The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
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Chapter 315: Companion (4)
In the past, the Imperial Family once conducted a survey on job preferences among randomly selected citizens.
The total number of respondents was a staggering 302,496.
The results were as follows:
1st. Noble (19%)
2nd. Spirit Tamer (16%)
3rd. Mage (14%)
4th. Knight (12%)
5th. High-ranking Civil Servant (9%)
6th. Military Officer (5%)
There had been quite an argument over whether “noble” could even be considered a profession, but overall, the results fell within a range that people could understand.
The imperial statistician in charge of the survey added the following comment:
—People aren’t particularly interested in what a job actually does. What they care about is whether that job can change their social status.
It wasn’t exactly wrong.
In fact, Spirit Tamers—widely perceived as a profession that required little effort—had ranked second.
Spirit Tamers didn’t need to abuse their bodies like knights, nor did they need sharp intellects like mages.
As long as they had high spirit affinity, that was enough—or so ordinary people tended to think.
“Huff... huff.”
Fran Sirius let out rough breaths.
A sickly sweetness filled his mouth, and sweat poured down his entire body like rain.
‘Wasn’t Spirit Tamer supposed to be the number one easy job...?’
Even he had believed that.
But what was this supposed to be?
Kwoooooosh!
A gale, like a raging wave, was pushing him back.
“Grrk!”
To avoid being swept away by the violent wind, Fran put strength into his legs and lowered his body as much as possible.
The moment he let his guard down, he would surely be carried off somewhere by the wind.
—If you stay in the Spirit Realm, your affinity will rise just by breathing. But if you want it to increase faster, it’s best to feel the element itself with your whole body.
Under that pretense, he had been caught in this raging wind for a full two hours now.
There was no longer any sensation left in his legs.
It was hard to tell whether they were his own legs or just something connected to the ground.
‘And on top of that...’
The cutting wind was anything but gentle.
In fact, wounds were forming all over his skin wherever the wind struck.
“Hngh... hng!”
The worst part was that he couldn’t even ask for it to stop.
The moment he opened his mouth, the wind would rush in, making it impossible to breathe.
That torturous training finally ended an hour later.
“Huff... huff.”
Fran lay sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the sky.
Whether the sky was really that color or whether it was because he was completely exhausted, everything looked yellow.
—As I said, your days won’t be easy. But I promise you this. Every day you endure, your spirit affinity will grow steadily.
“......”
The torn skin regenerated at a rapid pace.
This too must have been a property of the Spirit Realm.
—Do you feel like continuing?
At that question, Fran let out a deep breath, then stood right back up.
“I’ve rested enough. Let’s move on to the next one right away.”
—Oh.
Silaphrion smiled faintly, impressed by Fran’s spirit.
—Good. Try to endure for as long as you can.
After that, daily life became a cycle of repetition upon repetition.
Eating, taking walks—and on top of that, enduring Silaphrion’s torture.
“Ghk!”
Of course, not every day was a success.
There were plenty of times when his concentration slipped, he got blown away by the wind, and lost consciousness.
But after a month had passed, there was something he could clearly feel.
‘This... definitely helps.’
Even when using simple wind magic, the sensation itself felt completely different.
If before the wind felt like a large balloon,
now it felt more like clay that he could knead however he wanted.
If he really tried, it seemed like he could even divide it into finer pieces.
‘Did Oscar go through training like this too?’
There were more than a few times when he’d felt that Oscar’s wind control was exceptionally delicate.
A thought crossed his mind—if he kept this training up, could he reach that level of control as well?
‘And also...’
Fran looked around.
It wasn’t just the “texture” of wind that had improved over the past month.
Since the very purpose of this training was to increase spirit affinity, he was starting to see more things now.
‘They’re still only mid-tier spirits, though.’
Maybe because this was the Spirit Realm, there were a great many spirits of various attributes.
They even seemed oddly idle, just wandering around for no particular reason.
‘But... does Lady Silaphrion not get along with spirits of other attributes?’
Several times a day, she would chase away spirits of other elements.
Each time, the mid-tier spirits would retreat like drenched puppies, which made them look a bit pitiful.
“Oh, right.”
While eating fruit as usual, Fran asked with curiosity,
“Lady Silaphrion. To raise spirit affinity, is it more efficient to focus on just one attribute?”
—Huh? Ah, that.
Over the past month, the only attribute used in his affinity training had been wind.
Of course, that was likely because Silaphrion was the Spirit King of Wind, but even so, it didn’t seem impossible to train with other attributes if he wanted to.
After all, at a single command, spirits would scatter instantly.
—Well... is there really any need to use other attributes? You’re a mage who uses wind, Fran. That should be the most familiar to you.
“That’s true, but... I feel like I’m starting to build a bit of resistance to wind.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
A month ago, just enduring her wind had been the limit.
In the process, his skin would end up covered in cuts.
But now, he could endure it reasonably well—and even speak comfortably.
The cuts didn’t form nearly as easily either.
—Hmm.
Faced with such a pointed question, Silaphrion fell silent.
‘It’s true... wind-based training is starting to reach its limits.’
