Chapter 72 - Power-Up (1)

I ended my call with Sion and quietly sighed.

"Haa..."

Keeping secrets, testing the waters, gathering information, and thinking it all through was exhausting.

"... What did I ever do? All I want is a stable, comfortable life."

The moment I said it, memories of slaughter unfolded in my head.

["Gyaaa! ~"]

... Well, I had done quite a lot.

Aside from a few accidental deaths, I'd killed them deliberately, so there wasn't much room for excuses.

But most of them had picked a fight with me first. That hardly seemed fair...

"..."

Anyway, to sum up the current situation:

Chairman Kim, the cannibal magician bastard who'd tried to kill me, was alive and well. He even had an ally skilled enough to stop the Special Response Section's pursuit and shake them off. And apparently that ally wasn't working alone, but belonged to a whole faction.

... New enemies, little information, and an unexpected turn of events.

Which meant what I needed now was...

"..."

I turned my gaze to the iron-covered grimoire on my desk, <Mysteries of the Worm>.

HUMMM?

<Mysteries of the Worm> vibrated in confusion.

I fixed it with an intense stare.

'New magic. A power-up!'

HUMMM!?

It might sound out of the blue, but don't comic-book characters always pick up a new technique whenever they're in a crisis?

A reliable finishing move that lets them more than pull their weight.

With the way things were going lately, I figured it was about time I got one too.

I picked up <Mysteries of the Worm>.

Well, I was joking about the finishing move, but I did need new magic.

I looked at my other grimoire, <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

The big, hard-hitting spell I currently used as a finishing move:

[The Second Pentacle of Saturn] - An area-of-effect destructive beam spell that distinguishes friend from foe.

And the spell that had saved me during the recent ambush. Without it, I'd be dead.

[The Sixth Pentacle of Mars] - A spell that prevents fatal wounds.

For starters, the pentacle spells in <The Lesser Key of Solomon> performed beyond my expectations whenever I used them.

Demon summoning was... dangerous, so I had no particular intention of trying it again, but it had been just as effective.

Solomon's name wasn't attached to the book for nothing.

The trouble was... they took a long time to prepare. Their cooldowns were long too.

Drawing magic circles and reciting incantations took time. Saturn magic could only be used on Saturdays, while Mars magic had to be cast in advance on a Tuesday.

Getting hit by that car had used up my defensive spell's charge. Now I'd have to cast it again next Tuesday.

My eyes narrowed.

Magicians in fantasy these days kept mana barriers around themselves all the time, making them plain tough...

They even wrapped mana around their fists to throw powerful punches.

"..."

... Well, fine. Having even one shield to save my life was something, wasn't it? It was impressive.

Anyway, if an enemy attacked on a day other than Saturday, like in this business with Chairman Kim, I couldn't use the destructive beam spell. And I wouldn't always have time to prepare my magic.

I wanted a spell I could use anytime, in everyday situations.

I did have Grizzly, whom I could summon whenever I liked.

"Gyaaa?"

I stroked Grizzly's head as it tilted it inquisitively.

"Gyaaa~."

But I couldn't use Grizzly when I needed to hide the fact that I was the master of <Mysteries of the Worm>.

And Grizzly accounted for ninety percent of my damage output.

Whenever I couldn't use it, I became far too useless. I even had to find myself a budget Grizzly (Sion) to keep me safe.

So, holding <Mysteries of the Worm>, I asked:

"Got any new magic besides things like the Hand of Glory? Something that would help me handle different situations?"

The Hand of Glory. It felt like that thing had been sitting in salt for over two weeks.

... In reality, it hadn't even been a week.

Then, in response to its master's request, <Mysteries of the Worm> vibrated its iron covers and searched through its list of spells.

H-HUMMM... HUMMM!

FLIP-FLIP-FLIP!

The book opened to a particular page.

'This is—'

My eyes widened of their own accord at the open page.

... I hadn't expected anything like this.

[How to Summon Gnomes, Spirits of Earth]

Something straight out of fantasy had popped up!

The four elements were a common feature in fantasy.

Fire, water, wind, and earth.

Familiar as they were from fantasy, the idea of these four elements had its surprising beginnings in ancient Greek elemental theory: the theory that the world was made up of elements.

A philosopher named Empedocles proposed it, and Plato and Aristotle later organized it into the theory of the four elements.

Then, in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus—a philosopher, magician, and physician—used that theory as the basis for an occult magical framework:

Salamanders, undines, sylphs, and gnomes.

The spirits of the four elements.

Well, supposedly stories about them as fantastical creatures had circulated in Europe even before Paracelsus, but it was true that he made them more famous.

Aside from Outer God magic, the spells in <Mysteries of the Worm> were various kinds of magic its creator—a Crusader magician from the mean streets—had learned in Europe and Damascus.

So it wasn't strange for the book to contain spirit-summoning magic.

But earth...

I flipped back and forth through the pages and read some more, but there weren't any methods for summoning other spirits. Or was it just not showing them to me?

"..."

Not that I disliked it... but honestly, fire and wind were the cool ones.

Or an undine, a water spirit with the versatility to be useful in all sorts of ways.

Wasn't earth's whole image a bit dull?

I'd never seen a spirit-wielding protagonist in a fantasy comic or novel use an earth spirit.

Still, even beyond learning new magic, spirit summoning itself interested me quite a bit.

'I might be a little excited...'

This felt like proper magic. And it was safer than summoning demons.

Come to think of it, spirits had belonged to magicians in the first place.

Those spirit summoners used word games like "spirit magic" to steal a slice of the magicians' pie.

