Ch.171Chapter 171. Spirit World Escape No.1 (1)

Chapter 171. Spirit World Escape No.1 (1)

White. Black short hair. Oval face. Deep blue eyes, and a slender, thin physique.

Fragile-looking, but somehow giving off a sense of vitality.

Though her eye color and face shape were different, she somehow reminded me of Lakye.

It wasn’t that their atmosphere was similar. It was more like their… energy? It’s hard to explain, but their energy felt similar.

“I don’t know how a human soul managed to come here alone, but you shouldn’t make loud noises here…”

The woman who had been looking at my panting self with strange eyes suddenly widened her eyes mid-sentence.

“That, that energy? Is it Lord Malak’s?”

Her mouth fell open.

Huh, can she read my energy? Come to think of it, she did say something about a “human soul” earlier.

She seems civilized, but might be connected to Roa. Her clothing gives off a strangely barbaric impression.

“…”

I hesitated a bit here. Right now, I’m Sans with a human body wearing a convenience store uniform.

Should I introduce myself as Sans, Malak’s messenger? Or as Malak who temporarily borrowed a human body?

If I want to inspire “reverence,” pretending to be the real Malak might be better.

Just as I was about to speak after brief consideration—

“Ah, so you’re the one! Lord Malak’s proxy! I wouldn’t have recognized you without looking closely!”

The woman smiled brightly as if pleased to see me. Her smile somehow resembled Lakye’s too.

No, this isn’t the time for such leisurely thoughts.

“Uh.”

This time I was the one taken aback. How did you know that? It should be a top-secret known only to the real Malak, the goddess, and other Roa.

“Here, get up.”

I instinctively grabbed her outstretched arm. It was warm and soft. Though it had been a long time since I’d touched another person, it felt strangely familiar.

Perhaps because I had felt Lakye’s warmth even in totem state.

Just as I was opening my mouth to say something—

“Perhaps because the dominance of your soul has changed, I can only faintly sense Lord Malak’s energy. Let’s get out of this garden first and then talk.”

She gently helped me up, then moved quickly.

“Garden?”

Isn’t this a forest? What garden? Curious, I turned my head.

“What, what the—”

The plants that had been buried in the ground were raising their heads and slithering toward us. The flowers blooming on their heads were split like animal maws.

Something like mucus was dripping from them, as if they were drooling.

“These are carnivorous plants living in Sesoo’s garden. They’re sensitive to loud noises. Hurry!”

Apparently, they had been stirred by my cursing at the goddess.

Carnivorous plants, huh. Like nepenthes or sundews?

…As far as I know, so-called insectivorous plants slowly dissolve their prey with digestive juices.

Getting caught means being dissolved to death? That’s too horrific. Even if I won’t die because I’ve temporarily borrowed Malak’s soul, what good is it if my entire body dissolves?

I don’t want to become a liquid monster, a popular children’s toy.

“Yes!”

I hurriedly ran after the woman who was hopping like an elf. She’s seriously fast.

***

“We should be safe here.”

The woman nodded after looking around. She said we’ve now left what was called Sesoo’s garden.

“Huff, huff, huff…!”

I was completely exhausted, breathing heavily. Can’t be helped. It was my first all-out sprint in years.

Ah, I should have exercised regularly. This is embarrassing.

“You were lucky. I happened to be nearby at the right moment.”

“Thanks. That was a close call.”

I expressed my agreement.

I spoke politely at first, but then realized there was no need. Even as the proxy of the real Malak, I would clearly outrank an ordinary priest.

So, I might as well speak casually. She doesn’t seem to mind anyway.

“I am Nike of the Brown Rock tribe.”

“Nike, huh.”

For a moment I thought of a certain game called after the “goddess of victory,” but quickly pushed it aside. It would be rude to think of a game where you try to see butts when meeting a woman for the first time.

Anyway, I have many questions for this woman. Let’s start with this one.

“What’s your relationship with Lakye?”

I was very curious about how she knew me and where this place was, but I was even more curious about this woman’s identity.

Who on earth is she to emit an energy similar to Lakye’s? Is she Lakye’s unknown half-sister?

She looks about the same age as Lakye.

“So you’ve met that child.”

Nike smiled gently.

That child?

