episode_0005

“I was caught.”

“Please tell me in more detail before throwing it away.”

The tentacles wrapped around the body pulsated a little scaryly.

“I was just living a good life, but I was struck by something like lightning from the sky and died, and came into this body where I can be resurrected even after death. It’s already been 5 years.”

I don’t even want to think about what I’m putting in there. I’ll tell you what happened so far as briefly and concisely as possible, and ask you not to move your tentacles.

Then, I immediately understood that the woman must have read all the memories of this world that came to mind in an instant along with my words at once.

“It’s not a lie. Are there more people like you?”

“There were at least a thousand more.”

I don’t know what it is and I’m scared to talk, so I think the only way for now is to answer as they ask.

Not only do I keep summoning creatures I’ve never seen before, squirming around while they’re tied up near my lower body, they’re definitely not bandits, and I don’t think they’re even human before that. Incredibly strong.

Of course, there are people who are stronger than the spirit bottle. We are stronger than ordinary soldiers, and the truly strong ones are knight-level or higher and are given nicknames such as sword saint, sword genie, or sword master.

However, the person in front of me had a feeling that was foreign to that kind of strength.

The woman in front of me looked at me for a moment and then opened her mouth again.

“Hmm… It’s not enough to arbitrarily lead the fate that should have been followed, so there are people who have tied the great deeds they should have into their karma.”

“Hey, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It means that there are people who forcibly took your soul and bound it to your body, taking away the future power you should have gained.”

“I would appreciate it if you could speak at that level. Because I’m not the smartest person.”

He seems to be a person who has a bit of difficulty speaking. person. person? Anyway, although he is said to be a human, he must be a being that transcends human beings, or perhaps a great great wizard.

“It’s human. Yes, introducing yourself before talking is a good introduction to lowering your guard towards each other.”

After saying that, the woman made another tentacle like a chair and sat down on it. It looks like it will be a long story.

“I am Gloria, the leader of Ars Magna and the first human to reach the Fairy Garden.”

“Ah, first of all, you were a great person. I’m sorry about this.”

If it’s a human, it still doesn’t seem like an enemy. Since it came out from such an unexpected place, I initially assumed it to be an enemy, but maybe that was a mistake?

I think he said he was a leader, but he seems like a pretty high-ranking person.

“So why did such an amazing person come to a place like this…?”

“While experimenting with how to get to Fairy Garden, the place where fairies live, I tried it as soon as I found out the transfer method. It was only a moment, but we succeeded in finding the coordinates.”

“But I couldn’t come back because I left without thinking about the return coordinates. So, while wandering around looking for another way, I felt a familiar remnant, so I returned to this cave as my target.”

‘It’s a bit long-winded, but to sum it up, doesn’t it mean that you went missing and came back?’

“Do you think you’re the type to just give it a try and watch it? I saw that you just left without even thinking about how to return.”

“…”

Perhaps because he was caught off guard, he doesn’t answer.

To roughly summarize what he started saying again after that, it seems like there was some kind of palpable power left in the armor of the soul soldiers piled up in the cave. This person used that as a milestone and came back.

“Transfer is an incredibly advanced technology. It is difficult to characterize the world’s coordinates because they change all the time, but if you miss that opportunity, you don’t know how many years you will have to wait.”

Self-defense is quite long.

“So, unless the environment is very stable, you have to build a separate gate in case of an explosion, but I succeeded alone, so this can be said to be a historic feat.”

And the words praising yourself are too long. I’m getting more and more tired.

‘Are all geniuses the type of person who just talks like this? ‘The reason I can’t come back is because I live without thinking about it at all, so my life is short-lived.’

“I thought he was a bit polite, but he’s the kind of guy who says whatever he wants to say?”

While I couldn’t bear the boredom and was thinking about various things, it seemed like my thoughts were read again. caught.

“When I need to say something, speaking clearly is an advantage.”

It feels better than I thought because it’s been a while since I received a compliment from someone other than my teacher. Anyway, what is this tentacle that keeps moving without stopping for even a moment?

“It wasn’t a compliment. And these are the ones I found and brought back from Fairy Garden. Isn’t it cute? When I first found them, they were like small snails, but after living there for 10 years, they grew up to be this cute.”

Gloria pulls out a few more tentacles from inside her sleeve and shows them off. But it all looks gross to me.

“Hey, fairy means fairy, right? But no matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem to be a fairy.”

When I looked closely, it seemed like I could briefly see something like an eye glow inside the sleeve.

At least the image of a fairy that I know is that a house elf is free when she turns a pumpkin into a carriage while doing housework, or when she receives a gift while doing housework! It’s the kind of thing that makes you happy while doing it. It’s not a monster with creepy eyes like that.

I remember that at least they had arms and legs and looked similar to humans.

