Everyone let their weary bodies rest.
Even with bodies that had reached level 5, a battle against a powerful giant monster like Goliath was exhausting in every sense.
And now—
Jun realized he had woken up inside a dream.
“…Where is this?”
A strange space.
Despite being inside a dream, he felt sleepy.
Jun quickly figured out what was going on.
“Is this… Illusia?”
– Mmm…
At that moment, a childlike figure with a fluffy, cloud-like appearance appeared before Jun’s eyes.
It was the dream spirit inside the ring “Illusia” that Jun had received from Shylock.
“So… this is what you look like.”
When Jun first received Illusia from Shylock, he had never met this dream spirit face-to-face.
This aloof little thing had never shown its form, only speaking to Jun with its voice.
Jun still remembered that time clearly.
– Are you… my new master…?
And hadn’t it tried to barge into his mind without permission?
It had bumped into the mental barriers formed by [Steadfast Will] and [Unshakable Heart] and ended up whining in defeat.
Eventually, it had been allowed access to a portion of Jun’s memories.
“So… why did you call me?”
– Someone… keeps trying to wake me… it’s annoying…
“Trying to wake you?”
– Yeah… someone big… and free…
After thinking for a moment, Jun quickly realized who the dream spirit was talking about.
“Is it the wind spirit?”
– That’s right…
Apparently, the wind spirit residing in Aiden’s body had been persistently sending signals.
And the dream spirit had picked up on them.
“What does it want?”
– I don’t know… you have to… see for yourself…
Even Aiden, the one hosting the wind spirit, had no way to communicate with it. How was Jun supposed to figure out a method?
As he tilted his head in thought, the dream spirit spoke again.
– I’ll… bring it here… it’s noisy… please… deal with it…
“Uh, sure. Got it.”
Jun had been curious about the wind spirit in Aiden anyway.
This was a good opportunity.
How long had he waited?
A soft breeze began to blow from somewhere.
A spirit both free and resolute.
– Nice to meet you! Human!
Jun’s eyes widened at the voice that exploded like thunder.
The creature that appeared before him wasn’t some massive being like the one that had once dwelled inside the colossal golem.
Surprisingly, it looked like a tiny wolf no bigger than a fist.
“You’re the wind spirit?”
– That’s right!
“You’re the one who called me here?”
– I didn’t call you! I just grumbled a bit to that fluffy thing!
“…Right. Well, nice to meet you anyway.”
– Mhmm!
“So, what were you complaining about, then?”
– My master’s body! Still lacking wind!
The dream spirit earlier, and now this wind spirit in front of him—
They both spoke in chopped phrases, making conversation a bit of a challenge.
But Jun who was skilled at reading between the lines managed to make sense of it after some thought.
“You mean Aiden’s body lacks wind affinity?”
– That’s right!
“But a human body isn’t really suited to harbor elemental attributes in the first place.”
It’s not like Aiden was a mage with elemental circles. Even Jun had struggled when his own circle was forcibly imbued with attributes; it had caused him no small amount of trouble.
It was never easy for humans to handle the forces of nature.
– There’s a way! Need a human’s help!
“My help?”
– That human magic you use! Delicious! Sweet!
“Ah.”
Jun now realized. The wind spirit seemed to be absorbing power from his enchantment-type magic.
“So what exactly do you want me to do?”
– Use it more! Use it often! It’s tasty!
“Hmmm…”
Jun frowned slightly at the request.
And for good reason. Enchantment magic, while powerful, came with side effects.
Until now, his refined mana and precise magic patterns had kept them to a minimum, but using them constantly wasn’t really sustainable.
After Jun explained that point—
– There’s a way!
“What kind of way?”
– The tree’s energy! We’re all connected! I can go in, too!
“The tree’s energy…? Don’t tell me you mean the World Tree’s essence?”
It had originally been used for simple communication.
But from a spirit’s perspective, it seemed to hold more significance.
“Is there actually a way to harness that?”
– There is! But it’s hard for humans!
Using spiritual or soul-type power… Jun understood that without specialized knowledge, it would be difficult.
“That’s a tall order…”
– I’ll reward you! So do it!
The wind spirit, acting like it had something on deposit, spoke boldly.
But Jun focused in on that word. Reward.
“What exactly are you offering?”
– You wield fire! You can wield wind too!
“…?!”
Now it was Jun’s turn to look genuinely surprised.
Could it be talking about the fire attribute revolving within his circle?
To make sure, Jun asked again, and the wind spirit responded.
– My power! Once it recovers, it’ll be possible! Human! Help me, and I’ll repay you!
“You mean I could hold not just fire but wind as well…?”
Wind was a tricky attribute. Neither fully suited for offense nor defense.
But when it came to support, there was no better.
Infusing it into metal could solve its biggest drawback, speed.
With water, it could add rotation or compression, creating overwhelming piercing power.
