Chapter 346: Cunning Fishing (1)
“So, let me ask you this. Do you like snowflake bingsu?”
“Pardon?”
Javier’s response.
He looked at Lloyd as if to ask, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
Seeing that reaction, Lloyd smiled.
And he thought.
‘What do you mean what am I talking about? I’m talking about thoroughly dealing with the spirit that’s been causing havoc and stopping our construction for days.’
It wasn’t a situation they could leave alone.
If they let the spirit continue causing trouble and just stood by idly?
There might come a day when their fingers swell up from doing nothing, but the blizzard wouldn’t stop.
‘Nature’s way? Just wait? That’s nonsense.’
He couldn’t stand the situation where they couldn’t even start the construction and were just waiting around.
With that resolve firmly in mind, Lloyd asked.
“The spirit that’s been causing this blizzard for days. It must be one living in the Pantara Mountains, right? So, it would be specialized in ice and snow attributes. It must have a strong attachment to this mountain range.”
“That’s likely true. If a spirit is causing this blizzard, as you suspect, Lloyd.”
“Right. So, I thought we might use its attachment.”
“Use its… attachment?”
“Yeah.”
Lloyd nodded.
A half-confident smile appeared on his face.
He continued to explain.
“You know spirits are originally sensitive to environmental damage, right? It’s common knowledge.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that’s a common trait of all spirits.”
“Exactly. So, what about spirits living in these remote mountains?”
“They would likely be even more sensitive than spirits in other areas.”
“Precisely. They wouldn’t have much experience with human or similar beings entering their domain. They would have lived in places where humans rarely tread.”
Lloyd’s voice grew more confident.
He had a basis for his confidence.
‘People and spirits are similar in this regard. It’s like this: if person A moves from a bustling market district to a quieter area, will they be noticeably bothered by the noise? Probably not. They might even prefer it, finding it quieter compared to the market. But what about the opposite?’
So, if person B, who lived in a quiet rural area, moves to a noisy city center?
‘They’ll probably be shocked by the noise. They won’t be able to adjust. They might even feel a sense of despair at how noisy their new home is.’
Most people would feel that way unless they were exceptionally insensitive.
So, Lloyd thought spirits would have similar adaptation issues.
‘Spirits in villages near people would be somewhat accustomed to human presence. Like person A moving from a noisy market district.’
But the spirits in the Pantara Mountains, where human presence is extremely rare?
‘They would be like person B moving from the countryside to the city. These spirits aren’t used to humans. They probably haven’t experienced much environmental damage. So, they would react much more sensitively and nervously compared to ordinary spirits.’
The relentless blizzard over the past few days confirmed that.
Through it, Lloyd was sure.
“It will be much easier to provoke them.”
People and spirits aren’t much different in this respect.
Lloyd said confidently.
Javier squinted.
“Hmm. So, you mean to further damage the mountain environment to draw out the spirit.”
“Yes.”
“……”
“What? Why? We’ve already demolished two peaks. This mountain range is already ruined. Compared to what we’ve already destroyed, it’s not much. We just need to break a bit more around here.”
“Your personality is really something.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
“No, I heard you.”
“You heard?”
“Of course. You said it right in front of me. How could I not hear?”
“Well then, congratulations.”
“Congratulations? For what?”
“For not losing your hearing yet.”
“Of course. Everything’s still in good condition.”
“Of course.”
“Well, naturally. I became a Sword Master.”
“But you still haven’t dated anyone.”
“……”
A heavy blow straight to the chest without any warning.
It felt like getting hit on the head with Korea’s pride, Hyunmoo-4, dropped from a height of 500 kilometers at Mach 10 speed.
Lloyd swallowed the overwhelming sadness and said.
“Your skill at getting under people’s skin is really improving.”
“Getting under the skin?”
“What I mean is… never mind. Anyway, let’s move. Just standing here is making the spirit happy.”
Having assessed the cause and countermeasures for the situation.
It was time to act.
Lloyd put on his leather armor and winter clothes.
He prepared numerous tools.
He packed a folding shovel, a large sledgehammer, a pickaxe, and even two lunchboxes.
“Let’s go!”
“……”
Why does he seem so excited, as if going on a picnic?
Following Lloyd out of the camp and up the rugged mountains.
Javier couldn’t help but stifle his laughter.
Especially as he listened to Lloyd’s plan (?).
“I’ll lure it out. Then you hit it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hit it. Don’t you understand?”
“I do. But I’m asking because spirits are nearly immune to physical attacks from humans, you know?”
“Of course. That’s why it’s even better.”
“Better? What do you mean?”
“We don’t have to worry about killing it, so we can hit it as much as we want.”
“……”
“So, put your conscience aside and just go all out.”
“……”
“What’s with that look again? What’s bothering you this time?”
“It’s not that. It’s just that attacking the spirit alone might not be enough.”
“You mean it won’t be effective since we can’t kill it and thus can’t subdue it. Something like that?”
“Yes. Do you have a specific plan in mind?”
“Yeah, I do.”
That was it.
Javier didn’t hear any more.
Lloyd had stopped walking, indicating they had reached their destination.
It was a fairly wide, flat area between steep cliffs.
“Whew, this is perfect. It’s far from the workers’ camp. Seems like no one has been here for hundreds of years. Great place to work. So, Javier?”
“Yes.”
“Hide over there.”
Lloyd pointed to a spot on one side of the flat area.
Several rocks were piled up there.
