Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Whoosh—

“Ugh.”

A cold wind swept through my entire body.

I closed my eyes and groaned, thinking to myself.

Did I sleep with the window open last night? It couldn’t be that cold.

[Chaos tells you to wake up.]

…No, I didn’t sleep last night.

Before I lost consciousness, my last memory was…

Yes. The spirit world!

Flash.

I quickly lifted my upper body, opening my heavy eyelids.

[Chaos sighs in relief that you’ve finally snapped out of it.]

“How long have I been lying here?”

[Chaos says it hasn’t been that long.]

‘It’s a relief that I can communicate with Chaos at least.’

I tapped my cheeks to shake off the fatigue that had stuck to my face, then blinked and looked around.

“Wow…”

Swoosh—

Everything was green.

In the lush forest, the vibrant green leaves caught my eye.

As I stared at them absentmindedly, the wind, carrying the color of the leaves, caressed my hair.

The soil under my feet was not brown but a mysterious turquoise color, asserting its presence.

When I tilted my head back, even the sky was a blend of indigo and light green, illuminating everything with a mysterious color that couldn’t be seen in reality.

As I soaked in the sight that made my heart feel refreshed, I felt like the weariness I had accumulated from my adventures in this world was naturally healing.

‘Even if I don’t see any spirits, just being able to witness this sight is enough.’

Whoosh.

“Ugh.”

As I marveled and relaxed my body, a cold, sharp wind blew from somewhere unknown.

It reminded me of my situation, as if to say, ‘Don’t forget.’

‘Yes. I’ve had my moment of healing, now I need to find a spirit. I’m not going to live here for a thousand years. I need to move.’

But why am I naked again? Every time I fall somewhere, I end up naked.

Before I passed out, I saw a system window pop up with something about spiritualization. It must be because of that.

“Since it’s called the spirit world, there probably won’t be any other life forms, right? Don’t worry about it.”

[Chaos lewdly laughs, saying it’s a nice view.]

Damn, I’ll see you in my dreams. I’ll pinch those soft cheeks.

“To leave here, do I have to contract with a spirit as the trait tooltip says?”

[Chaos says that since you’ve seen something that ordinary humans can’t, there doesn’t seem to be any other way but to contract.]

I stood up straight.

Yes. I don’t know the direction or anything, so I’ll just keep walking forward.

.

.

.

Thud, thud.

After walking for about 30 minutes, I saw something.

“Kyu?”

Huh?

A semi-transparent squirrel with a light green body appeared.

It was the first life form I had seen since arriving in the spirit world, and it was definitely a spirit.

‘What should I do? Since it can run away, I need to approach it slowly to avoid alarming it.’

I made eye contact with the squirrel spirit and cautiously moved closer.

I slowly narrowed the distance, one step at a time.

[The spirit is affected by the energy of the Chaos Dragon mixed with your blood, due to the trait ‘Soul of the Chaos Dragon’.]

[The lower-level wind spirit Philo is terrified.]

“Kyaaa!”

Thud, thud!

“Ah.”

I froze in a reaching-out position.

Why did it say ‘affected by the energy’?

Wait a minute. Could this be a fuck-up?

‘If I can’t make a contract, I won’t be able to return to reality, but the lower-level spirit I’m aiming for is running away because of another trait?

“No, maybe that individual was just a bit unusual. Maybe it was particularly sensitive to other energies.”

[Chaos is sweating profusely.]

…

The result… was the same.

“Kyaaak!”

[The lower-level wind spirit Kanki resists.]

The weasel-like spirit, spreading its arms in threat.

“Ts, jjaek…”

[The lower-level wind spirit Piel is terrified.]

The small bird-like spirit, either a chick or a sparrow, trembling in fear.

“Chirp.”

[The lower-level wind spirit Timmy’s body stiffens.]

Even the mouse spirit stiffened, pretending to be dead. I walked past it without touching it, as I felt that if I did, it would die for real, not just in pretense.

“Pyoooh—!”

[The intermediate-level wind spirit Haku senses danger.]

The eagle-like intermediate-level spirit I encountered first spread its wings and flew towards me, then quickly changed direction and disappeared into the distance.

Damn. Even the intermediate-level spirit didn’t want anything to do with me.

“No, what should I do now? I can’t see a solution.”

[Chaos covers her head.]

“Damn, yes. There must be at least one spirit in the spirit world that would welcome a contract with me.”

Since I’m in a spiritualized state, I don’t feel hungry or tired. I have no choice but to keep walking.

Just as I was about to take another step forward, I heard a voice from behind me.

“No, there will be no spirit that will welcome a contract with you.”

Huh?

I turned around immediately, surprised to hear such a sweet voice from behind.

“Ugh. Disgusting.”

In front of me was a person, or a spirit, as beautiful as her voice.

She extended her arm and pointed her index finger at my lower body.

Whoosh.

“Hmm. It’s better when it’s covered. Does it hurt?”

“Y-yes. Excuse me, but are you a spirit too?”

She nodded.

