Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Something Strange
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Around me was a swarm of spirits filling the entire radius. Was it right to say I was looking around using crows from the sky? Either way, that was all I could see.
The writhing lights had spotted us and were gathering.
It seemed they had truly gone berserk like on day two. This was way beyond just chasing away intruders. They were using magic dead set on killing us.
What could be the reason?
I wanted to know, but there was no time to think. Magic kept pouring from the spirits' mouths.
Red lights spat fire, blue ones water. They surged toward us relentlessly. The intensity had long surpassed anything playful.
"Are those really spirits?"
"They seem like real spirits? I wandered around all day yesterday and didn't see monsters like that."
They were real spirits. No way they were fakes. I immediately turned around.
"Let's run."
"This is Lee Seong-hoon, huh."
Quiet. This wasn't my goal. I had planned to find the ancient spirit before it rampaged, talk to it, and ambush if that failed.
But what was this? Why was it berserk already? What about my plan? This way, I couldn't do anything.
A rampaging ancient spirit attacked anything that moved, front or back.
Yes. Operation failed. Let's leave this to Kim Tae-hyun.
"No way. You're saying run after seeing this? It might attack the others too."
I shook my head at Sophia's incredulous question.
"Sophia."
"Yeah?"
"People have set roles."
I ignored her look screaming, What the hell does that mean? and continued.
"For example, farming is the farmer's role. Catching fish is the fisherman's."
"Seong-hoon, are you pulling out that invincible logic?!"
Yes. That one. You've grown to recognize it, Raphael.
"And dealing with that rampaging spirit? That's the role of Justitia's teachers. Mine? Escape without a scratch. Growing unscathed. Isn't that the student's role?"
My speech ended. Raphael beside me wailed and clapped. Shouting things like, That's right a hundred, a thousand times over!!
Isia and Sophia gave me disgusted looks, but would that make me back down?
No way. I chose to run just like that.
I turned and bolted without looking back─ but stopped. Because of Raphael's voice.
"Seong-hoon. There's something weird here?"
Something weird? I turned at that ominous word.
Raphael was looking down. At her feet was something like a wooden talisman. I didn't know what it was, but it felt extremely ominous.
"Don't─"
I tried to say stop. But it was too late. Raphael picked it up.
At the same time, the ground under my feet vanished. Stairs appeared, and a floating sensation enveloped me.
"Huh? Seong-hoon?!"
"Lee Seong-hoon─!!"
With their voices, my vision went dark. Meaning...
The entrance we came through closed. And wouldn't open again.
I stared blankly at where we'd come from.
"Lachesis."
"This looks like a one-time door, right?"
This is driving me crazy.
"We're screwed."
"Yeah."
Completely screwed. In the dark cave path, I walked with Levatein in hand, its flames illuminating the darkness.
The door not reopening right away meant it was probably one-use or had other conditions.
Now I was trapped with no escape. To get out, I'd have to go through the front, which meant facing the spirits for sure.
"Nothing goes my way."
Spirits berserk from day two, forced into here when I tried to run, separated from the maid I brought to fight in my place.
This was too sad. What now?
"What fate? I'll smash that fate to pieces."
That line was pretty cool, right? Like a shonen manga protagonist. I've always wanted to say something like that.
It's cool.
Add nya. That hurts.
I answered Levatein's barrage of questions in detail as I walked. Following Lachesis's guidance, toward the exit.
This was the spirit's lair I had originally planned to enter.
The ancient spirit's home, where other spirits drawn to it stayed and played.
Even people with near-zero spirit affinity could sense spirits here, it was so full of them.
Now it was no different from a dungeon. Rampaging spirits were just like monsters.
If anything differed, it was that no blood splattered when killed. And they weren't truly dead.
What that meant─
Blue windows covered my view, interrupting my thoughts. At the same time, the pendant thrummed, pointing a direction.
Looking that way, a green light rippled.
No eyes visible, but it felt like it was watching me.
