novelraw Chapter 169 : Chapter 169
Chapter 169 : Chapter 169
Chapter 169 : The Half-baked Seven-Star
Crack.
The First Spell, ‘Blade’, was made of metal spirits.
It was the very source of Muno's Spirit Arts of Metal.
And at its center, a core made of fire spirits was forming.
‘Damn it.’
Although he knew it was not a normal situation and could not be a good sign, Muno had no choice but to do so.
He could clearly feel that the state of being emotionless towards everything was breaking down as the balance maintained by the metal spirits collapsed and the fire spirits took their place.
No, rather.
- Just don't die, experiment…
- No! My baby…!
Perhaps it was a backlash from having been forcibly suppressed until now.
The nightmares of his childhood and the scene of his biological parents' deaths vividly replayed in his mind, and his rage towards the Demon Cult began to explode in real time.
‘Those bastards I’ll tear to pieces…!’
Vwoooong.
And he felt as if both the fire and metal spirits were responding to that emotion simultaneously.
Just as the mana in his entire body was about to run rampant.
“Get a hold of yourself!!”
Imadi's shout, with blood trickling from his lips, put a brake on his intensifying emotions.
“Lead your emotions in a positive direction! Think of good thoughts!”
A shout that poured out as if reflecting his urgent heart.
Muno hurriedly followed his words and struggled to forcibly change his thoughts.
His mind was too rushed to delve into distant memories, and what he ultimately recalled was the most recent event.
The time he had defeated(?) Evan today, or more accurately, when he had grown to the 3-Class of Spirit Arts.
The feeling from that time, when the soul of the person that was him had taken another step forward and vitality had coursed through his body, belatedly came to mind.
The ecstasy of his own class rising, which he hadn't been able to feel properly due to the calmness of the metal spirits.
Only when he recalled that did the spirits' movements begin to subside.
- Giggle.
Behind Imadi's shout, the voices of the spirits could be heard.
“Yes! That’s it!”
As his pleased voice burst out, the flow of spirits and mana began to connect once again.
Vwoong.
Crack.
Subsequently, as the crystal of fire spirits embedded in ‘Blade’ became smaller and harder.
The flow of spirits enveloping him and Imadi began to stabilize.
But then, at a certain moment.
“Yes. This is what it is to be truly human. This is the feeling of being human. Heh, hehehe. Sob.”
A sorrowful cry began to burst from the mouth of Imadi, who had been quietly closing his eyes as if to collect the flow.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Romdi, my son…”
His empty eyes seemed to gaze at someone not present, staring blankly into the air.
Then.
“Kheuheuk.”
He began to shed large, teardrop-like tears.
It felt as though emotions he had been suppressing, in a different sense from Muno, were finally bursting forth.
And at that moment, the mana of fire began to surge from Imadi's body again.
‘This is!?’
Vwoooooong.
Simultaneously, the fire spirits gathered.
- Kyahehehe!
- Great!
He heard the voices of the spirits jumping for joy.
‘Damn it!’
A chilling sensation ran down his spine at the terrible thought, and he quickly lifted his head to scan Imadi’s form.
Strangely, Imadi, after a good cry, had returned to a comfortable expression.
The tear tracks had been engulfed in flames and evaporated.
And in his half-opened eyes, visible beyond their touching palms, not a trace of rampaging emotions could be felt.
Rather.
- Kyahehe!
- Exciting!
Following the spirits that dug into Imadi's body, leaving behind cute voices, the mana of fire that had been soaring as if to explode was also seeping into him.
To the point where the presence of the metal spirits from himself, now inside Imadi, felt incredibly faint.
Vwooooong.
Seeing that, he felt strangely reassured despite the gradually growing torrent of energy.
Then, presently.
- Yes, that was it.
A voice that was not Imadi's physical voice, but rather like an inner resonance, began to be transmitted.
- Spirit Arts was originally created for those like ‘us’.
The knowledge he had realized while looking at the Red Heart before flowed out through Imadi's voice, which contained a deeper sense of insight.
- There was no need for many spells.
- Just a firm will was enough…
- I was swept away because my will was lacking.
Imadi's voice, no, a part of his enlightenment, was being transmitted to him through the vibration of the spirits and mana within him.
And.
- Keep in mind the concept of gathering your will, Sir Muno. Combining spells would be one way.
With that message delivered directly to him, the rough flow of energy began to calm down.
Then, presently, Imadi's eyes flashed open.
- To think it would connect like this. I am truly, truly grateful, Sir Muno.
- Therefore, this is my gift for you, who is still lacking.
Along with the will transmitted through his gaze.
Vwoong.
Crack.
The red crystal embedded in ‘Blade's’ blade, the core of spirits that should have disappeared upon the spell's release, felt as if it were melting into the spell itself.
Simultaneously.
- Until you gain enlightenment, it will help you not to be swept away by the spirits' emotions again.
Thump.
“Huk?!”
Imadi pushed him away with his palm, and he saw a sight as if the spirits filling the room were being sucked into his body.
- Kyahehehehehe!
The laughter of the spirits, which had filled the room at some point.
Although only the fire spirits were digging into Imadi's body, all the other spirits were also surrounding him, bursting into laughter.
“Sir Muno!? Are you alright?!”
Rauel rushed to Muno who had been pushed away, but he just stared blankly at Imadi.
“This is… Don’t tell me…?”
