Chapter 3: An Exercise in Futility
“I’m amazed at how poorly your magical abilities are.” Lynn laughs at me.
“I knew this would happen.” I lay on the ground and sigh.
“I thought maybe it was just a lack of magical knowledge and imagination that stopped you from learning magic. Rather, it seems as if you are more knowledgeable than even I in terms of magical knowledge. It is just a lack of ability to use even the slightest amount of your internal mana which has been continuously increasing for a while now.”
“That sounds rather dangerous, no?”
“Not really. As far as I am aware, even if you are a human, there is no limit on the mana that you are able to store within your body. The faster it generates, the higher level mage you are.”
“That system does indeed make sense.”
“It was the same way in your original world you know.” Miria adds in my head.
“So in the end. Teaching you two magic is a complete bust. I was hoping on getting some hidden cards in my hand, but the way you are now is just a burden to my small village. Can you even hunt?”
“I can trap. I was living in a forest for a while, so I do know how to take care of myself.”
“I guess that would be true. I have no reason to trust you, and I have no reason to keep you in this village any longer.” Lynn makes a sad expression, “Is what I would say a couple of years ago.”
“Why do I suddenly regret coming here?”
“Ah, that sense of loss is normal when someone is about to ask you to risk your life. Now then, since I fed you, and have offered you a place to stay, you need to do some things for me.” Lynn starts to laugh.
“Is there any way to say I’d rather not be doing those kinds of things where losing my life is only natural?”
“Nope. No way.”
“You did bring this upon yourself.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side, Miria!?”
“Since when was that a thing I had to do?”
“When you married me! Ah, whatever.” I hang my head in defeat, “What would you like me to do for you Lynn?”
“Every ten or so years, a world spirit is born at a certain location. This location is impossible for other spirits to enter within an amount of time that would allow them to recover the world spirit for their tribe.”
“And you want me, a human that is incapable of using mana to get this world spirit before the other tribes get it, right?”
“Yep.”
“Do you not see any issues with this!?”
“Well, the reason spirits are not able to enter is because of the incredibly turbulent mana that also appears with the world spirit.”
“So you want me to go as I am unable to use mana, so you think I will be safe.”
“More like there is a fifty-fifty chance of your survival.”
“Joys.”
“Depends on your definition. I however would be willing to guarantee your survival within the mana, however it is the other spirits you will have to worry about.”
“Makes sense. Why send only me then?”
“World spirits instinctively reject spirits of normal attributes. In the past a single human had an army of world spirits under them.”
“Then why did humans die? World spirits sound completely magical. They must be able to do a lot with magic.”
“World spirits are not able to use normal magic, they use a magic that strengthens their physical form, in other words…”
“A long range magic could take down a commander from a huge distance.”
“That is correct. I think you are much smarter than you look. Anyways, that is the current situation. I hope you understand.”
“Am I able to deny in any way?”
“We can send you with food and supplies for a two month journey. Also, we can also put in good word for you once you arrive at the main city of Wind Spirits with the world spirit.”
“Is that it?”
“What else do you expect to get from me for basically free? For all I know, you could just wander and never go to get the world spirit, then just find another village to scam.”
“That would be a risky way to live, and after a while, everyone would hear of me in one way or another.”
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“So I suggest you actually go and get the world spirit, then, carefully make your way to the Wind Spirit City.”
“Can I at least get a map? Maybe even directions. If I am confident about anything, it would be my ability to remember things that are told to me.”
“We can prepare a map. It is the most we can prepare. We are not able to send anyone with you due to the risk of having the world spirit flee.”
“I have a question, how were you able to get world spirits in the past if your existence cause unease to the world spirits?”
“We forced them in to captivity, which is much harder than I would like to admit. The Earth Spirits are much more skilled at trapping world spirits just due to their elemental affinity.”
“Why would you force them, would you not have issues with loyalty if you force them in to an army? I know that’s what’s going to be done with it anyways. I know my say will change nothing about that and to be honest, I don’t really care what happens to it.”
“Yes, there are many issues when we try to assimilate them in to our armies. They are a strong willed race. They are basically immortal, they are strong. They are the best soldiers.”
“Basically immortal? That term bothers me a little.”
“A little, it would be fine if you said it was downright unsettling, no? Being immortal is not a normal thing. Let me tell you an interesting fact. Spirits are not immortal. We have an average life expectancy dependent on our magical power and magical power usage. So for the sake of saving time, let’s just say spirits have an average lifespan of three hundred years.”
“That’s quite a long time to a human like me.”
“Right? So now we get to world spirits, what are they?” Lynn sits down on the grass and I raise myself to a sitting position getting tired of laying on the ground. “To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows. They randomly appear and then continue to exist. The methods we use to ‘tame’ them involve removing their ability to communicate, so we aren’t able to even ask them. When prompted to write things down, they attempt suicide.”
