Chapter 111
Item Presentation (2)
When I played Aether World, I had contracted with spirit beasts a few times, since I was quite an experienced player. Although it was challenging, there were spirit beasts that would contract with you if you met the conditions.
However, if you couldn’t maintain your affinity with the spirit beast, the contract penalty was that it would be terminated. I often had my contracts forcibly terminated.
Why?
Spirit beasts need to grow by receiving mana from mages, but with Mana Leakage Syndrome, I had no mana to offer.
Ultimately, I gave up on contracting familiars entirely in the game.
But reality is different. In a situation where even a single opportunity could be crucial, I didn’t want to give up before even trying, just because I had failed before.
So, before attempting a familiar contract, I received the ‘Leafanel’s Green Key’ item to raise my spirit affinity a little.
[You have made a Soul Contract with Spirit Leafanel!]
[You can inherit Leafanel’s abilities and traits based on your affinity!]
I never dreamed I would contract with the greatest spirit beast, who was once a divine spirit.
Moreover, I didn’t need to worry about contract termination. Leafanel herself had suggested the contract because my Mana Leakage Syndrome was actually beneficial.
‘Is this a dream or what…’
Opportunities I couldn’t even imagine in the game were coming true in reality.
It still didn’t feel real.
[5-star Spirit Beast Leafanel]
* Attribute: Nature
* Affinity: It’s okay to stake my heart
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r om k i ng m t l .o rg
* Trait Inheritance
– [Self-Purification (Lv.3)]
– [Whisper of the Wind (Lv.4)]
– [Memories to the Flowers (Lv.2)]
Indeed, a divine spirit is a divine spirit. Though she had lost all her abilities, she still had several traits. The fact that I could inherit three of them must be due to my high affinity with her.
Aether World’s ‘affinity system’ didn’t display much information to players.
Unlike other games, which would show affection levels in numbers, here, you could only vaguely guess.
Still, it wasn’t hard to guess the degree of our relationship.
Maybe it was because I had given her my heart to regain her life, but it seemed like our affinity was nearly maxed out.
Had I possessed mana, I could have aimed for skills like ‘Spirit Summoning’ or ‘Union with Spirit,’ but unfortunately, with Mana Leakage Syndrome, those were nearly impossible.
I first checked the inherited traits. While they didn’t significantly boost my stats, they had quite unique effects.
First, [Self-Purification] had the effect of ‘purifying a contaminated body with nature.’ Though I wasn’t sure, I guessed it meant detoxifying poisons.
Second, [Whisper of the Wind] allowed me to read the flow of air…
‘This is quite good.’
When engaging in combat, I relied solely on [Intuition] to defend against or evade enemy attacks.
Whisper of the Wind had good synergy with Intuition, making my senses even sharper. If combined with Taeryeong Divine Art, the synergy could potentially increase tenfold.
Lastly, I checked the effect of [Memories to the Flowers].
“…What is this?”
[When you smell the scent of flowers, you will receive traits corresponding to the flower language.]
The trait’s effect was too vague to understand. I asked Leafanel, who was humming, perhaps because she was happy from the contract.
“Hey. What does this mean?”
T hi s w a s c op i e d f r o m ki ng m t l . o r g
-When you smell the scent of flowers, you feel good!
“Not that. Are there any other effects?”
-Huh? Hmm~ You become happy!
“Oh, I see… Thanks.”
I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t seem like a particularly useful trait.
But it didn’t matter. I had gained two practical traits.
Thi s w as c o pi e d f r o m ki n g mt l. o r g
Then, my gaze returned to the trait [Self-Purification].
“…Wait. Self-Purification?”
I hurriedly took out a manual I remembered seeing related notes in Ha Taeryeong’s book.
…Thus, he began the task of cleaning his body.
Not because healthy people live longer. Mana Leakage Syndrome allows one to live longer by accepting nature as it is.
The human body accumulates waste and pollutants naturally as it grows, and such a body is inadequate to accept nature.
