Novel Will Be Taken Down on 17 May or Earlier Chapter 88 - Blooming in the Swamp (5)

From the time Arcana was a game.

 

For the players, spirits were a fantasy being.

 

“Does a spirit really exist?”

 

“If anyone had seen it, it would have already been uploaded on Nettube.”

 

“What, wouldn’t it be like throwing away content? After raising expectations just by the mention of it. A new class elementalist will appear in the new update!”

 

They naturally thought that way.

 

Well, even if players hadn’t witnessed the spirit.

 

It was clear that spirits existed even if there were no players with classes related to spirits. The stories told by books and NPCs were proof of it,

 

“By the way, when is the update going to be made?”

 

“There’s no such record this week or this time either.”

 

“No, wait. I haven’t changed jobs and I’ve been waiting for months.”

 

But it was a long way off the mark.

 

As it had been told, spirits existed.

 

It was a rare existence that only a few people could witness.

 

Naturally, interest in spirits couldn’t help but gradually cool down.

 

Not to mention after Arcana became reality.

 

Ruptures appeared and monsters roamed in the reality.

 

Spirits that they didn’t even know existed?

 

It was like catching clouds.

 

“Breaking news just came in. An unidentified message came up from the rupture. I will deliver the message to the viewers now!”

 

Indeed.

 

Until this message popped up to the players who entered the rupture.

 

Predator’s Swamp.

 

[Someone has signed a contract with a spirit.]

 

Someone had signed a contract with a spirit.

 

“No, it would have been hard to fight. What do you mean a contract!?”

 

“It’s not an ordinary contact, too. It’s a contract with a spirit. The spirit that only grew content!”

 

“For those of us who are just watching, this is hard news to believe.”

 

In the Predator’s Swamp that was no different from the Coliseum.

 

Who was the one who signed with the spirit?

 

It wasn’t that hard to guess.

 

Wasn’t there only one person?

 

Swampland.

 

Endless mud fight.

 

Among them, like a lotus flower that bloomed in the swamp.

 

There was a player who was on his own.

 

It was Lee Hoyeol.

 

“Look! I told you there was definitely something, didn’t I?”

 

Who was Lee Hoyeol?

 

He was a player who returned intact from a 900~1,000 recommended level rupture. Lee Hoyeol probably didn’t simply seek out the predator rupture for experience points like other players.

 

– In fact, didn’t everyone guess it the moment he brought up the stairs??

 

– ㄹㅇㅋㅋSo everyone was really looking forward to itㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

– But this is more than what I expected?

 

– I never thought it would be a spiritㄷㄷㄷㄷ

 

The pouring chat felt the same way.

 

This wasn’t just another player. It was Lee Hoyeol.

 

Their expectations heightened.

 

And as if those expectations were natural.

 

Lee Hoyeol responded.

 

“Player Lee Hoyeol never disappoints!”

 

Predator’s Swamp rupture.

 

Players who checked the message themselves were no different.

 

No, if the viewers were surprised, they would have been more surprised.

 

“He signed a contract with a spirit?”

 

“No, seriously! Swordsmanship is not enough, so it’s a spirit now?!?”

 

“Stop whining. What are these messages that keep appearing?”

 

In the series of messages that appeared.

 

The content was unusual.

 

[The spirit king of the forest, Dryad, blesses the contract.]

 

[The blessing of the spirit king of the forest, Dryad, dwells in the Predator’s Swamp.]

 

[The experience gained in the Predator’s Swamp increases by 20 percent.]

 

[The value of the loot earned in the Predator’s Swamp increases by 20 percent.]

 

The blessing of the spirit king.

 

The effect of blessing was an increase in experience and loot drop rate.

 

It was the rarest buff since Arcana was a game. Even the players, who were familiar with Arcana’s system at a higher level.

 

“E-Experience and drop rate increase buff?”

 

“It’s a buff I’ve only seen once or twice.”

 

“A 20 percent increase, not a 10 percent increase…?”

 

“You’ve done an amazing thing again, Lee Hoyeol!”

 

They couldn’t help but make a fuss.

 

He was just guessing.

 

Rox let out a laugh.

 

“You really surpassed my guess.”

 

Indeed, as big as the level gap between them.

 

There must be a gap between his and Lee Hoyeol’s eye level.

 

Naturally, the picture they saw was bound to be different.

 

“Wow. I never thought of it. As expected!”

 

Nam Taemin uttered in pure admiration.

 

Still, he prided himself on knowing more about Hoyeol than other players. It seemed that Hoyeol’s vessel was much bigger than he thought.

 

“…A contract with a spirit? All of a sudden?”

 

…It was hard to get a cup of tea, seriously.

