Episode 55
Inferno, responding to my call, intercepted one of the two red quarkers that had just broken away from the herd.
Another guy was blocked by a swarm of Hebron knights.
The Hebron soldiers faced the Quakers. The ordinary Quakers, not under the command of the Red Quakers, were no match for the regular Hebron army.
The red quark that was trampled by the horse survived.
However, my whole body was in tatters and I was still dazed and out of my mind, when Suyang guided me to him.
Kwajik!
He stabbed the longsword into the red quark’s belly.
There were two red quarks left.
“Inferno, go back.”
-joy!
Inferno was good when dealing with multiple enemies, but it felt inadequate when fighting a single enemy. Iredem seemed like a better match for the red quarker.
But now I couldn’t summon Iredem or any other spirits. There were too many eyes watching me, and my aura was about to hit rock bottom.
“I will take care of it, my lord! Come on, come on!”
Ambrod galloped forward, kicking the flank of his warhorse. The warhorse Ambrod had brought with him from the Zielson estate was sturdier than any of the other horses in Hebron.
As Ambrod ran toward me, the red quarker turned around abruptly instead of rushing towards me.
Kaaaaang!
Ambrod’s sword clashed with Red Quark’s claws.
This time, perhaps because the red quark was well prepared, his claws were not cut by the aura-infused sword.
Instead, Ambrod’s upper body shook.
‘As expected, my lower body strength is still lacking.’
It was inevitable since I had one leg missing. I tried to attach my body to the saddle, but the strength in my lower back was gone.
“Ambrod, are you struggling because of a single Quaker? The swordsmanship I taught you wasn’t that great.”
Ambrod gritted his teeth and held on.
Meanwhile, the other four knights fought against one red quarker.
‘Ambrod is excellent. The problem is that his limitations are obvious.’
The soldiers’ morale was blunted as they were temporarily freed from the command of the knights. They were evenly matched in a fight that could have been overwhelming. There were even casualties here and there.
Solon led the cavalry to help his allies, but he lacked the experience to lead an army of 600 men.
“What are you guys doing! Slave soldiers, dig deep into the enemy lines! 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Armies, attack from the left! 4th and 5th Armies, attack from the front! 6th Army, block the retreat!”
As soon as my command was given, the soldiers of Hebron moved in unison.
As the formation of our forces changed, the situation completely tilted in our favor. They were also unable to receive orders from their commander.
Kwajik!
“Huh!”
Ambrod swallowed a groan.
A red quark had bitten his left shoulder.
Holy crap!
Ambrod gave his shoulder and slit the red quarker’s throat. He picked up the quarker’s head from the ground, bleeding profusely.
Ambrod said, handing me the red quark head.
“I’m sorry for showing you my ugly side.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
While Ambrod was active, the four knights also killed the red quarkers. Now, only about 300 quarkers remained.
They sensed defeat and tried to retreat.
“Blood, spread blood. El, spread fog.”
Blood mist was scattered. As the wind spirit pushed the mist away, the quarkers who smelled its scent quickly turned around. They rolled their eyes like drugged addicts and rushed towards me.
“Stop! Defend the Lord! Soldiers of Hebron, turn to the sky!”
As Ambrose led the way, the soldiers shouted in excitement.
“Smile!”
That day, 1,200 quackers were wiped out.
Of these, about 300 corpses were rotten and decomposed. They were people who had been resurrected as zombies and then died, and they were decaying rapidly.
They took the remaining body and stripped it of its skin and claws.
The claws of the quark were more expensive than the leather. The claws were used as weapons, and the leather was used for shoes.
I sat on the ground where the corpses of Quakers were piled up like a mountain and practiced my aura. I absorbed the magical power of 1,200 of them, and my aura swelled twice as much as it had done. It was enough to achieve the growth I had been thinking about for a long time.
“Thank you for your hard work. I will go see Gaius, and you two, after you have sorted this place out, return to Hebron.”
“insect!”
* * *
Instead of heading to the reception room where Gaius was waiting, I headed to the private training room. I drew a magic circle there and summoned Inferno, and we entered the magic circle together.
Paaaaah!
We moved to the space of the spirit world where we first met.
There, a deeper fairy tale was created than before.
“Is my bowl still not enough?”
-… … It’s overflowing.
Inferno looked incredulous. My aura had grown beyond comparison to when he last appeared.
“Then you too should become a spirit worthy of it. Don’t you think so?”
The flames of Inferno burned fiercely.
He did not hide his desire.
No, I thought that spirits were the crystallization of pure desire.
-Spirit does not grow.
It was a story that seemed like common sense, but there was one thing missing from this logic.
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-The one that doesn’t grow is the spirit magician.
A spirit mage uses spirit magic to the extent of his or her natural ability. The rank of the spirit that can be contracted is determined from birth, but by increasing the spirit power through the seniority method, one can use higher-level spirits.
However, even if one’s spirit power increased infinitely through the Mana Training Method, one would not be able to summon a higher-level spirit if one did not have the innate talent to do so.
If the spirit master grows, the argument that ‘spirits do not grow’ must also be discussed again. Of course, the method of spirit master growth was only passed down in the Braiot Dukes.
Even that was an unfinished technique, but I had perfected this method in my previous life. In theory, that is.
“Inferno, I renew my contract with you. This is a contract written with my blood.”
