Fantasy Starting from the Stone Age - Chapter 121



Only Noblemtl

Episode 121. Those Who Sell Legends 4

“There are all kinds of mysteries in the world. There are many mysteries that are not as powerful as this great spirit magic, but have powers comparable to it.”

The noble teacher, as befitting a teacher at an academy of nobles filled with the idea of ​​chosen people, begins his explanation by placing the magic of spirits at the very top.

“The worst kind of mysteries are the meme-based ones, such as animal spirits, ancestral spirits, and nature spirits. It’s good that you can easily gain power, but it takes thousands or tens of thousands of years to shed it, and growth is impossible solely through one’s own strength and desire, so it heavily relies on the will of others. Above all, it encroaches on one’s will and is ‘possessed’ by spiritual beings.”

Ah. This is the teacher’s personal opinion. If this were an academy where only people could enter, I would have said the opposite. I would have said that it was a mystery that was easy to obtain and that could make you stronger the fastest if you had the will of others.

“The second from the bottom is the mysticism that relies on the physical body, which is based on martial arts and human sacrifice. This imperfect mysticism that relies on the life force of an individual has the serious problem that it requires the use of the physical body to fight, and if the body is permanently damaged, it cannot do anything.”

“The next is the contract between the dragon and the demon. The mysteries of these beings, who can only exert their power through contracts with lowly creatures, are somewhat close to spirit magic, but they have inherent limitations. If this is the lowly mysteries, then there are also superior mysteries.”

The teacher explains them one by one.

“Elemental magic, including metal magic and plant magic, that bends the world itself with one’s will and magical affinity. It is pure, without flaws, and superior, except that it requires a great deal of effort to train.”

“Astronomy, which borrows the power of the celestial bodies and uses it as is, and magic, which understands the principles of numbers and uses them. Anyone with a good head can learn magic, but on the contrary, it shows the superiority of this mystery.”

“The magic and music using emotions. This power to create miracles in the world by using the bottomless power of emotions can be said to be a superior version of other mysteries.”

“Divine power that utilizes the power of the gods. By borrowing only a portion of the power of the primordial, imperfect gods, one can generate enormous power.

“And the most superior one is spirit magic. It requires enormous will and magical affinity, and it borrows the life force of the spirit beast, the most superior creature in the world, and the power of the spirit king, the pinnacle of spirit, and it is a technology that has both universality and mutual complementarity through meme-based writing. The reason why Datang, the past world’s loser, and Ol Chaun, the strongest newcomer, were so strong is precisely because of this spirit magic. You are learning this.”

What this teacher says is entirely to justify their system.

The fundamental reason they use spirit magic is because lower spirits must unconditionally obey the words of higher spirits. And Ol Chaun, the contractor of Datang Oram, has been placed in a state of celibacy, while the remaining spirit kings are divided among the leaders of society.

Well, actually, that’s not entirely wrong. Spiritualism is a mystery with no noticeable drawbacks. Especially the first spirits, called the Spirit Kings, are even more so. Their power is truly formidable.

But if you think about it from a historical perspective, there’s one thing you can understand. It’s not that spirit magic is superior and strong, it’s just that spirits are strong. Why are spirits strong? It’s simply because the history of spirit magic is incredibly long.

There are nine representative spirits that are considered ‘Kings of Spirits’: Datang Oram, Moji Palera, Happa Jose, Onra Dobang, Neam Kedal, Bachat Beram, Wangan Bozog, Motko Here, and Iral Tatai. Although less numerous, there are dozens of spirits that have been given the title of King, having a history spanning several eras.

If the history of monster breeding was as long as that of spiritism and if it was treated as such in the civilized world, and if there were many such ‘king’ level monsters, they would probably have praised monster breeding as the best.

In fact, civilizations of thousands of years have been doing that.

But they try hard to ignore this fact. The next Chaun will be placed anyway. And most of the spirit kings are in their possession. They don’t bother to care.

And also, there is something you can know when you hear the explanation.

After all, it means that no other mysteries will be eliminated in the distant future.

Second, if the superiority of spirit magic ultimately comes from the times and powerful spirit kings, then there wouldn’t have been that much of a gap between the mysteries in the very old days.

As time goes by, the gap gradually widens or narrows. After all, all the spirit kings mentioned are still around in this era.

In other words, the older the time period, the more diverse mysteries can be seen fighting in similar areas.

The excavation leader and first patron, the wizard Luzar, addresses the basics.

“The old Dimanang magic civilization was connected to all areas that are now deserts and barren lands through canals. However, Hanjutamal swept through the north and everything was swallowed up by sand and magical winds.”

“What disaster has occurred?”

“According to the records, the mountain exploded and everything was covered in dust. It’s a description reminiscent of the volcanic eruption near the Shuzor River. But it seems more like a forge or something exploded.”

“A forge explosion like a volcanic eruption… … .”

“There’s nothing to salvage there, but the rest is buried deep and easy to find. We search that area. There are many great things even in everyday items.”

