Finally! The Trade Begins!
I quickly bit the bait Ariel had thrown. "Strange? Spirit power shouldn't be depleting like that?"
"Of course not. Do you know why spirits are so great?"
Uh, what am I supposed to say to that? But Baek Ha-yeon jumped in with the answer for me.
"Unlike magic... it doesn't put a huge burden on the user, right?"
Ariel pushed her toy sunglasses up onto her forehead with a grin. "Exactly. At first glance, the power magic and spirits wield might seem similar, but they're completely different. Magic is about control; spirits are about communion. If you don't grasp that fundamental process, this is what happens."
It made sense when she put it that way. Hadn't she said that commanding spirits was less about orders and more about requests? And even though I had the Spirit King Ariel summoned right now, my body wasn't under any real strain. That meant the spirits were shouldering the burden I should have been bearing.
"So, what do I need to do? You have to tell me."
Ariel glanced at me. "Our contractor knows nothing, yet she's doing surprisingly well, isn't she?"
Me? What had I even done? All I'd given Ariel was access to a music streaming service, bought her a toy guitar and sunglasses, and whipped up a crappy stand mic.
Unlike dense me, Baek Ha-yeon pieced it together right away. "The method of communion..."
Ariel's eyes sparkled as she looked at her. "Oh ho! You've caught on. Yes, her communion method is wrong. It might not show normally, but when she's pushing her body this hard, it's obvious."
Frustrated by Ariel's endless circling, I asked on Baek Ha-yeon's behalf. "Then give us a tip. You're the Spirit King—surely you have some pro advice on making spirits listen better and cutting down on spirit power drain."
"Just do what our contractor does."
"Yeah, but what is that?"
Ariel crossed her arms and jerked her chin toward Baek Ha-yeon at my shameless demand. "I've never given advice to anyone in my life, and you dare ask the Spirit King how to handle spirits? I've given plenty of hints already. Figure it out yourself."
"Come on, just tell us. Why make us figure it out?"
"Hmph. It's my whim. Where's the fun in spoon-feeding you?"
Cute looks paired with peak boomer energy. Or was it more free-spirited, like the wind?
"Ariel."
"What."
"You know rock's spirit is all about love and peace, right?"
Ariel flinched at the mention of rock's spirit.
"S-so?"
"That finger sign you just made? It means 'love'."
Her eyes trembled. "I-is that so?"
"Yep. All that talk about loving rock was total BS. Can't even spread the love."
Ariel bristled. "Don't insult my true passion for rock!!"
Huh. Simple. Adorable.
Ariel huffed and glared at Baek Ha-yeon. "Fine! Love it is! I'll spread it! Baek Ha-yeon, you! Are you using a proper medium for summoning spirits?"
"Medium...?"
Baek Ha-yeon's eyes went wide, like she'd never heard the term.
Ariel clicked her tongue. "Tsk tsk. I figured as much. Look at you—forcing spirits to come by brute-forcing your spirit power and mana without any medium. No wonder you're exhausted."
I whispered to Baek Ha-yeon. "Did you know about that?"
"N-no... Nothing in Spiritology 101 or the skillbook mentioned it. I thought it was just injecting mana to call them..."
"Ariel, what's a medium exactly? Like, light a gas burner for fire spirits, or hold a water bottle for water ones?"
Ariel snorted at my shallow take. "Something like that, sure. Simply put, a medium is whatever that spirit craves most intensely."
"Craves?"
"Yes. Take me, for example. If heavy metal music that shakes my soul is blasting, I'd rush to the middle realm even without your puny mana. That's communication—and the medium. But what about your spirits? Do you even know what they like when you call them?"
"...!!!"
Baek Ha-yeon's jaw dropped. Until now, she'd just been paying spirits with mana energy to drag them into fights, never once considering their personal tastes or preferences.
"Using a resonance stone to communicate is basic. But if you make them come willingly with something they love as the medium? Totally different story. Would you want to borrow someone else's hand when you could use what you love?"
