Chapter 11 – 2. I Met You First… Intermediate Spirit Undine (Sain’s Point of View)

Sain twisted his head, somehow holding back the infesting smell of corpses. In my mind, I wanted to get up and get rid of the body or do something to get out of this fucking smell.

‘If only my legs were fine…’

Why is it a leg without luck? It would have been better if it had been an arm, but it was clear that even if one arm or both arms were crippled, if there was a way to treat it, it would have been better than a leg.

‘Why am I acting like this…’

It wasn’t a subjugation that went so far as to wish and insist on this. Even when Undine first told me about the goblin colony, I thought there was light in this gutter-like life and even prayed to God in my heart.

‘It’s Undine…’

Sein closed his eyes and forcibly turned his head at the smell of her corpse, recalling his first encounter with Undine.

Sein’s hometown was a countryside far from the city center, a remote rural village where the officials didn’t care too much, and he was born as the son of a peasant couple who rented a field and farmed there, but Sein firmly believed that that was the beginning of his misfortune.

All the other villagers lived stable lives owning their own fields or raising livestock, but Se-in’s parents were not able to do that. They were poor-born people, so they were fed by villagers or village chiefs and endured hard labor every day.

So, Sein, the eldest son and only child of a peasant couple, was drawn to his parents’ work from the moment he was big enough to take care of himself, helping out.

Hearing the laughter of the village children as he pulled weeds under the scorching sun, plowed the ground with a plow under the scorching sun on a cloudless day, and picked out stones.
Anger covered and engulfed my whole body, but I couldn’t get angry. They were the children of the villagers in the field where Sein’s parents were going. Since immature anger could come against his family, Sain closed his eyes and just prayed for the day to pass.

Poverty is not a sin, Sein thought, but passing on poverty is a sin. After eating watery potato soup for dinner and lying on the bed of straw on the day his parents fell asleep, Sain thought that it would be better for him to die if he went on like this.

When I jumped up, my whole body screamed, but Sein didn’t care and went out of the house.

He searched everywhere, wading through clutter and raising dust, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Why doesn’t this happen? He braced himself and inspected the floor, but something caught on his foot. Sein’s eyes widened and he smiled at his satisfaction. It was this.

The wooden sword, which was crude but had an iron core embedded in it, felt heavy even though he held it with both hands. Even so, Sein thought that it was lighter than a hoe.

-Kiik

Leaving the shabby warehouse and grabbing his wooden sword, Sein quickly ran towards the hill behind the village. There was a small pond there, and for some reason the pond shone brightly at night as well as during the day.

Sein, unable to use torches or candles, decided to wield the sword even in the pond on a dark night. To get out of this fucking town, he had no choice but to become a mercenary. I feel sorry for his parents, but he felt that his heart would be broken if he lived only farming like this.

Countless imaginations were inflated in Sein’s mind as he ran away with his wooden sword. What if I have a talent for swordsmanship? I heard that if I succeed as a mercenary, I will earn a lot of silver, but if I get married, I will not pass on this kind of poverty.

However, it wasn’t that Sae-in’s couple was neglecting Se-in, he was grateful and full of regret for Sae-in, who grew up early and helped him with his work. So, the couple saved money somehow by reselling the money they earned and the crops that were left after harvesting from time to time, but Se-in had no idea.

How far did it run As his breath rose to the tip of his chin and sweat dripped down his cheeks, Sain stood up on the hill and felt the wind blowing.

He straightened his back on an open hill and looked down over the town. It was night, and the lights were off in several houses, and part of the wooden fence surrounding the village could be seen.

I raised my head again and looked beyond the town, open plains and towering mountains. Just looking at the fragmentary scenery, it was wider than this fucking town. Sain gritted his eyes at the scenery beyond the village. He did not want to forget this sight.

One day, I want to get out of that barrier with my feet and look around that wide world. The boiling desire was freedom. What Sein, who had nothing of his own since childhood, longed for more than anyone else was freedom.

After subduing the unknown thrill, Sein grabbed the wooden sword he had brought and swung it randomly while standing on the pond. He didn’t swing it aimlessly, but tried to hit it straight down with each strike. He had never been taught to do so, so it was as easy as cutting down on him.

“100…! 101…!”

The self-confident mind that thought it would be easier since it was lighter than agricultural implements had already broken down.

[…

The light beside the pond at the feet of the world grew brighter. However, Sein, who swung his wooden sword while looking only forward, could not notice the change. He forced his screaming arms to move just to complete the set number.

‘Hey, what about tomorrow? I wasn’t going to take it lightly…’

I tried to ignore the regret that came flooding in and continued to swing the wooden sword, but at that moment, something came out of the pond that was shining at Sein’s feet and hit Sein’s field of vision.

