Chapter 60: Fire & Ice Showdown

Relief was short-lived.

As soon as Roy took a breath of relief from surviving, a distant memory returned—when Ber first appeared.

The situation now felt eerily similar.

No one knew exactly how Aqua would manifest, but if she showed up in an unusable form like Ber had, Roy would be forced to find a way to survive on his own again.

Ber hesitated to jump into the lake.

Normally, whether it was a lake or an ocean, he wouldn’t have cared.

But this time, it seemed like touching water imposed some sort of penalty that lowered his abilities.

Just as Roy, whose legs were no longer restrained by the monster, began to move toward the surface—

***

“Poruru!” (Contractor!)

In front of Roy’s eyes, the lake water began to gather into droplets, eventually taking on a defined shape.

Contrary to Roy’s worries, Aqua did not appear in egg form.

She manifested as a tiny mermaid princess with shimmering blue hair, radiating a vivid presence beneath the water.

Her large sapphire eyes sparkled the moment they met Roy’s gaze, just like sunlight reflecting off the sea’s surface.

“Mmgh…!”

Roy wanted to tell her how happy he was to see her after such a long time, but he couldn’t speak underwater.

Instead, he quickly initiated a mental conversation with Aqua.

‘Aqua, it’s been a while. As you can see, I’m currently…’

Before Roy could even finish expressing his thoughts, the monster coiled around him began to tremble violently and recoiled from his body.

Despite being a water-dwelling creature capable of breathing underwater, the monster writhed as if it had been tossed onto a burning stove.

Now freed, Roy watched as Aqua swam up to him and gently pressed her lips against the tip of his nose.

“Poru…” (I missed you, Contractor.)

The moment Aqua greeted him, Roy found himself able to breathe underwater.

He reached out and wrapped his arms gently around her small form.

Like Ber, Aqua had shrunk to a fraction of her original size—barely a tenth.

Although her abilities had clearly diminished as well, they were still more than enough to protect Roy.

As Roy had expected, the Spirit Kings were appearing in the order they had once been summoned.

After Aqua, there would be the Earth Spirit King, Solum, followed by the Wind Spirit King, Spiritus.

Ber, reminiscing about others he missed as much as Aqua, carefully studied her new appearance.

‘She got cuter.’

“Poru, poru.” (I like how I look now too.)

Unlike Ber’s deep male voice, Aqua’s was soft and feminine.

Her true form had been revered across the continent as a goddess-like beauty, with statues modeled after her in many places.

Now, however, she looked so cute one could barely resist pinching her cheeks.

“Can you help Ber take care of the monsters outside?”

Aqua tilted her head, as if wondering why Roy was asking something so obvious.

The snake-shaped monster that had restrained Roy was already lifeless.

The lake surged upward in a massive column of water.

The torrent twisted like a living creature, sweeping through the sky and dragging the surrounding monsters into the lake.

The bee-like monsters flailed as their wings got drenched, struggling to escape.

But after Aqua safely pulled Roy out of the lake, she began freezing its surface.

The lake became an underwater prison from which no monster could escape—and slowly, they perished within.

***

[Level up: +10]

[Level up: +1]

[Level up: +10]

[Level up: +10]

Just like Jihoo had advised, Roy quickly leveled up to 20 in an instant.

[You’ve reached Level 20! You can now activate one trait!]

The sensation was similar to what he had felt when he reached Level 10—his entire body became filled with renewed energy, dispelling the fatigue of battle.

‘Traits.’

[Please choose one of the following traits:]

[Spirit Evolution (Applicable targets: Mulkyber, Aqua)]

[Flame Rain]

[Fire Wings]

[Ice Arrow]

[Water Whip]

Perhaps because he had just summoned Aqua, more water-related traits were now available.

Roy made his decision without hesitation, selecting Spirit Evolution and applying it to Aqua.

“Porururu.” (This feels strange.)

Aqua shivered slightly, like someone caught in the cold.

Just as with Ber, Aqua’s colors grew more vibrant after receiving the Spirit Evolution trait.

Even while standing still, her flowing hair undulated like waves, radiating life.

“Pi.” (It’s been a while.)

“Poru.” (…I should’ve been summoned first.)

Ber and Aqua exchanged glances.

There was no touching reunion—just sharp, wary glares as if sizing each other up for battle.

Ber settled on Roy’s right shoulder first.

Not to be outdone, Aqua darted over and perched on the left, flicking her mermaid tail against Ber’s side.

Ber’s round eyes narrowed into a glare, and just as he prepared to retaliate, Roy stepped in to mediate.

“Fight later. Get along for now, okay?”

Just as their powers differed, the Spirit Kings each had unique personalities—and they often clashed whenever they met.

In particular, Ber and Aqua—being Fire and Water Spirit Kings—argued even more frequently than the others.

***

“Let’s move.”

