Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 52

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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 52
52. Next Level
The next morning.
I woke with a heavy, sluggish feeling—the kind of exhaustion that sleep hadn’t quite washed away.
“Ugh, I don’t want to get up.”
But I had to. Today there was something I absolutely had to do first thing.
I pulled on my jogging suit and stepped out into the plaza, then opened the skill window before me.
Please select the path your skill will evolve along.
1. Spirit Island
2. Spirit Tower
3. Spirit Domain
4. Wind Spirit Castle
I’d decided to evolve the skill first.
The decision came down to the difference between the words “evolution” and “enhancement.” Enhancement was climbing one rung higher on the same level, but evolution was changing the level itself.
Besides, the evolution list I’d checked last night had sealed my resolve.
‘There’s one option that really appeals to me.’
I didn’t want to risk enhancing first only to have the evolution options change.
So it had to be evolution.
“Option three. I’m evolving it into a Spirit Domain.”
Spirit Domain was the choice that had captured my interest.
Spirit Island felt too much like an isolated place, and the Spirit Domain couldn’t afford to be isolated—it needed to be self-sufficient but connected. The description for Spirit Island just didn’t appeal to me.
‘Spirit Tower doesn’t really call to me either, not when we already have the Spire Zone.’
As for Wind Spirit Castle…
Well, there’s no need to even mention that.
Level 10 Spirit Castle will evolve into Level 1 Spirit Domain.
I tensed my body for the tremor I expected would come. But the vibration that always accompanied skill expansion never arrived.
Instead, a star fell from the sky—the same kind that had fallen when I first built Spirit Village.
Whoosh.
The star of light touched the clock tower in the plaza and spread softly in all directions.
Warm and gentle, the light wrapped around me, then passed through my body and pushed back the boundary of the Spirit Domain.
Whoooosh.
With a harsh wind’s roar, the boundary line between the castle walls and the Wasteland, once merged as one, was shoved back dramatically.
I hurried up onto the rampart to look out. Between the receding boundary and the walls, grass and wildflowers were sprouting up.
Skill evolution complete.
Current Spirit Domain Level: Spirit Domain LV. 1
Before, standing on the rampart and looking down, all I could see was the Wasteland swept by Cutting Wind. The greenery spreading out before me now finally made my chest feel lighter.
[Uuuh…?]
[What? Why are we sleeping here?]
[I just felt something…]
The spirits who had been sleeping in their nests woke one by one and crawled out. The Sylphs, who figured out the situation first, picked up the Noum and the Undine and flew up onto the rampart.
The spirits rubbed their eyes and looked down below the wall, then their drowsiness vanished as their eyes widened in delight.
[Waaaah!]
[Ooooh!]
The spirits seemed utterly thrilled by the sight of the expanded greenery. It was only natural for creatures of nature.
[…Oh!]
[Oh!]
[Ohhh!]
[Ohhhhhh!]
At the sudden clamor, I turned to see the Noum tumbling down below the wall. They must have pressed forward to get a closer look and lost their balance.
The Noum buried in the soil heaps below scrambled up and dashed through the meadow with unbridled joy. For earth spirits like the Noum, this transformation must have been the most welcome of all.
‘Skill window.’
The skill window showed several changes.
Spirit Domain LV. 1
[Inner Castle Zone]
Main Castle 3, Nests 3, Plaza 2
[Windmill Zone]
Wind Turbine 3, Warehouse 3, Mine 4
Water Source 4, Herb Garden 4, Spirit Forest 2
[Lighthouse Zone]
Lighthouse 4, Forge 3, Workshop 3
Refinery 3, Smithy 2
[Spire Zone]
Spire 3
[Snowy Mountain Zone]
Hot Spring 5, Sledge Track 3
[Underground Zone]
┼ Buildable Structures
└ Water Source LV.5
└ Workshop LV.4
└ Storage LV.3
└ Hot Spring LV.3 (Pre-completed)
┼ LV.2 Expansion Conditions (0/2)
└ Water Source LV.5 (0/1)
└ Workshop LV.4 (0/1)
┼ ??? Conditions (0/3)
└ Declare Domain (0/1)
└ Lord’s Inauguration (0/1)
└ Rank Bestowal Sword Crafting (0/1)
The structure list had been divided by zone, and the notation simplified. My eyes, which had been scanning through the familiar categories, landed on the very last entry.
It was an unknown item marked as ‘??? Conditions.’
‘Declare a domain, an inauguration ceremony, and crafting a sword?’
The absurdity of the requirements drew an involuntary laugh from me, but thinking about it, they were tasks that I should naturally undertake as a lord.
Of course, there were more pressing matters to attend to first.
‘Now it’s time to strengthen the Spirit Domain.’
* * *
You may attach a descriptor of your choice to the Spirit Domain.
Would you like to strengthen it to a ‘Mobile Spirit Domain’?
‘Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes.’
I affirmed without hesitation, but a decidedly less encouraging notification blocked my path.
The descriptor you chose is far too powerful.
A Special Quest has been triggered.
The notification essentially translated to: ‘You picked such a brilliant answer that I can’t just hand it over—so get to work,’ a backhanded congratulation.
As I debated whether to celebrate getting the right answer or to grumble about being assigned double duty, a new window materialized before my eyes.
◆ Special Quest
Move the Spirit Castle!
┼ Completion Conditions
└ 1,000 Kilograms of Mana Stones (Incomplete)
└ 1,000 Kilojure of Spirit Force (Incomplete)
└ 1,000 Kiloarc of Magical Power (Incomplete)
└ Engine Room Site Acquisition (Incomplete)
It was the first time I’d seen a quest window. But apart from the text, it was little different from the standard building material requirement notifications.
