CHAPTER 28: THE LITTLE SPIRITUALIST (2)

"Ahem."

"Hmph!"

As the spirits started eying each other up, struggling to think of how to best showcase their individual appeal, Kim Ki-Rok stoked the fires even further as he continued patting Kim Ji-Hee's head. "However, since our dear Ji-Hee's talent has only just sprouted, there is currently only a single opening for a Spirit Contract."

"Ahem! Look here, young man."

"Why are you calling him a young man? This is Ji-Hee's father. Now look here, Ji-Hee's father..."

"Why are you demanding Ji-Hee's father to look here? Judging from the artifacts that he is wearing, it seems he has already managed to make it on his own despite his young age. Allow me to apologize on their behalf, good sir."

The spirits all fell into an anxious frenzy upon hearing that there was only a single opening.

On top of that, Kim Ki-Rok set a further condition. "Let me start off by saying that we have no intention of allowing our Ji-Hee to participate directly in battle due to her young age."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"It's unfortunate for the knights among you, but—"

"But why?!"

"I am afraid that they are out of the question, as any knightly spirit would require their contractor to remain close by in order for them to exert their full strength."

The armor-wearing spirits appeared visibly frustrated at the news.

"Ah, by the way, even if you aren't able to make a contract with our Ji-Hee today, we can take a few of you with us when we leave. As long as you are willing to follow certain conditions, that is," Kim Ki-Rok added belatedly.

They had been desperate to find some way for him to reconsider, but quickly raised their heads with a hopeful look after what he had said.

"Hm? How exactly do you intend to do that?"

"I am able to use this method because you're all still spirits," Kim Ki-Rok said as he pulled a small bead out of his subspace pocket.

"What is that?"

"Isn't that the thing that drops from the bodies of those corrupted ones?"

"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "These are mana stones born from mon—no, from corrupted spirits. Of course, they have undergone cleansing and been transformed into pure mana stones. And pure mana stones have the ability to—"

"They can store spirits," one of the spirits finished.

"Of course, I won't force any of you to enter this mana stone, but like I said... If you do, you will be able to accompany Ji-Hee out of this Gate." Kim Ki-Rok laid down the offer.

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"I see. That way, we will be able to accompany Ji-Hee even without signing a contract with her," muttered an intelligent and beautiful female spirit wearing glasses.

"That's right. Oh, and let me just say this one more time. I am not going to force anyone to agree to this. After all, if this were an attempt to force you to cooperate, I could have brought along something other than a pure mana stone," Kim Ki-Rok said in his own defense.

The spirits also understood the truth of his statement. When it came to evil Spiritualists, they had all sorts of means to force spirits into obedience.

"Allow me to lay things out more clearly. We are looking to make a contract with a spirit that can help our Ji-Hee. Since it might be difficult to help Ji-Hee directly without first making a contract with her, we are also looking for spirits that are willing to help her indirectly. Of course, once Ji-Hee does grow up and the number of contract positions increases, those who have been with us for longer will be given priority in forming contracts," Kim Ki-Rok promised.

The spirits exchanged glances with each other, considering this offer for a moment.

Because of their regrets, their souls had lingered in this world and they had transformed into ghosts. As beings that had escaped the laws of the physical world, they might be able to get by in this form for a good while, but if they ended up staying in this state for too long, they risked transforming further into evil specters.

"Hmmm. It's disappointing, but it seems that I can't accept this offer."

"It looks like I don't have a chance either. I've stayed here too long and have absorbed too much dark mana."

The spirits who had lingered in this castle for the longest periods of time all shook their heads. They couldn't accept Kim Ki-Rok's offer because there was a chance that they could fall to corruption at any time and transform into monsters.

There were eighteen spirits in total, with the six that had refused his offer...

That still leaves us with twelve.Is it because we arrived earlier than usual? Kim Ki-Rok thought to himself.

Their visit to the Fortress of Living Armor had been arranged far quicker than in any of his last Attempts.

