Chapter 33
A deer-shaped spirit stomped its hooves and swung its antlers, causing the surrounding trees to tremble with each movement. Massive leaves and branches rained down, while thunder, seemingly out of nowhere, roared through the moonlit sky, creating chaos around us.
But despite the lightning strikes, the spirit’s summoned bolts did not catch the trees on fire. I watched this spectacle with curiosity, whereas Lir, standing beside me, had pulled his cap low over his face and was huddled up like a pill bug, entirely missing this strange phenomenon.
Crouching when lightning strikes is common sense, but there was no denying it looked somewhat undignified.
“…Oh great spirit, if you would be so kind as to explain the reason for your anger…”
I approached the spirit, who was roaring thunderbolts into the sky in a display of fury, and attempted a calm conversation.
“Marauders! These Marauder bastards have defiled my home, abducted all my neighbors, and worse still, they squatted in my forest like filthy beasts! Where are those bastards now?!”
“…Perhaps you should calm down and hear me out.”
“Calm down my ass! Can you stay calm if all your neighbors were abducted, the abductors squatted in your house, and were defecating all over your home?”
Well… I had imagined that spirits would have a certain dignified, noble demeanor, but judging by his salty language, that wasn’t the case here.
“That does sound hard to endure… Nonetheless, would you listen to us? We chased the Marauders out of this forest…”
“Guide me to the Marauders! I must burn them to ashes immediately!”
So, you insane guy, how about hearing me out for once?
I repeated the same words over and over, trying to calm down the spirit who was galloping around, shouting furiously with a tone filled with rage.
After perhaps ten repetitions of asking him to calm down, the spirit finally began to compose himself and started listening to me.
“We… we have driven the Marauders out of here, teacher!”
Somehow, my tone and mannerisms ended up resembling those of a civil servant dealing with an obstinate civilian.
Whether judged by tone of voice or conduct, it became clear this spirit didn’t seem to value formalities much.
“Huh… deep breaths, deep breaths…”
The deer-shaped spirit, having unleashed a torrent of rage, was now taking deep breaths to regain composure.
I wondered why a spirit, of all beings, even needed to breathe, but I didn’t have time for such trivial questions. We needed to find a place to camp soon.
Night had already fallen.
Even with our skilled Elven Ranger, it was impossible to assess where traps might be hidden in this treacherous woodland. Venturing through it solely with lantern light wasn’t something I wanted to do.
Right now, while I was preoccupied with this flashy lightning-deer, the darkness of a medieval night without street lights was deeper and creepier than one could imagine. This was the “Dark Ages of Humanity,” after all.
“Ah, ah… so you’ve dealt with them. Good job driving out and eliminating those trash. Though it frustrates me that I couldn’t handle it with my own hands…”
The lightning deer slowly approached me, now somewhat calmer, and began to commend me.
“The Marauders may be gone, but damn it, the smell of decay still lingers all around this forest. You must cleanse it of all their dirty magical traces.”
“…Pardon?”
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow as I looked up at the towering antlers of the magnificent lightning deer.
“I’m talking about the mines! For heaven’s sake, remove all that rancid filth by either relocating them elsewhere or burning them!”
If you’re going to ask for a favor, shouldn’t you do so politely?
The Elven archer is bad enough, so why must I deal with such rude spirits?
…Is it just because we’re in the medieval era?
“I will bestow my blessing upon you if you accept my request.”
“…Pardon?”
…Is this a quest?
“Why, does my offer displease you? This is not a bad deal, if I do say so myself. Mortals who receive my blessing are rare throughout history.”
Ah, so it’s a quest then.
I was overwhelmed at encountering a situation I’d never experienced before in all my hours of gaming, and I rubbed the wrinkles between my eyebrows with my fingers.
I’ve never come across anything like this in 4000 hours of gameplay—no instance of a lightning spirit issuing a quest. Normally, you just place your hand on a runestone, some text scrolls up, and you’re announced to have “[Acquired: Spirit’s Blessing]”. Simple as that.
“…Damn, it looks like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.”
Yup, for things to start going well for me would be strange indeed.
I’ve accepted this turn of events with equanimity now. After all, I’ve invested in fate, so who’s to blame whom?
…Besides, I can’t exactly pass this up. His blessing is crucial for my build.
“…Yeah, sure, I’ll do it.”
“Every last one of them! Sweep the Marauder’s magic from this forest entirely, and in return, I’ll grant you an audience with the Core of Lightning!”
Despite my weak response, the voice of the lightning spirit echoed loudly throughout the woods with great authority.
