The Deepening Darkness (2)
"My word..."
Megredo, who had been following behind me, let out a heavy sigh at the carnage inside the gambling den.
I had cleaned the place up thoroughly.
I already knew what kind of organization they were from the game. Criminal syndicates like this were quite common in this world.
It was precisely because of scum like them that warlocks and blood mages could safely build up their strength in the shadows.
It was a vicious cycle.
I handed the bystanders who had been with me their original stakes and sent them on their way. Flashing my knight academy badge made them easy to control.
I warned them not to touch dice or cards again, though I highly doubted they would actually listen.
As for the money left scattered around the den and locked in the safe, I swept every last coin into my sub-space pocket. Calling the local knights to confiscate it would have been the proper thing to do, but I currently had no way of contacting them.
Besides, opportunities to acquire this much cash in one go were rare.
"...By the way, have you and I crossed paths before?"
Megredo asked, casting a sideways glance at the neatly severed corpses of the gang members.
Sierra also looked curious, her eyes fixed on me.
My answer to this was already prepared.
There was a major incident he had caused a few years ago.
"Ah, back in the Empire, once..."
"...Ah, you mean the casino. Tsk, not a pleasant memory."
"Haha, it was quite the commotion, after all."
I casually played along with his assumption.
How did he even think of cheating in a casino of that scale...?
It was beyond my comprehension.
With that, Megredo and I stepped out of the gambling den.
Judging by the moon hanging high in the sky, dawn was fast approaching.
Stepping outside, Megredo took a deep breath of the chilly morning air. He looked like a man who had just made a dramatic escape from prison.
Well, I suppose it was somewhat dramatic.
Looking up at the sky, Megredo finally spoke.
"Right. You said you wanted to learn the sealing art. But is there any reason for someone of your caliber to learn it?"
"I have heard that there is no end to learning."
"Hmph, greedy, aren't we? I don't dislike it. I have a house nearby. Shall we discuss this further there?"
"I would like that."
I offered him a bright smile in response.
Everything was flowing exactly as I had seen in the game.
To learn the **Spirit Sealing Art** from Megredo, one simply had to rescue him from his captors.
It wasn't a particularly difficult process.
The criminals running the gambling den weren't high-level opponents by any stretch.
However, Megredo had been captured simply because he was too weak to defeat them all on his own.
If I recalled correctly, his spirits had been stolen by high-ranking spiritualists. He was a man entangled in many incidents, with enemies lurking around every corner.
I walked alongside Megredo toward his house.
He didn't find it strange that I, despite being blindfolded, followed his footsteps without a single stumble. Seeing how I had wiped out the gang single-handedly, he likely assumed I possessed some sort of special sensory power and left it at that.
And so, I began to learn the **Spirit Sealing Art** from Megredo.
...As it turned out, Megredo might have been questionable as a spiritualist, but he was an excellent teacher.
Despite having just escaped captivity, he showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, he passionately taught me the **Spirit Sealing Art**, completely absorbed in his own theories.
We started from the basic theories of spirits and eventually progressed to debating the true value of the sealing art itself.
The **Spirit Sealing Art**.
Unlike conventional spirit magic, it was not heavily influenced by one's spirit affinity.
After examining my body, Megredo remarked that my spirit affinity was utterly dreadful, offering a backhanded compliment that my body was actually perfect for learning the sealing art.
He added that my blindness wouldn't be an issue either, so long as I could perceive the energy of the summoned spirit.
Unlike standard spirit magic, which treated spirits as familiars or servants, the **Spirit Sealing Art** sealed a portion of the spirit directly into the user's body, allowing them to wield the spirit's power as their own.
The advantages of this method were beyond measure.
Normally, the higher a spiritualist's affinity, the better they could control their spirits.
To put it simply, high affinity meant the spirits were more obedient.
Naturally, the key for any spiritualist was finding a way to raise this affinity.
However, no such method existed.
There was no way to artificially increase one's affinity.
Spirit affinity was a purely innate talent.
Well, technically, there is a way...
But generally speaking, that was the rule.
Megredo, as one could guess from his reliance on such an unorthodox art, possessed very low spirit affinity.
Driven by his intense frustration, he had searched for and unearthed a lost art from the past: the **Spirit Sealing Art**.
It was a form of spirit magic that allowed the user to forcibly seal a spirit's power into their own body by chanting its 'true name.'
Through this art, one could perfectly wield a spirit's power regardless of their affinity.
