Chapter 67: The Spirit King of Lightning

To form a contract with a Spirit, one needed a deep understanding of nature, strong elemental affinity, and an abundance of mana.

Even if all these were met, without being chosen by the Spirit, no contract could be made.

‘Is it even possible?’

Irellin looked at Yongje standing before her.

The man who had come to the forest and slain the Fallen Dragon.

The man who, as payment for killing the enemy that ruined the forest, formed a subjugation contract and crossed into another dimension. Yet, there was still much she didn’t know about him.

That he was fighting someone.

And that he was incredibly powerful.

Among all the humans Irellin had seen over her long life, he was one of the few with truly exceptional skills.

‘…Is he even human?’

Usually, his aura was disciplined and controlled, making it hard to notice. But occasionally, when his energy leaked out, her body flinched.

That was happening now as well.

Uuuung!

The energy flowing from Yongje’s body made her flinch.

This was on a completely different level than before.

From that small body, a massive forest seemed to radiate. That much abundant mana was pouring from him.

Any ordinary human would have died.

Yongje absorbed the immense energy as his own. Irellin watched the entire process, swallowing hard.

Yongje clenched his fist, then relaxed it, feeling the change within himself. His gaze turned toward Irellin.

Startled from her daze, Irellin quickly snapped to attention and spoke.

“Ready?”

[Begin.]

“Alright, stand here.”

Irellin led Yongje onto the Spirit Summoning Circle she had drawn in front of the World Tree.

“Before summoning the Spirit, there’s something you need to know. Spirits are both kind and violent beings. If you’re compatible with them, they’re endlessly kind. But if not, they’ll try to kill you.”

[Is that so?]

“If the Spirits turn hostile, run away immediately. No being outside the Spirit Realm can ever defeat a Spirit.”

[If they turn hostile, does that mean I’ll never be able to contract with a Spirit?]

“Yes. That’s why we say the Spirits choose us, not the other way around.”

[Is it hard to contract with the Spirit King?]

“I don’t know. The Spirit King is the most difficult of all the Spirits. Sometimes all Spirits reject a candidate, and sometimes all accept them. They’re truly capricious.”

[They’re really fickle, huh.]

“No matter how much I say it, nothing compares to experiencing it yourself. Now, place your hand on the World Tree and channel mana into the summoning circle.”

[Like this?]

Yongje placed his right hand on the World Tree’s trunk and sent mana flowing from his feet to activate the summoning circle.

Blue mana moved along the lines, filling the Spirit Summoning Circle.

Uuuung!

Uuung!

The color of the mana filling the summoning circle changed.

From red…

To blue.

To yellow.

To green.

To indigo.

Then, a spectrum of colors divided the circle into five sections, each glowing with its own light.

[This is normal, right?!]

At Yongje’s question, Irellin’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide.

“…He’s a real monster.”

[Don’t just be surprised, explain.]

“…Ah, sorry. The color of the summoning circle shows the elemental affinity of the contractor. Red means fire, blue means water or ice, yellow means earth, green means wind, and indigo means lightning.”

Irellin swallowed nervously and continued.

“Normally, only the single element with the highest affinity appears. It’s unusual to see all five colors like this. I’ve never seen it before.”

[Hmm. Having many colors isn’t a problem, right? It means all affinities are good.]

“Maybe. Honestly, I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve seen a situation like this, so I can’t promise what will happen.”

[Well, I guess we’ll find out when we try. What do I do next?]

“You have to feel nature and open the door through the World Tree.”

From here, it was a matter of perception.

This wasn’t something someone could teach and have you follow; you had to awaken it yourself to enter the Spirit Realm.

[Open the door, huh.]

Yongje closed his eyes and focused on nature.

Then, the multicolored light shone brilliantly, wrapping around his body.

It danced around him like a whirl, then flowed into the World Tree, creating a gate to the Spirit Realm.

Yongje opened his eyes and looked at Irellin.

[I’ll be back.]

“Be careful. If it’s dangerous, come back immediately.”

[Got it.]

Yongje stepped through the wide-open gate.

At that moment, his body and soul separated.

• Yongje’s soul flowed into the open door of the World Tree. Irellin caught his collapsing body and laid him on the ground.

“You’ll be okay, right?”

Spirit Realm.

The place where Spirits dwelled.

It had never been described in detail during Dragon Lair Raising, so everything she saw was unfamiliar.

A meadow filled with colorful flowers.

Warm, gentle sunlight.

‘It’s so quaint.’

She moved forward, searching for the presence of Spirits.

After a short walk, she spotted tiny flickering lights floating above the field.

Lower Spirits.

Beings whose power was still weak, unable to form proper shapes.

There was no distinct sound.

They simply seemed curious about her. Neither fearful nor hostile.

“Are there any stronger friends than you?”

At her question, the Lower Spirits gathered, forming an arrow shape.

Following it, Irellin found a bridge.

A massive bridge connecting two cliffs.

Below the bridge was an abyss.

She climbed onto the swaying bridge and crossed it. Lower Spirits followed, circling around her.

‘The contract should go smoothly.’

After crossing, she encountered tiny fairies no bigger than fingers.

Checking with the Gold Dragon’s Eye, they were Lesser Spirits.

[Human.]

[No.]

[Curious.]

[Who are you?]

