CHAPTER 27: THE LITTLE SPIRITUALIST (1)

[Kim Ji-Hee]

Level: 1

Strength: 1

Vitality: 1

Magic: 1fr\(e)ew(e)b.(n)o (v)(e)l.com

Willpower: 1

Skills: Spiritualism (D), Spirit Contract (E)

This was the ability that Kim Ji-Hee had awakened while riding in the car.

[Spiritualism (D)]

Description: Allows the user to control spirits

Restrictions: Affects spirits up to Level 40

Control Limit: 0/10

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Although the duration was ten minutes and the cooldown was thirty minutes, this was still an ability that would allow her to control ten spectral monsters of C-Class or lower.

[Spirit Contract (E)]

Description: Allows the user to make contracts with spectral monsters and spirits of the deceased

Effect: Spirits can be contracted as permanent summons

Control Limit: 0/1

Unlike Spiritualism, Spirit Contract was a skill that would allow her to permanently borrow the power of the spirits.

"Sp-spiritualist?!" Lee Ji-Yeon yelped as she turned to look at Kim Ji-Hee in a panic.

Kim Ji-Hee, unaware of the implications of her ability, simply smiled in response to Lee Ji-Yeon's gaze and held up the Living Sword as if showing it off to her unnie.

"Our Ji-Hee is actually a Spiritualist?" Lee Ji-Yeon said in disbelief.

Kim Ki-Rok just shrugged. "As long as she's not a Necromancer, it shouldn't matter what she is."

"Is there any difference between the two?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked in confusion.

"Necromancers command corpses, which understandably fills people with a psychological aversion to the profession, but Spiritualists are different," Kim Ki-Rok claimed.

So what exactly was the difference?

Seeing how Lee Ji-Yeon was still confused, Kim Ki-Rok clarified, "Spiritualism is solely limited to controlling spectral monsters."

"Ohh!" Lee Ji-Yeon exclaimed.

Certainly, it did feel like Kim Ji-Hee would be met with less revulsion if she was limited to commanding spectral monsters.

However, a Spiritualist also had another, more terrifying skill available to them.

Kim Ki-Rok continued his explanation. "When a Spiritualist uses the skill, Spirit Contract, it requires the mutual consent between both parties before it can be created."

Lee Ji-Yeon was relieved upon hearing this. Indeed, unlike the unpleasant implications that the words Spiritualism and Spirit Contract carried, the skills themselves were actually remarkably restrained.

She felt sorry for needlessly doubting Kim Ji-Hee.

"Hmmm?" Kim Ji-Hee tilted her head in curiosity, not understanding why her unnie was looking at her like that.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit sorry for you," Lee Ji-Yeon confessed.

"That's alright. Heehee," she said with a quiet giggle, seeming amused by the way that the Living Sword was dancing in the air.

"But to think that our dear Ji-Hee would actually awaken two skills at the same time," Lee Ji-Yeon murmured in amazement.

Kim Ki-Rok corrected her, "Actually, there are three."

"Three?" Lee Ji-Yeon repeated doubtfully.

"There is one more skill that wouldn't be identifiable using skill check," Kim Ki-Rok revealed. "Though, it might be more accurate to call it an innate ability."

"An innate ability?"

Kim Ki-Rok reminded her, "We talked about that this morning. All Awakened individuals are people who originally possessed some form of talent, and the skills from their Awakening are related to their talent."

It might only be a hypothesis, but it was an extremely convincing one.

Kim Ki-Rok hummed thoughtfully, "What do they call it these days? Spirit Vision? Eyes that are able to see the lingering spirits of the deceased."

There were a lot of rumors surrounding this ability. This also made it the subject of all kinds of folk tales and urban legends.

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "In any case, Ji-Hee possesses Spirit Vision."

"So Spirit Vision is something that actually exists?" Lee Ji-Yeon gasped in surprise.

Kim Ki-Rok shot her a look. "These days, there are monsters and Gates that can take you to different dimensions. There are superpowered beings called Awakened with abilities like controlling fire, and there are even otherworldly races. Given this, isn't it perfectly plausible that the spirits of the deceased might remain in this world, and that there are people able to see said spirits?"

