The Covenant of the Spirit Kings

The Spirit Kings slept in postures all their own.

The first to seize the eye was the massive male figure seated upon the throne of fire.

Ifrit…….

His entire body blazed like molten gold, long hair a roaring cascade of pure flame.

Whew.

Even at a glance, a vicious aura of rage and destruction rolled off him in waves. It was the kind of presence that caught the breath clean in a man’s throat.

Opposite him lay a female form surrendered to the gentle flow of water. Transparent as sapphire, her blue hair embraced her body like a living waterfall. Beneath pale skin lingered a deep, abiding sorrow. Absolute-zero cold radiated from her, cold enough to freeze the very space around her solid.

That would be Elaim.

The Spirit King ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Water.

Below them, a Spirit King in the shape of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠young child slept curled in on himself. Rune-like characters were carved across skin as hard as granite.

Noas, Spirit King of Earth.

Last of all, a transparent current of wind had gathered itself into the precarious silhouette of a woman.

Sylphid.

The four of them together were simply overwhelming.

“Truly magnificent,” Ha-wol murmured, continuing her explanation of their power. “Each one is a wellspring of force capable of erasing an entire world! I knew the dimensions linked to the Tower held creatures called Divine Beasts, but……”

Divine Beasts.

Beings like the Pungjo Hyun Si-woon had contracted. Properly raised, some of them far surpassed even Rankers. Ha-wol’s own world had possessed them too—the Thousand-Year Spirit Toad, the Sword-Soul Divine Ape. One a jade toad, the other an ape; both had long since been captured by the Tower Lord’s forces and kept as pampered pets.

“Does it make any sense that existences this tremendous would be sealed on a mere seventh floor? And that there exists a Demonkin powerful enough to bind them in the first place……? Heh heh heh.”

“Nothing’s impossible. By my standards the Tower itself doesn’t make sense.”

“Hmph. Fair point. So how do you break that seal?”

“Can’t break it yet.”

“Then?”

“We wait. Until the kids upstairs take down Malakar.”

Hyun Si-woon’s voice was lazy. He found a decent stretch of floor nearby and sprawled flat on his back.

“Only when a Legion Commander-class Demonkin falls will a crack open in this seal.”

“Malakar, is it……” Ha-wol nodded as understanding dawned. “At their level they should crush someone like Malakar without complications…… Remarkable. You built the entire board with that in mind?”

Well. There was no one left who needed worrying over, so why waste worry on Hyun Si-woon? In Ha-wol’s eyes he was nothing short of a game master. No Ranker in history could match his knowledge of the Tower of Despair. Most of them were meatheads who simply bulldozed everything with raw physicals.

“Anyway…… I’m catching some sleep. Wake me if anything strange happens.”

“What? Does this lady look like your personal maid to you?”

Ha-wol snapped the words out peevishly, but no answer came. None could. The instant the sentence left his mouth he had already plunged into deep sleep. The frayed thread of a mind saturated with exhaustion simply snapped; he did not so much as twitch.

“Y-you ungrateful little brat……!”

Ha-wol let out a hollow laugh of pure disbelief. Tch. She clucked her tongue and grumbled, yet her gaze never once left the sleeping Hyun Si-woon. Potions were knitting the wounds of his flesh, but the deathly pallor and the faint flutter of his eyelids told the whole story of how far past the brink of mental collapse he had been driven.

Softly, the peevish curl at the corner of Ha-wol’s mouth melted away. In its place rose a faint, fond smile she herself never noticed.

I look forward to the future.

What would happen the day this peculiar creature reached the end of the Tower? The Moon Spirit would not stop at reclaiming its former glory. Perhaps he would even surpass that loathsome current Tower Lord. Ha-wol’s imagination bloomed richer, and the corners of her lips rose higher still.

Perhaps seven hours had passed.

Rumble!

A faint vibration began to thrum through the black crystal pillar Ha-wol had been watching. Hairline fractures spidered across the mana chains that formed the seal.

“Oho.” Ha-wol’s eyes lit. “They got him. Faster than expected.”

She did not hesitate. Leaning in, she roared straight into the ear of the soundly sleeping Hyun Si-woon.

“You rascal! Get up! How long do you intend to sleep?!”

“Mmm.”

Hyun Si-woon frowned and cracked his eyes open.

I was finally having a good dream for once, a real honey of a sleep…….

“Pull yourself together and look over there!”

He followed the direction of her fingertip to the crystal pillar. Exactly as predicted. Malakar’s death was shaking the very foundation of the seal. His mind snapped fully awake.

Shing!

Formless Sword in hand, he strode to the pillar without a second’s pause. Unsealing was simple.

Sever the weakest link.

After that? The Spirit Kings would handle the rest themselves.

Crunch!

The blade drove into the crack. A chain reaction bloomed. Web-like fractures raced across the entire crystal, and then—

Paaaaaaaaah!

Blinding light erupted as the crystal shattered into glittering shards and scattered. At the same instant the mana chains that had bound the four Spirit Kings fell away like rotten rope.

“Grrraaah.”

Ifrit’s eyes snapped open with a sound like boiling rock. Whoosh! The ambient temperature spiked hard.

