The Frog People
Elizabeth scanned the surroundings. “They’re ice soldiers.”
Bagan nodded. The creatures had slid across the ground to close the distance and were now encircling them in a tight formation.
“Get ready.”
Bagan was already absorbing and refining the mana around him. At that moment—
Crack!
Each of the soldiers summoned a single icicle spear and hurled it forward.
Whoosh!
Bagan had planned to dodge the spears with his eyes. But Elizabeth’s spirit magic created a curtain of water that melted every projectile raining down from all directions. Since ice touching water and vanishing instantly made no sense, it was more accurate to say the spears had shattered.
“They freeze anything they touch,” Bagan observed.
Just as he noted, the dome-shaped water barrier was steadily hardening from the impact of the icicle spears.
“Elestra is a water spirit, so she’s weak against cold. Blocking them is her limit. On the other hand, a salamander would be perfect for this. So please break through as many as you can.”
Even as she spoke, Elizabeth drew her bow. She clearly intended to support him with precise shots.
They had been woken from sleep and thrown into a sudden crisis, yet Bagan felt completely confident. His hair had turned a vivid red, and rings of fire were swirling around him.
“Leave it to me.”
Thanks to the Blessing of Fire, he could now use magic as well. He had just finished refining his mana, which was why he wasn’t discouraged even as the number of ice soldiers continued to grow.
“You can drop the barrier.”
At his request, the water curtain dissolved with a whoosh, melting away like snow. Bagan didn’t miss the opening. He charged straight at the ice soldiers surrounding them.
Whoosh!
Elizabeth’s gaze was drawn to the flames blooming in Bagan’s wake.
So the stories weren’t lies after all.
Until now, she had been only half-convinced by the tale that Bagan had slain a dragon. But after witnessing that movement, every doubt vanished. A situation that would have meant despair if she were alone had become a beacon of hope the moment Bagan appeared.
As if to prove it, Bagan moved like a living torch. Cloaked in flames, he tore through the ice soldiers one by one.
Crunch! Crack! Crunch!
One punch per soldier. There were quite a few of them, but since Bagan wasn’t yet comfortable with magic, he chose to strengthen his body with supportive spells and fight directly.
Then—
Crack!
The soldiers seemed to have a cooldown on their spirit magic as well. They all created icicle spears at once.
Am I about to turn into a porcupine?
He could dodge anything he could see, but attacks coming from his blind spots were impossible to react to. No matter how sharp his senses were, there were limits.
So Bagan came up with a plan.
They fired them all together last time, so they’ll probably do the same now.
Once the icicle spears finished forming, they would launch simultaneously like a volley of rockets. The enemies had established a perfect encirclement. If he didn’t block all three hundred and sixty degrees, he’d be in trouble.
Bagan simultaneously circulated the spirit power and fire-attribute mana inside his body. The mana moved without issue, but the spirit power felt like using muscles he had never trained—clumsy and stiff. Still, what Bagan wanted wasn’t delicate control.
Release it through my entire body.
The moment the soldiers’ icicle spears flew toward him—
Boom!
He released the maximum amount he could discharge at once, completely neutralizing the attack. A wave of heat—not merely warm, but like the sun itself—exploded from Bagan’s body. The early dawn had been dark, but his release lit up the area as if the sun were directly overhead.
And the plan succeeded spectacularly. Every single icicle spear melted away in an instant.
“Looks like you can’t attack anymore, huh?”
After that, Bagan began systematically dismantling every ice soldier that had surrounded them with one-sided violence.
Crunch!
After finishing off the last ice soldier, Bagan searched for the direction Elizabeth had gone. His eyesight was excellent, but it was still early dawn and he couldn’t see very far. Once he pinpointed her location, he headed straight back.
Thud.
Elizabeth raised her bow at the figure emerging from the darkness. Bagan lifted both hands in surrender.
“It’s me.”
“You scared me!”
“Didn’t your spirit tell you?”
“She doesn’t tell me things she can’t see.”
