Chapter 241
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Chwap!
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Under the spirit's guidance, they arrived at a place that, unlike before, stirred a strange sense of repulsion.
The scenery itself was no different from anywhere else, yet it inexplicably made him want to turn back on the spot.
"What... is this place?"
Was it something visible through the black bandages?
Eleanor's expression visibly hardened.
"I've felt this before. Definitely..."
Outer God.
It was a sensation strikingly similar to when they had confronted the God of Death in the north.
An instinct that they absolutely shouldn't face the entity itself.
"I can sense Outer God energy from all directions... but they're all different kinds."
"Outer Gods..."
He spotted several pieces of equipment he'd seen in the game.
To think they all carried Outer God energy.
Jun pointed to one of them.
It looked like a chunk of pure white mineral.
"I'd like to take that one."
The spirit silently nodded at Jun's words and retrieved the item from its glass case.
"This is..."
"What does it look like?"
"No idea. But among everything here, it has the strongest Outer God energy. What the hell is it?"
"I don't know much either. Just that it's a fragment of some entity's tooth."
"Tooth...?"
Did that mean it was literally an Outer God's tooth?
Chwap!
The Predator tightened around Jun's hand, urging him to feed it.
Even after proper training, why was it so desperate for this?
Jun unfurled the Predator and placed the white mineral on top.
Chwaaaaaaaaap!!!
The creature immediately devoured the white mineral.
There was a crunching, munching sound at first, but it soon went quiet.
"What? That was it...? Huh?"
Eleanor focused intently on the Predator.
"Hey, it's got divinity now?"
"Faint, but it's gained some authority."
"Authority?"
"Yeah."
It was the Predator's final form, so to speak.
It didn't have an official name, so Jun had just slapped one on.
"So, what does that improve?"
"It can now regurgitate the energy it consumes."
"Huh...?"
The Predator could previously block just one powerful enemy attack.
For a mage with zero close-combat ability, that was still incredibly useful... but the downside was it couldn't be used again for a while after.
This white ore he'd just fed it was meant to fix that exact flaw.
"Of course, there are limits. If you make it eat and spit out too many times, it'll tire out."
"Ah..."
"Looks handy."
"I was planning to stick with its original performance, but I didn't expect an opportunity like this."
"How does the captain even know about stuff like this?"
Eleanor asked, but Jun just shrugged.
"Anyway, shall we head back? We've picked what we wanted."
"Aiden might regret not coming."
"It was his choice. He really wants to awaken his wind spirit, no matter what."
Aiden had always eyed Maya's Acander fang with envy.
What could make him give that up just to grow his wind spirit?
'It's about time to awaken the wind spirit.'
They'd once opened a gate to the spirit realm and encountered an ifrit in the process.
Jun could still vividly recall the energy composing that ifrit.
Plus, while learning spirit-related knowledge from Ranes, he'd finally figured out how to awaken the wind spirit.
'He wants it to be able to use its power right away upon awakening.'
Simply waking the wind spirit wasn't enough for it to fully wield its power.
It needed something more.
Anyway, as Jun and his companions emerged from the repository, they ran into Aiden, who had just finished his private audience with the emperor.
"Aiden?"
"Ah... Senior."
He seemed lost in deep thought, not even noticing their approach.
"Hear something shocking?"
"Pardon? ...Yes. Shocking, you could say."
"...?"
"I... can't explain right now."
"Hm."
Only then did Jun narrow his eyes and look at Aiden.
Some kind of magic enveloped Aiden's body.
And it was a power that felt quite uncomfortable to Jun.
"A pact?"
"Yes. Matters from the private audience... I can't speak of them."
"They forced your mouth shut, huh."
"It'll lift naturally after some time. But for now..."
What on earth had the emperor said to him?
In the game, Aiden never met the emperor.
By the time Aiden became the protagonist, the emperor was already dead.
"Anyway, we're done here too."
"Haha... Congratulations, everyone."
Aiden, who would normally bombard them with curious questions about the repository, stayed quiet this time.
"Hm. Looks like you need some time alone to think."
"Yes..."
"Head back to your room first."
"Got it. Thank you, senior."
Aiden left, and Eleanor watched him go with concern.
"Must've been quite the shock."
"Yeah, but he'll bounce back like always. That's just who he is."
"Time heals all wounds, huh... Well, with that pact or whatever, there's nothing we can do. So, what's next now that we're done here?"
"We'll move once Aiden recovers. The Abyss Gate's already open. We need to hurry."
