Chapter 10

Lyurik, the shaman with a benevolent appearance, was a born con artist. To him, diligence meant dullness, and honesty meant stupidity.

If he hadn’t been lucky, his neck would have been cut, but Lyurik was a remarkably fortunate piece of trash.

The one time his scam was exposed in his life became the opportunity to meet a shaman master, and his master, regretting Lyurik’s talent, took him in and raised him as a shaman.

Lyurik thought life was easy. It was natural, as he had walked towards higher places even after committing crimes. So this time too, he wasn’t particularly worried.

As always, he believed that luck would smile upon him!

“Damn it!”

That foolish belief was returned by the wendigo’s fierce claws. Lyurik hurriedly chanted a spell to awaken the talismans he had wrapped around himself. The talismans emitted a dazzling light and formed an invisible barrier.

Crash!

“What the hell!?”

As the barrier was torn apart one by one by the wendigo’s claws, Lyurik retreated in shock.

Lyurik’s eyes widened as the talismans shook as if about to break just from the cold energy left by the wendigo’s claws. To think that the talismans would exhaust their power against mere cold energy on claws!

The wendigo was equally surprised. Until now, no one had blocked his attacks, yet here he was, missing a strike against a shaman, not even a physically trained fighter.

“You’re a more capable con artist than I thought. Offer your neck willingly. I know you’ve lived committing capital offenses.”

“How would a spirit know that? I’m a benevolent shaman!”

“In my life, I’ve never seen a truthful person among those who call themselves benevolent. And I can sense a terrible smell and the mystery of mad beasts from you.”

Lyurik gritted his teeth. He had wondered if the spirit might not recognize him, but he didn’t expect such an aggressive approach.

‘Why is this crazy spirit acting like this? Spirits don’t usually move unless there’s something to gain.’

Bad people understand other bad people’s thoughts better.

Lyurik, true to his innate character, understood spirits’ minds well. Spirits seemed to act based on their moods, but generally, they acted in ways that benefited themselves.

No matter how much a shaman wanted to help a village, spirits wouldn’t step forward to help. They only helped when there was a definite reward for themselves.

Lyurik’s sinful mind raced. This spirit must be moving because there’s something to gain for itself…

The only thing that came to mind was one. Lyurik distanced himself from the wendigo and began to negotiate.

“O Spirit! If you wish to receive worship from this village, I will solve the problem and serve you devotedly, so please withdraw your anger!”

“The madman still wags his tongue in this situation. Stop the nonsense and call out the spirit you’ve contracted with. I’ll negotiate with it.”

The wendigo rejected the negotiation indifferently. What worship was he talking about?

The wendigo had no intention of negotiating with Lyurik.

He had learned from Skadi that people’s reverence and fear strengthen a spirit’s mystery, but honestly, it didn’t resonate with him.

‘When have I ever lacked mystery? If anything, I have too much of it.’

The wendigo had never felt a lack of mystery when using his power. Since he never lacked it, naturally, he had no greed for it.

Rather, his desires were more human. Just the human desire to eat well, dress well, and live enjoyably!

Ignoring Lyurik’s words, the wendigo manipulated the cold energy to create an ice sword. As a large greatsword appeared, Lyurik’s eyes trembled.

“Damn it, what the hell is a spirit with such strong power doing in a forest like this!!”

“… I was born in this ‘forest like this,’ so it can’t be helped.”

The wendigo answered with an annoyed voice. Although it wasn’t exactly his spiritual hometown, perhaps because his origin was presumed to be the forest, the insult to the forest displeased him.

The wendigo swung the greatsword with personal emotions, as if to split Lyurik in one go. Faced with the malicious energy imbued in the greatsword, Lyurik cursed and drew a wooden sword from his waist.

Lyurik threw the sword into the air while chanting a spell. Responding to his spell, a giant made of roots and branches rose from the ground and grasped the wooden sword.

Then, pink flowers bloomed on the wooden sword and spewed out thorny vines. The wooden sword grew to a size comparable to the wendigo’s greatsword.

“Giant of the thorn tree, cut down my enemy!”

As Lyurik shouted while spitting blood, the giant charged forward swinging the greatsword.

Although he suffered internal injuries from recklessly calling forth mystery without preparation, Lyurik gained confidence.

He thought that no matter how great a spirit was, with such strong mystery, he could surely hold out.

‘He’s a spirit too. Then he won’t want to use too much mystery!’

He didn’t need to win. If he could just hold out, the spirit would retreat to save its mystery!

The wendigo looked at the giant Lyurik had summoned with curiosity and swung his greatsword. As his sword collided with the giant’s sword, a thunderous sound echoed through the village.

As the wendigo’s greatsword exploded with cold energy, the giant’s greatsword instantly froze.

