Chapter 98

Liu Jin named the man who was particular about debts and credits. <(_ _)>

"Can you teach me magic?"

Upon hearing this, Zangren slowly sat up.

"…Do you understand what you're saying?"

"Yes. I know that I won't be able to practice Ryuken anymore, and if it's known, I'll be managed by the country. That's why I want to do it secretly."

Mie smiled mischievously while looking straight into Zangren's eyes.

Zangren averted his gaze slightly and asked further.

"Why do you want to obtain magic?"

"I believe you know that my teahouse is being interfered with. I've been living stubbornly, selling my art without selling my body, but in the end, I'm just a stray. I've managed to get by so far, but if the teahouse really puts in some effort, it will cause trouble for everyone. Besides, I have daily practice, and there's no time to practice Ryuken. To put it bluntly, I heard that magic can give me power quickly."

Mie straightened her posture and bowed to Zangren.

"I want power immediately. Enough power to protect myself and Yoe. For that, there's no other way but spirit magic or life spirit magic. Please, I beg of you."

While looking at Mie's lowered head, with her deer antlers and small deer ears, Zangren recalled the general overview of Ryuken that Da Xing and Yan Laoshi had taught him.

Ryuken has four stages. The first is to repeatedly perform the forms called "taolu," which are the shapes that the ancients created through long training to make the invisible "flow" tangible, until one can sense the surrounding flow.

Once one can sense the surrounding flow, the second stage is to move along the taolu and cause phenomena. Da Xing could create an invisible water flow that enveloped and deflected all incoming enemies, while Yan Laoshi could become as sturdy as if he were wrapped in rock, and Yu Ying could move as lightly as a butterfly. They were not actually using real water or rock but were generating simulated water or rock.

The third stage is to cause phenomena from free movement. At the same time, to become a natural life spirit enhancer like the Heavenly Fist, one must accumulate training, which is said to take over ten years to reach this point.

The fourth stage is considered the ultimate technique, which is to completely merge with the "flow." In other words, it is believed to be a complete fusion with a spirit. Although the details were not explained, once activated, it becomes the flow itself and can nullify natural phenomena of the same quality to some extent.

Zangren, who didn't know this, was aware that once the ultimate technique was activated, only about 30% of pure humans could return to human form, meaning 70% would die. If used a second time, the remaining 30% would certainly die.

The reason Mid Continent's invasion was repelled without counter-invasion and diplomatic relations were maintained was due to such reasons. It wasn't that they had the leisure to prevent the invasion.

Moreover, as Mie said, spirit magic and life spirit magic were relatively easy to master if one had enough magical power.

Mie raised her head and added,

"Besides, I can cleanse the Black Sun."

Her dignified gestures as a courtesan, interspersed with playful smiles, were a technique of her profession but had an irresistible charm.

Zangren asked further, but the answer was already decided.

"…I hear that beastmen have one specialized spirit, and some can handle another spirit to some extent. They are not particularly adept at spirit magic. It's not certain that you have enough affinity with water spirits to cleanse the Black Sun, and some spirits lack direct powers like light or darkness."

If she had a high affinity with light and darkness, learning spirit magic might be meaningless.

Mie frowned slightly, looking a bit troubled, but even that face was charming.

"…However, they excel in internal life spirit magic, such as self-healing and body strengthening. In short, they have super strength and heal easily. On the other hand, they are weak in external life spirit magic like healing others or creating barriers."

Zangren explained, recalling what he had learned when training Yobi.

"Also, there is some danger in awakening spirit magic. In the worst case, it can cost your life. Additionally, it will be painful at first. Will you still do it?"

"…Even so, I'd rather not be powerless."

Mie looked straight at Zangren.

"…Don't use spirit magic publicly. It's better to use it only when necessary. There are people watching, and if countermeasures are taken, you'll be vulnerable against Ryuken users. If you use it regularly, focus on body strengthening. —Turn around and sit facing me."

Mie, without doubting Zangren, turned her back and sat down.

Zangren, looking at her defenseless, stretched back, placed his hand on her shoulder. He could feel her body heat seeping through.

"…Sense the spirit, or in this case, the flow."

If one could sense it just by being told to, the number of Ryuken users would have exploded.

"…I don't understand."

"Of course, it's natural. I didn't understand either. But that's fine. Even if you can't sense it, imagine that something is there that can cause phenomena, believe in it, and chant the phenomenon. It can be light, water, anything."