That was certainly true.

Lee Ji-Yeon suddenly realized something, "Ah, in that case, is the reason why you brought us here to clear this Gate at night—"

Kim Ki-Rok cut her speculation short. "We're not here to level Ji-Hee up."

Lee Ji-Yeon frowned in confusion, "We're not?"

"We're not." Kim Ki-Rok firmly shook his head. "Instead, I plan to find a spirit for her to make a contract with. Ji-Hee is still a bit young after all."

Lee Ji-Yeon was taken aback. "Uhhh..."

"Of course, we can still get her some levels after she's done contracting with the spirit," Kim Ki-Rok added as an afterthought.

"Isn't there something strange about doing things in that order?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked doubtfully.

Kim Ki-Rok just laughed. "Ahahaha. If we do it like this, we can just leave the leveling to the contracted spirit. Just like how an Elementalist can level up when their Elemental defeats a monster, a Spiritualist can rely on their spirits to do the same thing."

"Ah." As an Elementalist herself, this was easy for Lee Ji-Yeon to understand. She also knew that Kim Ki-Rok was doing this to protect Kim Ji-Hee.

Since South Korea occupies a small landmass and has a high population density, if an A-Class Gate were to experience a Break, then all nearby Awakened could be mobilized to deal with it. Those who refused to comply would be punished by the law.

Some Awakened had gone on the run simply because they refused to comply with such a mobilization order, forcing them down the path of crime.

It was hard to imagine that a law like this would ever be enforced on someone as young as Kim Ji-Hee. However, given the rigid nature of middle managers and government officials who enforced laws with strict, one-sided authority, there was no room for such naive optimism.

Lee Ji-Yeon stared at Kim Ji-Hee with her lips parted in silence for a few moments.

"So I guess we should find a strong spirit for her," she said with determination.

"Not exactly." Kim Ki-Rok shook his head.

Lee Ji-Yeon sighed. "What's the problem now?"

Instead of answering her question, Kim Ki-Rok brought up a different question. "When Hunters form a team in order to clear a Gate, the buffers and the healers who support the party from the rear are also able to receive experience points and level up. That is the case even though they aren't defeating any of the monsters personally and absorbing their mana. What could be the reason for that?"

This was a question that Lee Ji-Yeon had never given any real thought to. After thinking about it for a few moments, Lee Ji-Yeon stared at Kim Ki-Rok, whose expression seemed to be saying, "I've already given you the answer."

So she dug through her memories looking for the answer, or even a hint.

When had he given it?

"Is it because of the Earth's systems?" Lee Ji-Yeon hesitantly voiced her guess.

"That's the correct answer. To be more exact, it's all thanks to the Party System," Kim Ki-Rok elaborated.

Now that she thought about it, Lee Ji-Yeon couldn't believe that she had forgotten about the Party System. Until just a few moments ago, she had been fighting monsters in a party along with the Five Siblings of Mapogu, but she had not given it much thought thanks to Kim Ki-Rok's conversational skills.

"Come to think of it, we haven't formed a party yet. Have you already left your party with the Mapogu team?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Yep." Lee Ji-Yeon nodded.

"Forming a party with the Awakened, Lee Ji-Yeon and Kim Ji-Hee," Kim Ki-Rok muttered as he reached out to hold Lee Ji-Yeon's hand.

[The Awakened, Kim Ki-Rok has applied to form a party. Would you like to accept the application?]

Unlike Lee Ji-Yeon, who immediately nodded and answered yes, Kim Ji-Hee turned to look up at Kim Ki-Rok with her eyes wide in uncertainty.

"You just need to say yes," Kim Ki-Rok instructed her.

"Yes," Kim Ji-Hee immediately complied.

[The party has been formed.]

Kim Ki-Rok clapped his hands. "Now then, let's get back to discussing how to best level up our dear Ji-Hee."

Lee Ji-Yeon nodded. "So we need to get her a spirit that can support a party from the rear?"

"That's right. Though, if we think about it in terms of efficiency, it would be better to find a spirit that is good at strategy," Kim Ki-Rok added.

