Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Irresistibly Squishy Cheeks
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The spirit, who had only peeked her eyes above the water's surface, now pulled half her body out of the lake.
She stared blankly at the scenery unfolding before her, then brought her tiny hands to her mouth.
'Where did all the trash go...?'
Just a short while ago, her homeland had been so littered with garbage discarded by humans that there wasn't even space to step.
But somehow...
All the trash that had covered the ground was gone.
The spirit fully emerged from the lake and cautiously stepped outside.
'It doesn't hurt anymore...'
The stinging pain from the polluted waste was no longer there.
With an incredulous expression, she looked around and decided to slowly circle her homeland.
Tap, tap...
'None here either, none there either!'
What had happened? She'd checked every inch of this vast land, but not a single piece of polluted trash remained.
Finally coming to a stop on the ground, the spirit closed her eyes against the gentle breeze blowing from somewhere.
How long had it been since she'd felt the earth under her feet?
How long since she'd sensed the outside wind...
- If only one last time, I could see my homeland filled with green once more...
It seemed the heavens had heard her prayer and granted a miracle.
"Pip..."
A single tear drop fell onto her parched, pale cheek.
The startled spirit's eyes sparkled open.
She'd learned that tears only flowed when you were sad or upset...
But she was so, so happy right now—why were tears falling?
Wipe, wipe...
Quickly brushing away the tear, the spirit furrowed her brows with determination.
'Everything that hurt my body is gone now, so I can bring my homeland back to how it was!'
She approached the plant friends she'd greeted every morning, reaching out both hands.
'Wake up already!'
But no matter how hard she tried, no purifying light emerged from her palms.
It seemed that after being surrounded by pollutants for so long, all her power had vanished.
'Then, seeing my homeland like before...'
The thought that she couldn't revive all her friends lost to eternal sleep brought an overwhelming sadness crashing down.
"Piiing... Piieeeing..."
It was then, as she sat and sobbed—that it happened.
"You're such an amazing spirit... Like, really amazing, anyway, a truly amazing spirit!"
"Pip!? Pip-pip!!"
Suddenly, she came face-to-face with the human from the bottom of the lake, at an incredibly close distance.
Instinctively, the spirit hid behind a tree.
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
'No... No...'
Finally, all the trash was gone...
Finally, she could step on the earth and feel nature again...
But now that a human had come, this place would surely become a trash-filled wasteland once more...
Sobbing from behind the tree, the spirit suddenly jumped up and furrowed her brows.
'My power is gone, but I still have to protect this place.'
She didn't want to see her homeland overflowing with trash again.
Humans were afraid of spirits too...
If she showed herself and threatened him somehow, maybe he'd run away?
One step, two steps. The moment she took her trembling steps forward.
"That's weird. The light seems bigger now."
A sparkling cluster of light flowed from the human's hand, and her friends began to revive one by one.
'Huh...?'
Was she seeing things?
The spirit rubbed her eyes and furrowed her brows again.
"The area expanded too... Could expanding mana change skills as well?"
The human kept reviving her plant friends.
She could see them stretching happily, each with joyful faces, awakening from eternal slumber.
'Peter... Selena... Amos...'
Quietly calling their names in her mind, the spirit stared at the human before her with her mouth slightly agape.
"Lumina! You're such a great spirit! Our little lucky charm!"
"Piiiik!!"
She'd never once imagined a human would purify her homeland.
And that small creature dancing its butt in front of the human...
It was a face she'd never seen in her home base, but it was definitely a comrade.
'......'
The spirit quietly watched the human clapping and laughing, and the comrade shaking its butt in front of him.
'I envy that...'
She'd once wanted to live among humans like that too.
"Pi..."
'Thank you.'
With a voice too soft to reach the human who'd awakened her friends, the spirit expressed her gratitude.
Then, she slipped back into the lake.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A considerable amount of time had passed since starting the full-scale purification work.
'Ugh, dizzy...'
Just before my mana hit rock bottom, I quickly chugged a bottle of sparkling mana potion.
Gulp, gulp.
Then, the message window I'd seen before appeared again.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Mana has permanently increased by +5] Including the one I'd drunk at home, that made five mana potions total, boosting my permanent mana by 5.
But while using the skill, I noticed something odd.
The more my mana increased, the more I felt the skill's range subtly widen and its power strengthen.
'If this isn't just my imagination, and it's real...'
If skills truly grew stronger as mana increased.
And if I released another batch of permanent mana expansion potions into the world.
This could cause quite the uproar.
To test it, I poured mana into the surrounding plants and trees, casting Purify.