The actual process of the **Spirit Sealing Art** was remarkably simple and straightforward. Perhaps because of this, the skill registered in my system almost immediately.
However, the requirement to chant the true name was a massive hurdle.
How could a human, whose lifespan was like that of a mayfly compared to a spirit, possibly discover a spirit's true name?
Megredo had no choice but to meticulously scour ancient texts.
Perhaps that was why his house was crammed with countless dusty, ancient books.
Yet, even after dedicating his entire life to this pursuit, Megredo had only managed to discover the true names of a few mid-rank and low-rank spirits.
But if one could discover a true name...
In Megredo's words, they would be able to wield 'a mighty power far beyond their station.'
Of course, it wasn't without a penalty.
Sealing an entity composed of an entirely alien energy into a human body was a highly delicate and volatile task.
Normally, a spirit manifesting in the human world would consume its summoner's mana to maintain its form. The **Spirit Sealing Art**, however, did not consume mana. Instead, it gnawed away at the physical body—specifically, one's life force.
It didn't actually shorten one's lifespan.
After all, Megredo himself was an old man who had managed to survive for a long time in this dangerous world.
Rather, it constantly drained one's physical stamina, forcing the user to live on potions. Indeed, as soon as we arrived at his house, Megredo had chugged three cheap health potions in rapid succession.
This was information I already knew from the game.
Since I possessed Reina's bracelet, the physical toll wouldn't affect me at all.
Though, when and how I would return the bracelet to her remained a problem.
After explaining a few more details about the sealing art, Megredo declared that he had nothing left to teach me.
He made it clear that he had no intention of sharing the true names he had spent his entire life uncovering.
When he asked if I knew basic spirit summoning, I lied and said I did.
Naturally, I didn't know the first thing about spirit summoning. But with my abysmal affinity, I wouldn't be able to summon anything useful anyway... and since I had the whistle, there was no need to learn it.
This was more than enough.
All of this had simply been a process to etch the skill onto my status window.
I stayed and kept the lonely old man company, listening to his endless chatter until the moon began to set, before finally leaving his house.
Upon stepping outside, I immediately boarded a carriage.
As expected, the task hadn't taken much time.
***
After stepping off the carriage, I found myself walking through a quiet, deserted forest.
In the distance, the boundary fence of the academy grounds was visible.
[ Hmmm... ]
Sierra, floating in the air beside me, let out a low hum of contemplation.
"Is something troubling you, Master?"
I turned my head toward her and asked.
[ ...That spirit you spoke of sealing. Will it be able to perceive This Lady's presence? ]
...When I had first mentioned wanting to learn the **Spirit Sealing Art**, Sierra had been utterly baffled, wondering why I suddenly needed spirits.
To be precise, she had said, "With This Lady's swordsmanship at your disposal, what need have you for the power of spirits?"
However, after listening to Megredo's explanation of the art, she had gasped in admiration and quickly changed her mind.
She liked the concept of dominating and binding a spirit to one's will, rather than being swayed by its whims.
"Whether it can interact with you... I'm not entirely sure. But you did say you could see the spirits hovering around Megredo, correct?"
I scratched my head as I answered.
It was a question I didn't have a definitive answer to either.
Since they are both spiritual entities, will they be able to interact? Or will it be impossible because the nature of their energies is too different?
According to Megredo, sealing a spirit didn't mean its consciousness vanished entirely.
However, instead of maintaining a humanoid form, it would revert to a beast-like shape, unable to engage in proper conversation.
[ Indeed. Perhaps it was because they were merely low-rank spirits. They were tiny things, and they did not seem to recognize me. ]
So Megredo's spirits hadn't recognized Sierra.
But if a spirit were sealed directly inside my body, perhaps it could interact with Sierra, who was already bound to me.
As I walked deeper into the forest, I decided this spot was secluded enough and came to a halt.
"We can find out the answer to that right now."
I murmured to Sierra, reaching into my sub-space pocket to pull out the whistle.
[ Oh...? Why the whistle all of a sudden...? ]
Sierra watched my actions with curiosity.
I had already explained to her during our previous conversations that this was the 'Spirit King's Whistle.'
Between the hidden pieces I found and my unusual actions, Sierra had occasionally questioned if I was some sort of 'prophet.'
...I had neither confirmed nor denied her suspicions.
Ever since our first meeting, she had insisted I was a mysterious figure, and that belief had only grown stronger over time.
At most, she probably suspected something along the lines of reincarnation or regression.
