## Chapter 2059 – 2059. Savior Of The Academy
“I’ve decided on a mermaid.”
The appearance of a mermaid, the highest-grade water spirit, barely passed my standards. The fact that she had a fish lower body and thus no vagina was a major drawback. Still, her breasts were reasonably voluminous, so it wasn’t too bad.
Besides, the appearances of the other spirits were all far removed from humans, which also played a part.
“……”
The water spirits, including the mermaid, looked at me. Then, as if uninterested, they turned their heads away to look at Yuria. Their eyes were full of affection.
“What do you want?”
“Could you play another song for us?”
“Let’s be friends, friends!”
“Aren’t you thirsty? I’ll give you the cleanest water in the world!”
“I know a place deep in the sea where there’s treasure. Humans like shiny things, right? Should I bring it to you?”
I chuckled, watching the water spirits willingly wanting to become Yuria’s slaves. Even with my exceptional spirit affinity, they never approached me so favorably, yet they were acting like this towards Yuria.
Of course, Yuria also had a certain level of spirit affinity. As a genius, she also possessed the talent of a spiritist. However, since it was a different kind of talent, it was only at a level superior to ordinary people.
“What is your name?”
Yuria asked the mermaid. The mermaid happily replied.
“Are you talking about me? I’m Dalea. I rule the sea around here. Do you want any treasures from the sea?”
“Please make a contract with my master.”
I activated my spirit eyes. I appealed to her with my talent as a spiritist with my golden eyes.
“…With that man? I do feel a sense of familiarity, but it feels too hot… I don’t want to make a contract. I can sense the future a little, and… I feel like something unpleasant will happen if I make a contract with that man.”
The mermaid shuddered and refused.
A fish was rejecting me. My mood soured, and I frowned. Elena giggled beside me.
“I don’t need you either. Get lost.”
“Did you hear that? My master says he doesn’t need you. Get lost.”
“Huh? D-don’t you want treasure?!”
“Get lost.”
“Hwaaaaaaah!”
The mermaid cried and disappeared into the sea. I regretted it a little, looking at her disappearing form. I belatedly remembered a way to use the spirit orb to make her obey.
‘No, it might not have worked on her.’
I shook off the regret. After all, she was just a half-fish with no vagina. I decided to take one of the other two highest-grade water spirits.
I took out the spirit orb from my inventory.
The gazes that had been focused on Yuria instantly turned to me. Especially the lower-grade spirits, who were drawn to it as if by a magnet, slowly approached.
“Nature… I feel the power of nature.”
“If I have that…”
“I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything, so give it to me!”
I moved my mana. Blue lightning rose with the wind and swept around. The lower-grade spirits were startled and stepped back. Spirits are basically immune to physical attacks, but… if the power of a spirit is imbued in it, or if it’s a power close to nature, things are different. In this case, both applied.
“I don’t need you weaklings, so all of you get lost.”
After a few more threats, the lower-grade spirits disappeared in fear. What remained were the mid-grade or higher water spirits. Not even half of half of them.
Mid-grade spirits were useless, and I kept an eye on the high-grade spirits. If I couldn’t contract with the remaining highest-grade spirits, I would have to contract with a high-grade spirit.
I approached the dolphin and the swirling ball. The highest-grade spirits couldn’t take their eyes off the spirit orb either.
“If you contract with me, I’ll give you this. Who wants to contract with me?”
The first to react was the dolphin. The dolphin frowned fiercely and shouted.
“You impudent human. You dare try to contract with me with just that? If you give me ten times that, I might consider it!”
‘This one won’t do.’
Lower-grade spirits are weak, but they are not very intelligent, so they are easy to handle. On the other hand, mid-grade and higher spirits are intelligent and have a good grasp of their own power.
Even high-grade spirits were once called land gods and worshiped by humans. Since they have no lifespan limit, most of them look down on humans. By the time they become highest-grade spirits, their personalities are bad by human standards.
‘Usually, spiritists would try to appease them. Even if they give up the superiority of the contract, the powerful strength of the highest-grade spirit is attractive.’
But I had no intention of doing that. A spirit acting as my superior? Absolutely not.
“You’re out.”
“Show some respect, human. If I use my power, I can destroy this entire area.”
*Thud.*
Yuria’s dagger pierced the dolphin’s back. The writhing black lightning from the dagger slowly gnawed at the dolphin’s body.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“That’s the question I want to ask. Did you think I would let you get away with such outrageous remarks to my master?”
“Eeeeeeek! I treated you well because you had an unusual talent for playing music! How dare you!!”
The dolphin was enraged and began to gather its power. The calm sea began to churn with waves.
*Swish, swish, swish.*
Black chains sprang out from the shadows and bound the dolphin. Yuria held her dagger and slashed at the highest-grade spirit’s spirit body.
“Stooooop! It hurts! Aaaah!”