When my mana was about to run out, I'd drink a sparkling mana potion.
Then pour mana again and cast Purify...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Mana has permanently increased by +10] Repeating this process raised my base mana by 10.
Now, to check how much stronger the skill had become, maybe I should challenge the gate's final boss.
I turned my gaze to the massive house-sized tree standing tall in the distance.
Until now, I'd poured Purify into that tree countless times,
But its deeply rooted central corruption had swallowed or spat out every bit of the skill.
I'd been stumped on how to handle it, so this was perfect timing.
Whew...
"Challenge accepted!"
Arriving before the giant tree, I took a deep breath and drew up the mana within me.
I could feel the mana spreading from my fingertips with a density unlike before.
Whoosh—
A massive burst of light struck the rotten tree.
Black energy rose like smoke from the tree, while new bark peeled away the decayed shell, sprouting fresh green shoots.
"Whoa..."
As the corruption faded, the tree was no longer a decayed husk but a majestic sacred tree.
Its bark gleamed with deep, solid brown.
Its leaves, infused with the wind, swayed softly in turquoise hues.
Even the surrounding air felt clearer.
Before I knew it, the tree had become the most beautiful and wondrous existence in the gate.
"......"
I looked down at my palm.
Before, purifying a single small lake had been my limit.
Now, my sustained power, potency, and range had all strengthened enough to purify a house-sized tree in one go.
"Confirmed. Higher mana stats make skills stronger."
I glanced at the two remaining bottles of mana potion.
'And this is just with the spirit's blessing.'
How potent were the mana potions made from the flower that birthed the spirit?
'Should I not have sold them and just drunk them myself?'
I shook my head.
If I had, I wouldn't have learned about the gate at auction, and without money, I couldn't have claimed it.
Now I knew how to make permanent mana expansion potions.
I could grow slowly from here.
'Anyway.'
How could I leverage this for maximum gain?
Put it back on auction,
Or after opening the cafe, discreetly offer it to regular customers?
Well, I'd think those things over carefully.
With purification mostly done...
It was about time to head to the necromancer and repay her the Lumina Bell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ While other guilds boasted skyscrapers piercing the heavens or state-of-the-art security facilities,
Full Moon had bought up an entire outskirts district in Seoul and turned it into a 'village.'
The serene village nestled amid the forest of buildings felt utterly detached from the flow of time.
Black tiled roofs.
Wooden gates.
A small garden with the sound of flowing water...
"Whoa..."
It felt like stepping into a new world.
As I admired the finely crafted Korean-style architecture, I spotted what seemed to be Full Moon guild members.
One sliced an apple hanging in midair while wearing an eyepatch; another drew a magic circle in the darkness.
All of them exuded an extraordinary aura with calm expressions.
'Left from here, she said...'
As I carefully headed to the location the necromancer had given me,
Tap, tap...
Someone slowly emerged from beyond the stone path by a small pond.
'The person from the auction...!'
A familiar face.
Amid the masked awakeners, the woman who boldly showed her bare face.
Turned out she was a Full Moon guild member.
Seeing the familiar face eased my tension, and I unwittingly called out.
"Hey! Back then..."
Her blood-red eyes locked precisely on me.
With a cold, emotionless face devoid of even a speck of feeling.
The moment our gazes met, my mind froze with a sharp chill.
'Right... Of course she wouldn't recognize me...'
I'd worn a mask at the auction, so there was no way she'd know me.
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I quickly bowed my head to hide my flushed face.
"......"
The woman, who had stood still for a while, began approaching me with slow steps.
Steps that were almost silent, without presence.
A clean, quiet movement like a thread slicing through the air.
As the distance closed,
"Ow!"
Suddenly, she pinched my cheek hard!
'That hurts too much!'
It hurt so bad tears welled up.
How could such unbelievable strength come from those slender fingers?
"...Hurts?"
"Of course it hurts if you pinch that hard!"
"Don't like cheek touching?"
Was that supposed to be a question now?
No, grabbing a stranger's cheek on first meeting was already beyond common sense, wasn't it?
And switching to casual speech right away...?
It was so absurd my mouth fell open on its own.
I could only stare blankly at the woman before me.
After a brief silence, she pulled a small notebook from her bosom and began scribbling seriously.
Peeking over, I saw...
[Dislikes cheek touching]
She was earnestly writing nonsense like that.
There were other densely packed notes too, but noticing my gaze, she snapped the notebook shut.
Then, with an unchanging expression, she spoke coolly.
"Couldn't help it. I just couldn't resist."
Now it wasn't just absurd—it wasn't even funny anymore.
'What is she...? A total weirdo?'