Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Nor's Shelter (3)
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Shirone’s prediction was spot on. The merchant went a step further, even deducing that they hadn’t been in Purgatory for very long.
“Hmm, I could negotiate, but I doubt you’d be able to buy it. Spirits are extremely hard to come by, even in Purgatory. I intend to take this to the mainland; I’m just stopping by the shelter for a bit.”
Shirone had expected it to be valuable, but the merchant’s refusal to even bargain sent a jolt of fear through him.
Could they buy it with three White Elixirs? If he confidently made an offer only to fall short, Amy’s disappointment would be even greater.
Realizing he needed a baseline for judgment, Shirone set aside haggling and posed a question.
“I heard you can make a contract with a spirit. Is that possible with this one?”
“A contract? Ah, yes, a contract. Of course, it’s possible. But what would you do with a fire spirit contract?”
“If you contract a fire spirit, you can use fire magic, can’t you?”
“That’s true, but… people don’t usually waste a precious spirit on a contract. Do you know how much easier life becomes when a spirit is in a town? That’s why towns usually pool their elixirs to acquire one. The people on the outskirts of the community, they live in such harsh lands and are overflowing with elixirs, so they might buy one for a contract, but aren’t those the kind of people who live with their lives on the line? I don’t get the sense you live that kind of life.”
“Um, but in any case, a contract is possible, right?”
When Shirone asked again, the merchant nodded as if he had no choice.
This was, in fact, a common reaction on the mainland. All sorts of riffraff without the ability to pay would voice their opinions, and among them, teams would sometimes infiltrate to drive down the value of goods.
If people from the outskirts of the community participated, the auction would end there, but they rarely showed interest unless it was a special kind of spirit. Most of the time, it was a blood-curdling battle of wits in an atmosphere as tense as walking on thin ice.
Amy fidgeted with her fingers. She was an expert at haggling, but right now, she couldn’t say a word.
If gold coins were the currency here, she would have emptied her savings to buy it. But this was Purgatory, where only things directly tied to survival held value.
In this situation, she didn’t want to reveal her desire and put Shirone in a difficult position.
Shirone already knew. For a mage, the advancement of one’s magical power could be called their entire life, so he wanted to get it for her if he could.
Sensing the moment of truth had arrived, Shirone asked again.
“So, how many elixirs would it take to buy the spirit?”
The merchant let out an amused scoff. But seeing Shirone staring at him, waiting for an answer, he adopted a serious expression and began to think.
“Hmm, if you were to buy it here, it would be at least…”
Shirone’s heart pounded. Whatever price he named, he just hoped he could afford it with the elixirs he had.
As expected, the price was considerable, and even the merchant was cautious. He hesitated before continuing.
“White Elixirs…”
Disappointment flickered in Shirone and Amy’s eyes. The fact that the unit of currency was ‘White’ Elixirs significantly lowered their chances.
Having finished his calculations, the merchant looked up and stated the price.
“I’d have to get about one.”
“What? One?”
Shirone doubted his own hearing, which had never once betrayed him before.
If it was one, they could afford it.
Realizing the same thing, Amy’s knees began to tremble with anxiety, as if someone might snatch it away at any moment.
Shirone considered his options. At first, he had just hoped they could afford it, but a mage was one to let go of past thoughts without lingering attachment.
But the moment he looked back at Amy, he couldn't help but smile. Biting her lower lip, she spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“I want it.”
As the only daughter of the Carmis family, Amy had grown up in such abundance that she had never known materialism. But when it came to magic, she was just another mage.
The merchant interpreted Amy’s “I want it” as a sigh of resignation. Since even merchants on the mainland rarely handled White Elixirs, it was only natural for newcomers to Purgatory to feel despair.
Thinking of his own daughter, he tried to console Amy.
“White Elixirs are hard to come by. To be honest, this is a big discount. A lot of troublesome things happen on the mainland. It’s dangerous, too. This is the conclusion I reached, assuming I could sell it off at Nor’s Shelter and go home. You were serious, so I calculated it properly. Don’t be too disheartened. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find a fire spirit someday.”
“I’ll buy it.”
“Huh?”
“I said, I’ll buy it.”
As Shirone reached into his inner pocket, the merchant blinked foolishly. It was clearly a prank to mock him, but he couldn’t decide whether to get angry or just laugh it off.
But when he saw three elixirs rolling in Shirone’s hand, he was so startled he fell right off his chair.
The iridescent spectrum alone was proof that they were White Elixirs.
“Here. I can take it now, right?”
The merchant could only nod, speechless. Shirone placed a White Elixir directly into his hand.
At the same instant, Amy pulled the spirit prison into her arms.
She felt a gentle warmth.
The warmth of fire.
This was Amy’s life.
“Hey, are you alright? Isn’t it hot?”
The merchant, having confirmed the elixir was real, regained his senses and asked.
A fire spirit was different from an inanimate object in that it was active, but until a contract was formed, it was still fire. Grabbing the heated iron cage should have resulted in a burn.
“Hm? No. It’s just warm.”
“That’s strange. Can I take another look? My conscience is bothering me. It might be defective.”
“No, it’s fine. This is definitely a fire spirit.”
Amy gazed lovingly at the fire spirit bouncing in the air. Then, using her mental channel, she spoke to Shirone.
-Shirone, it’s a Spirit Zone.
