Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 38

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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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Chapter 38
Chapter 38: The Hot Spring on Snow Mountain
Boom-boom-boom!
The earth trembled and a deafening roar shook the air.
But this was only the beginning.
My mind was already conjuring a hellscape—Everest and Kilimanjaro forcing their way into the Spirit Domain courtyard, tearing through everything in sight.
A snow mountain zone is being established within the Spirit Special Zone grounds.
This is insane. If a mountain rises, the entire Spirit Domain will flip upside down. Or worse—it could be torn to shreds.
The most optimistic scenario I could imagine was the whole zone lifting skyward like Machu Picchu, the summit becoming our new ground.
‘Damn it all.’
There was no time to prepare, and even if there had been, I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was warn the spirits.
“Everyone—duck!”
As my shout rang out, a final violent tremor ripped through the ground. And then….
Pop.
“…What?”
Something rose up.
A mountain…? No, a hill…? Actually, just…a knoll…?
At most five meters high—barely taller than the castle itself, an awkwardly modest bump of earth.
“…”
I looked at the notification again.
A snow mountain zone is being established within the Spirit Special Zone grounds.
A snow mountain zone.
I looked down at the mound in front of me.
There was snow piled on it, admittedly—piled quite adorably, in fact.
‘Does this system have no shame?’
If this is a snow mountain, then my Spirit Special Zone is Seoul itself.
[Ooooh!]
[Wow!]
Regardless of my bewilderment, the spirits bounded about with glee. I suppose a snow-capped hill suddenly appearing behind the house would excite anyone.
The snow mountain had risen behind the castle keep.
Through several expansions of the Spirit Domain, the castle had been built near the old walls initially, and surplus space had begun accumulating behind it.
Level 5 Hot Spring construction is complete.
I couldn’t help but smile at that notification. Level 5—the first time the Spirit Domain had achieved such a number.
As a reward for establishing a terrain zone in the Spirit Special Zone, 3 Coins have been awarded.
Another welcome notification followed shortly. That brought my total to four Coins.
[Let’s go check it out!]
[Hurry, hurry!]
The spirits pulled eagerly at my hand and dragged me up the snow mountain.
Thanks to its Level 5 status, the mountain had stone steps leading from the entrance. A smaller staircase for the spirits ran alongside.
Patter, patter—.
Remarkably, snow was falling from the sky. Snow, despite being lower than the beacon tower. It was a truly unbelievable natural phenomenon.
[Look! The snow spirit!]
Suhogi, covered head to toe in snow from rolling through it, bounded about excitedly.
When we reached the summit of the snow mountain, a genuine hot spring spread out before us. My first thought upon seeing it was this:
‘Thank goodness I sourced a proper pamphlet for the reference.’
Remarkably, the hot spring had been built exactly according to the pamphlet’s design.
It turned out to be an actual reference rather than mere material. I was genuinely grateful I hadn’t been lazy and grabbed some generic public bath pamphlet. That would have been a disaster.
A hot spring perched atop the snow mountain, commanding a view of the entire Spirit Domain below.
The hot spring consisted of a massive bathing pool crowned with a wooden deck. The basin was ringed with smooth black stone, and a shishi-odoshi water feature had been installed along one edge—you know, those decorative bamboo tubes from Japanese dramas that clack when water fills them.
That had been Poonghoki’s special request, incidentally.
[Wow! It’s such a huge bath!]
[It looks hot!]
[How neat!]
Apparently, the concept of a hot spring was unfamiliar to the Undines as well.
‘Well, there’s nothing for it. As the master of all things, I should set a proper example.’
It was time to show the spirits how an adult enjoys the waters.
* * *
Splash—splash!
Another massive wave struck, and the Ark pitched violently.
“Hold on tight!”
“They’re coming!”
The hunters shouted and rallied one another.
Even A-rank and B-rank hunters could barely muster their full strength when the ground beneath their feet swayed and buckled.
And when monsters came crashing in alongside the waves, it was worse still.
— Kee-eee-eck!
— Craw-aaa-awk!
The wave’s foam shattered, and the monsters within bared their teeth, extending claws and tentacles.
Demon sardines, giant squid, grotesque sea horses. Countless other twisted sea creatures besides.
And along with them, mythological beasts like kelpies, kappas, mermaids, and nereids.
Monsters of every variety seemed to have made a pact among themselves—they attacked only humans.
