Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 16
Episode 16. Spirit Perception Improvement — First Stage
I strolled leisurely through Spirit Village, reading aloud the chat streaming into the broadcast.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Jung Ryong, the man who drives you crazy—the pillar man himself.”
— LMAO
— You’re actually killing me
— Open the pillar! Open it!
— What is this even a broadcast of?
— And somehow this guy’s handsome. Is that even legal?
“The main broadcast will start shortly. I’d like to chat with as many of you as possible first.”
Donations flooded in immediately after.
Most of them appeared to be guilds trying to curry favor with me. I didn’t pay them much attention, just kept talking to the chat.
“Is the cloud pillar really a skill? Yes, it is. The exact name is Spirit Special Zone.”
I began walking slowly through Spirit Village. Jung Jin, my cameraman for the day, followed with the camera in hand.
— Spirit?
— What kind of spirit?
— You talking about those monsters?
“No. The spirits in our zone aren’t like monsters—they’re all kind and gentle.”
— ?
— ?
— That’s total BS
— Since when are spirits kind anywhere in the world?
— Real talk, I almost got my limbs torn off by a spirit yesterday
I chuckled softly at the chat’s reaction and continued my walk—a deliberately curated route that took me past the Herb Field and the Mine, leading all the way to the Water Source.
I picked up a bottle of Mana Water and held it toward the camera.
“Would beings who create and supply us with such wonderful products really be bad?”
— What is that
— Spring water?
— Could that actually be Mana Water?
— It has to be Mana Water!
The chat erupted into chaos in an instant. I watched the messages scroll past with satisfaction.
‘This is more fun than I expected.’
I was beginning to understand why people dreamed of being broadcasters. Manipulating the emotions of countless viewers and drawing all their attention to myself—it was surprisingly enjoyable.
<Viewers: 50,136>
The viewer count had just crossed fifty thousand.
I decided the timing was right and turned toward the Lighthouse.
“It seems you don’t quite believe me, so I’ll show you directly.”
In front of the Lighthouse, exactly as I’d arranged, the spirits were huddled together.
[This’ll be fun!]
The sylphs had bright, eager faces.
[Shhaaaaa.]
The mud mander, as always, looked thoroughly bored.
[Oh.]
The nomes were expressionless.
[Ooo, ooooo…!]
Meanwhile, the undines looked anxious, huddling tightly together as if worried.
I reassured them by gently patting Su Ho-gi’s head, then spoke toward the camera.
“The residents of our village—the spirits.”
The camera panned across them.
[Hi!]
[Uh, hello…!]
[Oh!]
[Shaaat.]
The spirits’ varied greetings.
The chat went silent for a moment.
— ?
— ?
— ??
— ????
— Come on. You’re not seriously trying to pass off little dolls as spirits.
But soon the chat exploded with messages.
ㅡ Is that supposed to be a spirit?
ㅡ A baby spirit?
ㅡ Why so small? These things grow into those monsters?
ㅡ Guys, baby bears and tigers are cute too.
ㅡ lol right, even hedgehogs think their own babies are cute.
ㅡ ? Wait, that’s what that proverb means?
The chat atmosphere was better than I’d imagined.
The spirits looked like miniature children, so people seemed to feel an instinctive fondness toward them.
When I showed them the chat, the spirits’ eyes sparkled with curiosity.
[Are all of those humans?]
“That’s right. Those people are watching what the camera’s picking up and typing their messages.”
[Wow, humans have developed so much? That’s amazing!]
[Whoa…….]
“Alright, spirits. Let’s see your special talents, one by one.”
[Uh, huh? Special talents?]
[Oh?]
[Ahahaha! Yes! I’ll go first!]
Pung Ho-gi stepped in front of the camera and sprang into the air, flipping his body three full rotations.
[Aerial 720-Degree Somersault!]
Then he landed with graceful poise as if performing a dance and bowed from the waist.
ㅡ A monster? Doesn’t look dangerous at all?
