Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Things That Cease to Be - 1
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It wasn't right after leaving the hero party that I started my adventurer life.
The Pursuer of the Eight Stars had plenty of quests that opened during the main story, but there were just as many that unlocked in Adventure Mode.
To farm achievements comfortably, it was smart to clear those quests too, so I picked one that offered a solid achievement and decent rewards.
The "Mountain You Can't Return From" quest. That's why I headed to Valpzir Mountain.
The Demon King had been annihilated, but monsters were still rampant across the continent, leaving tons of refugees in their wake.
Naturally, plenty of those refugees were injured.
You can't flee from monsters without picking up a scratch or two, right?
One of the merchant companies supplying cheap medicine to those folks was the Babylon Merchant Company.
The reason Babylon could provide medicine at low prices was simple.
They grew herbs on the mountains they owned, and their in-house alchemists processed those herbs into potions.
But then a problem cropped up.
Lately, on one of Babylon's owned mountains—
Valpzir Mountain—herb gatherers who went up to harvest never came back.
At first, they thought it was accidents or monster attacks, so the company sent their guards.
But something astonishing happened.
Even they didn't return.
"Sage, do you know anything about this?"
The client standing before me, Babylon Merchant Company head Astro Babylon, cautiously interrupted my thoughts.
Oh. Do I know the cause?
Of course I do.
"It's the spirits' doing."
"...Pardon?"
Astro Babylon tilted his thick-jawed head in disbelief.
"Why? We hold rituals for the spirits every year to grow and harvest herbs."
"Guess they didn't like your rituals."
"No way. Our shrine maiden is so devout and talented. Thanks to her, our herb farms on the mountain have bumper crops every year..."
"Then bring her here."
Astro eyed me suspiciously before instructing his secretary nearby.
And shortly after.
The old woman, her face brimming with greed, entered and scowled at me, spitting curses right away.
"The all-knowing sage? I don't know how much a brat like you really knows. I've served and honored the spirits for decades... And yet you—"
"Shut it, you old hag."
I was tempted to just blast her.
"You insolent pup!! You helped take down the Demon King and now you're full of yourself! Think you can handle me, no matter how great you are?!"
This quest's villainess—one of them—bellowed at me, and I just looked at her and smirked.
"What are you babbling about? You're just worn out, can't commune with spirits anymore, and planning to retire."
"...What? What do you mean?"
The shrine maiden's face paled. Her eyes, stuffed with greed and desire, trembled with doubt and fear. I held out my empty cup to the secretary.
"One more."
"Ah. Yes."
The prim-looking secretary hurriedly poured me sweet apple tea.
Mmm. Nice aroma.
"Shrine Maiden! Y-You were planning to retire? Why haven't you said anything until now..."
"...You. How much do you know?"
"You don't know? I'm the Sage. I know everything in the world."
The reason the Valpzir Mountain spirit was acting up was simple.
This old hag shrine maiden was getting on in years, her stamina fading, and planning to retire.
Sure, if she just quit cold turkey, no issue.
But no—this grandma wanted to pass the spirit-serving gig to her daughter and disciple.
Spirits are like kids. If something rubs them wrong, they throw every tantrum in the book.
They're also ridiculously picky about who serves them.
Connections? Useless.
Introductions? Ignored.
Only one thing matters.
Whether they like you or not.
And here's the problem.
The spirit said no to the disciple, but the shrine maiden forced it anyway—for her status, her greed, her comfy retirement.
"Even political marriages turn into knock-down-drag-out fights if the couple hates each other. Can't blame the spirit for being pissed."
"Wh-What?! Don't lie! You brat!!"
The old woman barked and lunged to shut me up. I swung my hand, shoving her away.
"Don't touch me!"
"You wretch!!"
"Why not quit while you're ahead? Finish this job, and I'll end your pathetic life. Though the company might handle it without me."
Astro was giving me even more suspicious looks.
Makes sense. He wants to trust the person who's been on his side.
Anyway, I wasn't done talking.
"Normally, you'd show the spirit a bunch of candidates and let it pick. But then someone totally unrelated to the shrine maiden might get chosen, and poof—her cushy life ends. Obvious, right? Company head. You gonna keep propping up a useless shrine maiden?"
"...Th-That's..."
Sure, her power's faded, but she's still a spirit-serving shaman.