 

Was it because of the message or was it because of the madness of the berserker?

 

Leonie’s face was full of energy.

 

Everyone had a different relationship with Hoyeol.

 

Naturally, each person responded to the message differently.

 

But one thing was clear.

 

Someone in the message was clearly Lee Hoyeol.

 

Therefore, most of the attention was focused on the stairs that floated in the air.

 

It was only natural that they turned to the stairs where Hoyeol would appear.

 

Nettubers were already smacking their lips.

 

“I will clearly convey what the spirit looks like!”

 

In fact, what does it matter knowing what a spirit looks like?

 

It was just that the title ‘first’ was more important.

 

Yeah, they thought so.

 

Tap tap–

 

“!!!”

 

Until Hoyeol came out.

 

*

『Contract with the Spirit』

 

Even if my knowledge was only at the surface level, it was only according to Grandfel’s strict standard.

 

I’d read a few books related to spirits.

 

It meant I had basic common sense about spirits. Of course, I also knew what the contract with the spirit meant. So I was actually relieved.

 

‘If I met an intermediate spirit.’

 

Information from the Arcana continent, contracts, whatever.

 

I wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

 

It was because of the terms of the contract.

 

『The spirit is closely affected by the nature of the contractor.』

 

The nature of the contract was the overall nature of the contractor.

 

To put it simply, I was a player.

 

If you considered the player standard.

 

‘It will probably get affected by my status window.’

 

Peiyan Lot, Senior Mage of Spiritology.

 

The reason she was a glutton was also because of her contract with the spirit.

 

– “As you can see, I have poor fuel efficiency.”

 

The high-ranking spirit of fire, Fire Drake

 

Fire Drake seemed to demand a lot from his contractor, Peiyan.

 

In short, it was as expected of his rank worth.

 

Their relationship was completely severed, so it ended at the level of food intake, but Peiyan continued with a squirrel-like face.

 

– “Still, compared to when I was suffering from mana exhaustion.”

 

What kind of beings were the senior mages of the Mage Tower?

 

Above all, I had witnessed the amount of mana they had in the battle with Banglet Tom.

 

It was an overwhelming amount of mana that I didn’t even dare to catch up.

 

As a fellow senior mage.

 

Peiyan’s mana wouldn’t be much different from Banglet’s.

 

Yeah, a high-ranking spirit.

 

It was an existence that made even Peiyan, who possessed overwhelming magical power, complain of magical exhaustion…!

 

‘A low-ranking spirit is already too much for me.’

 

So, of course, I knew my place.

 

In addition.

 

“I swear in the name of Spirit King of the Forest, Dryad.”

 

At the conclusion of the contract.

 

I started to feel it as soon as the nymph finished talking.

 

…The feeling of my pitiful mana escaping!

 

The mana where I invested all the points I acquired through level-ups and went all-in. It was fortunate that I raised my mana regeneration with [Hexagram Brooch] and [Luxury Item – Duke Swalin’s cherished item]…

 

A spirit wasn’t a spirit for no reason.

 

Spiritology wasn’t called the study of the chosen mages in the Mage Tower for no reason.

 

However, nothing revealed my inner embarrassed side.

 

I opened my mouth nonchalantly.

 

“You’ve changed shape.”

 

The nature of the contractor.

 

Because of my influence, the nymph changed her appearance.

 

Her body was still as small as a fairy’s, but.

 

For some reason, that little body.

 

Unlike before, it seemed to radiate elegance.

 

“Is that so? This must also be due to Hoyeo-nim’s influence.”

 

…By the way, what’s with that tone of voice?

 

It was a formal tone of voice that didn’t go against Grandfel’s strict standards.

 

Only then did I realize.

 

The true meaning of the saying that spirits were affected by the nature of the contractor.

 

Because I was influenced by Grandfel.

 

The changed state of the nymph also made sense.

 

Wasn’t it me who heard Harkon call me ‘Sir’ even in the days when there wasn’t much anything going on more than now? Not only that, there was also the influence of [aesthetic] stat that existed in the status window.

 

‘From her appearance, she doesn’t look like a low-ranking spirit.’

 

She looked like some kind of spirit queen?

 

I swallowed my saliva as I looked at the nymph.

 

This was what mirror therapy was, it was something that allowed me to learn from my mistakes.

 

‘Thanks to the contract with this pitiful me.’

 

The appearance of the nymph had become plausible, only her appearance.

 

Bad influence.

 

Sincerely.

 

I felt a sense of responsibility because I felt like I had corrupted her.

 

The nymph examined her changed appearance with a restrained nod.

