Chapter 15. Blue Orchid (1)

[The target, 'half-soul ghost' is contracted as your familiar spirit.]

[It has been subordinated to your soul.]

After the Dance of the Sword Against Spirits was completed, it ended extremely quickly.

Because I swept away the half-soul ghosts with Heavenly Wind Strike, the special skill of Dance of the Sword Against Spirits, which could be called a kind of divine possession.

Still, perhaps because I controlled it in between, there were none that had their necks cut and died completely.

Anyway, after finishing contracts with each of those in a near-death state,

"Attention!"

They were now my perfect familiar spirits.

Ghosts that strictly follow my orders and didn't die even if killed.

When I gave the order, they all looked at me in a neat posture at once.

"Bow your heads."

This time, they lowered their heads and pressed them to the ground.

"Shout towards the front!"

-Graaaah!!

It was a very energetic shout.

"Oh, they're in good condition? Did you infuse your energy too?"

"It just happened while recovering the half-soul ghosts."

"Accepting the shaman's power and raising basic abilities... that's the standard way."

Despite all the slashing, their appearance was quite normal now.

It was the result of me directly infusing shamanic power into those whose limbs were cut off.

Originally, it took about a week for a half-soul ghost's limbs to recover, but…

With my energy bound to their souls added, they recovered quickly.

Even so, they would still die if their necks were cut.

"Master, is it okay to leave these guys here?"

"I was planning to have you do that anyway, so don't worry."

No matter how invisible they are, half-soul ghosts were a type of evil spirit.

There was a possibility they might do strange things if I didn't give orders one by one.

I asked this because I couldn't have them follow me around normally like Hwa-ryeon or Heuk-rang, but

Jeon Ha-ryeong nodded willingly.

"Alright! Today's lesson ends here."

"Already? It doesn't feel like much time has passed."

"We've done everything we needed to, and you're tired too, right?"

I nodded at her words.

I could have listened if it was a lecture,

But it's true that I was tired from the fight with the half-soul ghosts.

Moreover, due to the divine possession of the final Dance of the Sword Against Spirits, my energy was drained and I didn't have much shamanic power left.

I didn't think I could concentrate if I learned more shamanic techniques here.

-Grrrr

At that moment, Heuk-rang, who had been wandering around, approached me and pushed his head towards me.

My eyes were instantly filled with ink-black fur that looked as if painted with a brush.

I stroked that fur.

"Yes, you did well. You can go back and sleep now if you want."

-Understood. Master.

With my permission, Heuk-rang melted into the shadow beneath him and disappeared from that spot.

He would probably return to my house.

"By the way, disciple. I've been curious, what kind of ghost is Heuk-rang? Is it a yokai?"

"I don't know either. He was just suddenly in the yard one day."

"Hmm... I can feel a bit of the power of the afterlife, though."

"The power of the afterlife?"

The power of the afterlife, also called the power of death.

It was a separate power that didn't belong to magical power, internal energy,

Or even shamanic power, spiritual energy, or demonic energy.

It was a power that could only be used by those belonging to the afterlife, called the largest otherworld.

'It hardly appeared in the original work.'

It was an extremely rare power in the original work.

If there was any...

Really in the extreme latter part, in the final battle when countless people were dying due to the outer gods.

Perhaps only the grim reapers who appeared then.

Other than that, almost nothing was revealed.

So I couldn't help but be curious that it came from Heuk-rang.

"Well, I don't know much either, so I'm not sure if it's right. I've only felt the energy of the afterlife from the descended one in the first place."

As Jeon Ha-ryeong said this while shrugging her shoulders, I didn't ask any more.

It's not like I can go to the afterlife right now anyway.

As long as Heuk-rang is my familiar spirit, nothing strange should happen.

"Anyway, go quickly. Since we finished early."

"Yes, then I'll be going first."

After saying goodbye to Jeon Ha-ryeong, I went down the mountain along the path I came up.

The academy became visible after descending the mountain completely.

Probably their major classes haven't ended yet.

Then what should I do?

'Maybe it's better to go there first.'

I was planning to go much later, but since I have time now, it might be good to go now.

Thinking this, I moved my steps towards the nearby downtown instead of the academy.

"Where are you going, my lord?"

"To get some gear."

"Gear...?"

"I mean tools, I think it's about time to change them."

Currently, I'm at a pretty good level in terms of skills and other basic combat aspects.

No, if the conditions are right, I might be able to beat the protagonists.

But that's when there are no items.

'Baek Seo-yun's Ghost Dragon Sword and Phantom Dragon Sword, Karen's Naverius' Magic Book are examples of that.'

I beat Baek Seo-yun, but that's because she couldn't use her items.

At the entrance ceremony, the 'special abilities' of items were not allowed to be used for fairness.

If she had used the true power of the two swords, my chances of winning would have significantly decreased.

'Items are essential.'

Items are not an option but a necessity.

