Episode 238. The Strongest Spirit (3)
It’s not easy to make a decision based on someone’s memory.
Once you reach the level of a great wizard, manipulating or eavesdropping on memories becomes a breeze, but showing it to others is impossible.
Extracting someone else’s memories requires cutting out the brain itself, so not only does it lead to murder, but it also fails because the person dies during the process.
But spirits are different. Spirits can appear anywhere and at any time as long as there is nature, and they can rebuild their bodies, so they don’t die as easily as humans.
Moreover, he must follow any order given by the Spirit King of his subordinates.
No matter how scattered they are, they will immediately gather at Shaikhar’s command.
This is no exception, especially for spirits that lived in the elven forests long ago.
“What is the decision?”
Diora questions the decision I took out from my arms.
He was very alert, as if he sensed something ominous inside.
It was natural for the main spirit, Diora, to make such an expression, as it was something created by none other than the spirit king Shaikhar himself.
Now that I’m in this situation, I remember the conversation I had when I was handed this.
-Make sure to bring this with you when you go there.
-What is this?
-It’s a collaboration between me, the Spirit King of Life, and my subordinates. It’s a substance that crystallizes the memories of certain spirits.
-What kind of spirits are they that you have to bring up memories?
Shaikar, the leader of the life spirits, can see the memories of his subordinate spirits through telepathy without having to bring them up.
But if the memories were brought out by deliberately summoning those spirits, I could feel that they were not ordinary.
-My people are scattered everywhere where there is life. Especially in the forest where the elves live, it was the perfect place for my people to live.
Before the forest disappeared, it was a place overflowing with the spirits of life.
Although many of them were reduced to nothing by the fire, the surviving spirits must have clearly witnessed the scene at the time.
-This can be considered evidence containing eyewitness accounts of the scene.
-We’re just going to take care of some townspeople’s requests. Do we need this?
Of course, I was puzzled at first.
Even if something like this happens, the elves’ hatred towards humans will not be erased, and the elven village that disappeared will not return.
I temporarily thought that bringing this up now would be meaningless.
-I can’t just be the one ordering you around. So I have to be of some help to you.
I don’t know how much help it will be, but I thought it was better to have it than not, so I gladly accepted it.
And I was able to realize that that choice was the right one.
“What is this decision? It’s evidence that can confirm whether or not the Principal Keiten you saw back then was real.”
At those words, Diora’s eyes widened further.
Since everyone here was a victim of that incident, the curse that had spread around began to ripple like waves.
When people are crazy curious about something, they feel like there’s an earthquake in their head.
Eventually, I get so restless that I lie down on the bed and stare at the fire until I realize it.
I felt like I was inside that person’s head right now.
“If you’re really curious….”
To grant their wish, I floated the decision into the air.
Then, similar to before, a huge screen appeared and began to display memories from the past.
It was the Elven Forest at the time when the incident occurred, but this time it was seen from the perspective of the invading humans.
This was the perspective of the spirits who were watching the situation at that time like a surveillance camera.
What the witness saw was none other than the leader of the mercenary group wearing a mask and cloak.
『That guy…!』
Diora kept a close eye on that leader.
I was once again very surprised when I saw the guy finally take off his hood and mask.
“uh?”
The face that was revealed was not Keiten’s. It was just a man she was seeing for the first time.
There was a moment when I began to doubt whether the leader was Keiten or not.
The leader took some strange medicine and his face changed.
The face was that of Keiten, whom they knew well.
『… .』
Diora was speechless at the sight, and the shaking that had been shaking the space also calmed down.
There is no need to tremble any longer as all questions have been answered.
“Have we been misunderstanding all this time…?”
Until now, I have been gritting my teeth at the sight of Keiten’s face and thinking that he is my enemy.
So I just attacked them whenever I saw their uniforms, but that was wrong.
A normal human would have given up on what they were doing here or become frustrated… .
“But we are the living. If we don’t curse until the end, we have no reason to live.”
For them, whose bodies were made up of the curse itself, letting go of their grudge meant death.
Even if the truth of that day is revealed, they will never disappear.
Even if it’s not necessarily Alighieri, there are many things to complain about.
It is also possible to harbor resentment in the sense of “anger toward the humans who burned down their hometown.”
“Unfortunately, our grudge remains. We will continue to hate humans while harboring these feelings.”
A spirit is a being that continues to express its anger.
Unlike the spirits who feel refreshed by surrendering themselves to nature, the opposite spirits must endlessly writhe in hatred and pain.
The mind of such a spirit is easy for humans to understand, but the mind of a lord is difficult for humans to follow.
The spirits also know very well that humans do not try to understand their own minds.
Because it was extremely rare to find a human being who accepted themselves and was normal.
but….
“I will make that revenge come true.”
“what?”
“I will quench your thirst. That’s what I’m saying.”
Diora made a dumbfounded expression once more.
He is the highest-ranking lord. Unless he has a special number, he can be eaten by the main force and die, let alone be controlled.
So I was surprised and laughed at the same time.
『Hahahaha! You’re not in your right mind. I know you’re a skilled shaman, but that’s not enough power. If you try to accept us, you’ll definitely die.』
“If I stay here too long, I’ll die anyway.”
[Increased erosion rate: +1%]
[Increased erosion rate: +2%]
[Increased erosion rate: +1%]
The body was gradually turning black.
It felt like old charcoal, as if it would turn to dust and scatter if I touched it lightly.
We must not forget that this is Diora’s stomach.
It is the stomach of none other than the Supreme Lord. It is practically like taking a bath in digestive juices.
It was only thanks to Diora herself restraining me that I was able to endure this far.
