Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Spirit
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[The <Spirit's Egg> has hatched.]
The egg, which had been shaking and cracking with sharp sounds, shattered completely, emitting a brilliant light. At that moment, I recalled a conversation I'd had with an old scholar somewhere in the Trials region.
"We think all spirits are the same, but they're not. Spirits are divided into two types: those born in the Spirit Realm and those born elsewhere."
The light began to fade gradually. The fragments of the broken egg scattered into the air, and at its center, a small being started to take form, curled up.
"And they feel more affinity for the place where they were born and stay there. They adapt into a form better suited to living in that place."
"The Spirit Realm has plenty of energy, but outside it doesn't. So it's like building an internal system to sustain their own energy."
The light pouring out now and the way it writhed, trying to shape itself, might just be that process.
"Truth be told, spirits are mysterious beings, so even I can't say for sure exactly what they are. But one thing is certain: most spirits we encounter outside the Spirit Realm were born outside it. That's why they can be more powerful, more worldly at times. They often lack optimism or curiosity."
In short, it meant they were prone to corruption, but since most such spirits had lived for thousands of years, there was no need to worry that my spirit would turn out that way right away.
I gazed at the now-fading light and the fully formed being within it.
[You have obtained the <Wind Spirit>.]
[You have formed a contract with the <Wind Spirit>. The contract will persist until one of you perishes.]
A spirit awakened by someone's mana rather than the vital energy of nature would follow that person as its master for life.
I murmured softly as I looked at the notification flickering before my eyes.
"A Wind Spirit, huh."
The most unremarkable one. Depending on the situation, water, earth, or fire would be great—even darkness.
In extreme Trial regions like ocean depths, underground tunnels, hells, or demon realms, a spirit that could freely manipulate the dominant element there would be like having an overwhelmingly powerful ally.
Wind was a bit ambiguous, but on the flip side, that made it reliably versatile.
I used [Full Appraisal] on the spirit.
Impressive stats for something just born.
It was the effect of [Arsena's Blessing] granting +30 to all stats.
Having formed a contract upon hatching classified it as my pet.
For reference, Lang-i still wasn't classified as my pet, so it wasn't receiving the benefits of [Arsena's Blessing].
'As a spirit, its Intelligence is ridiculously high.'
An initial 50? It was hard to believe even seeing it with my own eyes. But more than anything, one detail caught my attention.
[Trait: Variant]
"There's also a crucial difference between those born in the Spirit Realm and those born outside. Spirits from the Spirit Realm all evolve in the same direction, but those born outside develop more specialized, distinct personalities as they grow."
One might start as a water spirit but end up completely different when fully grown.
Lake spirit, mist spirit, wave spirit, and so on.
That's why spirits born outside the Spirit Realm are called 'variants.'
That was what the system meant by variant.
「?」
The spirit tilted its head at my frank stare. Its curious eyes fixed on me before it suddenly rushed over and started tugging at my hair wildly.
It even gnawed at my head with its teeth, crunch crunch. Acting like this right after birth made me a little uneasy.
'Anyway, I finally have a spirit.'
Contracting a spirit without a spirit-related Unique Ability is extremely difficult. It essentially means gaining another Unique Ability.
Spiritists have to expend mana to keep spirits anchored to this world, but spirits born outside the Spirit Realm can replenish their own mana.
That's how their bodies are structured from birth.
'That's why contracting via an egg is better than being a spiritist.'
Especially since they stay by your side constantly, surprise attacks while sleeping become almost impossible.
They don't sleep and are quite strong.
They can handle a sudden spell or two on their own easily. Physical attacks? They can block those repeatedly.
Poke poke.
I sighed at the baby spirit's cheeky antics as it bit and pulled my hair, then looked around.
'Let's see what the others got.'
"What'd you get, sis?"
"Ah, mine's wind."
"Me too!"
"Same here."
"What about you, Dickhead?"
...So they all got wind spirits, huh.
'That's weird. Why all wind? Just bad gacha luck?'
As I thought that, I remembered the old scholar studying spirits bursting into hearty laughter as he expounded his theory.
"The Spirit Realm periodically opens rifts in space-time, flinging eggs across dimensions. At that moment, the eggs have no attributes. They get influenced by the surrounding environment when they hatch. It's a struggle for survival, like any other creature."
In other words, this place had light and wind.
And wind was blowing refreshingly. That must have been the influence.
If we'd infused mana in water, it'd be a water spirit; in fire, a fire spirit.
Of course, it was just a theory, but it seemed plausible enough.
'All Wind Spirits...'
I looked at the tiny spirit lump before me with a hint of regret.
It resembled a slime, sky-blue in color, greedily thrashing about as it bit my hair like an enemy.
At least the spirits buzzing around the others seemed docile.
'Well, maybe it's for the best.'
Wind Spirits are useful. I decided to try a trick I'd seen players with wind spirits use.
At my command, it vanished in a whoosh, popped up in front of the Saintess, and opened its mouth to speak.
「Does Ha-na like the spirit?」
"Huh?"
The Saintess's eyes widened as she stared at my spirit. It zipped through the air as if its job was done and returned to me.
"Did Min-jun do that?"
Not just the Saintess—everyone turned to me in surprise.
"Yes."
Wind Spirits can freely manipulate air even as tiny babies, allowing them to carry and perfectly mimic human voices.
"Hey, how'd you do that? Teach me!"
"Oppa, me too!"
The party members rushed over, clamoring to learn.
No sooner had they picked it up than they spread out in pairs, chatting via their spirits.
'For reference, spirits can freely traverse dimensions, making them perfect for relaying messages.'
In that sense, the summoner's letter envelope might be a variant of spirits. They vanish and reappear just like them.
And their personalities vary wildly, don't they?
'Now, two spirit eggs left.'
I pondered where to use them, then spotted the harpy standing blankly beside the Saintess, sucking her thumb with envious eyes, and called out.
"Lang-i."
「Kyaaang?」
"Here, infuse this with mana too."
Lang-i took the spirit egg and stared at it blankly before opening her mouth wide. Shin Seo-yeon shot over like lightning and smacked the back of her head.
"Are you crazy? Can't you tell edible from inedible?!"
「Kyaang...」
"Just infuse the mana."
Lang-i might act dumb around others, but she got smart fast around Shin Seo-yeon.
Sure enough, she understood instantly and infused mana into the egg.
A Wind Spirit awakened in response.
「Kya, kyaaang?!」
Lang-i stared at it in wonder, then—chomp!—shoved it in her mouth.
"Are you insane? Spit it out right now!"
But it was fine now. A spirit couldn't be eaten just by swallowing it like a harpy might.
The spirit sliced through space, escaping her mouth and stirring up wind.
「!!」
Intrigued, Lang-i started whipping up wind and chasing after it.
「Kyaaang! Kyaaang!」
She looked like a kid pursuing a butterfly, but the contract had succeeded anyway.
'Whew, now I won't have to worry about the shelter when we head to the Trials region.'
I could communicate with Lang-i anytime. Language was an issue, but that could be solved gradually.
'One egg left, then.'
I actually had a use for this last one, so I'd kept it safely in my inventory without pulling it out.
"Alright, with Lang-i contracted too, time to handle the final loose end."
I turned around to see Inope, who had come to her senses, curiously eyeing us and the surroundings. Our eyes met, and she flinched.
Rustle rustle. She straightened her posture and knelt politely before me.
"P-Please forgive me! I was wrong, Master!"
Then Inope prostrated herself flat.
Her sanity restored, Inope was begging forgiveness with a naked dogeza.