Chapter 23

Chapter 23 (23/324)

23

Machines and People.

While humans may excel in delicacy, machines are overwhelmingly efficient. The magic-powered carriage, which could run on its own without a driver, was also demonstrating astonishing efficiency.

The moment the magic engine ignited, light burst from over a dozen magic inscriptions, and it began to quickly leave the territory.

Despite the absence of a driver to control the carriage, it left the city without a single accident, which was quite impressive.

Is this the power of autonomous driving?

Once we reached the main road outside the city, it really started to pick up speed.

'Really fast.'

Judging by how the scenery outside the window was flying by, it seemed faster than most fine horses.

Yet, the interior was so stable that I didn’t feel any motion sickness at all.

Indeed, a masterpiece is worth its price.

While enjoying the softness of the sofa, I glanced at Leonhardt, who was meditating with his eyes closed.

He was a hardworking kid.

He never slacked off in his training, whether awake or asleep.

'Well, that’s why.'

He must have achieved the high rank of Expert at the young age of twenty-three.

My gaze then turned to Ersel, who was sitting opposite me.

She had her legs neatly crossed, her hands folded on top, her back straight, and her neck held high.

Good grief.

It was making me uncomfortable just to look at her.

This isn’t the military or anything.

"You can sit more comfortably."

"This is comfortable for me..."

No, it’s not.

There’s no way anyone could find such a posture comfortable.

"This is an order. Don’t worry about appearances; sit in a way that lets you rest properly. Are you going to keep this up for a whole week?"

"..."

Her gaze shifted to the knight nearby.

She seemed quite concerned about Leonhardt, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

That posture looked pretty uncomfortable too.

But he was meditating and practicing mental exercises, so that’s why he was sitting like that.

He didn’t usually sit that way.

He’s not a monk or anything.

"If you’re worried about him, don’t be."

At my words, Leonhardt opened his eyes.

"Take the young master’s advice and rest comfortably. There’s no need to worry about me."

"..."

She finally started to loosen her legs and fidget with her hands.

Anyway.

If I hadn’t said anything, she would have kept that posture for the whole week.

She’s too rigid for her own good.

"By the way, how’s the spirit? Have you been summoning it often?"

"Yes. Every time you’re away, I go and summon it."

I had told her to summon it only in my room, and she had been following that instruction diligently.

"Is that so?"

"However, it wants to see more of the outside world..."

"In that case, you can summon it now and play with it. It’s just the three of us, after all."

At this, Leonhardt, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head.

"A spirit?"

"A spirit summoner."

"Ersel?"

"Yeah."

"For how long..."

"Not long. A little over a week? Didn’t you know?"

"..."

"Really? I’ve never heard of this before."

His bewildered expression seemed genuine.

When I went on the expedition to the forest, this kid was the one who guarded Ersel.

'So he didn’t know.'

My gaze naturally turned to her.

It seemed my maid had kept this a secret.

'Well, I never asked her to reveal it.'

That’s probably why she didn’t tell my guard knight either.

Anyway.

Since he didn’t know, it was time to tell Leonhardt about her talent. We would naturally find out during the dungeon exploration anyway.

"She’s really a spirit summoner."

At my words, he looked at Ersel.

"Is what the young master says true?"

"Yes, it’s true."

"You couldn’t summon a spirit on your own, so the young master must have helped you."

That was a reasonable assumption.

A maid’s salary wouldn’t be enough to summon a spirit for at least thirty years.

My maid wasn’t forty years old.

At the knight’s words, she nodded.

After a brief conversation with Ersel, he looked at me.

"Young master, did you use an activated spirit stone?"

"No, I didn’t."

To determine if someone had the talent of a spirit summoner, using a spirit stone was the standard method.

If you placed an activated spirit stone on your body, it would react based on whether you had the talent.

However, since I hadn’t placed a spirit stone on Ersel, I couldn’t lie about it in front of her.

At my words, Leonhardt tilted his head.

"Then how did you...?"

"It just felt right. I suggested it because I thought she had the talent, and it turned out well."

Since I couldn’t lie, I had to go with the feeling.

"If that’s true... perhaps it’s one of the young master’s hidden talents."

"It could be."

I understood what he was saying.

Some NPCs were born with unique talents.

Abel’s sixth sense was one of them.

There were also talents that could be inherited through bloodlines.

A good example was the Holy Empire.

The Holy Empire, the second-largest nation after the Alton Empire, was known for its direct descendants of the Pope often inheriting several unique abilities.

Such as divine powers or precognition.

These abilities weren’t always inherited, sometimes appearing after several generations.

He was probably referring to such special talents.

"I’d like to keep her being a spirit summoner a secret for now. It’s a bit inconvenient to reveal it right away. That’s why she only communicates with her spirit in my room."

"Understood."

It was a simple answer, but a trustworthy one. Words can vary greatly in credibility depending on who says them.

Meanwhile, Ersel summoned her spirit.

Flap, flap.

Good grief.

