Subscriber of the Gods

“It only appears in legends. We don’t even know if it really exists. Even I have never seen it in person.”

The Prochet Tower Master shook his head.

What Ethan wanted was something the Tower Master had only heard of in legends.

“Ancient spirits are things of legend. Even if they existed, they disappeared long ago, Teacher Ethan.”

Ancient spirits.

Ethan intended to contract with an ancient spirit at this Prochet Magic Tower.

‘That way, I can clear the third quest to survive as Ethan Whiskers. And I can also complement Extinction.’

Of course, there are many types of ancient spirits, so it’s uncertain which one he might be able to contract with.

‘Even I couldn’t contract with ancient spirits a few times.’

To contract with an ancient spirit, he first needs to revive this Prochet Magic Tower.

‘I just need to breathe life back into this dead land.’

He needs to eliminate the fundamental reason why this land was ruined and reconnect the completely severed ties with spirits.

However, even after doing that, there were cases where one couldn’t contract with an ancient spirit.

“But the ritual remains, doesn’t it? And I’ve heard that this ritual has been passed down through generations of Prochet Tower Masters.”

As Ethan spoke, the Tower Master’s eyes widened.

“How did you…”

“I learned about it while reading ancient documents.”

Of course, it wasn’t the current Ethan who had read them.

“…Indeed, it’s as you say. There is a contract ritual passed down through our family. It’s a ritual that can contract with ancient spirits of great power. But now, it’s difficult to perform this ritual. First, as you know, this land has died, and we also lack the necessary materials for the ritual.”

If this ritual fails, one cannot contract with an ancient spirit.

Of course, if this land is revived, it becomes possible to contract with ordinary spirits again.

‘The Prochet spirit mages will help in every way possible.’

Even if it’s not an ancient spirit, it’s possible to contract with decent spirits.

But Ethan wasn’t going to be satisfied with just that.

‘If I were satisfied with that, I would have already contracted with the Fairy Queen in the Fairy Forest.’

Ethan wanted to perfectly clear this third quest to survive as Ethan Whiskers.

‘An ancient spirit should provide an excellent reward.’

He had nearly died in the fight against the Twelve Apostles, but that experience was actually working in Ethan’s favor.

Like a preventive vaccine, so to speak.

“So it’s impossible? Well, if that’s the case, I have no choice but to leave. I can always search for traces of ancient spirits elsewhere. Thank you for the tea, Tower Master.”

As the Tower Master groaned, Ethan rose from his seat without hesitation.

Flustered, the Tower Master hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, no, wait! It’s true that we don’t have the materials! But we can obtain them!”

The Tower Master’s eyes wavered.

That resolute attitude of immediately standing up when told that what he wanted couldn’t be done.

The Tower Master began to think that Ethan might really have the ability to revive Prochet.

“Then get them and contact me.”

Noticing this thought, Ethan turned around immediately to not give him time to think.

Then came the Tower Master’s urgent cry.

“No! No! I’ll get them right away. I’ll get them immediately and prepare for the ritual.”

Ethan, who had reached the door, slightly paused his step. Then, turning just his upper body slightly, he looked at the Tower Master.

“Rubin! Where’s Rubin!”

“Yes, Tower Master!”

“Prepare the sparkling agate powder immediately! Take out the fairy wings we stored in the warehouse and pack them well!”

“What? Sparkling agate powder?”

“Go to Duke Felix’s territory and mention my name! Find Archmage Hansen and tell him I’ll settle the debt I owe him if he gives it to us!”

The Felix ducal family was the foremost noble family in the south, belonging to the Twelve Stars Families.

When the sparkling agate powder was mentioned, Ethan inwardly smiled. That agate powder was the most crucial material for the ancient spirit contract ritual.

‘When that powder is processed, it becomes the highest grade magic material, the Philosopher’s Stone.’

The Tower Master, who had been speaking urgently, took a deep breath and looked at Ethan again.

“This should cover the materials needed for the ritual.”

“I seem to have been too hasty. I apologize.”

Ethan naturally turned back and sat down in the chair again.

“To revive Prochet, we need full support, Tower Master.”

“I’ll provide it. However, this Magic Tower is not my personal property. All mages come together to form the Magic Tower. I merely play the role of captain.”

“So you’re saying we need to persuade them.”

“Yes, I’ll persuade them, so please give me some time.”

“No, I’ll go myself. Please guide me.”

***

“What? What do you mean… Tower Master. No matter what, how many of these people have come so far!”

The Vice Tower Master burst out in anger.

Chortec, the Vice Tower Master of this Prochet spirit mage tower.

Having been with the Tower Master for a long time, he had witnessed all the ups and downs of this spirit mage tower.

Even after Prochet territory had fallen into this state, he hadn’t left and had tried his best to revive it somehow.

However, those efforts always failed.

There were many trash-like people who tried to exploit this dead land in any way they could.

That’s why the Vice Tower Master couldn’t help but be more sensitive.

“Watch your words, Vice Tower Master! This person is our Roanna’s teacher! And he’s the one who will revive Prochet!”

“What…?”

Not knowing this, the Vice Tower Master was momentarily flustered.

“Roanna’s teacher…? Could it be, the one Roanna talks about every day…?”

“I’m Ethan Whiskers.”

Ethan extended his hand.

Bewildered, the Vice Tower Master took Ethan’s hand. He had just treated this Ethan as a con artist.

Although he should be quite upset, Ethan was wearing a very kind expression.

Chortec looked into Ethan’s eyes. Looking at those hazy eyes, he simply couldn’t look away.