“Of course I’m a spirit. In the spirit world, you are the only non-spirit. I’m curious as to how a human can enter the spirit world in a spiritualized state.”

That seemed to be the case. By the way, should I keep calling her a spirit?

“I didn’t come here on my own accord. …May I ask what I should call you? Don’t spirits have their own names?”

She pressed her index finger against her lower lip and opened her mouth.

“Hmm, okay. There’s no need to hide it. You can call me Sirene.”

“I understand. So, Sirene, you said there’s no spirit that would welcome a contract with me? Not even a single lower-level spirit?”

“Unfortunately, not even the ones above that level.”

I asked why, and Sirene calmly responded.

“Ordinary dragons are already a source of fear for spirits, but you have the mixed energy of a dragon with opposing forces within you.”

She shook her head.

I could already guess what she was going to say next.

“To put it simply, you will never be able to benefit from anything related to spirits.”

“So… my spirit affinity is zero?”

“No, it’s even lower than that.”

The confirmation hit me like a blow to the head.

“But I never intended to enter the spirit world in the first place. To leave here, I need to contract with a spirit. Are you saying I can never leave?”

There was no guarantee that I would survive here indefinitely.

If my physical body outside were to wither and die, my spiritualized self might disappear as well. How could she be so sure?

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

‘This doesn’t seem like a problem that can be solved so easily.’

Sirene continued, “Instead, I’ll take care of it so that you can leave immediately. But after that, don’t come back to the spirit world unless it’s related to me. Unless something else happens, of course.”

“That’s easier said than done. I don’t even know how to enter on my own.”

And even if I did, why would I want to when every spirit I see avoids me?

‘Hmm. Lumia has been living with this kind of life all this time. I wouldn’t have been able to endure it. I’ll have to tell her how impressive she is when I get back.’

I asked Sirene, “So, what’s this method you mentioned? Can I do it right now?”

“Yes. But…”

Sirene hesitated, which didn’t match her expressionless face.

“Huff. I have no choice. I can’t let the spirits continue to be affected and disturbed. Consider it an honor, and stand there.”

What was she trying to do?

Thud.

Sirene came close enough for me to feel her breath.

“This won’t work like this. Kneel down.”

I did as she said and knelt on one knee.

‘This feels like some kind of ordination ceremony. Is she going to give me a symbol that will allow me to escape, or is she going to bestow a blessing on me?’

“This is the first and last time I’ll do this. As soon as you stand up, erase it from your mind immediately.”

Why was she taking so long to do whatever she was doing?

She brushed my bangs aside and kissed my forehead.

Huh?

???

[You have acquired the trait ‘Whisper of the Breeze’.]

[Whisper of the Breeze] [P]

The user has been permanently marked by the kiss of Sirene, the highest-level wind spirit, in a way that is invisible to the naked eye.

The user is temporarily treated as a spirit instead of a spiritualized being in the spirit world.

-Cannot be removed by any means.

-Can enter and exit the spirit world.

-Weak wind resistance granted.

-Spirits’ favor increases slightly.

________________________________________

[Chaos yells in anger.]

[Chaos jumps up and down in place, shouting.]

I rubbed the center of my forehead, where the sensation of the kiss still lingered.

She kissed a man she just met on the forehead to send him away for the sake of the lower-level spirits?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be like this.”

Sirene rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.

“No, it’s not a big deal. Don’t apologize for a kiss on the forehead. And remember what I said earlier. I won’t say what will happen if you disobey.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. I promise.”

“Now, close your eyes and strongly imagine the large passage that you fell through to get here. You’ll return to where you were before, and if you feel something different, open your eyes.”

I thanked her and closed my eyes.

“May fortune be with you on your journey.”

“Tha—”

Whoosh!

I instinctively felt it. I was back.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the dimly lit room.

‘The feeling of my knees touching something. I must have fallen on the bed.’

Even though I was in a spiritualized state, I felt a sudden surge of fatigue throughout my body, as if my mental energy had been drained.

How could so many things happen in just a few days?

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die.”

[Chaos sighs, saying it was necessary to survive.]

In the end, I failed to make a contract with a spirit. What is this?

Anyway, let’s forget about the failure.

Now, all I have to do is train at the Order and the inn until I enter the dungeon, right?

I lay on the bed and thought.

‘No, I also need to keep visiting the guild to check for bounty rewards and get my gauntlet repaired.’

That’s not all. I still have a lot to learn.

I need to acquire knowledge and information about the dungeon and the outside world, not just the basic knowledge that every adventurer is expected to know.

So, I’ll have to visit the library from time to time during the remaining period.

‘Evelyn will be focused on her sister, so even if I visit the library every day, she won’t be able to help me much.’

I’ll have to go back and forth between the inn, the Order, the guild, and the library.

It’s a tight schedule.

But I have to do it. To survive any irrational situations, I need to be prepared.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

‘I have a feeling that time will pass quickly from tomorrow.’

As soon as my vision went dark, a strong wave of sleepiness washed over me.