Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Spirit Contract
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The five-colored flower blooming above Park Chan-woo's head symbolized the 'Five Elements'.
The five energies that divided all things in the universe.
Wood, fire, earth and metal, and water!
The Five Elements meant balance.
It signified that his soul and body had achieved perfect equilibrium.
'How could the first one to step onto the path of mana...'
Lil, having understood the current phenomenon, stared at Park Chan-woo in astonishment.
No matter how exalted his talent, achieving 'balance' was a story from an entirely different realm.
It hadn't even been long since he had comprehended the second stage, 'Flow', and ascended to the third stage, 'Coalescence'.
Yet he was advancing without the slightest hindrance.
As if he had already experienced it once before.
'Inconceivable.'
Even from the perspective of a transcendent being, this human was unfathomable.
Clearly facing it for the first time, yet charging forward as if fully prepared.
If such a thing were possible...
'...how much effort must he have put in.'
It could only be the result of pure effort.
It meant he had wielded magic with an obsession beyond imagination.
Only someone who had solely built foundations, layered them repeatedly, and opened new horizons could pass through the basic three stages as naturally as flowing water.
In a word, Park Chan-woo...
'Possesses perfect fundamentals.'
...In terms of the foundations of magic, there was no one who could rival him.
He was someone who had built astonishingly solid basics, enough to earn the acknowledgment of the transcendent Lil.
How intense must his thirst for knowledge be to absorb everything the moment he learned it.
No one had taught him.
The path of the mage, the stages of mana.
However, this too was puzzling.
With such talent, every mage would have coveted him.
It would have been normal for them to rush to take him as a disciple.
...A paradoxical existence where nothing added up.
Lil had never seen anyone like this.
And moreover...
—...You're reconstructing it.
Park Chan-woo was reconstructing his own body.
Impurities began flowing out from his entire form.
The enlightenment of the Five Elements was expelling all impurities.
His bones realigned, muscles reconnected, and the paths of mana grew even sturdier.
He was being reborn as a vessel capable of holding far more power and mana.
It resembled the martial artists' tales of 'exchanging bones and stealing marrow', but it was slightly different.
Not just the body was being reconstructed—his mana and soul were being perfected as well.
It was the stage where the boundaries between consciousness and subconscious crumbled, allowing contemplation of all things.
......Isn't it astonishing.
This too, no one had taught him.
Park Chan-woo had accomplished it all through instinct.
As the saying goes...
'He's forging his own path.'
Creating his own way forward.
Lil couldn't tear her eyes away.
...It felt like returning to the time when she had first learned magic.
She couldn't recall how long it had been since she last felt this emotion.
It was from the distant past, when everything was new and wondrous, now faded even from memory.
However, Lil had walked a predetermined path.
She had never thought to create her own.
Even if she returned to the past, it would be the same.
Creating and walking one's own path was that difficult.
Soon after.
"......"
Park Chan-woo opened his eyes.
His eyes brimmed with clarity.
His body, mana, and soul had all found their perfect center.
Countless messages floated up.
Each one explained a cataclysmic change.
This was what happened after completing not just Coalescence, but even the fourth stage, 'Resonance'.
'The fifth stage is still out of reach, I suppose.'
But this alone was more than enough.
He had even erased the status ailment 'Weak Constitution'.
However, the most astonishing part was that all magic would now become 'Archmagic'.
'Archmagic... Every spell I learn will have no limits.'
Every spell had inherent limits to some degree.
For example, basic magic could never reach 'Legendary' grade or higher.
Occasionally, there were spells without limits, capable of ascending to any rank—these were called 'Archmagic'.
Among the spells Park Chan-woo currently knew, 'Super Regeneration' was the only Archmagic.
The pinnacle spell, upgradeable even to Zero grade.
But for all magic to lose its limits meant whatever he learned could reach the ultimate heights.
......That alone was shocking, yet even magic below Legendary grade rose a rank.
He had obtained the unique option of the World Tree Staff through enlightenment alone.
