Chapter 662
Chapter Title: Giganto
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At Artian's words, Leo looked bewildered.
“A heroic spirit?”
“Yes. Does anyone come to mind?”
A heroic spirit.
It referred to a hero who died long ago, summoned by a Spiritmancer.
But a heroic spirit is not a soul.
To be precise, it's a fragment of memory left in mana.
Mana is the power that flows through nature.
And the stronger a being's power and will were in life, the deeper the trace they can leave on the mana.
Spiritmancy was like accessing the memories of a hero's life, etched into that mana.
And among those heroes, the ones with strong lingering attachments to the mortal world are summoned as heroic spirits.
*'That's how Luna was able to come to this world, too.'*
However, the reason Luna could appear in this world as a heroic spirit was because of a catalyst called Cometes.
*'No matter how great a being is, after 5,000 years, their presence left in the mana is bound to fade.'*
Reacting to the reward for conquering the World of Heroes and Leo's spiritual power, the being known as Luna appeared in this world as a heroic spirit.
In that case...
*'Lisinas could also appear as a heroic spirit.'*
Previously, after conquering Lisinas's world, Leo had inherited his mana.
*'I met the spirit of Lisinas back then.'*
In the final moments, as Lisinas's world was fading away.
The fool from within the World of Heroes met the King of Wisdom, who faintly resided within Leo's mana.
And he had stood before Leo, having inherited the memories of his future self.
If Lisinas's mana left a trace on Leo's mana at that time.
*'It wouldn't be strange for Lisinas's spirit to linger around me.'*
Besides...
*'Chelsea said she got angry when she heard someone say the Lisinas she met in the Nightmare was ugly.'*
He had suspected the presence of Lisinas, who might have been attached to him since then.
But now, after hearing what Artian said, he was certain.
*'Lisinas is residing in the mana I inherited from him, as a heroic spirit.'*
Clenching his fist, Leo looked at Artian.
“I have someone in mind.”
“I knew it.”
“Is it possible for you to summon that spirit?”
Artian was an incredibly skilled Spiritmancer.
He thought that if she could sense the spirit's presence, she should be able to summon it.
At Leo's question, Artian shook her head with a troubled expression.
“It would be difficult.”
“Why?”
“If it were a spirit residing in your original power, Student Leo, I could summon it, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The presence of the spirit I feel around you is extremely faint.”
“Faint?”
“Yes. It's as if it's not a spirit residing in you. When a presence is this faint, it's often a spirit attached to a reward from conquering a World of Heroes, not your own mana.”
“A spirit attached to my conquest reward?”
“Yes. But that's what's strange. The feeling is similar to a spirit obtained through succession, yet the target of this spirit's emotions is clearly you, Student Leo. Hmm.”
Tilting her head in thought, Artian clapped her hands.
“Ah. By any chance, is Spiritmancy among the heroic powers you've inherited, Student Leo?”
Leo was surprised by her words.
*'She can deduce even that?'*
“I think it's a spirit that manifested when you obtained the power of Spiritmancy. I didn't sense any trace of a spirit from you during your first year.”
At that, Leo stared intently at Artian.
Spiritmancers are extremely rare.
But not so rare that you'd never see one.
After becoming the student council president of Lumerne, Leo had met a few Spiritmancers.
But none of them had sensed the spirit attached to him like Artian had.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Professor Artian, you're a genius too.”
“Pardon?”
Artian was baffled by the sudden comment.
“It seems I'll have to be the one to summon him.”
“Yes. But it will be very difficult. It's true that a spirit is residing with you, Student Leo, but it's not in an awakened state. An unawakened spirit is dormant. Besides...”
“Besides?”
“Unless you're a born Spiritmancer, it's extremely difficult to handle the ability, even if you've acquired it.”
At that, Leo stared intently at Artian.
“Professor.”
“Yes.”
“Can you teach me Spiritmancy?”
“To you, Student Leo?”
Artian tilted her head, then spoke.
“It's not difficult, but if you're a novice at Spiritmancy, you'll have to learn late at night. The spiritual energy grows stronger at night.”
“That's a relief. Since I'm the student council president.”
“Pardon?”
Artian, who had looked puzzled, broke into a bright smile.
“Ah! You have a private room, Student Leo.”
Artian clapped her hands.
“Huhu, it won't be a problem if I visit your dorm room every night, then.”
“You seem enthusiastic.”
“Of course. It was you, Student Leo, of all people, who requested private tutoring from me, wasn't it?”
Artian's eyes widened slightly.
“As a professor, it's a great fortune to be able to teach a student like you.”
“Then I'll be in your care.”
“You can count on me.”
Tapping her chest lightly with her fist, Artian wore a determined expression.
“I'll teach you everything I know, Student Leo.”
***
The next morning.
“Why can't I go? Is it because I'm not good enough?”
Shasha asked Leo, on the verge of tears.
“It's not because you and the others lack skill. It's just that those three are specialized for this mission.”
“That's right, Shasha. Don't be so discouraged.”
Chelsea also comforted Shasha.
“But Senior Chelsea is the only pure mage... Don't you think I'm qualified to join?”
As Juen spoke with a resentful expression, Karl pointed a finger at Duran and Eliza.
“They may be from the knight and summoner departments, but the prince and Eliza are walking super bombs. Not just in terms of personality, but skill-wise too.”
“There's no need to express your death wish in such a way, is there? Karl Thomas?”
“What did you say about my personality?”
“Gah!”
Duran asked with a cold smile, while Eliza furiously choked Karl with her whip.
“Still, it's frustrating.”
Juen said, clenching his fists. Karl, having barely escaped, rubbed his neck and spoke.
“Well, every mission has its own specific requi—”
“Hmph. It's quite a burden to receive the seniors' expectations.”
