Chapter 560 – Somei Yoshino (3)

“Kyuwoo, kyuwoo?”

There are certain truths I’ve discovered through my communion with the spirits.

“Kyu~!”

The magical energy I hold is an exquisite delicacy for these spirits,
When it evolves into magi, it has the propensity to surrender without resistance.

“Kyu! Kyuuuu! Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu!”

The capitulated rabbit burrowed between my thighs, lavishing me with an onslaught of affection.
Its soft fur rubbed against me, its pink nose twitching. Terrified of my outstretched hand, it scampered onto my palm.

– Thump thump!

From the back of my hand to my shoulder. In an instant, the rabbit climbed onto my shoulder, merged with my cheek, and affectionately nuzzled against me.

‘Inferior.’

Incapable of speech, and not particularly powerful. If one were to rank it, it would be a lower-tier spirit.
But now that I’ve discovered I can dominate even these spirits, my use of magical power is sufficient.

‘Let’s see…’

With the rabbit clinging to my shoulder, I surveyed my surroundings.

The dungeon’s interior was far too expansive and verdant to be a mere cave.
A forest ripe for the habitation of creatures. If compared to a fantasy setting, it could be a habitat for elves.
As I navigated through the dense forest, an open field appeared before me.

“Kyu!”

The rabbit snorted and darted out.
Bouncing off my shoulder, it descended onto the field and began grazing.

-Swish.

Deer. Birds.
One by one, spirits in the guise of animals materialized in the field. Upon noticing me, they bristled their fur, cautious, and began to disperse in the direction opposite of where I stood.

There’s more wariness than I anticipated. As I thought this and turned my head, I spotted a woman fleeing with a deer through the trees on my right.

‘A woman? No… A humanoid spirit?’

A feminine spirit, her form concealed by leaves.

-Swish!

The woman distanced herself from me with considerable speed, and I resumed my slow examination of the forest.

Before long, I located a colossal structure at the far end.
The altar, linked to a massive cave in the heart of the forest, spewed forth a green chill, its aura of majesty palpable even at first glance, commanding enough to halt any approach.

A cave carved into the sheer cliff. And the various adornments at its entrance.

As I attempted to enter, a transparent barrier obstructed my path. Upon close inspection of the entrance, I found faint inscriptions. I slowly deciphered the runes.

‘Three.’

A single word that formed no sentence.
The significance of the numeral ‘3’ wasn’t immediately clear.
Perhaps it’s a part of a series of puzzles, or a mechanism designed to test the challenger’s worthiness.

‘Breaking it, let’s cease that for now.’

An invisible obstruction barred the entrance. With my strength, I could shatter it, yet at times, hasty physical destruction led to the loss of the dungeon’s innate abilities. Understanding the dungeon’s purpose and function aids in its conquest.

A dungeon dedicated to spirits. Ideal for honing one’s spiritual arts…

“Kkyu?”

Just then, the rabbit that had followed me re-perched on my shoulder.

-Whoo! -Whoo.

The mutable dungeon. The runes formerly shrouded in mystery were rewritten. From three to two. With the arrival of the rabbit, a spirit, the numbers shifted. I surmised its implication.

‘Bring forth three spirits, perhaps?’

Given the simplicity of the task, it felt akin to a tutorial. Initially, I summoned Eleanor, my contracted companion.

[Tweet!]

With a faint vibration in my palm, a wooden sparrow materialized.

“Master, what’s happening?!”

Upon inspecting the entrance runes, no change was apparent.

‘Perhaps only spirits residing in this dungeon qualify?’

I grasped the situation. I had assumed a simple approach would bypass the first gate. The conditions proved more demanding. I stroked Eleanor’s head and spoke.

“I wished to see you for a moment.”

“Tweet. Master, this place… It’s abundant with magical energy. It’s wonderful.”

Could this space feel as such to Eleanor? It was the moment that confirmed my hypothesis; this environment was indeed hospitable for spirits.

“Enter for now.”

“Tweet! You’ll summon me again, right?”

Eleanor, puzzled by my lack of orders, clung to me, displaying her charm. I comforted her gently, mulling over various strategies to capture spirits.

‘It’s advantageous to act quickly.’

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“Fox, Mr. Fox~”

Saku, donning a fox mask, cautiously reached out. Before her nose, a fox stood at the ready, poised to flee.

“Would you accompany me?”

“Squeak. Squeak!”

The fox, on the verge of darting away, emitted a peculiar noise. Within the mask, Saku’s rainbow-hued eyes sparkled, radiating both brightness and cuteness.

Did the fox perceive something extraordinary from Saku? The fox, teetering on the edge of flight, gingerly rested its snout in Saku’s hand.

-Lick.

“Puhaha, Mr. Fox, that tickles.”

The fox’s coarse tongue grazed Saku’s tender hand. Saku chuckled softly. Not long after, a rosy magical aura gradually emanated from her hand.

“… …”

“Let’s be friends, Mr. Fox.”

The initial hurdle of the Spirit Mountain.

She had merely failed to clear it. Up until the first gateway, every member of the Yoshino family had experience navigating it.

Capture three spirits and cross the threshold.
This was incredibly straightforward for Saku.

Likely, the second and third thresholds could be overcome without much difficulty. The critical point was starting from the fourth gateway, where the strategy was yet to be fully disclosed.
The Yoshino family, diligently prepared with a wealth of information to navigate the dungeon, were able to traverse it faster than anyone else.

“Come with me, fox!”

Of course, being the first gateway didn’t mean its difficulty was negligible.

The crucial skill in this test was the ability to discern spirits.
There were spirits in this forest that would not yield, regardless of the methods used.

It was common to waste time attempting to charm futile spirits.
There were even spirits that assailed the Elementalist.
The spirits residing here were far from weak, hence the title of the S-class dungeon was not without merit.

