Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 7

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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 7
7. The Fire Spirit
┼ Construction Available List
└ Hearth LV. 1
└ Materials: Wood (2kg/2kg)
└ Materials: Stone (2kg/2kg)
└ Condition: Fire Spirit (1/1)
Construct Hearth LV. 1?
“Build!”
The moment I shouted, the wood and stone I’d stacked to one side lifted into the air and assembled themselves in neat layers.
Now if Salamander, the Fire Spirit, would just go over there and do his part, the Hearth would be built.
“So come on, go! Salamander!”
[…….]
“…….”
[…Ssshhh.]
But Salamander didn’t budge—didn’t even glance toward the blueprint.
The creature remained splayed flat on the ground in the exact same posture as when it had first swallowed that wood chip. I wondered if something was wrong with his health, so I gave him a few prods with my finger.
He was trembling slightly, warm to the touch. Salamander flicked his jaw once against my hand, as if to say, don’t bother me.
“Dine, why isn’t he moving?”
[He’s tired!]
Whether he’d just recovered and wanted to rest, or whether this was simply his nature, I couldn’t say.
But if it was a trait of Salamander’s, I had to respect it.
‘Spirit Village is a pluralistic society, after all.’
The spirits differed from one another far more than any human races could.
Gnome couldn’t speak, Dine could only consume liquids, and Salamander didn’t even have a human form.
I couldn’t apply the same standards to everyone. Acknowledging and respecting each one’s unique traits and individuality—that was how this village would flourish in peace.
Of course, respecting them didn’t mean I’d turn a blind eye to laziness so severe it would hinder the village’s growth.
‘This is where my skills as a manager come into play.’
He says he’s too tired to work? Fine. I accept that.
Then I’ll simply create an environment where he has no choice but to work, tired or not.
“Dine.”
[Yes!]
“Does Salamander breathe fire from his mouth?”
[Yes!]
That’s all I needed.
I cradled Salamander in both hands and approached the Hearth. The creature went limp in my palms, too annoyed to even respond.
“Mander, just breathe fire for me.”
[Ssshhh.]
“Think of it as payment for the wood you ate earlier. Come on, just one burst. That’s it, that’s it.”
Salamander exhaled a small, reluctant sigh, then drew in a deep breath.
And then—
Whoooosh!
A thick stream of flame erupted from his mouth like a flamethrower. I directed the cascading fire onto the wood piled in the Hearth.
The moment the wood caught, my Skill Window flashed with a welcome notification.
Hearth LV. 1 has been constructed.
Hearth LV. 1
The minimum temperature of the Spirit Special Zone increases.
When a Fire Spirit rests near the Hearth, temperature and light intensity increase by 10% for 2 hours.
The Hearth was essentially a massive heater. And now that there was something like a giant campfire in the middle of the village, it looked rather inviting.
‘Good. Impressions filed away.’
I turned my attention back to the Skill Window.
Spirit Village LV. 2
┼ LV. 3 Expansion Conditions (2/2)
└ 1. Nest LV. 1 (1/1)
└ 2. Hearth LV. 1 (1/1)
Expand Spirit Village to LV. 3?
‘Yes.’
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
The sky roared once more.
The boundaries expanded outward, and beyond them I saw people startled and scattering in panic.
Hmm?
Salamander lifted her head, her interest kindled by the phenomenon.
Spirit Village had expanded by roughly a thousand square feet, just as it had during the Level 2 expansion. Beyond that, shallow grass had begun to grow sporadically across the ground.
Oh.
Gnome crouched down with a delighted expression, gazing at the grass as if welcoming an old friend.
Grass growing in the Wasteland.
Now it was clear that the Spirit Special Zone had become a space entirely separate from the Wasteland, just like the Fortress.
‘Skill Window.’
Spirit Village LV. 3
┼ Construction Complete List
└ Main Hall LV. 1
└ Water Source LV. 1
└ Herb Garden LV. 1
└ Nest LV. 1
└ Mine LV. 1
└ Hearth LV. 1
┼ Available Construction List
└ Mine LV. 2
└ Herb Garden LV. 2
└ Lighthouse LV. 1
└ Windmill LV. 1
┼ LV. 4 Expansion Conditions (0/3)
└ Windmill LV. 1 (0/1)
└ Lighthouse LV. 1 (0/1)
└ Four Elemental Spirits (3/4)
“Interesting.”
I examined the newly available construction options with delight.
New building names had appeared, and upgrades to existing structures were now possible as well.
‘A Windmill and a Lighthouse.’
I thought I could guess the purpose of the Windmill. It was probably a building for a new spirit, likely a Wind Spirit, just as the Hearth was for a Fire Spirit.