It was more than unfortunate; it was pitiful. But what could be done? The hunters had chosen to enter knowing the situation, so they had no choice but to tough it out with grit and determination.
“All units, attack!”
At the captain’s call—Jin Noa’s cry—skills erupted from all directions.
Those like Jeong Jin who lacked combat-type skills picked up harpoons and nets to support the fighting.
Boom-! Boom-!
The ship unleashed a barrage of cannon fire. No need to load projectiles or man the gun—it was fully automated.
One of the functions of Jin Noa’s skill, the Ark, which allowed him to summon a massive vessel.
Moments later, the sea became calm as if by magic.
The house-sized wave that had been about to swallow the Ark, the storm clouds that had flashed with lightning—all of it vanished, and peaceful sunlight poured down onto the tranquil sea.
But the hunters knew this was far from over.
“Third Wave cleared! Fifteen minutes’ rest!”
The fortieth floor of the Tower was an oceanic field—a Defense-type field designed to withstand Waves.
And the current level where the guild members were climbing was the later stages of the fortieth floor, with three more Waves still to endure.
Rumble—
Porters who had been waiting below deck poured onto the main deck.
The hunters’ rest time was the porters’ work time. They quickly drew their work knives and began harvesting Mana Stones and miscellaneous materials from the corpses scattered across the deck, then hurling the bodies into the sea.
Jeong Jin stared vacantly as the porters carved Mana Stones and a few byproducts from the monsters’ bodies and cast the carcasses overboard.
“What, reminiscing about the old days?”
He turned at the voice to find Jin Noa, the Guild Master, standing beside him.
“It was a long time ago. That was over five years back now.”
This was the place where Jeong Ryong and Jeong Jin had first fled the orphanage and started their first job, right after graduating high school.
Unlike Jeong Ryong, who had studied at university and worked part-time jobs between classes, Jeong Jin had worked as a full-time Porter. Then he’d Awakened, and joined the Ark Guild straightaway.
“Those were good times. Cramped on a much smaller ship, the two of us bumping shoulders.”
“Back then you were A-rank too, sir. People used to tease you about the pudgy ship, remember?”
“Hey now. It wasn’t that pudgy, even if it was small.”
The two shared a quiet laugh.
“We’ve been doing this for five years now. Why is it still so grueling?”
“That’s just how maritime work is, isn’t it?”
Jeong Jin sighed inwardly.
The lingering effects from his time in the Spirit Domain meant the gap in labor intensity wasn’t easy to readjust to.
‘How much has changed by now, I wonder.’
The Spirit Special Zone was a place where buildings rose by the hour and the earth shifted by the day. How much progress and transformation must have occurred in just those few days away?
‘I miss Suhogi.’
Jeong Jin took out his phone and looked at Suhogi’s photo, set as his lock screen—a picture of Suhogi in a butler’s outfit that Jeong Ryong had sent. Just looking at it seemed to give him strength.
“The waves are coming!”
At the announcement that break time was over, Jeong Jin exhaled and stood up.
“Sir, when this is done, do you know what I’m planning to do first?”
“Eat, I suppose?”
“A bath. A proper bath is what I’m going to do first.”
After nearly two hours of combat, not just his underwear but even his socks were drenched in sweat.
The fishy stench of the sea, the sickening smell of the monsters’ bodily fluids and entrails—it all seemed to have soaked into the roots of his hair.
“A real bath, not a shower.”
A shower wouldn’t nearly be enough.
To wash away the stress that clung to the very depths of his soul—the kind that water alone couldn’t cleanse—he needed at least hot water up to his waist, pooled and still.
“To get to a bathhouse, you’d have to go outside the Gate.”
“If necessary, I’d take a plane.”
Why didn’t Boru have a bathhouse? Jeong Jin sighed deeply and picked up the harpoon again.
‘I want to bathe with Suhogi.’
Along with that simple wish.
* * *
One corner of the hot spring had a simple changing room prepared. As I entered, sure enough, a swimsuit—one of the materials I’d contributed—hung waiting.
I put on the swimsuit and stepped into the hot spring, feet first. The water was a touch too warm, but that was the nature of hot springs.
Once I’d submerged myself completely, I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.
“Ahhh. Perfect.”
My body burned hot, yet my head remained cool.
The spring’s warmth rose through me and met the cold air above, dissipating in an instant. This was truly an open-air hot spring done right.
