Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 67
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 67
Episode 67. Additional Construction Options?
Main Castle Level 4 construction has been completed.
Spirit Domain materials and facilities were used in this construction.
Main Castle Level 4 construction is being reinforced. Main Castle Level 5 construction has been completed.
As the reinforced construction burst forth, the Main Castle leapt an entire level, finishing at Level 5.
Now that the Main Castle had risen to Level 5, it was truly deserving of the title lordly stronghold.
For one, another floor had been added, making it a four-story structure. The four towers had grown even taller still, so standing up there would grant a view beyond the castle walls into the Domain itself.
Of course, the expansion was not limited to height alone. The footprint had grown considerably as well—the open ground where the herb garden once stood was now part of the Main Castle, and sections of the structure now extended into Snow Mountain itself.
“Wow, it got huge! It’s almost doubled in size.”
Jeong Jin, sitting in his pajamas as instructed to wait outside during the expansion work, spoke in astonishment.
“And it’s so much more beautiful!”
He was right—the Main Castle had received a considerable aesthetic upgrade.
The fortress built of pale gray brick stood against the backdrop of white Snow Mountain, emanating an almost fantastical air. With the blue roof now in place, it resembled a castle from a fairy tale.
[Ah! That’s the crest Genie drew!]
At Suhogi’s exclamation, I turned to look. Sure enough, our Domain’s crest hung above the gate attached to the Main Castle.
“Hmm, hmm.”
Jeong Jin made an odd sound, gazing up at the crest. The way his mouth twitched as he forced it down was rather unpleasant to watch.
“Why don’t you just admit you like it?”
“Ahem, ahem.”
As we passed through the gate and entered, a vastly larger and more expansive hall greeted us.
My portrait and family photograph hanging above the Y-shaped grand staircase had also grown considerably larger, looking down upon us.
‘So marble was used here.’
Marble covered the entire floor of the hall, gleaming brilliantly.
[It’s slippery!]
[Hehe! This is fun!]
The Undines, unfamiliar with the marble floor, kept slipping. Some, however, had discovered the beauty of sliding and glided across as naturally as if skating.
“Tohhogi.”
[Hmm?]
“See those black parts embedded in the marble? Could you move them at will?”
At my request, Tohhogi crouched down and placed a hand on the floor. A subtle vibration rippled through, and the marbling in the marble began to shift.
“I suspected as much, but confirmed it. You truly are remarkable beings.”
I patted Tohhogi’s head. The spirit laughed joyfully and dashed off with the others to explore the Main Castle.
‘Later, I could ask them to draw whatever marbling patterns I want here.’
Setting that aside for future consideration, I moved on to tour the newly created rooms.
‘There must be over fifty rooms now.’
It seemed I’d have to give up assigning individual purposes to each room.
“Jeong Ryong! Give me two rooms!”
“Fine. Let me extend some welfare to our editor. Take three.”
“Long live the boss!”
That I’d granted Jeong Jin’s request without the usual rebukes was for the same reason.
The rear gate of the castle opened directly onto Snow Mountain. From the shape of the path, it appeared to connect to the hot spring.
‘I was worried it might be too cold pressed against Snow Mountain like this.’
Despite being constructed of stone, no coldness was felt at all. It was thanks to the building effect of the furnace maintaining the entire Spirit Castle at an appropriate temperature.
Synergizing with one another, maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses—this was the unique pleasure found only in the Spirit Domain.
* * *
One of South Korea’s major guilds: the Sacred Guild.
Unlike other guilds, the Sacred Guild operated solely through Wasteland expeditions rather than tower climbing.
Someone might ask this:
“That alone keeps such a massive guild running? Expeditions must be quite lucrative.”
They are lucrative.
In fact, the Sacred Guild generates over five hundred billion won in revenue with each expedition.
“Then why don’t other guilds conduct expeditions?”
It’s not that they don’t—it’s that they can’t.
Wasteland expeditions are no easier task than tower climbing. If anything, compared to farming the same moderate floors repeatedly, Wasteland expeditions carried a higher death rate.
Unlike towers, where the simple formula holds—defeat all monsters and return—the Wasteland is more akin to wandering an endless desert in search of an oasis.
“Then how does the Sacred Guild succeed at it every time?”
The driving force behind the Sacred Guild’s repeated successful completion of “Grand Expeditions” with hundreds of participants, something other guilds wouldn’t dare attempt, was singular.
The Sacred Guild’s holy twins.
The Sacred Territory Declaration skill they possessed was what protected expedition members safely from the Cutting Wind.
And then, a few days ago.
The Holy Maiden of the Sacred Guild returned from a grueling hundred-day expedition.
“Phew. I finally made it back.”
The Holy Maiden lay sprawled across the conference room table, her cheek pressed against its cool surface.
Whoooosh.
The air conditioner, set to its lowest temperature, blasted a steady stream of cold air down upon her.
Throughout those hundred days of hardship, the one thing she’d missed most of all was air conditioning—and the chilled marble table beneath her soothed her weary soul.