Moreover, my biggest advantage is none other than the information from the novel.

There was no reason not to use it when I knew about it.

As for Yoon Kang-woo, well...

He's strong even without that.

So the reason I'm heading downtown now is to acquire items.

"My lord, please materialize me."

"Why? There's no particular need to fight."

"Since we're going downtown, wouldn't it be nice to walk around together?"

In other words, she wanted to walk with me.

And going a bit further, she wanted to show herself to other people.

What should I do?

I thought for a moment, but soon nodded.

There's no particular reason not to materialize her.

"But if you cling to me like that in front of people, I'll dismiss the summoning right away."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Hwa-ryeon's materialized appearance was different from usual.

First, the fox ears and nine tails symbolizing her gumiho nature were gone.

Also, the clothes she was wearing weren't the black kimono.

The top was a crop top that daringly exposed her midriff up to the navel, and a thin blue cardigan.

The bottom was tight jeans worn slightly low.

"Hehe, how do I look, my lord? I tried to imitate the appearance of other young ladies."

Hwa-ryeon asked me this while putting her hands behind her back.

I told her my honest thoughts.

"You're beautiful."

Hwa-ryeon was beautiful.

This was something I had thought since I first met her.

I had no intention of denying it now.

"...I'm, I'm embarrassed... For you to say it so directly, this concubine is too happy."

"I'm just stating the facts as they are."

"Thinking something and saying it out loud are different things."

Saying this, Hwa-ryeon's face turned slightly red as she stuck close to me.

Maybe because I told her not to cling too tightly, she didn't completely sit on me like before.

"Let's go then."

After summoning her like that, we walked for 20 minutes before we reached downtown.

It was quite far from the back mountain to downtown, but we arrived sooner than expected.

As soon as we arrived, I looked for the place I was aiming for.

'It's not in this bustling area though.'

The place I'm looking for is the Blue Orchid General Store.

It's called a general store, but they sell weapons, medicine, and most other things.

In the original work, it was the place responsible for supplying the protagonist's early weapons.

From the middle to latter parts, the weapons obtained from enemies or outside sources became too powerful, so it was just used for supplying other consumables.

Anyway, among the tools that could be obtained in the early stages,

The ones from the Blue Orchid General Store were of the highest quality.

'But since it's set in a place with few people, it's not easy to find.'

A characteristic of shops in fictional works:

Not famous, located in a corner, a shabby shop but with many amazing items.

The Blue Orchid General Store followed this rule very well.

"My lord, how about using the half-soul ghosts to search?"

"The half-soul ghosts?"

"Yes. This place is sparsely populated anyway, and if you give orders, they won't do anything strange."

After pondering for a moment at Hwa-ryeon's words, I soon accepted her suggestion.

As she said, this area away from the bustling streets was sparsely populated.

And if I just give orders, they probably won't pose any danger to others.

"Familiar spirits, half-soul ghosts, manifest at my call. Just ten of you."

[Multiple familiar spirits, 'half-soul ghosts' are summoned here.]

The summoned half-soul ghosts had the same mindless appearance I had seen before.

"Find a place with a sign that says 'Blue Orchid General Store' in this area and let me know."

-Graaaah.

It was an incomprehensible, grotesque response, but they seemed to understand my words as they immediately scattered from their spots.

If the alley itself wasn't completely wrong, they would find it soon.

After letting the half-soul ghosts loose for 10 minutes,

As I expected, they found the Blue Orchid General Store I was aiming for.

"Is it here?"

-Grrrr

"Good job, now go and rest."

At my words, the half-soul ghosts disappeared, returning to their original place.

What was in front of me and Hwa-ryeon after they disappeared was a shabby general store.

It was extremely small, and except for the name <Blue Orchid> hanging above, it looked like it could be an abandoned building.

"Is this really the place you were looking for, my lord?"

"Yes. We've found the right place."

Because it looked exactly the same as the description I had read in the original work,

I entered without hesitation.

Creak-

The door opened with the sound of old hinges.

The interior of the store was just as shabby as the exterior.

It was just an extremely efficient layout with various tools on display.

"A customer?"

And in the corner of such a store,

There was an old man sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper.

A worn-out, yellowed white T-shirt and an unkempt appearance as if he hadn't washed for days.

It was not a good look by anyone's standards.

"There's nothing here, so just look around and leave. The department store far away would be better."

But still, there was something that could be felt.

A body that was thin but solid inside,

Or the scars hidden under his clothes, barely visible.

Knowing his identity, I spoke without hesitation.

"I might be a more valuable customer than you think."

"What?"

"The black cloud has arrived."

His identity was one of the Seven Stars.

An executive of the Black Cloud Society led by the Dark Star.

This Blue Orchid General Store was both his base for gathering information here and

A place where members of the Black Cloud Society and VIPs could buy items.

Knowing this, I spoke brazenly.

"You, how did you know that?"

The next moment, what I saw was

A black dagger pressed against my neck.