Invincible
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#161
🕑 Added 2024-12-12 18:18:31 +0000 UTCSpirit War (1)
In the secluded fields of the citadel, Ecok looked around to see if anyone was nearby. It was class time, so the professors likely wouldn’t be coming around here.
"Finally…"
Ecok placed the sack on the ground and carefully took out a small item. It was a palm-sized door. According to Rimaal, this was supposed to be the door to the Spirit Realm.
- Long ago, spirits could descend to the human world freely, without needing a contract with a mage. They used a certain type of door.
- Isn't that just some ancient superstition?
There were stories passed down from ancestors that every household once had a door through which spirits would visit, and people prayed for prosperity through it. However, in recent times, even kids didn't believe in such absurd tales.
- It’s true, Ecok. That door used to be a common item. Maybe for nostalgia's sake, those who had it would pass it down to their descendants, even if just as a decoration.
Though Rimaal was close to him in age, Ecok hadn’t fully believed his words. But he’d held his tongue, recalling everything he had accomplished thanks to this man.
- So, there’s one here as well.
Setting up the door, Ecok then took out an orb. It wasn’t something he had struggled to acquire; Rimaal had given it to him.
- Take it. This is an orb containing the soul of the Tyrant King.
- The Tyrant King? With such a title, surely his name should be in history. What’s his name?
- He was once the Spirit King, Dordone. He attempted to conquer the human world but failed and was dethroned.
Suddenly, a wave of doubt washed over Ecok. While he trusted Rimaal’s extensive knowledge and believed that the items held special powers, he couldn’t help but feel that the stories around them seemed like something a teenage boy might fabricate. He stifled his embarrassment.
"Ugh, damn it, look at the goosebumps…"
Swallowing his shame, he reached into the sack. The last item was a piece of paper, inscribed with a ritual written in blood. It was a difficult item to obtain, and Ecok smiled with satisfaction.
'Thanks to Luon, I managed to steal it without leaving a trace.'
He had stolen it from the library of the Grand Mage. Although one could view the library for observation purposes, it was forbidden to enter recklessly. If it hadn’t been for the chaos caused by the student council’s influence and the incident with Luon, he wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
‘The professors were completely fooled, thinking the items from the Grand Mage’s library needed to be stored elsewhere during renovations. Since they were busy, they let the student council handle it, allowing me to get my hands on this.’
And what exactly was this paper?
- Spirits could no longer descend to the human world at will. They were allowed only through contracts with mages, as promised.
・・・ "A promise?"
- Yes, a promise. What you have obtained is the contract signed between the then-human representative, the Grand Mage Adrigal, and the new Spirit King.
The door to the Spirit Realm. The orb containing the Tyrant King’s soul. And the contract between the Spirit King and the Grand Mage, founder of Frostheart.
Finally, the curse he had been holding back slipped out.
"This guy… he should just go write a novel, seriously."
With a flushed face, Ecok extracted the spirit that had been dormant within his skin. Out came a small black lizard, its eyes darting as its tongue flickered.
"From now on, I’m sending you back to the Spirit Realm. Just wait there for a bit."
After telling the lizard this, he opened the Grimoire of Black Blood haphazardly. The book, as if by magic, displayed the content he needed without him having to turn a single page. Ecok breathed life into a specific sentence.
"Whoo."
The black, fiery words floated in the air, eventually attaching themselves to the blood-stained paper. He threw the blazing paper onto the small door. As soon as the burning paper crossed the threshold, a world full of vibrant colors appeared on the other side.
Ecok’s eyes widened.
"R-Rimaal’s words couldn’t actually be true, could they?"
The Spirit Realm—a completely isolated dimension, one humans were never meant to enter. Though he could only glimpse it, the mysterious sight gave Rimaal’s words a surprising sense of credibility.
"No, it’s too soon to decide just by looking. Rimaal… if you’re lying, I swear you’re not getting away with it."
Ecok picked up the orb and handed it to the lizard.
"Here, take this inside."
The lizard clamped the orb in its mouth and crawled toward the pathway. It was a messenger, according to Rimaal. Once the orb entered the Spirit Realm, everything else would happen on its own.
- The Spirit Realm has prisons, too. Among the prisoners are followers who served the Tyrant King Dordone and were imprisoned. If they catch his scent, they’ll undoubtedly stir.
