Chapter 105. Spirit (4)
The mana of the spirit stone and the mana of Verden tangled together.
Since they were not the same mana, there was a slight repulsion, but only for a moment, and soon, a blue light burst out from the spirit stone.
‘So the spirit stone fills up in proportion to the mana consumed.’
By rough estimation, it seemed that far more mana was needed than expected to fill the spirit stone completely.
However, there was no problem. One of Verden’s greatest strengths as a Mage was his mana capacity, which far surpassed the limits of tiers.
Paaaah!
Verden activated the mana circuits of his entire body, and injected his mana even more forcefully. How many minutes passed? Before long, the charge had already reached half.
Verden’s mana was still overflowing.
‘At this rate, it won’t be long…….’
At that moment.
The mana of the spirit stone reversed, and flowed into Verden.
Startled by the sudden reaction, he immediately stopped the injection.
Since the nature of the mana within the spirit stone was originally Verden’s, there was no real problem, but for an instant, a vision flashed before his eyes — sunlight streaming down through thick forest trees.
It was a memory Verden did not know.
“Memory transfer?”
Yes, the same sensation as Harkan’s memory transfer.
Verden narrowed his eyes at the unknown phenomenon.
Why such a thing had happened, he could not tell for now.
Still, the fact that it was not described in any book meant that this was not a common occurrence. No, the very act of successfully infusing a spirit stone with a Mage’s mana could be considered an extraordinary case in itself.
‘The memory of a spirit…….’
After pondering for a moment, Verden resumed the mana injection.
After all, a memory transfer spell could cause Verden no harm. And his curiosity outweighed any concern.
To glimpse the memories of an abnormal species with no lifespan, most would not be able to resist. Neither could Verden.
Once more, the mana shone brightly.
As the spirit stone filled, mana simultaneously flowed back into him. Strange, unfamiliar memories seeped in bit by bit.
Verden did not resist, and accepted the memories in full.
As though watching a play.
Verden’s vision shifted into that of a forest spirit.
***
Sunlight streaming down through the leaves, the dense forest.
There stood a stranger. Shining blonde hair, clear skin and beautiful features, and long ears. Clad in a type of light armor Verden had never seen, the man could only be an Elf.
The Elf moved nimbly through the forest.
From time to time, he turned his head toward the spirit and spoke, showing that indeed, he was moving together with the forest spirit.
Yet his voice could not be heard.
And then the memory shifted to the next scene.
The situation was no longer peaceful.
The Elf, his face grim, held a curved blade. Before him stood humans robed in violet.
Among them, a middle-aged man with a gray beard reaching down to his chest spoke to the Elf.
Again, no voice could be heard.
But it was clear that whatever was said had offended the Elf.
Elf and forest spirit.
The two released their killing intent and charged at the humans, and the middle-aged man raised his mana with a mocking smile.
The memory shifted again.
A forest marked with traces of battle.
Neither Elf nor human remained. Only blood dried on the ground, and the faltering vision of the forest spirit.
Through the memory, Verden felt the spirit’s confusion.
It sought help, yet no Elf, no spirit, could find the kidnapped Elf.
So the spirit wandered endlessly, searching for the Elf alone.
The scenery was always forest, so it was impossible to tell how much time had passed. And then, at last, the spirit saw him.
The middle-aged Mage who had kidnapped the Elf.
But it did not attack recklessly.
The spirit had learned. It could not win alone. And only by following them could it find the Elf.
The spirit pursued their trail relentlessly, until it reached the deep Sloan Forest in the Estiria Kingdom.
But there, the trail vanished. The spirit once more wandered the forest in vain.
Some time later, the spirit saw a group of humans. Verden, seated before a campfire.
Though not the same middle-aged man who had taken the Elf…… the spirit did not care. The rage against humans built up over time. The weary spirit could no longer endure.
And so, the next day.
The spirit appeared before Verden and the adventurers, revealing its fury. And it was annihilated by Verden’s magic.
That was the final memory.
Returning from the past to reality, Verden.
He stopped the mana injection for a moment and organized his thoughts.
‘So Elves and spirits were friends.’
It seemed the author’s theory in that book had been correct after all.
Not that it held scholarly value as knowledge, but still. Then Verden recalled the mana of the middle-aged man.
The spirit’s memory was not enough to measure his level, but to have subdued both Elf and forest spirit, he might well be a Mage of the 5th tier or higher.
‘What in the world would such a Mage want with an Elf?’
He could not know. There was too little information.
The fact that news of the Elf’s abduction had not spread to the world might mean the middle-aged Mage had concealed the Elf’s whereabouts through some means. Or perhaps the Elf was too far away for others of his kind to sense his location.
Either was plausible.
‘But there’s no way to know when this happened.’
The memories were too limited to judge the passage of time.
Perhaps the Elf had been taken decades, centuries ago. The fact that the spirit remained here did not necessarily mean the Elf was still in Estiria Kingdom.
Soon, Verden lost interest.
Whether an Elf was kidnapped or not had nothing to do with him. He had no intention of wasting time on a face unknown, perhaps even a being that might no longer exist in this world.
Verden shifted his thoughts.
Back to the spirit.
‘Now then, how should I make use of a spirit?’
He still needed more mana to completely fill the spirit stone.
He could inject enough to revive the spirit right now, but no real use for it came to mind. His curiosity about the spirit had already been satisfied through the memory transfer.
Verden pondered carefully.
And then, after a while.
“Yes, that will do.”
The experiment with the magic circle, and the purpose of the spirit.
He had thought of a way to seize both at once.
Taking the spirit stone with him, Verden headed outside.
***
Verden, having arrived at Sloan Forest, created a hollow underground.
