Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Piled Up Something Other Than Mana (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Hah, really..."
No matter how much I thought about it, this was impossible.
Spirit energy accumulating in a living person's body?
"Maybe I actually died when I got struck by lightning?"
No, even if I had died then, spirit energy couldn't build up in a living body.
There are people like me who are born with strong spirit energy.
But that's the end of it.
That's the total amount.
There was no way to increase that spirit energy without dying.
"So, what am I supposed to do with this...?"
A knight shapes aura blades with mana.
A mage casts spells, and a Taoist gathers qi to perform arts.
So, what could be done with spirit energy?
"I can think of a few things..."
I concentrated the spirit energy scattered throughout my body into my head.
Whumm-
A ringing sensation filled my mind, and a single fruit floated lightly into the air.
Swoosh-
It slowly drifted over and landed in my hand.
"So that's how malevolent spirits pull this off..."
Have you ever heard of poltergeist phenomena?
It's when objects move on their own.
Among them, there are cases where ghosts with strong lingering thoughts manipulate objects, or powerful malevolent spirits exert force like this.
In other words, what I was doing right now was the power of a ghost.
"It can be controlled like this?"
Shamans can use spirit energy too.
There are cases where they use the power they're born with, like when performing divination or borrowing a god's power to walk the tightrope.
But wielding such strong physical force? I'd never heard or seen anything like it.
"My Spiritual Eyes have sharpened too."
It felt like the range of my focus had widened.
It hadn't increased dramatically, but I could sense that my overall abilities as a shaman had risen.
"Hey, Headless!"
- ....?
At my call, Headless slithered over.
After one ritual, its resentment had lightened compared to before.
"Do you know how to use spirit energy?"
Headless shook its head with its hand.
Nod.
"Oh, really? Give it a try. Teach me a bit."
Ghosts would surely handle this power better than me, who had just gained it.
Headless concentrated with a serious expression.
Faint spirit energy flowed through its body.
Ssslliiide.
Headless approached me and reached out its hand.
"Oh?"
Something was about to happen.
Anticipation welled up.
This was the power I'd wield from now on.
Swoosh.
Finally, a single finger brushed my nape.
Pok.
"Huh...?"
Pok.
"....?"
I let out a sigh, my expectations deflated.
"Haa... what was I expecting from a lowly ghost."
It was pure ghostly mischief.
The kind only those born with spirit sense could feel.
If I had to describe it, it was like a chill in a gloomy place, enough to make you say, 'Who touched my shoulder?!'
"Whew..."
Might be better to find a malevolent spirit and study it...
In any case, it was time to head out for business.
And stop by Randolph's place while I was at it.
Then, a voice calling me from afar.
"Hey! Chris!"
It was old man Parmon's voice.
I turned and saw him walking with Closel.
"Old timers! What brings you here?"
"Just two old folks out wandering for fun."
Fair enough. What else do retired old men have to do?
Passing their later years leisurely like this was only natural.
"Glad you came. I actually had something to ask."
"You, asking us?"
"Kehkeh. Out with it."
"Sir Gismond came by."
He had a terribly frustrated look on his face.
Even more frustrated than when he saw me come down from the graveyard.
Like he was saying, 'Why can't you do that?'
"He kept pointing over there, saying someone was there."
"Hoo? Over there?"
I searched where Sir Gismond had pointed, but there was nothing.
I searched over and over, but no person, not even a soul.
I kept failing to find anything, and Sir Gismond shook his head and left.
"There is something there."
Closel and Parmon nodded simultaneously, staring at one spot.
"Yeah, right there. But no matter how much I look, nothing."
"Hmm..."
The two old men observed the spot intently.
Maybe old men like them could find it?
"You know the spiritist too?"
"A spiritist of impressive realm."
"Huh?"
I'd never even seen a spiritist before.
A commoner like me wouldn't cross paths with such rare beings.
"No wonder you couldn't find it. You'd need Ramon or our level to barely sense it."
"Kehkeh... right around there."
Good, even the old men could sense it.
If I searched with their help...
"Old man? Why pull out the hammer?"
Parmon grinned widely and gripped his hammer tight.
"If we don't know the exact spot, just blow the whole thing away, right?"
