I got a clue about Shilla and Maxium was currently outside causing confusion. Therefore, it was time for me to prepare.
“Jives. Kerpi.”
The fire and water spirits. I had to check if they had escaped from the dark spirits.
After I called both of their names, the contract was implemented. Small cracks formed and both of them appeared near me.
“Contractor. You finally called.”
"It is great to see you again, Contractor.”
Jives and Kerpi simultaneously greeted me.
They looked similar to humans, but were a little bit fuzzy.
“Both of you are injured.”
“d.a.m.n dark spirits! I will return this grudge a hundredfold.”
"Me too. I will make them realize how scary the water spirits are.”
The two antagonistic spirits had joined forces.
It was all thanks to the dark spirits.
At that time, the fire spirit Jives stared at me and asked.
“But Contractor. I feel something very familiar from you. What on earth happened?”
"I formed a contract with the Great Fire Essence.”
“What...? A contract with one of our nine fire essences? Wait...”
Kung kung!
Jives sniffed me before stepping back.
“It is unbelievable. It is definitely a contract. It is also the highest one!”
“What will you do? I promised to return it, but the fire essence has made a contract with me.”
I immediately cut to the chase.
Jives frowned and said.
"I will tell the king. I can’t decide this alone.”
“I will wait.”
Swiing!
Jives hurriedly left.
“Contractor. Have you touched our artefact?”
"Don"t worry.”
I handed the Hyacinth"s Bow over to Kerpi who carefully accepted it.
"Thank you. The Water Spirit King will be very pleased. Oh, and...”
As a reward, Kerpi handed me some small stones.
"These are old stones from deep inside our lake. They are spirits that will soon awaken. If a contract is signed with them, they will grow rapidly according to the contractor’s tendencies. They are children that the king highly prizes."
I took the stones and examined them carefully.
They certainly felt strange. In short, these stones were the seeds of a spirit.
“Well, I have to go back quickly. The king is waiting...I will come back with good news, Contractor.”
Kubeok!
Kerpi bowed her head and left.
Jives returned as she left.
Jives had a determined expression on his face.
"The story is over. The king wants to see you.”
Fire Spirit King.
I didn’t know a lot about him.
Except for the dark spirits, none of the others were involved with the fight between demons. Their enemies were the other spirits.
Although I had heard some rumours, it wouldn’t be as helpful as seeing him in person.
‘I know Adonis tried to take over.’
The light and lightning spirits put up the most resistance. Adonis had broken through the limits and managed to occupy half of the Spirit World through a fierce struggle.
One of his enemies was the Fire Spirit King. His name...
"Garrash.’
I nodded as I remembered.
I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous about finding out the difference between rumours and facts.
"The king doesn’t like waiting. He might be a bit rough, but please understand.”
"Don"t worry.”
Rough words and behaviour could easily be overcome. From the beginning, I wasn’t the type of demon to pay attention to the tone of my opponent. I wouldn’t become aggressive just because of the tone.
“Contractor. We need to climb the stairs in the ‘Fire Spirit World’ to meet the king. All outside presences have to climb these 3,600 stairs.”
There was nothing in the air.
Then I could see countless stairs made of flames going up.
Not long after pa.s.sing through the crack, I arrived at the place.
It seemed that climbing the 3,600 stairs was a trial. The glowing red stones kept burning.
It seemed like some sort of magical measure...the Fire Spirit King would be able to climb it without any incidents. Anyway, flames like these couldn’t harm me.
Chiik!
While climbing the stairs, I heard something frying.
Indeed. If my intelligence was only 80 points then it would have been painful. However, my intelligence had already surpa.s.sed 100.
Jives was surprised that I could climb the stairs so casually.
"Even intermediate spirits find it hard to climb this easily. Is it due to the contract?”
"It is easy even without a contract.”
The contract with the essence of fire did give me a feeling of comfort, but I could easily climb up even without the contract.
"Outside existences have been climbing this staircase for a long time. Other spirits also watch this place with curiosity. Why don’t you shake their hands?”
