Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I came out of the Spirit Vein Forest and returned to the village.

“Morris.”

“Yes, have you come, family head.”

“Don’t catch a comfortable place. Did you enter the tavern?”

“Since it’s not a place for the family head to stay, even this is sufficient. Have you finished the work?”

“It seems I’ll have to stay a few more days. There are many things to carry out from inside the Spirit Vein Forest. More than that, come out for a bit.”

I called Morris and stood in the empty lot beside the tavern.

Several people were coming and going, and some of them had their gazes drawn to the knight standing facing the wall in the corner.

A knight wearing old yet antique full-body armor standing without moving in front of that wall, something must be strange.

There were also people sticking their heads out to see if something was on that wall.

Morris’s gaze also briefly stayed on him, and when I approached toward the knight and stood beside, he asked with interest.

“Who is this person?”

“Come here and look.”

I stood attached to the wall and said to Berger.

“Open the helmet.”

Berger raised his hand and lifted the visor.

When the diagram-engraved skull was revealed below the opened visor, Morris flinched.

“Undead...?”

“Not the undead commonly thought. It doesn’t hate the living or try to kill. Berger, lower the visor again.”

Berger covered his face.

“I found traces of an old path of magic family. Seems unable to answer but understands speech well with this.”

I took out the bone bead from the pouch and handed it.

“What is this?”

“Bone jade. Also called Life Vessel. In the records it’s shortened to Vessel, try infusing mana there.”

Morris obediently followed.

“Now this guy will listen to your commands. I’ll bring items down from the Spirit Vein Forest, so guard the carriage together with this guy.”

“Is it okay to give something like this to me?”

“If I infuse my mana again, ownership returns, so it’s okay.”

“Understood. Waiting at a place the carriage can enter at the mountain entrance, if some dangerous beast comes down, tell this skeleton... Sir knight to handle it?”

“Correct, call him Berger.”

“Understood.”

Morris examined Berger and said.

“I should wash him a bit. There’s a bit of fishy stench and a lot of dirty things stuck on the armor.”

Since he was wearing the rotten bear leather, it can’t be helped.

“Poison might be stuck a bit too so be careful.”

And while coming out, I unintentionally caught many spiders.

On the way back the spider I met before appeared again so I commanded ‘kill the spiders,’ and it killed the one right in front and went into the nearby bushes.

Chasing, it hunted several spiders I don’t know where they were hiding, and after entering a large cave located closer than expected.

Just looking, it’s a spider den, do I have to enter there.

I thought of just shouting to call, but since it seemed it would call more troublesome beasts, I stopped.

Sighing and following in, inside there were also countless spiders dead, and at the end it was riding on the head of a giant queen spider and stabbing the flag spear in.

After killing, diligently sticking a hand into one point inside that body and pulling out a crystal...

Seeing it extend that soaked with body fluid to me, it seemed knowledge distinguishing precious materials also remained to some extent.

I have to go back and forth to the Spirit Vein Forest often for a while, and if large poisonous spiders I don’t want to cut keep rushing, it was bothersome so looking at the result it wasn’t bad.

However, I gained the realization that when commanding attacks, the target needs to be a bit clearer.

“Yes, I’ll be careful. Then please rest a bit at the lodging. After washing Sir Berger’s armor and preparing the carriage, I’ll tell you.”

***

I returned to the Spirit Vein Forest.

After going back and forth twice a day carrying loads, thereafter I’m spending the night in the rock cave of the Spirit Vein Forest.

There was a table of sorts and a place to lie carved from stone so the appearance was equipped.

The body ached so it wasn’t comfortable but what can be done.

Unless intending to let everyone know that there was a magic practitioner’s heritage here, it’s a matter that must all be done directly.

If there were two Bergers, one could be used as a porter.

If there was one more, it could also be made to guard this place.

In fact, I also thought of leaving Berger here and making it guard the Spirit Vein Forest as done so far.

Then I wouldn’t have to do this hardship, and the spiritual herbs of this Spirit Vein Forest would fully become mine.

But just possessing the Spirit Vein Forest accomplishes nothing.

Among the books stuck in the bookshelf on the cave wall, there was one Berger organized about the grasses growing here during life, but since it’s already a record from a long time ago, there seemed many spiritual herbs not recorded in that book.