Ah... so that's why I was doing well. I'd set things up for Ariel's tastes—heavy metal vibes...
Like a cow backing up and accidentally catching a mouse. No wonder she refused to go back to the spirit realm no matter what.
"So... lure them with specific items they like?"
"Crude way to put it, but it gets the point across. How about it, little spirit summoner? Helpful tip?"
Baek Ha-yeon's face lit up with realization, a weird mix of guilt toward her spirits and gratitude toward Ariel.
"Y-yes, incredibly helpful! I'm an idiot. I thought of them as friends but never prepared a single thing they like...!!"
She looked genuinely sorry for her spirits.
"Heh heh. That's the right attitude. Low-grade spirits are simple—they'll respond right away to your feelings."
With a smug air, Ariel finished her advice and dove back into the metal music, mimicking a rock band guitarist's intense riff.
"Now, this body returns to its sacred ritual. Close the lid, contractor."
I naturally shut the soundproof lid for her.
You're the simplest one in the whole universe, aren't you...?
I chuckled inwardly at the cute spirit.
***
Baek Ha-yeon headed back out for gate raids and negotiations on Yeouiju repair materials. I opened my inventory and pulled up the system window.
I'd sent a 1:1 message to Jermad sis about the Yeouiju repair setup I'd checked earlier, but she wasn't online. Guess she was out wandering after saying she'd head out.
Can't be helped. Yeouiju isn't super urgent.
[Tower Master: Repairman! Hey, you there! All the items you requested are fully set up! Open the trade window quick!]
Oh! Finally! Time for the fantasy world's items to flood in and shatter this apocalypse buildup.
I immediately set up a video conference room in the Multidimensional Secondhand Market and sent out invites.
🔔 🔔
With the familiar system chime, four big shots from the fantasy world appeared one by one as holograms: the Tower Master in his purple robes, the bald Royal Alchemist, the elegant Elf Elder of the World Tree Forest, and the saintly Lianeas radiating holy aura.
Dark circles hung under their eyes, but their faces were flushed like kids eyeing their dream toys.
"Long time no see, everyone. Looks like you're all perfectly prepped for the trade."
"Naturally! I wrung the tower's elite mages dry for three days and nights to meet your specs, Repairman."
The Tower Master cleared his throat and puffed out his chest proudly. The old alchemist nodded, not one to be outdone. "You'll be satisfied, Repairman."
"Great. Then, as promised, I'll show my items first."
I started pulling out the prepped inventory items.
"Here, this one's for you first, Tower Master."
I'd agonized over it. What was the best thing for the Tower Master? Razor? Vacuum? Blender? Nah. What he wanted was the basic principle of electricity powering things. The perfect teacher for that? This!!
I proudly held it up to the Tower Master. It was...
A kid's mini light bulb experiment kit for elementary students!
The Tower Master's eyes flickered with curiosity at the small box. "Wh-what is this?"
I explained, grinning. "Your world has lights, right?"
"Of course. Mana stone lamps are a dime a dozen."
But I smirked. "Can regular commoners use those?"
He stroked his beard. "Hmm... probably not. Mana stones aren't cheap."
"That's why I prepared this! With just this, you'll grasp the basics of electricity and batteries in no time."
The Ereinia continent, where magic was so advanced that electricity never took off. Magic's efficiency might make switching to electric infrastructure pointless. But what if electric and magic tech collided?
Something insanely cool I couldn't even imagine might emerge.
I fiddled with it, connecting the mini bulb. Finally, linking the batteries in series—and the moment the bulb lit up!!
Pop—
The little bulb emitted a small, brilliant glow.
"Th-this is..."
I might be a lit major, so I couldn't grasp the exact science—battery, filament, electromagnetic induction, etc. But a quick search showed how much you could learn from this kit alone.
The Tower Master would surely extract tons of the knowledge he craved from it.
"What do you think? Like it?"