Volume 16 Chapter 9 Spirit Of The Mountain
'Hey, Saari, I have one more thing to ask... Can I use Spirit Magic too?'
At Al's question, Saari shook her head a little apologetically.
'Al, I'm sorry. I'm waiting for Papa...'
'I see... That makes sense.'
From Saari's expression, Al understood that to use Spirit Magic, a contract with a spirit was necessary. It seemed that Saari still couldn't forget about Aines, with whom she had made a contract.
Though Al felt disappointed, he accepted the answer.
'Ah, but don't be too down. It's not that Al doesn't have the potential. It would be better to live more in a natural environment, but the bigger issue is the connection with the spirits. Spirits often reside in places where nature's power is strong.'
Saari encouraged him with a light shake of her head. This meant that if Al could encounter a spirit, he might be able to make a contract. There was still a possibility for the future.
Knowing this, Al felt a bit more hopeful.
'I see... Hey, how did you meet Aines?'
Al wondered how Aines had met Saari, the fire spirit, Salamander. If he could do something similar, he might be able to meet a spirit too.
Then, he thought he could use Spirit Magic.
'Well, um, like I said earlier, there's a spirit of the mountain below us. It glows bright red with heat. That's where I met Papa. We talked a lot and decided to make a contract.'
What is the spirit of the mountain? It glows bright red with heat...?
'Is there a spirit of the mountain in every mountain?'
At Al's question, Saari tilted her head.
'There are many mountains without spirits, and some have spirits deep underground. Mountains like this one, with lots of smoke, are likely to have spirits closer to the surface.'
Al thought about whether there were any mountains like that, but he couldn't think of any other than this one.
'Hey, can we see the spirit of the mountain where you and Aines met?'
'Sure. Oh, but we need special tools.'
Saari said this and went to a wooden box in the corner of the building, starting to check inside. It was filled with various items like dishes and clothes.
* * *
After searching the box for a while, Saari finally pulled out something that looked like a metal mask from the bottom. It seemed to be a magic tool, glowing in response to the 'Magic Sense' spell.
It covered the entire face, with a large bulge over the mouth and a glass-like covering over the eyes.
'What is that?'
'It's a mask to wear when going underground. Papa said it's a special magic tool called a breathing mask. The underground is filled with bad air, so humans need to wear it.'
She paused, then added, 'Be careful with it. There should be a place to store the toxic air it collects. Also, um... you need to use 2 other spells. I think they are "Packing" and "Thermos." Can you use them?'
I'm glad. That means I can use it. Al smiled brightly and nodded. But what is the 'Packing' spell used for?
'It covers your whole body with clothes. If you don't, there are times when bad air can touch your skin and it's dangerous. Besides that, humans also need to be careful of hot steam. I'll let you know if there are any signs of that.'
Al nodded again, thinking it made sense. There are bad airs that can harm you even if you don't breathe them in. It's true that there are poisons that are harmful just by touching them. It must be something similar.
'Got it. So, can I borrow that mask?'
Al, just to be safe, replenished his mana with the 'Magic Power Control' spell and put on the breathing mask. When he pressed it against his face, it felt like the mask stuck to him.
At the same time, the air suddenly felt clean, and the strange smell that had been there since entering the mountain disappeared. He didn't feel any tightness in his chest. He could speak normally.
After confirming that everything seemed fine, he tried to take it off, but the mask wouldn't come off.
'Huh? It's stuck!'
'Eh? Papa took it off easily!'
* * *
Saari shook her head a bit flustered. Since it was a magic tool, he could use the 'Magic Power Control' spell to drain mana, but Al still felt a bit anxious.
'Did you touch somewhere or say something?'
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Saari asked Al. There might be some special action or a password. Saari thought for a moment at Al's question.
'I don't think I said anything. Maybe I touched under my nose or under my chin?'
Al tried what Saari suggested one by one. When he touched under his chin, the mask came off. Both Saari and Al let out a sigh of relief.
'That was surprising.'
'Sorry, Al.'
After confirming everything about the mask, Al put it on again. He repeated putting it on and taking it off just to be safe, and it seemed fine.
What happened earlier was probably a mechanism to prevent it from coming off easily in places with poisonous air.
'Packing.'
'Thermos.'
Following Saari's instructions, Al used 'Packing' to cover his body and then 'Thermos' the inside. He placed the cage with the little bird on the ground.
'Alright, I think I'm ready.'
'Yeah, let's go.'
