Chapter 8: Spirit Mage

"I am… I suppose?"

"Suppose?" Eyad and Aron shuddered. Both had the look of someone who ate a nasty fly. I nodded and sympathized with them. Nevertheless, their working ethics are the worst. Their bulging eyes and gaping mouth had given them away. So unprofessional!

"Boss, I sense no lie nor malice. I think she's indeed the princess," Andre said, nodding as he held his chin.

Yep, this guy couldn't read anything. This monkey-faced man was simply a ball of instinct. A pleasant one, at least. Well, it's good he could tell whether or not I'm speaking lies lest they leave me here.

What can be worse than that, right?

I looked in front of me and saw a dark forest. The eerie and dead willow trees, the moist soil, and the weird calls of animals between the rotten trees had a horror-thriller atmosphere that's only seen in those 5-star horror movies.

I gulped, appreciating my not-so-handsome knight in shining armor. He had saved me once again.

***

The mercenaries plus this aunt continued to venture deeper into the creepy forest.

Moist, foggy clouds fell into the earth, blocking the sight of the birds and animals anew. I watched the trio's back, fearing that I might lose my way. The burning torches were our only guide.

Aron had offered me a horse that he caught during our escape. Is this also a test? Do all royals know how to ride horses?

As soon as I tried, I felt like I had ridden horses a lot of times. I don't know why, but it felt natural for me to ride a horse. Is this the legendary one-with-a-horse thing? Peh! It sounds dirty.

Anyway, the dark forest we're traversing spoke of danger. According to Aron, it was the rendezvous zone. Why did their client choose an eerie forest? Am I going to get sold to some weird people? I turned my head towards the mercenary. Though a bit dumb, they looked honest and honorable.

"Feeling scared, Princess?" Aron chortled, his eyes roaming everywhere, searching for tracks or something I don't even know.

"A-A bit."

I hate my voice now. I need to practice speaking more. Me not speaking for a questionable amount of time had weakened my vocal cords. That gag did true damage to me.

Aron laughed like the old man that he was. "You shouldn't be. The one who paid us created this fog to avoid pursuit. No soldier will dare to enter this forest, especially during the fog except…"

Awohh! Haawhh!

I rolled my eyes. "Then what kind of animal is that?"

The weird growls sent shivers down to my spine.

Aron grinned. "A lesser undead - a zombie."

"Eyad, take care of this poor thing. Give it the rest it deserves."

I heard unique syllables coming from the mouth of Eyad. Flames rose from his staff, forming a handful of fireballs. With a wry smile, he threw the flames toward the undead. "Take your rest."

As the tongues of flame torched the undead, a white haze flew out of the wretched burning zombie. The white shadow skittered around Eyad as if it was expressing gratitude. Maybe Eyad couldn't see the thing. What was that? Wait, I'm feeling a bit tired. My entire world swayed from left to right, and then my body followed along. Woah, I am losing my balance. "A headache? D-dizzy?"

'Thud.'

"…"

A weird silence echoed for a few seconds...

"Hell! What did you do, Eyad? You dog!? Her eyes, dammit, blood. Damn Eyad! You maggot, Eyad!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Why did the princess colla-, And-re, agetda ad princ…"

[Spirit Magic initializing, commencing.]

[Spirit Eye Lvl. 1 learned.]

A buzz rang in my ears followed by a flickering screen suddenly appearing out of nowhere. That was the last thing I saw and heard. Then I lost consciousness.

***

I woke after getting swung left and right until I felt like puking. The horse under Andre's guidance had carried me akin to baggage. I opened my eyes and saw nothing. It was all darkness again. It was comparable when I was blindfolded and gagged. What's wrong with this world? The extreme headache and dizziness were no more. I'm feeling quite okay now.

"Princess? Princess?! Are you awake already?"

"Ye-yes," I answered, moving my hands to my eyes, curious whether this time I'm truly blind. But before I could even reach for it, Aron slapped away my hand. "Don't touch your eyes yet, Princess. We applied some medicines to your eyes. Don't worry, you won't go blind… probably."

"..."

I don't like what I'm hearing right now. That's not so reassuring at all. "Do you remember anything, princess? We found nothing wrong with you aside from your eyes. T-They bled."

I fell into deep thought for a moment. The thankful white shadow that came out of the zombie. It might be the cause. But what's with the bleeding thingy? I furrowed my brows, "I saw a white shadow skittering towards Eyad, then I blacked out."

"Mr. Eyad, are you there?" I uttered.

"I'm here, Princess. A-and I'm sorry." Ah, he lisped and his voice was shaky. Well, it's understandable. I think I should tell Eyad what the white shadow had wished to express.

"Mr. Eyad, a white shadow came out from the rotting undead you've burned." I stopped my words, wondering if they'll treat me like a mad aunt. "I think it wanted to thank you. You're a mage, right? Do you have any idea about the white shadow?"

…

[An old spirit, formerly corrupted but now saved, says 'thank you' and acknowledges you. It can now return to the cycle of reincarnation. Increase in spiritual affinity earned.]

[Your skill, [Spirit Eye], has leveled up.]

I winced after seeing the white screen appearing again. "A-A spirit?"

A brief bout of silence loomed.

"Hahaha, so that's it. It was a spirit." I could hear the voice of the monkey-faced man. Then, he asked a weird question, "Whelp, hey Captain, what's a spirit?"

"S-spirits. Spirits. I see." I heard the already shaking voice of Eyad shuddering even more.