Unlike the previous times when there had been less than five eligible spirits by the time they got here, a relatively larger number of spirits were able to accompany them back out of the Gate this time.

"In that case, that just leaves the issue of whom Ji-Hee should directly contract with..." one of the spirits said thoughtfully.

"Who would be the best choice?"

"We need to consider this carefully. It is related to our dear Ji-Hee's growth, after all."

The spirits huddled together as they conversed.

After a few moments of heated debate, one of the spirits was chosen to express their shared opinion. Rising up from the group huddle, he called out to catch Kim Ki-Rok's attention. "Hey you, Ji-Hee's father!"

"Ah, yes," Kim Ki-Rok responded. "Is something the matter?"

"Since you say that a knight would be inappropriate, then is it safe to assume that you want either a wizard or a strategist?"

"That's... Huh?" Kim Ki-Rok suddenly seemed flustered by the spirit's question.

"I'm asking if you want a wizard or a strategist?"

"Wasn't this Gate the manor belonging to the clan of knights who were defeated in the war against monsters?" Kim Ki-Rok asked in confusion.

"That's right, but so what?"

"So what would a wizard be doing here?" Kim Ki-Rok said in disbelief.

"But there is one though?"

"Ah..." Kim Ki-Rok, lost for words, quickly used Record to pull out a huge book only he could see.

Gate: Fortress of Living Armor

Description: Count Acorn's Castle, a knightly house located in the eastern section of the Pantine Dimension, formerly a part of the Pantine Continent. Due to their past conflict with wizards, they do not train any wizards of their own, relying on the power of Spiritualists instead for anything that requires magic.

This excerpt detailed part of the castle's history, which Kim Ki-Rok had pieced together by combing the family records found in their library.

Once Kim Ki-Rok had confirmed that his memory was correct, he asked again, "Wasn't this the house of knights that refused to rely on the power of wizards due to their past conflict with them?"

"That's right. But once they started their fight against the hordes of monsters, why would something like a petty grudge still matter? They needed to use all the power that they had available to them just to survive. That's why... Hm? Now that I think about it, how could you know about that?"

"It's a secret," Kim Ki-Rok insisted.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Hmph! Well, if it's a secret, then it can't be helped. In any case, the lord requested support from the Tower of Wizards in the face of crisis. Then, the wizards who were sent in response to his request, along with all of the lord's knights, were annihilated in the fierce battle that followed. Of those wizards, only one chose to remain on this plane because he couldn't let go of his lingering obsessions."

After finishing his explanation, the old spirit turned his gaze to where the other spirits were gathered.

Standing in the center of the group of spirits was an old man who was holding a cane. Unlike the other, muscular old men, this old man had a noticeably slender frame.

"The grandpapa with the big beard," Kim Ji-Hee called out.

"Hohoho."

It was the spirit of the man with the long beard that had first caught Kim Ji-Hee's interest. The old man placed his right hand on his chest as he bowed respectfully.

"I am the lowest-ranking member of the thirteen Elders who once served in the Tower of Wizards. My name is Kan Cho-Woo."

"Kan Cho-Woo... Kan Chowoo. Kan Chou? Kancho..." Kim Ji-Hee began mumbling the old man's name to herself, then looked up at Kim Ki-Rok and asked, "Like the sweets[1]?"

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "No. His name doesn't come from that."

***

The Pantine Dimension was just like Earth during all of Kim Ki-Rok's previous Attempts, in that it failed to withstand the invasion of Hell Gates and was eventually destroyed. However, at the center of those who resisted their world's destruction until the very last moment was a group of wizards from an institution called the Tower of Wizards.

Even if he calls himself the lowest-ranking one, to think that he would be one of the thirteen Elders... Kim Ki-Rok was shocked.

If he really was the Elder of a place like the Tower of Wizards, then his skill in magic was guaranteed to be great.

"Is that an artifact?" one of the Mapogu siblings asked.

"No. It's a ghost," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"Huh?"

The Mapogu team had been staring blankly at the transparent figure sitting beside Ji-Hee. They weren't able to immediately register what they just heard.

