Chapter 173: Unique Dungeon (1)
A sudden message. Only the last sentence caught my eyes.
Some of the lost soul was restored. A few days had passed since the depleted soul incident occurred. It continued to be lost and there was no sign of recovery.
What was the change?
I didn’t do anything. The 500 creatures had wracked their brains but hadn’t come up with a solution. It meant that it occurred due to an external factor…
‘I can’t tell.’
Something was occurring inside or outside the dungeon that I wasn’t aware of.
It was only 0.1%. There was no change to Yihi’s condition.
But…it was the first time it rose.
I needed to find out the reason behind this phenomenon.
“Julliom. Oswen.”
Chrisley was currently outside. She was helping Roy and Rose.
Among those remaining in the dungeon, these two were the most intelligent and faithful.
-The orc is hurt.
-Support the wounded!
-We need to manage the garden! By the way, how do we manage the garden?
-Acha! Acha!
The fire spirits were busy. Almost 100,000 spirits moved here and there without a break. They were vigorously completing tasks in the dungeon.
While the creatures were busy gaining strength, the dungeon was being neglected. Cleaning was Yihi’s task, but the spirits took the initiative while she was down.
The spirits managed Yihi’s garden and played with the Tree of Origin. The born spirits moved for only one person.
Father!
They wanted him to be happy.
He was mourning for the fairy, so they decided to fill her absent spot. There was no reason other than that.
Rei and Sera were intermediate spirits and supervised the work. Each one was weak but the combined strength of 100,000 spirits was sufficient for the work.
Then after one day.
-Ah!
-Father is a little happier!
The contract had been completed so the spirits were sensitive to changes in emotions.
It wasn’t a large change but the spirits were satisfied with this.
-Let’s work harder.
-We need to fill the empty spot left by Fairy-nim.
-Acha! Acha!
The spirits became more energetic.
I was surprised after receiving the report from Julliom and Oswen.
‘This seems to be due to the spirits?’
Fairies and spirits were similar but different. It was almost impossible for them to affect each other. But Julliom and Oswen mentioned the spirits.
“Your Majesty. There are no other changes in the dungeon. If a change occurred then it is due to the spirits.”
“I also think the same.”
Julliom supported Oswen’s opinion in a polite manner.
“What did the spirits do to restore the soul?”
I couldn’t help asking. The spirits didn’t come near Yihi. No, they hadn’t come near me lately.
“Heart…it might be.”
“Heart?”
What did that mean? I didn’t understand what they meant by heart. That alone didn’t explain the current situation.
Oswen noticed my feelings and answered more carefully.
“Your Majesty. I’m a blacksmith. Putting my soul into the sword…I made all types of weapons to express it. What is a sword or a weapon? In fact, it is nothing more than a lump of iron. However…if you work hard then the sword will return the favour. The harder it is hit with the hammer, the more different it will look. The spirits are similar to that right now.”
“The spirits are working hard for the fairy and that is restoring the soul?”
“It is similar, but the matter isn’t that simple.”
It became more cryptic.
“The spirits were born by Your Majesty. I don’t know why but they blindly follow Your Majesty. Originally spirits aren’t as obsessive. They don’t even use the word ‘Father’ for the spirit kings.”
I folded my arms.
It was a sign for him to continue.
Oswen continued talking.
“Maybe…the spirits noticed subtle emotional changes in Your Majesty since the problem occurred to Fairy-nim. Due to the absence of Fairy-nim, they are working to fill the vacancy.”
“It is unbelievable.”
“If not, Fairy-nim might be recovering naturally. It is only a guess.”
Oswen stepped back.
I turned and looked at Julliom.
“Do you have the same opinion?”
Julliom. The chief of the dark elves. He took a deep breath.
“The shamans have said this. If a lot of people feel a strong desire, sometimes it will become true…if the approximately 100,000 spirits move together with the same mind, can’t they fill the empty spots in the soul?”
It wasn’t just the opinion of two people.
In that case, there was no reason not to believe. There were still many things that couldn’t be understood about the soul. The lacking soul wasn’t easy to fill up, but it might be possible.
“Okay. I will believe that the spirits are involved. Then what should I do?”
I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t believe it but I couldn’t stay still.
I would move with the assumption that this was right.
Oswen laughed and said.
“Leave it alone. Just watch them approvingly.”
I carefully watched the movements of the spirits. It was like Oswen said. I watched and saw a correlation with the soul.
‘Simple effort has an effect.’
The depleted soul started recovering little by little. It was only 1% a day but it was enough to feel hope.
But…I didn’t fully understand. I tried to understand but it was something that the 500 creatures couldn’t pull off.
The spirits were the only ones who had an effect.
At first glance, it seemed like they were ‘playing’ and didn’t have a lot of influence on the dungeon.
However, little by little, every small part of the dungeon was getting better. I couldn’t fail to notice. The spirits tried to fix every small gap.
-Father is watching.
-I will do my best!
-The Origin Fairy ‘Yihi’ has recovered by 0.2%.
14.5% -> 14.7%
As soon as I watched them, the spirits moved with more sincerity. Yihi’s soul recovery rose faster. I was certain that the spirits were involved in the soul recovery.
‘Striving for someone. It is a difficult task. I’ve only been trying for myself.’
I kept quietly watching but my mind was moving in complicated directions. I hadn’t done that much for the spirits. Even so, they worked as hard as possible for my affection. It was different from the creatures bought from the Demon World Auction and from the store.
A blind faith. It was like this from the beginning. It was similar to Yihi, but she was tied to me with a contract. Chrisley became my subordinate due to the ceremony.
Although I had a contract with the spirits, it was just a transitional one. They couldn’t change the contents of the contract if they didn’t like it.
It was the first time. It was the first time that someone had such blind faith in me.
I had never felt this emotion in my previous life.
So it was awkward. I didn’t know how to react.
‘I tried to change. But I didn’t change.’
I frowned.
I vowed to be completely different after coming back.
I would accept the opinion of others and not be alone.
I would go beyond the framework of a demon to become a true devil. That was what I had thought.
Still, there was no change to a fundamental part inside me.
‘It isn’t easy to change my very nature. But…I might be able to lower the standards a little bit.’
At the very least, believing in those who followed me would be a good development.
I couldn’t become a warm wind. However, there was the possibility of being a cool breeze.
My mindset changed a little bit. There was a slight warmth in my eyes when looking at the spirits.
-The nature of your magic power has changed slightly. It is now pursuing a little more ‘harmony.’
Intelligence and magic power has increased by 2.
The limit of your potential has increased by 5.
It was a type of enlightenment. It was only a little bit but I had once again crossed the wall.
The conversion of a simple idea. I just thought a little bit differently and this kind of change occurred.
‘I am moving in the right direction. There can’t only be destruction on my path.’
Harmony. I started laughing.
It was like a dog laughing. I, who was more self-righteous and believed myself above others was seeking ‘harmony.’
But…now my cold gaze would only be directed towards my enemies. I would lower my standards for those who blindly followed me.
-Father is in a good mood.
-I like it.
-Let’s work harder!
