Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 143
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 143
His Spirit Art had risen that much?
Lion was pretty surprised.
He was aware that his levels were shooting up, but he hadn’t imagined it’d already reached this point.
‘Well, I did gain a ton of levels this time.’
But… what did it mean by specific conditions?
He still hadn’t fully grasped it.
The fact that the nature of production skills and Spirit Art differed also played a part.
Though Lion had been channeling its use toward crafting, Spirit Art was actually classified as a combat talent.
So, as far as he knew, originally Spirit Art required combat to reach the Skilled tier…
‘I don’t want to do that.’
Lion gazed quietly at Nature.
He was well aware that it was an ancient spirit and that its hidden power was extraordinary.
He couldn’t not know, since he had experienced its performance firsthand in the game.
But right now, he had no need for strong power.
Force that little chick into combat?
Combat was absolutely out of the question.
Lion shook his head firmly.
This was the decision of Nature’s owner, himself.
Because…
‘That little one will do it for me.’
Nature prioritized its master above all else.
The proof was that no matter what Lion asked, it pretended to balk but granted every request.
Hadn’t it even expended its own strength to protect him during the “Old Bottle” incident?
Even for an ancient spirit, that couldn’t have been easy.
It had slept for quite a long time as a result.
At the time, this thought had indeed crossed his mind:
If my Spirit Art had been at the Skilled tier, would Nature have struggled that much?
‘…So I have no intention of giving up on the path to Skilled.’
Nature was still in a state where it could only use a fraction of its true body’s power.
It was no different from being shackled.
How frustrating must that be?
Lion wanted to loosen those restrictions, even just a little.
‘There has to be a way to enter the Skilled tier without combat.’
Wasn’t the fact that his Spirit Art level had risen so far proof of that?
There was definitely another method.
He simply hadn’t found it yet.
The good news was…
‘I have a guess.’
It was the very essence of Spirit Art.
After all, in <In the World>, the “Druid” class handled both spirits and demonic beasts.
If that was the tech tree he was climbing, then wasn’t Lion currently in a state where he’d only taken one branch of the skill tree?
Naturally, he’d be blocked.
The way to forcibly break through was probably to accumulate tremendous experience through combat.
So, in that case…
What if… he also raised a demonic beast?
Lion stared at the finely ground Abyss Camentum.
It wasn’t a certainty, but currently this seemed the most likely possibility.
And even if it wasn’t the case, Lion had already planned to free the demonic beast egg from its suffering.
‘Though that doesn’t mean the demonic beast egg will hatch right away.’
Still, he thought the hatching date might be moved up sooner than now.
“Well, anyway, we won’t know unless we try, right?”
“Peep, peep.”
As if it understood everything in Lion’s heart, Nature flew up and perched on his shoulder.
It felt so much like it was telling him not to worry too much that Lion let out a chuckle.
“Thank you.”
Now, then…
Shall we finish what we started?
Lion filled the potion bottle he’d made with a suitable amount of alchemical purified water.
Fortunately, just as the description said, nothing unusual happened to the purified water.
It was just that the water inside the pitch-black container, which reflected no light, made it hard to gauge how full it was.
That was fine, since he just had to check how much purified water he’d added.
Gently…
Lion poured the Camentum he’d made into the potion bottle, which had grown heavy with the purified water.
Just as he wondered if there was a bit too much water, the Camentum absorbed the purified water so voraciously that the liquid instantly turned thick and pasty.
Before he’d even stirred it!
Lion gently stirred the inside with a thin muddler until the purified water and powder clumped together.
The volume decreased, and it thickened to a sticky, wax-like consistency.
What was fascinating was… it looked sticky to the point of being stiff, yet there was no resistance at all!
-Does not adhere to objects without holy power.
It was exactly due to the Camentum’s property.
Thanks to that, Lion could easily adjust the consistency even with hands tired from the mortar and pestle work.
‘Fascinating…’
How should he put it—a liquid that seemed like a solid, viscous but not sticky.
To call it a slime… it had a firmness different from the squishy texture of slime.
‘The closest thing would be potato starch water.’
But since this only adhered to objects with holy power, that wasn’t quite the right description either.
Anyway, it was safe and its effect was definitely certain.
Lion returned to the bed, retrieved the demonic beast egg that was deeply buried in the blanket, and placed it carefully on the desk.
White stains still covered more than half the egg.
Lion immediately scooped a generous amount of the liquid Camentum into his hand and, before it could slip through his fingers, spread it over the egg as if pouring it on.
Then, an astonishing thing happened.
The squishy liquid, as if possessing a will of its own, stopped dripping and naturally spread across the parts imbued with holy power, clinging tightly!
Then, as if greedily stealing the holy power, its color gradually changed.
The brightness of the Camentum, which had been close to black, slowly lightened.
Of course, due to its essence, it didn’t become perfectly white, but it turned a distinctly lighter gray than before.
As if it had given up its moisture in exchange for stealing the holy power, the damp liquid transformed into crumbly, dried clay, which soon cracked and some of it pattered onto the desk.
And the egg visible through those gaps…
Just a tiny bit, but a violet hue shone through the white parts!
‘Success.’