"A spirit that's good at strategy..." Lee Ji-Yeon trailed off, lost in thought.

While discussing this topic, they walked deeper into the castle, having in front of a huge door at some point.

"It's huge." Lee Ji-Yeon gasped in awe.

"This is the library. That means that there's a high possibility that a relatively intelligent spirit might still be lingering here," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"Oh... but would there really be any left after all this time?" Lee Ji-Yeon had her doubts.

This was a Gate filled with corrupted spirits, or in other words, spirits that had been transformed into monsters.

"There is a certain possibility. No matter what happened to them, if their spirit deliberately chose to linger in a place like this, then there must have been some sense of purpose keeping them here. If so, it would take a long time for such a spirit to become corrupted," Kim Ki-Rok said with a shrug as he slowly reached out to push the door open.

***

The strongest and worst villain Kim Ki-Rok had ever met, Il-Ho, had first appeared with dozens of spectral monsters under her command, as well as two sentient spirits that were even capable of holding conversations.

Spectral monsters lacked physical bodies, which meant that they couldn't be affected by physical attacks. This made Il-Ho an extremely difficult opponent to face.

On top of that, depending on the location and situation, she was capable of continuously refilling her ranks of monsters from nearby Gates. That was why she had become the most notorious member amongst all of Ma Ak-Soo's closest associates.

The various guilds and even the government had gone as far as to issue wanted posters demanding for her capture, dead or alive. Such a poster was effectively giving anyone permission to make an attempt on her life.

It truly was a terrible experience, Kim Ki-Rok thought to himself.

When Il-Ho had first appeared, Kim Ki-Rok had been in the process of growing stronger by slowly accumulating all the chance encounters. As such, he had confidently attempted to subdue her, only to be promptly defeated.

Spectral monsters were certainly a hassle, but the main cause of his defeat came from the fact that the two sentient spirits had possessed extremely powerful strength.

After a few more regressions, however, he had managed to transform Kim Ji-Hee from the worst criminal into the strongest Awakened.

"Hmmm? Hoh?"

"Hah! To think that a child like this would exist."

"How astonishing. To think that there would be a child who could attract spirits like us."

A group of elderly voices were raised in discussion.

Kim Ji-Hee, who was blinking her big, round eyes up at the speakers, was surrounded by a group of semi-transparent, elderly people.

With a polite bow, she greeted this group of elderly spirits, "Hello."

"Oh my, how cute. And what's your name?"

She introduced herself, "My name is Ji-Hee. Kim. Ji. Hee."

"Ji-Hee. That's quite the cute name."

One of the elderly men smiled as if he were looking at his own granddaughter and extended his hand down toward her head. However, as he was lacking a physical body, his hand passed right through her head, leaving him clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"No matter. And how old is our dear Ji-Hee?"

One of the elderly women was crouching on the floor so that she could look Kim Ji-Hee in the eye.

"I'm seven years old," she answered with a bashful smile.

"Oh my. So our dear Ji-Hee is seven years old."

"How young. Truly young."

"She's so cute."

The whole scene looked like it could have been a holiday visit to the countryside, in a village filled with Kim Ji-Hee's elderly relatives.

The spirits of the deceased were practically melting under the warmth of Kim Ji-Hee's charming smile and were extremely affectionately toward her.

"Um, Guildmaster?" Lee Ji-Yeon carefully raised her voice. She had been staying back together with Kim Ki-Rok when all the spirits flocked toward Kim Ji-Hee. "A-a-a-a-are those sp-sp-spirits?"

"That's right," Kim Ki-Rok confirmed.

"But for some reason, I'm also able to see them," Lee Ji-Yeon whispered. "Is it because we are in a Gate?"

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head, "No. Unlike spectral monsters, you wouldn't normally be able to see the spirits of the deceased even after entering a Gate. They're not hostile and they still retain their original intelligence, so they know how to keep their existence hidden."

"Then what's going on here?" Lee Ji-Yeon asked, puzzled.

"Ji-Hee must have also awakened her mana. They're currently visible to us because we're standing in the mana domain projected by a child with Spirit Vision." Kim Ki-Rok nodded with some pride.