But the Lighthouse puzzled me.
‘There’s nothing but a small well for water here—why a Lighthouse?’
There was no point in overthinking it. I could simply build it and find out.
┼ Available Construction List
└ Lighthouse LV. 1
└ Materials: Wood (17kg/100kg)
└ Materials: Stone (15kg/100kg)
└ Materials: Glass (0kg/50kg)
└ Condition: Fire Spirit (1/1)
“Hmm. I’m short on materials.”
I’d been buying small quantities of Wood and Stone each time I left, anticipating they’d be needed for construction.
But it was nowhere near enough.
‘I used to gather five or ten kilograms at a time, but now a hundred kilograms all at once?’
Even so, it was a pittance for building a single structure.
Rather than complain, I decided to be grateful for the skills already in my possession.
‘I’ll have to buy these materials from outside the Gate.’
As I deliberated, a message arrived on my phone.
<Jung Jin: Can I come hang out after work?>
Perfect timing.
I smiled and sent a reply.
<Me: Only if you do me a favor.>
* * *
A few hours later.
Jung Jin arrived at the boundary pulling an enormous cart. I simply reached my arm out beyond the edge and drew him in.
Once my Entry Permission took effect, Jung Jin and the cart slipped through effortlessly.
Jung Jin surveyed Spirit Village and let out a low whistle.
“It’s changed a lot in just a few days.”
“Of course it has. There’s even a new spirit now.”
“Really? Who?”
“Just wait. Let me handle this first.”
LV. 1 Lighthouse construction begins.
Construction in progress: 600 seconds.
I introduced Jung Jin to Salamander as the cart’s materials flew toward the blueprint’s location.
[Hiss.]
Salamander, as always, showed no interest.
“A lizard. This is rather nice.”
Jung Jin carefully stroked Salamander a few times, then broke into a quiet laugh to himself.
“The Mine and Herb Garden have grown too.”
“They’re Level 2.”
I’d already upgraded both the Mine and Herb Garden to Level 2 beforehand.
“Those herbs—you can’t plant them outside the Herb Garden, can you?”
“You can plant them, but they don’t grow nearly as fast as in the Herb Garden.”
For reference, these seeds were useless if brought back to Earth.
The various herbs and fruits of Tower World simply wouldn’t grow on Earth, where Mana didn’t exist.
LV. 1 Lighthouse has been completed.
Moments later, the finished Lighthouse stood in the typical shape of one you’d find on a seaside coast.
“What’s with this lighthouse?”
“Just wait and see. It’s bound to be quite remarkable.”
The buildings of Spirit Village typically had their special effects recorded in the Skill Window information panel.
Surely the Lighthouse would have a clear purpose of its own as well….
LV. 1 Lighthouse
Not all who wander are lost.
“……?”
What kind of riddle was this supposed to be?
Wasn’t a lighthouse’s role to guide travelers at sea?
Built in a place that wasn’t even a sea, how could it possibly guide wanderers….
“Ah.”
It suddenly came to me.
The Lighthouse’s original purpose—to show the way. And the Skill Window’s description: wanderers.
In this Wasteland, there was only one type of wanderer the Spirit Village could rescue.
“A Spirit beacon.”
This Lighthouse wasn’t meant to guide ships. It was meant to summon and gather the Spirits wandering the Wasteland.
“But the lighthouse is dark.”
Right. That was the problem.
The Lighthouse had no light shining within it.
“Let’s go up and see.”
Jung Jin and I climbed the Lighthouse.
The three-story Lighthouse had both human stairs and much smaller Spirit stairs built side by side.
At the top of the Lighthouse stood an enormous lantern. But its lens chamber was empty.
“There’s no light source.”
A light source and lens were needed to complete the lantern. But this Lighthouse had neither.
“Does it want me to bring a light source from outside?”
“I don’t think so.”
While I’d need to bring a light source, it didn’t seem like it was asking me to fetch something from outside the Spirit Special Zone.
If that were the case, the Lighthouse construction materials would have included the materials for making a light source in the first place.
‘A beacon to summon Spirits.’
If Spirits were drawn to any flame, the area around the Fortress should already be swarming with starving Spirits.
‘Salamander came because Dine brought it. Dine came because Gnome brought it.’
Spirits are drawn to other Spirits.
And more than that—the description I’d seen earlier from the Hearth.
It was about the buff Salamander would receive when resting by the Hearth.
‘The explanation said Salamander’s heat and light grow stronger when resting near the Hearth. Ah. That’s why the Lighthouse was unlocked after the Hearth.’
I looked down from the Lighthouse.
Salamander was sprawled out lazily near the Hearth, dozing.
I had a feeling I knew exactly how to use that lazy fire-lizard.

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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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