Lion chuckled to himself at the situation unfolding exactly as expected and gently brushed off the outer layer that resembled dry clay.
Then, as if the Camentum had fulfilled its purpose, it vanished without a trace.
He suspected it had been completely neutralized and had become part of the mana.
“Nice, huh?”
He’d been worrying about how to clean up those crumbs, but it seemed that was a needless concern.
Furthermore, the egg’s surface hadn’t developed any cracks.
No, rather…
‘It’s glossy!’
It was definitely an eggshell with a bumpy, uneven surface, yet strangely it was smooth and sleek like a boiled egg!
Even though he’d only extracted a little holy power.
Now that the suffocating holy power was removed, he wondered if the nutrients accumulated so far were finally taking proper effect.
‘You little guy…’
How frustrating it must have been all this time, unable to receive nourishment or even breathe properly.
In his heart, he wanted to use all the remaining Camentum and completely remove every white spot, but…
‘I need to space it out.’
After all, this was a type of potion.
Taking a large dose at once could lead to a “Potion Poisoning” status.
Of course, used well, it could help in a crisis, and even then an ordinary dose would never trigger it. But this was a four-star potion, and although it was a demonic beast, it was still a fragile egg.
If he messed up and caused an adverse reaction, it would be a catastrophe.
“So, let’s administer it in divided doses.”
Just like a feverish child taking medicine divided into morning, noon, and evening—or even through the night in severe cases.
Lion placed the egg back on the bed and used the Camentum at suitable intervals.
Like that, he applied the final dose, brushed it off, and…
No more white stains could be found.
The holy power was perfectly removed.
‘That was close.’
Toward the end, the opaque white had stubbornly refused to disappear.
He’d been agonizing over whether to make more Camentum or find another method, but at some point, the egg had restored its own color.
Probably, the demonic beast egg had somehow absorbed the tiny amount of remaining holy power and turned it into nourishment for itself.
It was just like a demonic beast egg, enduring well anywhere.
“You worked hard.”
Lion stroked the black-violet demonic beast egg, which looked noticeably healthier, and placed it back on the bed.
Just in case, he checked with “Expert’s Eye,” and even the phrase about it being covered in holy power had disappeared.
It was completely cured.
“Hm?”
Once Lion confirmed the description, a notification flickered for a moment before updating with new content.
[Demonic Beast Egg]
-A being that traveled all this way from a distant land in search of you.
-It is extremely curious about your face.
-An incredibly healthy demonic beast seems about to be born!
-However… it might be born sooner than you think?
It was all good news, but one part nagged at him.
Whose standard of “sooner” was that?
By human standards, it might mean within a few days, but if it was by the standards of demonic beasts or other long-lived species, it could take years.
‘…Well, it’s fine.’
He wasn’t going to impatiently try to wake the egg just because of that.
The world outside the shell was quite beautiful, and he had more than enough things to show it, but there was definitely something to be gained from being inside a comfortable egg.
“I’m not going anywhere without you, so you can take your time being born.”
After saying it, Lion chuckled to himself.
He’d never dreamed he would say something like that.
Swish.
Lion stored the Abgrund Potion Bottle in his inventory, then drew back the curtains he had kept closed and flung the window wide open.
Unlike the stuffy air inside, a refreshing and crisp breeze rushed in.
Along with the curtains, Lion’s hair fluttered this way and that, tickling his face, but strangely it didn’t bother him much.
Lion stepped out onto the terrace, leaned against the window frame, and looked outside.
“Still, it’d be nice if it hurried just a little.”
Warm sunlight, soft and moist grass, and earth with a savory scent. Delicious food. And time spent with precious people.
There were quite a lot of things he wanted to show it.
“Peep!”
As if agreeing with Lion’s words, Nature flew out beyond the terrace, rode the currents of the wind to circle the wide sky, and then returned.
In that short time, it had moved so swiftly that it held a thin twig in its beak.
It was a branch with a few leaves and a couple of fruits attached.
Holding that branch, Nature dropped it in front of the egg on the bed with a plop.
Then it looked at Lion triumphantly.
“Haha. You’re right.”
Even if it couldn’t have a direct experience,
he could let it know indirectly like this—what the scent of grass was like, and what sort of shapes existed outside.
“…Then it’d be nice if you came along on this hotel trip too, wouldn’t it?”
Wasn’t it a great idea?
No matter how quick it was, the egg wouldn’t hatch in that short time.
“Let me see, should I wrap the egg in a cloth and carry it around?”
Lion was formulating the idea for an “egg wrapper” in his head when he clapped his hands.
Ah, there was something he had to do before that.
Namely, making a snack for Nature, who had worked incredibly hard today.
“Let’s see… is there a snack you want to eat?”
Lion perched on the edge of the bed, scratched Nature’s fluffy feathers, and asked.
Then…
[Please make the ultimate snack for your companion spirit “Nature”!]
A new notification appeared.
-Your companion spirit Nature wishes to share a snack that even you have never tasted before.
-What is the snack you most wanted to try?
This was just like… the format of the “Hidden Quest” that had appeared last time.
‘Oh?’
Could this possibly be one of the conditions for leveling up Spirit Art?
Maybe Nature had been giving him hints all along.