I blankly stared at the flowerpot.
Recalling the three years I spent inside Hell Gate.
Taylor looked at me worriedly, wondering what was on my mind.
There was only one thing I could say after receiving such a gift.
“Thank you.”
Feeling relieved, Taylor smiled.
Actually, this flowerpot is more like a scar from a rotten memory.
The memories from inside Hell Gate, something too painful to even think about.
Over time, I overcame it, and now it didn’t really affect me.
‘Hell Gate…’
A lot happened inside.
Really, too much.
The 7th expedition inside Hell Gate.
Deemed the most successful expedition, of the 500 people who ventured inside, only 47 made it out alive after three years.
And, I was one of those 47.
One of the reasons I was able to come back alive was because I had ‘intuition.’
It may sound strange, but that was really the case.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been told such things like, ‘you’re strangely sensible,’ or ‘how did you guess?’
So, inside Hell Gate my intuition would sense things that no one noticed until it happened, or when I thought I had to go somewhere no matter how dangerous it looks because I thought I would have a better chance of survival.
Only recently did I realize it was my Intuition (A) talent, but at that time the only thought I had was to survive that hell, and in the end I survived.
“It reminds of the old days.”
“So. Isn’t it pretty?”
“I’ll have to take care of it at home.”
“Uh, really? What if the glass breaks, and it turns out to be radioactive?”
“…Do you think Hell Gate is some kind of nuclear power plant?”
I took a closer look at the flowerpot.
Spiritual Silver Flower.
Information that could not have been known in the past, present, or future, came to me so easily.
Is this really a F-Rank skill?
Or maybe the existence of spirits is more common than I had thought.
In the modern era, the existence of spirits is like a superstition.
Like ghosts, nobody even knows whether it exists or not.
However, I knew.
Ghosts and spirits do indeed exist.
I’ve seen a ghost once before, and had heard stories about spirits from a very credible colleague.
In other words, someone like me, who fought on the battlefield for 15 years, had only seen it once before.
This kind of existence.
< Silver Spiritual Flower >
Description: A spirit grown from the seed of the many who had lost their lives. Must be raised in a special condition for the spirit to be born.
Sunlight: Feeds on the energy of stars. However, this spiritual flower has been stained with death, so too much sunlight can be harmful. Let it absorb a little bit of sunlight for 5 minutes every day in the late afternoon.
Temperature: The ideal temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius.
Soil: This spiritual flower grew up in the land of death, so based on its current vitality, spread some soil from the Essoten fairies, and grind some seeds that have listened to the Essoten fairies’ leaf flute for 300 days.
Nourishment: Feeds on negative emotions. On the contrary, positive emotions…
Mental and physical care: Fairies, dragons, and any other transcended species will be able to talk to this spiritual flower. Talk to it from time to time to check the spirit’s mental health. It’s very fragile before the spirit is born…
After carefully reading the book from the White Witch’s library, I soon looked up at Taylor.
Did I do something to deserve this?
Looking at her prideful smiling face, I had a strange feeling seeing her stare at me.
For some reason, I felt apprehensive.
Friends usually don’t give each other gifts like this.
Obviously, Taylor and I owe our lives to each other, and I’m confident our relationship is more stable than anyone else.
So it didn’t matter what gifts we gave each other.
That’s the kind of relationship we have.
A relationship where we can do anything for each other.
However, why was she so adamant to take ‘Hell Gate materials’ from Lost Day?
‘Gift’ didn’t mean this between us.
We’ve never given each other gifts that meant anything.
It was the sort of gift that one would just look at once and throw away.
However, it looks like she has been running around for the last month or two with the goal of extorting Lost Day right from the start.
Perhaps, ‘Hell Gate materials’ wasn’t even part of her plan and it just turned out this way.
I looked at her suspiciously, and asked.
“You, is something wrong?”
“…Dude, what?”
“Tell me. If there’s something I can help you with, I’ll help as much as I can.”
As far as I know, when Taylor acts like this, she’s unsettled by something.
She acts selfish, violent, and doesn’t care about anyone else but herself, but in fact, that’s just her defensive mechanism lashing out in an aggressive manner.
However, whenever she is in dire trouble, she becomes altruistic like now.
I’ve known Taylor for 15 years.
I can just tell something is wrong by her expression…
“What are you on about?”
“What?”
Strangely, Taylor looked at me with pitiful eyes.
“You can just go and die. A woman painstakingly got you a gift, and that’s all you had to say? You, seriously.”
“No. I’m really worried about you…”
“What’s the point of suddenly worrying about people when you’ve never done so before?”
Staring at her smiling face, a thought crossed my mind.
“You, don’t tell me…”
“Huh.”
Looking at my stern face, Taylor stopped smiling and spoke.
“Now that I’m here, can’t I do this?”
“…”
“Do I need a reason?”
More than 10 years ago.
When we were both desperately trying to survive on the battlefield, we made one promise.
To comfort each other, hold each other, protect each other, and look after one another.
But let’s not share our feelings.
It was a time when I would lose my colleagues, loved ones, and friends day by day.
It was hard enough taking care of oneself, why make it harder by having affections.
So I always drew a line and kept my distance when someone tried to approach me.
It was the same with the other party.
Not because I’m afraid of losing someone, but because I know how the other person might feel when he or she loses me.
“It used to be the case. But now, I’ve changed, and the times have changed.”
Now, I don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
Tonight when I go to bed, I don’t have to worry about the deaths of loved ones, and my loved ones don’t have to grief due to me dying.
“…Ugh. You’re annoying, punk. There are serious flaws with your head, and it really hurts me to have to explain these things to you.”
“I…”
When I tried to answer, she smiled and gave me a slight slap on the back.
