"You!!! You must be eliminated!!!!"
The spirit released enormous power to attack Mazkhar and Altrez that cling to her body. The wounds were deep to their bones, but they recovered by the spirit's power that they absorbed.
"Haha. It's useless!!!"
Mazkhar made a fun laugh as the predator played with its food. The spirit's eyes opened wider, she released her power again to create the big black and white smoke that summon the test monster.
"Hm!!"
The smoke was gone. Her power didn't enough.
She shouted to me,
"High Sage!!! You must get rid of these things. If I disappear, the promise will disappear too. The monsters will go to attack the town!!"
It was sure that I would…
Nine!!!
[As you wish. Barrier activated.]
Kids were separated from the spirit by force. They were pushing away and locked in the transparent box.
"Shit! This protection again."
"High Sage's cruel."
[Your balance is… 5,500 coins. Why your money is left so much?]
The spirit who just got the freedom breathed hard, her hair was disorderly, and her body was slowly fading away.
"It can't be like this. No!!! My power!!! My forest!!!!"
She flew out from the waterfall with impatience, I followed her.
I was stunned when come back to the grassland. The whole forest was shaking, full of madness monsters' roar, and frantic weather. In the sky, it had a big magic circle at the forest size.
The magic letters on that circle were shaking and slowly disappearing. The promise was going to end. I hurry came back to Mazkhar and Altrez.
"I'll make you stronger. Return the power to the spirit!!"
They harmonize shook their head.
"I won't come back with empty hands."
"And the more important, High Sage. We can't return what we absorb."
I didn't think they came from the capital's normal family anymore. The enormous power, fighting skill, ability to absorb the spirit's power, and…
The disgusting thing.
"What are you?"
Mazkhar looked away, Altrez was the one who answered,
"Do you scare of us?"
"…"
"We scare of you, but we won't hurt you. We just want to stay alive. Sage should know what they doing, right? You'll reject us like that spirit. Don't study us."
The calm smile and unclear words. It didn't match the time at all.
"Riche. Gilda. Follow me."
"Yes sir!!"
We met the spirit at the other side, her body was transparent more than before. Even that she was focusing on the magic circle in the sky, beautiful hands lifted, and tried to release the power.
"No!! Restore! Just calm down!!"
Her MP wasn't enough to keep the promise anymore, many magic letters were already gone. She collapsed to the ground. The forest was shaking, and the ground was shaking too from many footsteps that going out.
"We'll go to push monsters back."
"But High Sage, just three of us…"
"I don't think we can finish them all."
If mom and dad were here, what did they do? The Hero journey had this situation happened many times. Told news to the town. Moved the villagers. Made the protection camp. They could do that because they were heroes, but I was the person that no one knew…
Nine could do it. I had the confidence.
Used the big Barrier to lock monsters in the forest and dealt with the promise to make monsters calm down. To write the new promise was out of the line but if it was Nine…
"High Sage, it ends… Even you can protect the town, my exist will be gone. The Grey Forest will lose the ruler."
The spirit told with a powerless voice,
"I… am here for the thousand years. I used to think about my end many times but I…"
"I don't want to disappear."
The drop came out from the person I couldn't recall the face.
I got the answer.
I kneeled the front of her.
"The beautiful magic, the tear doesn't suit you."
"Hold my hand."
The grey eyes shook before she placed her transparent hand.
The magic circle appeared under us. The Light and Dark power at the same volume sent to the nearly gone once, her body recovered, and her skin came back.
Not the hero's method or Nine, but me.
"This magic circle… Are you sending MP to the spirit?!"
Riche read magic letters correctly. The spirit confused than before,
"How can you do this? Connect the flow with me… Even though you didn't receive my blessing!"
"Make a question isn't the thing you should do now."
I point the finger to the sky and told,
"It's your job."
The spirit made eye contact with me before lifting her hands. The strong power came from her body, flowed to the ground, trees, and mountains. Just some second ago, she decided to throw everything out but now, she was shining with high confidence.
She was the ruler of the border of two powers.
"In the name of Spirit of Borderland, I'll vow! With my power, I'll protect the promise!!"
The magic letters added to the circle. When the magic flow was in all the lines, the sky shined with the white light. The circle was gone, monsters' roars and chaos forest was ended too.
I laid on the ground.
"High Sage!!"
Riche hurry lifted my body.
"Please endure a little bit, I'll heal you now."
Her impatience and healed that repeat on me made Nine laugh.
[Poor kid. Look at her, she's so worried about you.]
The useless heal… It was sure because I didn't lose MP a little. Even that I had to hurry to stand up before she collapsed. Gilda helped me by pulling me up.
"Thank. Riche. Gilda."
"High Sage, I want to give thanks to you but now I have to check about the border of the forest…"
The spirit got the power back. When I nodded, she flew across tress immediately. I borrowed Gilda's shoulder to walk to the other side of the waterfall. The two troublemakers still sat with relaxing.
"Are you finished?"
"Could you release us?"
I went out from Gilda's shoulder and stood in front of them.
"Altrez… Mazkhar… I have to teach you some special lesson."