To truly become ‘one’ with nature, wouldn’t it be better to maintain the body as nature intended?
“Indeed.”
Ha Taeryeong’s book mentioned purifying the body.
To summarize, he failed.
No matter what he did, it was impossible to revert a contaminated body.
However, he was very lucky to obtain an opportunity.
T h i s w as c o p i ed f r o m k ing m t l. org
The ability given by ‘her’ purified his body like nature…
(Excerpt)
…Finally, I succeeded in stimulating the ‘fine veins.’
That was all the content.
Although it didn’t specify how or what method he used, I understood.
The opportunity Ha Taeryeong obtained was Leafanel, and thanks to the inherited trait [Self-Purification], he succeeded in purifying his body.
Stimulating the fine veins.
It sounds complicated, but simply put, it means removing waste from the blood vessels.
And… If I undergo this process.
I might also become stronger faster than Ha Taeryeong did in the past.
Somehow, I felt grateful to Leafanel for introducing me to the great teacher Ha Taeryeong and even gifting me this opportunity.
“Hey… Thank you so much. I’ll repay you when I succeed.”
-Huh? I should be the one thanking you~
Leafanel survived thanks to me finding her heart. Just thinking like that, it made sense for her to be thankful to me.
But…
If I think about it, the reason I can smile now is entirely because I met Leafanel.
‘Maizen Tiren’s sudden transformation into a Dark Mage.’
Even now, remembering that desperate situation makes me shudder, but I only overcame it thanks to Leafanel’s gift.
Had I not met Leafanel, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome that situation… I would have surely despaired, having lost everything.
I realized again just how significant Leafanel was to me.
“Ahem, by the way.”
-Yes?
Anyway.
I am grateful, but…
“I heard from you last time that your friend handled swordsmanship…”
-That’s right! He was amazing!
“Can you teach me that too?”
I should accept everything I can.
After all, we are very close, having exchanged hearts, so this should be fine.
* * *
Every renowned magic family from around the world will attend the Aslan Seminar. Naturally, the Adolevit family will not be absent.
Until last year, Hong Si-hwa Adolevit, Hong Bi-yeon’s sister, attended the Aslan Seminar.
She submitted excellent theses each year and always garnered attention with her impactful statements.
“It was all political tactics.”
Showing such bold behavior in Aslan, where geniuses gather, was a form of showmanship to become the queen.
T h is wa s c op ie d f r o m ki n gm t l . or g
‘I am this smart.’
‘And I can make such bold statements to the world.’
Hong Si-hwa proved her capability by attending Aslan for ten years, and now, the baton had been passed to Hong Bi-yeon.
This w a s cop i e d fr o m k i ng m t l . o r g
From now on, all her actions would be compared to Hong Si-hwa’s.
She couldn’t afford to fall short.
She couldn’t afford to be lacking in any way.
“Phew…”
There were only two weeks left until the Aslan Seminar.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous, but the thesis she had prepared for years with the help of countless mages gave her confidence.
‘With this thesis…
At least, it should be comparable to Hong Si-hwa Adolevit’s astonishing magic when she attended the Aslan Seminar.
Knock Knock!
As she was reviewing her thesis for the last time, someone knocked on her dormitory door.
“Come in.”
Being the weekend, she naturally thought it would be one of her faction members.
-Hong Bi-yeon. I have something to discuss with you.
A strange man’s voice came from outside the door. Frowning, she opened the door to see a man, presumably an assistant professor, nodding politely.
“What’s the matter?”
Th i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m ki ng m t l . or g
“Director Milkenon wishes to meet you.”
“…Director Milkenon?”
“Yes. If you have time, could you come now?”
The assistant professor was polite to Hong Bi-yeon, but his eyes showed no friendliness.
‘Why would Milkenon want to see me?
Even in Stella, political battles were avoided, but at least the distinction between ‘my people’ and ‘not my people’ was clear.
