Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 53

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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 53
53. The Mobile Spirit Territory
After the Noum’s brief construction work, the entrance to the Underground Area had widened enough for people to pass through comfortably.
Descending the long staircase and stepping into the Underground Area, several temporary lights illuminated the vast cavern stretching before us.
“Ho, this is….”
Jeon Woo-chi and several guild members of the Matap Guild examined the ruins with keen interest, snapping photographs. The mages clearly recognized something significant.
‘They may keep their promises like true soldiers rather than scholars, but there’s honor in that.’
At the exact center of the cavern—directly beneath the Plaza, geographically speaking—blue waterproofing tarps had been laid, and upon them towered a mountain of Magical Stones.
A full ton of Magical Stones, gathered as quickly as possible, regardless of grade.
‘I managed to get them a bit cheaper through Jeong Jin’s guild.’
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that a significant portion of my fortune had vanished. It stung a little, but that’s how investment works—you have to spend big to earn big.
◆ Special Quest
Activate the Spirit Territory!
┼ Completion Conditions
└ 1,000 Kilograms of Magical Stones (Complete)
└ 1,000 Kilojoules of Spirit Power (Incomplete)
└ 1,000 Kiloarcs of Magical Power (Incomplete)
└ Securing Engine Room Site (Complete)
Two conditions had been fulfilled, and the remaining two were essentially already within reach.
“All right then, we’ll begin construction of the Engine starting now!”
I addressed the spirits and mages gathered before me, my back to the mountain of Magical Stones.
“All I need from you is one thing: direct your Magical Power and Spirit Power toward these stones with everything you have!”
Fine adjustments in power output might be needed, but Bulldog and Jeon Woo-chi would handle that themselves.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Kee-hee-hee…! Of course…!”
“Always prepared!”
[Ready! Ready!]
[Ohhh!]
[Shaaaa.]
Even Pig Mandrake, who usually shirked everything, couldn’t miss this moment.
Pig Mandrake was cradled in my arms, destined to be carefully monitored to ensure he actually put in the effort.
“Good. Then I’ll count down from three!”
I stepped back and began the count in a loud voice.
“Three, two, one…!”
Hoisting Pig Mandrake high in my arms, I fired up this massive vehicle.
“Fire!”
Whoooooosh!
Raw, formless power exploded from the spirits and mages alike.
Spirit Power and Magical Power in their purest form—neither transformed into elements nor woven into techniques, but raw force itself.
Rumble, rumble, rumble….
The cavern trembled with the wave of that power.
Amid the swirling dust, I kept my eyes fixed on the skill window.
“Keep going, keep going! Just a little more!”
“Arraaaaaaah!”
“Keeyooooow!”
[Hnnngh!]
[Ohhhhh!]
Amid the chorus of diverse battle cries, the signal finally came.
Ding!
With a clear chime, the quest condition was fulfilled.
┼ Completion Conditions
└ 1,000 Kilograms of Magical Stones (Complete)
└ 1,000 Kilojoules of Spirit Power (Incomplete)
└ 1,000 Kiloarcs of Magical Power (Complete)
└ Securing Engine Room Site (Complete)
Magical Power had been achieved first.
“Mages, hold! Spirits, push just a little harder!”
[Hhhuuuugh….]
[Ohhhhh….]
[This is tough….]
The spirits’ output had begun to lag slightly. Their plump bellies, once round and full, had grown noticeably gaunt.
But it didn’t matter.
I knew how to motivate them.
“If we succeed, snacks—ten kilograms!”
[Ten kilo…?]
[How much is that?]
“One hundredth of that mountain!”
[Gasp! That’s enormous!]
[At that rate, our bellies might burst!]
[Hisss!]
[Ooooh!]
The mention of snacks lit up the spirits’ faces with sudden vigor. As if feeding off their renewed excitement, the Spirit Power that had been flagging surged forward once more, fierce and relentless.
Ding.
The quest completion notification chimed again.
┼ Completion Conditions
└ 1,000 Kilograms of Magical Stone (Complete)
└ 1,000 Kilojoules of Spirit Power (Complete)
└ 1,000 Kiloarcs of Magical Power (Complete)
└ Engine Room Site Acquisition (Complete)
“All green! Everyone, stop!”
At my command, the spirits ceased pouring out their power.
Only silence remained in the chamber, broken only by the lingering tingle of residual Magical Power and Spirit Power hanging in the air.
And then, the next moment.
The Special Quest has been completed.
A tremendous tremor engulfed us.
* * *
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
The colossal vibration shook the cavern violently.
It was a tremor of an entirely different magnitude than when the Spirit Domain had expanded—truly catastrophic.
[Waaaaah!]
[Ooooh!]
The spirits bounced off the ground from the sheer force of the tremor. I quickly crouched and reached out, pulling the nearby spirits into my arms for protection.
“Earth Mages! Protect the other mages and spirits!”
Almost simultaneously with Jeon Woo-chi’s cry, a soft but thick layer of earth blanketed my body.
“Noum! If you have strength to spare, protect your friends!”
[Yes!]
[Yesss!]
Boom—!
Just as I thought the earthquake was subsiding, a massive impact struck us.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
The singular shocks resonated exactly four times before finally quieting.
[…Is it over?]
Pig Mandrake, nestled in my arms, blinked uncertainly.
“Seems like it.”
I held my breath cautiously, and a notification window appeared before my eyes.
Your Spirit Territory has been reinforced into a Mobile Spirit Territory.
It was the notification confirming the reinforcement’s completion.
I exhaled slowly and pulled myself up. The wall of earth that had cushioned my body crumbled softly away.