Level 5 Hot Spring
A thermal spring located in the Snow Mountain region of the Spirit Special Zone.
Soaking for ten minutes or longer grants twenty-four enhancement effects: fatigue recovery, skin refinement, joint strengthening, improved focus, and more.
In short, it had every benefit that was supposedly good for the body packed into it.
I gestured to the spirits standing at the spring’s edge, watching me with frank curiosity.
“Come on in, everyone. I’ll show you what a proper hot spring bath is like.”
Suhogi was the first to work up courage and respond.
[Heave!]
With a splash, Suhogi plunged in, paddled frantically toward me, and scrambled up onto my head.
[Aah! Too hot!]
The spring’s temperature was apparently far too much for Suhogi.
[Hmm?]
Tohoiki entered with interest but promptly sank straight to the bottom. I fished him out quickly, and his normally copper-brown body had turned deep maroon as he spurted water like a fountain from his mouth.
I placed Tohoiki and Nohm on a Duck Tube floating in one section of the spring—it had been Suhogi’s special request.
[This is so toasty and nice!]
Poonghoki and the Sylphs were surprisingly enjoying the spring. Rather than entering the water itself, they floated through the air, savoring the hot steam like a sauna.
[Take this! Heat Radiation Blast!]
[I won’t lose! Heat Vision!]
They were playing gleefully, even gathering the hot air into projectiles and flinging them back and forth.
[Oh no! My body got a bit cold!]
[Mine too! Let’s get in now!]
The Undines were enjoying the spring in their own way.
Watching them, my own body grew drowsy and heavy, as if I were dissolving like a water spirit into the warmth itself.
I gently cupped Suhogi in my hand, lifting him from my head.
“Come on. You need to soak too.”
[But it’s hot.]
“You’ll adjust little by little. You’ll manage.”
I reached out of the spring and scooped up a handful of snow, rubbing it across Suhogi’s body. Since he was already wet, the snow stuck to him perfectly.
[Tee-hee-hee! So cold!]
Suhogi’s body squirmed and twisted at the ticklish sensation. Once he was sufficiently cooled, I carefully lowered him into the spring water, starting with his feet.
“There. How is it?”
[Nnnn….]
Suhogi curled himself into a tight ball, frightened.
Gradually his body began to unfurl, and after a few experimental flicks of his limbs, he started swimming in earnest.
[Hee-hee-hee!]
Then he happily joined the other Undines in their water play.
I leaned my back against a rock, watching nearly thirty spirits each enjoying the hot spring in their own fashion.
‘This is good.’
Come to think of it, I hadn’t been to a hot spring—or even a public bathhouse—in ages. Recently I’d been too busy, and before that… I’d probably been busy then too.
Saving for rent, scraping together a down payment, working myself ragged. I hadn’t set foot in a movie theater or a café in what felt like forever.
‘And now here I am, having built my own domain, soaking in a hot spring on the mountainside.’
I exhaled deeply and gazed down at the sprawling view of Spirit Domain below the Snow Mountain.
It was a sight worth savoring.
* * *
┼ Available Construction
└ Smeltery Level 2
└ Material: Tongs (1/1)
└ Material: Mithril (5kg/5kg)
└ Requirement: Waterway (1/1)
Gathering the construction materials and meeting the conditions for the smeltery was straightforward. The tongs were crafted easily enough in the current smeltery, and I had Mithril that Nohm had been mining.
The waterway was solved by digging a channel from the water source.
Level 2 Smeltery construction has been completed.
The Level 2 smeltery was substantially larger than its predecessor.
The blast furnace itself had grown in size, and the work space was broader. The waterway, it turned out, served as a cooling water conduit.
‘Mm. Good. That settles my impressions.’
The Level 2 refinery was impressive enough, but unfortunately the opponent was lacking. After having seen the Level 5 hot spring, my standards had risen—it would take at least a Skill Evolution to satisfy me now.
Yes, that’s right. Skill Evolution.
Perhaps the Spirit Domain would undergo another evolution as well.
‘Back at the Spirit Village, Level 5 was followed by Level Question Mark. That’s when I evolved into the Spirit Domain.’
With the refinery as the final hurdle, the Spirit Domain was now ready to cross the threshold into Level 5.
The time had come to see whether the Spirit Domain would indeed evolve beyond Level 5, and if so, what form it would take next.

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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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