Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: With the Water (2)
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Galen headed to the bathroom and dropped the spirit into a large tub of water. The blob of water floating on the surface eagerly gulped it down at his command.
When about half the water had drained away like it was going down a sink, Galen fished the spirit out. He'd sensed it through his spirit user's intuition. It still wasn't full, even after all that.
This world wasn't like Earth, where you could just turn on a faucet and water came gushing out. It felt awkward to send the servants on water errands as a guest.
Instead, he knocked on the door to the next room. Terti answered.
"What is it?"
"Are you busy right now?"
"Busy? Nah, just lounging around."
"I was thinking of stepping out for a bit. Want to come along?"
"You know I have to anyway."
Terti grumbled. He was hired to guard Galen—how could he let him go alone? The question was pointless.
But since he was bored anyway, Terti grumbled verbally but readily agreed. All he'd done so far was stand watch by Galen's side and swing his sword a few times. No way he was worn out.
"Stepping out? You feeling okay?"
"I slept like a rock, so I'm a bit better."
"Still, rest more. Your mana probably hasn't fully recovered."
"Not going far. Just to the riverbank to get some air."
"Ah, got it. Back by dinner?"
"Won't be long. Gotta enjoy the feast, right?"
"I'll make it so good you'll never forget it. Look forward to that."
"Whoa, if it's too fancy, I'll feel bad though..."
Bruno overheard the exchange and cheerfully gave permission. He even provided a carriage and assigned two Silver-rank guards as escorts.
The carriage headed to the riverbank. It wasn't far from the Narok Family estate—close enough to walk.
Cities in this world invariably hugged freshwater sources. Supporting tens of thousands of people required vast farmlands in the hinterlands, and without a reliable water source, that productivity was impossible.
Nijerte was no different—a modest city built along a waterway substantial enough to call a river.
"Remember that stream from the subjugation?"
"The one marking the main branch's boundary?"
"That's one of this river's upstream tributaries."
"Oh, so it all connects here."
They parked the carriage nearby and told the two escorts to rest at a distance. Galen approached the river with only Terti following.
"Doesn't seem like you just came for the breeze."
"You caught on, huh?"
"This isn't exactly a relaxing spot."
"True enough."
Don't picture something like a park along Seoul's Han River. Those are landscaped for leisure. This was just part of everyday life, with people everywhere drawing water from the river.
"Coming all the way to the river... something with magic?"
"Spot on. Got an idea I want to test out."
"You don't seem to have the reserves for it."
"I'll take it easy. Sorry for dragging you along on my whim."
"Don't apologize for that. I'm paid to follow you around. If you're worried about me, that's putting the cart before the horse. I just said it 'cause you seem like you're always rushing. Sometimes it's good to pause and look back."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Galen smiled and lightly raised his left hand. His loose sleeve slipped down, revealing his wrist.
"See this?"
"...What the heck is that?"
"Curious what it looks like to you."
"Hmm."
Terti tilted his head.
A transparent, ring-shaped bracelet encircled Galen's left wrist.
"At first glance, it looks like it's made of clear crystal, but processing it that smoothly ain't easy... Hold on, is that water?"
"Sharp eyes."
"Well, I know you're a water mage, so I could guess. You been wearing it long?"
"Nah. Just practicing control. Does it look weird?"
"Kinda novel, but I don't stare at wrists much, so it won't bug me. Wouldn't have noticed without the sleeve roll."
"Good enough."
Terti had seen Galen manipulate water freely so many times that he thought nothing of it.
Galen nodded and took a step forward—close enough that one more would wet his shoes.
He twirled his wrist. The thick ring reshaped into a sphere.
The orb rolled off his hand and plopped into the river.
Terti's keen eyes spotted the sphere holding its form underwater. Water and water, yet not mixing—a bizarre sight.
"...Control practice too?"
"Something like that. Testing stuff, so you don't have to watch."
"Magic's beyond me..."
Terti shook his head. He watched a bit longer but couldn't guess what was happening. He gave up thinking about it.
He couldn't tell because it wasn't Water Flow Manipulation like before.
The bracelet was the water spirit in disguised form.
Galen remembered Redna shaping her fireball spirit into a gauntlet and applied the same to his own.
'Sorry, Terti. Can't reveal it yet.'
