“Ta, Taesan!”
Akien, huddled close and trembling inside the carriage, burst into tears upon seeing Taesan.
“Where have you been!”
She had been going crazy during Taesan’s absence.
She woke up in shock due to a sudden spread of a powerful wave of energy.
The force felt near them was strong enough to easily crush them. Feeling threatened for their lives, they frantically searched for Taesan, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Why didn’t you run away? Why were you here?”
“Bu, but without Taesan, I couldn’t……
“Did you wait for me?”
“Yes, yeess… because it was dangerous.”
Akien sobbed and nodded her head.
A slight surprise crossed Taesan’s face.
‘It’s been a long time since someone worried about me.’
Excluding the time when he was a weak Easy Mode player who hadn’t properly acquired any skills in his previous life, this was a first.
Taesan opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, and I wasn’t around because I had something to do.”
“Such powerful energy was surging, what kind of business did you have…
“It was because of me.”
“What?”
Barkaza revealed himself beyond the carriage door.
“You can tell that?”
Akien’s eyes widened upon seeing Barkaza.
“Wh, what?”
“Top, top-grade spirit!”
“Barkaza? No way!”
They were astonished. The spirits guarding them and sending cautious glances also seemed greatly surprised.
Taesan waved his hand.
“Let’s try to get some sleep first. Haven’t you all been awake until now?”
“Ah, yes…”
Akien absentmindedly nodded.
They had stayed up all night waiting for Taesan. They should have been tired enough to sleep, but sleep did not come. Eventually, they started moving again in the carriage, half asleep, a few hours later.
Taesan walked outside the carriage. It was because Barkaza was too large to enter the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Akien and her group sneakily glanced at Barkaza. Their faces were full of curiosity, almost driving them mad.
Barkaza murmured with satisfaction.
He seemed to enjoy that Akien and her group were surprised and showing him respect. The ghost snickered.
A spirit quietly following them could no longer hold back and spoke up.
Barkaza countered.
The spirit asked accusingly.
Barkaza laughed.
Barkaza turned his body as if there was nothing more to say.
The spirits had no choice but to shut their mouths at Barkaza’s firm words.
Barkaza clicked his tongue.
“No matter how I look at it, you seem to be the peculiar one.”
“Since you’ve mentioned shields and spears earlier, are they stronger than you?”
“Do your spirit ranks have a hierarchy, and how exactly is it divided?”
Barkaza continued.
Upper ranking spirits. Taesan had encountered them in the labyrinth. And in this world, he had said there were beings contracted with upper spirits.
Barkaza boasted.
Akien, who became the subject of the conversation, was startled.
“…Yes. The spirit of the great king from hundreds of years ago.”
Barkaza nodded.
“How do you compare with them?”
“But when fighting me, you said that even the spear and shield wouldn’t be able to easily break through your defense?”
“That’s correct, but… it’s just that. It’s only a matter of time. I’ve sparred with them a few times, but I’ve always been defeated without being able to do anything.”
“That’s how it is.”
Taesan stroked his chin.
“How would they compare to me now?”
Breaking the silence, Barkaza said,
Even as he spoke, Barkaza let out a chuckle.
A human against whom all of them combined could not win. Even he could hardly believe such a being truly existed.
“That much?”
“Then it wasn’t him.”
The spirit that had dwelled in the skeleton, the one who had pressured Taesan with the power of the Spirit King, seemed not to be the spear and shield but a high-level spirit.
“Interesting.”
Taesan smiled slightly.
“I have a rough idea.”
The Spirit King of the labyrinth nearly killed him just with an emotion. He had become stronger since then, but likely nothing had changed.
“The Spirit King, huh.”
Curious, Taesan asked,
“Is it possible to make a contract with any spirit?”
“Then the Spirit King?”
Barkaza hesitated at Taesan’s question.
“That’s how it is.”
Barkaza dismissed the idea.
“Go ahead.”
“Quite literally. There’s a Spirit God in the labyrinth. She asked me to enter this world and fill the void left by the Spirit King.”
Initially, he had no intention of speaking. Since the spirits were hostile and distrustful, speaking seemed pointless.
However, since Barkaza had made a contract with Taesan and was not hostile, he concluded that there would be no harm in speaking.
Barkaza let out a hollow laugh.
“Those guys.”
Taesan pointed. Darkened spirits were rushing towards the carriage.
Barkaza applauded. Light poured down, crushing the spirits. A cry of astonishment came from inside the carriage.
“The old gods have been eyeing this place since the Spirit King vanished.”
“You know about it.”
Barkaza chuckled softly.
“If you’re satisfied, then that’s good.”
Then it was time for a meal. Even while preparing the meal, Akien and her group kept sneaking glances at Barkaza.
At Barkaza’s words, Akien dropped the ladle in surprise.
She cautiously opened her mouth as she handed the ladle to the spirit.
“The great king who ruled the world. Barkaza, who stood by Varian, nobler than anyone and carrying the bloodline of the gods…
“……Huh.”
It was real. A spirit that existed only in history.
‘How could it be.’
Taesan himself possessed no special attributes. It should have been impossible for him to form a contract with a spirit, yet he managed to contract with not just any spirit, but a top-grade one.
Regaining her composure, she asked,
“Great spirit, who is the being in the place we are heading to now?”
The girl inside the orb was a mystery. Nobody in the world knew her identity, only speculations existed.
Barkaza responded to her question.
“Then that being is…”
Akien’s face turned pale, and those listening behind her felt the same way.
They had lived alongside spirits, viewing the Spirit King as an object of faith.
Especially their family, which believed in the Spirit King more faithfully than anyone else.
“Then, we are.”
She bit her lip.
Barkaza scoffed, causing Akien’s face to darken.
The carriage continued on indifferently.
And they arrived in front of the orb.
“There are so many people.”
The crowd was vast. Hundreds had gathered around the orb, setting up tents.
Akien spoke in a weakened voice,
“The Bazuk family made a personal request, so people from all over have gathered.”
“Then let’s part ways here.”
“What?”
“It won’t be good for you if it becomes known that you were with me.”
Realizing what Taesan intended to do, Akien said,
“I…”
“Do as you please. There’s no need for you to take unnecessary actions.”
Taesan stamped his foot.
Ignoring the voices trying to hold him back, Taesan made his way towards the orb, weaving through the crowd. A huge barrier surrounded the orb.
“Barkaza.”
Barkaza raised his arm towards the barrier.
The barrier slowly crumbled, creating a space for Taesan to enter.
Taesan arrived in front of the orb without anyone stopping him.
Surprisingly, there was nobody by the orb. Everyone was gathered, preparing how to approach the orb.
Taesan touched the orb.
Wooong.
Power flowed through his hand.
It was a heavy natural force. Barkaza let out a sigh of admiration.
Beyond the orb was a little girl.
With blue hair, the girl, dressed in white cloth, was quietly curling up inside the orb.
“Seeing the Spirit King for the second time.”
The Guides of Sin. One of the leaders of that group was the Spirit King of Flame.
And the Spirit King protecting Arulia.
Protecting the being in front of him was Taesan’s purpose for coming here.
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