[Nice to meet you.]

The Lesser Spirits spoke in simple word forms. They showed no resistance.

“I want to meet the Spirit King. Will you guide me?”

[Over there.]

[That way.]

[This way.]

[So curious!]

Following the path the Lesser Spirits showed, she crossed another cliff bridge and met Intermediate Spirits.

They were animal-sized beings.

Unlike the earlier Spirits, their reaction was different than expected.

[Hmm…]

[Haaam.]

Several of the Intermediate Spirits glanced at her with indifferent expressions before turning away.

[It’s been a while since a human came this far.]

[I sense strong energy.]

[It’s hard for us to contract, but you have to go further.]

[You should be careful.]

Though some still showed goodwill.

‘Something feels off.’

With her caution rising, she crossed to the next cliff, where Advanced Spirits appeared.

These ones showed more clear emotions.

[Grrrrr.]

[Is it him?]

[Hey, stop right there.]

A fire crocodile.

An ice bird.

A stone treant.

Several of these elemental Advanced Spirits blocked her path.

[Get lost.]

“What?”

[Get lost. Unless you want to die.]

Are the Spirits I’m allowed to meet only up to Intermediate level?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a lightning wolf and a wind bird appeared before her.

[We will guide you.]

[You, get lost. Don’t interfere.]

The fire Advanced Spirit sneered.

[That won’t happen.]

[Then it can’t be helped.]

Each Spirit enhanced their element, creating an intense energy.

[Human. Follow us to the Palace of Lightning.]

[You have only one chance. Don’t miss it. If you do, we can’t protect your life either.]

“What?”

[Move!]

As the Spirits signaled, they moved.

The wind Advanced Spirit summoned a huge storm, obscuring vision.

Meanwhile, the lightning Advanced Spirit moved at tremendous speed, biting into the Spirits who tried to attack her.

[Arrrgh!]

[You bastard!]

Ignoring the fight between Advanced Spirits behind her, she ran forward.

Seven bridges appeared before her eyes.

Seven castles floated against a black backdrop.

Each castle symbolized an element.

Fire, ice, wind, earth, lightning, light, and darkness.

‘They told me to go to the Palace of Lightning, right?’

Earth fell from all directions.

The castle was built there.

Thunder rumbled toward the bridge leading to it.

[Where do you think you’re going?!]

[Grab her!]

She ignored the voices behind her.

Other Spirits would block them anyway.

She ran vigorously and stepped onto the bridge.

Quickly crossing the shaking bridge, she reached the land where the castle stood.

“Hoo…”

Catching her breath, she looked back.

The Spirits were fiercely battling behind her.

Hail fell from every direction.

Thunder crashed wildly.

Explosions erupted all around.

The Advanced Spirits unleashed all their power in battle.

‘What the hell is going on?’

The question in her mind was answered by a voice from behind.

“The contractors of fire, ice, and earth are targeting you.”

She turned to identify the speaker.

A long beard and two horns.

A serpentine body.

The Lightning Dragon.

A Spirit of lightning thrumming with intense thunder energy.

She used the Gold Dragon’s Eye to scan the noble being.

[Using Gold Dragon’s Eye.]

[Spirit King of Lightning (SSS)]

Except for the name and rank, no other information appeared.

This meant it was stronger than her.

“What do you mean by ‘targeting me’?”

“Literally that. The contractors who made contracts with the Spirit Kings of fire, ice, and earth asked them to stop you from contracting.”

Thinking calmly, she realized it was true.

Both the Intermediate and Advanced Spirits had targeted only the fire, ice, and earth Spirits.

“Why aren’t you targeting me?”

“I want you. Honestly, I never thought someone like you would appear in this dimension.”

“Someone like me?”

“There’s no one on Earth who can properly handle the power of Spirits.”

“You know about Earth?”

“Of course. I am the Spirit King who exists on Earth.”

Being a Spirit King who exists on Earth meant…

Was there another Spirit King in a different dimension?

Or was the Spirit Realm connected to all dimensions?

“Wait. Are there really other Spirit Kings in other dimensions?”

“I don’t know. I was born here, and here I can only see Earth.”

The Spirit Realm connected to Earth.

That meant the contractors who formed contracts with the Spirit Kings of fire, ice, and earth were also on Earth.

But just moments ago, the Lightning Spirit King had said with his own mouth that no one there could properly wield the power of Spirits.

He never imagined someone like her would appear.

‘Three.’

Thinking of that number reminded her of what another successor had said.

• The second, third, and fourth-ranked Guardians will move simultaneously.

If they were Apostles of the Thunder Dragon God, they would know how to contract with Spirit Kings.

It was definitely by the Apostles’ orders that she was being blocked from contracting with the Spirits.

‘Should I call this lucky?’

She had come to contract with Spirits but ended up discovering the identity of the Apostles.

“If I contract with you, does that mean I can’t contract with the other Spirit Kings?”

“You can. However—”

“However?”

“The contractors who have contracts with Spirit Kings must die. Only then can a new contractor form a contract.”

A sly grin.

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

Now that she knew who they were, facing them wasn’t difficult.

She raised her head and looked at the Lightning Dragon’s face.

“How do I form a contract with you?”

“With that will, it’s enough.”

Shuaaaak!

[Contracting with the Spirit King of Lightning.]