Lee Ji-Yeon was left blinking as she processed Kim Ki-Rok's full explanation. She asked in a fluster, "So that means we can see spirits as long as we're next to Ji-Hee?"

"That's right."

"Even outside the Gates?"

"That is correct," Kim Ki-Rok confirmed with a smile.

"Ulp!" Lee Ji-Yeon nervously swallowed.

Kim Ki-Rok shrugged in response. "Well, it's not like they'll cause any problems."

"Th-they won't?" Lee Ji-Yeon stammered.

Kim Ki-Rok gestured in front of them. "Just look at those spirits."

Lee Ji-Yeon turned to look at the spirits that were gathered around Kim Ji-Hee.

"Grandpapa[1]. You have a lot of beard," Kim Ji-Hee amusingly observed.

"Hahahaha. Are you curious about what it feels like? Oh my, but I'm afraid that since your grandpa is a spirit, you can't actually feel it. Hahahaha."

"Ji-Hee. Ji-Hee. This grandpa also has a beard."

The crowd of spirits were trying their best to win over Kim Ji-Hee's attention.

"Similar to how you, Miss. Ji-Yeon, are loved by the Fire Elementals, Ji-Hee is loved by all spirits, so there's no need to worry about them causing trouble. Even if some evil specter did show up, they wouldn't be able to move an inch in front of Ji-Hee," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

Lee Ji-Yeon nodded with relief.

"Well then, should we put the greetings on hold for now and get to the main point of why we're here?" Kim Ki-Rok said, slowly walking forward to stand next to Kim Ji-Hee.

The looks on the faces of the spirits currently drawn to Kim Ji-Hee weren't very pleased as they all turned to look at him. They were shooting him filthy looks, as if they were trying their hardest to convey, "Who does this guy think he is?"

Kim Ki-Rok just smirked back at the spirits, then reached out toward her. "Ji-Hee, your hand."

Kim Ji-Hee grabbed onto Kim Ki-Rok's hand without a moment's hesitation.

While some of the spirits reacted with envy, others were so jealous that it made them sick to their stomachs. Kim Ki-Rok politely bowed to all the gathered spirits and said, "It's nice to meet you, grandfathers, grandmothers, hyungs, and noonas. I am Kim Ki-Rok, our dear Ji-Hee's guardian, who has also taken on the role of her adoptive father."

"Hmmm."

As Kim Ji-Hee's guardian and adoptive father, the spirits decided to take a step back and hear what Kim Ki-Rok had to say.

He quickly stated his demands, "We are looking for a spirit who would be willing to stay at our dear Ji-Hee's side and assist her."

"Hoh? Could she already be a Spiritualist?"

"To be more precise, she has just awakened an ability related to Spiritualism," Kim Ki-Rok corrected.

"Aaaah. I understand your problem. This is a different dimension, after all."

While remaining unseen, these spirits had observed the Hunters who had visited their castle. From the information that they had thus far obtained, the spirits were able to piece together the current situation that they had found themselves in.

"So she has awakened an ability related to Spiritualism, but she is not yet an actual Spiritualist?"

"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "You've already sensed it yourselves, so you must know this, but our dear Ji-Hee possesses pure mana rather than dark mana, which is why your attraction to her is so strong."

"Ah!"

The spirits normally wouldn't have felt such interest toward one of the living, even if they were a Spiritualist. Now they all understood why they had felt so drawn to her.

After patting Kim Ji-Hee's head for a few moments, Kim Ki-Rok drew the spirits' attention back to himself. "Well then, let us return to the main topic. We are looking for a spirit who would be willing to stay by our dear Ji-Hee's side and assist her."

"That's me."

"I should be the one to take that role."

"You must be talking about me. Hohoho."

The old men and women immediately began claiming the position for themselves while puffing out their chests. This quickly led to a staredown, with all of them narrowing their eyes at each other.

1. Ji-Hee slightly slurs the Korean word that is used to refer to your grandfather, or any other elderly man of similar age. I felt like "grandpapa" might be the best way to capture her slightly childish way of speaking ☜