“She is the daughter of Lord Rakan and myself.”

“Hmm.”

Well, I wasn’t too surprised as I had somewhat expected it.

I remained silent to organize my thoughts, or rather, to form a hypothesis.

1. Lakye said her mother died shortly after giving birth to her.

2. Meeting someone who’s supposed to be dead in this tropical forest doesn’t make sense. Either I’m hallucinating or I’m in the afterlife. Let’s assume it’s the afterlife.

3. Interestingly, there is a place similar to the afterlife in this world. The spirit realm where barbarians are said to go when they do good deeds(?) from the Roa’s perspective.

4. Nike had a demigod child with Rakan, so she must have done good deeds.

5. Crucially, Nike called me a “human soul” when she first saw me.

“So this place is…”

Before I could finish, Nike answered first.

“Yes. This is the spirit realm, the dimension where the Roa reside and the hall of ancestors.”

The spirit realm, she says.

The world of the dead.

Fuck.

The moment I realized the true nature of this world, a status window appeared.

[Hidden Stage ‘Spirit Realm’ First Entry!]

[If you succeed in returning to the ground, you can receive a blessing!]

It wasn’t a message directly from the goddess, but from the status window system itself.

Like when the status window appeared when I obtained the territory called Symphonia Castle, this must have been prepared in advance. I couldn’t check what the blessing mentioned as a return reward was.

It seems I need to return first to see it.

“You should be on the ground, how did you end up here?”

“Well…”

I explained the situation to her.

Not in detail, just that I had greatly depleted my mental strength while killing the Seven-Headed Dragon.

Oh, and I also mentioned that Lakye and I have an extremely close relationship. I said she became my guardian and serves me very passionately.

…I also ‘slightly’ mentioned that Lakye would be very sad without me.

This is the spirit realm where I know no one. I need Nike’s full support. For that, I needed to use Lakye’s name a bit.

“How fascinating.”

Nike rested her chin on her hand and continued.

“Mental strength is the power of the soul. It’s separate from divinity or material and immaterial strength. Even those of lower rank can have soul power as mighty as superhumans.

Perhaps you flowed into the spirit realm because your soul power was depleted beyond its limit?”

“I see.”

Honestly, I didn’t fully understand. It just seemed like vague fantasy setting to me.

Let’s just say my mind weakened and now I’m wandering in the afterlife. Fluctuating between life and death.

“Is there a way to return to the ground?”

Nike nodded.

“Yes, it’s possible. You can leave through the spirit gate that connects the spirit realm and the ground.”

“Spirit gate, huh.”

What a straightforward name. Easy to understand, at least.

“Time is not very abundant.”

“What?”

“You are currently precariously straddling the spirit realm. It’s an unstable state. Look, isn’t your soul wavering?”

“Huh?”

My body had somehow become slightly blurred.

I think this happened once before. Was this the reason?

After waiting a few minutes, my body returned to normal. As she described it as “wavering,” it seems I had temporarily blurred.

“The wavering cycle will shorten over time. Instead of temporarily blurring, that state might persist. And if you completely blur out…

I don’t know what happens next either. But it won’t be good.”

So there’s a time limit.

“Can you accompany me to the spirit gate?”

“Of course. Lord Rakan will be waiting, but… he’ll understand given the circumstances.”

Nike readily agreed.

“Is Rakan here too?”

“Yes. Like all Roa, he resides in a domain within the spirit realm.”

Well, I guess that was too obvious a question.

We might encounter other Roa on our way. I’ll worry later about whether they’ll be friendly or hostile toward me.

“To reach the spirit gate, we must pass through treacherous regions. I alone won’t be enough.”

Nike examined the arrows she carried on her back. Seems like she’s checking her weapons.

“Are there others who can help me?”

“Proxy, this is the spirit realm. The place where warriors who sacrificed their lives for the Roa go.”

Nike said confidently.

“We can ask Lord Malak’s followers who live in the spirit realm for help. I know where they are. Let’s go.”

***

Several hours later, I was able to meet my followers.

“If you’re Lord Malak’s messenger… Sans?”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“The messenger was… what again?”

People I thought were dead greeted me.

In order: Gukbap, Nix, and Denzo.

Those who risked their lives fighting for me were waiting here.