As I climbed the stairs, I noticed numerous eyes watching me.
Numerous fire spirits were solely focusing their attention on me. I had wanted to talk to him quietly but...it seemed difficult to keep this a secret.
‘The water has already been spilled. I should cement the relationship.’
That’s right. After helping the fire and water spirits, the water had already been spilled. My intention was to block Adonis from rising up any further. It wouldn’t hurt if I could construct a relationship with the fire spirits.
I shook hands with the fire spirits around me. They rose up from the ground to my level.
“The spirits are delighted. Contractor has an affinity to fire so they are more enthusiastic.”
"Is that so?”
"It isn’t needed for someone of my level, but how about contracting with a subordinate spirit? Depending on the contractor, the subordinate spirits can grow rapidly. It wouldn’t be bad for the contractor.”
Jives suggested when we reached the halfway point.
A contract with a subordinate spirit. Kerpi had also handed me some stones containing spirits. They wanted me to raise the spirits.
‘I don’t have interest in training spirits but...’
Jives’ words were correct. It wouldn’t be bad. I had stepped into the realm of transcendence so contracting with a few spirits wouldn’t matter. At best, they would only gnaw away at a little bit of my magic. Even this would be offset by the ‘Conqueror’s Ring.’
As the magic power recovery efficiency increased sharply, it would exceed what the spirits consumed.
"Let me think about it."
I briefly replied.
Jives smiled with satisfaction.
"Maybe you can mention it to the king. Ask for a spirit seed. Contractor will be able to raise a very special and wonderful fire spirit.”
"I will raise it as a bad person.”
“Haha! Contractor, are you joking?”
I was serious. If the spirits grew to resemble me then they wouldn’t have a normal personality.
I didn’t bother saying anything.
I walked up the stairs for another 30 minutes.
The scene that appeared before me was quite amazing.
There were many flowers made of fireb.a.l.l.s and a few dozen cerberus. The sun was so close that it gave off a feeling of pressure.
"Let’s hurry. The light from the sun is very strong so the king will be in a bad temper.”
"Is he a person who hates waiting?”
"Maybe...at any rate, Contractor. Follow me."
Jives increased his speed.
The Fire Spirit King Garrash.
He looked like a st.u.r.dy man with red hair and a beard. He wore a red cape, ten rings and expensive necklaces.
However, my perspective was a little different.
"Most of his items are epic grade.’
I inwardly panicked after examining Garrash with Mind’s Eye. It was the first time I met him, but he was wearing really good items. Did he wear better items due to a prejudice against the Dark Spirit King who controlled the Demon World Auction?
Maybe Adonis would be perplexed by his appearance.
‘His stats are the strongest among those I have seen.’
My heart jumped quickly.
I thought I was the strongest after returning to the Underground World...
I couldn’t let go of my tension.
Name: GarrashOccupation Fire Spirit Kingt.i.tle* Ruler of Flames (Ex Epic, All stats +4, Full immunity against fire)
StatsStrength107 (+12)Intelligence 103(+7)Agility104 (+12)Stamina104(+7)Magic Power105(+19) Potential: (523+57/550)Uniqueness: The ruler of the Fire Spirit World. As the strongest Fire Spirit King in generations, the fire spirits have tremendous trust in him.
Skill: Spring Sun (Epic), Sun Shield (Epic), Majestic Fire (Epic), Photosynthesis (Epic), h.e.l.lfire (Ex Epic), Advent of the Sun King (Ex Epic)
Skill and Item Effects: Sun Ring (Epic, Magic Power +5), h.e.l.lfire (Epic, Strength, Agility, Stamina and Magic Power +2), Burning Power Ring (Epic, Strength +5), Cirhan"s Necklace (Epic, Intelligence +2, Agility +5), Majestic Shorin Armour (Epic, Magic Power +7), Ring of Last Breath (Ex U, All stats +1)
[Relative Comparison]Garrash
Strength 119 Intelligence 110 Agility 116 Stamina 111 Magic 124 Potential (523+57/550)
Randalph Brigsiel
Strength 105 Intelligence 105 Agility 100 Stamina 107 Magic 110 Potential (434+93/550)
A total of almost 600 stat points!