Roy stepped onto the frozen surface of the lake and walked toward the shore.

His entire body was soaked, and the breeze made him shiver.

Sensing this, Aqua quickly evaporated the moisture from his clothes.

Roy, grateful, gently patted her head before hurrying forward.

But Roy didn’t get far before he was forced to stop.

Spiky monsters resembling chestnut burrs began raining down in front of him.

Each was about the size of an adult man’s fist and had a single round eye.

They rolled as they landed, then unfolded long limbs and stood up.

“Well, that’s a new one.”

He’d never seen these in the As continent before.

[Level 20 monster: One-Eyed Chestnut!]

It was a name that matched its appearance perfectly.

“Ber, Aqua.”

At Roy’s call, both spirits leapt from his shoulders and took to the air.

Trying to one-up each other, Ber was the first to unleash Flame Rain.

“Screeeeech—”

One-eyed Chestnut Monsters, their bodies ablaze, scattered in all directions.

Some frantically rolled on the ground or against trees to put out the fire, while others charged straight at Roy.

“Fora!” (How dare you!)

Aqua stepped in front of Roy, forming dozens of ice arrows around her.

She wanted to summon hundreds, not just dozens, but with Roy’s limited mana, this was the best she could manage.

The area around Roy cooled rapidly under the influence of Aqua’s magic.

As Aqua swung her tail from above, the ice arrows shot one by one toward the One-eyed Chestnut Monsters.

Each arrow froze a monster on contact, dropping them to the ground.

Roy felt drained every time Ber and Aqua used their abilities, but as he leveled up, vitality quickly returned to his tired body.

“Status window.”

Roy’s level displayed on the screen was already 22.

With Aqua joining the fight, his leveling speed had clearly improved compared to when Ber fought alone.

‘At this rate, I should be able to reach level 30 at minimum before this mission ends.’

Even without any buffs yet, his leveling speed was impressive—thanks to the wide-area attacks they could now use.

Leveling up wasn’t a problem—the real issue was that finding Shin Jimin was harder than expected.

“Ber, Aqua. Can you help me find a woman trapped behind iron bars nearby?”

It might not be Shin Jimin, but if he checked each person one by one, he’d find her eventually.

“Beeep.” (Of course.)

“Fororor.” (Leave it to me, Contract Holder.)

Ber and Aqua shot up into the sky as if in competition.

In the blink of an eye, the two spirits became little dots in the air.

Aqua was the first to return.

“Foror, foror.” (One person in the northeast, two in the southwest.)

“Beeeep!” (I saw them too!)

Ber followed, looking slightly miffed at being late.

Roy dashed off in the direction the spirits indicated.

Ber and Aqua flew alongside him, taking out monsters that appeared along the way as if competing to see who could do it faster.

With each level gained, Roy’s speed increased as well.

“There’s someone here!”

The first person he found, unfortunately, wasn’t Shin Jimin.

The name hanging from the man’s neck was ‘Lee Chulhun.’

Roy offered a respectful nod of condolence to the man bearing that name, then quickly ran past her.

“I’m over here!”

Following the spirits’ directions, he passed the second person and finally reached the third.

At last, he found Shin Jimin.

Shin Jimin waved both hands with a radiant smile.

“…You’re not scared?”

“Nope! This is absolutely thrilling!”

Roy swallowed hard as he glanced at the caterpillar-shaped monsters surrounding her.

Thick hair sprouted all over the wriggling caterpillars, and sticky fluids clung to the iron bars whenever they moved.

Most people would’ve screamed in disgust, but Shin Jimin’s expression was as cheerful as if she were at a concert.

“I seriously think I’m the luckiest person alive! I was praying so hard to get paired with Roy!”

Her cheeks flushed pink as she bounced with excitement.

To her, this was more thrilling than winning the lottery.

“Oh, right. Let me cast a buff on you!”

Her level was 258.

That was quite high.

She was a sought-after buffer whom many top guilds had tried to recruit.

But she made more than enough money freelancing and spent her days happily fangirling over her favorite Hunter idols—so she turned them all down.

“Thank you.”

The moment the green glow from Shin Jimin’s hand reached Roy, his pupils trembled.

It felt similar to leveling up, but the sensation was different—a warm energy wrapped around him, making his whole body feel light.

It felt like both his mana and physical abilities had doubled.

“Beeep?” (What is this?)

“Fororor!” (I’m overflowing with power!)

Ber and Aqua were also affected, flapping their wings and tails with renewed vigor.

“Gasp! Did you summon a water spirit too? That is so cute!”

Shin Jimin let out a squeal as she placed both hands on her cheeks.

Ber, the chubby red chick, was already adorable, but Aqua—formed from the hues of the sea and shaped like a tiny mermaid princess—had everything it took to capture a girl’s heart.

It was then that Shin Jimin’s high-pitched squeal stirred the caterpillar monsters.