Ruins

On his search for the dandelion flower, Astroth met some interesting opponents called Palica's, who he took out with his newly learned magic.

Astroth searched the entire region but could not find anything. Now Astroth was wondering whether dandelions even grew in these parts of the forest.

Elders did inform him that it only grows once a year about this time, but the problem is that only one flower is discovered every year.

Doesn't this imply that I'm looking for a needle in a haystack?

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When Astroth couldn't find the dandelion flower in his previous forest areas, he moved to a different region.

Now he was in an unknown region within the outer forest that Eli and the others never talked about. That's why Astroth is more cautious than before since he doesn't know what dangers lie ahead.

The moment he stepped inside, he could feel a different atmosphere. The air was still and everything seemed eerily quiet. The ground was barren, unlike the rest of the outer zone.

He could see more and more crimson leaves contrasting with the rest. Astroth touched one leaf in awe, but it dropped red pigment onto his hand. The leaves were actually green; the red color was just a coating.

Astroth was baffled by these unusual phenomena. He noticed some bones in various places. Astroth noticed that broken homes were becoming more frequent as he progressed.

Now he had reached some ruins surrounded by red trees. Even the ground was red here.

Normally, Astroth would love to explore ancient civilizations, but here he was horrified. The skeletons were scattered like rocks, and Many were even crucified.

He was more shocked due to the structure of the skeleton. They were long and human-like in shape.

There was a description of their ordeal at this location. Astroth realized that the cause of the red color was the blood that was spilled here years ago. Most likely, these are the ruins of the elf kingdom that humans eradicated for their greed. Astroth prayed for this place, feeling pity for them.

Suddenly, someone's weeping voice entered his ears. He reacted instantly to check if that was his delusion or reality. He heard the same voice again and confirmed that its source was in those ruins. Astroth did not want to enter the ruins, but his heart said otherwise.

He stepped into the ruins and felt a chill run through his body. He could feel an intense gaze the moment he entered.

His instincts perceived that place as dangerous and screamed to come back. However, the sound of crying was clearer than before. He was outside the room where the sound was coming from.

He took a sneaky glance and started sweating. This was the throne room, and there were ghost-like creatures in that room. Some were dancing and standing, and some just sat in the same place. Each of them was powerful, but the one sitting on the throne was giving dangerous vibes.

Astroth realized that they are "Banshee". These creatures stay in dark and lifeless places. At the time of death, someone with a grudge turns into a banshee when he surrenders to evil.

Banshees try to kill all living creatures, even their own family, and only [holy magic] and [light magic] can defeat them.

Astroth knows some light magic, but these banshees were once elves, so they are very difficult to kill with low-level magic. Their numbers were also a lot more than he could handle, and the presence of the elf king was enough to kill most of the intruders.

Astroth stays silent and searches for the child who was weeping. He noticed some banshees were dancing in circles around something. He was shocked to find the one weeping was a spirit.

Astroth could not see clearly because a dark mist was hiding it. However, he was feeling the mana of spirits. These banshees must be sacrificing the spirits' power to become stronger.

Spirits are small and transparent creatures like air, but you can tell them apart by the mana they release. "I don't know how this spirit got caught, but looking at its mana concentration, I believe it will soon die."

Astroth used sound magic to connect spirits' thoughts to his mind. He asks the spirit why it is sitting there voluntarily.

Sniff! Sniff!

"When the Elf king used the curse, this place became corrupted and spirits refused to stay there. Then my father, the spirit king, ordered all the spirits to move somewhere else.

I was still a clump of mana at that time, and due to corruption, my mana mixed with the curse, making my properties corrupted. That's why... sniff!"

"Thus, your father abandoned you here." Astroth was sorry for the poor spirit that had to wait until today.

Astroth asks the spirit whether it wants to come with him. The spirit asks Astroth if he was serious about having it. Astroth assures the spirit.

However, the spirit was hesitant because these banshees were powerful enough to kill both of them. Astroth tells the spirit that they will run with the opening he will create.

Astroth concentrates his mana between his hands and tries to create a small version of the skill he used on humans. He aims the skill at the throne room's roof and casts a light beam.

The skill destroys the roof and sunrays spread throughout the place, making the banshee unsettled. They started running amok.

With this opening, both Astroth and the spirit flee the place instantly. The spirit uses its magic to make Astroth light for a faster escape.

The banshee of the elf king becomes furious when he sees the sunrays and summons magic to blow them away. Astroth uses a shield to reduce the impact of falling.

Since banshees cannot leave their habitual areas, both of them were relieved to find them outside of the ruins. As soon as they saw each other, they started laughing.

The spirit introduced herself as the daughter of the air elemental king and revealed her true appearance to him. A spirit's appearance can tell a lot about its elemental property.

She was beautiful, with grey hair and black clothing. The color of her hair indicates the air element's origin, and the black must be the curse element.

She tells him the curse element is something she has never seen before and asks if he still wants her to stay. Astroth chuckles and says,

"Then aren't you the first curse element spirit?

An element is an element, whether it's air, fire, water, earth, or now a curse. You should be proud of yourself. "

Astroth was comforting her with these words because he knew what it was like later when you keep regretting the present. The spirit was content with Astroth's sweet talk and started laughing.

She asks Astroth if he wants to form a contract to stay together for a long time. Astroth said he would love to have her as a companion. She requests Astroth to give her a name to confirm the contact.

"Mmm... you are an elemental spirit of air and curse, so today I will name you 'VAYU'."

Vayu confirmed their contract was completed with a bright light covering both of them. Astroth asks Vayu why he was standing near the ruins.

Astroth remembers that he is on the lookout for a dandelion flower after listening to her. Vayu laughs as he observes Astroth's stressed face.

She uses her power to manipulate the air elements around them to look for the dandelion flower. Astroth was awestruck watching the scene. Vayu feels proud of showing her powers to Astroth.

After the confirmation of smaller air elements, Vayu tells Astroth that the flower is on the border of the inner and outer forest zone. Astroth was so thrilled with the news that he did not pay attention to the location of the flower and asked Vayu to lead the way.

Both of them travel toward the inner zone in search of the flower.