Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 28

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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 28
28. What Kind of Shop Should I Open to Get a Good Reputation?
The first thing that came to mind was Sylph spinning her windmill.
Whoosh—
The mana that had been flowing low against the ground began to scatter transparently. Just like real wind.
“Oh!”
Honestly, I didn’t think I could pull it off in one go. My concentration shattered at the surprise, and the mana scattered in all directions.
‘How did I do that again?’
I tried once more, but my heart was pounding so hard that I kept failing. As I grimaced at the frustration, a fierce wind suddenly blew.
[Kyiyeah-hoo! Wind is the best after all!]
It was the Wind Tiger Spirit.
Seeing it zoom around delightedly, it seemed thrilled that I’d managed to summon wind as my first ability.
[Hmm.]
[Ugh…!]
By contrast, the Earth Tiger Spirit and Water Tiger Spirit looked disgruntled.
‘So it really was all about the image.’
Last time, I’d only drawn on my raw mana to discover what I could do. Since I only had Body Enhancement and no other abilities, I remember feeling a bit deflated.
But when I pulled up mana while imagining the spirits’ power, I was able to handle Elemental Power too.
“Aha. This is fun.”
I pulled my mana up again, imagining the elements of the other spirits.
My mana grew cold, heavy, then hot. Lacking enough experience to manifest as proper elements yet, but this much was more than enough to be satisfied with for now.
[Hmm.]
[Hehe!]
The spirits seemed content enough with it too.
“That’s enough mana training. Any more and you’ll all collapse from exhaustion.”
“Thank you, Master!”
“Add this to your morning routine and keep practicing steadily.”
“Yes!”
We circled the Spirit Castle dozens of times, pushed and pulled rocks that Gnome dragged up from the ground, and covered both cardio and strength training.
“Phew! Is it the air, or is this better than the Guild’s training room?”
An hour later, Jeongjin laughed brightly, wiping sweat from his brow. I lay sprawled on my back, catching my breath.
“You’ve been keeping up with your training, haven’t you?”
“Of course. Phew. I mean, phew, I’m from the Ark Guild, phew, Porter corps after all.”
“Our Guild’s Porter work is definitely more grueling than other guilds.”
I’d worked as a Porter for the Ark Guild on the side since graduating high school. There was no profession that paid better than a Porter for covering university tuition, rent, and living expenses.
‘And among them, the Ark Guild’s Porter work, though physically demanding, was mentally the least exhausting.’
The Ark Guild was a farming guild specializing in ocean fields.
Unlike Porters at other guilds who had to butcher orc and troll ships, the Ark Guild only dealt with giant squid or at most fish with limbs.
‘The fishy smell is something I could bear.’
Jeongjin, on the other hand, had initially given up on university and worked full-time as a Porter before awakening and simply remained with the Ark Guild.
As I lay on the ground catching my breath, the spirits drew near.
[Phuuuuu—!]
[Here, drink!]
The Wind Tiger Spirit blew cool air to dry my sweat, while the Water Tiger Spirit brought me a full cup of cold water.
……
Jeongjin looked down at me, his eyes brimming with envy.
[Ugh, uhm…!]
The Water Tiger Spirit, growing nervous under that gaze, finally held out a cup of water to him too.
[H-here, drink this…!]
“Oh, thank you!”
Jeongjin accepted the cup with sparkling eyes, took about a hundred photos before finally drinking.
Ding—
At the alarm, I checked my phone with trembling hands.
– The permanent lease storefront has been cleared and ready.
At the message on my phone, I shot up from the ground.
Though my whole body had been drained of energy, even I was startled by how quickly I bounced back.
“Youth really is beautiful.”
“Must be thanks to the Water Tiger Spirit.”
I quickly rushed to the main building and finished my shower. It was time to visit Boru.
* * *
I found Boru with Jeongjin.
It was to see the five storefronts the government had agreed to lease to me for free, permanently.
“Yeolyeol—our Yong has made it big~.”
“Oh, Yong~. Now you’re opening five shops~.”
We giggled our way toward a corner alley on the first floor of Boru, near the arcade.
Though the location wasn’t as expensive as what a private owner might command, I liked how the five storefronts clustered together neatly in one section.
Unlike the commercial zones at the center, this area felt more like a residential district for those renting rooms in the upper levels.
‘A convenience store, a laundromat, a billiard hall. And even a PC bang on top of that.’
Accessibility was a bit limited, but that hardly mattered. People would chase good business opportunity even into the mountains.
‘In fact, it might work out better. If business thrives, I could acquire the nearby shops and build a whole Spirit District.’
Boru had several themed streets like the Alchemy Quarter and Blacksmith’s Row. There was no reason spirits couldn’t have their own.
The five storefronts provided by the government were all neatly empty. They varied in size—the largest was around a hundred square meters, the smallest about twenty.
That was good too. It meant I could consider several different types of businesses.
“Do you have any ideas about what kind of shop to open?”
