Chapter 97: The Deepening Darkness (3)
I discovered Shade’s true name, and was able to seal it safely.
It was a dark spirit, and I was reluctant to do so but it was better than blowing the Spirit King’s whistle for nothing.
The name was quite difficult to pronounce, but that didn’t stop me from sealing it.
The moment I sealed Shade, he muttered something that sounded like the spirit language, but judging by the intensity of his pronunciation…profanity.
What followed was excruciating pain. To ‘forcibly’ seal a spirit into a body was not something to be taken lightly.
Shade was now Sheddie, the black furball.
She recognized Sierra and could communicate with her.
That’s right. She could speak, though it was very simple words.
Perhaps being a Higher Elemental had something to do with it.
That’s how Shade became Shady.
The creature’s eyes widened, and its mouth opened but the first words that came out were…
“…Fuck.”
From a spirit’s point of view, the loss of free will in an unfair contract made in an instant is enough to make one swear.
Magredo told them to be prepared to be hated by the spirits.
Sheddie muttered a bewildered curse, and when Sierra saw it, she slapped him on the head for his bad manners.
She must have gotten about five slaps before Sierra realized that she hadn’t stopped cursing.
“……”
Shady went suddenly quiet.
He could contact Sierra, and he could hear her voice.
[Sheddie…Sheddie sounds like a girl’s name, doesn’t it?]
“Spirits don’t have a gender in the first place, so it should be fine, right?”
[Yes, Sheddie. Do you like your name?]
Sierra asked, looking at Sheddie, who was perched on top of my head.
“…Hmph.”
Sheddie glared at Sierra once, before turning his short neck to ignore her.
[Ha.]
Snorting, Sierra shook her head.
They might not get along right now, but they’d grow on each other.
Sheddie was cute overall. Her fluffy fur was cozy, and she had a small body and a big face.
If there was a golden ratio for cuteness, she would fit right in.
“Eat.”
Sheddie’s voice came from above my head.
His voice was high-pitched, like a child’s, but it still had the gruffness that characterized him as Shade.
“Do spirits eat?
Just as I wondered what to feed him I heard the unearthly sound of something sharp slamming into the top of my head.
Then Sierra turns to me with a dark expression.
[Are you…alright…?]
“What?”
[He…he sank his teeth into your head…are you okay…?]
“Ah.”
That must have been the sound of Shady sinking his teeth into my head.
“I didn’t feel any pain, but…
The next thing I know, she’s making a clicking sound as if she’s trying to draw blood but I still didn’t feel any pain.
[What is he eating…?!]
Sierra frantically tried to pull it off my head. But her teeth sank deep, and Shady wouldn’t budge.
I stopped Sierra in her tracks and opened my mouth.
“It’s probably taking life force, so I think we can leave it alone.”
[I see…]
“Haha, it doesn’t hurt, so it’s okay.”
I said and smiled to reassure Sierra but she still gave me a reluctant look.
[I’m glad to hear it doesn’t hurt….but you should probably wipe the blood from the corner of your mouth.]
“Blood?”
Immediately, Sierra reaches down and wipes the blood from the corner of my mouth.
I’m pretty sure my life force is being eaten away.
In many ways, the symptoms were similar to those of Chapter 2, which drained my stamina.
Sierra’s soothing voice echoed in my head as I left Sheddie’s ‘meal’ behind.
[By the way…I didn’t know that you even knew the true name of a dark spirit, you really do know a lot, my disciple…]
“…Yes.”
I nervously replied, scratching my head but I couldn’t figure out how I found out his true name.
Shade was touched by the wave, but… I didn’t even remember seeing the Dark Elemental’s true name in the game or in the player community.
The only thing I could think of was the existence of the Blindfold That is Beyond Reason.
There must be a reason why the blindfold was labeled as such. But what I knew about the effectiveness of the blindfold was that it tended to go hand in hand with the phrase ‘beyond reason’.
The effect itself was unreasonable…like ridiculous growth, or the destructive power of a critical hit.
What if we took a broader view of “reason”?
The reason of the world or the reason of all things.
The way of things, the root, the source, the essence, the truth.
‘If the blindfold was able to see the spirit’s ‘true name’ by combining it with the Ki…’
So far, it was only a guess. But there was a simple way to see if this approach worked.
There was a dragon in charge of a small village and dragons, like spirits, have true names.
Since his true name is not revealed in the game, I figured he’d be a good test.
I strolled through the tranquil forest, deep in thought as Sheddie had finished her meal quickly and was grumbling softly.
I don’t know exactly how much she ate, but it wasn’t as much as Chapter 2 consumed. I don’t think she’d gnawed all the way to the top of her stamina.
Sierra then asks.
[So you have the power of spirits since the seal seems to have been successful, judging by that furry thing.]
“Ah, the power of the spirits…”
I said, stopping in my tracks.
Now that I had the power of a higher spirit at my disposal, the amount of knowledge that flowed into my head was considerable.
The headache I felt immediately after the seal was a result of this.
I also had a skill in my status window called Shade of Shadows that was maxed out, and I had forgotten to test its power.
Shade’s powers were related to shadows, hence his name.
He had a variety of techniques, but I thought I’d try one that seemed useful in most situations so I focused on my shadow on the floor.
Soon, the shadow shimmered, and in an instant, it engulfed me as my vision was filled with an unending darkness.
