Chapter 607
Chapter Title: The Sealed Palace of Tungkun
-----------------------------------------------------------------
607.
“Looks like everyone had a decent enough day.”
Celia, who had arrived first at the meeting point and was waiting for the group, muttered as she saw them returning.
Hearing her, Abad, who was sitting on a bench, grinned.
“And they seem a bit more relaxed than yesterday. Looks like our efforts paid off, huh?”
After all, the Jerdinger knights and the Llewellyn mages were of the same age, so they could become friends quickly if given a chance.
For Celia and Abad, who had been skeptical about how effective it would be, it was a surprise.
“Do you think those two are okay now?”
At Celia’s words, Abad’s expression clouded over slightly.
Niel and Machel.
The two people Celia and Abad trusted the most were their biggest concern.
“The only ones who haven't arrived are Chelsea and Leo… and Machel and Senior Niel?”
Just as Abad wore a puzzled expression, the four of them appeared in the distance.
“You’re late.”
Celia narrowed her eyes at Leo as he arrived before her.
“Sorry, sorry. Something came up this morning, and I was a bit out of it.”
“What happened?”
Leo glanced behind him.
Niel and Machel stood there, their heads turned away from each other.
“We stayed at the same inn last night. There was a bit of an accident.”
“Ugh? Did those two get into another huge fight?”
“They’ve made up, so don’t worry. They’ll get along from now on.”
“That’s a relief, but…”
Celia looked at the space between the two, which felt as if a cold wind were blowing through it.
“If anything, they seem even colder than yesterday?”
Celia tilted her head.
Leo glanced at the two.
‘Young Master Leo. Please, you must keep what happened today a secret from Lady Celia.’
‘How am I supposed to keep it a secret?’
‘Today’s incident was a mistake due to the alcohol. So…!’
‘For a mistake, it’s something that would require pretty good coordination.’
‘Young Master!’
Recalling his conversation with Niel, Leo chuckled.
‘Well, they kept saying how much they hated each other, but in the end, they couldn’t get over their lingering feelings. It means they’ll get close again in no time.’
Having decided to keep Niel and Machel’s matter a secret for the time being, Leo spoke.
“Looks like everyone’s here. Shall we get going, then?”
Before them stood the government building of Rettin.
Behind it, a grand palace was visible.
The royal palace of the former Tungkun Kingdom.
Decades ago.
When the kingdom fell to Tartaros’s invasion, the gates of Tungkun’s palace were also sealed shut.
“It’s sealed.”
Abad, who had come to Leo’s side, muttered softly as he looked up at the Tungkun palace.
“Judging by the power sealing the palace, it's definitely the power of a spirit.”
“But they used a magic formula to apply that power. I’ve read about it in books, but seeing it in person is incredible.”
Chelsea finished Abad’s thought, her voice filled with admiration.
Listening to the two of them, Leo commented.
“It certainly is a remarkable sight.”
Celia, who was listening to the three, tilted her head.
“Isn’t combining spirit arts with magic formulas Woreden’s specialty? Is that really so surprising?”
“It’s just because Woreden makes it look easy. That’s an incredible ability.”
“What?”
“Even for a Spirit Mage, a dual class that uses both magic and spirits, it's impossible to use magic purely with a spirit's power.”
“Don’t both magical power and spiritual power retain the properties of mana?”
“That’s right. Magical power, which is amplified mana, and spiritual power, which is resonated mana. Unlike Aura, which is processed within the body, both powers retain the properties of mana. So at first glance, it’s easy to think they’re similar, but amplification and resonance have distinctly different wavelengths.”
“So a spirit summoned through spirit arts resonates with the summoner’s spiritual power, which means the summoned spirit’s power can’t activate a magic formula? Because the wavelengths are different?”
“Correct.”
“Then what about Woreden?”
“Woreden amplifies the spiritual power that has already been resonated.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Like the top student she was, Celia instantly grasped how technically unstable Woreden’s ability was from Leo’s simple explanation.
“That’s what makes Woreden so amazing.”
The foundation of any ability is the power to awaken mana.
Depending on the user’s disposition, mana manifests as Aura, magical power, or spiritual power.
Occasionally, there are those who can awaken mana into another form, and they are known as dual classes.
But making an already awakened ability resemble another form is a problem on a whole different level.
It’s an ability that could cause a mana rampage if done incorrectly.
Celia once again marveled at Woreden’s talent, as he had been using it so casually since he had entered the academy.
“Is it an ability that’s impossible even for you?”
“It’s possible. And not just for me. There are others who have the ability to amplify spiritual power to match a magic formula, though they are rare. However, they can’t achieve the same efficiency as Woreden.”
It was an ability only Woreden could truly master.
Even Lisinas, the strongest summoner and one of the top mages Leo knew, would find it difficult to imitate Woreden’s spirit arts.
‘Well, he was a monster who contracted with a Great Spirit in his second year, after all.’
It was somewhat overshadowed by Leo’s contract with the Three Great Phantom Beasts, but unlike Leo, who had been reincarnated, Woreden had contracted with a Great Spirit purely through his own power.
‘If nothing else, if I hadn't been around, Woreden would have been the strongest in our year at the academy.’
“So? I get that activating a magic formula with a spirit’s power is difficult. Then what exactly is the sealing magic on that castle?”
“That’s a case where the spirit itself used a magic formula.”
“What?”
Celia wore a shocked expression.
“The Great Spirit of Fire, the Spirit of Purification, is famous among summoners and mages for using magic. Well, it’s a spirit that hasn’t shown itself to the world in a very long time, so those not interested in the field wouldn’t know.”
