Chapter 33: Returning to Garden #1

Chapter 33: Returning to Garden #1

「Perfect purity has been proven. Pure White Radiance acknowledges you.」

In the light that illuminated the darkness of the underground waterway, only I could calmly survey my surroundings.

“Kngh- I can’t open my eyes…”

“Wh-what is this light? Ahh-“

Unlike me, my party members covered their eyes with their hands and writhed in agony.

⋯Was it this bright originally?

It’s truly a Solar Flare.

I quickly retracted the light, but everyone stumbled around, unable to regain their senses for a while.

‘The eye-blinding is insane.’

The artifact acknowledged me, but I didn’t want to accept it.

Purity?

Me?

Are you crazy? I’m originally male.

Even though I’ve somehow possessed Estel’s body now, this is still too much.

The Golden Unicorn wouldn’t like me.

It shouldn’t like me.

‘No, to meet the unicorn’s standards, don’t you need a trifecta of mind, body, and spirit?’

Yes, even if I concede a hundred times, let’s say this body is clean.

It’s surprising that a lich, having lived for hundreds of years, has never held a man’s hand, but it’s not entirely impossible.

But that’s not the important thing.

My mind is already rotten.

I’m not the pure girl the unicorn wants.

Unicorn, you’re being deceived. I’m not that kind of person.

「Pure White Radiance welcomes its new owner.」

Despite my strong denial, the bracelet clung to my wrist, showing no signs of coming off.

White light shot up into the air like fireworks, dancing around my body.

It’s truly a spectacle.

“It seems Estel has really captured the bracelet’s heart.”

Wagner said, rubbing his eyes as if the afterimage of the light still remained.

“Yeah, kid, you take it. I thought I was going blind, really.”

Mitchell also wiped the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.

This is how the Pure White Radiance naturally came to be mine…

But why does my heart feel so uneasy?

A unicorn-certified mark.

I didn’t want this kind of label.

But I can’t exactly go around acting promiscuously either.

This is driving me crazy.

***

Three days have passed since we returned to the Garden Frontier.

Our party spent three days disposing of the loot collected from the dungeon.

It took longer than expected, but there was no other choice.

Currently, in Garden, the Vigilante Captain Dawson is intensely focused on controlling hunting grounds.

If we were to sell a large quantity of monster by-products in this atmosphere, we would undoubtedly be caught by the Vigilantes immediately.

Furthermore, among the loot are Vigilante equipment.

If they question where we obtained these, we would have no answer.

There’s no need to rush and take unnecessary risks.

As cautiously as possible, being careful not to attract unwanted attention.

After finishing the disposal of the loot, we finally gathered at a tavern for a small celebration.

“Heh heh…”

“Hehet. This is all money.”

“Kuhum.”

We exchanged secret smiles with our money pouches in front of us in a corner of the tavern.

It’s not easy to be happy secretly from others.

“We sold monster by-products for a total of 37,400 gold. And Vigilante equipment for 40,500 gold… Amazing.”

Mitchell whispered quietly, suppressing her laughter.

“Now we have to divide this money fairly. The distribution is as we agreed at first. Right, kid?”

“Uh.”

Fairly divided by N, without further ado.

However, Wagner decided to take a full set of Vigilante steel armor, and in return, he would receive less gold.

The Vigilante armor is of high quality, comparable to Imperial Guard armor, and it’s also enchanted with a “Size Adjustment” rune, so Wagner’s decision was a very clever one.

Originally, I should have paid money for taking the artifact bracelet Pure White Radiance, but…

I’ll consider it as payment for taking on the task of collecting monster by-products.

In conclusion, my share came out to a whopping 23,000 gold.

“I’m rich now!”

Flora laughed brightly.

“Where should I spend all this money? What should I buy first?”

“Oh, miss is quite excited? Then treat us to drinks first!”

“Yes. I’ll treat today!”

When Mitchell egged her on, Flora quickly fell for the temptation.

Sigh. That, that…

“Anything else? Any other place to spend money?”

“Lend me 100 gold. I’ll return it multiplied by three.”

“Understood- Here-“

“⋯Senior, keep that money.”

I intervened, unable to watch any longer.

She’s so gullible.

That’s why I can’t leave her alone.

She’s like a child left unattended by the water.

“Mitchell, don’t play such pranks. Senior will really fall for it.”

“Ah, damn it, I told you not to do that! It’s blinding!”

Mitchell grumbled as I glared at the bracelet’s light.

“Ah, that really… I shouldn’t have gotten a useless bracelet.”

I practiced shining the light continuously on the way back from the underground waterway, and now I’m quite skilled.

The skill name is still undecided.

Eye-blinding beam… is not cool.

Virgin beam… is too direct.

White Light might be better.

Actually, the name doesn’t matter.

“You seem to have learned how to use it quickly.”

Wagner, who had been quietly sipping his drink, showed interest.

“If used well, it’ll be very helpful in combat.”

“Right? And I can do other things too. Want to see?”

“Mm. I’d like to see.”

Pure White Radiance is not just an artifact for flashlight use.

Depending on how it’s used, even the same light can have various variations.

I manipulated the light to create small particles and scattered them on the table.

“This is also possible.”

“Oh-“

“It’s amazing.”

This is not the end.