- Wait, weren’t you supposed to make me the Tyrant King? Isn’t this just freeing him?
- Don’t worry, Ecok. The Tyrant King Dordone seeks a liberator. He promised to offer his strength to the one who sets him free.
Ecok gulped. It seemed impossible, but if it were true, it would be monumental.
‘If only it’s real. Me, becoming the Tyrant King…?’
He watched the lizard disappear with eyes full of hope. Just as its tail crossed the door, the small door began to rumble and grow larger.
"W-What? How big is this thing going to get?"
The door continued to expand, soon rivaling the nearby trees before it finally stopped a few minutes later. Then, moments later, a blue mist poured out of the door like a cloud.
Ecok, wide-eyed with shock, took a step back. A silhouette was beginning to form within the mist.
***
In the lecture hall, Professor Gomon was writing on the board.
"Today, we will be learning about Spirit Studies."
I closed my eyes.
"It's magic that only those who have awakened their sense of touch can use. There's no point learning it if you can’t use it."
"To handle spirits, you must first refine your mana sensitivity to the extreme. You need to be able to sense mana even through your hair."
"Professor, what about those who are bald?"
"...They have eyebrows, don’t they? Short, so it’s harder to sense, but still. Ahem."
Professor Gomon averted his gaze from a bald professor passing by in the hallway and continued his explanation. I half-listened, pulling out a book for my next class. Then, out of curiosity, I asked Dorosian, who was reading some genre novel.
"Why don’t you handle spirits? With your dual awakening, you’d excel in any kind of magic."
Dorosian glanced at me and snapped back, "I don’t like tattoos on my body."
Ah, that’s true. Making a contract with a spirit causes the contract terms to manifest on your body in the form of inscriptions. Usually, people place them on hidden parts of their skin. I nodded and opened my notebook, but then Dorosian started writing on it.
[Why did you do that back then?]
I studied her expression. She looked slightly annoyed, yet curious. I pulled out my pen and wrote back.
[What are you talking about?]
[The time you placed your hand on the grimoire.]
I wondered why she didn’t just ask me out loud; then it made sense. I’d told her to keep that incident a secret if she didn’t want the hassle of dealing with others finding out.
[I did it because I was confident. And the results proved it.]
[That was reckless, not something you could be sure you’d survive. Have you gotten stupid again, like back in the day?]
Dorosian’s handwriting grew rough enough to crumple the notebook. Her barely suppressed anger was evident, and I paused to consider. Ignoring it seemed dangerous, but telling her, "I wouldn’t die because of my ‘one-second invincibility’" wasn’t an option either. The range of possible answers was slim.
Instead of writing, I responded aloud with a convincing tone. "I just… felt like you had to survive."
Dorosian tapped her pen on the notebook a few times before putting it down. With her black hair falling like curtains, I couldn’t see her expression. Feeling embarrassed by my sentimental words, I turned my gaze to Professor Gomon, who was passionately lecturing.
"Of course, to truly master spirit magic, you also need to understand its weaknesses. Let’s see… right, the main weakness is that it’s generally vulnerable to other forms of magic. Though spirit affinity varies by element, spirits can still be effectively attacked."
"Professor, what about knights?"
"Ordinary knights can’t harm spirits at all. But if they wield aura, that’s a different story. Aura is essentially a form of altered mana. In particular, if they slice with an aura blade, it’ll slice clean through."
This topic is helpful for me too. Though I already know it, it’s a good refresher.
"Oh, but don’t get too attached to spirits. Spirits don’t die in the human world. If they get cut or burned or disappear somehow, they just return to the Spirit Realm to recharge. After some time, you can summon them again."
There was one detail he left out: only spirits bound by contract to a mage are truly immortal. How do I know this? The answer was in the blue mist spreading across the floor.
"Uh, what’s this?"
"Professor, there’s some kind of blue mist on the floor."
As the students noticed the change, Professor Gomon looked around in alarm.
"Everyone, stay calm. Ah, just when I thought it was strangely quiet lately. Should I go report this to Professor Rockefeller?"
He quickly summoned a Stone Bear, wrote a note, and placed it in its paw. The Stone Bear hurried off, seemingly heading to Rockefeller's office. Meanwhile, Bellman, sitting at the front and taking notes, sighed and muttered softly.
"Here we go again…"
Exactly.
