Chapter 65: Pure Greed

‘Pollen is settled. Next, I should head to Maim Castle.’

Moving north from Pollen leads to Maim Castle.

Both were about a day’s journey from Opern.

Pollen was located to the west of Opern Castle, while Maim was situated to the north.

In truth, both were too small to truly be called castles; Pollen and Maim were operated in much the same way.

‘They must have heard the news from Pollen, so they’ve likely hidden everything away in Maim.’

I had to move to purify that place as well.

If I wanted to fully implement my plans by summer, I had to hurry.

Even so, I had no choice but to stop by the place where Myuron was stationed.

“Young Master!

No, Territory Administrator.

It has been a long time!”

“Haha. It has. You look the same as ever, Myuron. Actually, haven’t you gotten even more tanned?”

“It is all thanks to you, Administrator.”

“You’ve been working hard.”

Myuron.

The man my father had assigned to me had become the perfect Agriculture Official.

I had heard that he was still carrying out his administrative duties, but his primary focus had shifted toward agriculture.

I was told he went out every morning to check on the crops and led his subordinates in organizing administrative tasks at night.

He was even quite busy teaching new farming techniques to the farmlands across the Direct Dominion.

If I had to pick the hardest worker in the family’s Spiritual Land, in my eyes, it was Myuron.

‘He’s a good man.’

And it was always a pleasure to see a good man.

I greeted Myuron, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, with a smile.

Since we were both busy, we didn’t waste time.

“Shall I show you the way immediately?”

“Of course! Don’t worry, I’m just here to check on things before I head out.”

“It doesn’t matter even if you came for an audit.

I am doing my job well.”

“That’s good confidence.

I wish the other Administrative Officers were more like you.”

“Pffft.

I’ll take that as a joke.”

It was nice to reunite after so long, but I pushed personal conversation aside for a moment.

I needed to know the progress of the waterway construction in the Spiritual Land first.

‘Agriculture begins and ends with water.’

I was the one who had drawn up the plans for the waterway construction as the Agriculture Official.

Since I hadn’t been able to see it through to the end, seeing the construction progress felt special to me.

“The speed of the waterway construction did slow down after you left, Administrator.”

“Is it because there is no Magician?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. We have very few Magicians in our Spiritual Land, so it can’t be helped. We can’t exactly go and bring my Master here either…”

Trying to build a waterway without Magic meant the progress was sluggish.

Although they said work continued through the winter, digging through frozen ground couldn’t possibly be fast.

However…

“Hmm? It doesn’t seem that slow, though.”

“We were lucky enough to make a connection. Or rather, we were able to recruit someone for a short time.”

The speed was surprisingly fast.

“What kind of connection?”

“I hired them using the budget allocated for the Agriculture Official.

They aren’t a Magician, but… a…”

“Speak up.”

“They are a Spiritist.”

“What?”

“I knew you would be surprised. It was a complete coincidence. A total fluke!”

A Spiritist.

I hadn’t even considered that possibility.

Throughout the nature of this other world, spirits were scattered everywhere.

They were divided into six ranks, excluding a few mutations: Lowest, Low, Mid, High, Highest, and King.

Their power was substantial; even a Low-rank spirit could stand shoulder to shoulder with a Knight depending on how it was used.

‘The problem is that it depends on how they are used.’

Spirits are nature itself.

‘Is it easy to utilize nature?’

It could never be easy.

Since a Spiritist must handle nature itself, many struggled with the act of summoning and controlling spirits.

‘And then there’s the issue of their personalities. There’s a reason they are hard to systematize.’

Those born with a natural affinity for nature become Spiritists when they form a contract with a spirit.

The interesting thing was the nature of these Spiritists.

It was unclear whether they gained an affinity because of their personalities or if their personalities became that way because they gained an affinity.

Whatever the cause, Spiritists tended to have very unique temperaments.

‘They are the embodiment of their element.’

A Spiritist’s personality usually followed the attribute of their natural affinity.

Earth Spiritists tended to be quiet and stoic like the earth.

Wind Spiritists were often born with a wanderlust that kept them moving from place to place.

Fire and water were a bit different.

‘Being fire doesn’t necessarily mean one is always volatile.’

Both fire and water possessed various characteristics.

Therefore, it was difficult to say they only had one type of personality.

Regardless, Spiritists enjoyed traveling alongside nature and moving with their spirits.

As a result, while they weren’t extremely rare in number, they were hard to encounter.

A Spiritist was someone you could only meet if fate allowed it.

‘And they don’t get along with us.’

Furthermore, Magicians and Spiritists weren’t on particularly good terms.

Spiritists were those who handled nature as it was.

They were people who enjoyed nature rather than trying to analyze or dominate it.

Magicians, on the other hand, were seekers of the world’s mysteries.

They analyzed nature and ultimately sought to manipulate it.

Naturally, their personalities didn’t mesh well.

Sometimes they were even called arch-enemies.

Such a Spiritist was here in the Spiritual Land.

It was something I hadn’t known about.

“How did you meet them? And why is he helping the Spiritual Land?”

“It was literally a coincidence. It happened while we were in the middle of waterway construction during the winter.”

Myuron’s explanation wasn’t long.

The Spiritist was someone who had water as their primary attribute.

“The energy of water tends to decline during the winter.”

“That’s true.”

“But he said he grew curious because the energy here was increasing.”

The Spiritist had been living in hiding somewhere in the Spiritual Land.

He supposedly felt the energy of water spreading from the waterway by chance.

‘Is the water vein strong…?’

As they dug the waterway, the power of water became more abundant, and he was naturally drawn to it.

He had appeared naturally behind Myuron during the construction and asked with an innocent face.