Looking at the drawn pictures, there were flowers whose color or form had changed, so it looked hard to believe only the content of that book as is.

If monopolizing here, I would have to directly investigate what spiritual herbs grow here and what value.

Of course a very money-making and interesting work but...

There is much work to do.

If there is time to study herbology, shouldn’t one train.

Even if investigating and organizing like that, it’s not the end.

Whether the spiritual herbs will be needed by me, or must be sold and changed to money, is unknown.

If needed, digging and using ends it but will all the spiritual herbs here suit me.

Some must be sold to become money, and digging, storing, selling each requires time and effort.

Not only that.

The value of Berger was too high to leave here.

Where on earth does one obtain a knight of that skill who jumps into a spider den without protecting the body when the owner’s command falls.

In the end I decided to leave the Spirit Vein Forest to the Duke.

Take all the path of magic items to Equira, and make the Spirit Vein Forest a fixed income source.

For this, I organized the loads of the Spirit Vein Forest, went down the mountain and loaded on the carriage, and Morris guarded the carriage at the mountain entrance together with Berger.

When night comes Morris returns to the village and rests, and I return to the Spirit Vein Forest, organize items, and seek sleep.

It would be good to borrow the power of several people, but even if dragging mercenaries, the story inevitably leaks.

Bringing clumsy mercenaries and using hurriedly, since it’s a very rugged place several people will die, and to bring skilled mercenaries, time to search and that much money will be needed...

In the end I decided to move alone.

Loading the loads and returning here like that, what do I do while resting.

In the remaining time I read the journal or confirmed what materials to load tomorrow.

Especially reading Berger’s journal calmly, since I plan to borrow his power from now on, to know what kind of person he was.

[...Then what shall we call those whose souls fully settled in the Vessel. We called them Liches.

These are those who proved the path of magic of Recmond walked throughout life through revival, respected as elders who mainly performed the family’s main positions or taught newly entered family members.

Training was diligent but not particularly outstanding.

In the family, mainly paralleled magic or blunt weapon techniques with the path of magic.

Those learning long weapons that get in the way in the low-ceiling underground tomb were few, so those learning spear techniques like me were rare.

Even those outstanding geniuses become Myos with only traces of the soul remaining, honestly I had no confidence whether I could revive.

In fact, if becoming a clumsy Myos, I thought it better not to rise at all.

If I become a Myos, with this degree of power no direct line will want me.

If assigned to the family direct line as a knight, it would be glory even after death, but I will probably become a warrior.

Then commanded by the holy relic box manager to hunt the wraiths of the underground, and my Life Vessel stored in the family’s holy relic box will have no chance to come out.

If so, the only time able to receive the warm sunlight of the ground is when coming up to hold the magic power of the magic power spring.

I become a warrior wandering killing the wraiths of the underground and fight until that solidified body wears away and disappears.

That is not to my liking.

Thus when engraving the diagram of ‘Anima Solido’ that strengthens the soul in the later years, there was a little anguish.

When a person dies, the soul and anima come out from the soul and flow to the place to go.

But if learning Anima Solido, the soul after death does not discharge the soul and anima, this is to hold the memories of the dead soul, and press it in the natural world with that weight, they say.

If not learning at all, one can meet comfortable rest.

But if learning clumsily, one will become a Myos warrior with a torn soul.

At that time the body becomes a machine stuck underground killing wraiths, and what becomes of my torn soul.

Not only me, many Recmond magic practitioners worried about ancestors who became solidified souls and disappeared somewhere.

Whether having to spend a long time wandering unknown places holding the memories of life without even a body.

But a bizarre news was heard.

One ancestor’s soul sent a bird with three eyes to the tomb on its own death anniversary and left a letter.

The content was, as a soul the world seemed to rotate countless times so couldn’t come to senses, and only after the soul was greatly damaged was sucked into the Wraith Realm and obtained a monster’s body, and tried to train the path of magic there but it was impossible.

But conveyed that it won’t give up.

Even after the revival rite failed, there can be a next life, and there is a senior continuing training even after becoming a wraith.

After hearing that matter, I was impressed, and steadily engraved the last diagram.

