Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: I Accumulated Something Other Than Mana (2)
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Thud.
Thud.
Thump.
"Haa..."
It had been an incredibly exhausting day.
The number of customers was insane.
With yesterday's events and the cheap prices, plenty of people had come just for the fun of it.
Thanks to that, I'd spent more time cold-reading the customers than actually clearing their paths forward.
"Whether this way or that, as long as one more person lives better, that's what matters."
Fortunately, none of today's visitors had souls tangled up in complicated ways.
There had been one person lugging around a vengeful ghost that died harboring resentment.
But that ghost didn't seem interested in harming people—it just wanted someone to listen to its story.
Once I soothed it properly, it detached cleanly.
"Aigoo... this place is so far away. Commuting is hell."
I entered the shrine and lit the candles.
Whoosh—
The shrine was still empty and hollow.
But from now on, things would be a little different.
Hans had given me a hefty fee, so I'd bought a bunch of stuff with it.
Unlike Randolph, who'd vanished with the bounty, Hans had rushed right over.
His pouch was stuffed with coppers, just as I'd expected—crumpled and battered coins.
They felt too precious to spend carelessly.
"First up, the longsword."
I'd stopped by the blacksmith and picked out a decent one with a sharp edge.
Pulling it from its sheath produced a metallic ring.
Shing—
"Whoa... nice and keen."
This would do perfectly as a stand-in for a crescent blade.
Placing it drawn in the corner of the shrine gave the place some real presence.
"Next, the big candles."
Candles have all sorts of uses.
They light up the shrine, and sometimes they even foretell fortune or misfortune.
The ones I pulled out now were for a slightly different purpose.
Candles for praying for happiness.
Tradition in the shaman world holds that lighting them in the shrine with sincere intent draws the spirits' benevolent gaze.
No idea if it'd work here, but good is good, right?
"One for Elder Parmon, one for the graveyard folks..."
I hesitated a moment, then pulled out one more.
"And one for the house pests. Perfect."
Two candles lighting the shrine.
Three for praying for happiness.
With all five lit, the room brightened right up.
"There we go. A shrine needs to shine like this."
I wasn't done yet with what I'd bought.
Reaching into the bag, I grabbed something heavy.
"Heave-ho."
It was from the fruit seller—about the size of a watermelon.
Though it looked nothing like one.
Greenish and bumpy, but if you lopped off the top, it'd look pretty decent as a Headless.
Thud.
Thud.
I set out a few fruits on the shrine altar, then dragged the bag outside.
- ....
- ....
As always, the graveyard elders and Headless along with the other stray spirits were watching me.
"You all need to eat, right?"
Today's offering table would be even more bountiful than yesterday's.
I unpacked everything onto the table.
Not just liquor, but even street skewers.
"What's this now."
Headless approached, holding out its two hands where its head should be, peering at the offerings.
"Wondering why there's only one table today?"
- .....
I could feel the stray spirits' gazes focusing in.
After banning shared tables and snubbing them, they were being cautious.
"We're all eating together today. Ah, I forgot to bring that."
When I came out with the longsword, the stray spirits freaked out and scattered.
The graveyard elders seemed curious, eyeing the sword they hadn't seen in ages.
"There's this thing called a shaman ritual."
A shaman ritual—what is it, really?
Truth be told, it wasn't anything grand.
Beat a drum, play a gong, clash cymbals.
Blow a flute to make lively tunes, and the shaman dances in the middle shaking a rattle.
What does that look like?
"Truth is, it's basically me playing on your behalf."
Get caught up in the fun, and bad feelings wash away clean.
Set out the offerings, eat, dance, play—and release the grudges.
"To fix those rotten minds of yours, you need some good times too."
I snapped off some branches and stuck them in the ground.
Laid the longsword across them, and its sharp blade pointed straight to the sky.
"No music, but it'll still be fun."
A drum would be nice.
But without shamans to play instruments, even if I had them, it'd be pointless.
I even lit a bonfire, and the atmosphere really came alive.
"Whew..."
Now it was time to lay out the ritual ground.
