The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 214

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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 214. Water Flows and People Meet (2)
Spirits.
Souls dwelling within the vast natural world of mountains, streams, and vegetation.
Spirits inhabit every corner of nature.
Natural elements like water, fire, wind, and earth.
Individual aspects of nature such as trees, stones, flowers, and pebbles.
Collective natural formations like forests, valleys, mountains, and seas.
They can dwell anywhere.
Spirits were nature, and nature was spirits.
And that stone Silmarien held in her hand.
“Look at this! Every time the color changes, the feeling in my hand shifts! It’s so much fun!”
At first glance, it appeared to be a beautiful and amusing(?) stone.
But its true nature was far different.
◆Wraithstone
: A crystallized manifestation of a spirit’s twisted will and sensation. A cruel remnant left by an existence severed from the cycle, containing a distorted consciousness in its entirety.
Wraithstone.
In other words, a remnant left behind by a ‘dead spirit’.
But spirits do not naturally die.
It would be the same as saying water dies, or wind dies.
Of course, water can dry up.
Wind can cease.
Fire can be extinguished.
But when water dries, it becomes clouds.
When wind stops, seeds touch the earth and sprout.
When fire is extinguished, it becomes ash, and ash becomes soil once more.
Thus, spirits do not die.
They simply return to nature’s cycle in altered form.
But.
When ecosystems are destroyed.
Or when a specific region becomes corrupted.
The spirits connected to that region become isolated and warped within imbalance.
Though nature inherently contains cycles, spirits lose their path back to circulation within an ecosystem that has lost its balance.
Dried water cannot become clouds.
Ceased wind cannot make seeds sprout.
Extinguished fire cannot become ash and instead grows cold.
When what should flow instead stagnates.
Only distortion remains where circulation once was.
What is born from that distortion is precisely.
A Wraith.
A dead spirit that has ceased to be nature.
‘Why is that there…?’
That’s why it was hard to believe.
But the information I grasped through my predator’s instinct[S] was a corrupted spirit stone.
In other words, it meant that corrupted spirits existed in Sylvandir Forest.
‘How can corrupted spirits exist?’
Corrupted spirits cannot exist in Sylvandir Forest.
First, because the natural essence is abundant, the ecosystem is not destroyed.
Thus, there was no possibility of spirits becoming isolated and warped in imbalance.
Second, in Sylvandir Forest, all spirits gather and resonate under ‘one consciousness’.
Even if they were to degenerate into corrupted spirits?
They would be isolated or purified by the surrounding spirits.
Yet corrupted spirits exist?
That could only be explained by one possibility.
‘Surely not…’
But that couldn’t be.
More precisely, it shouldn’t be.
If my suspicion is true—
“Hey, everyone, look at this! It’s a fascinating little stone that changes color four times!”
…We all die here.
* * *
At the end of a path laid by mist and leaves.
Beneath branches so dense the sky was invisible.
Light flowed like water, and wind blew like song.
Among moss-covered rocks and vines.
Bridges and balconies connected along massive tree trunks.
Instead of artificial structures, the Elves’ homes nestled in the spaces nature permitted.
A magnificent sight that seemed to breathe in harmony with nature itself.
Iliana’s eyes sparkled involuntarily.
“Wow! This is it!”
“This is our village.”
Silmarien answered with a bright smile.
Even so, Silmarien still held the stone that changed color four times.
“…Is it really that fascinating?”
“Yeah! Want to see?”
Silmarien showed her the stone and spoke.
Iliana stared blankly for a moment, then carefully reached out her hand.
And indeed, the stone changed color four times.
From ashen gray to pale green.
Then to a deep teal.
And finally to a cool silver…’
“…Huh?”
“What do you think? Fascinating, isn’t it?”
“Well, it is fascinating, but…”
Iliana turned the stone over in her hands, tilting her head thoughtfully.
“Doesn’t something feel off about this?”
It was at that very moment.
“Silmarien.”
Adrian suddenly spoke up.
“Could we meet with Rielin, the Forest Guardian, at this moment?”
“The Forest Guardian?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not possible.”
Silmarien answered without hesitation.
It was a clear refusal.
But Iliana understood now.
When conversing with the Elves, one had to temporarily set aside human logic.
Therefore, that refusal simply meant they couldn’t meet *now*.
Adrian seemed to understand this fact well too.
