Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 48

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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 48
48. The Dungeon Search Team
The Dungeon Search Team advanced with spirited determination.
[Ooooh!]
Tohogi led the way at the very front.
Using the power of an earth spirit, he scanned ahead with Spirit Power, probing for dangers beyond his line of sight before proceeding with care.
[Hisss!]
At his side came Agamander, serving as a torch. The soft glow seeping from her skin was more than enough to pierce the pitch-black Dungeon.
[Good, good. Let’s move.]
Punghogi and the wind spirits held the rear.
After descending the spiral downward passage for some time, an exit appeared before them.
[Hmm?]
Tohogi cautiously poked his head through the opening and surveyed the surroundings. The darkness was so deep and dense that even Agamander’s skin-glow could not dispel it.
Bracing himself against the wall and sending Spirit Power to scan the terrain, Tohogi was startled.
[Oh!]
He then asked Agamander to unleash a powerful burst of flame.
[Hisss?]
[Yes.]
Agamander poured forth all her strength in fire.
Whoooosh—
Agamander, now grown to an Intermediate Spirit, could breathe forth truly impressive flames.
The fire shot out a good ten meters, illuminating the surroundings brilliantly. What was revealed was a vast cavern.
[Wow!]
[What is this? It’s so spacious!]
Delighted sylphs soared upward into the sky—or rather, into the cavern itself. It was a circular space roughly five meters tall and fifty meters in diameter.
Crackle—
Tohogi lit the Torch that Jeong Jin had prepared with Agamander’s fire and examined every corner of the cavern. There were no signs of hostile life. Not even small animals or insects.
[Oh….]
That disappointment was plain in the voice of one gnome. Having watched the undines play with the fish in the Water Source and the sylphs play with the birds in the Spirit Forest, the gnome couldn’t help but feel envious.
[Yes.]
Tohogi comforted the dispirited gnome.
[Yes. Yes, yes.]
Once Jeong Jin expanded the Spirit Sanctuary, one day animals that dwell on the land would surely find their way here too, he was saying.
[Oh! Yes!]
Heartened by that promise, the gnomes renewed their spirit and began searching the cavern in earnest. Only through their own hard work could they grow the Spirit Sanctuary.
* * *
I received the spirits’ reports through Spirit Telepathy, a new ability that appeared when the Lighthouse leveled up.
“Really? A massive cavern? And it’s completely empty?”
[It’s not empty! There are lots of old things!]
“Old things?”
[Like fragments of buildings!]
Underground building fragments. Could they be ruins?
A short time later, when the search team returned, I handed them my Smartphone to send back down again. When I saw the photographs the sylphs had taken, I couldn’t help but be astonished.
“Wow, you really didn’t get good shots.”
[What do you expect! We’re not used to handling such human contraptions!]
Setting aside Punghogi’s surprisingly poor photography skills, the photographs clearly showed ruins.
There were buildings with nine-tenths collapsed, leaving little more than foundations; there were round-roofed structures standing alone with their lower sections long gone.
‘Why are there ruins under the Spirit Sanctuary?’
When I created the underground zone as a new terrain, did the Skill bring ruins to place there?
That seemed unlikely. Rather, it appeared that ruins had existed beneath the Spirit Sanctuary from the beginning.
If so, had I accidentally founded the Spirit Special Zone directly atop a ruin site?
That too seemed unlikely. What mattered more was that this place lay near the Tower.
‘The Tower manifested here for a reason. This must have been a ruin site from the start.’
And those ruins, for some reason—perhaps because of that harsh wind—were buried deep underground.
It wasn’t surprising that such ruins had never been discovered before. Who would think to dig in the ground while braving that harsh wind? Everyone would rather go on expeditions to earn coins.
‘Perhaps the Tower World was once a land where civilization flourished and breathed.’
In any case, I had reached a conclusion.
The Dungeon was safe, and there were no monsters to speak of. So there was no need to worry about it right now.
‘Just like with the sledding course in the Snowy Mountain Region, once I level up again, the Skill will guide me on what building to construct.’
When the Spirit Special Zone told me to build in the Dungeon, that would be soon enough to think about it then.
Two months have passed since I gained the Spirit Special Zone skill, and by now I’ve become something of an expert in its use.
“Well then, shall I do some long-overdue warehouse organizing today?”
I started to rise from my seat.
Swish.
That is, until Rani’s branch settled onto my shoulder.
“What? Why?”
I turned around, but the Mandragora said nothing.
Still, I was well past the point of being stumped by a creature that couldn’t speak. By now, I could divine what she wanted just from the smallest hint.
“You want Mana?”
Rustle, rustle.
It seemed feeding the tree was about to become a regular part of my daily routine.
* * *
A few days later.
The Wasteland Expedition Team returned from their second expedition.
[Wooooah!]
[Welcome back!]
[You worked so hard!]
[Welcome, newcomers!]
The spirits’ applause and cheers scatter through the sky like falling petals—a grand and magnificent welcome just like the first time.
The expedition’s sendoff and return ceremony were among the Spirit Sanctuary’s most important events, never to be conducted carelessly no matter how familiar they became.
The expedition members wore triumphant expressions, while the newly rescued spirits following behind looked somewhat dazed.