"Oh dearie me." The old man got up from his seat while tapping the back of his waist and introduced himself. "Hohoho. I am a spirit contracted to our dear Ji-Hee here. Please call me Kan Cho-Woo."

"Kancho?"

"Like the sweets?"

"It's Kan Cho-Woo. But you can call me Cho-Woo or 'Kancho' if you prefer."

Upon hearing old man Kan Cho-Woo's response, the Mapogu siblings seemed to have lost their faith in reality once more as they all turned to look at Kim Ki-Rok, requesting an explanation.

"Hmmm, I'll try and keep it short," Kim Ki-Rok conceded.

"Please." They all nodded their heads.

"Our dear Ji-Hee's Awakened ability is Spiritualism. As such, she has made a contract with this spirit," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"That simple?"

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Yes, that simple."

"But, really... Spiritualism?"

"Yes, she has awakened the ability to control spectral monsters and sign contracts with spirits," Kim Ki-Rok further elaborated.

"Oh!" The five siblings let out a collective gasp.

Then one of them exclaimed, "Ah! So that must be one of the reasons why we've come to this Gate."

It was true that they had to come to this Gate in order to unseal Kang Woo-Hyuk's hidden ability, but this was also the perfect place to search for a suitable spirit to contract with Kim Ji-Hee.

Turning to look at Yoo Seh-Eun, the one who had instantly grasped the core of the matter, Kim Ki-Rok nodded his head in approval. "That's right. And now, starting from tomorrow, Sir Kan Cho-Woo will be assisting all of you."

"Um, does that mean Ji-Hee will also be taking part in clearing the Gate?" Yoo Seh-Eun asked hesitantly.

"Not at all," Kim Ki-Rok immediately denied. "A contracted spirit can remain active even when it is far apart from its contractor. Of course, since it fights by borrowing the mana of its contractor, it won't be of much hel—"

Kim Ki-Rok paused, suddenly remembering that Kan Cho-Woo was different from the strategist that Kim Ji-Hee had contracted during his previous Attempts. He was a wizard, and even though he was the self-proclaimed lowest rank, he was still an archwizard who had served as an Elder in the Tower of Wizards.

So Kim Ki-Rok corrected himself, "No, I'm sure that he'll be of great help to you. He is a wizard, after all."

"Hohoho. I might have held the lowest rank, but I was still an Elder of the Tower of Wizards when I was alive. Making the most out of a minimal amount of mana is the very basic of basics for someone like me."

***

The next morning, the Mapogu team bid everyone farewell. "Well then, we'll be on our way."

As they set off to clear the Gate and collect crafting materials—monster corpses—Kim Ki-Rok advised, "Remember to be careful. It's when you let your guard down because you've gotten used to the Gate, or because you now have a strong ally at your side, that you're truly the most vulnerable."

There were no objections from the siblings. In fact, they had once suffered a great defeat after letting their guard down because they had thought that they had gotten stronger.

"Gandpapa, bye-bye." Kim Ji-Hee waved cheerfully.

"Alright! Your grandpapa will be working hard to earn Experience Points for you, dear Ji-Hee."

Kim Ji-Hee smiled and bowed politely at the waist, "Please be careful and come back safe."

After he had had his fill of watching her, Kan Cho-Woo turned to look at Kim Ki-Rok.

"Well then, Ji-Hee's father, I'll be on my way."

"Please come back safely," Kim Ki-Rok said with a nod.

Kan Cho-Woo finally turned to Lee Ji-Yeon.

"Our cute Ji-Hee hasn't brushed her teeth yet, so make sure she brushes her teeth before breakfast."

Ji-Yeon nodded obediently. "Alright."

"As for that gentleman named Woo-Hyuk. Ji-Hee could get burned while watching that gentleman's work, so make sure to stay right beside her while she does. And if she tries to get closer, be sure to stop her."

"Okay."

"And make sure that Ji-Hee can watch her cartoons on that contraption called a smartphone or whatever."

