Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Spirit (4)
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I slipped out of the clothing store with a vacant expression on my face.
Bell senior smacked her lips, seemingly a bit unsatisfied, but I had no desire to empty my wallet any further, so I made a quick escape.
Her expression still lingers hazily in my mind.
And the club activity day that Crvena had told me about before I left... is two days from now.
After all of this week's academy classes end, I have to head to the shelter for resting students.
Before that, though.
"I heard there's a good spot for manifesting the spirit ritual."
"Where on earth do you pick up such ridiculous information?"
I swallowed the words "From the original you." and looked down at Medea.
She rolled her eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"It's a superstition that floats around among elves. Better in forests than cities, and better by a river with an open sky than in a regular forest."
Was it because she believed that superstition that she always headed into the woods during the original story?
Instead of dwelling on the question, I opened my mouth toward her.
"In short, a place where as many attributes as possible come together."
"Excluding fire spirits since they're mischievous little pranksters."
"......Follow me."
I guided Christina to the place I'd already had in mind.
Even though I was just leading her to a location I already knew, a strange tickling sensation somehow stirred in my chest.
Lenoc's Dungeon lay hidden in the northern forest.
In its center was a fairly large lake.
Considering its size, it was akin to your typical lake.
The volume of stagnant water was impressive, but nothing extraordinary for a lake.
Even so, this lake was special.
'Because it's a place Christina frequented.'
I didn't know the exact reason, but in the original story, she consistently visited this spot.
If Agnes lived on the training grounds, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Christina lived in this northern forest.
"......"
Perhaps because I didn't know the precise location and got a little lost, the lake now mirrored the night sky.
I didn't show it outwardly, but it was impossible not to marvel at the breathtaking scenery crafted by nature.
"Medea."
"Yes."
Just like me, Medea seemed taken by the lake's beauty and kept gazing down at its surface.
As in the original story, she was always peering down at the bottom of this lake.
I had no idea what lay beneath.
"Explain the spirit ritual to me."
"......"
She turned her gaze to look at me.
It was as if she were asking if I was really going to learn spirit arts.
Of course I was.
If I could learn it, I should learn it to the fullest.
The Genius trait etched into my body made it possible.
I could tell just from the spirits currently clinging to me.
Medea was aware of this fact as well, and she'd seen me fiddling with the spirits.
"You don't need to learn the spirit ritual."
"What?"
"I said you don't need to learn it. You can already see and touch spirits, so why bother with the ritual?"
I blinked vacantly and looked down at my hand.
Even a rough count showed six or seven spirits visible.
A definite increase from Trea Dormitory.
"The spirit ritual is an artificial construct designed to resonate with spirits in the first place. If you can resonate with them raw like that, why manifest the ritual on top of it?"
"...Is that how it works?"
Medea wore an exasperated expression.
You don't get it either, huh. I didn't get my own body either.
From the original story onward, the spirit ritual had seemed almost essential for summoning spirits.
Even the scene where Medea used it to summon a high-grade spirit.
Her techniques always came paired with the spirit ritual.
Yet my body didn't need the spirit ritual?
What the hell. That was just a cheat key.
Why did this non-protagonist body have such illogical treatment?
To be honest, it felt like all the deus ex machina that should have gone to protagonist Lee Han was concentrated here.
A level of power that a single Terminally Ill trait couldn't compensate for.
"To be frank, I've never seen a case like yours. Even scouring elf history, there would've been only a handful of elves who resonated with spirits without the ritual."
"And you're saying that's what I'm doing right now."
"Yes. It's like your spirit senses and affinity have exceeded the limit?"
Was this situation getting more complicated or simpler?
Since I'd recognized the Genius trait, I'd planned to use Christina to teach me.
'Well, shit.'
But it seemed I'd severely underestimated the Genius trait.
This trait had far more cheat-like power than I'd anticipated.
"So clear..."
Medea unconsciously reached out and lightly touched the lake water.
Even in the elven forests, water this pure was hard to find.
Stagnant water inevitably clouds over time, but this lake showed no such signs.
