episode_0068

“Wouldn’t that be better than over there?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking if it wouldn’t be better than over there.”

“Huh…?”

Maria’s friendly demeanor vanished in an instant at my words.

As if unable to comprehend my words or finding them absurd, her expression twisted in disbelief.

“Are you saying Tia is better than me for some reason? She hasn’t even made a contract with a spirit yet, so she can’t even use spirit magic. Please don’t compare me to such a lowlife.”

“Well, at least in terms of manners, it seems like Tia is better. Oh, and appearance too. Tia is much better. Maybe because Tia is cute.”

“What, what did you say? Ha!”

Maria let out an incredulous laugh, raising the corner of her mouth.

Then she turned her mockery towards me.

“You were called a sacred figure rising in the art of swordsmanship, but I didn’t know you were this vulgar! I can’t even feel like talking to you anymore!”

“I can’t either. Stop disrupting the test any further and just disappear from my sight.”

“Y-you…!”

As I didn’t yield an inch, she trembled with anger uncontrollably.

It was satisfying. Being an adult in mind, it’s only natural not to lose in a verbal spat against a mere child.

…Childish, you say?

No, it was to boost Tia’s morale.

As an adult, one cannot simply leave their charge to fend for themselves. This was a necessary act.

“You two are bickering amongst yourselves; let’s go, Horn! We’ve wasted enough time for nothing!”

Leaving those words behind, Maria strode off confidently. Then, she began to run back across the forest with her original partner.

I turned around to face Tia who was behind me once again.

“Sian…”

“Yeah.”

Tia hesitated with her usual spirited gesture.

Right. She must be grateful.

She probably never had anyone on her side until now; this must be a first for her.

If she expresses her gratitude, I should proceed with the test without hesitation. That’s what being an adult entails.

“Sian. Do I… look cute?”

“…Huh?”

Her unexpectedly flustered words.

“Um… am I… cute?”

“…Is that so?”

Tia’s face reddened as a faint smile crept up on her lips.

She seemed to have misunderstood something profoundly.

But…

“Hehe, I’ve never heard such words before… Th-thank you.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Shall we quickly run again? We shouldn’t fall behind other examinees.”

“Yeah!”

Since she seemed to have regained her confidence, I decided to let it slide.

We ran again. Tia sensed a stronger aura of energy in a certain direction using her magic.

Feeling delayed, we picked up the pace.

***

“Sian, the detected place is right over there.”

Due to the fairy tears, Tia spoke with a strained voice about the even more intense aura.

The area Tia pointed to was a rugged, desolate field.

Occasional puddles made it seem damp, and gray lifeless weeds and vines were still visible.

“Good job, Tia. Let’s now split up briefly to find anything sparkling. If you’re tired, let me know. If a spirit appears, shout immediately to call me.”

“Okay, got it.”

Fairy tears emitted a bluish light due to the aura and magic they contained.

It would be more efficient to search separately rather than together.

After separating from Tia, about 30 minutes passed.

“Sian…! Come over here!”

In the space where silence had settled for a while, I heard Tia calling out to me.

At the guided location, there was a puddle. Something small was shimmering inside the puddle.

“I sense a strong aura and magic… Is this like fairy tears?”

“Really…?! Does that mean we’ve passed the third trial?”

“Yes. Well done, Tia. You must have endured a lot due to the aura.”

“I’m relieved…! Thank you! Thank you, Sian…!!”

“What did I do? It was you who persevered until here. Let’s get it out quickly.”

“Okay!”

Tia reached into the shallow pool with a hint of trepidation, lifting up the tears of the fairy.

Resembling jewels that emitted a blue light, it was indeed the fairy’s tears.

“In the process of obtaining it, I managed to do so smoothly without encountering any lesser corrupted spirits.”

Even if Tia were to faint due to her sensitivity to negative energy from not forming a contract with a spirit until this point, “But complacency is forbidden. The real challenge starts now.”

While Tia joyfully embraced the fairy’s tears in her heart, the tears emitted a strong negative energy.

While submerged in water, the negative energy wasn’t released outwardly. However, now that they had been lifted, countless corrupted spirits drawn by the negative energy would flock towards them.

Including the lowest-ranking, lesser, and possibly even higher-level spirits.

The lowest-ranking ones may not cause physical harm, but the lesser and intermediate spirits, possessing forms and casting spells, would pose a danger.

“Tia, let’s get out of here quickly. If we delay, those corrupted spirits will soon swarm us.”

“Eek!”

We immediately started running back the way we came.

Within minutes of running, chilling sounds could already be heard from various directions.

“Keeheeheehee… Heeheehee!”

“Keeheeheeheeheehee!”

“Aaahhh!”

Tears welled up in Tia’s eyes.

“The pursuing speed will be similar to ours! Just keep running straight; we can shake them off!”

