Chapter 118
"Hahahahaha!! This is incredible—I never imagined it could be this fun!!"
Spirits truly are brokenly overpowered.
"Nel! Toss to me—I’ll spike!!""Got it!!"
Whether to count them as individuals or entities was unclear, but for now, we’d call it a team of two.
Facing the jovial, leaping giant before me, I steadied myself—no room for complacency. This was all-out war.
After badminton, we’d moved on to makeshift volleyball.
Closer to beach volleyball, really—a 2v2 match on a tiny court.
You might think playing on hard ground was reckless, but—
"As expected of an Earth Spirit! That toss was perfection!""Your praise honors me! Finish it, Wind!!"
Somehow, despite being in the mountains, the ground had turned into soft, beach-like sand.
The cause? The Great Spirit of Earth, now teamed up with the Great Spirit of Wind for doubles. At this point, it was beyond parody.
Despite being a novice moments ago, the burly, tanned man—who I’d swear was a sumo elder—formed perfect finger triangles, kicked off the unstable sand with ease, and launched a seamless set to the emerald-haired giant mid-air.
"Yeah! Leave it to me, Earth!"
Originally, it was just me and the Wind Spirit playing badminton until the Earth Spirit barged in, demanding to join. That escalated to 2v2 beach volleyball. Nel jumped in, and the match grew fierce. Spirits, it seemed, were drawn to the excitement—first the lesser spirits watching from afar, then others of different attributes, followed by mid-tier spirits.
Before I knew it—
"Go, humans!!""Oi!! Quit dawdling and score already!!"
Alongside the Earth Spirit playing volleyball, the Great Spirit of Water cheered for us, while the Great Spirit of Fire heckled from the sidelines.
Yeah, no clue what’s happening. Right now, I just had to focus on returning the Wind Spirit’s full-power spike.
I’d literally trained for nightmare mode by grinding VR volleyball against world-class teams!!
"Take this!!""Whoa!? That human just received it cleanly!!""And set it up beautifully!""Here comes Wind!!""Hah! Bring it!!"
Even with sealed stats, I could do this!(Though my arms were screaming in protest.)
Applaud my damn skills through the pain!!
"Liberta, here I go!!""Yeah!!"
Gritting my teeth, I sprinted across the sand, building momentum.
My receive landed just short of the net—Nel dashed under it, leaping for the set.
A glance. A silent signal.
I kicked off, arching backward mid-air into spike position.
And then—
Nel didn’t set.
Instead, she gently tipped the ball over the net.
"Wha—!?""No way!?"
"Nice one, Nel!""Hehehe, we win!!""GRAAAAAH!! I let my guard down!! Kids, rematch!! Right now!!""Yeah!! Next time, we won’t slip up!!"
The adult-form Great Spirits stomped in frustration, yet their lips curled into grins.
"Hah? What’re you on about? I’m next! Let’s go, Water!""Oh please, I’ve been waiting. Hurry up and step aside."
Their thirst for revenge proved how much fun this was—and the queue of spirits waiting their turn meant they were all invested.
Even in-game, I’d never seen so many spirits gathered.
"Stay up! Stay up! Stay up!!"
On a makeshift sumo ring nearby, a bear-like mid-tier spirit wrestled Claudiah, with Amina refereeing.
No loincloths—just grappling and shoving.
Yet the crowd of spirits roared with excitement.
"Hmph!""Guh!?"
Claudiah hurled the bear spirit—outdoing even the folktale hero Kintarō—earning deafening cheers.
"Liberta-sama.""Hm? What’s up?""Apologies, but... the supplies—""Oh. Right."
Ingrid, meanwhile, had enlisted spirits to help cook more prize snacks.
The cookies we’d brought were long gone. Even the emergency backups were nearly depleted.
"Didn’t expect this many to show up..."
My plan was simple: attract lesser spirits, share cookies, play games, then wait for mid-tiers to appear.
But the first catch was a Great Spirit?! In-game, their spawn rate here was practically zero!
"Boy, what’s wrong?""Ah, we’re running out of prize snacks.""Hmm. Unacceptable. I’ll have the others gather nuts.""Why bother? Growing a tree for fruit’d be faster.""Hell yeah! With all four elements here, sprouting a tree or two’s easy!!""Ooh, let’s do it!"
Four Great Spirits—Earth, Water, Fire, Wind—plus countless mid- and lesser spirits.
Thank gods we were deep in the mountains, and the Mandragora had cleared out monsters.