"Alright, I understand, so please rest assured and come back safely," Ji-Yeon said, exasperated.

"Well then, I'll be back soon."

After he was done lecturing Lee Ji-Yeon like a grandfather entrusting someone with the care of his blood-related granddaughter, Kan Cho-Woo patted Lee Ji-Yeon on the shoulder.

Now that they had finished seeing off the group that was leaving to run the Gate, Kim Ki-Rok placed his hand on Kim Ji-Hee's head.

"Ji-Hee," he slowly said.

"Yeees?" Kim Ji-Hee cutely responded.

"You haven't brushed your teeth yet?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Yeees," she reluctantly admitted.

"Up we go." Kim Ki-Rok crouched down and picked Kim Ji-Hee up with a hug. "Now then, shall we go upstairs and brush your teeth?"

"But I don't wanna brush my teeth," Kim Ji-Hee complained with a pout.

Kim Ki-Rok didn't try to argue with her, "Hm, you're right. Brushing your teeth is really annoying, isn't it?"

"Yeees," she agreed with a heavy nod.

"But you still have to do it," Kim Ki-Rok insisted.

Kim Ji-Hee stubbornly turned to stare into Kim Ki-Rok's eyes, and the latter stared right back at her.

Time seemed to stretch on forever.

"Alriiight." Kim Ji-Hee finally gave in with a pout.

***

Just as they had confirmed that five Living Armors were approaching and they had begun preparing for battle, the Mapogu Team suddenly heard Kan Cho-Woo speak up. "This is just for your information, but..."

"While I am able to cast spells with the minimum amount of mana at maximum efficiency, I don't plan on casting any today."

"Huh?" was the Mapogu Team's collective response.

"According to Ji-Hee's father, your stats will only increase when you have to struggle to defeat your enemies. As such, I don't plan on using any magic until you truly find yourselves in a dangerous situation."

Really? Wasn't this different from what they had previously heard?

"But that said, that doesn't mean I won't be participating in this battle."

With a bright smile, Kan Cho-Woo lightly shook his staff.

Fwooooosh!

A wave of mana spread out in all directions.

"Huh?"

"Hm?"

The moment they sensed the wave of mana washing over them, the group turned their heads to look at him in question. Kan Cho-Woo, who was floating in the air, explained to them with a bright smile, "I need to help the party at least to some extent, otherwise our dear Ji-Hee won't be gaining any experience points. As such..."

Clink-clank!

The Living Armor that had been waiting in one of the rooms up ahead broke through a window and jumped out into the hallway.

A Living Sword came flying in at an extreme speed from the right hallway that was just barely visible in the distance. Soon after, more Living Swords, Living Armors, and Living Shields appeared. There was even a spirit floating toward them in a jar, maybe because there hadn't been a weapon nearby for it to possess.

As dozens of monsters swarmed toward them, Kan Cho-Woo said with a kind smile, "Are you worried that this might be a bit too tough for you?"

"Y-yes?" a member of the Mapogu team nervously admitted.

"Hohoho. No need to worry. I may have very little mana at my disposal, but I will still support you in the best way that I can."

"But... um, don't you think this is a little too much?"

The third sibling, Kang Seh-Hyuk, carefully expressed his concerns but was immediately dismissed.

"Hohoho. Just this?"

"Huh?"

"You really think this is too much?"

"Um, yeees?"

"Hohoho. Back in my day..."

Hm? It felt like they had heard those words before from somewhere. Many times, at that.

"Even a brand new wizard who had just entered the Tower of Wizards was able to handle at least this much."

Kan Cho-Woo clicked his tongue.

"And how are you meant to save your world like this? Is this slackness because you're from a different dimension? No, even if that's the case, you should still be able to do at least this much. That is, if you really want to call yourself a wizard qualified to face monsters in the field. Hohoho. In any case, this is quite a simple challenge. So make sure to do your best while fighting."

1. Kan Cho-Woo's name sounds very similar to the name of a Korean brand of chocolate sweets. ☜