By rank, upper-tier—not bad.
But does she deserve the treatment Babylon gives her? Hell no.
"Communing with spirits, becoming their companion or priest—it's not just shamans who can do it. Any kid with a speck of mana could."
And yeah, we call spirits who pick actual kids as companions pedos and exterminate them, but that's not the point right now.
"Come on, hag. Spill the truth."
"Shrine Maiden! Is the Sage telling the truth?"
The shrine maiden clamped her lips shut and glared daggers at me. What're you gonna do, stare me to death?
I set down my drained cup and held it out to the secretary.
"One more."
"...Yes."
The secretary politely refilled my apple tea, and I sipped as I spoke.
"By the way, that old bat's daughter and disciple is the secretary right there."
Flinch.
Even the prim secretary froze, and Astro the company head plunged into total confusion.
Seemed like the string of betrayals hit him hard.
"The secretary's name is Asis Kaitron. Right? Check your records—no point lying. I'm tight with thieves. They dig, everything comes out."
"......"
"Cat got your tongue? Doesn't matter if you admit it or not."
I flashed a smile at the glaring shrine maiden and her disciple.
"Today. I'm wiping out the spirit you're in cahoots with."
The shrine maiden and secretary's faces twisted in an instant.
Master and disciple—great chemistry. Same expression and all.
"Oh. Company head. You know most herbs can only be gathered from slash-and-burn fields, right?"
"...Yes? I know, but..."
"Let's switch up the herbs we handle starting today. I can read ley lines—that Valpzir spot's perfect for slash-and-burn herbs."
I shoved my hands in my pockets and stepped outside.
This was the company office at the base of Valpzir Mountain.
So I had a clear view of the mountain and spotted the anomaly easy.
Anyone could see it.
Valpzir Mountain oozed an openly eerie aura.
That vibe? Perfect for growing curse-related herbs.
"So that's..."
"The spirit's pissed, yeah."
I answered Astro, who'd followed me out.
"Stop!! Stop it!! You madman!! Annihilate the spirit?! You plan to burn the whole mountain?!"
"Huh."
"Wh-What?! The spirit will rage!!"
"So what if the guy getting fired rages? He'll be nothing anyway."
Flinch. The old woman's shoulders shook. Fear filled her eyes now—nothing else.
Wondering how much I know, how far I'll go?
Astro, glancing between the terrified shrine maiden and my confidence, cautiously asked for an explanation.
He's the client—gotta give him this much.
"Spirits are like contract workers guarding specific spots. If shit hits the fan, they take responsibility and step aside. Or rather, lose all power and get reabsorbed into nature."
"But burning the whole mountain..."
"You run a company—you get it. If a powerful client starts throwing tantrums, you deal with it fast, or the damage snowballs."
Starts with complaints about goods, escalates to threatening the whole operation.
Nobles badmouth to other nobles, mercs or adventurers spread word to their crews.
A spirit's tantrum? Ten times worse.
"Would've been fine if it just spoke up. 'I hate that woman! I want a love marriage!' Or whatever."
But no—the spirit vented its rage its own way.
I get the feelings, but that doesn't excuse it.
"Leave that mountain spirit be, and it'll screw not just the mountain—this whole area, even your other mountains and rivers. Troublemakers get bolder if ignored."
"...."
"So cut the current spirit, let a new one take the post. Plenty wanna be spirits."
How you negotiate with the new one after? Not my job.
Unless the guild requests me as a designated adventurer.
For now, quest and achievement first.
Astro agonized.
Torn between the wailing shrine maiden and me—who to trust.
After groaning forever, he finally nodded.
"Please, Sage. But... won't it affect other areas?"
"No worries. Brought the right crew for the job. Hey! Call those drunks down below!"
One employee dashed down, and soon after, folks in rare getups climbed up.
A witch in blood-red robes, wielding a flame-wrapped staff, yellow-haired under a red conical hat.
A lizardman etched with shamanic runes, sporting seven grotesque horns, gripping a sharp spear.
The shrine maiden freaked at the sight, retching and cursing me.
"M-Madman! Madman! Grah! Blech! Mad... man!! F-Followers of outer gods.... Urk!"
"...Not those guys."
"Oh? You know 'em?"
Good eye for people.
