The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 219

168. Introduction to Spirit Studies (1)

[Don’t try to blame it on me. Enduring the pain and synthesizing mana is just my power, not yours.]

Carryl left the Lord’s manor and walked into downtown Azor. He sat on the fountain in the middle of the square, blankly watching people pass by.

‘I know. If you were just trying to stop at the invitation magic, you would have forced the synthesis.’

[……Sounds like it’s not for me?]

Carryl chuckled at Lamine’s words.

‘Of course, it’s for you too. My mana is Arcane Power, but its root is Liselria’s Dragon Power. If I give up the power of light and darkness and use pure mana, there’s no problem synthesizing with you.’

[Hmm……. Then? Why do you insist on Arcane Power?]

‘Godslaying.’

Carryl replied coldly.

‘Neither the power of the Dragon nor the power of the Spirit King can kill a god. Didn’t you say? There’s magic that someone who has both powers reached.’

Lamine replied in a low voice to Carryl’s words.

[Great magic…….]

‘I don’t know exactly what it is, but I will add Arcane Power to that power. To use a more perfect and ultimate power in the moment I desperately desire.’

[…….]

Lamine, who had a contract with Carryl, couldn’t read his thoughts, but she could definitely feel his emotions.

Coldness beyond anger.

[Even if we are like this, I don’t know why you hate God so much.]

‘Blader was human during the Spirit War. Let’s just say it’s the same reason as them.’

[They cannot be explained by human standards, nor by God’s standards. Is it because you had a call from a being beyond God, like them?]

‘No.’

Carryl answered Lamine’s words.

‘I’m doing it of my own will, not because someone told me to.’

Thud-

He got off the fountain he was sitting on and started walking again.

‘So, I have to find a way to control you myself.’

Woo woowoong…….

The Ice Claw trembled slightly.

It seemed as if Jarka Hochi inside the sword itself was reacting to his words, and Carryl chuckled.

‘Okay. I know what you want to say. I can’t summon you because I can’t handle the dark power properly because of the light attribute of the Arcane Power I have……. If I succeed in mana synthesis, I will be able to summon you even before puppetry [controlling spirits].’

[Why are there more non-humans around you than humans? Looking at your expression, are you finally going there?]

Carryl gave a bitter smile at Lamine’s words.

‘Yeah, it hurts my pride a bit.’

* * *

Thud-!!

Dusk fell.

With a dull sound, the two guards standing there fell forward as their necks were bent back.

The person who dealt with them in the blink of an eye without even a scream was none other than Carryl.

[It doesn’t look like it’s your first time.]

‘Well……. I used to do a lot of infiltration in the past.’

Carryl recalled the time in Piasta and the countless nobles he had assassinated in his previous life by order of Olivon at Lamine’s words.

With his current skills, this was too easy, but he didn’t want to do this kind of intrusion instead of entering through the main gate, so he wasn’t in a good mood.

[Why don’t you ask Aln Zabiuss for help? He would easily know how to synthesize Arcane Power.]

‘I can’t do that. It’s meaningless to exceed Class 6 with his help. I can’t ask him to feed me when I challenge Class 7 or Class 8, can I?’

[It doesn’t seem like you’re finding a solution yourself right now…….]

Carryl’s face hardened slightly at Lamine’s words.

‘It’s different. Aln is perfect when it comes to magic, but his achievements in spiritism are not as high as in magic. The solution he suggests would be a magical point of view. But I’m trying to find a way to synthesize mana from a spiritistic point of view.’

[You know you’re talking a lot more than usual, right? And what that means.]

‘…….’

Lamine laughed out loud as if amused by his silent appearance.

[I’m kidding. As you said, it’s clear who can and cannot learn even if there is a magic book.]

‘Aln or you, you’re eager to eat me up at any chance you get.’

[Yeah, when else would I tease you like this? But the way you’re worrying is a bit human. You’re so good at everything on your own that you didn’t even seem human.]

After knocking down the guards, Carryl looked at the huge door in front of him.

The building was so high that he couldn’t see the end even if he bent his head completely.

And there were not just one, but six of these.

[Well, considering Aln’s personality, I don’t think he would have come here even if you asked him to.]

Lamine said with interest.

[This is something only you and I know. Only permitted spirits can have will in her space. Even Aln wouldn’t have it in his memory.]

Carryl nodded at his words.

Six huge towers.

It was none other than a tower commemorating the six heroes of the Council of Seven.

[Interesting.]

Lamine said quietly.

[Quonithe’s essence is in a place like this.]

The name of one person was clearly engraved on the tower where Carryl was standing.

And each of the remaining towers had their respective names engraved on them.

‘Well, to be exact, I don’t know if it’s hers, and later generations just put it in this tower together.’

A small flame flowed out of Ein Trigger and illuminated the top of the tower.

Spiritist Quonithe, whom I met in the Elves’ report.

In the contract with Carryl, she told him the location of the essence she had compiled, Introduction to Spirit Studies.

When Carryl first heard her words, he doubted his ears.

Surprisingly, the place where the book was located was right here.

It was inside the tomb of Gustav, one of the Council of Seven.

-Gustav……? Are you talking about Gustav, the current member of the Council of Seven?

Quonithe slowly nodded at Carryl’s words.

-He was an excellent spiritist before he was a wizard. He was also a contractor of Ethereal, the Queen of Tides, the Water Spirit King.

-You, who are praised as the spiritist of the century, are praising Gustav……. Aln would be furious if he heard that.

She looked at him with questioning eyes.

