Chapter 12

Skadi, who had been staring blankly at the plant cocoon that was the wendigo, let out a deep sigh.

“Sh-shaman-nim? What should we do?”

Geron and Hegilson observed Skadi’s mood with an even more polite attitude. It was natural, having witnessed a battle that was not of this world right before their eyes.

As Skadi’s weary eyes briefly passed over him, Geron swallowed. Though not as much as the wendigo, Skadi was also frightening.

‘She won’t freeze us just because she’s in a bad mood, right?’

Contrary to Geron and Hegilson’s worries, Skadi wasn’t particularly angry.

The wendigo suddenly chomping on the seed? That could happen. If that’s what he wanted, it was fine.

Skadi didn’t view her relationship with the wendigo as that of an ordinary shaman and spirit. Although they had made a contract, their relationship was far from ordinary.

‘A contract with Wendigo-nim… no, in my position of having received his grace, what right do I have to be dissatisfied with him? As long as I’m handling mystery that he can take back at any time if he wishes, I’m just following Wendigo-nim’s will!’

Skadi’s passion was a kind of loyalty. A pure loyalty to dedicate herself to the one she served!

Skadi’s eyes sharpened as she slapped her cheeks with a fighting spirit.

“For now, I’ll create a wall for part of the collapsed palisade. And then…”

“Um, Skadi-nim. I’m sorry, but I have something to say.”

“If you’re going to say you don’t have the ability to pay the price, you can keep it to yourself. Wendigo-nim didn’t come here seeking a large payment either.”

“!”

Geron’s eyes widened in surprise. A shaman visiting without demanding a large payment, was such a thing possible?

Skadi wasn’t making a rash move out of enthusiasm. Although she hadn’t fully understood the wendigo, there was something she was certain about.

Wendigo-nim wants to live harmoniously with humans!

It might be difficult for other spirits, but in Skadi’s view, the wendigo had enough potential. Not just because of his broad-mindedness, but thanks to the endless mystery the wendigo possessed.

Just as humans need food to live, spirits need mystery to maintain their existence.

Unlike other spirits, he had no need to cause trouble to gather mystery, so the wendigo could surely live together with humans.

“Wendigo-nim is a being with endless mystery. He has a broad mind, and his bravery is comparable to that of dragons…”

‘Could the shaman be bewitched by the spirit?’

Geron had an irreverent thought as he watched Skadi, who had started praising the wendigo with a face full of joy. It was quite a plausible thought.

A spirit that bewitches a young woman, makes her a shaman, and controls her – it wouldn’t be strange if such a thing existed.

‘But her eyes look so clear…’

“Chief, are you listening?”

“Ah, yes! Long live Wendigo-nim. Long live.”

Geron startled when his eyes met Skadi’s and he raised his hands high in celebration.

Skadi’s praise of the wendigo finally ended after about an hour.

---

How much time had passed? How long had he been in deep sleep?

The wendigo woke from his deep slumber and moved his body. His mind was clear and refreshed, and his body was full of vitality.

‘No, can this even be called sleep?’

The wendigo awakened his mind, tracing his memories. His last clear memory was the moment he chewed the seed.

A cocoon made of roots and branches. The wendigo realized he was inside a cocoon.

‘It’s uncomfortable being in a cocoon with this size.’

No matter how much he curled up, a 3-meter-tall body was still large.

Feeling cramped, the wendigo cut open the cocoon with his claws. He tore through the cocoon and came out like a beast hatching from an egg.

“Where is this place?”

He naturally questioned when faced with an unfamiliar ceiling. He was sure he could see the sky before, so why was there a roof?

‘Did Skadi move me?’

It was possible. Skadi was passionate and had excellent initiative, so it wouldn’t be strange if she did something beyond imagination…

“Who dares to intrude and cause a disturbance in the sacred dwelling of the spirit!”

“???”

A man appeared as the door opened from behind.

As the wendigo slowly turned his head, the warrior who had boldly entered widened his eyes. To think the source of the sound was the wendigo.

We’re screwed!

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize the spirit had awakened and I rudely…!!”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Faced with the man’s momentum as if he was about to plant his head on the ground, the wendigo hurriedly stopped him. The man shed tears of gratitude.

‘What’s wrong with this guy? Did the boar kill his family or something?’

If that was the reason, the man’s excessive attitude could be understood. If the beasts released by the wild boar spirit had killed his family, it wouldn’t be strange for him to feel goodwill towards the one who killed it.

“Where is this place? Where’s Skadi?”

“This is the shrine that Skadi-nim built to safely protect the spirit’s cocoon!”

“… I’m not a god, why build a shrine? A temple or monastery would be understandable, but…”

The wendigo was disgusted by the man’s excessive expression. He didn’t want to risk divine punishment by being referred to as a god in a world where gods might actually exist.

The man was once again amazed by the wendigo’s reaction. Indeed, everything the shaman had said was correct.

