Could the identity of the weirdo be a ‘Monster’ rather than a human? Based on the remaining Mana Particles and the situation, I made that deduction. I bought information at the Adventurer’s Guild, and concluded that it wasn’t a Water Monster that appears around here, but a crazed ‘Water Spirit’.
It was an expectation I hoped would be wrong, but bad premonitions often come true.
【Lesser Water Spirit】
【Mana Capacity: 337/503】
【Overall Combat Strength: 371/553】
【※Condition: Madness】
Even a Lesser Spirit is a very troublesome enemy.
Normally, it’s rare to antagonize a Spirit that controls the principles of the world, but when they are separated from their elemental source, or when the summoner dies and they can’t return to the Spirit Realm, they enter a ‘Madness’ state and begin attacking humans and creatures to steal Mana Particles.
In the case of a normal Lesser Spirit, the Overall Combat Strength is around 500, which is equivalent to a high-ranking 【Rank 3】 Monster, but in the case of a Spirit, the difficulty of subjugation is equivalent to 【Rank 4】, and the Adventurer’s Guild recommends a Rank 3 party or higher, including at least two Magicians, for subjugation.
This is because physical attacks have almost no effect on Spirits, which are spiritual life forms rather than material beings.
Even so, about 10% of the damage can be inflicted by the attacker’s will to ‘defeat’ and their mental strength, but the Spirit’s Mana, which could be called its health, recovers by 1 point per second, so Warriors have no means of countering it other than brute force.
Even elemental Magic is completely ineffective against the Spirit’s own element, and instead restores its Mana.
Therefore, when fighting a Spirit, it is necessary to gather Magicians who can use attack Magic of elements other than the Spirit’s own, and defeat it with a short-term, brute-force attack.
That’s why I had no intention of involving the soldiers in this fight. Even if about 10% of the damage goes through, low-level attacks won’t inflict any damage.
They might be useful as mere meat shields, but it would be more troublesome if the Spirit recovered the Mana I had painstakingly shaved off by attacking the soldiers, or if the frightened soldiers moved around as they pleased and ruined my traps.
Well, I don’t expect them to move troops based solely on a “child’s deduction” anyway.
I’m not eager to fight it either. But, after confirming the Spirit’s Mana Capacity, I was able to confirm that, as expected, its Mana Capacity was not recovering.
The fact that it craves Mana Particles to the point of attacking someone means that it is consuming Mana to maintain its existence, and is unable to recover it.
If that’s the case, then even I can fight it. If I have more than a full day after finding out the opponent’s identity, I can make some “preparations”.
『――――！』
Water gushed out of the mouth of the fat waterlogged corpse in which the Water Spirit was hiding.
Probably the Magic version of the level 1 Water Magic called 【Splash】, or something. The speed is moderate, and it has both physical and Mana-based attack power, making it easy to use, but it only has enough attack power to be blocked by the wooden board I immediately hid behind.
Spirits are barely affected by physical attacks, and I have no spells to deal damage, as my Magic is mainly illusion and healing. But I have “knowledge” and the “wisdom” to use it.
“――【Harden(Hard)】――”
I cast the Utility Magic 【Harden(Hard)】 on the “clay knife” I had hidden behind the wooden board, and threw it.
『――――！』
The Water Spirit probably knew what it was. It manipulated the waterlogged corpse clinging to the wall, leaving bloody handprints on the wall, and dodged it.
By dodging the stone I threw first, and then the clay knife, I was convinced that this “attack” was effective.
That woman’s knowledge included the concept of “Five Elements”.
Water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, roots dig into earth, and earth dams water.
Not everything applies to this world, but in the world of Magic, water is the opposing element to fire, and light and darkness are said to erode each other. I thought that if I used the opposing element of water, I could inflict damage even with a small amount of Mana.
I don’t remember any earth-attribute Magic, but I can use the Utility Magic 【Harden(Hard)】. If I shorten the duration and strengthen the earth attribute of the knife, I should be able to gradually shave off the Water Spirit’s Mana.
I picked up the clay knife, cast 【Harden(Hard)】 on it, and threw it. The Water Spirit, trapped in its fleshy shell, couldn’t dodge the knife in mid-air, and the Water Spirit, whose existence was being eroded, shot 【Splash】 at me again, but I dodged it by rolling away.
Don’t rush. Don’t pursue too far. Don’t enter the enemy’s range.
Unlike human Magicians who engage in psychological warfare, I can barely dodge the attack Magic that it monotonously shoots from a distance.
When I looked at it with Appraisal, the crazed Water Spirit’s Mana had decreased by nearly 40%.
The Mana that can be shaved off with a clay knife is about 5. Even if I make the Water Spirit use Magic, it only consumes about 10, but it’s still not an unreachable number.
『――――――！！！』
Strong Mana emanated from the Water Spirit’s entire body. I felt the same amount of Mana as when the Female Thief used level 3 Magic, and when I created distance, the Water Spirit’s Magic was released at the same time.
A Water Ball with a diameter of 2 meters was fired, mowing down the neatly arranged trees in the garden.
I wasn’t hit directly, but I was caught in the scattering water and swept away several meters.
Is it the water version of the 【Fireball】 spell? It doesn’t have the wide-range damage of a Fireball, but the ground becomes muddy in an instant, hindering movement.
『――――』
“【Harden(Hard)】!”
The Water Spirit fired 【Splash】 at me, who was unable to move, and I immediately solidified the ground under my feet with 【Harden(Hard)】 and dodged it while covered in mud.