No matter how many times I hear it, the flapping sound is quite cute.

The ancient spirit, Ashiris.

How should I describe its appearance?

It was very similar to a character from a popular anime from the past.

'What was its name again?'

Flap.

Ah, was it something like a hamster called Pachimon?

It was exactly the same.

Since she didn’t hide its appearance, Leonhardt was also looking in the direction of the spirit.

"It doesn’t seem to be one of the four elemental spirits... Can you tell me what kind of spirit it is?"

"It’s an ancient spirit of light."

"Light?"

"Yes."

"Light, huh."

Leonhardt nodded quietly and stared at the spirit. He seemed quite intrigued.

"Is this your first time seeing it?"

"Yes. Spirit summoners are rare, and even when I do see one, nine out of ten times they summon an elemental spirit. However, an ancient spirit..."

Leonhardt closed his eyes as if thinking.

"I remember reading somewhere that ancient spirits grow continuously by interacting with their master... Do you know anything about ancient spirits, young master?"

"Not much, but generally... while ordinary elemental spirits don’t grow after being summoned, ancient spirits are initially summoned at the master’s level and gradually reveal their true form as their spirit power increases."

NPCs usually summoned low-level spirits to increase their spirit power, and once they reached a certain level, they would summon a higher-level spirit through a magic circle and make a new contract, a tedious process.

So, to summon a regular spirit, it was best to summon a spirit king from the start.

Even if you made a contract, it would consume a lot of spirit power, making it unusable immediately.

However, the advantage was that you could summon the spirits under the spirit king.

One of the benefits of directly contracting with the main office, so to speak.

Of course, you could summon spirits under higher or middle-level spirits, but the number and quality were significantly lower compared to a spirit king.

How could a branch office match the main office?

Compared to regular spirits, ancient spirits, which grow according to the master’s abilities, were much better.

At my straightforward answer, Leonhardt’s eyes lit up.

"You’ve been visiting the library a lot recently, and your knowledge has clearly increased."

"I only read books, so it’s natural."

While discussing ancient spirits, he looked at Ersel.

"By the way, what abilities does a spirit of light have?"

"It seems to specialize in healing and defense."

"Healing and defense. That does fit light well."

Understanding through experience is faster than a hundred explanations.

I said to Ersel, who was looking at me.

"Can you use it on him? That light cluster from before?"

"Ah, yes."

She then looked at my guard knight.

"Is it okay?"

Let me help you.

"Try it once. You’ll feel really good. Your head will be very clear."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it’s amazing."

At my persuasion, he nodded.

Suddenly, a brilliant light emerged from Ashiris’s body.

The white light cluster headed straight for Leonhardt.

After the light passed,

Surprise filled his eyes.

He blinked and looked at his body, as if trying to process the change.

"..."

"How was it? Pretty good, right?"

"Indeed..."

He looked at Ersel with wide eyes, having immediately recognized the amazing effect.

"I see why you want to keep her spirit a secret. With such an effect..."

"Exactly. It’s a bit inconvenient to reveal it right away. She’s just a maid now. If any problems arise, it would be hard to protect her."

If that Adolph guy were to receive this light directly,

He would foam at the mouth and try to eliminate my maid.

The moment he unleashed his power, this warm light would have a curse-like effect on him.

That’s why I’m keeping her spirit a secret.

Secret weapons should be revealed at the decisive moment to have the best effect.

When Adolph starts his rebellion,

This spirit of light will be a great help.

Five days passed.

We were now about two days away from Enphelum, the territory governed by the count.

'I should stop soon.'

The dungeon I planned to clear was right nearby.

After bringing up the holographic screen of the magic carriage,

I adjusted the direction of travel.

The destination was off the main road.

"Young master?"

"I heard there’s a place with a nice view nearby. I thought we could check it out."

It was more about the reward than the view, but that’s beside the point.

"Isn’t it dangerous?"

"With our skills? Even an ogre wouldn’t be a problem."

"..."

"We can all protect ourselves, right? It’s not that far from the main road, so it shouldn’t be too dangerous."

Maybe because of the time we spent fighting the twin-headed ogre,

Leonhardt didn’t object.

He must have realized that I was not only knowledgeable but also skilled in practice.

After maneuvering the carriage to the dungeon’s vicinity,

I pressed the rest button.

Whoosh.

The magic carriage gradually came to a stop.

I had stopped in a plain.

A peaceful place with many flowers in full bloom and butterflies fluttering around.

With such a view, they would understand why we stopped to look around.

"Since we’ve been sitting for a long time, let’s take a break outside. We haven’t left the carriage much in the past five days, except to take care of personal needs."

At my words, the two nodded in agreement.

After sitting still in the carriage for five days, they probably thought it was a good idea to get out for a bit.

The beautiful plain.

The dungeon was right nearby.

Among the flower fields, there was a hidden passage leading underground.

The secret resting place of the Minotaur.

The name of the dungeon we were about to explore.

Now, it was time to find this dungeon.