“It’s life or death anyway. So, what do you want to do?”
『… .』
What should we do? That’s something Diora should be saying.
Diora, who was speechless for a moment, opened his mouth belatedly.
“You’re not in your right mind.”
Diora looked at the boy in front of her, recalling Scylla, with whom she had played in the past.
Dio stuck out his tongue at the out-of-touch personality that made him wonder if it was really him.
No matter how much you recall that memory, the curse won’t go away, but that boy had a very special condition.
It is okay to simply comply with a request.
“Okay. But if something happens to your body, no one will be held responsible.”
“As much as you want.”
There was some preparation that had to be done before that.
[Would you like to use 30,000 credits to open ‘Lord Slot 3’?]
YES / NO
Currently, the only available slots are Aisha and Muto.
It takes a lot of credits to make the third square, but it was a piece of cake for me now.
[‘Lord Slot 3’ is added.]
The preparations are complete.
Diora’s body, which was visible in front of my eyes, turned into purple light particles and scattered.
The little separated body of the guy quickly seeped into my body.
At that moment, I felt like an uncontrollable amount of energy was going to explode inside my body.
If I touched my chest the wrong way, I felt like my body would burst like a balloon pricked by a needle.
As expected, Diora’s main force is beyond my control.
[Horoscope: 170/170]
[Main power: 150/160]
.
.
.
[Magic Power: 120/120]
[Main power: 110/110]
.
.
.
[Magic Power: 108/108]
[Main: 98/98]
The magic power and main stats that I had worked so hard to build up began to decrease.
Considering that magic is a kind of life energy that flows through the blood vessels of humans, that number is no different from my life force.
If that becomes 0, my life is over.
[Magic Power: 60/60]
[Main power: 40/40]
The rate of decrease increased rapidly.
At the same time, the body gradually turned black and began to scatter like powder.
A gut feeling that I will really die if I continue like this is stimulated in every cell of my body.
It was a momentary feeling of fear, but… I raised the corners of my mouth.
[Magic Power: 61/61]
[Main: 41/41]
.
.
.
[Magic Power: 62/62]
[Main: 42/42]
.
.
.
[Magic Power: 63/63]
[Main: 43/43]
Surprisingly, the stats started to rise again.
It seemed like the stats were being manipulated arbitrarily, as if a cheat key had been used.
[Magic Power: 60/60]
[Main power: 40/40]
.
.
.
[Magic Power: 62/62]
[Main: 42/42]
However, because it was decreasing due to the effects of the contract, it kept increasing and decreasing.
As it is a top-tier lord, it will require the consumption of about a hundred units of main force.
Although my current main stat is beyond my control, there was a way to increase it.
[Stat Points: 291]
[Stat Points: 290]
[Stat Points: 289]
The stat points I earned a lot at this magic banquet.
Since I kept increasing it with this, I was able to restore the magic power and main stats to their original state no matter how much they decreased.
I have around 400 points, so it may seem spacious, but I only have two stats to raise right now.
Let’s say that the two stats, magic power and main power, are reduced by about 190 due to Diora’s power.
Then the stat points I need to use are 380.
If you use up all of this, you’ll only have 20 left.
‘Thank goodness I never used it after saving it up!’
If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to endure this situation and would have definitely self-destructed.
I endured the guy’s main force while enduring the excruciating pain.
As time passed, the black energy that had permeated my body began to disappear, and the black energy that had formed this space also began to gradually subside.
Let’s hold on a little longer.
As I continued to make that determination, the blue sky began to appear.
As if the dome ceiling were opening, the stuffy air is ventilated and fresh air enters through the nose and mouth.
And finally… Diora’s body that had swallowed me disappeared.
I was inside that guy’s stomach and was able to get out of his body safely.
“Huh? Look over there!”
“It’s that boy!”
The knights were very surprised to see Diora’s body disappear and me emerge from it.
It seems they were guarding this spot until the end, even while I was being eaten.
“Hey boy! Are you okay?”
The knights ran straight to me and checked my condition.
His eyes were filled with worry, as if he was still thinking about how he had been eaten by the spirit when he was still a young student.
Even though they were members of the Bayold family, they conveyed a deep sense of mission.
“I really thought I was going to die!
“What on earth happened in there?”
“Usually, when you get eaten by a spirit, you get digested, right?”
However, because it was so unrealistic that I came back alive, everyone was talking nonsense.
Honestly, it was at a level that I couldn’t believe even when I thought about it.
If you say you made a contract with the highest level spirit in order to survive, who would believe you?
[The contract with the main character ‘Diora’ has been concluded!]
[`Diora` is added to `Contract Order Slot 3`.]
——————
[Muto ★★★★]
-Sensitivity: 90%
-Personality: Aggressive, optimistic
-Attribute: Poison, Darkness
[Aisha ★★★★★]
-Sensitivity: 69%
-Personality: Indifferent
-Attribute: Wind, Fire
[Diora ★★★★★★★★]
-Sensitivity: 10%
-Personality: Cynical
-Attribute: Poison, Fire
——————
It boasts a level that cannot even be compared to other lords.
However, it still consumes a lot of energy to manifest and fight this guy, so it should only be used as a super special move.
“You idiot!!”
Phew!-
At that moment, someone flew up high and kicked my head.
I wondered how rude this was to someone who had finally come back alive…
“I really thought you were dead!”
The girl was crying after hitting me.
I realized this as I looked at Ruska’s face, which was sobbing unusually.
You witnessed your friend being eaten by a monster in real time right before your eyes… It would be strange not to go crazy.
“You…, you….”
“….”
“You really….”
I deserved it too.
So I quietly muttered with a compassionate heart.
“sorry.”
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