“Of course, the ones you are thinking of are ‘humanoid fairies’. Only those who often come over here and the queen have a human appearance, and most of the other fairies look different from what we know.”

“In that case, you should believe the story of someone who has been there. ”

What can I do? Although the illusion has been shattered, we have no choice but to believe the story of the first person who went there. They say this tentacle is a fairy, so I have to believe it.

“Of course, this child is especially special. I had gone to Fairy Garden to ask for reinforcements for the people who were constantly dying and losing their land. But while I was going through a difficult time because they were all mean-spirited people, this child was the only one who listened to my story.”

I felt affection from the hand stroking Gloria’s tentacles.

“However, while I was wandering and unable to return, the Kingdom Alliance ended up doing something incredible. Bringing in souls from other worlds, it seems like we’ve ended up in a pretty urgent situation.”

“Then, can the alchemist go back now and help us out and talk about how we are being treated like shit?”

Since you said he was the head of something earlier, he seems to be a high-ranking person. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone like him did you a favor?

“I am the head of the alchemy guild Ars Magna, which is separate from the kingdom, so I do not belong to a country. We are only with the union because our interests are the same, and I am sorry that I am too far removed from asking for anything else.”

“That’s a really unfortunate story.”

It’s a failure. The county we have now is actually a union of several kingdoms, and we are a joint entity created by the union, so we always have to hold meetings to make major changes to things like treatment. This person seems to have no authority because he is an external facilitator.

“Still, my empty seat has been one of the reasons for being pushed back in the war, and as an apology on behalf of the ignorant people who dragged you in, I will give you a good item.”

Giving good things?

If so, wouldn’t there be a way to use this as an opportunity to somehow become stronger?

“Then, since I die often, can you tell me about something like magic that remains as knowledge rather than as an object?”

“Hmm, well, it was said that when you die, you return to a new body. Then, if you think about the enemies you will be dealing with, even if you give them something, they will quickly lose it.”

Gloria, who had begun to think deeply, began pacing left and right. I was tied up by the tentacles coming out of my sleeves, and as I was moving along with them, I started to feel slightly motion sick.

He didn’t respond even when I tried to talk to him, so while I was calculating how he would scatter if he vomited in the air, he finally seemed to have finished thinking about it and spoke with a smile on his face.

“The value of knowledge is very expensive and it cannot be given carelessly to those who are not yet qualified. And since I am skilled in alchemy rather than magic, I will give you an artifact in return.”

It’s an artifact, and given my current situation, it’s not really helpful in kind, but since you say it like that, I can’t help it.

“If possible, it would be nice if you could say that lightning comes out when you swing it or something like that.”

“A guy with not even a trace of magical power in his body wants an over-the-top weapon. Such weapons are weapons that can be used by beings who have even a little magical power in their bodies. Aren’t you guys like dolls? So I can’t use it.”

“I still have a long fighting experience, don’t I? You have to have that much to run around without dying. Then, do you have any weapons with magic batteries or something? If you’re an alchemist, you have to make that much.”

“What kind of being do you think an alchemist is? And for people, there is such a thing as an object of appropriate status. There are similar items out there, but they are a bit more expensive, and they are customized and give you an artifact that returns even if you die.”

I skipped over what I was talking about.

It’s okay to accept anything if you think it’s given as a favor that came across by chance. If it is difficult for you to use a weapon because you have no magical power, it might be better to just accept whatever is given to you.

“So, what is it?”

“It is an artifact containing technology that contains the soul.”

Just by hearing the explanation, it seems a bit suspicious.

“I don’t like things like cursed items. You’re probably not handing it over because you don’t want to carry it around, right?”

“Listen carefully. Looking at it this way, it is an ancient artifact with its own origins.”

If it has the modifier ‘ancient’ attached to it, it is one of two things.

It is either an item made by a legendary craftsman that has been used since ancient times and has never been banned, or it is a true antique and has great value.

Gloria said she couldn’t give me something expensive, so I should at least expect something with craftsmanship.

“In a land long ago, there was a nobleman who would kidnap any woman he caught his eye, regardless of her marital status or age. All the women the noble kidnapped became playthings, and the enraged men went to the noble’s house, but they were all killed by the knight he was bringing with them.”

“He is very crazy.”

“That’s right. So no one in the vicinity could touch him, and a new victim was created, who was an alchemist. He said he would seek revenge on the souls of the dead men and trapped their souls in an artifact. This artifact was created at that time.”

Gloria took out an old-looking coin that was no longer in use from her pocket.

The inside of that sleeve is a lot wider than I thought, and things keep coming out of it, including this tentacle-like fairy.

“The alchemist absorbed the vengeful spirits into artifacts and combined them into vessels of magical power. Afterwards, by reforging it into a weapon, he went beyond his limits and killed all the nobles and their knights. It was written that the power contained in the weapon, which attracted countless people from nobles to knights, was comparable to that of the kingdom’s archmage. Later on, he eventually died and the collected souls were scattered.”

