◈ Episode 483. The Call (3)
Hidden Quest.
The moment a player saw those words, there was no way they wouldn’t feel their heart race.
After the Cataclysm, quests were already rare enough as it was.
But a hidden quest?
Nine times out of ten, anyone would be tempted. But not me. It wasn’t some spoiled complaint that I’d grown numb from clearing all sorts of quests—hidden, main, class, and the like.
It was because there were far too many blinking quests!
“I see.”
Knowledge of spiritology flashed through my mind.
As many hidden quests appeared as there were elemental spirits.
No, to be precise.
Even excluding darkness, one was missing.
I did not overlook the presence of that one.
“Dryad, I shall remember you.”
The Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad.
Perhaps because we had met before.
Dryad did not seem to have raised any particular questions to Haiel.
I was still lacking in knowledge regarding the spirits’ {Natural World}, but.‘At least a minimum of warmth exists.’Of course, the quest contents were not warm at all.
Rustle.
In the order they had appeared.
I draped the Jacket of Dawn over my shoulders and slowly examined the contents.
As expected of your element, you stepped forward first with fiery enthusiasm.[Hidden Quest: Proof of Flame]
The Spirit King of Flame, Phoenix.
Phoenix wishes for the blessing of the World Tree to be proven.
Overcome the trial of flame and prove the existence of the World Tree.
-Enter the Natural World: Territory of Flame. (In Progress)
Let’s see. The contents of the other quests were not much different.
In truth, there was nothing new about proving something.
I told you, for Grandfell, proof was an everyday affair.
And while being tormented by that Grandfell.
For better or worse, I had given every kind of proof.
I had struggled to realize overestimations.
And what I looked toward was only the goal.
“So the next destination is the Natural World.”
Should I look at this from a player’s perspective too?‘They’d probably wonder what the hell they’re supposed to do.’Spirits were beings ordinary people could not even witness.
Contracted spirits were said to show themselves even to ordinary people, but in order to form a contract with a spirit, one first had to encounter a spirit in its natural state.
In that sense, the Natural World where spirits resided?
It would be a place like a fantasy.
Senior Spiritology Mage, Peiyan Lot.
I remembered there being content related to it in the book she had written.──────Spirits dwell in the Natural World. However, though there are those who have witnessed spirits, there exists no one who has witnessed the Natural World. For humans have lost “purity” and thus cannot satisfy the condition to enter the Natural World…….──────Purity.‘I don’t know about me, but Grandfell is pure in another sense.’If you didn’t describe someone who pursued only a single purpose.
Only pride, as pure.
Then who in the world could you call pure?‘That’s why I was able to witness spirits.’However, the problem was the method of entering that Natural World.
So just what was the method of entering the Natural World?
Peiyan had asked her contracted spirit, the Fire Drake, about that as well.──────In the past, the Fire Drake attempted to guide me, its contractor, to the Natural World. However, despite countless attempts and efforts, I was unable to reach the Natural World. Was it because my body was not light enough? Not only did I fast, I even gave up the food I had hidden in my sleeves…….──────Fasting, huh.
To think she even gave up her snacks.
You did your best in your own way, Senior Peiyan.
“I pay respect to that effort.”
Thanks to it, I learned that humans could not enter the Natural World through ordinary means. But who am I? I am the [Grandmaster of Anomaly], who had already wrung ordinary methods dry and pioneered a new one……!
I opened my mouth.
“Do you remember, Haiel?”
I spoke to Haiel, who might already be in the middle of proving herself.
Whether I heard the answer or not, Haiel would surely remember.
The path of anomaly we had walked together.
I had known early on that the spirits’ {Nature} ability was a power distinct from skills or magic. Because I had grasped that, I had worked early to develop it into anomaly.
And in that process.
“The structure of magic.”
I had taught Haiel 『Magic』.
Once again, it was only natural.
Haiel was my, Grandfell’s, alter ego and mirror.
Even if her beginning had been nothing more than that of a lower spirit, a nymph.
Just as I had realized overestimation.
Haiel, too, must have seized power worthy of that overestimation.
I continued.
“Open the path.”
Who was our Lord Grandfell? A man with a temperament that welcomed proof at any time, and the very incarnation of meddlesomeness who could not simply watch others suffer.
“Guide me to the path of proof.”
At the same time, in the Antonium Imperial Palace.
“You may call my name, Haiel.”
Ssssss.
An enigmatic mana rippled in my private room.
It was no ordinary mana.It was Haiel’s strange mana, imbued with {Nature}.
At last, the portal Haiel manifested appeared in midair.
There was no hesitation.
I immediately stepped beyond the portal.[You have entered the Natural World, ‘Territory of Flame.’][You have acquired the achievement, ‘A Place Even Romance Could Not Reach.’][※Warning: The current field is hostile toward you.]……
Even the message is brutal from the start, huh?*The Spirit King of Flame.
Phoenix.
He boasted with confidence.
“How regrettable, spirit.”
That was his utmost sincerity.
“Your martyrdom will end here.”
The moment all the Spirit Kings except the Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad, were doubting Haiel’s qualifications. The target of their suspicion had mentioned proof herself. It was an unparalleled opportunity.
“It is truly laughable.”
Spirits.
Because they existed in all of nature.
They were more knowledgeable about the news of the Arcana Continent than anyone else.
The stories reaching him at this moment were the same.