I felt their stares zeroing on me. Even if I am blind, I'm not a stone. "What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong, Princess," Aron said. A long-suffering sigh echoed under his breath.

"Anyway, I have some interesting news for you, Princess." Aron laughed lightly.

"Please make it good news," I said as I grappled against the horse and the dark.

"Haha! As it should be, princess. From now on, you've gained a unique job. An incredibly rare profession." Aron chuckled. "The last one was perhaps… a thousand years ago. That's if my sources are right."

I furrowed my brows, forming deep mountains and valleys. "What profession?"

Oh, wait? I remembered my ever-so-useless ability. I lightly whispered under my breath, "Status."

Status Panel

Name: Victoria Rothfield Rosenberg

Level: 1

Job: Princess (Fallen), Spirit Mage (New!)

Title: Witch of Rothfield

General Skills:

[Etiquette]

[Language of Another World]

[Spirit Eye Lvl. ↑2 (New!)]

"Princess, don't be shocked. You're now a mage." Aron carefully stopped his words as if he was deliberating if he should speak of it. "For what kind of mage, I am not sure.”

"I think I'm a Spirit Mage?"

"..."

A cacophony of gasps entered my ears. Sensing the intense gazes of the mercenary trio, I gulped. Did I say something wrong? "C-can you not look at me like that? What? Is being a spirit mage the next big thing?"

"..."

“Spirit mage.” I heard Andre’s envious words passing through my ears.

Hey, why do you sound so envious, Andre? You don't even know what a spirit is. His next words confirmed my thought. "What's a spirit mage?"

"I-I see. So the myths are possibly true. If she's indeed a spirit mage, there's one more thing that could confirm my suspicion." Aron's voice shook, ignoring Andre's question.

The traces of doubt in his voice had added more questions for me.

"…"

Soon, I sensed their stares zeroing on me. The mercenaries eyed me as if I was a weird creature. Or rather, as if they were watching a living fossil. They watched at me like I was a new breed in the zoo.

***

On our way deeper into the forest, Aron explained to me what a spirit mage was. Simply put, a spirit mage was an incredibly rare magician. They are few and known to be powerful and secretive spell casters, someone who can borrow the power of the spirits. Seeing a spirit was among the signs of an awakened spirit mage. And that's all he knew. So much for their reaction, right?

That didn't sound too awesome to me. Ain't that a quack? Calling spirits? A fake magician. It sounded like a cultist. How 'bout you change my job into an exorcist? That'd be more amazing. So will I call a demon next? I'd rather be like Eyad, who can spit flames like a flamethrower.

That's what I thought until I heard that spirit mages can call godlike spirits such as elemental kings; soul spirits such as the spirit of light and spirit of darkness included. It was a type of folklore on the entire continent.

"Muahaha." So I am a cheat after all. A grin floated on the tip of my lips. But how do I do that?

Our talk was so interesting that I didn't realize that we'd already arrived at our destination. I was getting more comfortable talking; my once stiff mouth could now make some tongue twisters. I could now prattle on for almost two hours straight on the road. Oh, how I missed my old communication skills.

"Princess, we are already here." Aron sounded tired. "But before that, let's remove the eye medicine. Could you please stay still and don't talk for a moment?"

Soon, I felt a shaking hand slowly removing the sludge of herbs blocking my sight. A small grin shadowed my lips. There's probably a big consequence if I turned blind. They won't get the money and would get trashed by the one who offered the mission. Heh, they're so nervous, it's funny. I can hear the gasping voices of Andre and Eyad. Maybe I should play with them a little.

The moment they removed everything covering my eyes, I slowly opened the metaphorical windows of the soul…

"C-can you see anything, Princess?" I heard gulping sounds echoing in the background. It was Eyad.

"I-I can't see anything, ugh, my eyes hurt. Am I blind?" I said, gasping for a breath, holding my eyes like some accursed chunni. Hah, I'll rate my acting 10-10-10. I learned this skill during my time in the company. When dealing with clients and bosses, the art of acting was a must. Bow before this drama queen, you peasants. I'm a goddess who finished hundreds of tear-stained drama movies and series. No other auntie can fight me in this field.

"Boss, we're dead! T-the archmage! I-I want to go home." The robed mage shook, his voice stuttering. Terror had built its ways on his entire face. "Ah, ah, why did I join such a risky mission? The archmage will kill us for this."

A pang of guilt struck me. Poor Eyad. I can also hear the wheezing breaths coming from the other two. They’re hyperventilating. It seemed like they're in too much shock. Gonna stop this special event. "Ah, I can see now? I almost thought I went blind."

Thud.

Shifting my head to the left, I saw Eyad dropped like a dead log. His two hands twining together, head lowered. I could lightly hear his shaky yet firm whispers. "Thank you, Gaia. From now on. I'm your devout believer. No atheistic mage or alchemist can stop me. Hell to them!"

[Ding! Gaia praises you for converting the incorrigible bastard. She welcomes the new zealot.]

Huh? The hell is this system saying? Did I just convert someone to a new faith that I don't even know? Wait, does that mean mages aren't believers of deities? Gaia was a type of goddess, it seemed. Oh, information get!

I giggled a little as I watched the three stooges sigh in relief, but as they shifted their gazes towards my eyes, their expressions went blank. The three froze like icicles, their mouths opening and closing as if they wished to say something but couldn't.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, giving the gaping men a questioning gaze.

Thud.

Once again, I saw Eyad falling, but this time like a dead man. "Huh?"

Seeing this, I sighed.

Darn! Why do men keep falling before me?