-A Spirit Zone?
-Yeah. This is amazing. It’s real fire, but it’s also connected to the mind. I’m getting a constant feeling from it even now.
A mage is not burned by the fire they create. It is real fire, but its creator is the mage.
According to Amy, it seemed the spirit also possessed a fixed Spirit Zone. It had become a sort of spiritual sublimation.
“By the way, you two, how did you get a White Elixir?”
“It came from a Vortex Serpent.”
“A Vortex Serpent? Don’t tell me you destroyed the Law of the Valley?”
“It just sort of happened that way.”
If they were mages powerful enough to defeat a Vortex Serpent, it wasn’t strange for them to possess a White Elixir.
While not common, such individuals certainly existed in Purgatory. Merchants referred to them as borderlanders, or people from the outskirts of the community.
“So how do I make the contract?”
“Ah, I’m not sure, but I’ve seen a borderlander do it once. They held the spirit in their hand, muttered something, and it just disappeared on its own.”
Since spirits lacked reason, it was unlikely to be activated by a keyword. That left incantation magic.
Speak and reflect. Resonating with the fire was crucial.
Amy took the key from the merchant and opened the iron cage. Then, cupping the spirit in both hands, she recited an incantation she came up with on the spot.
“O spirit of fire, dwell within me.”
As the fire spirit seeped into Amy, she felt a hot energy in her stomach.
Contracting a spirit was akin to realizing a new axiom. Separate from Ignite, the axiom of ignition, she could now axiomize a new kind of fire.
When Amy summoned the spirit, a ball of fire rose up and circled around her. Watching it with a satisfied smile, she recalled the name of a mythical flame from ancient times.
Jack-o'-lantern.
This phenomenon, also known as will-o'-the-wisp, had vanished into the pages of myth, never verified despite the hypotheses of countless scholars.
But not anymore. The Jack-o'-lantern had existed as ancient magic in the nation called Heaven.
The fire spirit was strategically useful.
First, the fact that it could be activated independently of Ignite was a plus. Not only could it be moved along any desired trajectory, but it could also split into multiple illusions.
Homing functions, deception, multi-shot attacks—a ceaseless stream of strategies came to mind.
Amy noticed Shirone’s gaze and dispelled the spirit.
She knew she should say thank you, but the words wouldn’t come out. She felt it would only make things awkward.
This was different from receiving an expensive gift. Perhaps what she had received was a piece of Shirone’s heart.
Shirone smiled. Then, as if he knew she wouldn’t say anything, he turned and walked away.
Only then did regret begin to set in for Amy. Why hadn’t she said anything? Did he know how she felt? Or was there no special meaning behind the gift in the first place?
Shirone had a sincere personality, but sometimes, like now, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
Shirone carefully looked over the other goods for sale.
Watching Amy contract the fire spirit, he realized that the idea of finding things to take back to their original world was naive.
Heaven was a place so dangerous it straddled the line between life and death. If they were to reinforce themselves, they needed things that would immediately boost their combat power. If such items existed, buying them, no matter the cost, was the way to increase their chances of survival.
Nor’s Shelter was primarily a place for heretics from the community, so most of the goods for sale were daily necessities.
Of course, that wasn’t to say there were no merchants with special items. They were just so expensive that they weren’t displayed in the market.
When a man realized Shirone was carrying White Elixirs, he slyly placed an item on his stall.
Tess ran over and pointed at the item the merchant had put out.
“Oh! Isn’t this that thing?”
It was a beetle-shaped mechanical device.
A drone made with the technology of the Mecha Tribe.
Clove rushed over to explain, all the more eager now that he realized Shirone was a big spender.
In addition to the reconnaissance and language decoding functions he already knew of, it also had radio communication, a map display, and other features.
“How about it? Care to trade for a White Elixir? As you all know, a drone isn’t something you can buy just because you have elixirs. It’s exclusive equipment for the Citizens.”
Shirone was also positive about this item. He had witnessed the drone’s reconnaissance capabilities through Kanya. It would be an excellent piece of support equipment for Tess.
Just then, Arin conveyed that he could probably haggle for a lower price. She had sensed from the merchant's aura that he was overstating its value.
But the fact that the price was low was what made him suspicious.
If the fire spirit was a product, the drone was a limited-edition item. If it was a leaked item from the Citizens, shouldn’t the seller be able to name any price he wanted?
-Arin, don’t you think there might be something wrong with it? Otherwise…
-I had the same thought, but I’m not sure. In any case, he’s definitely asking for more than it’s worth. The rest is up to you to figure out.
Tess couldn't take her eyes off the drone. As someone obsessed with ancient relics, she would undoubtedly take it, flawed or not, if he bought it for her.
Shirone asked on her behalf.
“How did you get this? I heard it’s personally issued only to the Mecha Tribe.”
“Of course. But the Mecha Tribe has its heretics, too. He probably stole it before fleeing to Purgatory. Selling just one would be enough to live on comfortably. As proof, look here. See the band connecting the drone’s edges? This proves it’s never been used. In other words, it came straight from the factory. The original owner probably worked at a Mecha Tribe tech facility.”
“Where is that person now?”
“Who knows. Could have escaped, could be dead. Probably dead. That’s how most items from Heaven end up on the market. They steal something from Heaven to earn elixirs, then die in Purgatory, leaving only the item behind.”