◈ Episode 88. Blooming in the Swamp (5)
Since the days when Arcana was still a game.
To players, spirits had been beings of fantasy.
“Wait, do spirits actually exist?”
“If someone had seen one, it would’ve been up on NetTube already.”
“Well, maybe it’s just some bait they tossed out there? They mention them to raise expectations, and then in a new update, a new class called Spirit Master appears!”
It was understandable to think that way.
After all, while there were no players who had seen spirits.
Nor any players with spirit-related classes, it was certain that spirits existed. The books and the things NPCs chattered about were proof of that.
“But then, when are they doing that update?”
“There wasn’t anything like that in this week’s patch notes either.”
“No, wait. I haven’t even changed classes and I’ve been waiting for months?”
But that guess was off.
Way off.
As stated before, spirits were beings.
Rare beings that only an extremely small number of people could witness.
Naturally, interest in spirits could only cool over time.
Needless to say, after Arcana became reality.
Rifts appeared, and monsters roamed the real world.
Spirits, whose very existence couldn’t even be confirmed?
It was no different from chasing clouds.
“This is breaking news just in. An unidentified message has reportedly appeared from within the rift. We will now relay that message to our viewers immediately!”
That was how it had been.
Predator’s Swamp.
Until a message appeared before the players who had entered the rift.[Someone has formed a contract with a spirit.]
Someone had formed a contract with a spirit, it said.
“No, they must’ve had their hands full just fighting. A contract, you say!”
“And it’s not just any contract, is it? It says a contract with a spirit. The very spirits that had only ever been hinted at!”
“For those of us only watching, this is news that’s hard to believe.”
And in Predator’s Swamp, which was no different from a colosseum at that.
Who was this someone who had contracted with a spirit?
It wasn’t very difficult to predict.
Hadn’t there only been one person?
The swamp.
The endless muddy battle.
And in the midst of it, like a lotus blooming from the swamp.
There had been a player standing aloof and alone.
It was surely that Lee Hoyeol.
“See! I told you there was something there!”
Who was Lee Hoyeol?
A player who had returned unharmed even from a rift with an appropriate level of 900 to 1,000. There was no way such a Lee Hoyeol would visit the Predator’s Rift simply for experience points like the other players.
-Actually, didn’t everyone guess when the stairs appeared??-For real lol That’s why everyone was super focused and hyped lololol-But this is beyond those expectations?
-I seriously never imagined spirits ㄷㄷㄷㄷThe flood of chat was exactly that.
Because it was Lee Hoyeol, not some other player.
The expectations had risen to their peak.
And as if such expectations were only natural.
Lee Hoyeol had answered them.
“Player Lee Hoyeol never disappoints!”
The Predator’s Swamp rift.
The players who had confirmed the message in person were no different.
No, if anything, they were even more shocked.
“He formed a contract with a spirit?”
“No, seriously, what is he?! Swordsmanship wasn’t enough, and now it’s spirits?!”
“Stop whining for a second. More messages keep appearing.”
Messages appeared one after another.
Because their contents were anything but ordinary.[The Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad, blesses the contract.][The blessing of the Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad, descends upon Predator’s Swamp.][Experience gained in Predator’s Swamp increases by 20 percent.][The value of loot obtained in Predator’s Swamp increases by 20 percent.]
The Spirit King’s blessing.
The effects of the blessing were none other than increased experience and loot drop rate.
That had been the rarest buff since the days when Arcana was still a game. Even the players who knew Arcana’s system well, befitting their high levels.
“E-Experience and drop-rate increase buffs?!”
“I’ve only seen a buff like that once or twice myself.”
“It’s not even 10 percent, it’s a 20 percent increase……?”
“Just what kind of incredible thing did you do this time, Lee Hoyeol!!”
They couldn’t help but make a fuss.
I had been making my own assumptions, too.
Rox let out a hollow laugh.
“He exceeds even those assumptions cleanly.”
Indeed, as much as the difference in levels.
There must also be a difference between his and Lee Hoyeol’s eye level.
Naturally, the picture they saw could only be different.
“Damn. I never even thought of spirits. As expected!!”
Nam Taemin exclaimed in pure admiration.
He had prided himself on knowing more about Hoyeol than other players did. But apparently, Hoyeol’s vessel was far larger than he had imagined.