“It’s natural for the Vice Tower Master to be distrustful. How many con artists must there have been until now? How many of those bastards approached, claiming they would revive the dead land, only to suck out what they could and run away?”

Ethan firmly grasped the back of the Vice Tower Master’s hand with his other hand.

“Don’t worry. I’m different from those bastards.”

A teacher from the prestigious Ivecar Academy.

And realizing that this Ethan before him was the one Roanna had praised so much, the Vice Tower Master’s hardened expression began to soften gradually.

-Reputation takes effect.

“I believe that someone with such a great reputation wouldn’t speak carelessly. I spoke too rudely. Please forgive me.”

The Vice Tower Master bowed his head.

As the reputation Ethan had built up so far worked together with his background, the Vice Tower Master’s suspicion completely vanished.

‘This is the taste.’

If Ethan didn’t have high reputation and a solid background, it would have taken quite a long time just to start talking and get permission.

“But… may I ask why you’ve come to help us? Perhaps because of Roanna…?”

“No. Of course, Roanna is an excellent student. I see she’s been training hard even during the vacation, judging by her white gloves being dirty.”

For a moment, the Tower Master’s eyebrows twitched.

He had noticed even such a trivial detail?

“Indeed… you are a true teacher.”

“I came here for the ritual that has been passed down through generations in Prochet. To contract with an ancient spirit.”

“An ancient spirit? Isn’t that just from legends? Did you come all this way for that legendary story?”

The Vice Tower Master wore a bewildered expression.

He had thought Ethan would propose something tremendous.

Reviving this land was no easy task. But an ancient spirit?

Suddenly, the Vice Tower Master’s expression hardened.

“You’re asking us to… realize a legendary story. In exchange for reviving this land.”

Thinking about it differently, he could understand.

Ethan’s proposal was indeed tremendous.

Wasn’t he asking to make the impossible possible?

“That’s impossible…”

“The Tower Master also said it was impossible to revive this land.”

Ethan said with a smile.

“I’ll make it possible. So please help ensure that the ancient ritual can be carried out properly.”

“We will. We’ll definitely do it. So please save our Prochet.”

Ethan nodded at those words.

“I’ll try.”

An impossible task.

But you never know until you try.

-You have received a quest!

-This is an extremely difficult grade quest. Be careful!

***

“It started with the previous Tower Master. The previous Tower Master was an excellent spirit mage and mage who had even contracted with a Spirit King.”

The Tower Master explained why Prochet had become a dead land.

The previous Tower Master, skilled enough to contract with a Spirit King, was the one who created Prochet’s golden age.

“But his greed was excessive. The previous Tower Master, that is, my grandfather, tried to contract with other Spirit Kings as well.”

However, problems arose in that process.

“He forcibly tried to open the door to the Spirit Realm and contract with a Spirit King, but unfortunately, the demon realm caught wind of it. Demons interfered with the ritual, and the power that should have opened the Spirit Realm ended up opening the door to the demon realm.”

Countless demons and devil races poured out from the opened door to the demon realm.

“It was truly a hellscape.”

The Tower Master shook his head.

“You’re probably wondering. How does the Prochet territory look intact after such an incident?”

The Tower Master explained.

The Spirit King was the one who handled all of that situation.

“Originally, Spirit Kings rarely contract with humans. But my grandfather had exceptional spirit affinity. That’s why the Spirit King made an exception. Despite opposition from other high-ranking spirits, he contracted with my grandfather.”

And the result of that was the current Prochet.

“The Spirit King was severely injured. And declaring that he would never contract with humans again, he absorbed all the spirit power from this land and disappeared.”

Prochet, stripped of its spirit power and life force, truly became a dead land. As if by magic, all spirits stopped visiting this place.

This was the reason for Prochet’s downfall.

The previous Tower Master, who had caused this situation, eventually passed away after a lingering illness, and his son, who should have become the next Tower Master, also died soon after.

Thus, his grandson, the current Tower Master, took on the role.

At first, he tried everything to revive Prochet.

But after tasting despair due to various con artists, he eventually gave up.

Then, Roanna was born with insane talent.

From that point, he began to reconsider the revival of Prochet, which he had once abandoned, in a corner of his mind.

“I want to be a father my daughter can be proud of. I think all the mages in the Magic Tower feel the same way. We hope that Roanna, who came to us like a blessing, won’t be held back by us.”

Roanna grew up receiving education from her father, the Prochet Tower Master, as well as various mages and spirit mages of the Magic Tower.

That’s why everyone in the Magic Tower was Roanna’s teacher, and they cherished her immensely.

That’s why they hoped this place wouldn’t become an obstacle for her.

They hoped it would be a place that could support her with everything when she needed strength.

-You have obtained information about the quest.

-Clear the quest based on this information.

‘The goal of this revival quest is to revive the land. To do that, I need to find the Spirit King who absorbed everything and left.’

However, that Spirit King, having lost all trust in humans, was in a place humans couldn’t find.

‘After finding the Spirit King through all sorts of methods, I need to heal him.’

The quest’s clear condition seemed simple, but resolving the prerequisites before that was extremely difficult.

It wasn’t an extremely difficult grade for nothing.

‘But I already know the method.’

Ethan can clear this incredibly difficult quest using a method different from what he previously knew.

‘The existing method is too difficult.’

Even knowing the clear method, it was quite hard to progress to quest completion.

But the method Ethan is now envisioning is much easier compared to the existing one.

‘One is the New World.’

And the other one was right where Ethan’s gaze was falling.

“You’ve been doing well, Roanna.”

It was Roanna.

Author's Thoughts

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