In an instant, I disappeared into the shadows.
‘Shadow hide-and-seek.’
That was the name of the skill that popped into my head, but I couldn’t tell if it was Shade’s or the status window.
It was pitch black inside, but since I had “night vision,” I had to assume that the color of the room itself was black.
“Keryung! Kerung!”
As I stepped into the shadows, Sheddie jumped up and down in excitement.
I couldn’t figure out why he was excited since he was obviously angry.
I could see Sierra next to me but since the Spectral Sword was in my waistband she could follow.
Sierra looked around and opened her mouth.
[Hmph, a technique for hiding one’s body…Or should I say, another dimension… Maybe it’s more accurate to say that it goes beyond simply hiding oneself.]
She recognized the technique quickly.
“At least I can feel it.”
I said, and slowly walked out of the space.
The ripples of my senses reached outward and I was able to distinguish enough of the objects outside.
I could slip out whenever I wanted, but there was a catch. I could only leave through the shadows.
It was a tenuous constraint.
How many places don’t have even the slightest shadow?
A vague feeling in the back of my head told me that I would have more freedom in the dark.
After a few more steps, I decided to step out of the shadows.
Soon enough, my body rose from the ground where the tree’s shadow had been.
Sierra followed me out of the shadows.
Once I was completely out of the shadows, I looked at her and opened my mouth.
“Well, this is what it feels like.”
“Kerung!”
Sheddie cries out in a boastful manner following my words.
[…Sounds like it could be useful.]
Sierra merely shrugged.
There were many other techniques, ranging from direct attacks using shadows to defense and entrapment.
As I looked through the skills, I suddenly remembered Kaen.
‘Erase Shadow… or was it…?’
I realized that Kaen’s dialog in the game made it sound like she had her own secret weapon, but she didn’t actually have a skill like that.
It was just a fancy name for something that could be used to hide.
…Anyway, there were a lot of cool skills that suited Kaen’s tastes very well.
The only problem was the darkness element.
If someone saw me using Sheddie’s power and assumed I was a demon, there was nothing to say.
It wasn’t something I could easily display in front of others.
‘I can show it to those who are about to die.’
Especially since the shadow hide-and-seek I’d just used was a great skill for avoiding prying eyes.
It allowed me to move more stealthily.
‘As for the aura…’
…I’ve sealed the dark spirit in my body, so I can sense a faint aura.
For now, Magredo says it’d be best for my sanity to avoid encountering elementalists.
In the story, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered an elementalist with a high enough affinity to recognize a higher level elemental.
‘At least a Hero?’
Heroes have a very high affinity for spirits and I was recently working on a plan for the Hero.
Still…No, she could easily tell if I was a demon or not, so that was fine.
It was clumsy, but the result was good.
Maybe it’s a good thing it’s a dark spirit. At least our attributes don’t overlap, right?
…or so I decided to think.
This was for my mental health.
It was a small price to pay for the ability to cope with various situations.
With that, I gathered my thoughts and headed back to the Academy to resume my normal routine.
***
I was looking forward to a nice meal with Zetto, but my plans were ruined.
‘Because of that redhead.’
I silently glared at Yuri, who was sitting next to me.
Usually, Zetto was the one who stood between us, but today, for some reason, he was running late.
Yuri rolled her eyes and glared back at me.
According to ‘101 Ways to Win a Man Over’, in a situation like this, you need to make sure you’re attractive.
‘I’m not sure I’m attractive… I have.’
What do I have?
What do I have to offer?
‘My body…?’
Even if it’s Zetto, he’s still a man…I can touch and feel him as much as I want.
The other day, I felt a very embarrassing touch that was disguised as an accident.
Although at the time, Zetto didn’t think anything of it, his ears were red.
“…”
She trailed off, glancing at Yuri’s chest.
‘Fortunately, there’s not much difference…Maybe even better on my side.’
No one would be able to tell the difference in terms of body shape if it weren’t for the ‘pink prongs’.
Being active is not enough.
And so it was that I was reminiscing about the previous episode and thinking about what Zetto might like.
A man enters the classroom and the corners of my mouth naturally turn up as I recognize his face.
He walks over and sits down in his seat, next to me.
“Zetto, why are you late?”
Yuri says to him.
“…I don’t think I’m late.”
Yuri and Zetto continue to chat affectionately.
I wanted to speak to them, too but I couldn’t find my voice.
I’ve had a lump in my throat ever since he got close.
In one day. Just one day. The ominous aura I’d been sensing from Zetto intensified.
‘No way…’
Suddenly, I heard Yuri’s urgent voice.
“Uh, Zetto… There’s blood…!”
“Ah.”
Zetto exclaimed, and wiped the blood that was dripping from his mouth with his thumb.
“Are you hurt…? Do you want to go to the infirmary with me?”
“Haha, I’m fine. I’ve just been pushing myself a little too hard lately.”
Despite the concern in Yuri’s voice, Zetto simply smiled brightly.
“But there’s no reason for your mouth to be bleeding just because you overexerted yourself…”
Yuri was muttering, but I could almost see the cause.
The thickening ominous aura, the red blood and that attitude of trying to laugh it off as if nothing happened made me jump to conclusions and I felt lightheaded.
I don’t know why but…Zetto’s ‘curse’ seems to have worsened.