The magic circle drawn inside the spirit realm had even more powerful power. However, in this place, you could not use real objects to draw the magic circle, and you could only create it with blood.
‘It’s inefficient, but considering our connection to Inferno, this is the right answer.’
All that was needed was to make an additional contract with a higher-level spirit. Inferno would become the property of the newly contracted higher-level spirit.
But I chose the cumbersome method.
This was because I had heard about the growth process of Inferno, the fire spirit that challenged the Spirit King.
I drew a circle with blood and wrote magical language inside it.
More important than language was my will and the magic contained in my blood.
As the magic circle was completed, a tingling pain was felt. Even before the magic circle was activated, the foreboding of the intense pain I had experienced when I made the contract with Inferno began.
“… … You too must endure it together. Whether human or spirit, the more they suffer, the more they mature.”
If my theory is correct, this time I wasn’t the only one who was hurting. Inferno should have felt the same or even more pain than I did.
-That’s wrong. Being in pain doesn’t always make you mature.
“It’s a proverb that’s been passed down through the Breo family. So grit your teeth!”
-I have no teeth… … . Aaaah!
The magic circle was activated. Inferno became a pillar of fire and rose endlessly, and I felt a terrible crack that seemed to start from the bottom of my soul. It was a pain that felt like each and every cell was being chewed and destroyed.
Perhaps two seasons had passed. In the still time, I counted and counted each and every pain cell in my body. The silver lining in this misfortune was that this endless pain had an end.
‘… … So those of Breyo’s bloodline who are born with an affinity for spirits have had this experience? So you’re saying you used it on thirteen-year-old Ruby? Those heartless brats.’
It was a magic circle that allowed me and the spirit to grow at the same time based on the overflowing aura given to me. I personally handled the magic circle that had been passed down through the generations of the Duke of Braio, and its efficiency increased considerably. However, the pain that I had to endure also increased.
-It was a tough time.
Inferno spoke to me, and I took a deep breath of cool air through my nose and mouth. My lungs felt refreshed.
“You’ll experience this again someday. Be prepared.”
-That, that means… … .
I nodded in response, and Inferno spread his wings.
As Inferno grew into a higher-level spirit, his form also changed. He became a firebird, also known as Phoenix. His appearance seemed to have completely changed, but for some reason, his face still had the old look. He had an old man-like expression on his face despite being a bird.
When he reached the higher level spirits, his form became meaningless. He could change his appearance at will, but I really liked his current appearance.
‘The aura’s fire attribute has become much stronger.’
The amount of aura was the same, but as expected of a spirit master who commands high-level spirits, he had accumulated high-quality energy within his body. He estimated that it would be able to support Inferno to exert its full power for about 5 minutes, which was enough time to burn down one of the Baron’s lord’s castles.
When I thought about becoming a high-level spirit mage, I remembered Ruby de Braiot, who had made a contract with a high-level water spirit at the age of thirteen. She was the youngest of the Braiot family and my older sister.
‘She was a delicate child who would often burst into tears. I wonder if she is doing well.’
* * *
Knock knock.
A hawk tapped on the window with its beak. I opened it halfway, and the bird came in and sat on my outstretched arm. I took a note from the box hanging on the hawk’s ankle.
– The daughter of the Viscount Srein, found dead. The Viscount remains silent.
“Did you cut off the tail like that?”
The Viscount Srain gave his daughter to the chief wizard of the House of Braio, Pakus, with the intention of tying her to the great archmage by blood, but his plan was foiled.
The daughter died, but the Srein family showed no particular reaction. There were no formal funerals, and the surrounding estates were not notified of her death. It seemed as if they had quietly disposed of her body.
“I’m sure Srein received his due. Count Srein is truly a nobleman.”
The position of the Viscount Srein was weakened by his entanglement with the Baron Delgain. If the Kingdom of Zenon had not fallen into chaos due to the appearance of the branded monster, King Zenon would have cut down the Viscount Srein as well.
The standoff between Srein and the Viscount Zailson ended peacefully. With the royal family of Zenon watching with wide eyes, Viscount Srein did not have the guts to start a civil war by nitpicking on a ridiculous excuse.
I went to see Amy’s staff to share the information that had been passed on to me.
As soon as Amy saw me, she reported what had happened.
“A plan for a childbirth support center has been drawn up. We looked for buildings in Hebron, Nurha, Biskin, and Delgain, but there was no suitable building in Hebron, so we decided to build a new one. It will probably be completed within three months.”
“Well done.”
“We are also discussing with the mothers about the childcare support center, and we have decided to operate it in the same building as the childbirth support center. There will be two staff members, but we will have one person in charge, and we will assign staff members according to the situation.”
“Excellent.”
“I spread the rumor that the Dina Ora method is a method that makes children healthy, and that if you learn it, you can become a knight someday.”
It wasn’t a wrong statement. I didn’t know the ripple effect of Dina Aura’s training method yet. Strictly speaking, this training method gathered magic power, not aura. Since the ability to convert magic power into aura was very small, and only a small amount of aura was accepted and accumulated in the body, it didn’t hinder the later acceptance of other attribute energy. Rather, due to the influence of Dina’s training method, I was able to discover talents such as magic and spiritism early.
A regular reporter becomes the pillar that supports a household.
