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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 29: Grant Mercy, Let Me Join His Side at Once! (8)
Unintentionally, Yeonwoo ended up giving Mulhoe a lecture on spirits.
"Think about what you know regarding spirit powered hunters."
“-They usually have a lot of personal secrets, but what is known is that during awakening, they receive a chant to summon a spirit of a single attribute, and then form a contract with it.”
"That’s the general case."
“-General... you say?”
"With the amount of spiritual power I have now, I could summon and command about five or six Spirit Kings."
Mulhoe made a confused face at Yeonwoo’s explanation.
“-Then why…”
"The summoning method I use is different. During the initial summoning, I must first provide the majority of my magic power. If I'm not careful, I could die from spiritual power depletion. Moreover, the spirit energy used to make the contract recovers very slowly. It's like starting out with severed limbs. Why would I be insane enough to summon using my own spirit power?"
Mulhoe had a complex expression on her face.
In her knowledge, spirit masters were simply those who borrowed the power of spirits.
That was the extent of what was recorded.
They were known for having good firepower but poor sustainability.
That was the reputation of spirit masters.
But Yeonwoo was the opposite.
To summon spirits with such great firepower, a massive amount of spirit energy was required.
With that kind of energy, sustainability wouldn’t even be a concern.
“-Yeonwoo, you're quite different from the spirit masters in my records.”
"Of course I would be. Those fakes in your records only made contracts with the nature spirits present on Earth. That’s the exact opposite of what I do."
“-The opposite...?”
"Yeah. I summon them directly from the Spirit Realm."
Mulhoe nodded slightly, indicating she understood at least a little.
“-Do you really have to go that far…”
"There’s an order and degree to things. When you make a contract with a Spirit King, how do you think it works?"
“-I'm not sure. The existence of Spirit Kings is something I first heard about from you, Yeonwoo.”
"It’s similar to the Demon King's Tower and its system. As you defeat enemies starting from the 1st floor, you eventually reach the Demon King on the 99th floor."
“-Ah…”
An unexpectedly fitting analogy caused her to instinctively let out an exclamation.
"If you make a contract with a nature spirit, you can never summon a Spirit King. At best, you might reach mid-to-high tier spirits. It’s basically a gamble. Nature spirits are beings derived from completed Spirit Kings or high-level spirits."
“-That's complicated.”
"So, typically, spirit powered hunters are just summoning lackeys of already matured high spirits."
“-Lackeys?”
"Worker ants that can never become queens."
“-Then you're saying the spirits of the Spirit Realm are ones that can become queen ants?”
"Exactly. You can contract up to high-tier spirits just fine, but from top-tier to Spirit King, you can’t summon or contract them directly. You have to raise them yourself."
“-That's…”
She thought she'd gotten used to the shock, but every conversation with Yeonwoo brought more surprises.
She finally understood why Yeonwoo had once referred to Earth’s spirit masters as empty shells when he summoned Areum.
Put simply, nature spirits are derivatives of already complete Spirit Kings.
On the other hand, spirits like Areum, with whom Yeonwoo had made a contract, had the potential to become Spirit Kings themselves.
The difference between the two is whether there exists a higher spirit that created them.
Once Areum grows into a mid-tier spirit, she’ll begin generating low-tier spirits herself.
Then, Yeonwoo will be able to control both mid and low-tier spirits at the same time, removing the need to rely solely on Areum.
Conversely, spirit masters who summon nature spirits will struggle to control anything above mid-tier spirits no matter how hard they try.
A brutal but realistic truth that only someone aware of the hidden lore of the Spirit Realm could understand.
With just a few words, Yeonwoo had accurately predicted the future of spirit powered hunters.
A miserable growth rate with clear limitations.
"And that’s not all. Nature spirits can only be summoned if you’ve contracted them, but with my method, the number of spirits I can summon increases proportionally to my spiritual power. The range of their abilities is also completely different."
“-I see…”
"Let’s put the complex talk aside. I should start furnishing this place. I also need to get a map. It would be nice to have a mode of transport, but I’ll take care of that slowly."
At some point, Areum had dozed off and was now snoring softly on the bed.
Even when told to return to the Spirit Realm, she had stubbornly refused.
It was absurd.
Unlike nature spirits, who often seemed somewhat mechanical, Areum felt like a real girl of her age.
"A mutant... well, not all spirits in the Spirit Realm are the same, after all."
The world was still full of unknowns.
Even the spirits themselves were unaware of many things about their own dimension.
What Yeonwoo knew, came solely from what the contracted Spirit Kings had told him.
He chuckled as he whispered and gently covered Areum.
He couldn’t dislike them no matter what.
Spirits were pure, and that purity made them trustworthy.
They were companions to be loved.
Those who had grown alongside Yeonwoo and eventually became Spirit Kings:
The Fire Spirit King, Ifrit the Blazer.
The Water Spirit King, Elheim the Moist.
The Wind Spirit King, Sylphid the Drifter.
The names were odd but had a familiar charm.
They got along well.
The Earth Spirit King, Noas the Dwarf, often fought with the others, but their affection for each other was clear.
Since spirit masters and spirits were bound by their souls, mutual care was a given.
One day, Areum would also earn the title of Earth Spirit King and become like the dwarf Noas, with whom Yeonwoo had a contract on the Rune Continent.
Even if she showed irregular traits, as a spirit who responded to the summoning of a gnome, she likely followed the fundamental system.
So what if she was a little unusual?
Yeonwoo gently stroked Areum’s brittle hair.
He looked a little different from how he appeared around others.
When with others, he kept a certain distance, often quiet, firm, and strong.
But with Mulhoe or Areum, he was mischievous and cheerful, smiling more often.
His smiles, though sometimes a little forced, were never fake.
“-Really, you’re among the top irregulars I’ve ever seen. It’s bruising my pride to even admit it.”
"I’ll tell you the details later. When I can truly trust you. If I die, you’ll die with me, and..."
“-...Understood.”
Mulhoe retreated with a dejected look on her face, filled with gloom.
But for Yeonwoo, this was the best he could offer for now.
‘Inventory.’
Without even saying it out loud, he activated the inventory command in his mind.
The status box of the ever present cube system expanded massively beside him.
Hundreds of small slots began to appear within a large inventory box.
He placed the scale robe of Artenis, which he wore during hunter missions, inside.
Underneath, his regular clothes were revealed.
Even though the outfit seemed plain, his face alone made it look stylish.
A selfish phenomenon.
‘Is there even a need to hide it?’
It wasn’t something that needed to be hidden, but Yeonwoo didn’t want to boast.
He preferred that Mulhoe just come to terms with it.
Until he summoned Artenis, he had to stay cautious, regardless of whether the other party was his navigator.
Seeing Mulhoe sweeping her silver hair aside made him long to see Artenis even more.
He clicked his tongue softly as that wave of longing suddenly surged.
It had only been two days, but it already hurt.
He must have been relying on her far more than he realized.
He had to keep moving.
That was the only way to get closer to his goal.
He wanted to see her again, as soon as possible.
‘I should aim a little higher.’
Risk and return. In the end, it was all about choices.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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