“Never mind, I’m leaving.”
Said Taylor calmly before quickly disappearing.
I stood there absentmindedly watching her departing figure.
Only then did emotions welled up inside me, and I felt grateful to Taylor.
For some reason, I had a strange sweet and warm feeling.
I don’t know how to describe it.
Somehow, I feel like I’ve found something that I had lost a long time ago.
It was a very strange and uneasy feeling.
But it wasn’t a bad feeling.
After looking at the flowerpot for a while, I carefully placed it down on a nearby workout bench, then turned around to see Celeste staring at me.
“…What?”
“I’m done with my exercises.”
With a hoarse voice, she picked up her wooden sword and pointed it at me.
“Uh…Right.”
I had no choice but to lift mine as well.
…I haven’t even had the time to rest.
After returning home, I carefully placed the flowerpot on my desk, and activated White Witch’s Library again.
‘Spiritual Silver Flower…’
To successfully cultivate this flower, which had been growing inside Hell Gate, a lot of conditions has to be met, most of which are not possible on Earth.
So it’s a problem.
In the first place, I can only go back and forth between worlds, not bring something back.
Fortunately, the Client gave a solution.
< There’s a way to resolve this. >
‘Oh? What is it?’
< If you acquire a ‘subspace’ skill, you can bring back things from other worlds, with some restrictions. >
‘Subspace…?’
It’s an ability I’ve never seen in my life.
‘I think I’ve read about it in a popular novel before….Is it something like storing things in another space?’
< Yes. >
Just reading the name makes me think it would be really difficult to acquire.
‘By the way, is it okay for me to absorb such a skill?’
< Subspace is also used by high level wizards and scientists. >
‘Alright.’
Well, the skills of protagonists didn’t abide by common sense in the first place.
< Also, the rate a world collapses is not affected by transporting things across dimensions. >
< Like bringing Yoo Seodam’s homemade food next door, it won’t cause much trouble. >
< It may cause significant changes in the world’s science, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s only a slight change since the development of science is a natural phenomenon. >
To sum it up in two words, it’s complicated.
If I get a subspace, I can bring back things from other worlds, and it might even be possible to bring back advanced weapons.
‘That’s a good idea.’
There were many things on Earth that could not be imagined or made today.
Frankly speaking, the aether dispenser I use is not bad, but it’s also a fact that it can’t do much damage to the protagonists relatively to its weight.
However, if I can get a ‘Holy Sword’ weapon like what I saw before, protagonists may become easier to deal with in the future.
Anyways, I can’t do much about this flower at the moment, but at least I can give it a better environment.
Although the White Witch’s Library skill seemed easier than Vivienda Magic Academy’s magic, it’s actually very unique and difficult to grasp.
I decided to draw a magic circle on the floor to change the concentration of air, spray fairy energy on the soil, filter the sunlight, and after some struggle, filter emotions as well.
It was nothing more than F-Rank magic, the most basic of magic, but it was enough to create a much better environment than before.
When I breathed in, it was definitely fresh air.
Cleaner than even what one might find in an uncivilized forest.
I can’t believe a plant found in Hell Gate needs such fresh air to grow.
It felt so contradictory, but somehow I felt relieved when I saw the flower appearing more lively than before.
‘…’
It’s the flower Taylor Nine got after going through a lot of trouble.
So, I’m going to raise it diligently.
With that thought in mind, I touched the petals, and the moment I touched it.
A voice was heard.
[…I’m suffocating.]
“W-what?”
Surprised, I jumped back, and instinctively shot out aether from my aether blade.
The voice continued.
[Why are you surprised?]
“Crazy. Was the flower talking just now?”
[Mmhmm.]
It was the voice of a child.
I don’t know whether it’s a boy or girl, but the monotone voice somehow gave me a mysterious feeling that reached my heart.
Putting my aether blade down, I approached the flower, and it spoke again.
[Your reaction startled me…]
“Isn’t it surprising for a flower to suddenly start talking?”
[…Witches are supposed to be able to hear us.]
“Witch?”
Come to think of it, there was a paragraph in the book that mentioned ‘transcended’ species such as elves and dragons being able to talk to the spirit of the flower.
So witches are transcended species?
Even though I’m not a witch, I have a witch’s skill, so I guess that’s the reason why I can communicate with this spirit.
[…It’s a relief.]
“What?”
[I was scared no one would hear me…]
For some reason, it felt strange hearing the spirit spoke so calmly.
To have a conversation with the spirit of the flower, one has to be a transcended species, but only human beings live on Earth.
And there weren’t any beings with intelligence inside Hell Gate.
This spirit was born from death, and would return to death, alone, without bearing any fruit if left inside.
[But you’re a little strange for a witch.]
“Because I’m not a witch.”
When the flower heard my answer, it stayed silent, and after a while, it spoke.
[Yeah. You’re terrible at magic…]
“…”
[Why would you do that if you’re not a witch…?]
When asked such a pure question, I wondered if I should feel hurt or not.
[That…That’s not how you do it.]
“Huh?”
Shwuah…!
From the flower, a light powder came out and covered my magic circle on top.
Then, the mana flowed slowly, and the magic spell I had drawn on the floor rose into the air.
“W-what?”
It’s carving a magic circle in the air?
I’ve never seen anything like this at Vivienda Magic Academy.
To that extent, the whole magic empire.
What the spirit had just done was a ridiculous feat.
Only
[Why…are you surprised?]
“You, how did you do this?”
[I didn’t do it.]
The petals of the flower shook slightly and made a gesture as if pointing at me.
[You did.]
I didn’t know what it meant until now.
What it meant for a witch to be a transcended species.
It was greater and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
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