‘Overwhelming’ was the only word to describe it.
Even if Adonis managed to break through the limit, it would take a lot for him to catch up with Garrash. It wouldn’t be impossible, but Garrash was rapidly expanding his sphere of influence.
‘That is why he is so rushed.’
Adonis. He wasn’t the strongest among the spirit kings. I could feel the difference after seeing Garrash.
In addition...the reason why the dark spirits were moving so hastily was explained. It was possible that they could pressure the dark spirits.
Therefore, Adonis had to feel impatient.
Seeing Garrash explained everything.
‘The sky above the sky.’
It was surprising that the Fire Spirit King was the strongest. I hadn’t expected a presence that would surpa.s.s me. This was why I couldn’t be complacent. I had to walk further along the road while holding the reins.
"You contracted with a great fire essence?”
Garrash laughed with his hands clasped behind his back.
"That is correct.”
“Hrmm. Your contract with Ifrit is relevant to us. Welcome.”
Cheok. Garrash extended his hand.
"I am grateful for your welcome.”
From the beginning, I had thought about maintaining a favourable relationship with them.
After a short handshake, Garrash said.
"I will speak briefly. Cancel the contract.”
My eyebrows furrowed. It wasn’t unexpected but I never thought he would immediately ask. It seemed like he was rude and impolite, just as Jives stated.
I started to talk quietly.
"Ifrit is located in my heart. You will have to use force if you want me to cancel the contract.”
If the contract was forcibly cancelled, there would be negative effects. In particular, he was located in my heart, so there was a chance he could be caught up in the aftermath and die.
Garrash puffed up at my words. Fire filled the s.p.a.cious room.
‘Amazing magic power.’
Even I felt some pressure. It had been a long time since I experienced something like this. I had hardly felt such tension since returning to the past.
However, my intelligence and magic power weren’t low. It was enough to strike back against Garrash.
Pride’s flames emerged as I stepped closer to Garrash.
I was challenging him to try it.
"Anyway, he can’t hurt me.’
This was the Fire Spirit World. The current location was its heart.
If there was a battle with Garrash then many of the spirits I saw whilst climbing up here would be destroyed.
As well as...I was a ‘benefactor’ to them. Garrash had to know this. In these situations, the king needed to act with dignity. Every word and action had value.
He wouldn’t kill me after I returned something to him.
This was a type of test.
It was to check if I was a worthy person to contract with Ifrit.
Jjak!
Garrash clapped his hands.
At the same time, the intense aura in the room disappeared.
He spoke in an admiring tone.
“How great. A demon who has already stepped into the transcendent realm...however, it seems like it isn’t a perfect transcendence. There is a strong feeling of imbalance.”
Not all of my pure stats had crossed the wall. Maybe that was what he was referring to.
I turned off Pride’s flames.
“The test is over?”
Garrash laughed.
“You pa.s.s. You are a worthy contractor for the great fire. I don’t like that you are a demon. But based on what I heard, aren’t you taking a different route from the other demons?”
He had a completely different att.i.tude from before. I was speechless. It meant Garrash acknowledged me.
I touched Wrath and the Emperor’s Sword.
“Devil. My goal is to beat all the grand dukes and become the devil.”
"Devil...I like underdogs. Most of them will fail. However, the ones that succeed would change the world. At any rate, you are Ifrit’s contractor. You are now a friend to the fire spirits. I would like to give you a gift...is there anything that you want?”
It was a gift after the test. I felt somewhat dissatisfied, but I wasn’t going to refuse.
I couldn’t return with empty hands after coming here.
So, I told him my desire without any hesitation.
"I want to receive a large number of fire spirit seeds. The first time...100,000 should be enough.”