—It seems all preparations are complete.
Lil, who had been watching him quietly, spoke.
Park Chan-woo turned his gaze.
The stench of impurities expelled from his body assaulted his nose, but Lil showed no sign of caring.
"Can we proceed after I wash up?"
But even if she was fine with it, he couldn't bear it himself.
It was sticky, grimy, and utterly unpleasant.
Of course, before, he would have ignored it and continued learning.
But now was different.
Unlike before his enlightenment, compared to before receiving instruction, he now had an unimaginable 'leeway'.
—I shall wash you.
"......?"
A strange statement left him puzzled for a moment.
But he soon realized it was a misunderstanding.
—Spirits of water, cleanse this child.
As Lil called, water droplets rippled in the air, and water spirits revealed themselves.
All spirits born from mana.
However, Lil was not a spiritist.
Summoning and commanding spirits was far removed from magic, yet she did it effortlessly.
Once the water spirits had thoroughly washed away all impurities, Lil spoke.
—Are you surprised that I command spirits?
"Don't mages form contracts with spirits?"
It was basic knowledge.
A mage's mana and a spiritist's mana were fundamentally different in nature.
The mana mages typically wielded was destructive.
It even damaged nature's mana, so spirits naturally viewed mages as enemies.
Park Chan-woo had never heard of a mage contracting with a spirit.
—You can command spirits too. All who have tamed mana at the 'Coalescence' stage can do it.
"A contract with spirits, you mean?"
—Indeed. You now qualify to contract with spirits.
He was momentarily speechless.
He had never even imagined contracting with a spirit.
—To properly master my magic, a spirit contract is essential. And from now on, I will assist you in forming it.
...A spirit contract aided by a transcendent.
He had no idea what spirit she intended to contract with, but one thing was clear: everything had changed since meeting the transcendent Lil.
Honestly, regarding 'spirit contracts', Lil herself was immensely curious too.
'Having comprehended the Five Elements, I wonder which spirit will come for him.'
The first contract was crucially important.
Especially for a tamed mana of the Five Elements.
All spirits might covet and rush in.
Conversely, none might respond.
'This is the last help I can give.'
But this, she had to assist with no matter what.
To perfectly inherit the transcendent Lil's magic, spirits were indispensable.
...The time left was short as well.
Her existence was already weakened by the unsealed seal.
Having transferred her mana, her remaining time had sharply decreased.
Perhaps only a day at most.
Within that, he had to complete the spirit contract and inherit the magic.
—Take my hand.
Following her words, Park Chan-woo reached out and clasped it.
At the same time.
Swoosh.
Swish swish swish!
Srrrrrr!
Innumerable 'runes' began floating around her.
Vast numbers of magical formulas intertwined and merged into one, soon forming the shape of a 'gate'.
—'Approval' has come from the Spirit Realm. Now, open the gate and welcome the spirits that emerge. Those who fancy you will reveal themselves.
A surprisingly simple process.
Clearly different from how spiritists performed contracts.
They drew summoning magic circles, offered tributes spirits might like to summon them, then contracted.
The problem was that this classical method only summoned low-grade spirits.
After all, forcibly summoned spirits wouldn't be high-grade.
But Lil had summoned the gate to the Spirit Realm itself.
Allowing all spirits free passage.
Not forcing summons, but letting spirits who liked the contractor approach willingly.
"...It seems no spirits fancy me."
—......Strange. With 'approval' granted, every spirit in the realm should sense your presence.
But no matter how much time passed, no spirit emerged from the gate.
Lil tilted her head inwardly as well.
This was mana that had comprehended the Five Elements.
Any spirit should covet it.
Approval from the Spirit Realm meant all basic conditions were met.
Of course, Lil's influence as a transcendent had played some role...
Yet not a single one among countless spirits responded.
—Wait.
It was then.
Lil's brow furrowed slightly.
She had realized.
Why no spirits were responding.
It wasn't that they weren't responding—they couldn't.
Something was blocking the gate.
More precisely...
—......Something strange is coming.