How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 14

Let’s Become a Mercenary (3)

Torches are cheap, but there’s a limit to how many you can carry.

More than anything, they’re inconvenient.

In some ways, they’re less cost-effective than lanterns.

‘Should I look into something else?’

I’d been pondering the lighting issue for a while now.

Dealing with the darkness was a problem I had to solve.

‘It should be possible soon, right?’

Okay. Lanterns are on hold.

I bought only the necessary emergency supplies and returned to the inn.

My course was set.

‘Let’s summon a spirit of light!’

* * *

Spirits have various attributes.

There are elemental attributes like water and lightning, and unique attributes in the mental realm like sleep.

Besides those, there are countless other attributes for spirits.

The rarer the attribute, the lower the probability of summoning it, and some require specific conditions from the summoner.

I don’t have a way to summon those spirits right now.

‘But it’s possible if I prepare.’

Some spirits have their summoning conditions described in the original work [the game the protagonist is familiar with], so I can meet them by recreating those conditions.

“It’s time to summon a spirit of light.”

A spirit of the light attribute.

It has almost no offensive power, but it can convert the summoner’s mana into light.

Dealing with darkness is useful not only in the early stages but also in the later parts of the original work.

As the light spirit’s rank increases, it seems that the light it emits not only creates illumination but also carries special power.

It’s definitely worth investing in.

‘Above all, it saves on lantern and oil costs!’

It might seem stingy, but the savings are surprisingly significant.

Anyway, isn’t it worth a try?

However, to increase the probability of summoning a light spirit, a somewhat troublesome task was necessary.

Like when summoning a lightning spirit, a material attuned to the attribute was needed.

My aptitude is ambiguous, so I can’t rely on probability alone.

“It should be about time, right?”

As soon as I returned to the inn, I checked the glass shards I had placed by the window.

Fortunately, they were still soaking up the sunlight well today.

These glass shards were obtained from a peddler who visited the village before.

It’s a material I’ve been planning and preparing since I successfully summoned Undine [a water spirit].

I’ve been exposing it to sunlight almost every day.

By doing this, the glass shards themselves absorb a faint natural energy.

It’s a similar logic to using a stone struck by lightning when summoning a lightning spirit.

The sun—light itself.

“It should be usable as a material now.”

Okay. Let’s do it.

I drew a summoning circle for the spirit on the floor and finished the preparations.

I immediately began the summoning ritual.

“Please! Spirit of light, please come!”

Trying until it works is also an option, but that’s a waste of time.

If it doesn’t work, let’s give up for now.

I’d welcome any other spirit too.

The more spirits, the better.

‘……How will it go?’

The summoning circle reacts and enters the spirit summoning process.

The magic circle drawn with blood vaporizes and slowly sublimates into spirit energy.

And white light powder begins to pour out from the summoning circle.

“……Huh? Is it really working?”

Finally, the light powder coalesced into a sphere emitting light, about one and a half fists in size.

The sphere flickered, dimly but persistently, hovering in front of my face as if it had a will of its own.

This guy is the spirit of light.

The contract was established simply by me asking for its consent and accepting the light emitted by the spirit of light.

Easy.

“Light spirit Wisp, huh.”

The moment of the contract, I had a feeling that this would be its name, so I asked.

Wisp flickered as if to agree.

It seems it can’t speak, and communication is limited to flickering its light, but surprisingly, that’s enough to understand.

It’s because of spirit sensitivity.

I understand its intentions even without words.

“Okay, Wisp. I want to check your abilities first. Is that okay?”

Flick!

It flickers once.

Hmm~ I guess that means it’s okay.

Since it’s dark now that the sun has set, let’s test its brightness.

‘But what should I command? It wouldn’t understand if I said 14 watts…….’

It’s a lowest-grade spirit, so its light output won’t be that great.

Since I’m doing it anyway, I should check the maximum output first, I guess.

“Wisp, emit the maximum light you can. Can you do it?”

Flick. Flick.

Um? Is it asking if it’s okay? I don’t know why it’s hesitating.

“Just do it!”

I gave a thumbs up with a broad smile.

Go ahead and do it confidently.

And Wisp shivers.

As if it’s struggling to increase its power.

‘……Huh? Wait?’

I realized it then.

It’s right in front of my eyes, isn’t it?

Is it okay to suddenly increase the brightness in this state?

A bad feeling flashed through my mind.

“Wait! Wisp! Stop for now! Let’s go outside instead…….”

But it was too late.

At the same time as I tried to stop it, Wisp shone brightly.

Faaaaaaaat!

With a pure white light, my vision was filled with white.

“Ah…….”

I remembered. What this feeling was.

Back in my military service, when that damn senior officer would shine lights into the eyes of me and my newly assigned comrades at night as a prank.

“Uwaaaaaaaat?!”

The room was filled with white light along with my scream.

My eyes!

It’s really damn blinding.

This light caused a slight commotion outside due to the guests who witnessed it, and I had to apologize to the innkeeper.

I need to be careful next time.

Anyway, now that I know Wisp’s light is sufficient, it seems I can properly carry out the sewer request.

* * *

There are three entrances to the underground sewer located near the outskirts of the city.

Soldiers guard each entrance, so permission is required to enter.

The permit was issued by the Mercenary Guild, so there’s no problem.

As soon as I arrived, I showed the permit to the soldier.

He glanced over the permit and handed it back with a bitter smile.

“I see. It’s about that time for cleaning again. Well, you’re doing a lot of hard work.”

“Isn’t that how we make a living?”

