BSS 18

chapter 18

[What is that?]

[What I mean is that I can only manifest my powers with the ten things I’ve absorbed so far: gold, silver, copper, iron, bronze, emerald, sapphire, ruby, pearl, and onyx.]

[…You stopped halfway!]

[My ability fundamentally requires a framework. Like this body of mine! Didn’t I tell you? Creating something from nothing is difficult.]

So, it seems he can only exert power over what he’s absorbed. Simple, but annoyingly inconvenient. No wonder he drools whenever he sees metal. Wait, but something’s weird.

[I let you absorb it, but pearls aren’t metal, right? And neither is amber.]

[Correct. That’s why I said it can’t be perfectly expressed in human words.]

[Can you explain it more simply?]

In response to my question, Rai, in the form of a snake, shook his head lazily and sighed dramatically.

[Do you remember when I tried to introduce myself as a spirit of minerals but said I was a spirit of metal instead?]

[Yes, just a week ago.]

[Minerals are included in me. And everything called metal too. Even gemstones are included. But I introduced myself as a metal spirit because that was the closest comparison. Do you know Orichalcum? It’s a metal extracted in tiny amounts from meteorites that fall from the sky.

It’s not from the ground, but it’s still called metal. And I’m included.]

[That’s complicated.]

[Pearls and amber are the same. They’re called gemstones, so they’re included. Honestly, I considered introducing myself as a spirit of solids… but there are many solids like wood or grains of sand that aren’t included. Even among stones, a lot are beyond my influence. Do you understand now?]

[In short… you just make the rules yourself, right?]

[Perhaps? I was just born this way. It wasn’t me who decided what I could do.]

Naturally, Rai was a spirit, and his way of thinking was different from a human’s. Sometimes our conversations didn’t quite sync.

[Then who decides such things?]

[Nature. Or perhaps the gods of this world. The fact is, we are closer to the gods than humans. We live far longer and superior lives.]

The snake’s eyes, emitting a strange light toward me, resembled a gemstone: the black stone called onyx.

It was both a gemstone and a stone, and ultimately a mineral. Looking at it this way, Rai’s classification was truly ambiguous. Hard to explain, indeed.

[Anyway, one thing I get. The more metals I feed you, the more useful you become, right?]

[Yes. Once I’ve absorbed a material, I can increase its quantity as long as there’s mana.]

[So if I feed you diamonds, you could mass-produce them?]

[Of course.]

Yes! I unconsciously clenched my fists.

“I’m destined to be rich!”

[However, Master’s mana is far too lacking to handle diamonds. At your current level… you could probably mass-produce copper. About a fistful.]

Why does that feel so insulting? That thing just sized me up and down, didn’t it?

“Your gaze is rude, isn’t it?”

[Not at all. It’s filled with respect and loyalty.]

“That’s a stone eye.”

[A sparkling stone.]

“You talk well. So, the problem is mana?”

Mana training is annoying but not difficult. I just need to work harder—for my comfortable future. Money is always good. Goals are important in life.

I rubbed my chin and looked at my pet snake, whose “food” was metal. In fact, the unusual part was that he was a spirit. I thought he might be useless, but with effort, he could produce not just gold, but diamonds.

Suddenly, he seemed a little cute. I admitted it: I was quite an emotional person.

“Right, since you’re a pet snake, you need that.”

[What do you mean?]

“A ribbon.”

That way, people wouldn’t be scared. A snake with a ribbon is cute. I might as well make it a big one—to show it has an owner.

[…Are you serious?]

“Of course.”

[Seriously human-like, you mean.]

“Don’t you like ribbons?”

[No!]

“Then how about a bell? Like a rattlesnake…”

[A ribbon is actually the best idea. Did I tell you? I’ve always wanted to wear a ribbon.]

Oh, I’m glad he likes it. What kind of ribbon should I give him?

I was happy. Even if only I felt that way.

After that, I began collecting every type of metal and rare gemstone I could find.

But I could only leave the academy four times a year.

So the amount of metal and gems I could gather was inevitably limited.

Sigh.

“Genie, why the sigh? Are you worried about something?”

Mia asked with a concerned expression. She always took an interest in me.

“I want to leave the academy. It’s so frustrating here.”

“I see. I have a problem too.”

[…You do?]

Mia was known as a genius in alchemy, with a mind I couldn’t keep up with. She even said she found studying fun, which I couldn’t comprehend. And she has a problem?

“Yes, it’s serious.”

“What kind of problem?”

“There’s a storage room for experimental metals used in the alchemy class.”