As if... someone were continuously purifying it.
From the moment they arrived here, the setting sun would have dyed the pristine water red.
The blend of yellow and red would have created a fairy-tale-like vista.
But now it was night.
The starlight from the night sky reflected on the surface, shimmering faintly.
Medea disturbed a star in the lake with her finger before turning her head.
'No way he's actually asleep?'
Where her gaze landed, the human sharing the slave seal on the back of her hand lay amid the underbrush.
His appearance was so unbelievable for a human that he defied belief, and he'd even set down the staff he'd always leaned on.
Completely at ease.
He didn't seem to harbor any thought that she might attack him.
Utterly defenseless. She could strike if she wanted.
"Tch."
Medea—no, Christina—grimaced.
Even the low-grade spirits wouldn't properly heed her words.
'What an absurd monster.'
Deron was that kind of monster. An elf from history who resonated with spirits without the ritual?
Sure, they existed.
The elven progenitors must have resonated with spirits through sense alone before creating the ritual.
But among humans? She could assert with certainty: not a single one.
Of course, she knew that figures like the magic swordsman Lenoc or the great archmage Iliad existed in the human world.
But manifesting spirits without the ritual was an entirely different realm.
Like wielding swordsmanship without a blade or casting magic without incantation.
Even dragons couldn't handle spirits, yet the man before her managed them so naturally.
That terrifying talent made onlookers shrink back.
When Deron said he didn't need her to teach him the spirit ritual, he pondered briefly before nodding.
Then he casually told her to practice it herself.
And now he was like that.
Lying in the underbrush, gazing up at the sky.
Christina confirmed his melancholic eyes slowly closing.
Thanks to the slave seal, any hostility toward her master turned to pain.
It was as if a command to protect her master was etched into her mind.
A cool breeze brushed past her hair.
Summer was already approaching.
Summer nights were never truly silent.
From somewhere amid the stars in the sky and lake, the chirps of summer insects welcoming the season or the rustles of animals in the grass could be heard.
Sounds she hadn't experienced since being taken as a slave.
In this crystalline paradise, Christina caressed the grass blades.
What a strange human.
Deron Phillasia was a man who left that impression.
His detached appearance even among humans drew the eye.
And yet, he didn't particularly touch her.
He'd merely committed the rudeness of demanding she teach him spirit arts in front of an elf.
"Curious..."
There was no way to escape. With the slave seal inscribed, the only option was destroying it.
If she could wield a high spirit, she might shatter it with spirit power.
But the supreme spirits—one per attribute—had no reason to answer her call.
Christina cautiously manifested the spirit ritual.
She didn't know how Deron knew, but this place was ideal for it.
Water, fire, earth, wind.
Fire was playful, earth weighty, wind free, water ever-flowing.
Spirits each had partners they favored, making them resistant to commands.
"Nngh."
The four spirits that approached her hand were no different.
Low-grade, but together they could rival a mid-grade mana user.
With the ritual manifested, she leaned against a tree.
It brought an inexplicable sense of comfort.
Larger and sturdier than the others.
The bark exuded a deep history.
Christina looked down at the four spirits she'd barely manifested.
They squirmed adorably, floating in the air.
"Hello."
It was a soliloquy. Low-grade spirits couldn't converse.
True communication began at mid-grade.
Yet Christina kept talking to them.
"You can't speak, but you can hear me, right?"
The spirits moved in unison.
Her eyes widened. It was just a casual remark.
Unlike any spirits she'd summoned before, her spirit ritual reacted.
It felt like she could achieve spirit control she'd never managed even in the elven forest.
Whooo...
An inexplicable sound emanated from the wondrously clear lake.
Ignoring it, she focused on the ritual.
Step by step.
Before the elf trying to control it, the spirit thrashed about as if praising her efforts.
Like encouragement.
A breeze from somewhere rustled the leaves.
Amid the gently swaying foliage, a green leaf—so destined to fall—drifted down carefully.
Fluttering, swaying left and right, the leaf settled on Christina's shoulder.
As if by design.