“Shall we go deeper today?” Isti said as she entered the forest.
“Why?”
“If Decal is going to face the Sin Wolf, I’m uneasy as it is now.”
“Need to level up more?”
“That too.” Isti said, coolly shooting down approaching orcs. “I’ll teach you how to call me when it’s dangerous.”
“How to call Isti?”
“Ask the spirits.”
Can I call her then? Like dialing a smartphone?
I tried calling Isti, focusing on the wind spirit.
The air flow subtly shifted.
I couldn’t see it, but I felt the change.
“Decal sent a breeze. I felt it.”
“Feels like our little secret signal.”
“For long distances, focus harder.”
Calling each other silently—super useful.
“Next, I’ll teach you how to shield your body with wind spirits.”
“I’m ready to listen.”
I listened to Isti like a diligent student.
“Imagine wrapping your body in wind. It’ll protect you from attacks.”
Let’s try it.
I felt my MP draining at a scary rate.
“Keeping it up is tough, huh?”
“Start short. Focus on parts. With practice, it’ll be like breathing.”
“Like breathing?”
“Yeah. Once you’re used to it like me, spirits will guard you in danger.”
Spirits auto-protecting my body? Cool.
Motivation flared up.
“Could I master it today?”
“Spirit arts are hard. Takes patience to get used to. It took me ages just to bond with wind spirits.”
“Thanks to you, I’m learning fast.”
I slid my arm around Isti’s wa!st, pulling her close naturally. I k!ssed her cheek and neck, pressed our foreheads together.
Isti giggled shyly.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t get hurt. Call me right away if it’s risky.”
“Can I call for other reasons?” Shamelessly, I stretched both hands to knead Isti’s soft rear.
“You can call. I’ll rush to you anytime. Like your s1ave.”
Isti loves me, no doubt. She willingly gives her whole b0dy to me.
Would it disappoint me if that love was a fake emotion planted by suggestion?
No, it wouldn’t.
The Isti, conquered by suggestion, is still wholly real.
Isti’s eyes sparkle vividly with the desire to be loved by me. It’s utterly adorable.
“Mm.” Isti stood on tiptoe, k!ssing me first.
Mouths slightly open, our t0ngues mingled.
Noticing my hard c0ck, Isti smirked playfully.
“Back home, I’ll squeeze you with the thighs Decal loves ~”
“Thigh squeeze? Looking forward to it.”
Isti smiled sweetly.
I wanted to do it right then, but barely held back. No matter how much I craved it, we couldn’t roll out a spot for s9x in a forest teeming with monsters. That’s how dumb couples in horror movies die.
“Let’s go.”
I’ll channel this urge into smashing orcs.
Of course, Isti did the killing, but watching was satisfying enough.
With Fire Enchant, Isti’s arrows gained fire attributes, letting her wipe out ten or twenty orcs in one shot.
Old founding myths say one arrow could pierce two or three beasts.
Did those witnesses feel like this?
Her archery was truly awe-inspiring.
At first, I knew nothing, but watching showed me how well Isti wielded wind spirits.
She alters arrow paths by syncing perfectly with spirits to shift air currents.
How much practice with spirits did it take to master this? Hard to imagine.
“Isti, can you let one or two orcs slip toward me without killing them?”
“…”
Isti seemed to catch my intent.
“Got it.”
How to shield my body with wind spirits.
I wanted to do it myself, not just hear it. An adventure unimaginable when I first arrived in this world.
Isti let one orc slip my way.
This time, defeating it wasn’t the goal.
The aim was to calmly block the orc’s attack.
Please, spirit!
The orc was big but shorter than me, slow too, yet facing it sent cold sweat down my spine.
Can’t help it. I’m not a coward.
The orc held a rusty axe.
Rusty, but still an axe.
A hit anywhere would be fatal.
Like facing a thug with a weapon in broad daylight.
Without Isti, I’d prioritize running. But that’d be pointless.
This world is about fighting monsters. I need to gradually adapt to its ways.
I watched the orc’s charge closely and moved. Dodged the axe swing by reading its motion.
It swung hard despite not being in range—orcs clearly lack skill compared to humans. But it had enough force to split a skull.
“Hoo!” I lured a miss, then closed in as it tired.
This swing would hit if I didn’t block with spirit power—I’d take serious damage.
It’s fine. I can do it!
I psyched myself up, focusing hard on the wind spirit.
“Urk…!”
Was that axe always that big?
I flinched back, sweating coldly.
Standing firm, trusting invisible wind against a looming weapon?
This took way more guts than I thought.
I tried a few times, but the axe’s approach terrified me, and I kept dodging with my feet.
The orc tired out too, stopping its moves.
We stood in a deadlock.
I glanced at Isti.
She’d already cleaned up and was watching me.
No reckless mocking or meddling.
Right. If I can’t trust the wind, I’ll trust Isti. Even if I take an axe hit and fall, she’ll help.
The rested orc charged again.
I watched its arm swing, focusing hard on the wind spirit.
Did it fail? Just before the axe hit, an invisible wind barrier deflected it.
The recoil made the orc drop its axe.
“Hup!”