He had a gut feeling.
He wondered if such a coincidence could exist, but.
“Sir Muno!”
“Shh! Be quiet, Rauel.”
“No, I was just…”
“It is the birth of a Seven-Star. Don't miss it, and watch.”
At Muno's words, Rauel's eyes widened, and only then could she do nothing but stare blankly at Imadi.
“You told the people guarding outside not to come in, right?”
“Yes. Yes.”
“Tell them again, that no one is to enter until we come out.”
“Yes!”
Muno decided to watch this bewildering yet amazing situation.
And from then on, they stayed up all night, and it wasn't until the next sun was high in the sky that Imadi's eyes opened again.
“Ha, hahaha…”
Imadi’s laugh, a strange mixture of joy and emptiness, was quite different from before.
It wasn’t a bizarre movement without any change in emotion, but a very natural feeling.
It was just a laugh that, as befitting a Spirit Master, carried the weight of years despite his appearance.
However, there was still a slightly strange feeling about it.
“Congratulations, Sir Imadi.”
“……Yes. Yes. It's all thanks to you, Sir Muno.”
Beyond the voice that smiled at Muno's greeting, who had stayed by his side all night, an inexplicable emptiness could be felt.
His emotions seemed to have revived, so if he had achieved such an accomplishment, it wouldn’t be enough for him to jump up and down with joy.
‘Is something different when you become a Seven-Star?’
Muno made such a guess, but then recalled the Dragon Sword Duke's face and immediately shook his head.
‘That old man would have gone crazy with joy.’
Did Imadi sense his doubt?
He looked at him and showed a faint smile.
“Did you tell anyone outside?”
“No, I did not. I only said I was training with you. My companion is guarding the door.”
“Well done. I've gained enlightenment in my later years, but it seems this life won't last much longer. I'd rather not have things get noisy.”
“Pardon!?”
A question blurted out in surprise at the statement that sounded like he had been given a death sentence.
Imadi let out another bitter smile.
“It's because I reached this level through a shortcut with your help. My lifespan didn't increase; I just became aware of its limit. Hahaha.”
“Th, that’s…”
“No need to look so sorry. It's definitely thanks to you that I achieved 7-Class. Without you, I wouldn't have reached it before I died. As for my lifespan, I've only just now learned what was already determined.”
“Ah…”
He had nothing to say and just trailed off.
Then, his gaze fell on the ‘crystal of fire’ embedded in Blade.
“Could it be, because of this…?”
“No, of course not. I only returned what I received from you. Just the necessary amount. It has nothing to do with my lifespan.”
Imadi just smiled and shook his head.
As Muno forcibly suppressed a sigh of relief, Imadi added.
“Just remember the advice I gave you. There's no need to increase your spells anymore. It's better to reduce them.”
“……I will keep that in mind.”
Was it just his imagination that his tone felt like someone trying to leave a last will, or someone about to depart?
“Are you, perhaps, thinking of leaving?”
Imadi had called this place his land of exile, but if the Tower of Spirits was a normal organization, they wouldn't leave a talent who had reached Seven-Star in exile.
Of course, he didn't know if he intended to inform the tower of his achievement.
But at least from his current attitude, he seemed to have no lingering attachments to Aslan, or to anything else for that matter.
“Well, what should I do? Three years at most…”
“Three years!?”
He couldn’t help but shout without realizing it.
And the condition ‘at most’ meant it could be even shorter.
Seeing Muno's eyes widen, Imadi let out another bitter smile.
“I don't know if knowing my lifespan is a blessing or a curse. Even if I return to the Tower of Spirits like this, it's too short a time to do anything.”
A desolate voice, unfitting for someone who had achieved an enlightenment unparalleled in this world.
But having met a powerhouse who had just grown to Seven-Star right before his eyes, he did not want to let him fade away so helplessly.
“Then, would it be alright if I set a goal for you?”
“Hm?”
“This…”
Muno drew ‘Blade’ from behind his back and showed it to him.
Vwoong.
Just by lightly infusing it with mana, a red flame blazed up.
It contained a much more threatening aura than the previous Blade.
In fact, the heat alone would undoubtedly be a great help in battle.
“……Thanks to you, I seem to have obtained a rather powerful weapon, but even with this, there is an enemy that is still difficult to face.”
“Are you trying to pass your burden onto me? That is…”
“You should know. The Demon Cult. A group of wicked magicians who repeat biological experiments.”
Only then did Imadi's face harden again.
“Furthermore, it's certain that there is a mage behind them. Wouldn't that be enough for you to stake the end of your life on, Sir Imadi?”
The demonic energy that pollutes the world, which no Spirit Master could help but despise.
The demons and their contractors, the magicians. And at their pinnacle, the mages.
At the mention of them, heat began to fill Imadi's once empty eyes again.
“……Yes. That's right. I was too overwhelmed with controlling myself to pay them any mind, but now, well, that wouldn't be so bad.”
“Recently in Aslan, we even caught their tail.”
“Hahahaha. Yes, you don't need to say it in detail. I've heard about the achievements you've made since coming here.”
“Then…”
“Yes. I will do so. I should leave behind a spark in my remaining life.”
At those words, a smile naturally spread across Muno's lips.
However.
“Then, should I move with you from now on?”
He couldn't help but flinch at the question that seemed to be probing him.
Of course, the answer was already decided.
“I am…”