ㅡ Wind spirits are the #1 avoided spirit in towers though, weird.
ㅡ Maybe they don’t grow into monsters—maybe they’re a completely different species?
“Alright, next is Salamander!”
Kkul-kkul Mander glanced at me, then sighed as if he had no choice, and tilted his head toward the sky.
Whoosh—.
He spewed a thin burst of flame upward.
But it wasn’t ordinary fire—it was a perfect ring of flame, hollow in the middle.
“Uh… fire donut?”
[Shaat.]
“This might earn some criticism from certain manga fans.”
[Shaat?]
ㅡ What?! Take that back right now…!
ㅡ Take. It. Back.
ㅡ You’re dead!
Seeing the chat continue in good spirits, I called up the next performer.
“This time, Gnome!”
[Oh? Oh….]
To Ho-gi thought for a moment, then pressed both hands to the ground.
Pop!
A dirt doll that looked exactly like To Ho-gi sprouted up from the earth.
[Oh.]
The gnome placed a hand on the dirt doll’s shoulder and nodded.
“Gnome’s special talent is the Clone Technique!”
ㅡ Clone Technique lol that’s something else haha
ㅡ Wow, all these familiar techniques coming out!
ㅡ Spirits using Japanese manga techniques? That’s rare.
Now the chat was almost completely free of talk about monsters and such. It was time to deploy the secret weapon to drive the final nail home.
“And finally, Undine!”
[Oh, me, me too?]
Su Ho-gi looked startled, as if she hadn’t expected to be called.
[Uu…!]
As soon as the camera caught her, Su Ho-gi grew restless and bolted toward the Water Source.
[If, if there’s water, then I can too…!]
The next moment.
Too busy speaking to the camera to watch where she was going, Su Ho-gi tripped on a rock and fell flat.
[Ow!]
Having landed face-first, Su Ho-gi quickly picked herself up and wiped her face a few times with her hands, then said:
[I, I’m fine…!]
He stood with both arms thrust upward triumphantly, as though to show off his perfect health.
— Hahahaha
— So adorable hahahaha
— Cuteness really is justice!
— At this point the tower spirits were the ones in the wrong.
“Well then, everyone. Su Ho-gi’s special talent has been revealed—it’s cuteness!”
[U-um…?]
Su Ho-gi tilted his head in confusion, sucking on his finger. The chat exploded all over again at the sight of him.
* * *
An hour later.
Several people set foot in Spirit Village. They had been specially invited inside for a conversation.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Jung Ryong!”
Geum Ji-seong, the master of the Yeonkeumseong Guild, bowed at the waist the moment he saw me, as though I were his lord.
“Kehehe…. Pleased to meet you….”
That sinister-toned laugh came from Bulldog, the guild master of the Mana Tower.
“So something like this exists… All our hardship for nothing….”
That low mutter came from Sungja, one of the executives of the Holy Guild, his eyes hollow with disbelief.
“Thank you for letting us in.”
The last to speak was Jang Dae-in, the director of the Tower Management Bureau, extending his hand with careful courtesy.
“Yes. I’m Jung Ryong. I’m glad to meet all of you too.”
“And this person?”
“A friend of mine. You needn’t concern yourselves.”
At my words, Jang Dae-in’s gaze turned away from Jung Jin and back to me. Bulldog and Sungja exchanged brief nods with Jung Jin—they knew each other already.
“Jung Ryong! If you were to join our Yeonkeumseong Guild, we’d give you an A-Rank Hunter salary from day one!”
“Kehehe…. We’d offer S-Rank treatment….”
“W-what? Then we’ll add social insurance and an entire tax division!”
“Kehehe…. We’d handle your taxes for you….”
“Stop this! Where’s your conscience, Mana Tower?!”
“When there’s Mana Ore and Mana Water on the line… where’s conscience in that…. Kehehehe.”
Geum Ji-seong and Bulldog were already heating up their bidding war for me, while Sungja seemed more interested in Spirit Village itself, looking around the place carefully.