“Really? There’s such a storage?”

Oh, that’s a nice place. I should tell Rai about it.

“But last night, a thief broke in!”

“Huh?”

“All the metals in the storage disappeared overnight! There were tons of them, yet not a single piece left. The teachers don’t know how it happened. The alarm magic prevents humans from entering… It’s truly a mystery.”

“Oh my…”

“The metals didn’t fly to the sky or sink underground. There’s no way that amount could vanish in a single night. Weird, isn’t it?”

I somehow already knew who the culprit was. And it was someone I knew well. I quietly kept my mouth shut.

Sigh… so all experiments are suspended until the metals are replenished. I’m depressed! No experiments! No classes! How awful!

“That’s terrible… Poor thing. Cheer up, Mia.”

Shouldn’t she be happy about no classes? Mia was definitely unusual.

Meanwhile, Rai was quick to act. He wasn’t around much during the day, hunting on his own, and returned at night, looking healthier and plumper.

So it wasn’t my imagination that he seemed chubbier.

“I’m depressed. So, Genie…”

Mia had that expectant look.

“Cheer me up by summoning Undine!”

“You again… Undine isn’t a toy.”

“But she’s so fascinating, cute, and lovely. Just looking at her makes me happy… Undine’s like a fairy.”

“Hmm, that’s true. Our Undine should be cute. Fine! Mood’s set.”

Usually, I wouldn’t summon Undine for such trivial reasons. But since I felt a little guilty, I obediently called her.

“Undine.”

Perhaps because of the soul contract, my voice was different from normal speech when summoning a spirit.

Although my words were the same, the sound seemed to travel differently. It felt as if my voice was penetrating into another world.

Summoning Undine always made me feel temporarily non-human.

With a splash, water coalesced and Undine appeared, circling me before flying like a bird between Mia and me.

Undine seemed to understand my intentions without words—whether I wanted to train or play.

“She’s beautiful. Because she’s made of water, she glimmers in daylight. I never realized spirits were like this. I want a spirit too!”

“Then get one.”

“But I have no affinity. I can’t become a spirit tamer. I can’t gather mana…”

“Instead, Mia, you have talents in other areas. That’s also remarkable.”

It had been two months since contracting with Undine. Experiencing a spirit firsthand made me understand what Master El had been emphasizing—mental strength, affinity, mana. None of them could be lacking.

But I was still immature. Mana shortage aside, mental strain was severe. Summoning spirits left me fatigued, dizzy, and sometimes bleeding. Training mental fortitude was a daily struggle.

Currently, I could only summon Undine for about twenty minutes. Even without asking her to do anything, that was the limit. Any task increased mana consumption severalfold. Using spirit magic, my limit was two or three minutes.

Rai was impressive in comparison. I hated to admit it, but not consuming mana while summoned was a huge advantage. According to him, he wasn’t summoned but “waiting” on his own will.

To stay in the intermediary plane by his will required certain conditions: a contracted master, being a high-level spirit, or being born in the spirit realm. In short, he was bragging.

‘His personality is unusual too,’ I thought.

In any case, I was learning about spirits. I still disliked studying, but practical experience helped more than theory.

“Genie! We call low-level water spirits Undine, right? What about the others?”

“Intermediate spirits are called Undinein. They look like fish according to books.”

“Wow! When can we summon those?”

“Well, usually after summoning a low-level one for around twenty years, it’s possible… assuming the person has enough talent.”

“You’re a genius, so maybe sooner?”

“My goal is high-level spirits, Endairon. The highest rank humans can summon. Of course, there’s top-tier Elestera and the Spirit King Elaim, but humans can’t reach that. My realistic target is high-level.”

Mia muttered that high-level wasn’t realistic.

“Do you know? Summoning low-level vs. intermediate requires over five times more mana. High-level is ten times more than intermediate. Top-tier spirits would need maybe twenty times more… I can’t even imagine. Can humans really summon them?”

“Still, let’s aim high: top-tier Elestera! Genie, you can do it! Somehow I just know it!”

“If that were the case, we’d aim for Spirit King level. But I prefer realistic goals.”

Ancient humans were said to be different from current humans, mastering both magic and swordsmanship, summoning spirits casually, and rivaling angels and demons in strength. They were the Creator’s favored race. They became weaker because of a misstep during the Heaven-Demon War, supposedly losing divine favor.

Anyway, that had nothing to do with me.

I rolled on the grass, enjoying the smell of earth and sunlight—it was perfect for a nap.

“Forget all that. I’m going to be rich!”