Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 32

32.

“Be strong, my lord! Surely everything will be alright.”

“Heaven would never abandon the blood of Swalt like this!”

“You must not give up here!”

At the knights’ cries, the young lord nodded, his face filled with tears. Then Ferris spoke with a brightened expression.

“My lord, I have good news. We found a spring nearby.”

“A spring, you say? But haven’t you been here all along?”

“Would you like to come with me?”

At Ferris’s words, the young lord and the knights followed him, puzzled. Leaving the cave and entering the forest, he stopped not far away. Before them was a small but clear spring.

“Wa-water!”

“There really is a spring!”

“How did you do it, Ferris?”

At the knights’ surprised exclamations, Ferris smiled gently and replied.

“I asked the sylphs [air spirits] to search the surroundings. I’m glad it was fruitful.”

“Wow, that’s great. Anyway, we’re saved. This should last us for a few days.”

The knights, overjoyed, hurriedly filled their water bottles. The young lord stared at them for a moment before turning his gaze to Ferris.

“Sylphs… are those wind spirits?”

“Yes, they are lesser wind spirits, my lord.”

“Then what about that being in the form of words from before? That was also a spirit, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. That is Shuriel, an intermediate wind spirit. It’s embarrassing, but that’s the highest-ranking spirit I can summon.”

“Embarrassing? Why do you say that? Your spirit was very strong.”

Then the knights, who were listening to their conversation, quickly agreed.

“That’s right, Ferris. It was really amazing. Every time a gust of wind blew, enemies would fall like corpses. Wow—it really gave me goosebumps.”

“Besides, you even found this spring nearby. I never knew spirits were such wonderful beings. Well, this is the first time I’ve properly seen one.”

“Ah, me too.”

“Same here.”

For the past decade, there have been almost no spirit masters appearing on the continent. The existing spirit masters almost all had their contracts terminated or their ranks lowered, following a path of terrible decline. But no one knew the reason, nor did they care. They were too busy trying to survive.

Thus, the existence of spirits was gradually fading into legend on the continent. Ferris was a rare intermediate spirit master who appeared in such a situation, a commoner who was recognized for his talent and received the title of Baron.

Originally, knights who revered martial prowess often shunned mages or spirit masters who did not wield swords. Moreover, since they were mostly composed of pure-blooded nobles, they were bound to be distant from Ferris, who was of commoner origin. But this incident made them rethink the existence of spirit masters. After all, he was the benefactor who saved their lives in a moment of crisis.

Ferris, seeing the knights staring at him with sparkling eyes, waved his hand with an awkward smile.

“You flatter me. If I were a water spirit master, I wouldn’t have needed to come out here to find water; I could have supplied fresh water right on the spot.”

“Hoo, water spirits can do that. So, water spirit masters can obtain water at any time?”

“Yes. Is it just obtaining it? I’ve heard that high-level spirit masters can even bring rain to entire villages.”

“Wow! That’s really amazing.”

“If there had been water spirit masters during the last drought…….”

“…….”

At someone’s muttered words, the atmosphere quickly became somber. The past decade had changed many things. Their current aimless wandering was also an extension of that time. Seeing the gloomy faces of the knights, Ferris comforted them with a flustered expression.

“I brought up an unnecessary topic. Let’s quickly get water and go back. We need to take care of the injured, don’t we?”

“Ah! That’s right. This is no time for this.”

Only then did the knights come to their senses, hurriedly fill their water bottles, and turn around. But among all the busy movements, there was one person who remained motionless. It was the young lord. Ferris cautiously approached him, seeing him frozen with a thoughtful expression.

“My lord, you should also go back now…….”

“Ferris, I want to ask you something.”

“Please, my lord.”

“Can’t you summon water spirits? Even though you’re a spirit master?”

At his question, Ferris widened his eyes slightly before smiling gently.

“Even spirit masters can’t summon all spirits. Each has its own compatible attributes and affinities. Moreover, water spirits require more mana and affinity with nature than other spirits. I’ve tried a few times, but it hasn’t worked out well.”

“……I see.”

The young lord looked noticeably disappointed. Did he want to see a water spirit? Ferris, feeling awkward, looked at him and soon had a good idea.

“By the way, do you know, my lord? There’s a theory that your first ancestor was a Blue Dragon who enjoyed playing [taking human form and living among humans].”

“I’ve heard that too. And I think it’s somewhat true. The first ancestor wielded powers impossible for a human.”

“If that’s true, then you might be able to summon water spirits.”

“……Really?”

“Blue Dragons have an affinity for water. If you have their blood flowing through you, even if it’s diluted, there’s a possibility. Whenever you have time, try reciting the summoning incantation. In times like these, when there’s plenty of water, you might be able to summon a lower-level spirit.”