“That is rather extreme, from both parties. I’m no world spirit advocate here, but it seems like their treatment is rather cruel. I’m well aware they are the minority, just as I was, and am… but still.”
“Ah, and here is where our ideologies clash. Humans have always frowned upon the way we spirits do things. Our armies are comprised of slaves taken from other armies. We pit families against their old relatives. However, the other spirits also do the same. The rich will have many a servant that is a slave or was a slave. Slaves can be rented and there are no rules on how not to damage them as healing magic exists and as long as the mana core is not crushed, a spirit will continue to live.”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
“A saying from your world?”
“No, Miria taught it to me. It means that when there is tough times, people will do as they please. From all this I assume there is a huge power struggle between the spirits. So wars are as common as grass on the ground.”
“For a human, you are rather intelligent.”
“I’d take that as a compliment, but rather, it is not I who is smart, but the teacher that has simply passed down what they have learned.”
“An interesting human. Alas, we get around to the subject of the almost immortality of the world spirits. So, just recently, one of the first documented world spirits has died. That would give them a lifespan of two million years.”
“That is… insane.”
“No, that’s the tame part. World spirits will continue to grow in power as they get older. They never slow down and will only grow more powerful as they age. The world spirit that just died was the only one in the old war that was not killed. It ruled over all the spirits and now, we all try to kill each other.”
“That seems way too serious for me. You know, I just want to live as long as I can with Miria, and anyways, I’ll be gone in ten short years.”
“That is fair enough, but you see.” Lynn moves close to me, “I could kill you in no time at all.”
“Are you threatening me?” I ask with a frown on my face.
“Yes” Lynn stands up, “Yes I am. What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing.” I stand up and stretch, “What is there I can do about it? I am completely powerless in front of everyone. I am just happy that you haven’t killed me up to this point. I was half expecting for you to kill me when we started using magic. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to live past the world transfer. I was prepared to die, so why hasn’t it happened already?”
“Do you not fear death?”
“I do. It’s just that I have someone with me that helps me through it all.” I look towards Miria and smile, “However, I don’t want to die. I would regret not staying with Miria as her husband for longer.”
“You are strange. Alas, it is time to prepare for your departure.”
“I see.” I nod my head as I follow Lynn back towards the house I met her in. We had just moved out to her yard to attempt magic.
“So, I will give you enough food for two weeks, it was originally just one week for two people, as I thought your friend… no, lover, was going to need food.”
“Makes sense, but that also means that you planned to send me to go and collect the world shade before I even came in to this world. Now I am curious though, how did you know I was coming to this world?”
“I didn’t, I was sent a letter a month ago saying that a human would be appearing near my settlement. The only reason I trusted it was because the seal that was placed on the letter could only be placed by the Wind Spirit City’s leader.”
“Okay, I guess you could trust it, but how did they know?”
“I have no idea, you may be able to ask them once you hand over the world spirit to their care.”
“Okay. I guess I will do that, since I have no other choice. Will you really kill me if I don’t do this though?”
“I might, you don’t really know though, do you?”
“I have no logical way of predicting what will happen if I refuse to do this for you.”
“It’s good that you understand, now let’s take a look at this map.” Lynn grabs an old looking piece of paper from the desk she was standing over. “The place we are now is marked on the map here.” Lynn points to a small black circle. She then drags her finger across the map, passing what is marked as a forest and a mountain range. “This should be where the world spirit is going to appear. It will appear in three days.”
“Okay, so what happens in the case that I am not able to find the world spirit even when I arrive at the marked location?”
“Come back here and we will think of what to do then, but for now, don’t worry about anything.”
“What happens if the world spirit is forcibly taken from me?”
“Same thing. Come back, and we will discuss what happens next.” She then points to a large black circle on the map. “This is the Wind Spirit City. Take the world spirit here and the guards should immediately let you in and guide you to the castle.”
“This is relatively simple.”
“It is, that is all you have to do. Get world spirit and go to the Wind Spirit City. As you seem to speak our language, and is not a translation magic, you should be okay. The writing is very easy to understand.”
“Ah yes, I can also read and write the language we are speaking… I hope, they may have similarities when speaking, but they may be completely different when written.”
“Okay.” Lynn hands me the map and points at the name of the mountain range, “tell me the name of the mountains you will be passing.”
“The Swallowperil Mountain Range. Yep, that doesn’t sound dangerous. Not at all.”
“It is fine. Only flying and metallic objects are in danger there due to the frequent storms.”
“This all sounds too simple, what’s the catch?”
“There’s a catch? Why not just think of it as your honeymoon with your wife?” Lynn smiles, hoping Miria takes the bait.
“It would be nice to spend some alone time with you, Alex.” She took the bait!?
There is no way out of this now. Miria’s mind has been made up. I don’t want to change it, nor do I mind that much.