“……
A contract with a spirit? Out of nowhere?”……
It’s seriously hard just to get one cup of tea from him.
Whether because of the message or because of the madness of a berserker.
Leonie’s face was filled with killing intent.
Because each of them had a different relationship with Hoyeol.
It was only natural that their reactions to the message differed.
However, one thing was certain.
The “someone” in the message was surely Lee Hoyeol.
Therefore, it was only natural that most attention turned toward the stairs floating in midair.
Toward the stairs where Hoyeol would appear.
The NetTubers were already licking their lips.
“I will show you exactly what a spirit looks like!”
In truth, what did it matter what a spirit looked like?
The title of being first was far more important.
Yes, that was what they had thought.
Click-clack—“!!!”
Until Hoyeol appeared.*『Contract with a Spirit』Even if it was only scratching the surface, that was by Granfell’s strict standards.
I had read several books related to spirit studies.
In other words, I had some basic knowledge about spirits. Naturally, I also knew what meaning a contract with a spirit held. So in truth, I felt relieved inwardly.‘Imagine if I’d met an intermediate spirit.’Information on the Arcana Continent, contracts, whatever.
All of it would have been pie in the sky.
That was because of the terms of the contract.『A spirit is closely influenced by the nature of its contractor.』Nature meant the contractor as a whole.
To put that simply, since I was a player.
When considered by player standards.‘It means they’re affected by my status window.’The senior mage of spirit studies, Payyan Lot.
The reason she was a glutton was also because of her contract with a spirit.
-“As you can see, my fuel efficiency isn’t very good.”
A high-ranking fire spirit, Fire Drake.
Fire Drake seemed to demand many things from its contractor, Payyan.
In a word, it lived up to its rank.
Payyan had continued, her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s, saying that even that only ended at the level of food intake because their relationship had been completely severed.
-“Still, compared to when I suffered from mana exhaustion.”
What sort of beings were the senior mages of the Magic Tower?
Above all, I had once witnessed Bangrit Tom’s mana reserves during my battle with him.
It was an overwhelming amount of mana that I couldn’t even imagine catching up to.
Since they were both senior mages.
Payyan’s mana reserves likely weren’t far off from Bangrit’s.
Yes, what a high-ranking spirit was.
Was a being that made even Payyan, the owner of overwhelming mana, complain of mana exhaustion……!‘Even a lower spirit is more than enough for me.’So understanding my place came naturally.
Besides.
“I swear in the name of the Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad.”
The contract was formed.
Because the moment Nymph finished speaking, I began to feel it.……
The feeling of my paltry mana draining away!
It was a relief that I had invested almost all the points I’d gained from leveling up into mana, and that I’d raised my mana regeneration with the [Hexagram Brooch]
and [Luxury Item
- Duke Swallin’s Cherished Possession]
……
A spirit really was a spirit, damn it.
Spirit studies weren’t called the study of chosen mages in the Magic Tower for no reason.
However, I did not reveal such bewilderment.
I opened my mouth calmly.
“Your appearance has changed.”
The contractor’s nature.
In other words, under my influence, Nymph had changed starting from her outward appearance.
Her body was still small like a fairy’s.
Yet for some reason, from that small body.
A dignity unlike before seemed to radiate.
“Is that so? This, too, must be thanks to your influence, Lord Hoyeol.”……
By the way, what was with that way of speaking?
A formal manner of speech that did not violate even Granfell’s strict standards.
Only then did I realize it.
The true meaning behind the words that a spirit was influenced by the nature of its contractor.
Since she had been influenced by me, Granfell.
Nymph’s changed appearance also made sense.
Hadn’t I been called “Sir” by Harkon even back when I had far less than I did now? As if that weren’t enough, there was even the influence of the [Aesthetic] stat that existed in my status window.‘Judging only by her appearance, she doesn’t look like a lower spirit.’Doesn’t she look like some kind of Spirit Queen?
I swallowed a groan as I looked at Nymph.
So this was what mirror therapy, a lesson by negative example, was like.‘Thanks to contracting with a paltry person like me.’Nymph’s appearance had become impressive only on the outside.
I felt a sense of responsibility.
As if I had dyed her in an unnecessary color.
Sincerely.
With a restrained nod, Nymph examined her changed appearance.
Her elegantly trailing butterfly wings, her abundant and lengthened hair, and even her outfit, which gave even Granfell’s aesthetic eye no particular flaw to pick at.