“For starters, maybe an Undine laundromat.”
The rent was free, so I didn’t have to worry about monthly payments, but that didn’t mean I wanted to run something trivial.
‘What could I offer that only I can provide?’
I had to think in terms of my own skills.
Services only I could offer. Or services only spirits could provide. What would that even be?
“Yong, what about a spirit massage parlor? You know, gently kneading the shoulders of tired people.”
I couldn’t use materials from the Spirit Castle. I’d already signed a contract to supply them exclusively to the government.
That would be my main income going forward. I didn’t want to damage that relationship by running side businesses.
“Or maybe a spirit consultation office? People go into a small room and spend about thirty minutes alone with a spirit.”
But that would limit me to what the spirits could do with their inherent powers.
Yet if I did that, I’d worry about their safety—what if someone had ill intentions and tried to pocket one of them and walk away?
“You know, like in those novels where there are spirit summoners? What if we offered that experience—living with a spirit for about a week?”
I’d been hearing what sounded like someone’s selfish desires from the start, but I decided to ignore it.
“Or maybe a spirit maid café? Wouldn’t that be cute?”
Hmm. A café might actually work.
Undines are water spirits, after all. Wouldn’t they pour a good cup of coffee?
That instant, I pictured an Undine with her cheeks puffed out like a teapot, water streaming out as she filtered it through mana.
‘Right. Opening a café would require all sorts of permits and be a hassle.’
As I sat pondering, a signboard in the distance caught my eye.
<Best Grilled Chicken Skewers!>
<Grilled fresh by a Flame Awakened!>
I rubbed my chin as I read it.
* * *
When I returned to the Spirit Castle, two pieces of good news were waiting for me.
The first was that two new spirits had arrived.
[Whoosh whoosh!]
[Kyah! The very wind here is different, so different!]
That loud voice could only belong to Sylphs.
[Hey, newcomers. Come over here.]
[These days’ new recruits really go at it.]
[The whole Spirit Castle’s turned upside down, just upside down.]
The Sylphs, who’d picked up strange habits from watching TV every night recently, welcomed the newcomers.
The second piece of good news concerned the newly upgraded Level 3 mine.
[O.]
Without warning, the Earth Tiger Spirit thrust something glittering at me.
“Don’t tell me that’s Diamond this time?”
[Ooo.]
Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
But it was definitely a rare ore.
I rolled the platinum-colored metal in my palm a few times before asking.
“Could this possibly be Mithril?”
It wasn’t as hard as Diamond, but it was the foundation ore for weapon crafting among all Hunters because mana could flow through it.
Moreover, clothing coated with melted Mithril became top-tier protective gear capable of blocking the Deadly Wind at nearly perfect efficiency.
Naturally, it was an ore that only appeared in the Tower World and the most common target when Expeditions mined.
“So our mine is producing Mithril now?”
The price per kilogram was slightly lower than Mana Ore, but this was still expensive material—tens of millions of won per kilogram.
“Come now, rewards are in order! Fill your bellies well and work harder for me!”
[Ohhhhh!]
I pulled six Crackers from my snack pouch and handed them out. The Gnomes took them with delighted faces and scampered off toward the snack storage with rapid thuds of tiny feet.
‘Mithril, then. Very good. I could melt it into ingots at the refinery and sell it.’
The list of items I could sell to the government at 110% of market price had grown. Perhaps when the mine’s level increased, other ores might become harvestable too.
‘I want to build the next structure soon.’
I wished Spirit Castle would grow larger. Wider, more intricate.
But for that, I still needed two more spirits.
┼ LV. 3 Expansion Conditions (2/3)
└ 1. Smithy LV. 1 (1/1)
└ 2. Water Source LV. 3 (1/1)
└ 3. Village Residents (23/25)
‘Twenty-three spirits….’
By the next level increase, there would be twenty-five, and not long after, thirty. Before long, there might be a hundred.
For now, I still couldn’t quite imagine this place teeming with spirits.
* * *
Life in Spirit Castle was simple.
Eat breakfast, then work.
Eat lunch, rest halfway through, and keep working.
Eat dinner, then relax completely and play.
When the sun set, all the spirits gathered inside the castle itself. Outside, only streetlights burned, and there was nothing to do.
[What should we play today?]
[Huh?]
[We did hide-and-seek yesterday!]
The spirits passed their time talking among themselves or playing various games.
And what about me?
Whenever possible, I joined in the games the Sylphs played.
‘The Sylphs chose to take playtime together as payment instead of snacks.’
It wasn’t as though I were being dragged along and entertaining them one-sidedly.
I had no real hobbies to speak of, so I needed something to fill the evening hours, and the Sylphs were pleasant companions for games.
For instance, even board games—while the Gnomes struggled with communication and the Undines were hopeless at both psychological warfare and strategy—the Sylphs were actually decent opponents.
But tonight was different.
[Let’s watch a horror film today!]
I had a terrible, terrible feeling about this.

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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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