While Jun and the others had been in the north, the Abyss Gate had opened.
It was time to prepare for the new season.
"And we should start prepping for the 7th layer too."
"7th layer... Got a spot in mind?"
"Not yet. We're a mercenary corps that takes requests, right? It'll depend on the jobs."
"Oh, right."
Somehow, he'd forgotten amid how differently they operated from the mercenary corps Eleanor knew, but as Jun said, they were mercenaries.
They had to wait for their captain to bring in requests.
"Guess I'll go rest then."
"I need to chat more with this spirit too."
"Sure, sure."
With that, the companions dispersed, and just as Jun was heading to his room...
"Jun."
"...Greetings, Third Prince."
It was Javier in the hallway.
Probably not a coincidence.
Jun had sensed Javier's distinctive magic from the end of the hall earlier.
"Care for a chat?"
"You mean this?"
"Haha, I've told you many times, that attitude doesn't suit you."
"Everyone around me reacts like that, so I thought I'd give it a try."
"Much more pleasant to look at. I've prepared good tea. Great view too—perfect for talking."
What did he want to discuss that he was leading him somewhere?
Jun followed Javier's direction.
A garden behind the imperial palace.
Deeper into the woods along the path, the sound of water grew louder in the distance.
"That's the place."
"...Certainly a fine view."
A natural waterfall, mingled with birdsong.
In the fresh grassy air stood a wooden table and chairs.
"My childhood hideaway. Still used it until recently."
"Coming here when down must've lifted your spirits."
"It helped, to some extent. Heh."
With that, he casually pulled items from his subspace, quickly setting up an elegant tea party.
"You're quite skilled at this."
"Thanks. Never thought I'd show my solo indulgence to others. Haha."
Jun expected him to get straight to the point, but Javier seemed oddly excited, so he held back.
Might as well enjoy tea personally brewed by royalty. That was courtesy enough.
"I heard you're learning magic from Lady Ranes."
"Oh? Haha. Not confirmed yet. Still have much to handle here."
"But did Lady Ranes say anything else to you?"
"Hm?"
"Like you being blessed with spirit mana."
"No such thing. She's well-versed in spirits?"
"Something like that."
Ranes was the one using self-developed spirit magic, after all.
This naturally sparked curiosity.
'Javier's blessed with spirit mana... but unlike Lady Ranes's sister, his soul doesn't detach?'
Maybe Ranes's sister had even denser blood.
Or there was some other difference Jun didn't know.
'Not the time to dwell on it.'
As conversation flowed naturally, Javier soon got to his point.
"The palace feels stifling lately. Prisons used to seem freer, but not anymore."
"Is that so?"
"Thanks to you, my eldest brother, and your companions."
"I'm deeply honored."
"Haha... Still work left, of course. Can't fully abandon the nobles who trusted me. Need to handle that."
"Nothing's ever easy."
"That's life, isn't it? Better than before, though. Used to feel like walking an endless tunnel. Now, I can see outcomes from my actions."
Sincerity shone in Javier's words.
'Can't quite relate.'
But his expression looked content enough.
'Guess I can finally relax around him.'
That was when...
"However, I've realized I can't handle things alone anymore—not like before. So, I'd like to request your help."
"A request...?"
"As you know... my mana holds spirit power."
"Yes..."
"Didn't hinder low-circle magic much. Even got praise for talent, embarrassingly. But it got harder over time. Before meeting you, I thought my meager gifts had run dry."
But that wasn't the reason.
Javier's innate spirit mana.
It wasn't suited for casting magic.
"So, I want to investigate my constitution."
"Not easy."
"Indeed. Spirit mages are exceedingly rare these days."
He'd planned to gather info directly in Blackout as a fallback, but even that was tough now.
"After that fiasco, even I can't go back down easily. Given the times, better to hold back."
"Why not request Lady Ranes?"
"I considered it. But I'm not her official disciple yet—just permitted into the Mage Tower."
Invoking royalty with her would be ridiculous.
Thus, Javier had only one option left.
"That left us."
"Yes."
"So, what's the request exactly?"
"From my own research... there's a way in the 7th layer."
"7th layer..."
Conveniently, they were already prepping to head there with the others. No harm in taking it en route.
"What exactly?"
"Details are in this request form. Read it and decide."
"Got it."
"And one more thing..."
"...?"
Something besides the request?
Javier activated a soundproof artifact, his expression hardening.
"The Celestial Church. It's about them."