That broad-mindedness that forgives mistakes and that humble attitude unlike ordinary spirits!

‘Everything Skadi-nim said was right!’

“So where is Skadi?”

“Ah, Skadi-nim is currently going around the village performing her duties. The gracious mystery of Wendigo-nim…”

“Stop with such embarrassing words. Explain briefly and simply.”

“She’s going around the village fields bestowing rituals.”

The wendigo nodded as he finally got a normal answer. He had wondered what kind of work she was doing when the man said “duties,” but it turned out she was performing rituals.

‘Skadi might have some excessive aspects, but she did understand my intentions well.’

He recalled Skadi’s image of carefully considering every word he said while deciding on the dinner menu during their time together at the mansion.

She would have understood his desire to form a good relationship with the village. She must be approaching people kindly and leaving a good impression.

“I should meet Skadi. Please guide me.”

“It’s an honor!”

“It’s not that much of an honor… Just take me to Skadi.”

What could he do if the man was happy about it?

The wendigo knew that sometimes giving up was better than persuasion. This was one of those moments.

The man guided the wendigo outside.

“Wendigo-nim has awakened!!!”

What the hell, what is this?

If the wendigo could make expressions, he would have looked at the man as if he were crazy. It should have ended with just guiding him, so why was he shouting?

People’s gazes focused on the wendigo. The wendigo inwardly sighed and waited for the fearful gazes.

However, the emotion felt along with the gazes wasn’t fear.

“Oh, incarnation of the forest. Please continue to watch over us.”

“Mom, it’s the spirit!”

“Hurry and greet him. The spirit has finally awakened after 2 months, it seems like good things will happen today.”

Reverence, gratitude, curiosity.

The wendigo, who had been an object of fear and terror, or if not that, hatred and anger, was bewildered by the emotions people were sending.

It didn’t seem like spirits were beings that received such goodwill.

“Wait. Two months? I was unconscious for two months?”

“Yes. Skadi-nim said that you fell into a deep sleep while defeating the tyrannical spirit and purifying the mystery tainted with evil, returning it to the embrace of the forest.”

What nonsense is that?

The wendigo swallowed his words, unable to voice them out loud. There wasn’t a hint of shame in the man’s gaze.

Moreover, the lack of any scent of deception suggested that he wasn’t lying.

‘This can’t be nonsense. Unless something went wrong with my abilities when I swallowed the boar’s source, what on earth is this nonsense about?’

He had intended to meet Skadi and catch up, but instead, questions were piling up on the way to meet her.

The wendigo decided to meet Skadi quickly. His mind couldn’t comprehend this situation at all.

‘Does the village feel larger?’

It wasn’t just a feeling. The wendigo noticed that the appearance of the village had changed from before.

There were traces of demolished buildings here and there, and quite a few newly erected buildings could be seen. What was peculiar was that each house had neatly tied dried roots hanging.

“Skadi-nim is over there.”

The field they arrived at after walking for quite a while.

In the place the man pointed to, Skadi was standing holding a staff. People were watching her from a distance, which clearly indicated she was doing something.

The wendigo felt mystery gathering around her. The energy felt from the mystery was familiar yet different.

‘I can sense my energy in the boar’s mystery?’

The wendigo realized that this mystery was his own. With this realization, he became aware of the new mystery stirring within his body.

The wild boar spirit’s source was pulsating inside him.

‘Did I absorb it by eating the source? Is this possible for other spirits too?’

It didn’t seem likely. If it were, spirits would be causing all sorts of chaos trying to seize each other’s sources.

After a moment of surprise, the wendigo watched as mystery condensed in Skadi’s staff. Skadi muttered a few words and planted the staff in the ground.

As the mystery gathered in the staff seeped into the ground, a change occurred in the field.

Withering crops regained vitality, and out-of-season plants bloomed and grew. People cheered and marveled.

Skadi wiped her sweat and turned her gaze to the people. As she smiled, the wendigo felt proud.

It was good that I killed that boar!

‘Indeed, it’s not strange that people are moved when Skadi performs rituals like that…’

“This is the grace and love of the benevolent Wendigo-nim! Wendigo-nim is different from other spirits. He wishes to bestow and embrace us with the grace of the forest! So everyone should be grateful for his grace and hold respect and reverence!”

“…???”

The wendigo wondered if he had misheard. Was it really Skadi who was guiding people like a skilled missionary, waving her hands in the air?

The man said with reddened eyes:

“Look. This is how Skadi-nim, as a shaman serving the spirit, gives enlightenment to the people.”

The wendigo summoned superhuman patience to avoid striking the man’s mouth. It was no ordinary feat to keep hearing such infuriating words from beside him.

Moreover, there was no malice in each word. He was clearly crazy.

‘Calm down. I need to calm down and listen to what she has to say.’

He took a deep breath and approached Skadi.