“Sylphs, I’m sorry, but fly up to the surface quickly and check if the buildings are still intact.”
[Roger that!]
Sylph, the scout leader, and a few others zoomed swiftly toward the exit. I brushed the dirt from my hair and shoulders, looking around at the others.
“Is everyone all right? I apologize. Normally the recoil isn’t this severe…”
I trailed off.
Something massive that hadn’t been there moments before was now emanating light from the center of the chamber.
Hummmmmm—
It was an enormous blue sphere.
The blue sphere, rotating slowly like a globe, rippled with white waves of energy that flickered in and out of view.
The instant I beheld it, I understood instinctively where all one ton of the Magical Stone had gone.
‘This is the Engine.’
The heart of the Spirit Domain, newly forged.
A heart that did not beat—forged from a blend of Magical Stone, Magical Power, and Spirit Power.
“It resembles a Golem’s core,” Jeon Woo-chi said, having appeared at my side without my noticing.
The words came from him so naturally.
“Are you saying the Spirit Domain has become a Golem?”
“Its structure is such, though we needn’t necessarily confine it within a form. Truth be told, I’ve never seen a core so immense, nor one where two forces are mingled in this manner.”
The blue of the core seemed to signify Magical Power, and the white, Spirit Power. But then—what of that violet hue that flickered through it so rarely?
I was about to ask Jeon Woo-chi about it when—
[Jeong Ryong! Jeong Ryong!]
Someone called my name, drawing near with a flutter of wings. It was Sylph, the scout captain.
[You have to go outside! Quickly!]
Sylph had clearly just returned from above, her expression flushed with excitement. I wondered if the building had collapsed, and my own heart quickened in sympathy.
“Understood. Let’s go!”
[Put this on first!]
A Sylph darting in behind the scout captain thrust Protective Gear into my hands. I hastily donned it all, but then something struck me as odd.
“Wait—Protective Gear?”
[Everyone, gather up!]
[Alright, when I count to three, you lift. Got it?]
[Okay!]
“Hold on. You’re not taking me beyond the boundary, are you?”
Before I could even finish, the Sylphs wedged themselves beneath my knees, under my buttocks, into my armpits.
“Wait, wait. Hold on—!”
[Three!]
[Let’s go!]
Whoosh—!
My body shot upward from the ground before I could mentally prepare myself.
“Aaaahhh!”
Never having flown before, I felt my stomach plummet and instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
Shwoosh—!
The whistle of wind past my ears stoked my fear even more.
[What are you doing? Open your eyes!] called the Wind Tiger Spirit, supporting my head.
I forced my eyes open to slits. And what I saw was—
“Wow…”
A beautiful island hung suspended in the air, like something from paradise itself.
A castle standing in the middle of a verdant meadow, dotted with wildflowers.
To the north of the castle, with its clusters of snug buildings, rose a modest mountain, and to the south sprawled a dwarf forest.
From this distance, my territory looked like a quaint little castle made of miniature figurines.
‘So the earthquake happened because it was rising to the surface.’
But my astonishment was far from over.
The Sylphs carried me down again—beneath the Spirit Territory that had emerged above ground. And there, something even more astounding awaited.
“What is this? Legs?”
[Our home has legs!]
[Huge, sturdy legs at that!]
[It’s completely four-legged!]
The Spirit Territory that had risen up was supported by four legs—four massive, thick legs of stone, like those of a Golem.
‘So that’s what caused the single tremor!’
The Spirit Territory Reinforcement Token.
An item worth more than a coin’s value alone.
I descended to the Plaza with the Sylphs. The spirits and Matap Guild members who had gathered there were waiting for me, all assembled.
I smiled at the spirits, especially at Suhogi and Undine, and spoke.
“Well, our commute bus is complete.”
Now it was time to test whether this thing could truly move.
“Let’s head to the Waystation.”
Soon the laundry service would be opening for business.
* * *
The Tower Management Bureau, second floor of the Waystation.
An emergency siren was wailing there.
[Wheeee-eeeee!]
A red siren—the alert for a Monster Wave.
As the piercing sound reverberated through the room, Bureau Chief Jang Dae-in opened the situation room door with a grave expression and turned to his aide.
“Have we notified the Round Table of the current situation?”
“Yes. We alerted them the moment it was captured on camera.”
“And the other guild masters?”
“I sent out an emergency notification just now, so they should all be in the conference room within ten minutes!”
“Good. Get a preliminary situation report drafted within five minutes.”
“Understood!”
The duty officer hurried back to his station while Jang Dae-in studied one of the monitors in the command center with a grave expression.
It was the feed from the camera attached to Exit Six of the Waystation.
Beyond the yellow Cutting Wind, a massive creature stirred within the murky sandstorm—visible even to his eyes.
‘A Monster Wave in our country.’
A Monster Wave.
The term referred to an act in which monsters dwelling in the Wasteland gathered in numbers to attack the Tower.
‘In all of South Korea’s history, there has never been a Monster Wave.’
What made this one peculiar was that it appeared to be an attack by a single entity rather than a swarm.
Did a lone creature pose less danger than a horde? If it were a single entity of modest size, the siren wouldn’t have sounded in the first place.
‘The sheer scale of it is extraordinary.’
Calculating by distance, the monster stood at least three stories tall, and with the three massive spines jutting from its back included, its height exceeded the Waystation itself.
A creature the size of a building—one never mentioned even in the legends hunters spoke of while climbing the Tower. Jang Dae-in watched the massive quadrupedal form lumber forward, then murmured under his breath.
“…Hyeonmu.”
Code name Hyeonmu.
It was the moment South Korea’s first Monster Wave was given a name.

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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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