The whereabouts of one of the foremost sages of the Arcana Continent, or the end of the mage Oried had favored……. Spirits liked to chatter about useless stories.
Thanks to that, Phoenix knew well.
-“Fire Dragon, Flame Emperor. Truly laughable reputations.”
About the humans who dared to claim grand aliases while he, flame itself, existed. Each time he heard such stories, Phoenix’s emotions burned violently.
However.
-“Be grateful that the shackles of purity saved you.”
Phoenix could not set out for the Arcana Continent.
Because the order of the Natural World did not permit the actions of a Spirit King.
But the situation had changed.
“If you are broken, that will become the evidence.”
A spirit blessed by Mother failing to overcome the trial? That would be proof that Mother and the new World Trees were incomplete, as well as a reasonable cause to cast aside purity.
A Spirit King who handled nature itself.
The field regarded Haiel as an enemy and began to pour attacks upon her.
It was not a matter of simple change.
The Territory of Flame.
Every element existing in the field exuded fierce heat toward Haiel.
Fwoooosh.
To endure the hostility of nature.
As expected, it seemed it was no lie that she had received Mother’s blessing.
But it was meaningless.
Phoenix swept back his red hair.
“A king’s command is not light.”
Haiel, your proof ends here.
Kiiieeeek.
Phoenix, who had been disguised as a human, began to reveal his true form. At the summit of the volcano. His human flesh burned, and beneath his skin, enormous wings of flame unfurled.
Fwoooosh.
At the same time, the flames of the field surged up as if paying homage to their king.
But in that same moment, what reached Haiel’s ears.
Was not Phoenix’s cry.
-“You may call my name, Haiel.”
What she heard was only her lord’s voice.
“Why do you command me to call your name, my lord…….”
Haiel considered this, too, a trial she had to endure.
But had her lord prepared even for this?
Memories flashed through Haiel’s mind.
-“Magic consists of exploration, interference, and manifestation.”
-“For your first manifested magic, it was not bad.”
-“Diend, see that you follow Haiel’s example.”
At last, Haiel’s lips moved.
“I dare cry out your name.”
And.
“My sovereign, Lee Hoyeol.”
A cluster of light rippled in the air.
“Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.”
This time, too, a sound was heard.
Clack.
Phoenix flinched.
“……!”
It was subtly different from the sound he had heard before the spirit’s bonfire.
And yet it was a sound that made his blood run even colder.
Being well-versed in the rumors that circulated, how could he not know?
Phoenix’s beak moved.
“That silver hair truly is Claudi.”
As the Spirit King of Flame, it was no different from the highest praise he could offer a human. It was a sign of affection and, at the same time, a greeting to one who had set foot in the {Natural World} as a human.
However.
“Excellent.”
“My lord.”
“You have not forgotten my teaching, Haiel.”
The person who had received such praise was lightly ignoring his words.
If so.
Further goodwill would be meaningless.
Flutter.
Phoenix spread his wings and rose into the sky.
Then his blazing crimson wings burned.
A heat that would not be strange even if it burned the world erupted.
But even at that moment, Hoyeol’s gaze did not turn toward Phoenix.
“However, you are still lacking. The flow inside the portal was unstable. Inexperience was evident during the interference process. Strive harder.”
That attitude further inflamed Phoenix’s belligerent nature. He knew that confidence, like Haiel’s, came from the blessing of the World Tree.
However.
“Do not be insolent, human.”
If the blessing of the World Tree were truly omnipotent.
Mother.
You would never have rotted away.
Fwoooosh.
As Phoenix raised his firepower even further, even the field began to melt. Even the Territory of Flame melted entirely into lava, and even that lava melted down, condensing into pure heat energy.
An authority only a Spirit King could control. The {Wrath of Flame}, which became one with nature and burned the enemy to ashes, had manifested. Only then did Hoyeol’s gaze turn toward Phoenix.
Whoooom.
Hoyeol’s body shimmered.
It was mana.
Are you belatedly trying to block my wrath?
But you are far, far too late.
This is nothing like the heat of mere humans.
Those calling themselves the Fire Dragon or the Flame Emperor whom you opposed.
This is a blow from flame itself.
“!”
But in that moment, Phoenix felt it.
That something was wrong.
That was right.
His body, which had been rushing toward Claudi and Haiel.
Had stopped in midair just like that.
No, to be precise…….‘It has not stopped.’The flow of time had slowed to an extreme.
The proof lay in Claudi’s movements, which had likewise slowed.
Phoenix spat out a fiery roar.
“You are resorting to useless schemes, Claudi. This is a trial bestowed by a king of spirits. It cannot be pierced through with cunning tricks.”
That was right.
If his wrath could not be overcome.
The Proof of Flame would never end.
“What do you think you can do by seizing the flow of time? Look, your thoughts have slowed as well, have they not?”
But Hoyeol calmly opened his mouth.
As expected, his words were not directed at Phoenix.
This time, too, they were words given to Haiel.
Because she was his alter ego and mirror.
To Haiel, who was the very image of himself.
“From now on, I shall give you an assignment, Haiel.”
Haiel answered.
“I shall complete it without fail.”
Hoyeol spoke as if it were only natural.
“Observe and commit it to memory from now on.”
Phoenix flinched.‘……
Observe and commit it to memory?’That impossible suspicion became certainty.
“It is time to realize the {Wrath of the World Tree}, which rebukes even nature.”
“……?!!”