Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 4th Circle (3)
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After checking the prices, I immediately left the city hall and returned to my lodging.
"Hmm."
Spirits generally prefer natural environments that match their attributes, but my lodging is pretty far from anything natural.
For now, I reached out to Sylph, let it dwell in my body, and left the lodging.
It should feel a bit better once we're closer to a natural environment.
[Supreme Spirit (Wind) dwells in your body.]
— Agility stat increases by 30.
— Wind attribute resistance greatly increases.
[!] Periodic mana supply is required.
Only one spirit can dwell in the body at a time.
Since it's only recently born, the stat boosts are small, but as the spirit grows over time, more effects will emerge.
"Need to pull another one soon."
With my current affinity, the spirit limit is two.
So the next one should be a water attribute spirit that governs mana or a fire attribute one that governs stamina.
I headed outside and sat by the pond on the southwest side of the city.
A fresh breeze rustled through the trees, making the pond's surface ripple.
The message that popped up suggested the temporary fix was working.
Spirits don't leave right away just because they're unhappy with the environment.
Unless you're neglecting them completely, they rarely depart, so no need to panic.
But if dissatisfaction builds up, material generation cycles slow down, so it's better to keep an eye on them.
— Remaining Spiritstones: 0
[Single Pull] [10x Pull]
After that, I opened the Spiritstone Shop and started pulling.
---
"Whew."
I spent about two hours focused on pulling.
In total, I got two Supreme Spiritstones: water and wind attributes.
『 Supreme Spiritstone (Water) 』
『 Supreme Spiritstone (Wind) 』
"Wind's a duplicate."
For spirits, it's best to avoid duplicate attributes as much as possible.
Spirits grow by drawing mana from nature, but they only consume mana matching their own attribute.
If you have multiple of the same attribute, they end up sharing that mana.
This naturally slows their growth and material production.
So.
『 Supreme Spiritstone (Water) 』
— Hatch? Requires periodic mana supply.
[!] Insufficient mana for hatching spiritstone.
I set aside the well-cared-for wind attribute and hatched the water one.
Of course, since mana was short, I fed it every low-grade water spiritstone I had on hand.
Soon after.
[Hatching of Supreme Spiritstone (Water) complete.]
— Affinity +100.
『 Current Spirit Limit: 2/2 』
— Current Affinity: 201
[Supreme Spirit (Water)]
— Please set a name.
The spiritstone melted away like slush, turning jelly-like before slipping from my hand and jumping into the pond.
"Name... Undine."
— Supreme water spirit.
[Generates Deep Sea Crystal periodically]
『 Deep Sea Crystal 』
— A gem crystallized from a portion of the supreme water spirit's condensed mana. Rarely obtained by the spirit from the deep ocean floor.
"Perfect."
With the name set, I beckoned Undine over.
The small slime-like thing swimming by the water's edge hopped right into my palm.
It felt cool and squishy, like touching a liquid monster.
『 Revert to Spiritstone? 』
— The spirit may feel confined.
"No."
Reverting to spiritstone doesn't lift the limit.
It's just a convenience since only one can dwell in the body.
To keep Undine from wandering off, I cupped it in both hands and returned to the lodging.
There, I half-filled a large ceramic bowl with water and placed Undine inside.
Splash—
Luckily, it seemed pleased, swimming freely in the water-filled bowl.
Now...
『 List 』
— Seed Package Wrapped in Flames
[Purchasable 1x]
— Lightning-Struck Tree Sapling Package
[Purchasable 1x]
…
Clicking the Natural Materials Shop brought up the four attribute packages on the main screen.
Each of these packages includes one special terrain natural material, so I definitely plan to buy them.
However... since each can only be purchased once, I'll consider it after buying a house.
I browsed the shop for natural materials I could plant now.
『 Mana Lotus Seeds x10 』
— A plant that floats on water surfaces. Stores mana in its petals.