 

From the elegantly stretched butterfly wings, the rich, elongated hair, and the clothes that were flawless even by Granfel’s aesthetic sense.

 

Then she said.

 

“I like my change. What do you think, Hoyeol-nim?”

 

Yeah, it was a relief that the contracting party liked it.

 

But what should I do with the burdensome historical drama tone?

 

I couldn’t reveal my inner feelings.

 

“There’s nothing I can nitpick.”

 

The conversation with the nymph ended there.

 

I immediately reached out to the mistletoe.

 

Because I couldn’t afford otherwise.

 

‘Even at this moment of conversation, my mana is escaping…’

 

It wasn’t enough to get freaked out about.

 

But I didn’t have enough mana consumption to spare.

 

Besides, I checked the message.

 

The congratulatory message contained the blessings of the spirit king of the forest, Dryad.

 

‘Experience and drop rate increase buffs.’

 

Because the blessing was given to the [Predator’s Swamp].

 

Other players enjoyed the same effect.

 

If I hesitated even if just a little, there wouldn’t be any monsters left.

 

It was a waste of time to whine and blame my weakness.

 

Yeah, if I was lacking in level, I could just raise it.

 

If it was a level of magic that couldn’t be reached just by leveling up.

 

I could reach it by chewing and swallowing the bi-herbs.

 

In other words, I had plenty of possibilities.

 

The moment I thought so.

 

Flap–

 

The nymph flew gracefully toward the mistletoe.

 

“If you need this four-colored mistletoe.”

 

“?”

 

“I will bless it.”

 

…Bless it?

 

Why a blessing all of a sudden?

 

My knowledge of spirits was only scratching the surface.

 

However, no detailed explanation was needed.

 

Caress–

 

Just once.

 

The nymph only caressed the mistletoe.

 

Gooo–

 

The light of the four-colored mistletoe became clearer.

 

“…!”

 

As the mistletoe grew, its light grew deeper.

 

[The Pentagram of Pure Knowledge.]

 

The knowledge of all the plants in the Arcana continent that I acquired through it.

 

‘This, perhaps?’

 

And I witnessed it there.

 

『How to Grow Bi-Herbs』

 

The direction of the research with tremendous potential value!

 

*

 

Tap tap–

 

The sound of shoes came from above.

 

The waiting Nettubers swallowed their dry saliva.

 

“Lee Hoyeol. No, it seems Hoyeol-nim is coming down…!”

 

There were also stations that broadcasted the streaming of the Nettubers in real time.

 

Spirits had been treated as a fantasy being.

 

A situation in which the true nature of the spirit was revealed.

 

It obviously would be a topic of high ratings.

 

Not only that.

 

Who signed with the spirit?

 

It was Lee Hoyeol.

 

“Real-time ratings exceeded 15 percent…!”

 

That expectation was showing up in ratings.

 

Still, knowledge about the spirits was widely known through Arcana’s books or word of mouth.

 

Thanks to this, some people saw the situation realistically.

 

“It is said that high-ranking spirits don’t easily reveal themselves, regardless of their abilities.”

 

“Even if it’s Player Lee Hoyeol we’re talking about, it can’t be easy to sign with a high-ranking spirit.”

 

“That’s right. But what does rank matter? Isn’t it important that he’s the first player to sign a contract with a spirit?”

 

Of course, such opinions.

 

The moment Hoyeol appeared, those opinions disappeared.

 

The appearance of the winged spirit.

 

Elegance flowed from every movement.

 

“T-That’s the spirit…?”

 

“What’s with the halo?”

 

“That’s beyond pretty, it’s gorgeous….”

 

Her appearance was so strong that it didn’t fade even when she was next to Hoyeol.

 

What it meant was simple.

 

Someone made a fuss and opened their mouth.

 

“That spirit, no matter how you see it, it’s a high-ranking spirit, no, it’s at the level of the spirit king?!”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Stare–

 

I could feel the gaze from everywhere.

 

The nymph opened her mouth.

 

“I see, Hoyeol-nim is in a place like this.”

 

Then she went on gracefully.

 

“I will also get used to this kind of gaze as a contract spirit.”

 

You, you have been properly stained by Grandfel.

 

But her words were wise.

 

Because this guy’s personality wouldn’t change.

 

That meant it would be easier for the nymph to be the one who adjusted.

 

‘Of course, the focused gazes are none of my business.’

 

Like I said.

 

I was a busy man.

 

Unlike those rankers, my level was poor.

 

In other words, each minute and each second of the experience value and drop rate buff were regrettable.

 

So I didn’t hesitate.

 

This was the predator zone where the battles never ended.

 

I took out my sword at once.

 

[Level: 324]

 

I’m still hungry for experience points…!