“What’s the summoning incantation?”

At the boy’s question, his eyes shining, Ferris kindly explained without any suspicion. He told him the simple summoning spell and how to summon.

“To summon, you must have a medium that is the attribute of each spirit. In other words, to call a water spirit, you must do it at a spring or river. The lower water spirit is Naias, the intermediate is Undine, and the higher is Cyciel. If you summon a higher-level spirit, the spirits under its command will naturally be subordinate to you.”

“What about the Spirit King? Isn’t the highest rank among spirits the Spirit King?”

“Ah, that’s right. The name of the Water Spirit King is Elquines.”

“Elquines…….”

The boy rolled the pronunciation in his mouth several times, as if repeating it. His blue eyes held a firm light, as if he had made a decision.

“Is the summoning method the same for him too?”

“Yes? Ah, it is, but… please don’t even think about summoning the Spirit King, my lord.”

“Why not?”

“Summoning the Spirit King consumes enormous amounts of mana and life force. Moreover, even if you do that, there’s no guarantee of success. Especially since no spirit master has ever succeeded in summoning Elquines. As soon as you try, all the mana in your body will run out and you will die.”

“I see.”

“Do you understand, my lord? You must never summon the Spirit King.”

However, the young lord was not listening to him at all. Only the name ‘Elquines’ was lingering in his ears.

* * *

Rustle.

Deep in the night, a small figure entered the dark mountains. It was the young lord who had secretly slipped away from his sleeping companions. He arrived at the spring that Ferris had discovered.

‘To summon a water spirit, you need a medium of water, he said.’

He stared at the spring, illuminated by the moonlight, for a while, then took a deep breath and dipped his hand into the clear water. He felt a cold, damp sensation.

‘I’m going to summon a spirit. …Among them, Elquines.’

Ferris had repeatedly warned him not to, but he had been planning this from the beginning. Either way, he had nowhere else to retreat. Whether he died here or was caught by the pursuers someday, he would surely die. In that case, it was better to try a reckless attempt. His eyes were clearer than ever.

However, the boy did not know what secrets the spring in front of him held. Over the past few months, the continent had been hit by major storms and heavy rains in succession. Humans did not know it, but it was all the result of the Spirit Kings moving busily to restore the continent in a short period of time. Among them, the energy of the Water Spirit King Elquines was particularly rampant.

The concentrated water energy in a short period of time was so great that the continent could not fully digest it. The remaining energies gathered in one place and were naturally scheduled to disappear into the air.

What Ferris discovered was the ‘Mana Spring’ that had been temporarily created for that disappearance. If you use this water to recite the summoning incantation, you can summon even high-level spirits with only a little affinity for nature.

Here, the boy had one more special opportunity. Originally, recent humans were descendants born between the dragon Arricia, who was playing [taking human form and living among humans], and a human woman. Although the blood was almost diluted, in his case, the blood of the Blue Dragon was mixed in once more in the middle, causing a slight synergistic effect. As a result, he had a little more natural affinity than others.

The affinity inherited from his ancestors and the spring containing concentrated mana. The meeting of these two was making the summoning of the Water Spirit King Elquines fully possible.

If the boy had arrived at the spring a little later, it would not have been possible. Without knowing it, he was drawing the energy of infinite mana into his own.

* * *

“Huh, a summoning magic circle……?”

I felt like my non-existent heart was pounding. I swallowed my breath, rubbed my eyes, and blinked repeatedly. Still, the golden hologram in front of me did not disappear. Rather, it was emitting an even clearer light.

The more it did, the more the doubt in my head turned into a clear conviction. This was definitely a summoning magic circle.

‘Who on earth…….’

Could it be that some brave dragon ignored Lapis Lazuli and recited the summoning incantation? I swallowed hard and slowly brought my hand to the magic circle.

Paat!

At that moment, a dazzling golden light began to scatter in all directions from within the magic circle. At the same time, tremendous pressure engulfed my entire body. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to resist.

“Uh? Aaaagh!”

A dizziness like falling from a high-rise building struck me. It was a similar feeling to when I entered the Room of Creation sometime ago.

‘Ah, please! Give me some warning about this!’

Fortunately, the sensation of falling did not last long.

After a while, I felt my body stabilizing and opened my tightly closed eyes. Then, a completely unfamiliar space spread around me.

The first thing I saw was lush vegetation and a small spring in the middle. In addition, there were huge rocks and steep paths here and there. At first glance, I could tell that it was in the middle of a deep mountain.

Could a dragon be living in a place like this?

Looking around with a bewildered heart, I inadvertently lowered my gaze and was startled. Someone was lying face down there.