“Well, I guess so.”

It seems they’re used to dealing with lower-ranked mercenaries who frequently visit.

“Well, since it seems like it’s your first time, I’ll give you some advice.”

The soldier’s voice lowered slightly as if he was nervous.

“Be careful not to get lost. You received a map of the outer sewer, right?”

“Yes. I have the one the guild provided.”

However, the sewer map only shows the outer areas.

The paths inside are secret, known only to the lord, or so they say.

Perhaps they’re wary of it being misused.

Therefore, the request is only to patrol the known outer areas and eliminate any monsters found.

It’s simple, but dangerous if you’re not careful.

“The inside is so complex that even mercenaries who have survived harsh dungeons can’t find their way out without a map.”

“……I’ll keep that in mind.”

It’s common for rookie mercenaries who enter the inner areas without knowing better to not return.

“I will never go inside.”

I gave a suitable answer and opened the entrance to the sewer.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t smell that bad? I was a little prepared for it.

“Ah, the smell? Hehehe. You’ll see when you go inside.”

The soldier, seeing me tilting my head, said something meaningful.

“……Well, I’ll go down. See you later then.”

I bowed my head once and went down.

The path leading down seemed endless.

“Wow…… it’s so dark.”

I swallowed hard.

It’s nothing much, but it makes me feel uneasy.

I carefully descended the stairs, making sure not to misstep.

About halfway down, I couldn’t see well.

There wasn’t enough light coming in.

It’s time for our spirit of light to step up.

“Wisp, please provide some light.”

I summoned Wisp and had it emit a suitable light.

After practicing a bit since the summoning, I got the hang of it. It seems that its brightness is reproduced by sensing and recreating the image I imagine in my head.

A light that illuminates about 50 meters ahead extends downward.

Thanks to that, I don’t have to worry about misstepping.

As I continued down, I finally saw the end.

I came out through the passage, looked around, and was speechless.

“……I thought it wouldn’t be that wide.”

I want to kick myself in the shin for thinking it was just a sewer.

I understood why the soldier spoke in such a strange tone.

“……It’s too wide.”

When I increased Wisp’s light output a bit more, I could barely see the ceiling.

The ceiling alone was about 10 meters high, judging by eye.

The width is even greater.

In the middle, there’s a waterway with sewage flowing through it.

And…….

“Ugh!”

A considerable stench is starting to torment my nose.

It’s so foul it feels like something will come out of my nose.

To give you an example, it’s like the stench you’d feel when opening a sink drain that’s been neglected for 10 years.

“Ugh…… it’s awful.”

How didn’t this stench rise up?

I soon found out why.

A low wind is blowing throughout the passage.

Somehow, the wind only flows in one direction and never goes upward.

‘Is it because of the sewer’s structure?’

The craftsmanship of those who built this place must have shone.

Well, what good is being impressed by a sewer?

“Let’s just quickly finish the request and get out…….”

My nose is starting to get numb, so it’s a bit more bearable.

I rechecked the map and decided to adjust Wisp’s brightness.

It’s too noticeable as it is now.

I also thought of a light that would be useful in a place like this.

“Wisp, let’s go with that. Scouting light.”

Flick!

Wisp read my image, answered with a flicker, and changed the nature of the light.

A dark reddish-brown light.

This would be less noticeable from a distance than the previous light.

And then.

“Sprite, come out and keep watch.”

I summoned Sprite and placed it on my head.

“Keep an eye out too.”

-Watch?

“I mean watch my back.”

My eyesight has its limits.

I have to increase my eyes, even if it consumes some mana.

“Sprite, I’ll watch the front, so you watch the back. You know what to do if something comes, right?”

-Electrocute it!

“……Well, I guess it understood.”

Let’s just say it understood.

With Wisp in front and Sprite guarding my back, I continued down the sewer path.

‘By the way, if it’s a monster that lives in the sewer…….’

-Behind! There! Shoot!

Sprite shouted then.

As ordered, it immediately fired a thin electric shock, electrocuting something that had crawled to my heel.

“Ugh?! You scared me!”

Turn on the blinker and come in! Please! [A metaphor for giving a warning before attacking.]

I quickly dashed forward a few steps to secure some distance and identified its true form.

“……Slime.”

A monster whose entire body is made of mucus.

A place like this sewer is a slime’s paradise.

The slime was electrocuted and bubbling from its mucous body, drooping limply.

This is because it’s highly conductive due to being made of mucus.

“Good job, Sprite.”

If this guy hadn’t sensed it and fired the electric shock, my ankle would have been stickily entangled by that slime.

You can’t underestimate slimes.

Once they stick, they’ll stick to your thigh in the blink of an eye.

Especially the mucus of the ones living in places like this is nothing short of filth.

It can be poisonous if it touches your skin.

It’s a dangerous monster.

And the characteristic of slimes is that there’s more than one.

“Ugh…….”

Looking at the waterway with sewage flowing through it, there were already six more slimes approaching upstream.

It’ll be annoying if they all come up.

The location is perfect.

They’re soaking in the sewage.

“Sprite! Electric shock! Drop it in that sewage!”

-Got it!

Sprite fired three streams of electricity, dropping them directly into the sewage instead of the slimes.

Zzzzzzzzz!

Lightning discharged over the water’s surface, splashing dirty water everywhere.

The stench got worse because of that, but it can’t be helped.

The discharged electricity travels through the water, electrocuting all the slimes.

As expected, wiping out those living in water with electricity is the best!

This is a time-honored traditional sweep fishing method.

Battery fishing, hooray!