I stepped forward before them and spread both arms wide.
“Welcome, everyone. And thank you for all your hard work.”
[We really did put in the effort!]
[That’s right, that’s right!]
The expedition members rushed toward me, and I embraced each of the sylphs with genuine warmth.
[Ahhhh!]
[It feels good to be home!]
[There really is no place like home!]
“You’ve all worked so hard. Truly, the Spirit Sanctuary grows because of you.”
[Really?]
“Of course. You’re the principal architects of this place. No, the supreme architects.”
[Ahhhh! You shouldn’t say such things!]
[But it does sound nice!]
[We really have worked hard~!]
After praising the sylphs sufficiently, I turned my attention to the newly arrived spirits.
There were over ten spirits rescued this time. As always, they gazed up at me with frightened, shrunken expressions.
These creatures had likely never seen a human before, so their fear was understandable. But I already knew the cure for that particular ailment.
Rustle.
I pulled out biscuits and Cider from my pocket.
“Are you hungry?”
[Oh… ohhh….]
[So delicious….]
The spirits, famished beyond measure, stumbled toward me with their mouths hanging open and dazed expressions.
I opened the biscuit wrapper and the Cider bottle, then fed each spirit a bit from my hands. They chewed like chicks being fed by their mother.
[Oh…!]
[So tasty…!]
The spirits devoured the snacks mindlessly.
Their emaciated bodies began to fill out, their clouded forms growing clear again—and then tears began streaming down the faces of those holding food in their mouths.
[Sob, sob…!]
[Wahhhhh…!]
These spirits had clearly endured a long ordeal in the Wasteland. I gathered all the newcomers into my arms and comforted them.
“You’re safe now. This is your new home.”
The spirits clutched at my collar as if it were their lifeline, tears pouring down. I gently patted their backs.
[Sniff!]
[Whimper…!]
The return ceremony had become a sea of tears. The existing spirits began to cry along with the newcomers.
[Sniff…!]
Among them, Jeong Jin was also crying beside the tripod. I found myself bewildered and asked her.
“Why are you blubbering too?”
“I’m so glad those children are safe…!”
Usually she struck down monsters with such ferocity, but moments like this revealed how tender her heart truly was.
‘Jin has always been sensitive, even when she was young.’
Though really, who becomes strong because they want to? It’s a necessity when you’re trying to survive the rough seas of life.
“Here. You hold them too.”
“Me? Are you… sure?”
“Why not? You’re an honored resident of our Spirit Sanctuary.”
I passed the spirits in my arms to Jeong Jin. She took them awkwardly at first, then gazed down at them with a trembling face.
[Whimper…]
[Oh…?]
The spirits looked up at Jeong Jin with tear-filled eyes. The moment their gazes met, her expression softened into warmth.
“Welcome. From now on, your hardships are over and your happiness begins.”
A smile bloomed across Jeong Jin’s face.
I think I was beginning to understand why she had such fondness for the Undine spirits.
* * *
The newly arrived spirits scattered by element and joined their respective groups. The Spirit Sanctuary’s new recruit orientation had begun.
[This is the Water Source! The water sprites live here too!]
[Wow! I haven’t seen you in forever!]
[There are frogs here!]
[Wow! Frogs!]
The Undines naturally gravitated toward the water and started near the Water Source.
[Ohhh.]
[Ooh?]
[Ohhhhh!]
[Oh… oh…!]
The Gnomes were starting at the Mine—the very foundation of the Spirit Sanctuary—and moving into the underground sectors.
[Hisss!]
[Shhaaah.]
Under Agamander’s direction, the Salamanders were heading toward the Lighthouse. They were likely going to greet Punghogi, who was practically their big brother.
[Rookies are banned from expeditions for a month!]
[Wind-spinning is forbidden for ten days!]
[Trash collection is off-limits for four days!]
[Then what exactly are we allowed to do?!]
The Sylphs, meanwhile, seemed to have learned nothing but mischief somewhere and were busy establishing their own hierarchy through some dubious rules. I almost said something, then shook my head slowly.
‘I should focus on what I need to do.’
There was one thing I needed to accomplish.
One Coin is awarded for guiding a wild Intermediate Spirit into the Spirit Special Zone.
Thanks to the single Gnome that came in being an Intermediate Spirit, my Coin count had increased by one. And thanks to evolving a large number of Salamanders into Intermediate Spirits using the Bulldog’s power, my remaining Coins were ten—exactly enough to buy the treasure I’d been aiming for.
‘The Treasure Warehouse.’
I summoned the Treasure Warehouse and scrolled down the list. I’d known from the start what I wanted to buy.
Spirit Sanctuary Enhancement Voucher : 10 Coins
I purchased the voucher without hesitation.
Spirit Sanctuary Enhancement Voucher purchased.
Remaining Coins : 0 Coins
I’d spent every Coin, but I harbored no regrets. If I could strengthen the Spirit Sanctuary itself, there was no better use for them.
Would you like to use the Spirit Sanctuary Enhancement Voucher?
“Use it!”
I cried out with a heart that thundered with excitement.
And immediately after, what appeared before my eyes was an effect I could never have imagined.
You may now attach an adjective of your choice to the Spirit Sanctuary.
The voucher truly was the best purchase.

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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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