Mie believed Zangren's words without doubt.

"…Water."

No phenomenon occurred, and Mie suddenly felt as if her body had lost all strength, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and she almost fell over.

Zangren, who quickly supported her from behind, used life spirit magic to work on Mie's life spirit.

Mie's life spirit had been almost completely drained of magical power by the spirits in the air, and Zangren was replenishing it from the outside.

This was the method of awakening spirit magic for those who awakened after the initial awakening on the Mid Continent, and it always required an assistant. In the past, when this method was not established, there were not a few casualties.

The purpose of completely draining the life spirit at first was to promote the perception of spirits by having them absorb magical power, but it also included the meaning of warning about the danger of complete depletion.

Then, was the spirit magic awakening that Zangren performed alone when he was summoned dangerous?

It was extremely dangerous in theory, but in reality, it wasn't.

The life force that sustains all living things in this world is deeply related to the vitality produced by life spirits. However, the summoners, including Zangren, were from Earth and did not need magical power to sustain life.

When the summoners were summoned to this world, they were given life spirits in their bodies.

The role of the life spirit is to use half of the produced vitality to sustain life and store the remaining half as surplus vitality, i.e., magical power. This ratio never changes, even if the amount of magical power produced by the life spirit increases through training. For example, if the total amount of magical power produced increased from 100 to 102, 51 would be used for sustaining life, and 51 would be stored as surplus vitality.

This was true even for summoners who did not use magical power to sustain life. The life spirit had this nature.

However, Zangren, without realizing that completely depleting magical power could be life-threatening, had completely depleted his magical power over a thousand times until Akari taught him.

As a result, the discrepancy between Zangren's Earth-born body and the life spirit of this world, Ellipsis, was gradually adjusted, reducing the proportion of vitality used for sustaining life and increasing the proportion of surplus vitality (magical power). This was one of the reasons for Zangren's large amount of magical power.

Other factors included the greater increase in magical power from complete depletion compared to stopping just before depletion, and the increased growth rate from repeatedly completely depleting the life spirit of a newborn life spirit, which was equivalent to a newborn baby at the time of summoning.

Currently, if the proportion of produced vitality is 100, Zangren uses about 75% as surplus vitality, i.e., magical power.

Zangren himself was unaware of this, and other summoners who were taught the danger of complete depletion of magical power at the academy immediately after being summoned also did not know.

Zangren continued to supply the minimum amount of magical power required by Mie's life spirit while touching her shoulder. Any more, and Mie's life spirit would resist and not accept it.

Zangren looked at the lying Mie.

In the darkness, illuminated by a faint light, Mie's chest rose and fell gently with each breath.

Relieved that there was no danger to her life, Zangren sighed with relief at the successful first awakening of spirit magic. It wasn't difficult, but it was the first time, and it was nerve-wracking.

"…What should I do now?"

Zangren frowned.

Mie was wearing a Mongolian-style ethnic costume that clearly outlined her body.

Her chest, neither too large nor too small, rose and fell with each breath, emphasized.

Should he stare at her as usual, or would that be too vulgar for an unconscious person?

Zangren was agonizing over such trivial matters.

Yukishiro yawned widely, finding it ridiculous, and Azurona, who had been unusually quiet, was already asleep, gnawing on Yukishiro's tail.

After much deliberation, Zangren made a decision.

Reluctantly, he averted his gaze from Mie.

But, unable to ignore her breathing, he glanced back.

It was a truly trivial decision.

After a while, Mie woke up with Zangren's assistance.

"Sorry for the trouble. —Ouch."

Mie pressed her temple. Her white fingers had hardened calluses. Her overworked fingers, which contrasted with her beautiful appearance, had a vivid sensuality due to her refined gestures.

"…That was complete depletion. Basically, don't do it. One mistake and you could die. During regular training, if you get a headache or joint pain, stop there. That's just before your magical power is depleted. Did you sense the spirit?"

"…Yes. It feels like a deep, gentle snowfall. Amazing, this is a spirit. …Water."

"Hey, stop it."

Despite Zangren's warning, Mie chanted and, surprisingly, succeeded.

Water began to drip from Mie's fingers.

Zangren was surprised by Mie's ability to sense the spirit on her first try and then successfully communicate her will to the spirit and manifest a phenomenon on her second try.