Then she said to me.
“I am pleased with my change. What do you think of it, Lord Hoyeol?”
Yes, well, it was fortunate that the contracting party liked it.
Still, I wanted to do something about that burdensome historical-drama speech.
An inner thought was an inner thought precisely because it could not be revealed.
“There is nothing to point out.”
My conversation with Nymph ended there.
I immediately reached for the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
Because I had no leisure.‘Even at this very moment while we talk, my mana is draining away…….’It was not enough to make a fuss over.
But it was not a consumption rate I could afford to ignore, either.
Besides, I had confirmed the message.
The congratulatory message containing the blessing of the Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad.‘Experience and even a drop-rate increase buff.’The blessing had descended upon [Predator’s Swamp]
.
Which meant that the other players would enjoy the same effect.
If I hesitated even a little, there would be no monsters left.
I didn’t even have time to whine while blaming my weakness.
Yes, if my level was lacking, I could raise it.
And if the level of mana was something I couldn’t reach by leveling up alone.
Then I just had to reach it even if I had to chew and swallow elixir herbs.
I had enough possibilities.
Just as I was thinking that.
Flutter—Nymph flew elegantly toward the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
“If it is this Four-Colored Mistletoe that you require.”
“?”
“I shall bestow a blessing upon it.”……
A blessing?
Why a blessing all of a sudden?
My knowledge about spirits was only at the level of scratching the surface.
But there was no need for a detailed explanation.
Shrrr—Just once.
Nymph merely stroked the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
Wooooong—The light of the Four-Colored Mistletoe became even clearer.
“……!”
The more the Four-Colored Mistletoe grew, the deeper its light became.[Pentagram of Pure Knowledge].
The knowledge of every plant on the Arcana Continent that I had acquired through it.‘Could this be?’And there, I witnessed it.『Cultivation Method for Elixir Herbs』The direction in which research with tremendous potential value should move!*Click-clack—The sound of shoes came from above.
The NetTubers who had been waiting swallowed dryly.
“Lee Hoyeol. No, Lord Hoyeol seems to be coming down……!”
There were also broadcasting stations airing those NetTubers’ streams in real time.
Hadn’t spirits been treated like beings of fantasy until now?
The situation in which the reality of spirits would be revealed.
It was clearly a topic that would record high viewership ratings.
And as if that weren’t enough.
Who had contracted with such a spirit?
It was none other than Lee Hoyeol.
“Real-time viewership has surpassed 15 percent……!”
That expectation was appearing in the ratings.
Still, knowledge about spirits had been fairly widely spread through Arcana’s books and word of mouth.
Thanks to that, there were some who viewed the situation realistically.
“Putting aside their abilities, they say high-ranking spirits are not beings that easily reveal themselves.”
“So even for Player Lee Hoyeol, it wouldn’t be easy to contract with a spirit of high rank?”
“That’s right. But what does rank matter? Isn’t the important fact that he is the first player to form a contract with a spirit?”
Of course, such opinions.
Disappeared the moment Hoyeol revealed himself.
The sight of the spirit flapping her wings.
The dignity that flowed from each and every one of her movements.
“T-That’s a spirit……?”
“What is with that halo?”
“That goes beyond pretty. She’s beautiful…….”
Her figure was radiant enough not to fade even beside Hoyeol.
What that appearance meant was simple.
Someone opened their mouth, making a fuss.
“That spirit, no matter how you look at her, has to be at least high-ranking—no, Spirit King level, doesn’t she?!”...
Stare—
I felt gazes from all over.
Nymph opened her mouth.
“Indeed, so these are the sorts of places you stand in, Lord Hoyeol.”
Then she continued elegantly.
“As your contracted spirit, I, too, shall become accustomed to such gazes.”
You’ve been thoroughly dyed by Granfell.
However, those words were wise.
Because there was no way this damned personality of mine would ever change.
Nymph, it would be easier for you to adapt.‘Of course, the focused gazes are none of my concern.’As I said.
I am a man pressed for time every hour of the day.
Unlike you rankers, my level is pitiful.
Every minute and every second of this experience and drop-rate buff is precious to me.
So I did not hesitate.
This was the Predator Zone, where battle never ceased.
I immediately drew my sword.[Level: 324]
I was still hungry for experience……!