The giant didn’t retreat. It pressed down with its sword using its weight and spewed roots from its body, heavily entangling the wendigo’s body.

“You’re not even trying to hide anymore. Are these disgusting roots the source of your spirit?”

“The giant of the thorn tree doesn’t fall easily. Give up and go back!”

“Judging by how you’re avoiding the answer, I guess I’m right.”

The wendigo spoke calmly even as roots entangled his entire body, and slowly began to push back the giant’s body.

As a cold and sharp energy like the wind of a snow field burst from the wendigo’s body, the roots entangling him instantly lost their vitality and fell off.

Even as it was losing vitality, the giant tried to drive its greatsword into the wendigo’s neck, enlarging its body to fulfill its master’s order.

It was nothing more than a futile struggle.

As the wendigo’s greatsword cut through the giant’s greatsword in reverse, the giant’s posture crumbled, and the wendigo ended up pressing down on the giant.

The sound of dry branches breaking began to be heard from the giant’s body. Lyurik watched this scene with dismay.

“This… shit.”

“You have quite a foul mouth for a shaman. No, I’ve only met four shamans in total, so maybe you’re the normal one?”

The wendigo’s greatsword bisected the giant of the thorn tree. As the flowers on the wooden sword withered and the giant’s body collapsed powerlessly, frozen branches rained down.

Lyurik trembled in fear. The giant’s fall was a loss he had somewhat prepared for. After all, it’s difficult for a shaman to win against a spirit.

However… why was there no change in the wendigo after facing the giant?

“W-why isn’t your mystery decreasing?”

“Well, I don’t know either.”

The wendigo was directly contradicting Lyurik’s knowledge. Spirits are supposed to lose mystery as they start using their power, but the wendigo was still in a state full of mystery, just like when they first met.

At this point, Lyurik began to consider the spirit before him as something other than a spirit.

‘There’s no way I can win at my level!’

Lyurik bit his lip. As he took out a seed from his waist, the wendigo immediately understood what he was trying to do.

“Are you finally thinking of calling out the spirit? It would have been easier and better if you had done that from the start.”

“Shit. You know what it means to call a spirit, don’t you?”

“Yes. You’ll pay a price. But considering the giant you lost, that might have been better.”

“Eeek!!!”

Lyurik’s face reddened as he swallowed his anger. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with what the wendigo said.

How much had he paid and how many materials had he gathered to create that giant!

At least three years’ worth of wealth he had accumulated since becoming a shaman had gone into it. To have such a treasure not only unrecoverable but unretrievable, he felt not just bitter but torn apart.

“O wild boar wrapped in roots and branches. This humble shaman calls upon you by contract, so reveal yourself!”

The seed that left Lyurik’s hand burrowed into the ground. The seed took shape, spewing out roots, stems, and branches. It was a wild boar reminiscent of a large boulder.

The wild boar spirit opened its drowsy eyes and looked down at Lyurik, who was crouching low.

“… Lyurik. Didn’t you tell me it was a simple task when you spoke to me?”

“I-I’m sorry. I had confirmed that it was a village with no connection to shamans, but suddenly some spirit and shaman appeared, and…”

The wild boar asked without hiding its disdainful expression, but Lyurik didn’t dare express dissatisfaction. It was natural, as his life currently depended on the wild boar spirit.

The wild boar turned its gaze towards the wendigo, mocking its stupid contractor. Although it mocked its contractor, even the wild boar spirit had never seen a spirit like the wendigo before.

Spirits are generally beings filled with one kind of mystery.

There are spirits with mixed mysteries like rock and soil, earth and plants, rivers and waves, but there was no one with such disparate energies mixed like the spirit before them.

“What’s your name? Giant born from ice? Beast running through the snow fields?”

“It’s not such a literary name, but Wendigo is my name. You damn boar.”

“… What?”

Perhaps because it didn’t expect to be insulted during a spirit-to-spirit conversation? The wild boar spirit asked back like a fool. The wendigo kindly repeated to the wild boar spirit.

“I said my name is Wendigo. You disgustingly-looking boar. Can’t you keep those wriggling roots still?”

“You… you spirit with such ragged mystery, how dare you!”

Spirits are arrogant and selfish beings, but at least among themselves, they tend to maintain a minimum level of courtesy. It’s an implicit rule among the most noble beings in this world.

Of course, the wendigo had none of that. To him, spirits were just monsters lucky enough to be born with mystery.

“Shut up and come at me. If you’re afraid to fight, you can tuck your tail and scram.”

“You think you can kill me? Do you think that’s possible! I am wrapped in roots and branches…”

“Yes, you’re a pig. You’re no better than an ordinary pig since I can’t even eat you.”

The wild boar spirit lost its reason and charged towards the wendigo.