How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 250

278. The Spirit Master’s Leader (6)

“Well, well… doesn’t seem like a welcoming party.”

“I sense hostility.”

Dire also became alert, drawing his weapon.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

Elmerot questioned the man standing at the center of the spirit masters surrounding them.

His name was Vilmons.

Hmm, where have I heard that before?

“Who is that?”

“Don’t you know? That’s the vice guild master of the Spirit Master Guild.”

Elmerot seemed to recognize him, identifying the man immediately.

“Ah, so that’s the guy who gets all the work dumped on him by the guild master. Poor thing.”

“…”

For some reason, Vice Guild Master Vilmons frowned at my comment.

“Enough with the nonsense! Our position is to manage the guild’s existence on behalf of the guild master.”

“That’s just getting the work dumped on you.”

“…”

He was speechless; perhaps there was some truth to it.

“Well, whether you have a lot of work or not, it’s none of my business. …So, what is all this about?”

I cut to the chase and questioned him directly.

“Depending on the situation, should I take this as a challenge?”

Whether to take it as such or not, they were already full of fighting spirit.

“…It is the Master’s order.”

“What?”

I had to doubt my ears at that answer.

Who gave the order?

“The Master has ordered us to secure Elmerot, who deceived the former Master, and those in league with him.”

“…What bullshit.”

I had just spoken directly with the guild master a moment ago.

And suddenly, such an order is given?

At first, I thought he was trying to pull some kind of scam.

‘But he doesn’t seem to be lying.’

If they were trying to deal with us as they pleased, ignoring Senileina’s intentions.

Wouldn’t that be too much?

That’s why the former vice guild master couldn’t take such drastic measures.

‘So, she really gave the order?’

It was unsettling, but I had to come to a conclusion.

‘It’s hard to believe she changed her mind so suddenly…’

In any case, it seemed I had no choice but to confirm it directly.

I had a bad feeling.

“Anyway, you guys should step aside. I need to confirm whether that order was actually given.”

“…I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

Vilmons quietly drew his sword.

The spirit stone blade shimmered.

Probably equipment to amplify spirit magic.

“By the Master’s order, we will restrain you here.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Hmm?”

I casually gestured with my hand.

The spirit masters surrounding us frowned.

“Are you being arrogant?”

“Come on, if you’re so confident, try it. Since when has the Spirit Master Guild been so talkative?”

“You’ll regret this.”

As he spoke, those who had shown hostility first were the spirit masters surrounding us.

They each summoned spirits.

Spirits of various attributes gathered and surrounded us.

All of them were intermediate level, probably the guild’s elite.

“Dire, I’ll leave some of the idiots to you.”

“Leave it to me. If necessary, I can handle it alone…”

“No. I plan to help too. Let’s finish this quickly.”

I summoned a sword from the air.

As soon as I drew it, my senses expanded, and my aura unfolded.

“Aura?”

“Ridiculous… and they call themselves high-level spirit masters!”

The spirit masters showed agitation.

They must have thought I only had spirit magic.

“Heh, you probably came prepared with plenty of spirit magic countermeasures, but…”

I smiled, eyeing the net-like tools they were holding.

“Too bad for you, they won’t work on me.”

I leaped in instantly, cutting down the spirits they had summoned with my sword, canceling the summons.

Intermediate-level spirits couldn’t stop my sword energy.

With that momentum, I quickly jumped into the midst of the spirit masters, tearing apart the nets they were holding.

“Spirit sealing nets…”

The most standard of spirit master countermeasures.

If covered by that net, it has the effect of disrupting the wavelengths when releasing spirit magic.

‘Even if I were covered, I could just tear it apart with force…’

Even so, there was no need to deliberately get caught.

I chased after the spirit masters, knocking them down one by one.

Similarly, Dire was skillfully suppressing the other spirit masters.

At least in close combat, he was faster and more resourceful than me.

Already, more than four spirit masters were rolling on the floor, unconscious.

I was supposed to be superior in power and technique, thanks to the sword’s abilities… but I couldn’t ignore experience.

“Attack him first!”

“Surround him and attack!”

Small water spirits surrounded me, shooting water arrows.

However, they were slow and had weak water pressure compared to when my Undine was low-level.

“Go back and start your training from the beginning!”

I spread my sword energy wide, slashing in all directions, scattering the water droplets and returning the water spirits.

Similarly, lightning poured down, but it was blocked just by unfolding my aura.

The wind that bound my body scattered just by lightly stomping my feet.

‘There’s no need to fight them with spirit magic.’

Was this how I felt when I was inexperienced with spirit magic and faced a human with excellent swordsmanship?

Aura. It’s a cheat!

Before I knew it, the spirit masters were more focused on screaming and dodging than fighting me.

“I didn’t hear he was this much of a monster!”

“Fall back! Damn it! My spirits are already all defeated!”

They were truly a disorganized rabble.

I could just leave the rest to Dire.

I leisurely stood in front of Vilmons, blocking his path.

“Well, it seems like you need to retrain your guild members? How can they all be defeated by a single sword by the same spirit master?”

I deliberately taunted him; even he couldn’t maintain his composure.

I could see the anger in his eyes.

“…Your arrogance will only last for now.”

Vilmons raised his spirit power.

A power that couldn’t be compared to the other rabble condensed, and he summoned the spirit he had contracted with.