“Was that your personality? Little Prince.”
Seeing Habiden approach with a smile, Karl let out a light sigh.
Habiden had been Duran's mentee during his first year, which was why Karl called him 'Little Prince'.
Besides, like Duran, he was also the heir to a nation.
“Don't be ridiculous, Habiden. You were only chosen because you specialize in mobility!”
“The jealousy of those left behind is unsightly.”
At those words, a vein popped on Juen's forehead as he grabbed Karl and shook him violently.
“Senior Karl! Please tell Senior Leo! I don't care if he has to tie me up and drag me along like luggage, just ask him to take me too!”
“That won't work, Juen. Luggage is even more useless.”
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
“Aina. You shouldn't tease Juen.”
“...? I wasn't teasing. I was just stating a fact.”
At Luke's scolding, Aina's eyes widened.
If he couldn't join in peak condition, he certainly shouldn't join as useless as luggage.
That was what Aina had wanted to say, but her inability to read the room served as a perfect provocation for Juen.
“Hmph. Luggage, you say. How fitting.”
“You're dead!”
As Habiden teased him, Juen charged forward, brandishing a pickaxe.
“Alright, alright. That's enough, you two.”
Karl grabbed Juen from behind by his armpits and lifted him up.
Juen flailed wildly, his feet dangling in the air.
“Senior! Let me go! I'll prove I'm more necessary by smashing that guy's head with this pickaxe!”
“Now, now. Stop it. I'll give you some candy.”
“I'm not a child!”
“Habiden. You stop teasing him too.”
“Yes, sir.”
At Karl's instruction, Habiden answered politely and backed away.
Habiden, who had come from one of the three great academies before enrolling, had visited Lumerne before his admission.
At first, he had looked down on Karl for being a commoner, but after seeing him fight back then, he had changed his mind.
Ever since enrolling, Habiden had treated Karl with the utmost respect.
Looking at Juen, who had popped the candy he'd received into his mouth, Karl spoke.
“Don't be so impatient. I'll say it again, it's not because you lack skill. Same goes for you, Shasha.”
“...Yes.”
“I understand.”
Watching Karl return after calming down the juniors, Eliza said nonchalantly.
“The juniors really listen to you, regardless of their department.”
“Hmph. Must be because I'm so popular, right?”
“You certainly are popular among the juniors.”
“Huh?”
Karl was taken aback by Eliza's agreement.
If it had been Eliza, calming the juniors would have been much easier.
She could just suppress them with her charisma.
But Karl had literally just soothed and calmed them down.
“Well, it's the perfect method for a softy like you.”
“Thank goodness.”
“...? For what?”
“You were complimenting me for once. I thought you were sick or something.”
*Fwip—!*
“Leo! Help me!”
Seeing Eliza pull her whip taut, Karl quickly fled to Leo.
Driana watched the scene from a distance, stroking her chin.
“What are you staring at now?”
“I was just thinking I could find an excellent model in this party.”
“You'll never find one.”
Ar gave her a pathetic look.
Confirming that everyone was ready, Leo spoke.
“Alright, let's move out.”
*
Having entered the domain of Tartaros, Leo's group began to move in earnest.
The entrance to Tartaros's domain was similar to a contested border.
Though it was clearly Tartaros's territory, it was a place where the world constantly fought to reclaim it.
While there had been no recent armed conflicts with Tartaros on the eastern front, Demian and Shan, the greatest powers in the eastern continent, consistently subjugated the demons, monsters, and magical beasts in the surrounding area.
In other words, the entrance area had relatively few enemies.
“There were countless Gigantes in the area we scouted, but that was a special case.”
“A special case?”
“Yeah. A high-density area.”
Leo said, recalling the battle from two days ago.
“If the entire domain of Tartaros had that many monsters, this world would have been destroyed long ago.”
Hearing Leo's words, Artian nodded.
“Student Leo is right. Even deep within Tartaros, you don't always encounter that many monsters and demons. There must be a special reason. For instance, the entrance to a Hero's Dungeon could be nearby.”
“So you're saying we have to go back there.”
“That's right.”
Leo nodded.
At that, the group moved forward with tense expressions.
They already had a firm grasp of the surrounding terrain and situation, so the group moved very quickly.
A short while later.
Arriving at the area where the Gigantes had appeared, Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Huh? What? Where did all those Gigantes go?”
Iliana looked bewildered.
The immense number of Gigantes they had confirmed earlier were nowhere to be seen.
Artian checked the map and said.
“Originally, this area was supposed to be a safe zone, with no monsters or magical beasts to be found.”
But now, with the clear anomaly of a Hero's Dungeon appearing, it was undoubtedly a danger zone.
Eliza and Karl, who had been scouting from the sky, returned to the ground.
“It looks like the Gigantes made a large-scale move.”
“A large-scale move?”
“Yeah. We can see tracks from their movement.”
If the gigantic monsters known as Gigantes had moved en masse, they would have certainly left traces behind.
“First, we should follow the tracks—”
*Ruuuuuumble—!*
The surrounding area began to shake.
At the sudden development, everyone assumed a defensive stance.
*Craaaack—! Kra-koom—!*
Presently, a massive arm shot up from the ground in front of Leo.
“Groooooooar!”
“What is that monster?!”
Karl cried out in alarm, staring at the demon that had burst from the earth.
Watching the massive demon exuding an extraordinary dark magic, Leo muttered.
“Giganto.”
“Leo, you know this demon?!”
“He was the right hand of the Giant King, Gias. A great demon.”
Leo clenched and unclenched his fists.
“This is interesting.”
“What is?”
Looking at the bewildered Chelsea, Leo spoke with a belligerent smile.
“That I get to kill a demon I've already killed once before.”