bedrooms were the same and there were 3 on one side and 2 on the other which was obviously split into the males and the females as they all went into their rooms.

Damian slumped on his bed, and now with some free time, was curious about some things that he wanted to ask Utsusu about.

[Utsusu, can you explain to me what Milo's Soul Spirit is and how it is so closely linked to mine] asked Damian who couldn't shake the feeling of similarity.

{Well, it seems that your friend is also very unique and mysterious and similar to your ability he seems to have the ability to copy or absorb beast bloodlines and transform into them. From what I can gather. However, I am not completely sure of his Soul Spirit, its abilities and its applications and am only giving the host a rough estimation from my observations} stated Utsusu who was also baffled by his host's fate to become friends with a cultivator with such infinite potential.

Utsusu was very profound and seemed to have the answer for every single question that Damian had, but the information he was providing was filtered and limited, not wanting to overwhelm Damian and was trying to smoothly guide his growth.

[Does that mean he also has an awakened Soul Spirit that he can talk to] asked Damian.

{No, I don't think so as most Soul Spirits only completely gain their consciousness at a much higher cultivation level that is currently unknown to you} Utsusu informed him.

With such knowledge, Damian was overjoyed with the revelation that he had been given by Utsusu and instead of being discouraged by there being higher cultivation levels, Damian was inversely excited to reach those heights.

Jumping up from his bed, Damian wanted to head back to the inn and see his mother, to inform her of his results and make her proud of what he had accomplished in the newbie competition.

Knocking on Milo's door, Damian stood there waiting for Milo to open the door.

The chubby boy waltzed out of his room and gave Damian a thankful hug.

"I would never have been able to do well in this competition without your assistance" he stated gratefully.

"Get off me, fatty" uttered Damian under his tight grip, as he pushed him off.

"Do you want to come with me to go and see my mother" offered Damian.

Milo had a hesitant expression and was unsure of whether he wanted to go.

"She is a great cook" commented Damian.

As soon as Milo heard Damian's comment his stomach rumbled as he realised he hadn't eaten anything all day.

Instantly he dragged him down the stairs and hurriedly rushed to leave.