I struck the orc hard, pushing it back, then cast a spell.
“Fire Arrow!”
A flaming arrow struck the orc’s mounds dead-on.
(Your level has increased.)
“Phew.”
“How was it?”
“Feels like I barely pulled it off.”
A gentle breeze suddenly blew. It brushed my b0dy, flowing downward.
“What’s that?”
“The spirit’s happy. Decal trusted it.”
“…”
A non-living thing stirring my emotions. Bonding with the spirit overwhelmed me.
Reaching into the air, wind wrapped around my arm, lingering in my palm.
It was invisible, but I felt it.
Now I could trust the wind spirit. Like part of my b0dy.
“I’m confident now. Let’s keep going.”
Isti hopped lightly.
Tracking traces with her search skill on, I followed behind.
“Using wind spirits, you can move fast without effort.”
Sure enough, Isti didn’t kick the ground hard—she glided over the wind.
Could I do that?
Trusting my spirit, I clumsily mimicked her.
Not as smooth as Isti, but laying wind under my feet sped up my dash noticeably.
“How’s it feel?”
“Like riding the wind.”
Total flash step vibes, right?
Don’t I look cool right now?
“Let’s speed up a bit.” Isti suddenly pulled ahead.
“Whoa!”
I can’t close the gap!
She slowed down again.
“What was that?”
“Acceleration.”
Impressive.
My little speed boost can’t even compare. But I could catch up faster than most.
My MP’s practically infinite.
As long as I have time to drink the Goddess’s Flask, I can keep growing.
“I’ll shoot.”
Isti drew an arrow.
I dashed with wind spirits, enchanting her arrow with fire.
Then, while running, Isti shot through the trees, taking out a pack of orcs.
“Wow.”
Is this elven hunting?
I kept running until Isti stopped.
Using spirits, my b0dy surged forward effortlessly.
Still tiring, though.
“Haa. Hah.”
Seeing me struggle, Isti stopped, “You okay?”
“Just out of breath.”
“Want to rest?” Panting while bent over, Isti hugged my head.
“Mm.”
Feels nice.
“You can train this while walking. It eases foot fatigue.”
True, the wind acts like a cushion.
No shoe could compare.
“That’s a good idea. At this rate, I’ll bathe in sweat.”
Instead of running, I walked fast with wind spirits as cushions.
No breathlessness—nice.
Hunting speed shot up compared to not using spirits.
If Isti roamed this forest alone, how fast would she fill a giant soulstone?
Maybe because we ventured deeper, we progressed smoothly, wiping out orcs without meeting other adventurers. It felt like we were nearing the monster outbreak’s core.
Orc numbers weren’t dropping—they were rising.
But I’m not worried.
Isti’s here.
I honed my skills catching orcs she let slip.
Now, with thick trust in my wind spirit, I blocked orc axe strikes and attacked.
“Fire Arrow!”
(Acquired Fire Ball.)
Oh? A new skill.
I opened my status.
[Level: 87
Status:
HP 3469/3469
MP 844/4577
Beleira’s Blessing (True) 「Fire immunity, boosted fire magic power, all skill proficiency ++」
Agent of the Goddess 「Communicate in all languages, read all scripts. Qualified to cross worlds.」
Wind Spirit 「Summon wind or alter air currents with spirit power.」
Stats: Strength 371 Magic 588 Stamina 376 Agility 381
Skills:
Fire Ball (☆) – Mid-tier fire magic with strong power. Burns enemies.
Fire Enchant (★★★) – Magic that imbues objects with fire attributes.
Search (★★) – Skill to spot and analyze traces through careful observation.]
Fire Ball emerged to replace the fully mastered Fire Arrow.
What’s it like? Excitement surged.
“Isti! Next time, send two orcs my way.”
“Sure.”
I spread my palm toward the two orcs, focusing.
(MP insufficient.)
Ugh! What’s this? It’s not a hippo, but it devours my remaining MP like crazy.
Overcharge this, and it’d be chaos.
Seeing the blazing fireball, I trembled.
It’s different from Fire Arrow.
The rushing heat alone told me that.
It was soccer-ball-sized, but orcs couldn’t approach the heat. Its roaring blaze far outdid Fire Arrow’s threat.
“Fire Ball!!”
I launched it with gusto.
The fireball hit one orc and exploded.
The noise startled me.
I hit one, but flames spread, catching the nearby orc too.
Until now, Fire Arrow left occasional embers for extra damage. But Fire Ball was different. It burned fiercely, like dousing the foe in oil and igniting it.
“…”
No wonder I felt dread.
In a game, this’d be thrilling, but it’s reality—just a different world.
Imagining someone hurling this magic at me chilled me.
“Decal, a new spell?” Isti showed curiosity.
“Yeah. Shocked me. Do other adventurers use this?”
“That’s solid Gold-rank mage level. You’d be respected even at the kingdom capital’s guild.”
My hands shook.
My body quaked from a wholly new experience.
Fire magic that incinerated two orcs completely.
Only after casting it myself did I truly feel I’d come to this world.
“Want to rest a bit?” Isti asked with concern.
“No, let’s keep going.”
I didn’t want to stop. I couldn’t.