In any case, because I had told Megredo that I knew spirit summoning, she hadn't expected me to use the whistle here.
I brought the whistle to my lips.
Even I didn't know what kind of spirit would answer the call.
An attribute related to me...?
Honestly, I just hoped it wouldn't be one of the four main elements. That would overlap too much with the four elemental families.
If it had to be one of the four, I hoped for Lucia's wind attribute, which was the least combat-oriented.
Without further delay, I blew into the whistle with all my might.
Fwooo...
Only a faint, breathless sound of escaping air echoed from the whistle.
But nothing had gone wrong.
The summon had been executed perfectly.
The sound of the whistle would have reverberated powerfully, not here, but deep within the spirit realm.
Sierra tilted her head, looking at me.
[ ...There are no enemies, nor is there any danger. What are you doing all of a sudden? ]
I waited for the spirit to manifest, explaining my plan to Sierra.
"There are a few spirits whose 'true names' I already know."
Only then did Sierra realize my intention.
[ Surely you don't mean...... Did you not say a high-rank spirit would appear? ]
"Yes, that's right."
Just as we finished our brief exchange, the forest began to tremble.
Even though the sun was rising, a thick, heavy fog rolled in within seconds, completely blocking out the morning light.
Soon, a formless mass of dark energy began to coalesce before my eyes.
Black...?
Something was definitely off.
A chilling, ominous sensation began to permeate the surrounding air.
The black energy gradually began to take shape.
It was a humanoid figure.
The spirit was manifesting.
The dark energy solidified in an instant.
The moment my eyes fell upon the dark, shadowy armor hovering in the air, a sudden realization struck me.
The creeping fog wrapped itself around the spirit's body.
The spirit—no, he—was clad in a magnificent, pitch-black suit of full-plate armor.
His glowing red eyes stared down at me intently.
Then, a raspy, grating voice that sounded like grinding metal echoed through the clearing.
"Shade of the Shadows, responding to the call of the King's Whistle..."
My intuition had been spot on.
There was no room for doubt; this was a spirit of darkness.
Shade trailed off mid-sentence, a note of confusion creeping into his voice.
"...Now that I look closely, you are a human. For a human to summon me... how bizarre."
"..."
I couldn't find the words to answer him.
Just as he said, spirits of darkness were typically summoned only by demons.
The fact that the whistle had summoned a darkness spirit meant it had detected an energy akin to a demon's within me.
...It wasn't as if I had no clues.
The Tears of the Deceased, or perhaps the Demon Blade... I didn't think those would affect the summon like this.
I had been careless.
But the most critical problem was that I didn't know the true name of a darkness spirit.
Without it, I couldn't use the **Spirit Sealing Art**.
"Regardless, where is the enemy? I thought I would finally taste blood after so long, yet there is nothing here. Did you blow the whistle without even knowing what it does?"
Shade looked around the empty clearing, his voice dripping with disappointment.
Beside me, Sierra tilted her head, sensing my sudden silence.
I brought the whistle to my lips and blew hard once more.
Fwooo...
"..."
Shade stared at me, utterly speechless.
Naturally, blowing it again had no effect, but I had done it out of a desperate desire to deny reality.
"Haa..."
I lowered the whistle and let out a deep sigh.
And then, I did something without thinking—a habit I had recently developed.
I released a pulse of my **Ki Sense**.
The wave of energy rippled outward and washed over Shade.
In that instant, an incredibly bizarre phenomenon occurred.
Normally, when my **Ki Sense** brushed against a person, their name or basic information would naturally flow into my mind.
But what happened next was something I had never experienced before.
Shade's real name.
His 'true name' as a spirit was transmitted directly into my head.
...What in the world?
I couldn't understand the reason behind it right now.
But one thing was certain.
"Were you truly just a fool who didn't even know the whistle's function...? Humans... what a waste of my time."
Just as Shade turned to vanish back into the spirit realm...
"Wait a moment."
I quickly called out, stopping him in his tracks.
The spirit paused, turning his head to glare at me with his glowing red eyes.
***
The thick fog had vanished without a trace, and the warm morning sun was now filtering through the trees, bathing the forest in light.
[ ...What should we name this fellow...? It must have a name, after all. ]
Sierra murmured, staring intently at the ball of fluff sitting on a nearby rock.
"Kerrung..."
The black ball of fluff let out a cute, purring sound as it looked up at Sierra.
Its crimson eyes were remarkably striking.
"...How about Shady? Does Shady sound alright?"