[Wow!]

“Wow!”

Someone looked down at Se-in, who struggled like a bad dog, letting go of the wooden sword he was holding, and laughed. Panicked, Sein tried to get out of the seat by dragging his weak legs, but maybe it was because he swung his sword at the end of the pond, so Sein’s body leaned slightly and fell helplessly into the pond.

– Fondant!

[Wah ha ha! I won’t eat you~ Don’t worry~!]

“Puer, kuk, huh! Sah, save me!”

[Uh, huh? What to do?!]

“Sir, save my feet!! Who is this!!!”

‘Mo, I think I can hear a voice… This way…!’

Sein struggled as hard as he could and shook his arm in the direction where the voice came from. Fortunately, he had fallen at the end, so he stretched out his hand a little and was able to climb back up the hill.

“Who are you…!”

Sein, whose vision was blurred by the flowing water, quickly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and wiped away the sweat. Beyond the slowly returning vision, a blue girl looking down at her with her back to the moon was flying around in a hurrah posture, excitedly in her eyes. Filled with

[Wow! Since! Hee hee! Ah~ It’s fun~]

Fun? Is it crazy to have fun when you’re missing a person? At the moment, I was filled with tears and anger, but that anger quickly subsided.

Seeing the blue girl wandering through the sky chattering like a baby bird, Se-in realized that an unknown emotion was tickling her heart. It was clear that a new change had come to the hellish town, the same work every day, and the monotonous life. Could today be the day my life changes?

At first glance, Sein felt that a girl flying in the sky was unusual, so he decided to introduce himself first.

“Me, I am Sein. You?”

[Sain… Sein! Are you Sein? Sein~!]

The girl, who had been rolling around in the air with a chuckle, wondering what was so good, at one point approached Sein in an instant and said,

[I am Undine, the spirit of this pond!]

Government ordinance! The word “Spirit” Was imprinted on the minds of the people and gave them a great shock. They were people who only did chores in the village, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have ears to listen to them. The Spirit was such a shock to Sein, who had been listening to the legend story being talked about without anyone knowing.

It is said that a spirit can make a contract with a human it likes, use mana to do anything, and achieve even greater things than magic. Was ranked in

Se-in was perfectly aware that this was an opportunity that came to him, and in a life that only had work, he couldn’t help but be scolded and noticed. Even if the planting was a little twisted, the field owners were nervous, catching pods at Sein’s every action.

So Se-in could boast that he was more sensitive to the feelings of others than his peers. The spirit in front of the world seemed very happy to meet him. Are you trying to make a contract with me? With the rising hope and anticipation, Sein felt the happiness in his stomach swell.

“Undine… Nice to meet you!!!”

[Huh! Nice to meet you too, Sein~ No one has seen me, but you can!]

As Undine said, few people could see spirits. Spirits can reveal their bodies and bodies at will, but being able to see them was a story when there was something like affinity with spirits.

It was really rare for humans to be able to see the true nature of spirits without affinity, but Sein couldn’t know that. That’s why he couldn’t properly fathom Undine’s joy.

“But what happened to me? If…?”

Saein asked about the rising hope, but Undine had a different idea.

[I pranked all the humans who came to this pond, but no one saw me!]

[That’s why I was bored all the time~ Seriously, no one noticed even if I sprayed water and joked around.]

[By the way, it was night and someone just made a loud noise and screamed~]

Hearing the buzz, Sain knew it was his story and his face got a little hot.

“Sir, sorry for the noise.”

[Sorry I surprised you too! It’s a shallow pond, but I didn’t know you’d be so surprised!]

“Shallow?”

[Huh! Come in too!]

Sein, whose memory of struggling in the water just now hit his head, waved his hand and rejected Undine’s offer. Deep down, Undine, who wanted to play in the water with Sein, whom he had just met for the first time, took a step back with his cheeks inflated a little at Sein’s refusal.

“I-I’m fine!”

[Huh… Okay…]

Sein, who rejected Undine’s proposal, realized that Undine’s mood had suddenly sunk. What can I do to make her feel better? When I glanced at Undine, I saw Sein, who was lost in thought, waving his feet and smoking a small splash.

“Hey, are you always here?”

[I am the spirit of the pond here. If nothing else happens, stay here.]

I have to say it well here. Sein, whose hands were sweaty from the tension, tried to wipe them on his pants, but instead they got wet and damp. After slightly moistening his lips with his tongue, Sein spoke to Undine.

“I will come often to play! Let’s be friends!”

Undine’s movement, which had been stomping and splashing in the water at Sein’s cry, suddenly stopped. Seeing Undine looking at Sein with big eyes, she regretted it for nothing, thinking she had made a mistake.