[Fallen Spirit King Dordone]
Once sealed by the combined efforts of the Grand Mage Adrigal and the current Spirit King Rilques, Dordone is now sought out by Ecok to absorb his power and become the true Tyrant King. This scenario requires us to find and defeat the hidden Ecok by taking down Dordone's fallen spirit minions within a limited time. If we fail to stop him, everyone here will perish, since it took both a Grand Mage and the current Spirit King to defeat him last time—this power imbalance is no joke.
I took a deep breath, regaining my composure, and thought carefully. The answer to why this boss battle, which was supposed to start in our second year, was happening now could only lie with Dorosian of the future, who had stolen my grimoire and handed it over to Ecok. To understand why she did it, I glanced at the present Dorosian beside me.
"Dorosian."
"What?"
"Let’s say there’s a monster that should never be awakened. But someone goes ahead and releases it, even though it doesn’t benefit them. If we assume you were that person, what do you think would drive you to do it?"
Dorosian looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"That’s a weird question, out of nowhere."
"Think of it as a psychological test."
She made a dissatisfied face, grunting, but seemed willing to humor me. Watching her closely to see what she'd say, she gave a small smirk.
"Do I seem like the kind of crazy person who’d do something like that?"
Well, Future you did…
***
Rockefeller’s voice echoed across the entire Frostheart Academy.
"This is an emergency. Repeat, this is an emergency. Arm yourselves and take defensive positions."
A faint sigh could be heard after the announcement, suggesting Rockefeller was getting used to these situations. Under Professor Gomon’s direction, we moved into the hallway.
"Hurry up."
The corridor was crowded with students from other classes, all grumbling with annoyed expressions—especially the third-years.
"I’m ready to bail. I was trying to hold out for the few months left until graduation, but I don’t think I can take this anymore."
"Right, life is precious."
"What the hell is up with this year? We had peace for the last two years."
Amusingly, the professors seemed to share their sentiments.
"Do they think they’re the only ones? Some of us professors are barely hanging on here, too. Sigh..."
"Maybe it’s time to consider retirement."
"Yeah, I might seriously think about it."
Their mutterings must have reached the office, as Rockefeller’s irritated voice came through the loudspeaker.
"Everyone, shut up and follow protocol! The last group to reach their designated point will have me to answer to. Now, move it!"
I followed the crowd, guided by the professors. Our destination was a designated battle zone best suited for emergencies. While some groups were assigned the same location, most were spread out across different points.
This realization amplified the elements that could drive someone to madness.
"This is insane."
Originally, this battle was meant to occur in the second year. Now, it was happening far too early—and it was a joint hunting mission involving the entire school. The current third-years should have graduated, and new students should have filled their ranks. That was the basic foundation. But due to the shift in time, the team composition that should have been a given was completely broken.
Could we even clear this scenario…
While I was calculating possibilities, a group running ahead suddenly halted. Looking forward, I saw Professor Gomon brandishing his staff. His target was a fallen spirit, its body a massive, muscular bear cloaked in a grayish aura.
"A bear…?"
"Wait, doesn’t it feel kind of like a spirit?"
"Yeah, it’s a bit similar to the aura of a Stone Bear."
As students murmured in surprise, Professor Gomon gestured for them to step back.
"Since it’s come to this, I’ll teach as we go."
He aimed his staff at the bear as if pointing to an example in a textbook.
"Large creatures tend to be strong. Of course, some, like our Stone Bear, are downsized for efficiency, so don’t let size alone fool you."
The bear spirit charged. The Stone Bear lunged, striking its opponent’s belly. Both creatures were thrown back from the impact. While the Stone Bear fought, Professor Gomon glanced toward the window, reminding everyone of the situation.
"The Knight Department is still full of students who can’t release aura. This is a moment where our Magic Department needs to shine. So keep your wits about you… unless you want to end up dead."
Professor Gomon’s gaze shifted to the training field. The students rushed to the window and looked down. The training grounds were packed with spirits, their numbers so dense that even the ground was no longer visible. However, some figures stood out, as the spirits kept a clear distance from them. Pointing at these figures, Professor Gomon wore a grave expression.
"Be especially wary of the humanoid ones. Those are high-ranking spirits."
Three spirits, standing with arms crossed, exuded an air of superiority. These were the guardians, placed to prevent the main cast from reaching Ecok.