"We came to exterminate the Treant that settled here. Plenty of strength to spare.""Wait, the Mandragora?"
But why were spirits gathering now? Maybe this was hinted at in the original game.
"Indeed. I’d planned to slay that Mandragora myself. Its roots were encroaching on this hot spring—a sanctuary for spirits. Unacceptable. But just as I prepared to act, I spotted human children battling it."
So that’s why the town survived in-game. There’d always been someone to stop the Mandragora.
"A flawless battle!! As if you foresaw its every move! I nearly stepped out to praise you, but appearing unannounced seemed... improper."
Turns out, this meeting wasn’t accidental.
"When your group headed into these mountains, I suspected something and followed. Never imagined you’d start playing."
The emerald giant laughed heartily.
To spirits, a group capable of felling a Mandragora was interesting.
Hell, I’d have stalked them too.
"You bear no malice. I sensed your calculations, but you swiftly discarded them to focus on the game. Priorities straight."
The spirit winked—fully aware I’d come with an agenda.
But my lack of ill intent had earned trust.
"You’ve brought us joy and freed this forest from the Mandragora’s shadow. Name your purpose—let me repay you."
We’d already achieved our goal—maybe even overachieved by playing too hard.
No, it was because we’d played so earnestly that this happened.
(Though I’d gotten so immersed I’d forgotten my objective for a moment.)
"Well... I was hoping to mine Spirit Ore from the Spirit Corridors.""WHAT!? You came to clean the corridors!?""Seriously!? Hit mine first—it’s clogged with stubborn chunks!""No, mine! Those thorny deposits are a nightmare!""Nay, as comrades in play, mine hath troublesome growths—""Silence! I met him first—my corridor takes priority!!"
The moment I stated my goal, the air crackled with energy.
The Great Spirits surged forward, arguing like kids over dessert.
This was it—access to their Spirit Corridors.
Better than Class 3 ore? Guaranteed Class 6, at minimum.
Given their neglect, Class 8 might even be possible.
"...Sorry. I never expected to enter Great Spirit corridors. My gear’s insufficient.""WHAT."
The sheer, gamer agony of wasting this chance was unbearable.
I clenched my fists, barely suppressing the urge to scream.
Mining? Just grab a pickaxe, right?
Technically, yes. Mining skills boost efficiency—they don’t enable the impossible.
But in FBO, some materials require specific gear.
This was one such case.
"This is the best tool we brought. Think it’ll work?"
I showed the mythril pickaxe—enhanced with Mining skills via the duke’s connections. For Class 5 ore, it’d suffice.
The Great Spirits stared. Then, in unison, shook their heads.
"The tip would shatter.""Mine’d melt it.""Rust would consume it.""Mine’s deposits would blunt it without a scratch."
Verdict: unprepared for Great Spirit corridors.
If I’d known, I’d have scrounged up gear for Class 7 at least!!
"This... is devastating. I’ve never regretted anything more!!"
I bit my lip so hard I might’ve drawn blood. The missed opportunity hurt.
"Then return better equipped. You’re always welcome to play.""Really!?""Aye. But I’m not always present. Still, today was delightful. I’ll inform the others.""Same! Few Fire spirits linger here, but I’ll spread the word!""May I? Aquatic visitors are rare—this spring’s perfect.""Naturally, I shall as well."
But the connection was made.
After recent struggles, was this the gods’ reward? A hidden event quest?
"Yes! Absolutely!! I’ll return with proper gear ASAP!!""We’ll await you. Meanwhile, others need aid—could you clear their corridors with your current tools?""Gladly!!"
A win-win either way.
"Start with the weaker ones. Their corridors are lifelines.""Leave it to me! I’ll mine with everything I’ve got!"
Even lesser spirits’ ore would be invaluable.
"Splendid. Then, little ones—open the path."
At the Great Spirits’ command, the smaller spirits gathered, closed their eyes in prayer, and began to glow.
"This... is a Spirit Corridor?""Indeed. Let’s proceed.""What of Lady Claudiah and the others?""No need to interrupt their fun. Just us for now."
Before us, a mist-like portal swirled—resembling a dungeon entrance.
Fitting, as Spirit Corridors were pocket dimensions.
The difference lay in what lay beyond.
Leaving the sumo tournament behind, I stepped through the mist with Nel and Ingrid—
"Beautiful...""Yes. There’s no other word."
—into a cavernous passage glittering with emerald gemstones.