Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 8

The Eighth Tale

Even in a space filled only with water, there was day and night. It’s just that the phenomenon of the sun setting and the moon rising didn’t occur. Once it was night, the surroundings darkened.

One fascinating thing was that even in such distinct ‘darkness,’ my eyes could clearly make out the surroundings. From the flow of water to the shape of the minute water droplets within it, I could see everything in detail as if looking through a microscope, if I so desired.

‘This is… amazing.’

In the past, I had congenitally poor eyesight and couldn’t even distinguish objects right in front of me. I always wore thick magnifying glasses, but even those were better than nothing; I was practically blind.

Around that time, my biggest goal was to work part-time and save enough money to get LASIK surgery [laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, a type of refractive surgery for correcting vision]. Since I had been earning my own money to cover tuition and allowance since middle school, I already had enough money in my bank account.

However, for a minor like me to undergo surgery, a guardian’s consent form was absolutely necessary. My parents would never have allowed it, and I didn’t want to go to the hospital and beg, explaining my personal circumstances. So, I decided to get the surgery after graduating and becoming an adult. It was, in a way, a lifelong aspiration.

Even when I was a ghost, I wore glasses like a part of myself. But now that I was reborn, I have such excellent eyesight. It was a moment when I regretted not dying sooner.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to that money. Well, Taejin had the bankbook, so he must have taken care of it.’

I had several close friends, but the only one who knew all my personal affairs was Hataejin. He was a grateful guy who secretly cared for me and took care of me behind the scenes. I wouldn’t have minded giving him all the money in the bankbook. Of course, Taejin is kind, so he probably didn’t use the money himself and gave it to my parents. Or maybe he donated it to a good cause.

What’s certain is that the money wasn’t used for my funeral expenses. His thinking is obvious. He didn’t want it to look like I had foreseen my death and saved money in advance. If I were in the opposite position, I wouldn’t have wanted to use that money either.

‘No, I shouldn’t think about this anymore. I need to realize I’m a Spirit King as soon as possible.’

I quickly shook my head, clearing the thoughts that filled my mind. Then, I recalled the conversations the two Spirit Kings had before they left.

“So, what happens to me now? Am I just going to be stuck like this, unable to do anything?”

The expression ‘my eyes went dark’ must have been created for times like this. A Spirit King who erodes their own abilities. I never dreamed that a moment’s wrong decision would lead to such a result. But Minerva immediately dismissed my worries.

“No, that’s not the case. Even if the awakening is slow, the fact that you are a Spirit King doesn’t change. Eventually, everything will be resolved.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes, but the situation here isn’t good enough to wait that long. We need your abilities right now.”

Originally, if there were no problems in Arkhadon, there wouldn’t have been much damage even if my awakening as a Spirit King was slow. But now that all the water spirits have disappeared, Minerva explained that it would be difficult if I didn’t awaken my abilities as soon as possible. The lower-level spirit Naias alone can create small streams and springs, but it’s impossible to purify or create vast areas like rivers or seas.

“And it’s not just about creating spirits.”

“Then…?”

“First, we need to rain evenly across the entire continent. Together with Minerva, we need to create a storm and cross the continent as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’ll unblock the blocked water veins and absorb the pouring rain into the ground, and your help is needed to properly establish the waterways at this time. Many plants have disappeared, so the power of the ground itself has become too weak.”

What? Rain, storms, and unblocking water veins?

Trowell’s explanations were all shocking. I never knew that the Spirit King was involved in such detailed aspects. I was as shocked as when I found out that the moving stage equipment I saw on TV was all handmade.

“You’ll probably have to put in all your strength for about a month or two. Then, it won’t be as good as before, but it will recover to some extent.”

“Um… I don’t know how to do that?”

“I know. You’re having trouble with the most basic creation of spirits, so I think the rest is even more impossible.”

“Then what should I do? What about the gods? Aren’t the gods doing anything?”

“Gods? The ecosystem of this Arkhadon is entirely under the jurisdiction of us four Spirit Kings. It’s our own area that the main god has directly designated. They have no right to interfere or intervene in matters of the natural world.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even if we deliberately mess up the natural system of this world, they accept and follow it if that’s our decision. Well, thanks to that, the handling of this incident has been delayed that much.”

Ah, so that’s why they didn’t know about the drought until it had lasted for 10 years. I thought it was strange that a dimension that should never be destroyed found out about the disaster so late, but I didn’t know there were these circumstances. It seems they thought the Spirit Kings had deliberately caused the disaster until then.

“Don’t worry too much, Jihoon. Now that things have turned out this way, let’s take it easy. As Minerva said, you’ll eventually awaken everything. We’re happy enough that you were born.”

“But if we don’t recover right away, won’t Arkhadon still be suffering from the drought?”

“That’s true, but it’s okay.”

“Okay…”

As I was taken aback by the cheerful answer and lost my words, Trowell smiled brightly.

“We survived even when not a single drop of rain fell. It’ll be much better from now on compared to then. Anyway, it’s not like they’re grateful to us for rushing.”

“Trowell, don’t say things like that…”

Then Minerva, who was listening next to him, looked at him with a slightly scolding expression. Trowell shrugged lightly and replied.

“What I’m saying isn’t wrong. It’s true that all the credit goes to the gods for our efforts.”

“To the gods?”

“Humans think that everything we do is done by God. In fact, most of the gods who intervene here are troublemakers in history. But it can’t be helped. They’re too weak and want to rely on an absolute being. It’s annoying when they give credit to God for our hard work.”

…I don’t think it’s just sometimes?

Even though he was smiling, I felt a strangely thorny feeling from Trowell. It might just be my imagination, but he doesn’t seem to be very favorable to gods or people.

