Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Spirit (1)
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After leaving the clubroom, I headed to Trea Dormitory. My body felt heavy. Regardless of my lifespan, it was always heavy like this.
Except for that one moment, it always returned to its original state.
Even though my lifespan had surpassed a year and I felt like things were improving bit by bit, that was it.
'Arxius and the headmaster didn't know the root cause of the illness either.'
I'd half-given up on curing the terminal illness embedded in my body. I just needed to steadily consume the elixirs circulating on the market and clear quests.
So, the reason I'd accepted Arxius's proposal was because it was a path I had to take anyway.
The hero and protagonist, Lee Han, hadn't grown as much as he should have in the original story. He was supposed to be two or three times stronger by now.
But I had defeated Morax, so he hadn't awakened his power as the hero.
"Which means I need to get even stronger."
As much as the hero had weakened, I—who was monopolizing the opportunities—needed to grow stronger. Mass Slaughter Drift. Now, to save the major and supporting characters who were alive and breathing.
Trea Dormitory was still quiet. The students hadn't returned yet. And it wasn't time for them to come back anyway.
As I leaned on my cane, it clacked against the ground. The sound seemed too loud.
I'd have to ask Petra later if she could make it quieter.
No one was in my room. Petra must have gone somewhere. Actually, that was better. It had been a while since I could rest without worrying about prying eyes.
I had a feeling I'd forgotten something, but it was probably just my imagination.
I threw myself onto the bed without even taking off my clothes. There was a slight discomfort, but I could ignore it.
Lying on the bed, I stared up at the ceiling. The walls with their uniform patterns sometimes made it impossible to think of anything.
During my hospital stay, I hadn't had a moment's rest. There were so many incidents to sort out, and I had to chat with Arxius in between.
[Hey.]
Like right now.
'Can't you see I'm trying to rest? I told you that in the hospital.'
[No, that's not it. Why is there a high elf in your room? How did you even bring her here?]
'Elf?'
Hearing that, I sat up.
"Hic!"
I turned toward the startled gasp.
There stood an elf in maid attire, flustered and at a loss.
Right, you were here.
Seeing her panicked face jogged my memory of what I'd forgotten.
The fifth heroine and spirit sorceress, the elf princess.
As I stared at her, the elf bowed her head deeply.
How much training had they put her through for this proud elf to act like this?
Arxius let out a disbelieving chuckle in my head.
[What did you do to turn that arrogant pointy-ear into that? A high elf, no less.]
You're hardly one to talk about arrogance.
Aren't dragons the most infamous for their self-importance?
Arxius exploded at my question.
He ranted about how I dared compare scheming forest-dwellers to dragons.
To me, they seemed pretty similar.
Anyway.
Letting him keep talking would just lead to a long-winded dragon history lesson.
I ignored him and addressed the elf.
"Your name?"
I knew her real name was Christina Lohenbelt.
But an elf would never reveal her true name.
To elves, high elves held an image akin to royalty.
In our terms, they were like princesses.
Revealing a royal name would instantly demote it to slave status.
An elf wouldn't do something so humiliating.
"Medea."
As in the original, she gave me a fake name. Medea. Even the name was identical.
"Medea... Got it."
I rolled the name around in my mouth and nodded.
Someday, I'd hear her called Christina.
But for now, it was better to focus on the situation at hand.
The ranking matches held before the break.
It was an event that got more attention than expected in the original. Specifically, in terms of the heroines' relationships with Lee Han.
'The protagonist took first place in the end.'
Agnes got second, Sophia third.
But all the glory ultimately goes to first place.
After defeating Morax, the ranking matches brought the heroines even closer to the protagonist.
Approaching him out of rivalry, awe, or pure curiosity.
The protagonist, who seemed utterly disinterested in romance, was captivating enough.
But I had no idea how this ranking match would change things.
Agnes might take first, or Erina might.
The variables I'd created were steadily growing and derailing the plot.
By now, both Agnes and Erina had probably reached the intermediate realm.
It was good that they were growing faster than in the original, but...