With fire, it could massively boost firepower.
And that wasn’t all. Lightning would become more devastating than ever.
And with ice, its range would increase dramatically.
Wind was the attribute that harmonized with all others.
Jun had once thought he’d like to master it someday, but never imagined the chance would come like this.
“All right. I’ll try to find a way. But it won’t be easy in a short time. You’ll have to endure until then.”
– Understood! I already waited! A very long time!
“Oh, and… there are a few things I’d like to ask.”
– Ask! It’s been so long since I talked! I want to keep talking! Ask everything!
Fortunately, the wind spirit welcomed Jun warmly, and Jun followed up with a series of questions.
Most were about Aiden’s lineage and the spirit’s past memories.
Though many of its old memories were fragmented, so the answers were limited…
Still, this alone is more than enough.
It was like a blessing falling into his lap.
Jun chatted away with the spirit, forgetting the passage of time.
***
“So… you’re saying the wind spirit appeared in your dream, Senior?”
At first light, Jun told Aiden everything that had happened the night before.
Aiden seemed quite surprised as he listened.
“Well… it does seem true that the blood of the ancient elves runs in you. And it’s apparently stronger than expected.”
“Is that so?”
But unexpectedly, Aiden didn’t seem to care much about this revelation.
It could have been considered a hidden truth about his birth.
“Haha… I lost interest in that kind of thing a long time ago.”
He had seen his father’s face only a handful of times. As for his mother, he didn’t even know her name, let alone her face.
Since childhood, Aiden had known that nothing good would come from digging into his parents’ past.
“What interests me far more is the past the wind spirit carries.”
And to Jun’s astonishment, the spirit really had been a Spirit King.
– I! Was a Spirit King! But our world! It was ruined! My friends helped me! So I too protected the tree!
It seemed that, long ago, an ancient elf and the wind spirit had sealed the World Tree’s sapling together.
Ironically, however, it was the sapling that protected the wind spirit in return. Sealed inside the jewel, the spirit had spent countless years waiting for the ancient elf to return.
That elf turned out to be Aiden.
This wasn’t something you could see in the game’s story…
In the game’s history, the spirit probably remained inside until the end of the golem’s activation. Then, when the orb that powered it broke down, the spirit naturally faded away with it.
That was only speculation, of course.
Either way, this will be a huge help to Aiden.
After all, Aiden was someone who already tore through enemy lines at incredible speed.
Now that he had the wind spirit with him, it was like he’d gained boosters on top of that.
And while I’m at it, I get to acquire wind attribute power myself.
A perfect win-win, really. Two birds with one stone.
Still… it’d be nice if opportunities for other attributes came along this easily, too.
After tasting a bit of luck, Jun couldn’t help but start dreaming of more.
***
After a day’s rest, the party arrived at the next floor. Unlike before, this one was a vast forest of towering trees.
So vast, in fact, that there was no way to explore it all in just a day or two.
“What are we supposed to do here?”
At Eleanor’s question, Jun answered immediately.
Fortunately, this was another theme he was familiar with.
This time, the theme was none other than tracking.
“We have to hunt down a Giant Mantis hiding in the forest. Be careful. It moves faster than a Goliath and, more importantly, it blends into its surroundings to launch sudden ambushes.”
As its name suggests, the creature resembled a giant mantis and it was a large-type monster typically found on the fifth level.
However, the one that existed in this ancient tower was far stronger and more stealthy than a regular Giant Mantis. It was capable of launching an attack in the blink of an eye.
“Can’t you detect it with your detection magic, senior?”
“Nope. It’s a pretty smart one. It even blends its magical power into the surroundings, so [Scan] doesn’t work well on it. Eleanor or Maya will probably sense it first.”
Still, they couldn’t rely solely on the two’s detection abilities.
The creature was incredibly fast, and a moment’s hesitation could get someone taken out.
“Stay sharp.”
At Jun’s words, Eleanor immediately cast [Life Shield of Light], a spell that protected the party from surprise attacks.
Thanks to Jun’s help and her own efforts, this holy magic had become much more durable than before.
“But how do we track its traces?”
At that, Jun recalled the Giant Mantis from the game and replied.
“Good question. Unlike typical animals, this thing doesn’t mark its territory. That’s what makes it even more annoying.”
No matter how much you heighten your awareness at first, it’s human nature to relax if nothing happens for hours.
True to its nature as a born hunter, the Giant Mantis wouldn’t make a move even if prey entered its territory.
“Wow, then it really does sound hard to find.”
“Well, that’s just how it works in theory. It’s not completely impossible. At the end of the day, it still eats and excretes like any other living creature.”
No matter how clever it was, a monster was still a monster.
Its traces had to be left behind somewhere, and Jun had no intention of missing his chance.
“Yeah. Like that animal carcass over there, for example.”
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