Then, on the floor, he drew a magic circle just large enough for one person to enter. It was no ordinary circle, so he poured his utmost effort into it.
If even a grain of soil was misplaced, it would fail. This was a top-tier magic circle, one that even Verden himself could only guarantee half a chance of success.
No special materials were needed, but it demanded perfect precision. Just like the spatial teleportation circle he had used to escape from the magic tower.
“Phew, this should do.”
Verden rubbed his weary eyes.
At his feet was a magic circle so densely inscribed, there was hardly any empty space. Seventeen whole hours had been poured into this single, small circle.
By now, the outside must have passed morning and neared evening.
Verden placed the hand holding the spirit stone onto the circle.
He resumed the halted mana injection. Blue light filled the entire hollow.
Before long, the fully charged spirit stone cracked, and from within, the spirit revealed itself. The shattered fragments oxidized into mana, yet the spirit’s color was strange.
‘Blue instead of green?’
……Well, the color didn’t matter.
Now that the spirit’s revival was confirmed, Verden activated the circle before the spirit could regain its senses.
Forced magic circle, Coercion, activated.
The very same hated circle the tower master, Balrog Bessias, had once used to strip Verden of his freedom.
Even Verden, who had broken into the vault of the magic tower, had never been able to break that circle on his own. An ordinary Mage would not even understand a fragment of it.
‘With my skill, I can’t recreate the full effect of a tower master.’
But it should be possible to restrict a spirit’s actions to some extent.
Even if it was an abnormal species with intellect, its autonomy was nothing compared to that of a human.
The magic circle’s mana bound the spirit.
The same markings once engraved on Verden’s body rose upon the spirit, then vanished.
The blue glow disappeared, silence returned to the hollow.
At its center, the blue spirit faintly illuminated the darkness.
Verden commanded,
“Come here.”
[……?!]
The spirit moved.
It resisted for an instant, but was immediately subdued by the Coercion. Through its mana, Verden felt its panic.
‘Fortunately, the circle seems to have worked.’
For years, he had studied the tower master’s circle, all to find a way to dismantle the one in the vault.
And now, succeeding in activating such a top-tier circle for the first time since the spatial teleportation circle, Verden savored the accomplishment and elation of a Mage.
Now for the next step.
The forest spirit was filled with Verden’s mana. Perhaps its nature had changed, its powers as a forest spirit altered.
How far, he wondered.
Verden asked the spirit,
“What can you do?”
The Mage who had annihilated it, standing before it again right after its revival.
The spirit struggled desperately once more, but it was pointless. This was the first oppression it had ever felt. For the first time in its existence, the spirit felt fear.
At last, as if in complete resignation, it flickered faintly and obeyed the command.
Fire.
Water.
Ice.
Lightning.
Earth.
The spirit did not manipulate nature, but displayed various elemental magics. Since it bore Verden’s mana, it seemed able to handle elemental attributes of the same tier as him.
It was a clear difference from when it had been a mere forest spirit.
“Usable only up to elemental magic, and limited to lower 4th tier. No composite spells or those requiring focus. ……But this should be enough.”
Enough for the purpose he had in mind.
Satisfied with the results, Verden smiled.
***
Summoned by Perne, Verden visited her tavern.
“We found the location of the Blue Cloud Merchant Guild.”
Perne spoke, her eyes sunken.
She looked as though she had gone several nights without sleep, no doubt busy collecting information with her unfinished network.
“The place is the mining town, ‘Mildruen’. My information net doesn’t quite reach that far, so I don’t know the most recent situation. But I found trade ledgers connected to the guild, and it seems they’re purchasing large amounts of ore and magic stones there, planning a massive shipment.”
“Until when?”
“Judging from the quantity, it’s a considerable deal. So their stay should be longer than usual. If you change horses along the way, you’ll have plenty of time to catch them in Mildruen.”
Perne continued.
“I won’t ask what business Sir Asher has with Medin of the Blue Cloud Guild. I’m an informant, after all. But there’s one thing you must remember.”
“What is it?”
“According to recent information, the ‘Union’ is contacting the Blue Cloud Guild. Whether it’s just to hand them commissions, or to absorb them as members, I don’t know…… but in any case, you must avoid clashing with the Union. Behind them stand greedy nobles. With my strength, I can’t hope to oppose them, I can’t even hold out against them.”
If things went wrong, Perne’s information network could collapse entirely.
It had happened before. Without Verden, Perne would have been finished already. One day he would take revenge on the Union, but not now.
Perne spoke firmly,
“So please, take care, please!”
Verden only shrugged in reply.
His purpose in meeting Medin of the Blue Cloud Guild was simply to obtain an invitation. He had no reason or intention to clash with the Union.
Thus, his next destination was set for Mildruen.
“Oh, and there’s something I want to give you.”
“……To me?”
Money, perhaps?
But what appeared was far beyond that.
From Verden’s arms, the blue spirit stepped forward toward Perne.
“A spirit. Quite useful, so you won’t end up pathetically assassinated.”
Perne had said it herself. That the Union might threaten her life.
So Verden decided to leave her the spirit.
It was small, easy to carry. And infused with Verden’s mana, it possessed greater abilities than expected.
‘I could keep it with me, but it’s hardly necessary.’
In fact, it was more likely to get in the way.
Verden’s magic was most free when he fought alone. Adjusting his power while worrying about others was nothing but a hassle.
Perne’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
“……A spirit? The same spirit I know? An abnormal species?”
“It won’t harm you, so don’t worry. Then, I’ll be off.”
While Perne stood bewildered, lips trembling, Verden slipped out of the tavern.
Left behind, Perne and the spirit.
The two stared blankly at each other.
Está interesante, lo voy a seguir.