“A being on the level of a Great Spirit used magic?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“How should I know? That’s why it’s so fascinating.”
Spirits were fundamentally natural beings.
Their only interest lay in bringing harmony to the world.
And magic was a technique that twisted the laws of nature.
As such, spirits inherently had little interest in magic.
Crucially, magic was a power created by the races of the world to imitate the power of spirits.
Over long ages, magic had evolved beyond simply imitating spirits’ power.
But its foundation remained the same.
Therefore, most things that magic could do, spirits could also do.
That’s why spirits had no need to learn magic.
So, for a being on the level of a Great Spirit to have learned magic was nothing short of astonishing.
“Anyway, it’s still a hot topic of debate in magical academia. The question of whether spirits might have a talent for magic.”
“Experiments have been conducted, but most have failed.”
“Hmm. A talent for magic in spirits. That does sound interesting.”
As Abad, Chelsea, and Leo continued to talk about matters of magical academia, Celia, who had been watching, grabbed Leo’s arm and pulled him toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family. This way, the balance is right.”
Celia grumbled, apparently feeling left out of the magic conversation she couldn’t join.
Leo chuckled at her antics.
Watching them, Chelsea said.
“In any case, because of that magic, the Spirit of Purification was once renowned as the strongest Great Spirit. That’s why Tartaros invaded this place, the home of Ista, the Spirit of Purification, twice.”
After the first battle, the kingdom of Tungkun was founded, and after the second, Tungkun was destroyed.
Hearing Chelsea, Celia said.
“Once the strongest spirit, huh? The Great Spirit called the strongest now is the Great Spirit of Water, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Undine, the Spirit of the Deep Sea.”
Elsie, hearing Chelsea and Celia’s conversation, chimed in.
-The current Great Spirit of Water must have a very humble personality, right? For a Great Spirit to use the same name as a lesser spirit.
The Spirit of the Deep Sea was famous for using the same name as a lesser water spirit.
For a Great Spirit, who were fundamentally prideful, it was a highly unusual case.
-That’s because she’s a bundle of pretense.
Laruel, who was acquainted with the Spirit of the Deep Sea, spoke coldly.
-Hmm. Let’s see. The current Great Spirits are Ista, the Spirit of Purification of Fire; Sileton, the Spirit of the Blizzard of Wind; Titaum, the Spirit of Indestructibility of Earth; Undine, the Spirit of the Deep Sea of Water; Ignit, the Spirit of the Abyss of Darkness; and you, Miss Laruel, right?
-Yes. Ista has a foul temper, and Sileton has no manners. Undine is a phony, and Ignit is sinister. As for Titaum… well, he’s fairly dependable, I suppose. But he’s the most recently born Great Spirit, so we’ll have to see how he turns out.
-Isn’t your assessment of your fellow Great Spirits a bit harsh?
As Elsie gave a troubled smile, Laruel replied.
-It’s the truth. They are lowly rabble, far too unworthy of your attention, Lady Elsie.
Laruel held immense respect for the nobility of Elsie, who was like a venerable senior to her.
-But Ignit was a good spirit.
Elsie smiled gently, recalling her direct junior, Ignit, whom she had met before.
It was true that when they first met, Ignit disliked people.
But after speaking with Elsie, he had been staying at Lumerne, searching for a contractor.
Hearing Elsie’s words, Laruel looked at her with eyes full of reverence.
-Ah, as expected of Lady Elsie. To give such a generous evaluation to even that gloomy spirit.
-She puts up with a vicious-tempered spirit like you, doesn’t she? When you think about it, aren’t you the one with a foul temper, no manners, who’s a phony, and is sinister all at once?
Laruel began to choke Kiruan, who was just asking for a beating.
Leo watched the scene of his summons, visible only to him, and pondered seriously.
-What are you thinking so hard about?
‘I’m planning on making contracts with all the Great Spirits in the future.’
To perfectly use Lisinas’s power, he needed contracts with the Great Spirits.
‘But I’m wondering if it’s okay to add any more to this group.’
His summons were already noisy enough to give him a headache.
He was worried if he could handle it if their numbers grew.
-Leave that to me. I will lead them well.
Elsie smiled brightly.
Leo looked at her with a peculiar expression.
-Why is that?
‘Well, you never managed to get a single subordinate spirit 5,000 years ago.’
Elsie, who was born in a dying world, had never had a subordinate spirit.
‘So seeing you now, saying you’ll take charge of the Great Spirits, it’s just a nice sight.’
-Oh, come on. How could I possibly take charge of fellow Great Spirits?
Elsie laughed as if the idea was absurd.
Then, she turned toward the commotion caused by Laruel and Kiruan and said.
-Laruel. I’m thirsty.
-I shall gather the morning dew at once!
Laruel vanished in a flash of light.
-Hic… sob… Thank you. Thank you.
-Stop teasing Laruel so much. She falls for it every time.
Elsie patted the head of Kiruan, who was clinging to her, weeping.
-Me, ruling over the Great Spirits? That’s ridiculous.
As Elsie shook her head, Leo thought to himself.
‘Didn’t Laruel and Ignit already treat Elsie as if she were a superior spirit?’
Laruel, too, followed Elsie.
Elsie was someone who could already command the Great Spirits of Light and Darkness as if they were her own limbs.
‘And she commands the Three Great Phantom Beasts, too.’
There had never been a spirit like her in history.
‘Well, as long as Elsie’s here, it probably won’t be a big problem, right?’
Among Leo’s contractors, the one with the real power was, without a doubt, Elsie.