Mie's case might be influenced by the racial characteristics of the reindeer-type beastmen, which allow them to intuitively perceive the state of a person's body and mind, but even so, it took Zangren numerous attempts and a fainting spell before he could manifest fire in the snowy cave.

"What should I do next?"

Mie looked at Zangren.

It was pointless to be discouraged by a lack of talent now. He had to work with what he had. Zangren switched his thoughts and began teaching Mie spirit magic and life spirit magic.

The next morning. Zangren, who had taught Mie magic late into the night, woke up at an ungodly hour. He was about to go back to sleep when Yukishiro wanted to go to the ruins.

Azurona, remembering the Spartan training, was trembling, but Yukishiro denied it. Yukishiro was now more considerate of Zangren and Azurona's health after the previous failure.

She simply wanted to run around.

That's all there was to it.

Thus, this exploration would be led by Yukishiro, and Zangren, with Azurona wrapped around his neck, followed the enthusiastic Yukishiro, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Mie and Yoe had already returned, leaving a note of apology.

On the way to the ruins, a former martial artist who had once caused trouble with courtesans at a high-end establishment, accompanied by a group of thugs who looked like they were not to be trifled with, approached.

Avoiding the leading Yukishiro, he spoke to Zangren.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you the other day."

"…Yeah."

Zangren didn't want to get involved with this kind of person. He didn't need an apology. It would have been better if they hadn't approached.

"As an apology, how about we take care of you until you return to your country? We can't pay, but we'll provide you with food, drink, and women. We have better courtesans than the one with that body. …You don't like trouble, right?"

If Zangren had been in Japan, he might have meekly agreed, but not now.

"…If you have a top-class courtesan who is more beautiful and skilled than Mie and Yoe, I'll go."

It was impossible for Zangren to have access to top-class courtesans, and his request for a high-ranking courtesan made it clear that he had no intention of accepting the invitation.

The former martial artist narrowed his eyes, and the thugs began to threaten.

"…Do you know what will happen if you side with Mie?"

In the worst case, he could escape to another country. Given the world situation, the former martial artist and his group wouldn't pursue him. This thought made him feel more at ease.

"I paid to call a courtesan. That's all I did. Is that against the law? Let's settle this."

The situation was a bit different, but similar. There was no need to provide information.

"…Damn, you're mocking me."

Zangren's manner of speaking displeased the former martial artist, and one of the thugs, fists raised, lunged at him.

Zangren drew a weapon from his waist and assumed a stance.

Yukishiro, who had been watching the proceedings with a thoroughly annoyed expression, reacted.

"Are you mocking me?!"

Avoiding the thug's fist, which had a faint scent of martial arts, Zangren swung his weapon.

A dry sound echoed.

However, the thug showed no signs of being hit, and with a muddled gaze, he tried to glare at Zangren—

"Damn—gah!"

The thug let out a foolish sound and disappeared from Zangren's field of vision.

He had been crushed by Yukishiro.

Zangren had swung a stick with a large, dark green lump, about the size of a small dog.

It was a demonic weapon, or rather, a super-sized cat toy. Zangren, thinking of how to deal with a Ryuhua person without injuring them, had used it, which he had tucked into his waist. Even without channeling magical power, hitting with a giant's glove could be dangerous. Zangren still couldn't control his strength.

Yukishiro didn't crush the thug to aid Zangren. She simply reacted to the super-sized cat toy and crushed the man.

Zangren, thinking it wouldn't work, put the super-sized cat toy back in his waist, but he was glared at by two types of gazes, causing him to break into a cold sweat.

One was from the thugs, which was expected.

The other, the cause of his cold sweat, was the sharp gaze of Yukishiro. She hadn't forgotten the night of humiliation.

Zangren, fleeing from the terrifying gaze of Yukishiro, who was far more fearsome than the former martial artist and the thugs, quickly applied body strengthening and leaped over the thugs' heads, dashing towards the ruins.

The thugs, surprised by Zangren's sudden display of incredible physical ability, tried to chase after him, but they froze when glared at by the enraged Yukishiro.

If a hunting beast injured a person, it would be punished. This was the same in Ryuhua, and the thugs knew this. They also knew that hunting beasts didn't hurt people in the city.

However, they couldn't move due to the instinctual fear of Yukishiro. If the hunting beast killed everyone and fled overseas, it would be a waste of life. They had no intention of dying in the first place.

Yuk