Old man Closel nodded and replied.
"Heh heh, indeed."
Blow it away?
What?
Old man Parmon swung his arm.
A vivid aura had already coated the hammer he held.
Whoosh-
The aura detached from the hammer and flew off.
It happened in an instant, too fast to stop.
And an enormous sound shook the surroundings.
KABOOOM-
"Cr... crazy... that was..."
"A water spirit."
My jaw dropped.
There, water surged and formed a wall.
It was so massive my house behind it looked shabby.
"Hey, Ramon, the guest isn't coming out."
"Kehkeh."
Grinning Parmon kept swinging his arm.
KABOOM- !
"Is anyone home?"
KABOOOM!
"No one there?"
KABOOOM!!
At old man Parmon's knocking, the water wall split, creating a gap.
A figure in a deeply hooded robe.
A face I already knew.
"Huh....? The noble?"
It matched exactly the noble I'd been searching for yesterday.
As soon as the noble appeared, scents flooded in.
Smell of water.
Smell of earth.
Smell of wind.
No way these came from a human.
Seeing it with my own eyes confirmed it.
"Not human?"
The closer the distance, the clearer it became.
It was tied to me by fate.
"Wonder what it'll ask of me with such a tangled connection..."
I could soon see the noble's face.
"It's been a while, you two."
A face so beautiful it made you question if such beauty existed.
Green hair that flowed like it glowed.
Green eyes so clear they felt pure.
Snow-white skin.
And pointed, elongated ears.
"And you are?"
Not human—an elf.
"I am Irene, the leaf that guards the branch."
"Long time no see."
The two old men and Irene seemed to know each other already.
As I looked on curiously, old man Closel began explaining.
"An elf we fought with during the Great War. Even matched blows with Ramon."
"She's already lived over six hundred years. Elves usually live a thousand."
As expected of an elf, her lifespan was long, just as I'd heard.
Parmon also smiled happily at reuniting with a comrade.
"Kehkeh. Long time indeed."
But Irene's reaction to Parmon's greeting was odd.
Her mouth slightly agape, like she'd seen something wondrous.
"Parmon, you can smile too?"
Hm?
Didn't old man Parmon smile often?
He laughed with every word.
That gave him such a kindly image.
Old man Parmon scratched his head sheepishly.
"Only relearned it recently. How is it? Do I look happy? Kehkeh."
A fresh smile bloomed on Irene's face.
"Now you finally look human. Who'd have thought I'd see your smile."
"Still awkward."
From the mood, this old man must not have smiled much before.
Come to think of it, that's how he was when we first met.
His face just existed as is, with no movement for expressions at all.
New fact...
In any case, Sir Gismond's frustration was because of an elf.
He must have been urging me to meet this elf.
I felt a gaze staring straight at me.
"I've come looking for you."
"Me?"
Irene's smile faded, seriousness settling in.
"Not long ago, the World Tree conveyed its will to us."
"The World Tree...!"
Leaving the two old men's exclamations behind, Irene continued.
"You appeared with the lightning, so it said to come here and dance."
"Hoo?"
I did arrive in this world via lightning, so that must refer to me.
Dancing too...
"Following the branch's sway led me to you."
I didn't know what 'following the branch's sway' meant, but she'd come to the right place.
Various scenes were already flashing in my mind.
"Hmm..."
Examining Irene, it was fascinating.
"Not nature... yet not human either..."
Like a person molded from earth and water.
Breathing wind, moving by fire.
"Heh..."
The important thing was it felt good.
The god connected to me seemed pleased, lifting my mood too.
"Found you right on time."
But with such heavy ominous clouds hanging over her.
Her future was shrouded in darkness.
Among the trees, nothing but pitch-black shadows rose.
"Bound body and blinded eyes... tsk tsk."
"What suddenly...?"
As Irene voiced her confusion, the two old men stopped her.
"Wait and see."
My mouth moved on its own, spitting out divinations.
"Tightly bound. Big trouble ahead."
The black darkness gripped the trees tight.
Not only that, but rotting branches too.
As if it were my own, my vision darkened.
And once more, my mouth opened.
"So many will die."
"!!!"