Tia nodded frantically as she ran.

However, at that moment…

“…!”

A chilling sensation enveloped my entire body.

Urgently, I warned Tia, “Tia! Watch out!!”

“Eh? Wha- Aaah!”

-Kugwang!!

An incident occurred.

An unknown magical attack flew towards Tia as she ran, crashing into the ground.

Rock fragments scattered everywhere. It was a truly perilous moment.

If I hadn’t embraced Tia and stopped, she would have been hit directly by the magical attack.

“S-Sian?”

Tia blushed, oblivious to what happened. But this was no time for that.

“What in the world…!”

Who in their right mind would cast a lethal spell at someone walking by?

I immediately sensed the magic and tried to locate the culprit who cast the spell. However…

“How on earth! I concealed my magic as much as possible before casting it…”

There was no need to search; the culprit revealed themselves in front of us.

“Maria! What madness is this!”

“Now that it has come to this, hand over the fairy’s tears! You wouldn’t want to face the spirits yourselves, would you!”

“What did you say?! The audacity of-”

“Aaahh! Aaahhh!”

“Keeheeheeheeheehee…!”

The sounds of corrupted spirits drawing near grew louder.

Simultaneously, we turned our heads in the direction of the noise.

It was a hair-trigger situation.

“Damn!”

“Where are you running off to!”

Maria and his companions fled before our eyes.

We couldn’t let them escape.

“Tia! Let’s chase after them!”

“S-Sian… That’s… ”

“Why! What’s wrong?!”

“…I think my ankle got twisted. What should I do… *sob*…”

“What…?”

My mind went blank for a moment.

If we stayed put, we would end up facing the corrupted spirits!

“And… I think I’ve reached my limit. I feel dizzy… *sob*… Sorry, Sian. Leave me behind…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

…Stay calm.

Even if she’s panicking, I can’t afford to waver.

“Keeheeheehee… Heehee….”

“Aaahhh!”

“Keekeekeekeekeekeekee!”

Approximately four corrupted spirits’ laughter could be heard.

Judging by the intensity of the magic felt, there was likely one intermediate-level entity and three lesser entities.

…I can win this.

Currently, I am at the early stage of 4th rank. I can handle a battle against a high-level corrupted spirit.

The problem is that I have to protect Tia while fighting.

“Tia, pull yourself together for now.”

“Sian…? W-What are you trying to-”

I pulled out a plain iron sword from the two swords stuck in the scabbard.

“The cursed sword is a no-go.”

It might be quick to handle, but the risk is high.

Since it consumes magic power so extensively, after using it, I might find myself in a difficult situation due to overexertion.

– Hwaaa!

I infused aura into the iron sword.

“Keeheeheehee!”

“Keeheehee… heeheehee….”

“Kyaaaah!”

Soon, the spirits revealed themselves.

As expected, one intermediate and three lower-level ones. Unlike the lowest grade seen before, they all had distinct forms.

The intermediate and lower-level ones appeared as ice spirits resembling human figures.

The remaining two were wind attribute spirits with a mix of cat and tiger-like animal forms.

True to corrupted spirits, they all bore a colorless gray hue.

“Kyaaah!”

One of the lower corrupted spirits that had been on guard against the manifested aura rushed towards Tia holding a fairy’s tear.

No chance.

– Chwaah!

Before reaching Tia, I swiftly cut it down.

“Keeheehee….”

Seeing even the faint form disappear, the intermediate spirit belatedly began casting spirit magic.

Ice shards instantly formed in the air, flying towards us.

– Puhpuhpuhpuh!

As if coordinating with it, the other two lower entities simultaneously rushed towards us.

I deflected all the ice shards coming towards Tia and me with my sword.

“Hup!”

– Clang! Clang! Clang!

Following that, the two lower spirits attacked Tia.

Without missing a beat, I turned around and also took down the two spirits.

“That’s it! Now only one left….”

– Whoosh!

“Huh?”

A chilling sensation at that moment.

Something swiftly passed by me.

It was an intermediate corrupted spirit in human form.

When I turned to Tia, there was no sign of the spirit anywhere.

“Kikik.”

“Tia…?”

…The feared situation unfolded.

Tia, who had been crouching, as if restraining herself, suddenly stood up as if she hadn’t been injured at all.

And her eyes now glowed with a red light that wasn’t there just a moment ago.

“Sian~. Kikikik.”

“This is bad….”

She had been possessed.

The intermediate spirit, which I thought had weakened, bypassed Tia’s defenses and possessed her mind.

Tia… no, the corrupted spirit possessing Tia reached out its hand.

– Chwajwajwajwong!

Dozens of blue magic circles appeared around her.

All of them were ice attribute spirit magic.

“This is bad…!!!”

“Kikikikik.”

I raised my sword in disbelief.