“Could I perhaps offer some help?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re trying to find water, right?”

“Finding water… well, we’re digging a waterway…”

Myuron, who was never arrogant, did not mistreat the person who had appeared so mysteriously.

Perhaps after his experiences with me, he felt that outward appearances weren’t everything.

He said he had treated the man politely and answered his questions, even though the man was dressed in shabby clothes and had the gentle expression of a child.

***

After asking several questions, the man made a request first.

“Then, may I help you?”

“I don’t have much to give you in return… would that be alright?”

“As long as I can feel the energy of water, I don’t care!”

Enjoying the energy of water.

That was all the Spiritist wanted.

‘Interesting.’

He could have asked for something, but he didn’t.

“That is strange. Although they grow by feeling the energy, he could have asked for compensation.”

“Isn’t that just how Spiritists are?Oh, he’s right over there!”

Speak of the devil.

The Spiritist appeared right then.

“Myuron!”

A person was approaching brightly.

Thanks to the clothes Myuron had provided, he was starting to look quite refined.

‘Is that a spirit?’

He was running toward us, accompanied by a spirit possessing the energy of water.

We stared at each other as if scouting one another out.

“Oh?”

“Hmm…”

To be precise, the Spiritist began examining me as he drew closer.

“Are you a Magician?”

“That’s right.”

He paid no mind to the Knights or the Administrative Officers guarding my side.

He focused solely on me.

‘He’s more elegant than I expected. And the spirit is fascinating too.’

I fully sensed the energy held by the Water Spirit.

If it were a living creature, the Five Elements would circulate through it.

However, the Water Spirit contained only the energy of water, just as its name implied.

It was a being that shattered my common sense.

But since it was standing right in front of me, I couldn’t deny its existence.

While I focused further to sense the spirit, the Water Spiritist was also staring at me, concentrating.

“Mmm… Hmm… That’s strange…”

Curiosity.

Complexity.

Confusion.

He was showing various expressions without trying to hide them.

“It’s strange… so strange.”

“What is so strange?”

“Are you really a Magician?”

“I am. Shall I show you? MAGIC MISSILE!”

Whoosh!

Light flashed, and ten Magic Missiles manifested.

“Oh!”

“It’s Magic!”

While the people nearby were surprised by the Magic I cast, the Spiritist didn’t look surprised at all.

Instead, he nodded as he looked at the spell.

“You are definitely a Magician…

But why is it like that?”

“What are you talking about?”

The Spiritist tilted his head.

“I can sense nature… Gosh. There’s no way I should be able to sense nature from a Magician. But I do? What on earth is it? Hmm…”

He muttered to himself instead of answering.

I had heard there were many eccentric people among Spiritists, and the one before me was exactly that.

‘Still, that gives me my answer.’

He was confused right now.

He wasn’t sensing the mana circles accumulated in my heart.

He was definitely sensing the Internal Qi filling my Danjeon.

‘I haven’t used the Gui-Sik Grand Technique since I used the excuse of obtaining an artifact…’

I hadn’t particularly hidden my Internal Qi.

However, it was rare for someone to sense it first when I hadn’t revealed it.

‘Let’s see.’

I suddenly felt mischievous.

Rumble—

I pulled up the energy in my Danjeon so he could feel it clearly.

In that instant…

“Gah! Ack! What is this!”

The Spiritist jumped in surprise.

He stumbled backward.

“H-How!

What is this…

Huh?

It’s not just one thing!?”

“Do you feel something?”

“Wh-Who exactly are you!”

I was the one who wanted to know why he was acting like this.

‘It’s obvious, though.’

It was likely because he felt Internal Qi that was close to natural energy.

The Hyeonwon Dan Shingong I practiced was a cultivation method that didn’t just contain one specific attribute but converted natural energy into Internal Qi within the Danjeon.

So, it wasn’t strange for a Spiritist to feel that energy in my Danjeon.

“I am someone who possesses various powers.”

“What kind of power?”

The Spiritist asked, his eyes sparkling.

‘He really is like a child.’

They say Spiritists become more like children as their achievements deepen.

He revealed his emotions without hesitation.

“There’s no way I’d tell you the source of all my power, right?”

“Can’t you tell me!? I want to have it too, if possible!”

“Do you covet it?”

“Yes!”

He revealed his greed without hiding it at all.

However, that greed…

‘It isn’t murky.’

It was clear.

To think there was someone whose very greed was pure.

‘I wish the Wudang Taoists could learn a thing or two from this…

though Taoist Cheongjin was at least normal.’

It was like looking at a Taoist from the Murim.

Not a fake charlatan, but a real, proper Taoist.

And I knew exactly how to handle such Taoists.

“You want it, don’t you?”

“Yes! If possible! That…”

Flash—

The Spiritist revealed his spirit.

The Water Spirit that appeared looked like a young child made of blue light.

“Oh… now a spirit.”

“Whoa!”

While everyone was distracted by the manifested spirit, the Spiritist pointed at the Water Spirit and spoke.

“I think that energy would be helpful to this little one too.”

“Really? You think it would help?”

“Yes!”

“Fine. Then I shall teach you.”

“Ohhh!”

The Spiritist was incredibly excited.

‘Since it’s natural energy, it’s only natural that it would help a spirit. But I can’t just give it away for free.’

I didn’t know exactly how it would work, but it was something that helped the spirit.

It would be stranger if he wasn’t excited.

However, I had no intention of handing it over easily.

“But in exchange!”

“In exchange!?”

“You’ll have to have a little talk with me.”

“Pardon?”

“Shouldn’t we have an in-depth conversation?

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

“…Ah.”

I felt like I had hooked a good sucker.

A very sure one!