Director Milkenon, the most influential member of Stella’s board, was undoubtedly ‘not my people.’
He was someone who had stuck to Hong Si-hwa’s side when she attended Stella.
Hong Bi-yeon couldn’t understand why Hong Si-hwa went through so much trouble to make Milkenon her ally.
Milkenon wasn’t even from the Adolevit nation, so why try to win her over?
“Yes. I’ll go now.”
And she realized the reason right after facing Director Milkenon.
…In a bad way.
“Hong Bi-yeon.”
“…Yes.”
Click!
Elegantly placing the teacup down, Milkenon pointed to Hong Bi-yeon’s thesis on the table.
“I heard you are attending the Aslan Seminar with this thesis. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
Please.
Let it not be what I think…
Despite her desperate prayer.
“Unfortunately, this thesis cannot be used at the Aslan Seminar.”
When those words fell, Hong Bi-yeon bit her lip.
“…Why?”
She asked, hoping for a final reprieve, and Milkenon explained calmly.
“There are significant similarities with previously published theses.”
“Here, didn’t you apply ‘Parthtanium’s Polygonal Law’ and ‘Langra New Point Formula’? This was secretly included in the ‘Final Mock Test’ that Dr. Colanian published 37 years ago…”
Milkenon dissected her thesis piece by piece. And… most of it was correct.
Yes, to be honest, most of Hong Bi-yeon’s thesis was written with the help of other mages.
But that wasn’t her fault. All the prestigious magic families attending Aslan, the ‘fixed attendees,’ did the same thing.
T h i s wa s c op i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . o rg
How else could they maintain their attendance rights for decades? It was all possible because they used such tricks.
But now they were nitpicking?
The reason was obvious without much thought. She could immediately picture who had orchestrated this.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l. o r g
‘Hong Si-hwa…!’
She had anticipated some level of interference.
It was unlikely that cunning fox would allow the Adolevit princess to showcase her abilities to the world without any hindrance.
But she never imagined that Hong Si-hwa would have bribed Milkenon since her days at Stella, ten years ago, anticipating this situation…
“I know it’s hard to accept, but it can’t be helped. There’s a significant risk of backlash from the Mage Association.”
After pointing out the issues in her thesis, Milkenon said, and Hong Bi-yeon nodded silently.
“…Yes.”
Of course, she could ignore his words and still submit her thesis to the Aslan Seminar.
But that would only lead to a worse situation.
Considering Milkenon’s influence in the magic world… He would undoubtedly expose the ‘plagiarism scandal’ during the seminar like a bomb.
Compared to Hong Si-hwa’s soaring achievements, Hong Bi-yeon’s reputation would plummet to the bottom.
“So, prepare another thesis before the Aslan Seminar.”
Click!
Leaving Milkenon’s office, Hong Bi-yeon bit her lip.
There were only about two weeks left until the Aslan Seminar.
T h i s w a s cop ie d f r om k ing m t l . o r g
It was a truly unfortunate story, but Hong Bi-yeon had no ability to write such an outstanding thesis.
Despair slowly rose from the depths of her heart.
There was no other way.
Should she collapse from the start, unable to withstand even Hong Si-hwa’s simple tricks?
Would she always fall victim to her?
No, no!’
Hong Bi-yeon bit her lip hard. Blood flowed, but she felt no pain.
‘Do you know who I am…
Yes, in the past.
Before entering Stella, when she couldn’t do anything without relying on others…
She would have given up.
No, reality would have made her give up.
‘Not anymore.’
Now, she had a reason not to give up. So, she couldn’t ruin everything from the start.
It was laughable that they informed her of this just two weeks before the seminar. They must have thought she couldn’t write another thesis on her own in two weeks.
She clenched her fists and turned her steps. Not towards the dormitory, but the study room.
‘Do you think… I can’t do it?’
11 PM, the time when the pale moonlight illuminates the end of the world.
Her day was just beginning.
End of Chapter