-He may be an excellent pioneer to you, but you don’t know that he is the one who killed Aln Zabiuss, the leader of the Council of Seven, do you? He even framed him.

But soon after hearing his words, Quonithe gave a bitter smile.

-I know.

-Then you should be glad. If the old man sleeping here was awake, it would have been a disaster.

Carryl couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by her answer. Everyone was praising Gustav as a hero, but they didn’t know the truth behind it.

-There is a cause and effect in everything. If you’re going to judge right and wrong, you have to look at everyone’s position.

-You’re wrong, I’m not trying to judge anyone. But I know that being killed by someone is a bad thing. I’ve seen it so much in front of my eyes that I’m sick of it.

Looking at Carryl’s blazing eyes, Quonithe just nodded slowly and didn’t say anything.

-It will be revealed someday.

-If you want to defend them so much, why don’t you just talk about it now? They’re all dead anyway.

-Words through a third party, no matter how true, will fade in color. You will find it yourself someday.

Quonithe asked in a low voice.

-Do you trust Aln Zabiuss?

-Why are the questions of the people of the past so similar? That old man asked me the same question.

-Is that so? Then what did you answer?

Carryl looked at her and chuckled.

-I didn’t even ask him why? or how? Gustav may really be a hero, or he may have been unfairly killed as Aln said.

-…….

When he first met Aln at Gray Church, he showed Carryl his memories.

At that time, Aln’s power was so dazzling.

He wondered if he, who had blown off Well Bahar’s head with just a magic missile, had really been killed by the rest of the Council of Seven.

Unfortunately, his memory ended there at that time, so he didn’t know the ending.

-Nevertheless, the reason I’m with him is because of what he said.

-What did he say?

-Don’t trust anyone, trust yourself. It’s the same as my thoughts. Before he stabs me in the back, I’ll cut his throat. Whether it’s Aln or Gustav…….

His cold answer seemed to freeze even the space created by Quonithe.

-Even if it’s a dragon.

Carryl put more strength into his voice.

-Strong.

-I know.

Quonithe gave a faint smile at Carryl’s calm expression without hesitation.

-I think I know why Lamine recognized you. You are definitely a human like a straight sword. It won’t be difficult to stand at the pinnacle of the sword.

She said calmly.

-But a straight person only thinks of a straight path. A sword is will. But spirits are different. They are beings with their own will, so there cannot be only one answer. If you don’t know the difference, you won’t reach spiritism.

Carryl showed her the gauntlet he was holding once again at her words.

-I’m already dealing with one of those spirits, don’t you think that’s inconsistent? As I said before, I decide whether I can use it or not.

Carryl woke up from his reminiscence and looked ahead.

‘…….’

He frowned slightly.

Unlike when he answered confidently, he was now suffering as Quonithe’s last words seemed to predict the current situation.

[The words you said to Aln weren’t a lie either. After all, you’re trying to find the answer from the dead.]

Carryl shrugged lightly at Lamine’s words.

[By the way, there will be a fuss the next day if they find out that the tomb has been robbed.]

These towers, which are symbols of Azor, were like idols to wizards, like the Empire’s clergy.

So, entering such a place without permission was absolutely impossible.

‘It would be more of a fuss if they tried to stop me.’

Koo goo goo goo…….

But Carryl didn’t care and pulled the doorknob. Before the tightly locked sealing magic was activated, he pushed in an even greater magic power.

Crack……!! Bang!!

The doorknob turned red and eventually the link broke as if it couldn’t withstand the force.

[It’s still a crude method. Wizards would hate it. Overwhelming magic with magic ignores the formulas and equations they worked so hard to create.]

Lamine recalled the time when Carryl summoned her with the power of Dragon Power, ignoring the building’s sealing ceremony in Nine Darhon’s study.

‘Compared to Nine Darhon’s sealing ceremony, it’s child’s play. Isn’t it stranger to worry about whether to step on an ant’s head or body? Just break it.’

[…….]

Lamine was silent as if she had lost her words at Carryl’s indifferent answer.

Whoosh…….

When the tomb door opened, a warm breeze was felt. The inside of the tower was magically maintained at an appropriate temperature and humidity.

“Hmm…….”

There seemed to be another magic spell on Gustav’s coffin, and a complex magic circle was engraved under it.

Step- Step- Step-

Carryl walked inside as if he had no interest in his ornately decorated coffin and scanned the books on the walls.

Without hesitation, he picked up one of the books on the bookshelf.

Nothing was written on the cover, but he could tell that it was the Introduction to Spirit Studies left by her.

[Ignorant humans wouldn’t know. Only those who have a contract with the Spirit King can see this faint breath of the spirit.]

“Let’s see how great she left behind.”

Carryl muttered lowly.

It seemed that Quonithe’s words in his memory were still lingering in his head.

[Besides, this book itself cannot be unlocked without the power of the Spirit King.]

Before Carryl could say anything, Lamine had already started flying around the book as if rotating.

Whoosh……!!

Flames rose around the book along Lamine’s trajectory, creating a ring of fire.

At the same time, the book began to react.

Clank…… Clack!!

The sound of the lock being released and the ring hanging on the cover of the book fell off.

Carryl opened the book without any discomfort, as if he wasn’t hot even though his arm holding the book was inside the ring of fire.

At that moment,

“……What is this?”

He shouted loudly without realizing that he had sneaked in, forgetting his embarrassment.

Rustle……!!

He turned the pages several times.

“…….”

His eyes moved quickly as he checked the pages.

Even after looking at the last cover and closing the book, Carryl couldn’t say anything as if he had lost his words.

The ancient book left by Quonithe.

Nothing was written inside.