“Eeotcha.”

Saku cuddled the adorable fox in her arms and looked back.
Deer, crow, magpie, sparrow, horse, wolf. Twenty in all.
Saku, having made countless spirits her friends, cheerfully exclaimed as if she were a kindergarten teacher.

“Spirits! Let’s commence!”

– Purrung!

The spirits, thoroughly soaked in Saku’s vivacity, responded to her with their distinctive cries.

Almost like the Bremen Town Musicians.
The spirits, vying for affection with the female leader in the middle, began to follow her toward the gateway.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The method of subduing spirits varies from one spiritist to another.

“What will you do?”
“What to do? Just watch.”

Haku was quite familiar with the gateway of Spirit Mountain.
She too had no choice but to endure headaches to secure spirits.

Even more spirits were required because of the accompaniment of elite troops. There was simply not enough time to go around persuading them one by one.

‘I must move swifter than her.’

The method Haku selected.

[Kreuk]

She extended her hand toward the bear that had just appeared.
A fiery magic surged from the back of her hand. Fairy-like spirits springing from the ground clung to her.

【 Spirit Baktu 】

A secret technique of the Yoshino family.

A translucent mask formed over Haku’s face. Her physical structure transformed completely.
Her body composition was closer to a spirit than to a human or a world tree.
Haku’s spiritized body was ablaze with her own magic.

– Pabat!

Before the bear even had a chance to detect Haku’s movement, she had already made several swift strides, closing the distance to the creature’s hulking form in an instant.

“Kreung!?”

Taken by surprise, the bear attempted to counter with its front paws, but found it was no match for Haku, the formidable deputy of Flower.

-Peok!

A burst of crimson magic erupted from Haku’s fist, impacting the bear’s physique. Directed at the belly covered in a coat of light brown fur, the force sent the bear sprawling in a rather ungraceful fashion onto the floor.

Haku then positioned herself on the bear’s stomach, her hands clutching its throat as she channelled her mana into it.

There exist several methods of spirit control.

One such method involves asserting power, thereby clarifying the hierarchy between the spirit and the controller.

“It’s akin to a contract of exchanging mana.”

This entailed filling a portion of the spirit’s body with her own mana. Under normal circumstances, the spirit’s consent would be required. However, an experienced spirit manipulator like herself could override the spirit’s will, infusing it with mana.

“Kruk, kruk.”

The eyes of the bear, glowing a fiery red, gradually dimmed. Filled with Haku’s mana, the bear started to exhibit signs of submission. The sight of her dominance over the bear earned her admiring exclamations from Flower’s warriors.

“Oh!”
“Can I do it too?”

Those who could handle spirit magic were a rare breed. Even controlling a novice spirit could earn one high regard in society. Amused at the warrior’s interest, Haku couldn’t help but scoff.

“Do you think you can?”

The act of infusing a spirit with mana required significant skill.

“The efficiency varies drastically depending on the adeptness of the spirit manipulator. You may pour in 100, but only 1 might be absorbed. But we’re different.”

An ordinary spirit manipulator might fill a spirit with 10 units of mana from a pool of 100. But a member of the Yoshino family, like Haku, would undergo rigorous training from a young age until they could achieve an efficiency rate of 50%.

“If your spiritual responsiveness is lacking… you can’t even nurture a single novice spirit with the mana from the world tree. It’s not impossible, though. Try it. See if you can fully make a spirit your own.”

-Uh-uh!

From within the bear, a small stone emerged. A spirit stone – a symbol of a spirit’s allegiance to a human. This was a far cry from a contract. Haku confidently displayed the stone.

“You’ll see something like this.”

Even ordinary individuals could subjugate spirits, provided they had sufficient mana.

“So, what’s the nation’s efficiency rate in Japan?”

At this, one warrior inquired. Haku’s expression hardened momentarily before she let out a sigh and responded.

“One hundred percent.”

There was no loss when interacting with spirits.

Saku was nothing short of a chosen one when it came to spirit magic.

Several other factors also influenced a spirit’s affinity towards an individual. These included the properties of one’s mana and their personality. Some spirits might demand something different, irrespective of mana.

“So, we must hasten.”

Their target was Saku.

Had it been Haku’s younger sibling, they would have breezed through the third gateway by now.

Haku, her eyes narrowing sharply, heaved a profound sigh towards the forest’s heart.

* * * * * * * * * *

Her pelvis, provocatively spread wide; her waist, dizzyingly slender.

The hairless, nude woman glanced around, her head cocking to the side with curiosity.

“Kkyu?”

A feminine spirit, incapable of human speech. Her ample breasts were concealed by expanses of broad leaves, but their lush allure was too potent to be fully hidden.

The undercurve and sides of her breasts, her armpit; the spirit’s womanly form turned into an exquisite fruit if the dirt was gently wiped off.

“Kiing…”

The spirit continued to scan her surroundings as if in search of something. Before long, her face lit up with recognition.

“Kkyu?”

A black rabbit. Smitten by its adorable appearance, the spirit hopped towards it!

“Kiing!”
“Kkyu?”

The forest spirit, a nymph, adored cute creatures. The nymph enfolded the rabbit in her arms, rubbing her face against its soft fur, her laughter echoing through the woods.

“Kyaang~!”

The nymph appeared to be in a state of bliss. But was she aware?

In a kind light, it’s innocence; in a harsh one, it’s foolishness. Since the dawn of time, humankind had a method for hunting and fishing.

Bait.

Consider the large fish ensnared by a tiny krill.

Behind the nymph, who was cradling the rabbit, the shadow of an unknown man loomed.

“Kking…?”

-Whisk!

The nymph found herself captured by the man.