“Hmm, that makes sense.”
Bagan dismissed the Blessing of Fire and used mana to relight the campfire.
“Going back to sleep?”
“Not yet. It’s still dawn.”
“If those things come back, it’ll be a pain.”
“Then we’ll just stop them again.”
“…Sure, whatever.”
With those words, Elizabeth sat down beside him, apparently intending to warm herself by the fire.
The real reason for Bagan’s confidence was something else entirely.
I can absorb them too.
When he had used Absorption on the vanishing ice soldiers, he gained a surge of spirit power that filled his body. Spirit power normally increased gradually through use or by deepening one’s bond with a spirit. That process took time. But Bagan had discovered a shortcut—defeat them and absorb.
It won’t be long before I can return her to high spirit status.
Turning the salamander, who had been reduced to a low spirit due to lack of power, back into a high spirit had suddenly become easy.
(Bagan, strong! Powerful!)
Apparently sensing the abundant spirit power filling Bagan’s body, the salamander floated through the air in delight.
And then—
···Huh?!
The salamander’s form began to change! What had been a small lizard grew larger, developed a mane, and transformed into something resembling a lion. Its size was even bigger than when it had been Seleana.
(I, have become Salif.)
It could now speak properly.
“W-what? How did this happen so fast?”
Even Elizabeth looked startled. She approached Salif, turning the spirit this way and that to check if anything was wrong.
“It’s definitely the mid-rank fire spirit, Salif.”
“That’s right.”
“How…?”
“Looks like its spirit power increased,” Bagan answered.
Elizabeth let out a dumbfounded breath.
“After only one day of being contracted?”
“It used to be Seleana. Maybe that’s why it rose so quickly?”
Bagan tried to dodge the question, but a weak lie wouldn’t work in front of her.
“Tell me the truth. What trick did you use?”
Seeing her darkening expression, Bagan decided to come clean. He had already told her he absorbed a dragon—what was one more secret?
“…The truth is, I absorbed the spirit power I felt from the ice soldiers and made it my own.”
“That’s possible? Just how broken is that blessing of yours?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Bagan scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Elizabeth looked back and forth between Bagan and Salif, then watched the spirit casually lie down on the campfire and spoke.
“…What should I even call this? It’s basically cheating. Any other spirit mage would probably hate you.”
“Why?”
“Because it would feel like all their hard work suddenly became meaningless.”
“Do you feel that way too?”
“Honestly, yes. But since it’s you, I can understand. Salif was originally Seleana. Restoring its original form… I think that’s acceptable.”
Elizabeth paused, pressing her lips together for a moment, then pointed her index finger directly at Bagan.
“But there’s one thing you absolutely must remember! The bond with a spirit is more important than anything else! No matter how much spirit power you have, it can never surpass that bond. Got it?”
She spoke like a professor of spirit studies. Bagan felt like he should be taking notes and committed her words to memory.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Bagan had no intention of bragging about his overflowing spirit power. Even when he had raised a spirit mage character in the game, he had worked hard to build bonds with his spirits. This time would be no different. He hadn’t exactly declared himself a spirit mage, but he couldn’t ignore the spirit he had already obtained and the contract already formed. Since things had turned out this way, it was best to get along well.
With that thought, Bagan gently stroked the back of Salif, who was lying by the campfire, and shared his feelings.
If I’d known, I would’ve absorbed them from the beginning.
He had only started absorbing midway through, so he felt a pang of regret for the spirit power he had missed. But whether it sensed his regret or not, the creatures did not attack again as time passed.
“The sun’s up. Let’s get moving again.”
At her words, Bagan stood and packed up their campsite.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Together, they began walking once more while watching the sunrise.
Crunch. Crunch. Crack.
As they walked, the forest gave way to an open area with no trees. The ground had a sandy texture, so they guessed it must be near the sea. There was only one reason they could think that.
“Is that… all ocean?”
“Yes.”
The shocking sight of the coastal waters completely frozen over and covered in snow.
“This must be rough on the frog people.”