The light particles seemed to move on their own, bouncing on the table, and then slipped into Mitchell’s nostrils.

A bright light emanated from the elf’s nose, and Flora and Wagner burst into laughter.

“Ah, shit. Stop it.”

Mitchell shook her head repeatedly and blew her nose forcefully.

Later, she didn’t care about her appearance and even stuck her finger in to dig around.

Even so, the light particles won’t come out unless I take them out.

“Stay like that for a while. It suits you.”

“Ah, kid, do you want to die?”

“It’s punishment for trying to trick Senior.”

“Who said I was trying to trick you? No, I can really triple your money- just trust me.”

“Do you expect me to trust you? If you’re going to lose money, do it with your own money.”

I created more light particles and put them into Wagner’s nostrils.

Then, I manipulated the light that emerged to move into Mitchell’s nostrils.

From nose to nose-

“This is fucking-!”

As expected, Mitchell uttered curses, trembling with disgust.

But the light particles from Wagner’s nostrils kept entering Mitchell’s nostrils.

Even if she shakes her head, or covers her nostrils with her hands, the formless light penetrates the gaps.

Mitchell, unable to bear it any longer, stood up abruptly.

“This is disgusting, I can’t stay with you. I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going?”

“Now that I have money, I have to go make a killing.”

Mitchell rubbed her thumb and index finger together and grinned.

“We’re meeting up after preparing individually until the next expedition, right? See you then.”

Tap, tap.

As Mitchell walked towards the tavern entrance, she suddenly turned around and approached the table again.

“Ah, damn it, please get this out of my nose. How long do I have to keep it in?”

Mitchell contorted her face, looking like she was about to cry.

***

In a secluded corner of the town, in front of the tent of the Orc Shaman Yurka.

I’m waiting for Yurka alone.

Yurka is out on some errand, so she’s not here.

‘Well, she’ll come eventually if I wait.’

I sat on the chair Yurka used and opened the Blood Grimoire.

This magic book, like the artifact Pure White Radiance, will be of great help to me in the future.

However, this fussy magic book doesn’t easily grant magic.

True to its name, it’s a wicked thing that is only satisfied by collecting the blood of living beings through killing.

「A sufficient amount of blood has been collected. The Blood Grimoire expresses its deep satisfaction with your cruel slaughter.」

「You can learn the Level 1 magic, Raise Dead, from the Blood Grimoire.」

Level 1 was easily met by killing the Vigilantes and Max.

I immediately learned the magic.

「Raise Dead」.

It’s the most basic of necromancy, but its usefulness should never be underestimated.

I looked around.

Are there any corpses to test it on?

Outside Yurka’s tent, I saw the corpses of mice dried on a rope.

It seems she was drying them to eat, but I guess using one is okay.

I focused mana in my hand and touched the dead mouse.

「Casting Raise Dead.」

「Faint memories of lost experiences surface. Receiving a bonus for exceptional talent.」

「Excellent aptitude for Necromancy. Receiving an aptitude bonus.」

A dark purple mana, unlike ice magic, flowed down my hand.

It dripped like an undertaker’s embalming fluid.

The mana enveloped the mouse’s body, flowing into its body through its eyes, nose, and mouth.

Then…

-Squeak.

The tip of the mouse’s whiskers moved.

Soon, it twitched its nose, shook its tail, and then stood up and scurried to my feet.

Even though it had been dead for a long time, its fur had discolored and become dry, but its movements made it look alive.

“It’s really moving. Hey, Mousey, uh… do a lap.”

Hesitantly, I gave the command, and the mouse spun in place as I instructed.

This is amazing.

Not only can it move forward, backward, left, and right, but it can also perform complex commands that a normal mouse could never do.

“Hey Champion, you can do it. Show us. Come on, step, step. That’s it.”

The mouse, standing on its hind legs, threw a one-two jab with its short legs.

I was so amused playing with the mouse that I became engrossed like a child for a while.

Finally, I finished the test by imbuing the mouse with the light of Pure White Radiance.

A glowing mouse, named Light Mouse.

I know. It’s childish.

But it was truly fun.

After moving for a while, the implanted mana ran out, and the mouse returned to being a corpse.

Perhaps because I grew fond of the mouse in that short time, I felt a little sad for the little bastard.

‘The future looks promising.’

The power to move the dead.

For now, it was just a trick with a single mouse, but in the future, my necromancy will become a secret art to command an army of the dead.

In the world of “Nine Stars,” there are only a few who can skillfully wield necromancy.

That means that countermeasures against necromancy are not well-known either.

This power will become my greatest weapon.

As I sat there, satisfied, the Orc Shaman Yurka finally returned.

“Oh, maiden- you’ve arrived.”

Her wrinkled, rugged face contorted strangely.

She looks fierce, but she’s smiling.

However, Yurka was accompanied by two other orcs.

“We were waiting for you. We were eager to make up for our previous mistake. It’ll be a bit different this time.”

“Who are those people?”

“Ah! You can look forward to it. We’ve brought experts.”

The orcs, covered in elaborate feather decorations, no less than Yurka, nodded solemnly.

Oh, this guy really prepared for this.

Yurka smiled with a confident expression.

“Now, we will use all the secrets of Orc shamanism to strengthen you.”