Chapter 398: Don’t Blend In
Alrighty, what to do with the ebony for Doggo’s kennel? As far as I know, ebony thrives in warm regions, so I probably won’t find any even if I went to the lake in the north, huh. Ah, but since rosewood and sandalwood also grow there, ebony must grow there too, I guess.
I wonder if that place used to be hot too. I mean, this world went through the era of fire, so that’s probable. Maybe that lake is some sort of case that preserved all the trees that Dogu — that clay figure goddess — tended to.
I prepared some soil for Dogu and 【Teleport】to the northern continent. I could immediately feel the chill.
… If I’m not mistaken, there are two types of ebony — the jet black one and the striped one. It must be the jet black type, huh? Doggo is also the same color, after all. I associate ebony with the keys of the piano, the black chess pieces and the black statue of Buddha.
I named the nearby spirits while mulling over those thoughts. I have to ask them to make me an air bubble so I can dive into the lake. The other spirits that I also named before also approached me while I was doing that. I gave them a bit of mana each while asking how things had been here.
The tiny spirits enthusiastically chatted, and I picked up the words and phrases that made sense. Some spirits don’t speak, but they have their own way of communicating with each other.
『Evenings got longer~ 』
『The sun is shining all the time these days. 』
『It’s still bright even after the sun sets. 』
『There are more light spirits now~ 』
Apart from that light spirit comment, the rest seemed to be because of the white night or midnight sun experienced in places like the north pole — do spirits even influence the tilting of the earth on its axis?
『Has there been a time when it’s night all day long? 』
Do polar nights also happen too?
『Dunno~ 』
『Never seen it before~ 』
『Uncle Boulder* said that it was dark in the olden days~ 」
Oh, it seems like there had been an era dominated by a dark spirit, huh.
『Can you take me to Uncle Boulder this time? 』
Sounds like this Uncle Boulder might be an ancient spirit too, and there’s a ton of things I wanna ask him.
『Yes~ 』
『We’re gonna meet uncle~ 』
『Let’s go~ 』
The spirits moved in different ways, with some doing somersaults in the air while others glided, but all of them were headed in the same direction.
『Ack, no wait, not now, not now! 』
I panicked, but it was too late. Oh well, the lake can wait, I guess.
I dashed after the spirits.
Ugh, this won’t do, I know my abilities are quite excellent, but those guys are way too fast! The cool breeze spirit and the squall spirit teamed up and were carrying the others in the wind.
『Please help me move as fast as those guys. 』
I requested the spirit of the atmosphere and the wind spirit to carry the layer of air that I gathered for diving and transport me the same way as the others.
Wait, wait a sec!! We’re out in the sea now! Is that the Black Mountain!? Is Uncle Boulder in the Black Mountain?
B-But I heard there’s an enemy lurking there that defies the law of physics!!
『Sorry, I’m counting on you, please protect me too. 』
I requested the spirits following us and increased the number of spirits covering me.
Many unnamed spirits also followed us, so I took advantage of being transported to urgently name as many of them as I can. The contracts went without a hitch; it helped that many spirits approached me because they’re already interested in me.
The Black Mountain is visible from the Northern Continent. It gives off a sinister vibe, as if warning humans to stay away. It looks as if it is breeding some sort of different creatures in its depths. Now that we crossed the sea and I’m standing right at its foot, it doesn’t feel as sinister anymore because of the proximity.
The monster that had been prowling the beach was blocked and prevented from coming closer to me by the wind that was wrapped around me, and the sunlight spirit and the glittering spirit annihilated it. By the way, since there were lots of light spirits present, I ended up contracting many of them.
Huge trees were sparse in the Northern Continent, but cedar-like trees with black trunks dotted this place. Isn’t there supposed to be a limit to northern vegetation, or is this cedar-like tree an exception?
I took a closer look — Oh, they’re pine trees. Yup,【 Appraisal 】 results confirm that they are pine trees. It also says『 the beloved child of the Black Ink Spirit』. What does that mean? Who said that only humans are beloved by spirits? So plants count too?
I named spirits along the way as I trudged through this pine forest. Pinecone spirits, rustling sound spirits, the spirit of the sound of the breeze through the pine trees, spirits of the fallen leaves, pebble spirits — there’s tons of the same spirits.
I could See areas that seemed to be quite different, and based on the spirits’ behavior, those areas are fertile, it seemed, although they seem inhabitable for humans.
I imagined this place swarming with black spirits, but it wasn’t so.
『… 』
Hm? There seems to be something hiding over there…
『No way, what the heck!! How the heck did you do that, isn’t it supposed to be impossible!? Doing contracts left and right like it’s no big deal, isn’t that bad news!? 』
Said the spirit of Black Mountain, who nonchalantly joined the crowd earlier.
—!!! Wait, wait a sec, that’s the real deal, he’s the real deal!! But why is he so tiny!? Ah, maybe the Black Mountain itself is his main body? Yup. He’s, like, adjusting his body size depending on the size of the most numerous spirits when he’s patrolling the mountain?
He’s friendlier than I thought, but is this okay? I mean, I heard from the Northern folks that you can’t get out alive if you step foot in the Black Mountain? Isn’t this way too strange?
『We’ve arrived~ 』
『Uncle Boulder~ 』
『It’s here~ 』
This Uncle Boulder is also known as 『Makivi』. He swayed while perched atop an amazingly tall rounded boulder that protruded from the ground.
Uh, about the Black Mountain…maybe I should listen to both of them, huh?
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.