She could continue increasing the intensity and maintain steady growth.
The problem was efficiency.
‘Using multiple attributes is definitely better than sticking to just one, but...’
She couldn’t trust them.
Especially the Fire Spirit King, who had been pestering her from the very first day to let him meet Fran.
With that fiery temperament of his, it was obvious he’d propose a contract the moment they met.
‘If a Spirit King proposes a contract...’
Honestly, how many people could resist such a sweet offer?
Silaphrion clenched her teeth and shook her head.
‘Absolutely not.’
[Translator - Night]
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She intended to contract with Fran herself—after his spirit affinity had been pushed to the absolute limit and he had become the most delicious—
No, the most splendid version of himself.
—Let’s think about that later. For now, it’s best to stick with wind-based training. You still have a long way to go.
“Well, that’s true.”
No one felt that more keenly than he did.
—Instead, I’ll raise the intensity. That way, you won’t feel like your growth has stagnated.
“......I don’t know whether I should be happy about that, but I’ll leave it to you.”
Another half a year passed.
“......”
Fran blinked slowly.
The Spirit Realm now looked different from when he had first arrived.
For one thing, the number of spirits visible everywhere had increased beyond comparison.
And now and then, he could even spot upper-tier spirits, noticeably larger than the others.
—Nice.
Silaphrion praised his achievement as well.
—Your spirit affinity has finally reached a realm. Starting today, you’ll probably begin to see top-tier spirits.
“Really?”
Fran’s face lit up as he looked around.
But contrary to her words, there were no top-tier spirits to be seen anywhere.
“I don’t see any.”
—They’re just not nearby. There aren’t many top-tier spirits to begin with.
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Fran nodded in understanding.
Even upper-tier spirits were few compared to mid- or low-tier ones.
—You can go for a walk if you like. I’ll need a few days anyway... to think about new training methods.
“I will.”
While Silaphrion racked her brain, having nearly exhausted all wind-based training methods,
Fran lightly kicked off the ground.
In an instant, his body shot upward, far from the earth, and he naturally cast a spell.
“Flight.”
It flowed like a single, seamless motion.
Thanks to seven months of getting used to wind, it now felt as natural as moving his own limbs.
Now he understood why the mages of the Red Tower spent years just getting close to a single element.
‘It’s just like that.’
The way knights who had reached a certain level said their sword felt like an extension of their hand.
To Fran now, wind felt like a part of his body.
‘If we could do this kind of training regularly, we’d probably be just like the Red Tower too.’
Unless Silaphrion took up permanent residence in the Mage Tower, this kind of training would be something only he could do.
“Wow.”
Landing on a floating island he often visited, Fran looked out over the Spirit Realm.
He hadn’t realized it at first, but the area he lived in was only a small part of the entire realm.
‘The Spirit Kings each have their own territories, right?’
Among them, the largest lands were ruled by the four great attributes: wind, water, fire, and lightning.
At a glance, there were volcanoes with flowing lava, vast lakes, rocky mountains, and more.
Each region was shaped to suit the preferences of its Spirit King.
‘Looking at it this way, Lady Silaphrion’s territory is the most moderate.’
Even among spirits, perhaps wind truly belonged to the harmonizing elements.
Just as he was enjoying his leisurely walk—
“Hm?”
Fran turned his head toward a presence he felt nearby and froze slightly.
‘What is that? Since when...?’
A small spirit was sitting on the floating island.
Judging by its size, it looked like a low-tier spirit, but the atmosphere it gave off was different.
With an emotionless face, the spirit gazed down at the Spirit Realm, and from his figure, gazing down at the Spirit Realm with an emotionless face, an inexplicable sadness could be felt.
“Uh... hello?”
Fran greeted it with his usual bright smile.
The spirit glanced at him once, then turned its head away again.
No matter how much he tried to talk after that, all he received was complete indifference.
“Ah, um, I’m not a suspicious person or anything—ugh!”
A powerful gust suddenly swept through the area, forcing Fran to close his eyes.
When he opened them again, the mysterious spirit was gone without a trace.
“......What was that? Not even a ghost.”
With an uneasy feeling, he returned to his home (a hut built by spirits, as he called it), when Silaphrion’s voice rang out.
—I’ve got it! A new training method!
“What is it?”
—We repeatedly drop you from an altitude of 20,000 kilometers so you can feel the wind even better!
“Uh... I think I might get motion sickness.”
—Nothing in this world can be obtained without a price—
Silaphrion suddenly trailed off.
Her figure still wasn’t visible, but Fran somehow felt that she was angry.
The air around them had grown slightly heavier.
—What is it?
Her voice, now lowered, carried a faint trace of anger.
The one who answered her was a male voice Fran had never heard before.
—At this point, I think I’ve been patient enough.
—Since you’ve endured this long, why not endure a little more?
—I refuse. I’m already at my limit.
Even just from his voice, the overwhelming confidence of the speaker was immediately apparent.
—Human. I am Ignious, the Spirit King of Fire.
He spoke clearly, addressing Fran directly.
—I have long wished to form a contract with you.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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