Even while coughing blood from disease and the whole body breaking down, I didn’t stop training, and finally completed the diagram of Anima Solido by opening the last conduit root of life.

Not long after, after meeting a quiet death beside three family members...

I became a Lich.]

“Wraith Realm...”

The world where wraiths using the power of the soul called soul live.

Unlike the Demon Realm, a place that didn’t particularly cause big problems even in the future so was out of interest.

[...Now wraiths do not wander in the underground tomb.

Now over 380 years after the revival rite, our Recmond family achieved one unfulfilled wish of the founder.

In the end the geniuses of our generation closed the door of the Wraith Realm that had been open for thousands of years.

Probably when we return beside the ancestors, we will be treated as heroes.

The single-minded determination not to stop becoming gods even after the body dies made us this strong.

Now the only unfulfilled wish remaining to us is becoming gods.

Our family that started from the tomb keeper who destroyed undead with a shovel and his children became strong enough to conquer and close that wide necropolis.

If numerous Lich elders and path of magic trainees strive with one will as now, clearly one who becomes a god like the First Emperor can also be created.]

“Recmond... A family I’m hearing for the first time.”

Adding the content of the journal read previously, Berger lived his whole life as a member of the family called Recmond, went through the revival rite, and revived as a magic practitioner with a skeleton body.

The Recmond family seemed those who set base on the underground tomb and hunted the wraiths coming up from below, and after over 380 years since Berger became a skeleton, the family swept the underground tomb and achieved the unfulfilled wish.

And because the reason to set base on that barren land disappeared, it seemed internal conflict arose in the Recmond family.

Berger who didn’t join that fight set base in this Spirit Vein Forest, continued personal training, and seemed to have quietly organized life.

[...Boring. Doesn’t seem I can become a god, and even returning to the scattered family, not many acquaintances remained.

How do they like fights so much. Seems they became magic practitioners not to become gods but to die fighting on the battlefield.

Fighting saying they’ll snatch again what they divided well. Killing.

An incomprehensible matter.

I didn’t particularly want to do so and withdrew, and before I knew it I became alone and hundreds more years flowed.

Gradually finishing the long training, I intend to go see the ancestors.

This flower field also grew quite attached over hundreds of years, so I commanded my body that will become ‘ancestor’s bones’ to guard this place.

In the family... Well, now split so can’t even be called my family, anyway if a later person belonging to those families comes looking for me, I conveyed to guide the Vessel to him and follow words.

Already from a hundred years ago I conveyed to hang a mark in a well-visible place so it’s easy to know which family if visiting me.

Since I made them remember the marks of all family branches, there will be no matter of killing the later person who visited me.

If another takes first and infuses mana into the Vessel, it’s an unavoidable matter.

I also put on the armor, and said not to harm unless a threat to the Spirit Vein Forest and my body.

Since I commanded to put on beast leather if the armor is damaged, it won’t startle someone going back and forth the mountain too much.

In fact just showing my bones feels like showing the naked body so only shameful...]

So that’s why he was wearing the bear leather.

“He was an interesting person to the end.”

I covered the journal I was examining while resting.

And quietly sought sleep.

***

I loaded the last load on the luggage carriage.

“You worked hard.”

“I intended to speak after seeing the Duke’s face if possible but it will be difficult. It would be good to send a letter after returning.”

Loading all these loads and entering the ducal territory, if the Duke shows even curiosity about what I obtained in the Spirit Vein Forest, it becomes really uncomfortable.

He might also be curious who the suddenly appeared companion is.

When cleanly wiping the dirty things stuck on Berger’s armor, he emitted an atmosphere like a high knight wearing just antique armor.

Thereafter carrying a large flag spear slung, he inevitably stood out.

If such a him doesn’t even take off the armor and greets the Duke, answers, and only follows my commands, he will stand out even more.

“Then, finally you’ll tour the mansion.”

Morris climbed the carriage and smiled in a good mood.

The work in the ducal territory lengthened a bit so I also contemplated going straight to the next request area the Carpenter Viscount territory, but because of these loads it seemed I had to stop by the mansion first briefly.

“I won’t be able to stay long. Let’s depart.”

The carriage full of loads began to move.

When returning after finishing all the work, I slightly looked forward to what reaction Herdrode would show upon seeing Berger and the various diagrams.

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