Most guilds rely on tower climbing as their main income. They climb the tower and sell the Mana Stones and monster byproducts that come out.
But the Holy Guild was different. Their main income came from expeditions to gather materials from the Wasteland—and they organized large-scale expeditions regularly, counting among the largest not just in the Korean Tower World, but in the entire world.
‘They’re the number one candidate to be most unhappy about my arrival.’
That expedition monopolized nearly half of all Wasteland materials that circulated through the Korean Tower World.
To them, my existence was, at best, a business rival—and at worst, a thorn in their side.
Which meant they had to be handled carefully, not made into an enemy.
“To be honest, I have no intention of signing with any guild right now.”
“What? Why is that? If the terms don’t suit you, we can adjust them!”
“It seems too early, I suppose. I’ve only been an Awakened One for less than a month. Truth be told, I invited you all here to make my refusal clear. You’ve all gone to such trouble these past few days that I didn’t want to just send you back through the broadcast.”
There were a few more scouting attempts after that, but I shut them all down like a fortress. In the end, the visitors had no choice but to tour Spirit Village and leave beyond the boundary.
“Next time I’ll bring even more attractive terms!”
“Kehehe…. Do call when you’ve heard…. We’ll always bid one step higher than Yeonkeumseong….”
“If the opportunity comes, do visit the Holy Guild as well.”
Geum Ji-seong, Bulldog, and Sungja left one by one. Now it was Jang Dae-in’s turn to go.
“Then I’ll be on my way as well.”
“Director. Could we have a word?”
“You mean with me?”
Now there were no other ears listening.
Since my target all along had been Jang Dae-in alone, I changed my expression and asked seriously.
“What do you think of the current state of the Tower World?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The guilds run wild like untethered colts, and the hunters prioritize personal gain over national interest. In such circumstances, can we really stay ahead in the tower climbing race?”
Jang Dae-in, not understanding my underlying aim, answered naturally with a puzzled expression.
“Well, if excellent Awakened Ones like yourself keep appearing, it’s possible. It would be even more manageable if there were guilds willing to cooperate with the government.”
“Can’t the government cultivate such guilds directly? It’s not as though the national treasury is empty.”
“To cultivate a guild directly requires more than just money.”
“For example?”
“The biggest is supply. Hunters grow stronger and guilds expand when supply is sufficient, but if the government moves directly, the market destabilizes.”
“What if there were a way to provide sufficient supplies without destabilizing the market?”
“That would be ideal, of course. But such a method doesn’t just fall from the sky….”
Jang Dae-in stopped mid-sentence and looked around. He took in the herbs scattered across the Herb Field, the ore piled before the Mine.
“…gulp.”
Jang Dae-in turned to face me, his eyes cautious. Seeing that gaze, I lifted the corners of my mouth as gently as I could manage.
“So then—shall we return control of the Korean Tower World to the government?”
I had not lied to the guild masters. From the start, I’d never intended to contract with any guild.
* * *
My plan to improve the public’s perception of spirits through broadcast had succeeded.
How did I know? Because the Grader confirmed it right before my eyes—I had the answer correct.
┼ LV. ? Expansion Condition (3/3)
└ Residents’ Happiness (50/50)
└ Residents’ Passionate Support (1/1)
└ Spirit Perception Improvement First Stage (1/1)
I’d dangled the Spirit Special Zone as bait to draw attention, made countless guilds desperate, and pulled their focus toward me.
Then I switched on the broadcast, concentrated the eyes of thousands upon it, and showed them the spirits as they truly were.
Simple, but devastatingly effective. Now it was time to collect the reward for that success.
‘Immediate growth to question-mark Level!’
That’s what I’d cried out in my heart—but the village did not grow. Instead, a new window appeared.
Conditions met. Your skill shall evolve.
Choose the path of your skill’s evolution.
1. Spirit Castle
2. Spirit Forest
3. Spirit Hill
4. Village of Earth Spirits
These were choices I had never anticipated.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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