“Then when might we be able to meet?”
“I don’t know.”
Silmarien shook her head.
It seemed she had been away from her post.
Yet Adrian fell into contemplative silence.
“Could it be that the Forest Guardian has gone missing?”
“How did you know that?!”
Silmarien’s eyes widened as she cried out.
Then she turned to Iliana and asked.
“Did Silmarien tell you?!”
“No. Not at all…”
Iliana shook her head.
Silmarien had spoken only of stones the entire way to the village.
“Iliana.”
“…Yes? Oh! Yes, you called for me!”
As Iliana’s attention snapped back, Adrian spoke.
“Could you assist me for a moment?”
“Of course!”
Adrian turned toward Silmarien.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Where are you going? I’m coming with you!”
Silmarien stepped forward, indicating she would follow.
But Adrian shook his head.
“I think it would be best if Silmarien remained here.”
Adrian’s gaze turned toward the Elves of the village.
The Elves still bore the unmistakable marks of terror.
The entire village seemed gripped by anxiety over the forest’s unnatural transformation.
And then there were Adrian and Iliana.
The appearance of two humans only deepened their confusion.
Silmarien pouted her lips slightly, speaking with evident reluctance.
“…Fine. I understand.”
“Then I’m grateful for your cooperation.”
Adrian bowed briefly and moved forward.
Iliana followed carefully in Adrian’s wake.
* * *
The Valley Region, not far from the Elf Village.
The Elven Village was situated at the heart where nature’s essence flowed most deeply.
Thus, the village maintained its verdant aura.
But the landscape before us now.
The leaves hung withered and brown.
Black viscous liquid bubbled and churned along the tree roots.
The moss had turned pitch black, and instead of pale mist, a sticky miasma permeated the air.
“As you can see, the forest has undergone mutation.”
“…Pardon? Mutation?”
Iliana’s eyes widened in surprise at my words, questioning.
“Not contamination?”
“Precisely.”
“But how….”
“You could say that Sylvandir Forest itself has become a monster.”
“What?! Is such a thing even possible?!”
Sylvandir Forest, brimming with nature’s essence.
This forest possessed a structure that should have prevented mutation and madness from ever taking root.
“H-how could the entire forest possibly undergo such a transformation?”
“I have a suspicion.”
But it wasn’t certain yet.
Therefore, I needed Iliana’s insight.
Her discerning eye was essential.
I retrieved the Spirit Stone I had collected earlier from my inventory.
“Would you examine this for me?”
“This is….”
“The same stone that Silmarien found.”
“Ah….”
Iliana examined the Spirit Stone carefully.
She tilted her head, puzzled.
“I felt it earlier too. This stone is… strange somehow.”
“Could you elaborate on what seems strange about it?”
“Normally, for a color to change, light would need to be reflected or refracted from within, right?”
Iliana waved her hand lightly.
In that instant, mana completely blocked out the light.
Yet the stone continued to shift colors.
“But this stone changes color even without light touching it. As if something alive were moving inside it.”
“Do you know what that might be?”
“Hmm.”
Iliana narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the Spirit Stone intently.
“…I’m not entirely sure.”
Iliana shook her head.
“There’s definitely something there.”
Spark—!
“I can’t comprehend the mechanism at all.”
The fact that Iliana couldn’t “comprehend” it.
That meant, simply put.
it was a phenomenon that couldn’t be explained by arcane theory.
‘This confirms it.’
I finally understood the true nature of the calamity that had descended upon Sylvandir Forest.
“Do you know something, Adrian?”
Iliana tilted her head as she asked.
I paused to gather my thoughts before answering.
“Do you have any knowledge of how spirits came to be born?”
“Ah… a little?”
Iliana nodded carefully and opened her mouth.
* * *
Spirits.
The dreams nature weaves.
…or so the saying goes, but that wasn’t the truth.
“In the distant past, ancient humans couldn’t comprehend natural phenomena.”
Lightning that split the sky.
Floods and tidal waves that engulfed the land.
“Now, with the advancement of arcane theory, we can explain their mechanisms and principles, but in ancient times, we couldn’t.”
So they tried to understand it through the lens of ‘gods’.
“Lightning strikes because the gods are angry!” they would say.
Where knowledge fell short, imagination flourished.
And that imagination became belief.
That faith was another collective belief following divine power.
“Sorcery was created.”