Thanks to the shadows cast by the rocks, it seemed like a good place to hide.
“……”
Javier silently slipped into the rock crevice.
Will Lloyd’s plan work?
With half doubts and half concerns, he watched Lloyd.
And then he couldn’t help but bite his lower lip.
Because he witnessed what Lloyd was doing.
“Hey-ya!”
A loud shout.
Raising the shovel high.
With all the pent-up frustration from the construction delays, he began to dig furiously at the cliff.
But it wasn’t just any digging.
It was infused with aura.
No, correction.
It was outrageous.
“All this time! You messed up my construction! Did you enjoy it, you punks!”
Bang! Boom! Bang! Bang!
The ancient rocks that had stood for hundreds or thousands of years.
The untouched beauty of nature.
Priceless rocks, smashed in one go.
Of course, Lloyd wasn’t sorry at all.
He wasn’t sad.
In fact, he enjoyed it.
“See that! This is the power of human development!”
Bang! Boom! Boom!
Lloyd’s shoveling became more rhythmic.
The beautiful nature was destroyed to a 16-bit beat.
Lloyd didn’t stop there.
He took it a step further.
He even started blasting.
He drilled holes in the cliff.
Smashing rocks and shoving them into holes, he laughed at the eagles flying away in shock.
Watching this, Javier savored the dark and rich feeling of self-deprecation like espresso.
‘…Lunatic.’
How did he end up serving a guy like this?
Why does he always end up helping this guy?
Where did things go wrong in this world?
As Javier pondered his present, future, and humanity’s fate, Lloyd’s environmental destruction continued efficiently.
He even activated his surveying skills in real-time.
Calculating how to widen the destruction.
While avoiding collapse.
He measured and calculated everything in real-time.
According to the results, he swung the shovel, hammer, and pickaxe even more vigorously.
Ten minutes later.
Finally, there was a reaction.
The first sign was the suddenly intensified snowfall.
Whooosh…!
As if the mountain range was angry.
Revealing its displeasure at Lloyd causing a ruckus without permission.
The snowflakes thickened instantly.
The wind began to howl.
Soon, visibility turned white.
A typical high-altitude blizzard.
“Ooh.”
It’s here.
It really was a spirit.
A smile spread across Lloyd’s face like a snack shop owner welcoming their first customer after days of inactivity.
It was warm.
He was pleased.
Because his prediction was right.
‘I can feel it. The slight mana movement within the blizzard. And it’s more blatant than when it hit the site every day. That means…’
The spirit causing the blizzard was nearby.
Realizing this.
Lloyd’s eyes moved.
He signaled Javier, hidden in the rock crevice.
‘Did you feel it?’
‘Yes.’
Javier nodded.
His eyes were busy moving.
He was probably using all his techniques to locate the spirit.
‘Then I’ll help.’
Lloyd tightly gripped the shovel handle.
He ran towards the cliff.
Stabbed the shovel into the cliff.
Moved it sideways.
The aura-covered shovel head carved deep lines into the cliff.
‘Like this, and like that!’
Scratch! Scratch!
The lines connected, curved, and met.
They soon formed a clear shape.
They were letters.
The letters conveyed this message.
[Hello, spirit? I have a question for you. Why are you living in this remote place? These days, other spirits are getting jobs and entering society, living well with good opportunities and treatment. Are you okay with rotting away here?]
Scratch! Scratch!
The shovel head moved rhythmically.
A series of intrusive questions were carved into the cliff.
[But living here, how much do you earn annually? Is there a bonus? Spirits in other places get promoted well, aren’t you going to get a job? So, when are you getting married? You should prepare a house by now, right?]
Scratch! Scratch!
[But these questions are all for your sake. So don’t take it badly. You should have at least two kids if you’re getting married, right? They say the birth rate is a problem these days. But if you stay buried here, you won’t even meet a partner and get married. Back in my day…]
Scratch! Scratch!
He carved relentlessly.
Writing whatever questions came to mind.
Even if the content didn’t provoke the spirit, it didn’t matter.
The content wasn’t important.
The act of defacing the cliff was.
‘Just engraving graffiti on the cliff will piss it off!’
He carved harder.
The effect was soon evident.
Whoooosh!
The blizzard intensified towards him.
Lloyd staggered momentarily while carving into the cliff.
‘…Whoa!’
He almost got blown away by the wind.
He nearly fell off the cliff.
But Lloyd managed to regain his balance.
He planted the shovel head firmly into the ground and stood his ground.
Then he slowly smiled.
‘Gotcha.’
He had been using his techniques all along.
Thanks to that, he began to faintly sense the spirit’s location within the blizzard.
The moment he sensed it.
Lloyd looked up.
Towards a certain point in the blizzard.
A faint shape appeared intermittently through the harsh snow.
It looked somewhat human, yet also like a fluttering cloth, a translucent silhouette.
‘Got you, spirit.’
The spirit was probably relaxed.
Even if it knew it was spotted.
It wouldn’t feel much threatened.
‘Because physically harming a spirit is nearly impossible. Even a Sword Master’s aura would only lightly touch it. So, it must feel safe.’
Confident that no human could physically harm it.
That’s why it appeared and caused the blizzard so openly.
‘And that’s why you’ll turn into shaved ice.’
As a fierce smile formed on Lloyd’s lips.
Boom!
Javier’s powerful aura, far surpassing a Sword Master, struck the Spirit King’s back with a sharp blow.