I watched with interest.
Black lightning.
It was suppressing the spirit power. It must have been fatal to the dolphin from the moment it was first attacked. Then, the shadow chains suppressed the spirit’s power, and the dagger cut off its life force.
‘She’s not just swinging the dagger randomly. Is Yuria sensing something I can’t see or feel?’
Soon, the dolphin let out a terrible scream and vanished.
The mid-grade water spirits fled in fear. The high-grade spirits distanced themselves from Yuria. The swirl of the remaining highest-grade spirit, the swirling ball, sped up. As if wary of Yuria.
I approached the swirling ball.
“Will you contract?”
“Y-you, you’re too hot, so you’re not compatible with us. A powerful being is already protecting you. Contracting with too powerful beings isn’t always a good thing.”
It seemed that the water spirits were avoiding me because of Inferna. Just as water and fire are opposites, spirits also instinctively avoid each other. I already knew that, so it wasn’t surprising.
“Come to think of it, I think I heard something like that before. That a contract with a powerful being is influenced by that powerful being.”
“That’s right! So, it’s better to decide on a contract carefully!”
“Okay. I’ll take your advice and decide carefully. Contract with me.”
I held out the spirit orb and stepped closer. Yuria took a position behind the swirling ball. Elena moved to the side to apply pressure.
“D-do I look easy to you?”
“Do we look easy to you?”
The moment the swirling ball tried to use its power in earnest, we would move immediately. No matter how high-grade a spirit is, it would be limited in a place that is not its territory.
“Will you contract? Or not?”
“I-I will.”
Even spirits were not fearless of death.
“I’ll give you the spirit orb as a price for the contract. If you listen to me well, I’ll give you additional spirit orbs from time to time. You must come whenever I call you. If you don’t, you’ll be penalized for violating the contract. I don’t care how much damage you’ll take… Don’t contract with any other humans besides me. Have you ever contracted with a human before?”
“This is my first time contracting. I tried to contract with other humans, but… they couldn’t handle it.”
“Couldn’t handle it, huh.”
Even spirits of the same grade have different strengths. The swirling ball might be exceptionally stronger than other spirits.
I was nervous before the contract.
‘It’s different from when I contracted with Arrest. Arrest didn’t feel any resistance and contracted with me. On the other hand, this one is instinctively feeling resistance.’
There could be a backlash.
I slowly held out the spirit orb towards the swirling ball. The swirling ball slowly accepted the spirit orb. The spirit orb in my hand rose and entered the inside of the swirling ball. The swirling ball was startled and shouted.
“Delicious!”
The contract was underway.
A path extended from the swirling ball and connected to me. I expected some backlash, but surprisingly, there was none.
Instead, an image was drawn.
A white sky and an endless expanse of water. I was standing naked on the surface of the water. There was not a single breeze. The only thing I felt was the sensation of water touching my feet.
I looked down. The water, which I thought was transparent, became darker as it went deeper. And there was a whirlpool inside. It was rotating violently and felt like a living being. That huge being recognized me.
I think I knew why the swirling ball had failed to contract with humans. Maybe it was stronger than Arrest or Inferna.
I chuckled.
“I am your master. Lower your eyes.”
Its name naturally came to mind.
“Terra.”
The image shattered.
In front of me was the swirling ball, Terra, floating in the air.
“I-I succeeded!”
Terra shouted. It seemed strangely happy. It somehow sounded like a woman’s voice. Gender has no meaning for spirits, though.
I was also in a good mood. Water, wind, fire. I had contracted with three highest-grade spirits. Moka, the thunder owl, was a high-grade spirit. Even if I excluded Makina, I was worthy of being called a great spiritist. Although I couldn’t use spirit magic.
“The start is good. The rest of you, get lost.”
Terra was obedient. Following my will, it slightly raised its power and threatened the other water spirits. The water spirits were terrified and disappeared. Even though it looked a bit goofy, Terra was a highest-grade spirit.
Having achieved my goal, I moved on to the next plan.
*Tzzzzzzzt!*
I used a space-movement scroll to move to a lake in Pyeongando. The lake, reflecting the moonlight, was beautiful in itself.
As soon as I arrived, I summoned Terra. A swirling ball made of water appeared in the air. It had no eyes or mouth, but it slowly flew around, as if curious.
“Where is this? I feel a strange power.”
“Have you looked around? Then now, turn the lake upside down.”
“Huh?”
In the original work, [Savior of the Academy], this was a place you could come to through a sub-quest. Originally, you had to meet various conditions such as items or rituals, but it was too annoying and time-consuming, so I decided to use the power of the highest-grade water spirit I had contracted with.
“There’s a building with a unique structure inside the lake. Turn all the water in the lake upside down and pull it out. There will be various gimmicks, but somehow pull it out.”
“…Uh. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Just do it.”
“……”