* * *
From the crack that Saari came out of, Al and the others began to descend underground. It was quite hot inside, and visibility wasn't very good. It was more like a series of cracks than a cave, and there was hardly any footing.
Saari moved ahead, using her 4 legs to climb along the walls. Al followed behind, using the 'Fly' spell to float slightly above the ground.
After going down about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), they entered a large space. According to Glee's information, it was deep and they couldn't pinpoint their location.
The smoke filled the area, making it hard to see, but below, there were shiny red things, and flames occasionally burst up. It looked like the lava that flows out when a mountain erupts in stories.
'That is the soul of the mountain. I was born there.'
'That's amazing. So that's the soul of the mountain...'
Al let out a big sigh. The power of nature... that was exactly right.
'I'll show you one more amazing place. It's a secret spot between Papa and me.'
As Al stood there, stunned by the scale of everything, Saari said this and started moving along the wall.
'Is it okay to show me a secret place?'
Al hurried to follow behind.
'Ah... yeah, it's fine. I want to show it to you. It's been a while since I talked to a human.'
Saari led him to a space about 3 meters (10ft) square, accessed through another crack. There were several elongated spherical stones, each about the size of a hug.
All of them were cracked, and broken pieces were scattered on the floor. Many had a glass-like, transparent appearance. In one corner of the room, there was a beautifully decorated wooden box.
'Can you turn on the light?'
As Al tilted his head, wondering what kind of room it was, Saari asked him this.
Al himself could use the 'Sensory Boost' spell to see in the dark, and Saari was moving confidently along the wall, so there shouldn't be any problem. But maybe there was some intention behind the request.
He cast the spell as instructed.
'Light.'
Suddenly, the surroundings sparkled with a purple glow.
Al couldn't help but gasp.
'Wowww!'
Glee also exclaimed in surprise.
'Amethyst?'
Without the light, Al could only see the glass-like transparency, but the room was filled with purple crystals.
Crystals of various sizes were scattered on the floor, and the insides of the cracked elongated spheres were lined with purple crystals, sparkling in the light of the spell.
'Isn't it beautiful? Papa and I collected these. It's our secret room.'
Al wondered how much these would be worth if taken out. That thought crossed his mind.
'We found it while exploring the mountain. Apparently, there are still many more like this buried in the mountain. The darker ones sell for a high price, so these are the leftovers Papa found.'
Did a magician named Aines explore deep in this mountain to find spirits? Or was it to discover raw gemstones like these?
If Saari's words were to be believed, the purple quartz scattered around the room wasn't worth much, but what was the truth?
Still, it seemed certain that purple quartz could be found in this mountain.
'Is that wooden box over there Aines's?'
Al pointed to the wooden box in the corner of the room and asked.
'Yeah, it's Papa's treasure chest. But there was nothing in it. When the contract mark disappeared, I thought maybe I could find out where Papa went by opening it. But all that was inside was a spellbook. He used to say he would give it to his apprentice someday...'
Saari murmured this sadly. However, when Al heard 'spellbook,' he couldn't help but feel excited. With Saari's permission, Al opened the box. Just as Saari said, it was filled with spellbooks.
But most of them were spells Al had already learned, and there was only one spell he hadn't learned yet.
'Hey, um, can I borrow this spellbook?'
Al showed the spellbook to Sari. It was a spell called 'Magic Sparks.' From the name, it wasn't clear what the spell really did.
'If you return it properly, that's fine.'
'Of course.'
Sari easily agreed. She didn't seem to doubt much. Al carefully put the spellbook into his button-shaped magic bag.
'It's an amazing place, isn't it?'
After enjoying the shine of the amethyst, Al and Sari decided to return to the surface.
As for the situation about the source of this river of death, from what Al could see, it didn't seem like an uninhabitable place. And from what Aines had enjoyed, it should be fine as a hot spring too.
Considering the amethyst, it might be incredibly valuable, but if they simply revealed it, it could disturb the mountain spirit that Sari cared about.
'Right now, it seems like there's no problem, so why not just take it without saying anything?'
Glee suggested.
'We could investigate the water more, but there are still many things we don't understand, like why the plants are dying,' she continued. 'Plus, since this is close to the border, if it turns out to be valuable, Mr. Naresh might have a hard time.'
Glee's words made Al nod. She was right.
Also, there were still many spellbooks he had just bought that he hadn't mastered yet, and to fully understand the 'Transport' spell, he needed to analyze the magic bag too.
Now that Kane's request was finished, he could stop by Nora Village, give him a good response, and then return to the research tower.
'Alright, let's go home. To the tower.'
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