Shameless bastards.

Did spirit-summoning circles just come out of the ground if you dug for them? Did their ancestors draw them for them?

I blinked as I read about the gnome-summoning circle.

"Wait, I really do have to dig."

... Was that only natural, since they were earth spirits?

I also had to find a summoning site, and there were a fair number of other preparations to make.

It was about time for bed anyway.

I'd get started properly after waking up tomorrow, buying the necessary equipment from [Mephisto Market] and getting everything ready.

I closed the book, took a quick shower, and climbed into bed to rest for tomorrow.

As I closed my eyes, my body weary, I thought:

New magic was one thing. Just as I'd gotten used to Grizzly, I never imagined I'd find myself thinking this, but...

<Mysteries of the Worm>. <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

I already had two grimoires anyway.

It would be nice to get one about health too.

And...

Far away, in some unknown location, stood a Taoist temple in the mountains, hidden from the mundane world.

Within that old but solemn temple, a wooden storage box opened on its own.

CLACK.

A secret manual that looked like something out of a martial arts novel rose up.

Of course, it wasn't a martial arts manual.

<Baopuzi>.

It was a grimoire filled with mysteries.

The grimoire toddled along on its two corners, left the temple, and looked up at the night sky. At the stars.

"Baopu..."

Sensing the immense power that had recently arisen and reading the wind, it moved off.

SWISH.

The temple, which had kept the grimoire describing how to become an immortal hidden away to prevent its misuse, was left empty.

* * *

I got up early in the morning, had a simple breakfast, and bought a camping kit and the supplies I needed for spirit summoning from [Mephisto Market].

I'd bought the camping kit partly because gnomes had to be summoned at night, meaning I might have to stay in the mountains until then, and partly as an investment. I figured it could come in handy for various things later.

Next, I searched online for a summoning site, found a suitable low mountain, and headed out.

Earth spirits couldn't simply be summoned on any patch of dirt. There were conditions.

First, the summoning had to take place at night, before sunrise.

Sweating as I climbed the mountain in search of a suitable spot, I found a small clearing.

I pitched a tent there so I could pass the time.

Wait, was pitching a tent illegal even on a mountain no one owned?

"... Why worry about that now?"

I shrugged and finished putting it up.

Then I took off my hiking clothes, put on my white coat-robe, and prepared for the ritual.

Step one of summoning gnomes, spirits of earth:

Find a patch of dirt in a secluded location on which to draw the magic circle. Then draw the ritual circle with a knife or whatever tool you have, and fill the space with magical incense.

I put magical incense in the brazier I'd brought and lit it.

FWOOSH.

Then I buckled on a goatskin belt inscribed with magical symbols to protect me from evil spirits that might interfere with the ritual, and waited for sunset.

I'd bought the belt that morning from [Mephisto Market].

"Hmm..."

I sat in a camping chair, exposed to the chilly winter wind.

Since I was camping anyway, I wanted to cook some instant noodles, but I couldn't let their smell mix with the magical incense. Instead, I chewed on a chocolate bar included in the camping kit.

"... Why on earth did they put hardtack in here?"

As I passed the time inspecting the contents of the camping emergency-ration and snack box, the sun began to set, and I resumed preparing the ritual.

I looked down at the ground where I'd drawn the magic circle. Now I had to dig out that section.

Digging into hard winter ground... would normally have been incredibly difficult, but...

"Grizzly."

"Gyaaa~."

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!!

At my call, Grizzly moved both arms rapidly, digging out the earth at tremendous speed.

Apparently, evil spirits were supposed to interfere during the digging process.

I glanced at the hazy, smoke-like masses wandering around the clearing. They came no closer.

It seemed they were too afraid of Grizzly to approach.

The hole soon reached the required depth.

"Adonai, Elohim, El, King of Kings. Grant me your grace."

I recited the incantation before the pit.

"Command the angels and spirits to accomplish my task. Good spirits, appear."

Having finished the incantation, I gazed into the dark pit.

"Hmm..."

Just as I was thinking that it was quiet and nothing seemed to have changed, Grizzly tilted its head beside me, looking into the pit.

"Gyaa?"

THRUM.

Eyes appeared within the dark pit.

As though the darkness itself were eyelids opening...

RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE.

Not one but many eyes opened at once, looking up at Grizzly and me.

"..."

I lifted my lamp to illuminate the pit.

And blinked.

Tiny bodies. Squishy cheeks. Fluffy white beards. Pointed red hats.

"... Gnomes?"

How should I put it? Tiny dwarfs that looked like chibi characters were staring up at me.

"A human, gnome? First time seeing a human, gnome!"

"Such long arms and legs, gnome~! Amazing, gnome!"

Well, if we were talking about that kind of gnome, they certainly were gnomes...

But they were a little different from the earth spirits I'd imagined.

I glanced down at the iron-covered grimoire in my hand, <Mysteries of the Worm>.

'Mysteries? Is this right?'

H-HUMMM...

<Mysteries of the Worm> trembled awkwardly at the unexpected result.

Just then, one of the gnomes toddled over.

"I know, gnome!" it said excitedly.

"Humans like shiny rocks, gnome!"

It held out a shining gold coin in its soft little palm.

"I'll give you this! Play with us, gnome!"

For a moment, my face went blank.

Then I came to my senses and gripped <Mysteries of the Worm> tightly.

'Mysteries, I think this might be exactly right!'

H-HUMMMMM!!

<Mysteries of the Worm> vibrated happily too.

There were all sorts of power in the world.

Muscle power, political power, magical power. Anyway.

Financial power counted as a power-up for a magician too.