The coin in her hand was held up without a trace of luster, as if showing the end of a bloody story.

“What does that mean?”

“The soul is a vessel to contain magical power. And you die, become a soul, and are resurrected again. Ordinary people dedicate the feats they have accumulated throughout their lives to God by increasing the size of the soul in their body to capture magical power, but you who come from another world not only have no one to dedicate feats to like us, but feats are something that will expire when the body dies. It’s meant to be scattered. And because it’s a doll’s body, it can’t even handle magic power.”

‘It’s sad.’

I was brought here arbitrarily, but hearing that I was born here and couldn’t grow up feels very absurd.

“In that case, we can store magical power in this artifact instead of the body that keeps scattering. If magic power is contained in a vessel called the soul, then you, who cannot contain magic power by nature, absorb dead souls into artifacts and use them as a vessel for magic power.”

“So, even if I don’t have any magic power stored in my body, I can use magic power through the artifact.”

“To be exact, it would be more like wielding magical power rather than using it. If knights put their magic into their swords, you can fill the gap by swinging a sword filled with magic.”

According to a story I once heard from a knight who knew how to use magic, the soul vessel grows on its own, but its growth is slow, so the size of the soul can be quickly increased by dedicating the feats obtained through fighting to the gods.

Therefore, it is said that knights usually accumulate their magical power to its limit through training, then challenge powerful enemies again to accumulate feats and strengthen their souls.

There is a huge difference between fighting someone who directly infuses magic power into their sword and someone who does not.

Above the knight level, they are treated like strategic weapons deployed to end the battlefield, and are the only beings who can fight on equal footing with unusual enemies. What makes that possible is magic.

“I kept it for now because it was an item that famous knights didn’t necessarily need, but it might be perfect if I gave it to you.”

“It seems like a perfect fit.”

For me, who cannot accumulate magical power, this is the perfect item to be on par with knights.

‘If I had this artifact, I would die less than I do now.’

Although he was guaranteed a stable life to some extent by becoming Enin’s lieutenant, it would not be a bad idea to set higher goals.

Isn’t that the reason why we work to move to a nice house and buy better things? Originally, humans were upward-oriented animals.

“It’s a bit of a shame that even the name wasn’t conveyed. Now, this is the artifact. Carry it with you.”

Gloria handed the coin she had taken out of her sleeve into my hand.

I touch it here and there, but it doesn’t change into a sword shape.

“… How do I turn this into a sword shape?”

“Didn’t I tell you the legend? You have to start by killing someone and absorbing their soul.”

For now, it seems like it’s just an empty coin with nothing really going on.

“To others, it will look like an old dwarven coin. If you carry it around because it’s an ancient coin that looks strange, no one will say anything.”

“But wouldn’t this be a big problem if it dies and drops it?”

“Don’t worry. The substance of the coin is made up of the essence of alchemy, and I have previously treated it with special treatment, so even if you die, I will return it to your pocket at some point.”

If it returns to your pocket even if you die, no matter how you think about it, it seems closer to a cursed object than an object made through alchemy.

Swish-

Grumbling rumbling-

Seeing Gloria’s disbelieving look, she took the coin back from my hand, threw it to the other side of the cave, put her hand in my pocket, and took out another identical coin.

“Can I make a living imitating a wizard with this?”

“I don’t know if the day will come when an ignorant person like you will know, but it contains more technology than you might think. Even though it is a token of gratitude, the idea of receiving an artifact of this level of technology for free is just… Really.”

“Of course it’s a joke. Anyway, thank you. I’ll give it a try.”

I think it’s pretty good because you don’t have to worry about losing it.

As long as you have the abilities contained here, you can become stronger from now on by slowly killing enemies and growing with your soul.

“I plan to return to the city where my guild is located this way. I look forward to hearing interesting news.”

“Thank you.”

“Just keep in mind. As you become stronger with the power you gain, there will be people who pay attention to you. Honest people won’t do that, but there will be those who notice your power and will be overly greedy and try to take it from you.”

“Can’t you even take care of your own food? You have to be as careful as possible and grow up without being caught.”

After hearing my answer, Gloria smiled as if it was fun.

“Please look forward to it. It would be better to have a lot of allies around you. Well then, let’s just part ways.”

Gloria put the Tentacle Fairy into her sleeve, and one of the strings on her head started to light up and her body disappeared.

‘Now that I think about it, he was an alchemist.’

Like the Blink from earlier, it seems like all the strings tied to the hair were artifacts.

‘How much does it all cost in money?’

This is a person who carries a huge amount of money on his head.

‘Then I guess I’ll have to get some weapons and go out first. I hope Enin doesn’t scold me for being late.’

I became a little scared to go out.