Galen apologized inwardly with a wry smile.
Terti was a good guy, but secrets had a way of leaking, regardless of character.
Figuring out spirit handling right after meeting a spirit user? Even genius had limits. Terti might stay quiet, but a third party could get jealous—or deem it too dangerous and try to kill him.
He didn't think he could hide it forever, but delaying helped. The longer, the stronger he'd be, the safer.
Luckily, Terti hadn't even imagined Galen had a spirit. Same water attribute made excuses easy.
Galen glanced at Terti looking away and began seriously observing the spirit.
'Similar to shaping water with Water Flow Manipulation. Project an image, and it responds. Difference is no extra mana to maintain the shape.'
Once shaped into a bracelet, it stayed indefinitely. Perfect for carrying—discreet and always at hand.
Not just shape; size too. At his will, it expanded.
"Heave-ho."
Galen bent and lifted the now much larger blob. Heavy enough to strain one arm.
'Minimum size fits in a fist. Maximum... can't exceed the water it's consumed, but not infinitely expandable either...'
As a water body itself, bigger meant heavier. Bracelet size was featherlight.
He released it. Back to normal, it submerged and quietly drank more river water.
How it stored all that without showing was the biggest mystery. If the weight added up literally, he couldn't carry it at all.
'Magic makes it work somehow. Fire spirits burn in empty air—physics be damned.'
No need to dissect it. Results were what mattered.
As Terti started looking bored, Galen recalled the spirit—just as it signaled fullness.
It wriggled back into bracelet form, coiling snugly around his wrist.
The volume inside this tiny band—hard to gauge without tools, but probably—
'More than the water cart I used today?'
Honestly, before mastering Spirit Creation, he'd expected a fire spirit like Redna's.
Fire and water complemented each other, and fire was useful. Another water spirit felt a tad disappointing atop Water Flow Manipulation.
Not anymore.
Complements were nice, but a strong main weapon made backups meaningful.
Water Flow Manipulation hadn't hit Gold yet, and even grown, it depended on environment—a chronic flaw.
The spirit fixed that instantly. Water tank alone was worth it; Level 1 capacity was solid. A real moneymaker.
'Fire... plenty of fire mages out there. Steal one later.'
Galen chuckled at the shameless thought.
Two days passed.
Gaud, who had provoked Narok daily since the fighting started, showed no movement for those two days.
No grand scheme—just that they'd relied on Redna, and with her dead, they couldn't anymore.
While Gaud floundered in chaos, Narok finished preparations and launched a counterattack on the third day.
Not like Gaud's sneaky business seizures and battle lures. Narok openly declared they'd assault the Gaud Family estate.
"Gaud provoked fights to advertise their edge to the whole city. Win once, it's luck; keep winning, it's skill. They were that confident—and they racked up victories."
Bruno, leading the march, explained calmly.
"But the spirit user's death backfired. Too much hinged on her to brush it off as a fluke. Their tower, built on one person, crumbled. They're done."
"So we're hitting their head now."
"Thanks to you, Lord Galen, we're already ahead. One clean win here won't look like luck, so no need for Gaud's multi-battle groundwork."
"Lose this head-on, though, and we're in trouble."
"Think we'll lose?"
"No way. Unless I catch a blind arrow."
"We'll guard you tight. No worries."
Terti said reassuringly. Galen smiled and nodded.
For this make-or-break battle, they mobilized maximum forces. Silver warriors were the core, but hundreds of well-armed men brought serious intimidation.
Ahead of their vigorous advance loomed the firmly shut main gate.
The Gaud Family estate, rivaling Narok's in scale, was already fortified like a fortress.
Shwick! Shwick! Shwick!
Crossbow bolts—clearly from hidden archers behind the walls—flew in furiously.
Clang! Clink! Ting!
Negligible impact. Narok had thick shields up front, and interspersed Silver warriors batted arrows aside with swords.
More targeted Galen, but Bruno had anticipated, stacking defenses around him thick.
Bronze ranks took minor hits at most; crossbows scored zero kills.
"Alright then."
Galen pointed at the gate, now in Water Flow Manipulation range.
A massive water mass swelling in midair hurtled like a mace.
Boom!
The reinforced gate shattered on impact, splintering everywhere.
"Let's go."