“Huh….”
The only difference was the sheer magnitude of the resources demanded.
‘The units they’re asking for are no joke.’
Faced with such enormous requirements, even someone as naturally positive as I am found myself at a loss for words. Was moving the Spirit Castle truly a long-term project spanning months?
“Hmm.”
I rubbed my chin for a moment and examined the requirements again.
‘No, wait. If I’m clever about it, this might actually be doable.’
Though the numbers looked intimidating, each individual component seemed manageable.
1,000 kilograms—that is, one ton—of Mana Stones.
Needless to say, I could procure that simply by throwing money at the problem. A substantial portion of my accumulated wealth might be drained, but money could be earned again.
1,000 Kiloarc of magical power.
I didn’t know how large that unit was, but if I hired or requested all the members of the Matap Guild, it seemed achievable.
‘1,000 Kilojure of Spirit Force. I have no sense of how large that unit is.’
Humans had almost no information about spirits. After a moment of thought, I decided to seek out my butler Undine on a hunch.
[Oh? You came to see me?]
The moment I mentioned having something to ask, the butler Undine, who had bounced with delight, straightened her posture with a crisp [Yes!].
[You have a question for me?]
I wasn’t sure whether to call this admirable professional spirit or charming cosplay.
“I’m curious how large a unit 1,000 Kilojure of Spirit Force is.”
“Kilojure. I haven’t heard that unit in ages.”
True to her snowy white hair, Undine was a butler who had lived for a very long time.
“A thousand kilojure would be the equivalent of a thousand lower-tier spirits pouring out their full power all at once.”
A thousand lower-tier spirits.
But hearing that alone wasn’t reason enough to give up.
“If we don’t exhaust it all in one burst but instead draw it out over a longer breath, could our people manage it?”
“Hmm. It might be possible, assuming everyone has eaten their fill and rested sufficiently. Our domain has a considerable number of mid-tier spirits stationed throughout, after all.”
There was a possibility. I reached up and stroked Undine’s head as thanks for the information.
“Tee-hee!”
Away went the butler spirit, her solemn demeanor vanishing as quickly as it had come, pleased as she returned to her duties. Always such a diligent and quiet spirit.
That left only one final problem.
“Securing the Engine Room.”
It appeared that moving the Spirit Castle would require an engine made from Mana Stones.
Given the enormous weight of one ton, there would surely be considerable noise and heat; a location away from the main castle would be preferable.
‘I might need ventilation and cooling systems.’
An empty space with low temperature would be ideal.
‘Air cooling in the Snowy Mountain Zone? Or water cooling, submerged in the water source?’
As I wandered, thinking, my feet naturally drew me toward the Spirit Forest. It was time to feed Rani her morning portion. The spirit who had become a tree was periodically consuming my mana.
At first I’d worried—she’d started as a mandragora after all—but in the end, she was part of the Spirit Domain that had created the Underground Zone.
‘Wait. The Underground Zone?’
Click.
An excellent candidate suddenly occurred to me.
Spacious and empty, suitable for building anything, and being underground meant a naturally cool temperature.
* * *
Four days later.
I woke refreshed, as I did every morning.
When I sat up, the spirits sleeping on top of me tumbled off the blanket.
Pitter-patter.
Thump-roll.
After four days of eating their fill and resting well, the spirits had grown plump enough to roll around like little balls.
I picked up Suhogi and poked her belly.
Boing.
Her belly was so plump it pushed back against my fingertip with surprising force.
“Hee-hee-hee….”
Even as Suhogi giggled, tickled, she stubbornly kept her eyes shut—she’d become the female equivalent of Bulldog the Pigman.
‘This is perfect.’
This belly fat wasn’t fat at all—it was condensed excess spirit energy.
For the past four days, all spirit duties had stopped. Every task except the laundromat service had been suspended, and I’d let them eat and play to their hearts’ content all day long.
‘Why, you ask?’
To move the Spirit Castle, of course.
Four days of paid leave.
All of it would be repaid.
* * *
A few hours later.
Crash!
The final cart dumped its load of Mana Stones onto the ground.
The carts, arriving in nearly hourly intervals since yesterday, had deposited a total of 900 kilograms of Mana Stones.
Combined with the 100 kilograms we’d collected as laundromat service fees, that made exactly one ton of Mana Stones.
“Kee-hee-hee! This is incredible…!”
“I’ve never seen Mana Stones piled up like a mountain before.”
“It’s not a sight one gets to witness often.”
The guild members from Matap, invited for this day, each added their own comment. Regular members, section chief Dae Ji-su, guild master Bulldog, and even Jeon Woo-chi from the Round Table had come.
More surprising still, despite my offer to pay them, they’d volunteered to work without compensation.
– “How could we possibly accept payment in the Spirit Domain!”
– “We’ve been meaning to repay you for the laundromat guard duty anyway!”
– “We’re simply grateful to be permitted to set foot in this sacred place!”
Whether it was the obsession of the Matap Guild or of the martial world in general, one thing was certain.
Virtue truly does bring its own rewards.
◆ Special Quest
Move the Spirit Castle!
┼ Completion Conditions
└ 1,000 Kilograms of Mana Stone (Complete)
└ 1,000 Kilojure of Spirit Power (Incomplete)
└ 1,000 Kiloarc of Magical Power (Incomplete)
└ Engine Room Site Acquisition (Complete)
With this, all preparations to set the Spirit Castle in motion were finally complete.

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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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