Chapter 30: Spirits
Spirits.
Long ago… Well, maybe not that long ago.
It hasn’t even been a few thousand years.
Anyway, back in the day, the spirits, who used to be dragons, wandered around the world like innocent little kids, forgetting even who they were.
If there was a king of spirits to rule them, it would be the seven kids who became the ancestors of dragons… But let’s skip over those kiddos for now.
After the dragons transformed into spirits, their influence led to the creation of even smaller, numerous spirits.
In other words… the spirits that were once dragons became higher spirits, while the newly born ones became middle-level or lower-level spirits.
Anyway. It wasn’t hard to borrow the powers of such spirits.
You just needed to make a contract with them and supply magical power to materialize them. It’s easy if you think so and hard if you think otherwise.
You have to think about compatibility with the spirits and your own aptitude for magical power… but elves should be able to handle it.
Lizardmen have really low magical aptitude, so they can’t manifest spirits and just whip up spells to borrow their powers… but hey, that has its charm too, right?
Ahem. I’ve kind of strayed off topic. Back to the point.
Elves, who can chat with spirits, generally have a decent aptitude for magical power, so they should be able to bring spirits to life.
“Make contracts with the spirits and provide them with magical power to manifest them. Then the spirits will be happy to help you out.”
With a casual wave of my hand, various spirits start dancing in the air.
Wind spirits twirling lightly in circles. Fire spirits dancing like they’re having a grand old time with their flames.
Water spirits gliding softly like flowing water, and earth spirits managing to express faint feelings with their stillness.
The dance floor created by these four elemental spirits had a dreamy vibe going on.
“How beautiful…”
“Show this lovely sight to Yggdrasil and appease it.”
“Can’t you do it for us?”
At one elf’s request, I shook my head. Is this guy trying to get a free ride?
“The mess you made? You have to fix it yourselves. I’m just here to give you a little nudge.”
As I waved my hand again, the spirits grabbed each other’s hands and formed a big circle. What are the elves thinking, watching all four elemental spirits hold hands and bond together?
If they still aren’t getting it after this scene of unity, then I might just have to crack some skulls myself.
“Got it. Please teach us how!”
Luckily, it seemed like I wouldn’t need to get my hands dirty.
I showed the elves how to contract with spirits.
“Spirits are innocent but also sly and fickle. To handle such spirits easily, you need to make a contract with them.”
Ah, of course, dragons like me don’t bother with that stuff.
We’re naturally superior. In power and status.
“Chat with the spirits that approach you, and make a deal to borrow their power in exchange for your magical energy. If you do that, the spirits will act as if they’re your own arms and legs.”
You don’t even need some fancy contract document. A spirit’s contract is written inside the spirit itself.
Of course, if an elf mistreats a spirit, that contract goes poof in no time… But surely no one would be silly enough to treat their spirit like a punching bag, right?
That’d just be dumb.
“Excuse me, but… how do we use magical power?”
Hmm? Oh right… Magical power.
Dragons just use it instinctively, so I kinda forgot to teach it.
Well, these elves probably haven’t had much practice with magical power either.
“Magical power is the force that flows in this world and is nestled within all beings.”
It exists in flowing streams, hard rocks, and even in the cool breezes. Magic power is omnipresent.
And yep, it exists within their bodies too… magical power is a thing.
“Close your eyes and focus on the magical power flowing inside you. Pay attention to the magic coming in with every breath and leaving with your exhale. Notice how it slowly builds up in your body.”
For now, they can’t be filtering magical power from their breathing… it’s more like just gathering what comes in and out, like basic breathing skills.
But hey, given how long elves live, they should be able to gather enough magical power to feel it, right?
Just as I expected. The elves started to pick up on the magical power within their bodies.
Phew! What a relief. If they hadn’t noticed it, I might’ve had to crank up the magical power concentration around them to give them a nudge.
I swear, it would’ve been like a human who breathes air suddenly drowning in water!
High concentrations of magical power are a bit risky, but I can adjust that easily… but let’s not dwell on that.
Anyway, the elves began to become aware of the magical power inside them.
However, recognizing it and using it are different stories.
“You’ll have many spirits chatting with you. Try speaking to the one you think is the biggest and the strongest.”
Spirits follow a strict hierarchy. If you make a contract with the strongest spirit, all the lesser spirits will automatically follow suit.
Thus, the elves started making contracts with the spirits that reached out to them.
Some elves forged contracts with one or two spirits based on their aptitude, and the most talented among them even got three!
Is that impressive? I’m not sure. I mean, I can command spirits with just a flick of my finger.
Considering I’ve taken care of the spirits who could be called kings, why wouldn’t they listen to me?
Even the not-so-numerous fire spirits, those wind and water spirits flinging themselves about, and the spirits of the lush earth and green trees.
Speaking of which, where are the light and dark spirits? Hmm…
They’re probably a bit picky. Especially the dark ones, since their parent Erebus is hiding away.
That ungrateful kid… just wait until I catch him. He’s in for it!
“Since everyone’s spirits seem ready, let’s appease Yggdrasil.”
At my words, the elves began to set their spirits in motion.
—
“It is known that this marks the beginning of the Great Spirit Festival, a festival of the elves.”
“The Great Spirit Festival?”
“Exactly, the Great Spirit Festival.”
At the elf’s words, the hero looked out of the window.
A ballroom filled with spirits, making the streets look like a world where only spirits exist.
The white flower festival I saw in the lizardmen’s village was gorgeous, but this sight before me now had its own unique beauty.
“After showcasing such a beautiful dance of spirits, the World Tree softened its heart and began to care for the elves again. As a taste of gratitude for such a beautiful festival, the World Tree gifted them a branch. That was the Branch of Harmony, the treasure of the elves, and the symbol of the elven royal family.”
The Branch of Harmony. A branch from the World Tree decorated with jewels containing the essence of spirits.
It symbolizes the elves and is a treasure that boosts the powers of spirit mages.
They had come beneath the World Tree to borrow the magic of that staff.
“And some say… it was a dragon priestess like you who taught the elves such spirit magic.”
“A dragon priestess like me?”
“Yep. Just like you.”
At the elf’s words, the silver-haired girl with dragon horns merely tilted her head in confusion.
—
Thus, all the internal conflicts among the elves were resolved.
The elves held a spirit ball to create a harmonious scene so Yggdrasil wouldn’t feel left out, and Yggdrasil, touched by their efforts, gifted them one of its branches.
I also made them a little gift— a jewel to amp up the spirits’ power. Hmm. They probably won’t squabble like before anymore.
I might have wanted to see the proud high elves fight it out, but if they did, Yggdrasil would just get sad. Right.
I guess I’ll hold back on that.
Having left Yggdrasil, I moved on to find another group of humans.
—
Maybe, I had been underestimating humans.
The potential within humanity might be so vast and enormous that it completely outstrips my feeble imagination.
Otherwise…
There’s no way a human could exist who’s formed families with two-legged furry pups or kitties!
And they’ve even had kids!!! Humans with animal ears! These deranged animal hybrids!!!
Wait, that cat-girl over there looks just like her mother!
How on earth did it come to this… It might be the end of the human era…
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