If he'd used it to cut the shrine maiden sooner, better for everyone.
"Introduce ya. Southern mad witch, Wheelorot."
"Ehehehehe! Can I burn it?! Huh?! Sage! Can I burn it?!"
"Whoa, hold up."
She giggled maniacally, twitching her fire staff.
Once incinerated thousands of invading southern monsters in one shot.
Fire witch serving the god of destructive flames, Wheelorot.
And.
"Ruler of space, apostle of the cosmic outer god Cosmo. Gultayrak."
The sole apostle of Cosmo, who'd granted me teleportation powers—Gultayrak.
"....."
What a antisocial prick.
Gultayrak glanced at me, said nothing, just pointed his spear at the mountain.
"Alright. Let's begin."
I aimed my staff at the mountain and shattered the mana-boost gem from the last quest.
With massive mana surging into the staff, I activated the barrier.
"Ah. Aaaahhh!! Aaaagh!!"
A powerful barrier enveloped the entire mountain. The shrine maiden despaired.
"Ah... Aaaah... Spirit... Dear spirit... P-Please, don't let these insolents crush you..."
The old woman's mutterings weren't spells.
Just desperate pleas for false hope.
She knew.
What was about to happen.
-Ooooo...
A scream—man or woman, old or young?—echoed from the foggy mountain.
Tensed by my barrier.
Quick on the uptake. Too bad it didn't use that before the tantrum.
"Eehehehehe!! Can I?! Can I?!"
"Burn it."
"Eehehehehehe!!"
The witch cackled, raising her staff—and a second sun bloomed in the sky.
The sky, rejecting two suns, hurled the new one down.
Straight at Valpzir Mountain.
The ravenous sun plummeted with a roar, intent on devouring the peak in flames.
-You wreeeetch!! Stop!! Stoooop!! No!! Hate it!! Don't wanna be nothing!! Don't wanna return to natureeee!!
Becoming a spirit ain't easy.
Maybe a thousand—no, thousands—of years of suffering.
And that.
All that effort and pain, gone in a flash.
No wonder the spirit screamed and begged.
Proof: an unidentified plea from the mountain.
-I was wrong! I'll apologize! So please...!!
The horrific, terrified wail was pitiful enough to bring tears.
"Too late."
Gultayrak hurled his spear. It flew skyward, pierced the barrier, stabbed the mountain.
-Kuuuuhhh!!
The spear as key—space tore open above.
Dozens of meteors burst out.
Cosmo's destructive stars rained on the spear's mark.
Flames and ruin would engulf the mountain.
No longer a mountain. Its guardian spirit would pay and dissolve into nature.
-Kwaaaaaang!!
Fire and destruction swept the mountain in one go.
The backlash, rebounding off my barrier, ravaged it further. I smiled.
"Ah... Aaaah... Urk.... Bluuuugh! Cough!!"
The spirit's annihilation rocked the shrine maiden—she shook, vomiting blood. Her secretary-disciple fainted outright.
Not my problem.
What mattered.
[Achievement Unlocked: Return to Nature.]
[Acquired Spirit Seed.]
Quest complete. One mountain gone.
One achievement earned.
That's it.
.
.
.
"M-Master?"
"Oh. Got lost in thought for a sec."
Seeing a spirit after so long stirred up old memories.
I swung Moonlight again at the blonde-tanned Ksare spirit glaring murderously.
Its body burst, reformed, and tentacles of water lashed at me.
-Boom!!
"No?!"
Lukendi's arrow shredded the tentacles.
Her bow's no joke.
As the spirit's face twisted, I told Baltin,
"Tear it apart."
"But it's water. Does it tear?"
"Egypt's king Moses parted the Red Sea barehanded. You saying you can't?"
"Well, still."
"Fine then."
I piled every buff and enchantment I could on Baltin.
Ice aura cloaked his fists.
Heh. Baltin grinned viciously, clenching them.
"Heh heh. Never thought I'd live to rip a spirit."
"Scared?"
"Thrilled...!! Just give orders! Sage!!"
His mane bristled, beastman aura flooding out.
Shaking with excitement, I grinned and aimed my staff.
"You're stronger now. Charge."
"Kiyaaah!!"
Seeing him so hyped made me proud for buffing him.
Author's Note (Afterword)
See you tomorrow! Bye~!