I gave an awkward smile and raised my arm. Not wanting to fight, I just waved.
"Uh, hi?"
Can we talk this out? Spirits are intelligent beings─
「Grooooar!!」
Nope. Not happening. I swallowed the sharp wind blades flying like a greeting with Spell Eater.
I ignored the rising blue windows. Assumed a stance and charged. While running, I opened Inventory and equipped Death Reaper and Reaper's Robe.
Having lost its reason and rampaging, it kept casting even after seeing its magic absorbed by Spell Eater.
If you're dumb, thank you. I absorbed all the magic and ran. I slashed what Mana Eye showed as flows.
In the human realm, spirits' bodies were made of mana. They operated using bodies constructed from ambient mana. That's what spirits were.
Meaning they wandered the human realm in bodies, not their true forms.
Slash─!!
With a crisp sound, the slashed spirit scattered like sand grains. Without hesitation, I headed back the way I came.
I kill monsters or vampires without hesitation too, but these especially so.
Killing them just sent them back to the spirit realm. Truly killing them meant going to the spirit realm personally, which was a hassle.
In a way, were they truly immortal?
"Yeah."
"No. They're hiding their true forms instinctively because they're rampaging."
Ah. I realized I'd slipped up. Cold sweat formed, and sure enough, Levatein spoke.
Answer and it'd spawn more questions. I endured the infinite "why?" hell, answering as I walked.
Wasn't this the pain of parenting? Lately, it felt like only I was burdened.
"I'll die if I go back."
"That many?!"
Ah. I really want to cry. This time there were more, so I had Levatein morph into Death Reaper.
This should suffice, but just in case, besides the crow on my shoulder, I pulled another from Inventory to fly overhead.
Lachesis seemed displeased, but not my problem.
Rune in one hand, scythe in the other. Black animals on both shoulders.
I walked through the cave.
"Isn't this a struggle for survival?"
Won't even let me pose.
"Got it. I know. Stop."
Shin Chae-yeon frowned as she heard her contracted water spirit's voice.
No way to turn this around came to mind. What to do?
She'd had no real thoughts. The cave her spirit guided her to, promising to boost her spirit affinity. She'd entered without thinking.
Just meditate a bit here, she'd thought. But what was this?
Spirits at the entrance had welcomed her smiling, but deeper in, they turned hostile.
Countless spirits of various forms turned to light particles and unleashed magic.
"What now."
No answer. It all went wrong after meeting that giant spirit. It stared silently for a while, then suddenly attacked.
The pressure was no joke. Even just that giant was tough, but swarms of rampaging spirits fired magic too.
The sister she'd come with had no spirit resistance and fainted from the pressure the giant scattered in its rampage.
It's because of me.
But she couldn't abandon her to fight. If she hadn't suggested coming in, no danger─
Actually, enduring this long was a miracle. Old Shin Chae-yeon would've fallen immediately, but not now.
She was growing stronger by the second. Adapting to this high spirit mana density, strengthening to hold on.
The giant behind staying still helped a lot too.
But it wouldn't last. The mana enchanted on her sword was running low, stamina failing.
If only one more person...
Just one helper and she could've escaped─
Then, voices echoed from the cave's far side.
Not the entrance she'd used. The complete opposite. Behind the giant spirit.
─So many. Feels like I've got ten already.
─When we get back, you're done, Raphael. For real.
─More below? No, I asked for the exit!!
─If there's no other way, say that first!!
Loud voices reverberated through the cave. The spirits attacking Shin Chae-yeon all turned back.
And descending from the entrance─
Was a black-haired boy.
Black robe draped over him, flaming scythe in hand, crow on his shoulder. He froze upon descending.
His irritated face stiffened instantly, confident stride halting.
And his words:
"Uh.... Hi? Pretend you didn't see me? I'll just pass through!"
Haha. He smiled awkwardly, and naturally, magic poured down.
"As expected, no dice─!!"
Is that guy really an idiot?
Shin Chae-yeon thought seriously.