Bobble, bobble.
"Hm?"
Something floated above my eyes. Not dust...
It looked like water, but it moved with such vitality.
What was this?
I cautiously brought my finger close, and it immediately stuck to my fingertip.
As it rubbed against my skin, a cool sensation spread.
This thing's cuter than I thought.
No need for a cooling spell, so no mana drain either.
But where did it come from?
Crash!
I jolted upright at the sound of a plate shattering.
The little guy detached from my body.
"Wh-what?"
The culprit who dropped the plate and startled me was Medea.
She stared at me with wide eyes.
"What do you mean, what?"
"C-can you... see it?"
"See what?"
"That thing stuck to your hand right now."
I looked down at my hand, and there it was, rubbing against my skin again. Somehow, it felt endearing.
I lifted my finger slightly to show Medea.
"This? Of course I can see it."
"Impossible..."
Medea collapsed to the floor in despair.
I frowned down at her.
'What's wrong with her?'
[Are you seriously asking?]
'Would I ask if I knew?'
[That thing on your hand. It's a spirit! The spirits those pointy-ears revere.]
What?
I raised my finger again. This thing rubbing against my skin was a spirit?
...Now that I looked closely, maybe.
[What the hell is your body made of? Did you get cursed and blessed at the same time or something?]
'No idea.'
[Then how do you have that kind of talent and curse coexisting?]
Ignoring Arxius's outburst, I opened my status window.
My stats had been steadily rising, now almost superhuman.
Below them, a shining entry in the traits section.
'Spirit's Intimidation.'
I had no idea how, but I'd gained a new trait.
Clicking on Spirit's Intimidation brought up a message.
Drawn by the uniqueness of your body, spirits pledge loyalty to you as if enthralled. Just like vassals kneeling before their king.
However, you are not yet a proper king. The spirits desire you to prove your royal qualities.
(The more you grow, the more spirits you can command.)
(Owned Spirits: Low-grade 1)
(Currently linked with the Genius trait.)
I gaped at the absurd achievement the Genius trait had brought me.
Jackpot.
"Your name?"
"Medea."
Christina—no, Medea—stared intently at Deron.
Just from the aura emanating from his body, she could tell he was superior to her.
If he were an elf instead of human, he'd be stronger than her father.
It was a pity he was a short-lived, cunning human.
Thinking that, Medea summoned low-grade spirits.
The maid named Petra had ordered her to clean the room.
She could have ignored it, but Petra's intimidating presence was impossible to disregard.
She was called a maid, yet the aura she exuded was so menacing.
It wasn't the killing intent of an ordinary maid.
'How many must one kill to gain that kind of bloodlust?'
Compressed and condensed, the thick scent of blood wafting from her.
This meant Petra had taken countless lives.
Unable to endure the chilling smell, Medea obeyed the order meekly.
Using spirits, cleaning wouldn't take long anyway.
She entrusted the cleaning to the spirits and moved to carry a plate.
Until one spirit approached the boy lying on the bed.
'No!'
Humans couldn't sense spirits, but if it spilled water or something, who knew what he'd do.
Maybe mock her like at the auction house.
At the auction, they hadn't taken her first experience.
Among human nobles, there were those called 'unicorns.'
They absolutely refused non-virgin slaves.
So their chosen method was torture.
Mental or physical.
They even used drugs. If she weren't a high elf spirit sorceress, she would have broken.
She might have knelt and licked that repulsive clown's shoes.
But she was a high elf.
Royalty guarding the sacred world tree.
She wouldn't yield to this extent.
She reached out to control the spirit. She didn't know why it suddenly escaped her control.
She just needed to rein it in.
However.
The scene that unfolded next far exceeded Medea's expectations.
The human lying there not only sensed the spirit but touched it.
The spirit rubbed happily against the human's finger.
It ignored her control. Control had already passed to the human.
Shocked, she dropped the plate.
Elves could handle spirits easily, but humans—only a rare few could.
One of those rare few with spirit affinity stood before Medea.