“…Titan! Show that brat your power!”

As Vilmons’ spirit power erupted, the ground beneath him trembled in response.

A massive hand soared up to seize me.

“Whoops!”

I leaped through the air, evading the hand, and flicked my sword, gauging the size of the enormous spirit.

“A rock giant, huh… That’s a big hand you’ve got there.”

Its attribute is probably earth, the same as our gnomes [earth spirits].

“And judging by appearances, it’s high-grade…”

I’ll give him that much.

As I whistled, Vilmons, filled with arrogance, shouted,

“You may handle high-grade spirits as well! But when it comes to spirit magic, I won’t lose!”

“Hmm, is that so?”

There’s no need to rise to the bait, but it would be good to crush that confidence head-on.

I drew out my spirit power as well.

“Come, Undine.”

Water appeared in the air, and soon Undine was summoned, revealing herself.

-……Wow, it’s huge!

And she exclaimed in admiration at the sight of the massive earth spirit.

I wonder who influenced her to be so brazen.

“Undine! Let’s play with that big guy over there!”

-Can I make myself big too?

“Go wild~.”

I retrieved the Bloody Staff from subspace [a personal storage dimension], holding it in my free hand instead of my sword, and amplified my spirit power, channeling it through.

Simultaneously, Undine gathered a massive amount of water, using it to create a giant water golem.

“As the saying goes, you have to meet size with size.”

I intended to readily match his method and crush him completely.

Vilmons, realizing my intention to confront him head-on, turned red in the face and burst with frustration.

“Where did that pride come from… Ugh!”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence.

When Undine’s water giant and his earth spirit first locked horns, they seemed evenly matched.

However.

“Undine Punch!”

However, as the water giant raised its fist and swung, the upper half of the earth spirit shattered into pieces.

‘The output itself is different from the start.’

It’s not that he lacks skill.

I just have a ridiculously higher total amount of power.

It’s not for nothing that I invested thoroughly in basic abilities.

If the same techniques and abilities clash, the ultimate determinant will be power.

That is a simple yet fundamental truth.

Thwack!

The next strike shattered the left half of the earth giant’s body.

Thwack!

Finally, a kick completely destroyed the lower half, causing it to collapse.

-I won!

Undine shouted proudly.

“Kuh… Then…”

Vilmons tried to gather his spirit power again.

He’s probably going to resummon it, or summon another spirit.

“Oh, that’s pointless.”

However, I instantly appeared behind him, lightly sweeping his feet out from under him, breaking his balance.

I struck his waist and neck sequentially with the staff, and as he fell forward, I finally pointed my sword at his neck.

“How about it? Will you go any further?”

If so, I won’t hold back then.

“…Damn you, daring to do this…”

Vilmons couldn’t move, only letting out suppressed breaths of anger.

“…You will regret this. Turning the guild into an enemy…”

“We’ll see. Who will be the one regretting it?”

I lightly scoffed and, instead of bringing down my sword, created a small magic bullet and shot it into him.

“Ugh!”

“First, you get some sleep. Let’s talk about the rest later.”

I don’t have time to deal with him right now.

If my concerns are correct, I need to hurry.

* * *

Fortunately, the artifact that teleports me to Senileina’s location was still effective.

“…I hoped it would end as a simple whim.”

I ground my teeth as I looked around.

It’s the worst-case scenario.

“Eilon… What happened here? This is…”

“…Yes. You remember, right? You probably visited here about 100 years ago.”

Of course, I don’t think Elmelot would have forgotten that cave.

But it’s only natural that he’s bewildered by the sight of this place.

I’m surprised too.

Everything is destroyed.

The cave’s ceiling has been completely blown away, revealing the sky, and nothing is intact.

“…Were we attacked?”

“What kind of fool would dare to commit such an outrage against a Spirit King? …Besides, it was destroyed by wind.”

Checking the broken objects, there are traces of something sharp tearing through them.

Above all, the lingering echo of intense spirit power remains in those traces.

Wind spirit magic.

“…It’s over there.”

The presence that is the source of that spirit magic is not far away.

As soon as I pointed in the direction.

A massive storm rushed towards us from that point.

It’s fierce and intense, like a beast lunging to bite.

“Bite down hard. You’ll bite your tongue.”

I quickly grabbed Elmelot and teleported away from the storm.

Kaboom!

The storm swept through the location where the cave once stood, leaving no trace behind.

“…At least this confirms that she didn’t suddenly act on a whim.”

Hanging onto Elmelot, I stared at the being floating far away in the sky and muttered.

The Wind Spirit King, Senileina.

She’s glaring at us.

“If you have anything to say… Ugh!”

Immediately, a massive storm reached out towards us.

Teleporting once more, I realized the meaning of the attack and sighed.

“Looks like she doesn’t have anything to say first.”

“Eilon! Explain to me too! This is different from what we discussed!”

Come to think of it, Elmelot must be frustrated because he doesn’t understand the current situation.

“…First, I have two certainties. One good and one bad.”

“Just tell me!”

“Then I’ll start with the good news. First… that Spirit King isn’t trying to kill you because she’s disgusted with you.”

“…What does that mean?”

“And the bad news.”

I stared at her once more.

I can see it clearly.

A tree trunk seems to have pierced through her chest, extending out and wrapping around her body.

“Things have gone wrong.”