After some back-and-forth with the old woman, the quantity of the spirit of the traded spirit was decided.
The old woman wanted the spirit of the Crystal Road obtained by defeating the seeker’s fragment, but she refused the offer, as not having it could lead to problems in job changes, and thus, she exchanged for a majority of the remaining spirits.
[The trade has been completed for 25 spirits of Crystalride. Just once. I will show you the way; you must not miss it.]
In the moment of the deal, the old woman’s tone turned business-like.
Even her voice changed to that of a teenage girl, and her wrinkled hands transformed into those of a very smooth young woman.
What was visible were one eye and her lips, and just that partial appearance carried a magic power that could captivate my attention completely.
‘So she’s not a fixed existence… Truly fascinating… I feel like just gazing at that face forever would make me happy. Is this what it means to be enchanted?’
[Ohohoho! Even a skeleton has an eye for beauty. So, shall we spend our lives together here?]
‘……’
In my mind, [Calm] suddenly triggered wildly, awakening me.
And in that moment, I felt my spiritual body being propelled away with immense power and was able to return to the Dark Space once again.
‘Ugh… My head. Can’t you send me off a little more gently?’
Grasping my head, I waited for the headache to subside when I suddenly recalled the last words that the old woman had let slip.
‘That old woman surely said we’d meet again. I should hope to gather materials to satisfy her for any future encounters.’
[Have you returned well?]
‘Huh? Master! Why did you suddenly vanish?’
[Hehe, even if you scold me, I won’t know about what you’ve experienced.]
‘What? Why not? I remember everything clearly.’
[That’s because you still have a long way to grow. I lack the space to contain it all.]
‘Ah…’
I understood what my Master meant.
The Master, trapped within a small sphere, struggled to even contain the memory of meeting the old woman.
‘Come to think of it, you might have exhausted all your power sending me to that space in the first place.’
Meeting the Master once again felt like a significant fortune.
I wanted to repay him somehow, but the only answer to do so would be to kill Blue-eyed.
‘What exactly is the identity of that old woman? Where did we go?’
I couldn’t help but ask my Master about my curiosities.
[The old woman? So she appeared that way to you, huh? As for her identity… In this infinite universe, there are various beings that have lived for a long time.
Many of them lose interest in walking their own path at some point, and she is one of those beings. The place you went to was the ‘Absolute Space’ she created.]
‘Absolute Space…’
It seemed like a concept different from unique space. But it felt far too distant for me to reach at this moment.
[Indeed. Even beings that existed at the starting point of this universe cannot invade the ‘Absolute Space.’ Among the goals set by those who have attained the state of a seeker, creating such spaces is prioritized.]
‘I see. How did someone learn about that?’
[That, too, is unknown! But as you walk your path, you will intuitively grasp it.]
‘… So what comes after obtaining Absolute Space?’
[The path you will take after becoming a seeker cannot be defined by anyone. Only you can know. I merely inform you that such a path exists.]
‘So the choice is mine to make.’
[Exactly. Have you not already made such choices? Seeking me out to solve your problem is, after all, your choice.]
With those words, my Master no longer gave advice.
As he drifted off into the air, I silently walked beside him until I realized I was alone.
‘What a truly mystical place…’
I couldn’t help but wonder if this Dark Space might also be within someone’s Absolute Space.
‘No way… A space that can be penetrated by Rainy couldn’t possibly be an Absolute Space.’
I went straight to find Rainy.
(Ah! You came right away?)
Rainy had been waiting for me with bated breath.
‘Right away…? Y-yes.’
Honestly, I felt like I had spent quite a long while inside the old woman’s space, but it’s best not to think too much about the concept of time.
‘By the way, Rainy. Can I possibly ask for a few more requests?’
(Oh?)
I handed over all the fragments of the Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion to Rainy.
(Ugh! Don’t shove those filthy things at me!)
Rainy jumped back in panic.
(How many of these are there? Where do you keep getting these?! Il-wol must be trying to kill me!)
‘No way. Why would I harm you? Sorry, but I really need your help. If I can turn these into ten pieces, I can get an amazing item.’
(Although I really don’t want to, since it’s a request from my friend Il-wol, I’ll make an exception!)
‘……….’
I felt a pang of guilt.
Rainy had a justification for feeding off my magic, but it was something she had been doing for quite some time, effectively providing free labor.
Rainy was always bright and lively, but she wasn’t a fool.
While perfect equal exchange was impossible, if we continued down this road, it might lead to problems in our relationship.
The old woman’s words suddenly came to mind.
[In this universe, there’s no such thing as free.]
‘There’s no such thing as free. A cost… A cost.’
According to her words, I needed to pay a proper price to Rainy.
Even if I was already giving her equal value, considering Rainy’s remarkable potential, it might not be a bad choice to eliminate our debts.
What could I do to help Rainy achieve what she desired?
‘First, let’s start with some food.’
Chuu-up- Chuu-uup- Sliip-
Today, Rainy was absorbing magic with extraordinary intensity.
(This is delicious─!! The flavor keeps getting stronger? This time it has a bit of a cool and refreshing taste added!)
Rainy would tell me about how special the taste of my magic was and what aspects were different each time she absorbed it.
‘Is that so? With the amount you’re eating now, can you sustain that massive body?’
(Actually, when you’re not around, it does get pretty tough.)
