Chapter 57 - 57. Interesting
Our arrival in the new location was accompanied by the same "pleasant" sensations as before, but I ignored them, excited about gaining a new element.
"He should be somewhere around here," Van Shi Tong said quietly, his voice carrying a hint of tension that made me drop my joyful demeanor and assess the surroundings.
The landscape lacked the natural beauty of untouched civilization. The soil was lifeless, with dead trees frozen in cartoonish poses. No life was evident, even in the air.
The best description for this place is "bad land," a term often used by experienced hunters and rangers in the human world when in the taiga or mountains. People usually died horribly here, or it was once a graveyard or battlefield.
"This time, I'll handle it myself. You just stay close," the spirit of knowledge hurried, his urgency making me reluctant to argue. Ever-positive Drya nervously turned her head, seemingly expecting trouble.
Nodding briefly to the serious spirit, he clung to my clothes with his talons and flew south, where the needed spirit awaited.
We couldn't miss him, especially with his striking appearance. He was a two-meter-tall sphere constantly changing color. Seeing us approach, the "Mimic" strangely trembled, and I don't think it was from fear.
Van Shi Tong could have killed him a thousand times, but he hesitated, as if waiting for or fearing something. And I was right. In less than a second, a black fog appeared from nowhere, making even my sources tremble. Overwhelming fear paralyzed me, and all my battle strategies—or rather, memories of being beaten by spirits in the virtual world—were forgotten. Van Shi Tong, with intense focus, created new layers of protection against the fog. It worked, but the fog easily eroded the barriers, revealing we'd encountered an ancient spirit... From hunters, we became the hunted.
"The little bird has grown up so much," a loud voice boomed from everywhere.
"Pavor," Van Shi Tong stated after deflecting the attack—or perhaps the spirit stopped attacking. The spirit of knowledge didn't seem surprised by his arrival—old "friends," I suppose. "This is the spirit of fear, born even before me, and he's incredibly persistent."
"Nice to see you too," a grotesque face emerged from the fog. His gaze fell on me, and I felt as if he examined me down to every atom or molecule. "An interesting specimen," the spirit's interest seemed to grow. "And you're still struggling?" he asked, as if needing conversation or delivering a villainous monologue.
"Embrace the power of chaos, and you'll understand it's for the good of all spirits. Humans won't help; they're too weak," he shook his head. "Light spirits are far fewer than us. You won't withstand. Join the winning side!" he roared with multiple voices.
"Maybe you'll leave me alone now," Van Shi Tong grumbled. "Never!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha," the spirit laughed like a sick infant. "Let the kids play, and we'll have our ten-thousand-and-eighth battle, right?" Why do I hear Maito Gai and Kakashi's voices in my head? Especially Gai challenging Kakashi to various competitions.
"He won't leave us alone. I'll fight him, and you and Drya handle the Mimic," Van Shi Tong said. "You should manage. Once time runs out, I'll take you to the human world," he continued softly. After speaking, he dropped me right onto the Mimic.
"A hundred years have passed. I hope you've learned new techniques," the spirit of fear cackled, flying toward the spirit of knowledge, who began to distance himself.
A second later, they were kilometers apart, heavy energy waves reaching us.
"We need to finish this quickly," I thought. The Mimic released a light beam at me, too fast to dodge, but the light didn't harm me.
I released high-pressure water at him, tense with anticipation, knowing he wouldn't go down easily. The water obscured our view, leaving Drya and me to wait.
"*Criii*," the Mimic released an odd cry, and the scene finally cleared. Where the spirit had been, five copies of me now stood—one for each element: earth, water, fire, air, and reason.
They perfectly mirrored my appearance, even matching the strength of my sources. This is bad...
"Help if you can, Drya."
The spirits silently exchanged glances and began attacking us. The earth spirit quickly pelted us with rocks. The water spirit, not far behind, attempted to use blood magic against me.
"You dare use my own techniques against me?!" This is terrible. The spirit truly copied all my experience and skills. The reason spirit stood frozen, having no techniques to copy, and simply charged at us with fists.
The air spirit intuitively used its element, accelerating its movements—after all, I'd encountered air scrolls, though adapting them in minutes is impossible. The fire spirit showcased my lightning mastery, firing at us like a machine gun.
Drya easily handled the charging spirits, but the others proved challenging. No matter the technique I used, they countered, and Drya faced the same issue—in the virtual world, I'd fought nature spirits too.
We managed to defeat the earth and fire spirits, but the water spirit regenerated the reason and air spirits.
"Did you see that?! Okay, they asked for it," battle fervor ignited within me.
I deployed the neutral source, enhancing all my techniques. This time, Drya and I focused on the strongest—the water spirit. I didn't hold back on blood magic, overwhelming the spirit with all elements and Drya's abilities. The other two spirits were caught in the crossfire.
At the last moment, I cautiously approached the spirits, ensuring we'd obtain their strange source.
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