‘Let’s be friends like an idiot… He’s a spirit, but he kicked the opportunity.’

But soon, Undine’s big eyes widened even more, and the water in her eyes, like water droplets, shone brightly. Soon, the happy Undine nodded her head and immediately rose to the sky and flew around the area.

[Yep!! Friend!!! Let’s be friends!!! I made friends for the first time!]

“Me too, you are my first friend.”

It was a useless word, but Sein, in a way, was Undine’s first friend. In the village, Sein, who was like a slave, had no friends. He used to hope that he was a friend, but he wasn’t anymore. He only brought up the word friend to hold on to Undine, but he had no thoughts of wanting to be friends with Sein.

I just wanted to sign a contract with Undine. Because he felt as if he had found a way out of his life after meeting Undine. Undine is the only way out of this fucking town!

It was clear that if he signed a contract with Undine and became an Elementalist, anyone would welcome him even if he only went out in the city. Then, it would be possible to settle down in the city and work as a mercenary, or it would be possible to visit another spiritist and become his disciple. If he stayed in the village, he would live on farming, chores, and garbage every day, so Sein did not want to stop this happy imagination.

[Three! Will you come tomorrow too?]

Looking down at him with innocent eyes and seeing Undine holding his hands tightly, he thought that he was really like a child.

“Yes, I will come tomorrow too.”

It was full night before I knew it, and I had to hurry back because I could find myself at home and now it was time for the guards to look around in earnest. All he did today was swing his sword and meet and chat with Undine, but the fact that Sein was about to change something for the first time in his life made his heart pound.

‘I’m going to get out of this town… And I’m going to be successful and live a proud life!’

The overwhelming emotion was uncontrollable. When he returned home, he shoved his damp clothes into the bin and lay down on a pile of straw, but he couldn’t sleep at all.

Sain, who vividly recalled the feelings of his immature childhood, opened his closed eyes again at the sound of him walking toward this direction.

‘Older brother…’

He doesn’t tell anyone his name, so among the mercenaries it was said that he was sneaky, but he wasn’t that sneaky in the situation of the people he’d been hanging out with lately. Rather, he was the kindest mercenary I’ve ever met.

He taught me what to teach me and pushed me to stop. At the same time, until he continued to care about himself and help him, Se-in was thorough in his self-objectification. To be honest, if the person she brought had a broken leg like this now, she had no intention of taking care of her. It was because he didn’t have the confidence to survive in the goblin colony with such a burden.

‘But, I’m anxious.’

However, doubts about him were rising one by one. He said that he had seen Undine, he didn’t even show it when he met the goblins or on the way up, so he didn’t know.

Even though he maintained an attitude of not being interested in Undine, Sein was anxious. If he collected magic stones and robbed them and forcibly signed a contract with Undine, he had no ability to stop it.

Even if his limbs were fine, he wouldn’t be able to compete with any of them, much less with crippled legs.

Trying to calm his rising self-loathing and anger at the fucking situation, Se-in forced a smile and lifted his head. Currently, the only way he could survive was to look good to him, so he shouldn’t disturb his heart.

[Sayiin~~~]

Just as the sound of her footsteps stopped, a blue woman flew in from afar and bumped into Sein’s face.

“It’s Undine! Older brother!”

“Okay, is it okay to be sick?”

The pain in her leg had numbed it somewhat, but she didn’t know when it would get worse, so she answered him with a slightly subdued expression.

“I’m fine with the pain, but I’m worried that it might get worse.”

“But fortunately, it’s fortunate that the bones didn’t pierce the flesh. Hold on for a little while.”

“…Yes.”

How are you going to endure this? I see you are saying that it is not your leg, but are you going to tell me to hold on even if I become an idiot for the rest of my life? He tried to calm his emotions somehow, but Se-in, who had become an asshole in both legs, was not as impatient as before. Rather than murdering the village, he had no time to spare, and his anger continued to rise.

[Three…! Hang in there! I’ll go deeper tomorrow!]

“And since we found water, let’s move the camp there, and then I’ll explore with Undine one more time.”

“Yes, that would be nice. Thank you brother.”

“It’s not a big deal, I have to help and live.”

[The water is really, really cool. Sein~ Let’s go quickly!]

Even as he rubbed his cheeks and pushed away Undine clinging to him, Sein enjoyed his gaze in his heart. Even though I couldn’t do anything with my leg asshole, he still liked me more than Undine. Sain thought that Undine would hurry up and bring the magic stone.

As long as the contract is completed, my legs will get better and I will be able to become more powerful than the mercenary who does chores. As if he were a child, Sain felt hope welling up in his heart.

Undine’s hand on the back of his hand was as cold as ice.