"Alright, everyone—jump along with me."
I stretched out my arm and swung the rattle once.
Ting-a-ling—
I swung the rattle and leaped.
From my mouth flowed the song sung during rituals—lively enough even without a drum.
Ting-a-ling—
I gently closed my eyes, sensing the spirits around me.
Well, look at this.
Spirits and strays were human once too—of course they crave fun.
Ting-a-ling—
The rattle's chime rang out, awakening those emotions.
"Feels good!"
My body bounced higher and higher.
I could feel them empathizing with me, just as I did with their emotions.
Not quite full possession, but closer to a connection.
Ting-a-ling—
Even the greater spirit connected to me was getting excited.
I was possessed by the divine fervor.
Ting-a-ling—
The rattle's pace quickened, the melody from my mouth growing fervent.
The graveyard elders bobbed in excitement.
"Let's have some fun!"
The strays' mouths gaped open.
Not their usual scary grins, but pure, genuine smiles.
"That's the spirit!"
The cautious spirits drew near and joined in.
Some leaped after me, others shook wildly in dance.
One even sat at the table, savoring the food.
As dancing spirits passed, the bonfire flickered along.
"Hahaha!"
Laughter burst out naturally.
Joyous emotions flooded toward me.
My body moved even wilder on their behalf.
It felt like floating in ecstasy.
"I'm possessed! Been ages—let's ride the tightrope!"
I kicked off my shoes.
Barefoot now, I placed my sole on the longsword.
- ....!!!
- ....!!!
The spirits whispered in shock in their own tongue.
A human stepping onto a blade—what else would they do?
"Hyah—!"
With a shout, I lifted my grounded foot fully onto the blade.
- !!!!
They stared in astonishment, marveling.
Their gazes darted between my feet and the sword.
"What're you all doing? Come play!"
I leaped again, spinning to land on the blade.
Far from cutting, it supported me perfectly.
Not how tightropes are meant to be used, but whatever.
And this was a longsword, not a tightrope.
"Great! Perfect!"
The graveyard elders watched like it was a show, amazed and delighted.
The strays too.
Joy filled them in place of their grudges.
Ting-a-ling—
The strays' grudges unraveled and flowed to me like loosened threads.
Ting-a-ling—
Grudges that had swirled through my body gathered at my head, then spread throughout. It felt like the spirits' spiritual energy—or the divine energy from swinging the rattle. I danced on the blade for a good while. Once those energies settled in my body, I stopped and plopped down on the ground.
"Haa... haa... aigoo, I'm dying."
After jumping so long, all strength drained from my body. My mind felt foggy, like I'd been using my brain all day. Considering I was a fledgling who'd just received the divine and was channeling multiple spirits' emotions, this was lucky.
"Aigoo... enough fun—go eat."
I didn't even have the energy to eat.
"Haa... haa... what the hell is all this."
My body was limp, but unknown energies overflowed within.
"You can accumulate this stuff in a living body? I'm no Daoist..."
I'd seen Daoists building up qi before. It felt similar to what this world calls magic. But the energy in me now was closer to the spirits' spiritual energy.
"Spiritual energy building up in a living person's body? That make any sense?"
It tingled, urging me to move it. The spiritual energy flowed at my will. Extending from my hand, it touched the table. The fruit atop it thudded to the ground.
"Holy shit..."
It was just like a ghost pranking around.
A figure in a deep hood walked along, hood pulled low.
Feet wandering aimlessly in search suddenly moved as if compelled.
"Ahh...!"
A small exclamation leaked from within the robe.
A clear, pure voice.
"It was pointing here."
Her steps quickened.
She perched atop a massive tree, peering intently somewhere.
"Sylph."
At her call, the spirit swirled around her, stirring the winds.
The more wildly the Sylph spun, the more her presence faded.
"Could it be..."
How long had she searched?
Countless awaited her return after completing her mission.
"Finally...!!"
The figure inside the robe clenched a fist in excitement.
A trembling voice escaped, unable to contain the emotion.
"I have finally fulfilled the command...! O World Tree...!"