I couldn't remember what I said but I might scold them for a while. The next of the massacre magic walking was the peace destroyer of the land? The value of the spirit was the thing that couldn't count. I told them to make sure they understand it.
"If little spirits, we eat them before. It doesn't increase our power much."
"This granny too. How can I put it maybe it can't digest…? My power increases a little. How about you, Al?"
"My power too."
They talked like normal. Ah… So different from Riche.
The spirit came back to us. When she looked at Altrez and Mazkhar, her eyes filled with violence, killing intent, and angry weren't low at all.
"Eliminate them, High Sage."
I bowed to her immediately.
"Please forgive my disciples! I can't eliminate someone while doesn't know the reason. Could you tell me about them?"
She strongly looked at me before shaking her head.
"I want to tell you, but your root makes me scared. If you can't control these things, you should get rid of them."
"I'll do it certainly."
I strongly responded. The situation became normal, so the spirit was ready to send us out. It was not a short or long time, finally, this time came. Gilda excused first.
"I learn many things. It's a good experience I won't forget about it."
She had the thing to do. I knew her goal but from my position, I couldn't support her. I could just say thank…
"Thank to travel with us, Gilda."
"Gil, if you come to the capital, we go to a restaurant together. I know many delicious places."
"It's a nice time. , Gil!"
"I'm happy to see you, Gil."
"Me too. Take care of yourself. Riche. Maz. Al."
I felt a weird feeling… Why only me that wasn't calling her by short name? When did they become so close?
I had to accept the distance.
"Excuse me."
She bowed to us and went out by the spirit's Transport Magic. Then, it was our time.
"High Sage, I… feel sad. You give me a lot, but I can't give anything to you."
Even she said that I sent power at the level to stable the promise, she had to use many thousand years to gather the power.
"Trust, it has one thing you can give me."
"Speak. I'll consider it."
"I ask for the right of the landowner from you."
The spirit's eyes were wider. The silence came to make the conversation pause.
"You… How do you know about it…?"
"What's the right of the landowner?" Riche asked.
"What's it? Do you hear it before, Al?"
"No…" Altrez shook his head to answer Mazkhar.
I didn't know about it too, but someone wanted it.
"Do you want to be the ruler of this forest?"
I nodded. When received an answer, the spirit laughed like a funny story.
"Ha! You don't receive my blessing, but you want that. The first human who get the full score from me. You're... out of normal, High Sage!!"
"It's the price of magic."
"Greedy…"
Mazkhar mumbled mix with the spirit's laugh. When she became calm, she looked at her hands without my understanding.
"…It's may no one like you in the next thousand years."
She called the white scroll, removed the rope, and spread it wider. It was a long piece of paper that floating in the air.
"The magic contract. The right of the owner of Grey Forest."
I never saw it before… This paper had many details and bounded with the promise so it made the spirit could rule everything in this forest. At the end of the page, it was a sign section. The name of Spirit of Borderland was written in there…
"Greyzafira."
She nodded.
"That's my real name. It has fewer people that know it so be proud. My power doesn't recovery at the full state if you're the ruler, something happens I can handle it."
The spirit moved the finger to remove her name.
"Grey Forest is your now, High Sage."
"I'll do the best."
That word was so weighted. Nine used magic power to write my name even my signature he could copy perfectly.
The contract responded to my magic power. The white paper shined before rolling back to the scroll. Nine took it to my Dimension Store. When I smiled at Greyzafira, she shook her head a little.
"It's funny that you get the power that is more wonderful than my blessing. With the right of the landowner, you can control monsters, and modify the area as I did. Do you feel it, High Sage? By using magic power, you can do everything with this land."
I smiled at her again. I didn't feel anything the power might be transferred to Nine.
"Why do you want to be the landowner? You come to talk, isn't?"
Riche doubted. I didn't answer her yet, kids in Barrier interrupted me.
"I know! It'll be our practice space, right?! We can ultimately hunt!"
"Or it'll be our restaurant? Wha~ High Sage's so kind."
I shook my head and told,
"Not both of you."
At the end of my word, it was the time that Nine wait for so long. Just one blinked, the vision changed it hadn't grey color anymore. This wide space behind the waterfall was filled with color. The flower garden that ordered by grey shade changed to disorder many colors.
The one thing that still had grey was Greyzafira. She collapsed with this vision.
"You… How can you do this…"
If looked at the sky, it had a transparent dome covering this area.
"This isn't the power from the right… Even my blessing can't do like this. How can you change the nature of the world? Why this forest has a color? Why I see the color!!"
The grey eyes were shaking. She touched the grass like it was a glass that nearly crack.
"This… Is this the true color? The leave is green. The soil is brown. The water is blue. Why… Why is it so beautiful…?"
Many thousand years of the person who born and live in the grey land. This was the first time she saw the color of the world.
She looked at us one by one.
"I see your color too… How it can be possible? Tell me, High Sage!! What's the magic you use!!!"
"I want to know it too. It's the thing I have to find the answer."
To the wonderful magic of NUMBERS.
"But first, I'll build the house."