Their carts are pulled by camel-handed gaats, who are yoked together and pull them on all fours. They look more like livestock than porters, but they have no particular prejudice against this kind of appearance.

As an equal colleague, Gaart also serves as a guide.

“Sniff sniff. Hey. I smell something coming from somewhere.”

Hunter Gon Chaina looks around.

“Aha. It’s a monster. It’s running towards us. Luzar. What should we do?”

Luzar quickly calculated the formula in his head as if asking what was wrong. Fire appeared in his hand.

“Okay! It’s time to fight!”

Warrior Waiki leaps from his cart, holding his mace. Porter Gaat quickly unhooks his yoke and stands before the party as a barrier, holding up a large shield. Hunters Gon Chaina and Borin Chacha shoot arrows from a distance to block the approach of the enemy. And bard Hirari plays his instrument, energizing them with his musical skills.

And Waiki leaps towards the approaching giant monster. Its size is comparable to that of a rhinoceros, at least.

“Come at meeeeeeeee!”

Others might say it’s reckless, but Waiki charges straight into the approaching monster and splits its skull open. An impressive feat.

Waiki screams and immediately crushes all the monsters that rush at him with the iron hammers he holds in each hand.

“Gon Chaina. Are you going to let him act like that all by himself?”

“no way.”

The hunters also jump down with their spears to intercept the attackers. Borin simply hides, but uses his dagger and short bow to subdue the smaller creatures that approach the rear ranks.

“There’s something big coming over there!”

“Don’t worry. I knew it! Reka!”

It’s not exactly a spirit spell, but it feels like that, as Luzar roars and fires a fireball. It’s a fire that won’t fall off once it catches. Waiki can’t get close to it, so he waits for Luzar to destroy it.

Now it’s familiar. The companions fight as usual, then dismember the monster’s body and wait in the wagon until Luzar finds the location of the ruins again.

“I think we’ve found a large ruin, as the monsters keep approaching us. I can feel a strong wave of magical power.”

“Ahem! Good!”

“Wayki, do you like fighting like that? If you do that, you’ll leave early.”

Waiki straightened his chest at his colleague’s half-worried, half-joking remark.

“It’s only Daton or something like that who is afraid to leave early! If you are a proud Baekhan, you should fight bravely and die for your own cause.”

“Ugh. Really? You’re saying it’s okay if I die?”

“It’s really hard to understand when I think about how hard it is for me and Gon Chaina to become immortal Minniruns.”

“I don’t really care about dying either!”

“Me too. Borin, anyone can die at any time.”

“I would die for my children, but I’m not sure.”

Waiki said it sincerely. And he showed it with his actions. Waiki volunteered to be the bait alone to save his comrades many times, and he didn’t care if he broke his own limbs or got seriously injured to save his comrades.

It’s not that he’s trying to die on purpose, nor is he taking unnecessary risks, but he’s showing his unsparing devotion to his comrades.

“If my comrades are so unwilling to die, I too must show them that I am bravely fighting against death.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Can I use that as a line?”

“Yeah. Whatever you want!”

At some point during their adventures, the most famous person in the Luzar excavation team became Weiki. In fact, because he was so active, he naturally received a lot of weight in their adventure stories and stories.

“Damn. I’m not used to this kind of talk. It’s embarrassing.”

“I hope it sells well. By the way, do you have any other cool lines?”

“Cool lines? What?”

“Aren’t you aware of it? You talk a lot. A lot of things.”

“Hmm. Even if you say that, I’m not really good at packaging myself.”

“Then let’s talk about something else. I’m not afraid of death, but what do you think will happen when I die?”

The afterlife. It’s been discussed a lot among the Baekkans recently.

There was once a religion bordering on superstition, but with the excavation of the primordial gods and contact with the Erins and the dragon religion of the Iyakans, they began to take interest in the world after death.

“Isn’t it like a noisy bar?”

“huh?”

“We tell many stories while we are alive. They become the subject of stories, and death is where stories end.”

“Yes.”

“But if there is a folk god called Baekkan, if there really is something like our soul rather than an ancestral spirit… … . Wouldn’t a person who died without any reason have at least one chance to tell his story after death?”

“There are monarchs who do not die.”

“They will remain even after the story is over. And I don’t think that’s a good idea. They will die anyway. Then, they will continue to tell their stories in the places where their ancestors and people are.”

“Wow. This is interesting.”

“Well, I’m not very talented, so I guess I’ll have to hire a minstrel like you.”

“Really? But I’ll die much later.”

“Just wait. There’s no need to brag first.”

Waiki wasn’t that interested in the ‘mystery’ he possessed. It wasn’t martial arts. It wasn’t an ancestral spirit. It seemed to work as a meme, but it actually made him physically stronger. It wasn’t divine power either.

The Baekkan people’s god, who becomes stronger just by living like a Baekkan. Such a mystery. Waiki, who is proud of being the Baekkan of Baekkans, lived like that.

This Weiki is an important person. More important than Luzar, the leader of the expedition, and even more important than Hirari, who spread the story.

Because it is impossible to explain the gods of Baekkan without explaining Weiqi.