Chapter 253: Instigate
There are a few other adventurers following Dean besides me. Even though I heard beforehand that adventurers who want to delve into the lower levels tend to tag along, it’s still surprising. The reason being that if there are more people, monsters won’t come near us and we can move forward quickly.
However, once people go deeper, monsters that actively attack upon sensing human presence will emerge, so unless it’s a large-scale extermination with a knight order, we need to split up into small groups. Since we are still in the shallower levels, we try to stick together as much as possible while still keeping some distance between us so that we can freely swing a sword if needed.
Dean and his group are heading to a considerably deeper area, so those who are following now will probably drop out along the way and stay at a level that suits their own abilities, though.
And so, I take advantage of Khan sticking out like a sore thumb and follow behind him, with a few people in between us. The spirits I named float in front, behind and around the group of adventurers while pretending to be interested in them, all while communicating with me telepathically or through emotions as we made our way forward.
『So the 20th to 40th level had already been completely annihilated, huh. 』
『Yup~ 』
『We ran away too. 』
Heh, seems like my doppelganger-kun behaved himself until he reached the 20th level, but went totally berserk, so there are hardly any spirits or monsters up to around 40th level now. Not only that, he even annihilated the spirits of stalactites, limestones and rocks, causing several collapses in some areas.
「……………… 」
Was I really that stupid in their eyes? Ahh, well, they probably threw everything at the time of their summoning anyway, so they probably didn’t care about both people and things around them.
— Alright! I’m blameless, everything is Sis’s fault!! I never proactively involved myself with her in the first place! Yeah, that copy is a flop big time, you know.
『At any rate, just tell me if you see any spirits that are melting away, or broken, or in pain. Ah, but they might gobble you up so don’t go near them. 』
『Okay~』
There might be spirits overwhelmed with hatred, just like Horsey when Snow Leopard asked me to help him back in the forest.
Okay, any more naming and I will probably stand out more than this, and I also have a reason to go to the lower floors as soon as possible now, so time to go solo, huh.
I feel disgusted when I think I’ll be cleaning up after the heroes’ mess, but since naming spirits will make me and my 【Cut Ties】 more powerful, I guess it’s okay. Named spirits won’t have their power snatched away from them against their will — the heroes will have to consume Lightball if they want to wield their power.
Ah, but it’s said that Lightball will have a power “growth spurt” later on if they consume too much as long as that “excessive consumption” is just “a little bit” to a certain extent, but I wonder, to what extent is 「a little bit」 to the heroes, who kept on indulging on her power and using at much as they pleased?
Oh well, there are countless spirits in this world, so I guess it’s not that simple, after all. Besides, if I’m the weaker, the spirits would still have that risk of their power stolen away even if they’re contracted with me.
Can I talk to Retze and the others during breaktime? I want to tell them about the places that caved in, also areas that are about to collapse. Ah, but I could hear the adventurers who tag along whispering about “Valmour”, “Deputy Guild Master” and even Khan’s muscles, so I’m not sure if it’d be wise to approach them or not.
Khan can speak with spirits, but there aren’t any spirits here that have consciousness close enough to a human that they could speak in an organized manner. The spirits could understand what I’m saying to a certain extent, but having them relay something is too hard. Kinda like having limited vocabulary and not being able to recall the right words to say?
Ah, come to think of it, I don’t even need to speak out loud to communicate with X-Stick.
『Eh, test, test, mic test. 』
『…What the heck is that? 』
Khan’s dispirited voice resounded in my mind.
『Oh, it connected.}}
Seems like the reception is good.
『Ignore that first part, it doesn’t mean anything. Also, I have some news. Be careful when making your way beyond the 20th floor, black spirits might try to take over your bodies. 』
I couldn’t sense the presence of other animals, so I’m guessing it’s either they do cannibalism or they’ll possess the adventurers who came here.
『I was wondering why you called me, but why so sudden? 』
『I heard it from the spirits just now. I thought it’s best to let you guys know as soon as possible. 』
『Spirits, you say? The boughs within me cancel each other out, so I can summon either spirit, but the bough that will appear will depend on what I want. 』
Eh, so if you summon a spirit, the white bough will appear, and if it’s a black spirit, then black bough, is it? That certainly stands out.
『My doppelganger hero did whatever he wanted from 20th to 40th level. He even consumed the spirits even without monsters around, so there’s a lot of black spirits over there. Plus he used the spirits indiscriminately, so a lot of areas collapsed. Be careful of the ceiling and watch your step. 』
That hero not only went for the spirits, he messed them up.
『— Am I allowed to stand out? 』
『But you’re already so huge you can’t be hidden, you know? 』
『Hey, you know that’s not what I mean. 』
Khan’s stumbling on his words for some reason.
『Isn’t this your chance to get in good with the Deputy Guild Master? You’re going to be a king, right? 』
Khan’s nation no longer exists. Even the kingdom he ruled over had been buried underneath the sand eons ago. Then there’s only one thing left for him to do, and that’s to build his kingdom from scratch.
『So you were serious when you told me that?… But I’m Jean’s『King’s Bough』. 』
『You don’t want to be king? 』
Khan might’ve settled down, but I know his ambition is still there. Ah, no, it’s not ambition, he’s already a king, so being 『King』 is something natural for him.
『… 』
Khan shut up.
If it’s not me imagining things, then that means Khan has this emptiness brought about by losing his kingdom and doing nothing within him, and the sense of resignation because he is now tied down by his contract with me.
『I’m allowed to choose the king because I’m the one who got the Bough, so what’s the problem? 』
Besides, it doesn’t even matter if the king of the humans isn’t a human himself. You have the desire, you have the ability to achieve that, and you even have the experience of wars, so why hesitate?
『…Gather the spirits around me. I’ll talk to them after pretending that I heard it from the spirits. 』
『Ou. 』
Seems like I successfully instigated him.
I requested the spirits to gather around Khan. The folks who can See the spirits probably saw tiny floating lights darting around his face, whispering in his ear, and trying to grab his attention.
All I see is Khan sporting a rainbow afro, though.
Thanks for the treat.