“……At last the seal is broken.”

His voice was low and thick, lava rolling over stone. One after another the remaining Spirit Kings opened their eyes.

“That clever Climber has released our seal.”

Elaim, Spirit King of Water, rose with liquid grace.

“Hyat! What a truly grateful human, isn’t he?!”

Noas, Spirit King of Earth, uncurled from his crouch and cried out in a bright, childish voice.

“You there.”

Whoosh!

Sylphid rippled like living wind and fixed her gaze on Hyun Si-woon.

“Thanks to you we are free of this detestable seal, and we have regained the chance to protect the children of Sylvanas, whom we loved.”

Sylphid launched into a lengthy account of everything that had befallen them—every word of which Hyun Si-woon already knew. A thoroughly predictable story.

“In any case, this source of calamity—the Rift to the Demon Realm—we shall close completely. Never again will those creatures nest in this forest.”

With that the four Spirit Kings stretched out their hands as one.

Whoosh—BOOM!

Pillars of fire roared skyward; walls of ice crystallized into being. Rumble—whoooosh! Vast slabs of earth heaved upward while blade-edged winds howled, ready to shear anything they touched. The four elements twined together and began to fill the warped space, stitching the torn boundary of the dimension shut as neatly as a seamstress mending cloth.

“Nice.”

The greatest hidden mission of the seventh floor—cleared. Just as curiosity about the coming reward began to stir—

“Huh?”

Hyun Si-woon’s brow furrowed. This message had not been in the script.

“Whaaat?”

Ha-wol reacted even faster than Hyun Si-woon. The message had clearly gone out as a world-wide announcement rather than a private notice.

“What in the blazes is this……?! The system of the Tower of Despair itself has changed? This is something that does not exist even in Ranker history!”

Hmm.

Hyun Si-woon was surprised too. The explicit mention of the ‘Earth’ dimension meant Climbers from other servers, not just the Republic of Korea, would receive the benefit. Given enough time, Spirit Mages would become a reasonably common sight.

“Take this.”

Ifrit extended a hand.

“A small token of gratitude for saving the children of Sylvanas.”

“Our modest repayment.”

“We have poured our covenant into the bow once used by Sylvanas.”

The other Spirit Kings joined their hands once more. Four-colored light began to weave together in mid-air. Fire and water, earth and wind refused to repel one another; instead they blended in perfect harmony, slowly shaping themselves into the form of a bow. Earth’s power formed the skeleton, water’s current carved the graceful curves, wind wove the string, and at the heart a tiny, unquenchable flame burned.

The mystical, beautiful bow drifted gently forward and settled before Hyun Si-woon.

Whoa.

Hyun Si-woon accepted the bow with eyes full of wonder. The familiar information window bloomed before him.

This is…….

A soft sound of pure admiration escaped Hyun Si-woon’s lips. It was no ordinary bow.

Every time I draw the string a spirit appears? And I can choose the attribute?

When he first heard that an altar had been added to the first floor he had felt a mild pang of unfairness—Climbers who had already passed that stage could never return. That regret evaporated now. He could simply summon the spirits himself. And unlike every other Climber, he appeared able to command all four attributes.

Time for a test.

He nocked an arrow.

Fire.

Twang!

The moment the string left his fingers, a tiny flame blossomed and resolved into a palm-sized lizard.

Water next.

Splash!

A pale-blue little girl appeared, giggling as she circled him.

Two more arrows followed.

A stocky little rock-like creature and a tiny fairy with butterfly wings appeared in turn. Four lesser spirits now hovered adorably at his side.

“Hmm.” Ha-wol narrowed her eyes. “Rather underwhelming. Four trash mobs that look about ninth-rank at best—that’s the end of it?”

She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Hyun Si-woon snorted softly. He had never used them, yet pure instinct told him everything. Their dungeon utility would be on an entirely different level from anything he currently possessed. The sheer convenience of free elemental power—scouting, reconnaissance, trap disarmament, survival, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠creating variables…… These tiny spirits would become the ultimate tools in every phase of dungeon conquest. To freely command the elements was to dominate the environment itself.

And that was not all.

This is a growth-type…….

What would happen once it reached Rare, then Unique? The growth formula flashed through his mind with crystal clarity.

Normal — Lesser Spirits

Rare — Intermediate Spirits

Unique — Greater Spirits

Legendary — Supreme Spirits

And beyond that?

Hyun Si-woon’s eyes burned.

The Spirit Kings themselves.

The day would come when he could call forth those four—beings so powerful even Ha-wol had whistled in awe. The thought alone curled an unbidden smile across his lips.

“Treat it with care, human. That bow is our will and our power made manifest.”

“The larger your vessel grows, the greater the power sealed within the bow will become as well.”

“Hee-hee! When you get stronger later, make sure you come see us again!”

“I shall await the day the winds of fate lead us to one another once more.”

With Sylphid’s final farewell the forms of the four Spirit Kings slowly dissolved into light and scattered. Where they had stood remained only a perfectly sealed dimensional wall.

At the same moment—

At last the seventh floor was finished.