‘In that case, eat as much as you can when you can. I have plenty of magic.’
(Really?! Then I’ll really absorb a ton!)
‘Let’s see how much you can take.’
(Hehe, I’m excited.)
‘……….’
What Rainy desired was to live together with us.
If that could relate to my swordsmanship training, that would be perfect as well.
I followed Rainy’s roots as she absorbed magic, still causing cracks in the air.
‘It’s no different from before. Even with Rainy’s mysterious power, it seems it will take a long time.’
(I can’t eat anymore…)
I waited until Rainy had fully filled her belly, then headed for the area with the cracks in the air.
‘I was drained of my magic until it ran dry.’
I could see that Rainy’s belly had swollen like a mountain.
It seemed she had eaten her fill, but now I had one more reason to increase my magic.
‘Shall we start?’
Whoooosh— Whoom—
With no thoughts, I swung my sword at the crack in the air.
It felt like I was cutting something, yet I also felt the absurdity of just digging into the air.
‘As long as I’m doing it, I should be fine! Let the Black Flame burst!’
After the hundredth swing, Rainy had somehow come up behind me and was staring at me intently.
And as my swings exceeded five hundred and surpassed a thousand, I could feel Rainy’s gaze growing even hotter.
The child, who always chattered loudly, had gotten so quiet that it made me feel awkward.
Wooosh— Kyaaaang—!!
Just in time, the Black Flame activated, breaking the long silence.
(Wow… It’s beautiful…)
The black flames soared into the sky, and it combined mystically with the Dark Space, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
And then.
Boom—
‘Huh?!’
From the crack in the air that had been repeatedly closing, a meaningful rupture sound finally erupted.
‘Rainy! Now’s the time! Let’s hit it together!’
(Huh? Okay!!)
We matched our breath and continuously struck the crack.
How long passed like that?
‘Crazy?!’
– A dimensional channel has been created in ‘Dark Space’.
Suddenly, what I had hoped for bore fruit.
‘Ohhhh!! It worked!!’
(Kyaaaa! Really? What is it? What happened?)
‘Can you not see the hole and the message?’
(I can see the hole, but I can’t see the message!!)
A swirling dimensional channel that was the size of my fist.
‘It’s still small, but I can definitely widen it.’
I reached out towards it.
But a message popped up saying it was still too soon.
– This is an incomplete passage. Find a key to unlock the door.
‘A key…?’
(Huh? A key?)
‘The message says we need a key, but what does that mean?’
But the system didn’t respond any further.
It felt like it was hinting for me to solve it instead.
‘Hmm… Yeon-hee opened the summoning door and moved herself, right? But I don’t have such ability. While I have the potential for summoning… when you think about it, expanding this hole is unrelated to summoning doors.’
I expanded my thoughts and rewound time in reverse.
When faced with an unsolvable problem, this is a method I often resort to.
‘To acquire what you desire, you must offer corresponding value…’
I didn’t need much thought.
Let’s offer something valuable like the ‘Sanctuary of the Boundaries’ that I’m growing.
‘How about this?’
I brought a chunk of the Devouring Creeper’s byproduct to the crack, but only a slight ripple occurred without any notable change.
‘I thought it would work, but it must not be comparable to the Sanctuary of the Boundaries.’
[Sanctuary of the Boundaries]
I started to push a massive chunk of wood bigger than a dump truck into the Sanctuary little by little.
As a result, it visibly expanded in size.
The byproducts of the Great Beast took considerable time to digest within the Sanctuary, so I had been expanding it whenever I had some free time.
It had now grown to the size of a small convenience store.
At this point, I was adding options like sight blocking, escape prevention, and nonexistence, but some advanced options like escape prevention required a significant amount of materials, so it seemed it would take a considerable amount of time to fully set up.
For now, my short-term goal was to safely house our home within the Sanctuary. But that’s not what was important right now.
(Wow! The weird square has gotten bigger!)
‘How much material will it take to fit you in this space and keep you safe?’
(What? Keep me safe?)
‘I worry about what can happen if you step out into the outside world.’
(You’re so caring about me… I’m touched.)
What I feared was the chance that Rainy wouldn’t adapt to the Earth’s environment.
Rainy is a pure existence that can clean the filth.
Considering the pollution level of the world I live in, it could make me feel dizzy.
‘If I’m unlucky, it could turn out like that.’
I gleaned that using the monster’s byproducts wouldn’t help in widening the crack.
‘Could we see different outcomes by utilizing Yeon-hee’s potential together?’
I would have to ask Yeon-hee if she could come back into this space when I returned.
It would be a waste to consume the usage of the earring just to enter.
In the end, we couldn’t find another method and just bumped our bodies against it.
Still, the crack slightly widened from the size of my fist, but passing someone as large as Rainy through it would take ages.
(But a crack that’s opened won’t shrink back! It should get done quickly, right?)
‘Y-yeah.’
At this slow, sluggish pace, it would probably take at least 5 years. I had to figure out some other way.
*
When I returned home, Yeon-hee was still sprawled out on the bed in the same position. It’s commendable that she hadn’t forgotten to summon me.
“Are you back? Hehe… I’m so sleepy.”
I hadn’t seen Yeon-hee complain about being tired that often, and it seemed that the fatigue accumulated from the last few weeks had finally reached its limit.
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