Though it felt wrong to be shouting so loudly in the middle of the night, given that there were no other living beings around us, it probably didn’t matter.
“…Alright, I understand. You, just return to your stone and rest already. We’ll start work as soon as the sun comes up.”
“Excellent! This is my true disciple!”
Haha, you’re just a bipolar guy, switching from being angry to being overjoyed. If a psychiatric department existed, you’d be the first patient.
“…Then we’ll take our leave now. We must begin work early tomorrow morning.”
I bowed my head in farewell to the deer-shaped lightning spirit. The enormous antler-crowned head of the spirit seemed to nod in agreement.
“I didn’t notice before in my anger, but you carry a lot of burdens.”
“…What?”
“You were born bearing great talents along with immense restrictions. You’ve managed to survive till now despite this? Quite impressive! What kind of life have you led?”
…Is this guy going to engage in meaningless chatter as I try to leave?
“Let’s say… eventful.”
It was already dark, and I didn’t want to waste time on useless banter. I summarized my life here as briefly as possible.
Not sure if this could even qualify as an explanation, really.
“Hmm.”
The lightning spirit stared at my face intently without saying anything. Facing his bright shining face, I felt as if my body had become transparent, as if examined by invisible rays.
It was a strange and uncanny sensation—like his glowing eyes peered into the depths of my very soul, examining its every corner.
“Hah! You crazy Astellara!”
The lightning spirit who was glaring at me suddenly mentioned the name of the deity that 90% of the continent’s population believed in.
If there were any clerics or devout believers among us, they would likely have strongly opposed this risky comment.
“Interesting. I’ll make sure to give you a special gift when you return.”
The term “special gift” perked my curiosity, and I opened my mouth to ask what it was.
However, just then, the brilliant lightning deer before me vanished instantly.
“…Just saying what you need to say and then disappearing.”
At the same time, the light that had illuminated the surroundings disappeared, plunging us into pitch-black darkness.
We remained standing there for a moment, allowing our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Moving too hastily in such a situation could result in brushing against a poisonous thorn plant, and that would be disastrous.
“…What is this ‘special gift’? It sounds like he might offer something extra in addition to the spirit’s blessing.”
I mulled over the spirit’s meaningful words while waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The newly added quest seemed to come with enhanced rewards, but the value of those rewards might not match the quest’s difficulty.
The forest area was both vast and rugged, so it was clear this wouldn’t be a task completed in a day or two.
…Looks like we’ll have to work diligently from morning.
*
We didn’t assign anyone a watch. Since all living things in this area have presumably been wiped out by the Marauders, there wasn’t a need.
With our lanterns and gear in hand, we soon arrived at a flat rock large enough for three people to lie down on.
“Incredible, meeting the lightning spirit like this… I must quickly inform my teacher! This is an amazing discovery that will turn our whole school upside down…”
Lir seemed overwhelmed by having witnessed the lightning spirit with his own eyes. It was an event that a regular human mage might never encounter in their lifetime, and most Elves, who live for long periods, also pass away without ever glimpsing these beings. His reaction was understandable.
“How did you know? I really didn’t notice anything until just a moment ago…”
“Sleep.”
Lir, excited, sounded eager to ask me many things, but I already had my eyes closed, decisively responding.
I can’t comprehend why he’s so thrilled given the monstrous workload awaiting us tomorrow.
Without even drinking water, the job of covering a forest area nearly fifty square meters large and removing all the magical mines seemed endless.
It seems like labor laws don’t exist in this wretched medieval period.
“This entire forest was plagued with magical mines planted by the Marauders, which will require great effort from our Elves. Mages will have to contribute their fair share as well…”
Our gear, laid flat on the smooth rock, chimed in.
“Why don’t you share some command authority with me? I’ll lead the Elven archers and mages and disperse them throughout the area.”
“…There’s a squad leader in the archery division. Why should I give you command?”
“I’m quite familiar with the geography of the uncharted territories after observing it from the cliff today.”
“That’s not the issue. Having me delegate command to you would show disrespect to the archery squad leader. Consider their dignity.”
“The squad leader is also an Elf like me and won’t overly concern themselves with these small details. What is important is efficiently safeguarding the futures of intelligent beings like Elves and humans—not inconsequential ranks or fleeting dignities that may vanish within 100 or 200 years.”
…Isn’t rank important in the military? What’s his deal?
“Besides, that guy, he’s 400 years younger than me.”
Ah, so you’ve been dissatisfied about that all this time.
So the 1200-year-old elder Elf didn’t like taking orders from someone 400 years junior to him.
…Damn, if this isn’t a dynasty army, then what is?
The command structure is operating smoothly.