“…………”
I’m taking damage steadily. There are almost no external wounds, but I feel like my stamina has been reduced by 20-30%, and the clay knives I made have disappeared into the mud.
But the Water Spirit, which used a big spell, probably has about half of its Mana left.
I tear the hem of the skirt clinging to my legs vertically up to my thighs. After confirming that there is no pain in the tendons or muscles of my body, I solidify my footing and escape from the mud, and then I hear multiple voices coming from the mansion.
“What was that sound!”
“The garden…”
“Aria!”
Not only the gatekeeper, but even Rody has come.
Although this place had the highest probability of attracting them, they found me sooner than I expected. I told Rody not to come, but that might have been counterproductive.
I wanted to shave off a little more before the others found me, but oh well. I’ll move on to the second stage a little early.
“…【Water】”
When I use 【Water】, shortening the duration to intensify the water attribute, the waterlogged corpse that was facing the intruders turns towards me.
It would be pointless if Rody and Maria were targeted here. I climb the wall, dripping water as I go, and shake my head at Rody, who I made eye contact with for a moment, telling him ‘don’t follow me’.
As I climb over the wall, showing off the Mana Particles of water, I can feel the Water Spirit’s presence chasing me from behind.
I wander through the dark streets late at night, climb onto the roof in a sparsely populated area, and gulp down the Mana Recovery Potion I took out of my pocket.
I’ve been carrying at least one Mana Recovery Potion since the fight with that Female Thief, but I don’t want to guzzle it down because one of these costs three Silver Coins. Still, by drinking this, my Mana should recover by about 1 per minute for the next hour or so.
I cut off the muddy and heavy skirt around my knees, and the Water Spirit’s waterlogged corpse caught up with me.
“――【Harden(Hard)】――”
I throw the hem of the discarded, muddy skirt at the waterlogged corpse that has climbed onto the roof, hindering the Magic it was about to release.
There is no need to destroy the “shell” of the waterlogged corpse. The waterlogged corpse suppresses the Water Spirit’s consumption of Mana, and at the same time, it becomes a “cage” that hinders the Water Spirit’s actions and prevents escape.
『――――――！！！』
The Water Spirit lets out a voiceless scream. Whether it’s anger at me, or just screaming in hunger. I can’t understand it, and I don’t intend to understand the feelings of non-living things when I don’t even understand human feelings.
So at least, if you’re struggling to live, I’ll keep you company until I die.
The Water Spirit, finally realizing that 【Splash】 will be dodged by me, uses the 【Water Ball】 Magic again.
If it’s a wide-range, hard-to-dodge Magic, it can definitely damage me, but that decision is a bad move. What do you think I climbed onto the roof for?
A Water Ball with a diameter of 2 meters is fired, but when it gets that big, it doesn’t have the same speed as 【Splash】 due to the weight of the water.
And there was a brick chimney on the roof, and if I hid there, I could avoid a direct hit, and I wouldn’t be washed away, and the overflowing water would quickly run off the roof.
That’s the limit of a crazy, inanimate object that can’t judge the situation. No matter how much Mana and magic it has to overwhelm humans, it’s not that threatening without combat experience and judgment.
But even so, I can’t get away without taking some damage. I could keep firing off large-scale magic to whittle down the Water Spirit’s Mana, but that would also cause a lot of damage to me, so I’ll start a counterattack.
The clay Knife I made with Rody disappeared into the mud. But I still have a weapon.
Whoosh!
The Blade of the Pendulum I threw grazed the Water Zombie’s forehead, and the Earth and Water Mana Particles scraped against each other.
I can’t use 【Harden(Hard)】 on the Blade of the Pendulum made from shaved Copper Coins. But I had replaced the other crushed Blade with a ceramic Blade made by firing clay.
Even unfired clay can be used with 【Harden(Hard)】, and an unfired Blade that would easily break if struck becomes a weapon with the strength of iron when 【Harden(Hard)】 is applied.
『――――！！』
I keep reapplying 【Harden(Hard)】 to the Pendulum, whittling away at the Water Spirit’s existence.
The Water Spirit also cast magic to survive, and even tried to kill me by ramming into me at times.
I think the Water Spirit’s remaining Mana has been reduced to about 30%, but my stamina and Mana have also been reduced to nearly half. And even if it looks like we’re evenly matched, if I take even one hit from the Water Spirit, I’ll be unable to fight.
I won’t let my guard down. I won’t get greedy. The only way for me to win is to keep whittling away, calmly and ruthlessly.
But, at that moment—
“——Vorpal Blade——”
Suddenly, a flash of light streaked out, and a 【Combat Art】 I didn’t know cleaved the Water Spirit’s Water Zombie in two.
The Water Zombie fell from the roof, spilling a large amount of water from the cross-section, and from the darkness behind it, a man in travel clothes holding a Mana-infused one-handed sword—Grave—appeared.
Why is the upper-class butler here…? Given his personality, I don’t think he came to rescue me. …No, more than that.
“That was my ‘enemy,’ though?”
“Is that so? But something like that should be given to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Grave spat out those words in response to my dissatisfied words, and pointed the sword straight at me without sheathing it.
“Aria. Who are you?”
Grave’s sudden intrusion. What is the meaning of his actions, which seem to ignore his actual orders?
Next time, the final chapter of Act 2—”Farewell.”
Scheduled to be updated on Saturday.
Alicia’s image rough is posted in the activity report.
It is a comparison between the original Otome Game Alicia and the Aria of this story. Please take a look if you like.
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