Blue Wave Village was a settlement of the frog people. The frog people, as their name suggested, were a race that resembled frogs. Their eyes and mouths were slit horizontally, and they had angler-like lanterns on their foreheads. As a coastal race, their hands and feet were equipped with wide webbing. Their bodies were mostly blue, though some individuals occasionally shimmered with multiple colors.
“Just like Raksh said, they might all be dead.”
“Why?”
“The frog people hunt for food in the sea. If it’s frozen like this, there are only two possibilities—they’re either starving or already dead.”
At Bagan’s words, Elizabeth replied, “I hope it’s the former. We need someone to ask questions to, after all.”
It was a rather grim thing to say, but Bagan agreed. At the very least, there needed to be survivors. Only then could the village continue once the bitter cold receded.
“Oh, right. Didn’t you say the frog people don’t let outsiders in?”
“That’s correct. Among the races of the Zairan Forest, they’re the most isolationist. That’s why we need a plan.”
“Do you have one?”
“Just say we want to be friends.”
Bagan spoke the truth based on information he had gained in the game.
“This isn’t the time for jokes.”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Elestra.”
“Really? For real? How does that even work?”
Elizabeth made a ridiculous face, apparently having asked her spirit immediately.
“The frog people value the tradition of exchange above all else. In that sense, a friend means someone you share your heart with. Of course, to make it official, gifts need to be exchanged.”
“What should I give as a gift?”
Elizabeth fell into thought at the mention of a gift. The only things she carried were the bow on her back and a small amount of food. The same was true for Bagan. Aside from a bit of food, he didn’t have anything suitable to offer.
“I have an idea.”
“Really? Okay. I’ll trust you and follow along.”
Bagan believed this was the only way to build a good relationship with the frog people, so they continued walking along the shoreline. The two of them talked as they headed further south.
Soon, a large cave appeared. It was a sea cave.
“So this is where the frog people—”
Swish!
“Hm?”
Grab!
“Ouch, that’s cold.”
An icicle spear had flown toward Bagan. He caught it with his bare hand. He released heat to melt the spear and looked in the direction it had come from.
“Grrk! We must stop them! If the defensive line to the cave is breached, the children will be in danger!”
“Yes! Grrk!”
There, frog people were desperately holding back the ice soldiers.
“This makes things easier. Let’s help them.”
At Bagan’s suggestion, Elizabeth nodded and immediately called upon her spirit’s power. She had asked Elestra to assess the enemy’s scale and condition.
“Bagan, they’re the same as the ones we met before. There are roughly a hundred of them.”
“Got it. Elizabeth, protect the frog people. I’ll handle the rest.”
Bagan immediately dashed toward the ice soldiers in the rear. Meanwhile, Elizabeth activated her spirit magic.
“Water Curtain!”
She spread a water barrier in front of the frog people, who had been holding the line while prepared to die, blocking some of the icicle spears. Then she drew an empty bowstring and fired. An arrow made of spirit power pierced straight through an ice soldier’s head.
Her vision had been too poor in the predawn darkness to use her bow, but now she was firing nearly one shot per second. That alone was enough to show just how strong she was.
However—
“Grrk! What is this?”
“Grrk! Enemies attacking from behind too!”
“There’s an archer! Grrk!”
The frog people had completely misunderstood Elizabeth. Because of that, the larger frog people in the rear, armed with long spears, began targeting her.
“I-I’m here to help!”
“Grrk? Lies! You shot at the front line!”
Even after she said she was there to help, the frog people pointed their tridents at her throat the moment they saw her. Elizabeth raised the hand that had been firing her bow and swallowed nervously.
Gulp.
The frog people’s response was far more hostile than she had expected. Then she remembered what Bagan had said earlier.
“W-we want to be friends.”
“Grrk?”
She thought it would never work. How could it? Could simply saying “let’s be friends” make them spare someone who had been an enemy just ten seconds ago?
Elizabeth was starting to resent Bagan.
“Grrk. Not friends.”