At that time, Minerva, who had been lost in thought, raised her head with a determined expression.

“Jihoon, I have a proposal for you.”

“A proposal?”

“It’s a way to awaken your abilities as quickly as possible. It’s unprecedented, but I don’t think there’s any other way now.”

“Really? There’s a way?”

“What is it, Minerva?”

Not only me but also Trowell showed interest in her words and asked. But the moment I heard the following words, I had no choice but to freeze in place from the tense state I was in.

“Jihoon will learn how to handle power from us for the time being.”

“…Huh?”

Wait a minute. That’s all you could say with a hesitant face? You want me to learn how to handle power? It’s obvious that I, who knows nothing, have to learn. Did you think you weren’t going to teach me?

I stared at Minerva, dumbfounded. I wondered if she was joking, but her expression as she looked at me was still serious. Then the proposal from before is genuine…

‘How can it take you so many minutes to come to such an obvious conclusion?’

I can’t understand it no matter how I think about it. Could it be that the mature and intellectual appearance she shows is all a lie? But that wasn’t the only thing that was embarrassing.

“We’re going to teach Jihoon? Isn’t that too extreme, Minerva?”

Rather, Trowell opposed the proposal, which was so natural to me. Minerva also replied with a guilty expression.

“I told you there’s no other way. If Jihoon is okay with it, I want to do it…”

“But still, I don’t think that’s right.”

“Is it too much after all?”

“Of course, Minerva. Think about Jihoon’s position. Would it be possible?”

“Well…”

Is teaching me something such a big deal that you’re making such a fuss?

As Minerva and Trowell reacted like that, I felt like I was the strange one who was more dumbfounded.

Is there a rule in the spirit world that you shouldn’t teach someone something? It’s absurd, but that seemed to be the most plausible explanation. In the end, I matched the conversation between the two people appropriately to relieve their guilt for an unknown reason.

“Um, I don’t know what the problem is… but I’m fine with it? I think it’s a really good idea, Minerva.”

“…What?”

“Jihoon! Do you really think so?”

The reaction from the two Spirit Kings was greater than expected. Minerva’s surprised expression and Trowell’s exclamation of astonishment echoed at the same time. Looking at the two people’s stiff faces, I nodded awkwardly.

“Yeah, really. Actually, I was going to ask you that first. If you’re okay with it, I’m definitely in favor.”

“Hee, Jihoon. You’re a really good guy?”

“Ahaha… Really? I’m not that good.”

“No, it must have been a very difficult decision, thank you so much. I’m impressed with your understanding. Right, Minerva?”

“Yes.”

Minerva nodded with a soft smile at Trowell’s words asking for agreement. Their gazes towards me contained more intense favor than before.

But for me, I just couldn’t understand this whole situation. To hear words like thank you or understanding for just this much. Shouldn’t I be the one who should be thankful for this? It’s their side that has to take the precious time to teach me, who doesn’t know anything. No matter how I think about it, I couldn’t stop thinking that the positions had been reversed.

Later, I found out that my expectations were somewhat correct. Spirit Kings themselves are ‘perfect’ beings, so they can’t imagine being taught by someone. Therefore, even in unavoidable situations like now, this proposal itself is said to be a very rude act. In particular, the Water Spirit King has a strong sense of pride and causes extreme rejection of other people’s interference.

As a similar example, in the case of Elquines of the previous generation, Ifrit (also said to be the previous generation, not the current Ifrit) once gave him a stern word of advice, and Elquines immediately attacked him and devastated the area on the spot. In fact, until then, they used to point out each other’s shortcomings and correct them, but after that, they gave up the idea of daring to give advice or suggestions.

In the end, all these tacit rules originated from Elquines of the previous generation. And I, Elquines of this generation, broke it again.

‘Well, anyway, we decided to study from tomorrow. I can play as much as I want today.’

It was already quite dark, but it didn’t matter because there was no problem looking around. Moreover, Spirit Kings, like ghosts, are a type of spirit body, so I heard that they don’t feel fatigue or are affected by life even if they don’t eat or sleep.

In other words, I can stay up all night and play without affecting my studies tomorrow. I looked around with an extremely satisfying feeling and started the work of getting familiar with the place where I will live in the future.

Contrary to my initial expectation that there was nothing but water, I went deeper below the surface and found that there were items necessary for living here and there. However, unlike common wooden furniture, the furniture here was all made of stone and rock.

There was nothing that wasn’t made of stone, including tables, chairs, beds, and even drawers. The surface felt natural, as if it had been like that from the beginning, not artificially carved. There were also seaweed and shells embedded here and there, as if to show that it was underwater.

I opened the drawer without thinking. Inside, there were piles of paper (surprisingly, it wasn’t wet), quills, and small accessories piled up. Among them, I found a small hand mirror tucked away in one corner. The surface of the mirror was covered with black moss, as if to prove that it had been neglected for a long time.

‘The previous generation didn’t seem to care much about their appearance.’

Just as I was about to put it down without thinking, I suddenly picked up the mirror again. I realized that I had never seen my own appearance.

Come to think of it, what do I look like? In fact, even in the early days of being reborn, I still had lingering feelings about my past appearance. But after seeing the particularly splendid appearances of the other Spirit Kings, I couldn’t help but think a little differently.

No matter how positive I am, I know that my past appearance wasn’t very handsome. It would be quite miserable if I was full of shortcomings and even my appearance was significantly different. Come to think of it, did Ifrit say that I looked like a woman? Looking at the shape of my hands and skin color, it doesn’t seem bad, but I still wanted to check it out for sure.

Even if it’s ordinary, it’s okay! Please, just don’t be ugly! With a pounding heart, I carefully wiped away the moss from the mirror. And finally, the moment the surface was revealed…