“You’ve been through a lot,” her twin said.
The Holy Saint—her other half.
“You’ll have your turn to suffer soon enough, so don’t tease.”
The twins alternated their grand expeditions. Now that the Holy Maiden had returned, it would be the Holy Saint’s turn to depart next month.
“You’ve endured so much, Holy Maiden.”
“Welcome back, Holy Maiden. We celebrate your safe return.”
Hunters and staff members filing into the conference room bowed to her with utmost respect.
“Yeah. I really did go through hell, you know~.”
The Holy Maiden answered without so much as lifting herself from the table.
It was hardly a dignified display before those her senior in years, yet not a soul voiced objection.
The Sacred Guild had become one of South Korea’s largest guilds without corporate backing; its Master had gained a seat at the Round Table despite personal combat limitations—all thanks to the blessed twins. No one in the Sacred Guild, save the Master himself, could hope to rival the aura these two commanded.
But eternal idols do not exist.
There is always a reckoning.
“Spirit Domain?”
As the Holy Maiden listened to reports of what had transpired during her absence, she voiced her confusion at this unfamiliar term.
“A new skill zone that emerged while you were away,” the Holy Saint explained calmly.
The Holy Maiden was no fool. She had long anticipated the rise of rivals who might threaten the Guild’s future.
“A skill where ore and herbs grow? You’re telling me they just… grow from the ground?”
But she had expected competitors with skills specialized in expeditions like their own—not something unprecedented like this.
“So ore and herbs just sprout from the earth? And on top of that, the land itself moves?”
Perhaps it was more honest to say she had chosen not to think about it.
If such a simple skill existed, what was the point of their grueling expeditions?
“What even is that freeloading skill?”
“Choose your words more carefully. You’re a guild officer.”
“There’s nothing wrong with ‘freeloading.’ It’s not even a curse.”
“It sounds crude.”
“Then I’ll call it a turnkey skill instead. Either way, I won’t believe any of it until I see it with my own eyes. A skill that convenient couldn’t possibly exist.”
Rather than answer, the Holy Saint slid a tablet PC across the table. Its screen displayed a YouTube video of the Spirit Domain channel.
As the video played, the Holy Maiden found herself gnawing at her fingernails.
“How can such an absurd paradise exist!”
Her eyes brimmed with indignation.
“We have to go there right now!”
The Holy Maiden sprang from her seat as if to bolt from the room, but the Holy Saint stopped her.
“What good would rushing there do you?”
“But…!”
“Wait a little longer. They say they’re going to hold a festival soon.”
At those words, the Holy Maiden had no choice but to sit back down.
Watching his twin struggle to contain her frustration, the Holy Saint thought once more.
It had been the right decision to plan on introducing the Holy Maiden directly to Jeong Ryong before he departed on his own expedition.
* * *
┼ LV. 5 Expansion Condition (3/3)
└ Main Castle LV. 4 (1/1)
└ Lighthouse LV. 5 (1/1)
└ Intermediate Spirits (10/10)
Expanding Spirit Domain to LV. 5.
Rumble—crash.
The earth trembled as the Spirit Domain surged forward once more.
Spirit Domain LV. 5
[Inner Keep District]
Main Castle 5, Nests 4, Plaza 5
[Windmill District]
Wind Generators 4, Warehouse 4, Mine 5
[Lighthouse District]
Lighthouse 5, Forge M, Workshop 4
Smelter 3, Blacksmith 2
[Spire District]
Spire 3
[Snow Mountain District II]
Hot Spring 5, Sledding Slope 3
[Suburban District]
Water Source 7, Herb Garden 7, Spirit Forest 2
Circuit 1
[Underground District]
Bridge Chamber 0, Excavation Site 2
The skill window of the Level 5 Spirit Domain displayed several changes.
First, a Roman numeral “II” had been appended beside the Snow Mountain District—evidently a level designation unique to each district.
┼ Construction Options Available
└ Museum LV. 1
└ Spirit Forest LV. 3
└ Smelter LV. 4
└ Storehouse LV. 4 (Pre-completed)
The construction options always featured the ever-welcome pre-completed storehouse and a building with a new name: Museum. It would surely be a place to display the excavated relics.
And then—the long-awaited bonus construction choices!
┼ Additional District Selection Options
└ Spirit Autonomous District
└ Recreation District
└ Military District
‘…That’s not quite it.’
This time, the Level 5 bonus choices weren’t building constructions at all—they were district construction options.
Truly, the scale befitted a Spirit Domain that played on the district level.
‘All right, all right.’
Whether more buildings or more districts appeared, I welcomed either outcome.
‘So what should I choose?’
I examined the list earnestly.
First, the Spirit Autonomous District.
By its name alone, it would be a district for spirits alone. It was likely a superior version of the nest.
Next, the Recreation District.
I suspected this option had been added because I’d built the racing circuit.
Finally, the Military District.
Just the name of it carried a rather ominous air.
‘What’s this. There’s really only one choice here anyway.’
My deliberation was brief.
I reached out toward one of the options without delay.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————