Thus, the Thunder God, the Sea God, the Sun God, and so forth.
Sorcery spirits born from natural phenomena came into being.
And they themselves—
“became the origin of spirits as we know them today.”
Iliana finished her tale with a quiet exhale.
* * *
The truth and hidden history surrounding the birth of spirits that I had heard from Iliana in my past life.
In fact, there was more to this backstory.
Beyond the hidden history, a considerably uncomfortable truth lay concealed further back.
But unlike my past life, the current Iliana was encountering the existence of spirits for the first time.
Accordingly, Iliana was unaware of the backstory.
In any case.
It wasn’t an important matter at this moment.
What mattered now was this.
“Do you happen to know why the Thunder God was able to become the king of the gods?”
“Isn’t it because the power of thunder and lightning is the strongest?”
The Thunder God, the Sea God, the Sun God, and others.
The sorcery spirits each projected their respective natural phenomena.
Therefore, the more powerful the natural phenomenon, the higher the god’s status appeared to be—but.
“That’s not it.”
“It’s not?”
To be precise, only half was correct.
“It’s because the ‘fear’ of thunder and lightning was the greatest.”
Spirits are sorcery and beings manifested through ‘collective belief.’
Therefore, humanity’s faith in that natural phenomenon.
In other words, the power of spirits varied depending on what fear humans felt.
“The fear of fire that burns everything was immense.”
That’s why the fire spirit is exceptionally powerful.
“Meanwhile, earth was a symbol of life.”
That’s why the earth spirit is weaker than the fire spirit.
“B-but…!”
Iliana cried out as if in rebuttal.
“When earthquakes or landslides occur, the damage is tremendous! Incomparable to mere forest fires!”
“As you say, when the earth rages, the damage is indeed catastrophic.”
Therefore, the earth spirit is not weak.
“But fundamentally, because earth nurtures life, the ancients regarded earth not with fear but as an entity of ‘trust.'”
Thus it carries less fear than fire does.
“So… you’re saying that the strength of spirits depends not on nature itself, but on the ’emotions’ humans feel toward nature?”
“That is correct.”
This was why the Lightning God could become the King of Gods.
Lightning does not strike alone.
It arrives accompanied by the roar of thunder.
It brings forth storms and torrential rains.
It ignites wildfires and tears the earth asunder.
When lightning strikes, all natural phenomena spiral into chaos at once.
Consequently, the ancients feared lightning with an intensity beyond measure, and they elevated it to the throne of “King of Gods.”
And such belief has endured to this day, transforming the spirit of lightning into an extraordinarily powerful entity.
The physical force that lightning possesses is inconsequential.
The terror, the dread, the reverence inspired by lightning—
These are what determine a spirit’s strength.
“Th-then! The most powerful spirit would be the natural phenomenon that humans fear most, wouldn’t it?”
Iliana, as expected.
She had grasped the essence precisely.
“Do you know what that is?”
“Hmm….”
Iliana fell into deep contemplation.
She turned the question over in her mind, then shook her head slightly.
“I’m not certain….”
It was only natural.
Each person, each living being, feared different phenomena.
There exists a man who faints at the sound of thunder.
Yet there exists a woman who yawns at the sound of thunder.
When storms rage, all beasts tremble in terror.
Yet there exists a bird that takes flight only when storms rage.
Nature always exists in the same manner, but the emotions of the lives that perceive it are each unique.
However, there is precisely one.
“There exists one natural phenomenon that all living creatures in this world fear in common.”
“Eh…?”
“Even dragons fear it.”
Dragons, which reign as apex predators in every environment.
The mightiest living beings that dominate all creation.
Yet even such dragons possess one natural phenomenon they fear.
“Are you speaking of death?”
“That is correct.”
Death.
The terminus that all living things must reach.
The principle that all existence instinctively fears—
The being that stands at the apex of the cycle.
Fear of death transcends the limits of imagination.
Accordingly, the spirit of death possesses power that defies comprehension.
And.
That spirit of death is precisely—
“Could it be that all the problems occurring in Sylvandir Forest right now are…?”
“Yes. These are the omens that manifest when the spirit of death awakens.”
The very source of calamity that now shrouds Sylvandir Forest—
◆Hidden Chain Quest, [The Death Lord is Loading] has begun.
One of the six lords who serve The Emperor.
The Death Lord.

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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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