【 10000 Cash 】
『 Blue Windmill Flower Seeds x10 』
— A flower mainly found in windy areas. When wind blows, its leaves spin rapidly to generate mana.
【 10000 Cash 】
『 Mana Cultivation Soil (Small) 』
— Artificially mana-infused soil. Suitable for growing small flowers.
【 3000 Cash 】
For natural materials, you could go to their habitats and gather them, but that takes time I don't want to waste.
So I bought the lotus seeds, windmill flower seeds, and cultivation soil with cash.
I scattered the lotus seeds into Undine's ceramic bowl.
"Need to get some pots."
Better than just any bowl.
I bought pots from a general store and returned.
I filled the pots with mana cultivation soil, then added a bit of water.
Drip drip—
The water soaked the soil evenly and drained nicely through the pot's holes.
With the soil watered, I evenly sprinkled the blue windmill flower seeds on top.
At my gesture, Sylph emerged from my body.
Whoosh—
Drawn to the pot's mana, Sylph settled above it.
Once the flowers bloom like this, dissatisfaction should decrease... but it's still just a temporary measure.
"Should check out some mansions?"
Labyrinth City has several mansions built or bought by nobles from various families, complete with yards.
To plant natural materials properly, a yard would be ideal.
To avoid future issues, I should think about buying one.
With that thought, I left the lodging.
I considered taking the spirits but left them behind.
Carrying them around consumes mana periodically and slows their growth.
---
I entered the real estate office in a corner of the city's bustling district, the same one I'd visited before.
"A mansion with a yard?"
"Yes."
He looked skeptical at my sudden request to see mansions.
"Well, if you want to see them, I suppose... But isn't your current place good enough?"
"Not really."
"...Fair enough. Setting goals is important."
Seemingly convinced on his own, he nodded and handed me a ledger.
"How about this? A mansion entrusted to me for sale by Count Volkan of the Empire. Or this one?"
"Can I see them all?"
"Sure. Want to go now?"
"Yes."
I followed the man to tour abandoned mansions around the city.
Most were built by high nobles who decided to sell when leaving Labyrinth City.
"What do you think?"
"The first mansion was the best by far. But..."
The price was a whopping 50,000 platinum coins.
Even converted to imperial gold, that's 500,000—a massive sum.
And that's among the cheaper mansions.
My current funds: 11,000 platinum including the 10,000 from Dawn Guild, plus 1,550 left at city hall.
Total: 12,550.
Plus I still owe Beth and need to buy grimoires from the magic tower.
A long way to go.
"Well, dreams should be big. Any other mansions you want to see?"
"No. Thank you."
"Alright. Come back anytime."
After thanking him, I left the mansion.
Then.
"Got a lot of money, huh?"
A chilling voice rang in my ear.
I whipped around reflexively—
"...Beth. When did you get here?"
"Just now. Why were you looking at mansions?"
"It's... complicated."
Beth had arrived without me noticing, standing there.
She must have seen me touring.
"So, my money."
Beth extended her hand impassively.
I hadn't bought the magic yet...
But paying back borrowed money comes first.
"Come with me for now."
I led Beth to her lodging.
Afterward.
"Platinum okay?"
"Whatever's convenient."
"Thanks. Here's 5,000."
I handed her a bag with 5,000 platinum coins.
Considering fees, she was doing me a huge favor, so I made sure to thank her.
"...For real. Where'd you make this much in a week?"
"Secret. More importantly, one more favor."
I pulled out the remaining 6,000 platinum from my pouch.
"Could you exchange this?"
I got to the point.
Exchanging at city hall takes a 30% fee, but through Beth or black market merchants, it's lower.
"6,000?"
"Yes. Need it right now."
"Why again."
"Planning to hit the magic tower for grimoires today. Party's tomorrow."
"Oh?"
Beth tapped the table thoughtfully, then continued.
"Then, want to come with?"
"...Pardon?"
"Was gonna check your skills first, but this works out."
Beth grinned.
"Come join our guild."