87. Spirit Magic

Shiro returned to the royal castle and requested an emergency meeting be called immediately.

Gathering before him, Shiro reported with calm detachment.

— The main concentrations of monsters are in the northeast sector of the capital. They're spread throughout the region.

— Right now they're scattered, but for some reason, they're gradually gathering and moving toward the capital.

— The primary monsters identified are as follows.

— Wyvern: five

— Giant Mammoth: three

— Giant Boa Mage: approximately thirty

— Mad Boa: approximately three hundred

— Forest Boa: approximately three hundred

— Prairie Wolf: approximately one thousand

— Forest Wolf: approximately one thousand

— Giant Hedgehog: approximately one hundred

— Lightning Cat: approximately one hundred

— Giga Turtle: one

"Wait—what? Giga Turtle?"

"A Wyvern, and a Giant Mammoth?"

The assembled faces turned ashen. This was the kind of threat that could level a city under normal circumstances.

Shiro requested a full lockdown of the northeast sector of the capital, closure of related roads, and the sealing of the dungeon.

The unanimous decision was to mobilize three hundred knights, fifty mages, and enforce mandatory summoning of Adventurer Guild members ranked C or higher.

"Time-wise, we should be safe for another three days. So stay calm, but don’t let your guard down. Let’s prepare quickly, but keep our heads."

Shiro urged everyone to remain composed.

The battlefield would be the northeast sector of the capital—a small, open plain of about two kilometers. There was no other flat area large enough in the direction of the monsters’ movement.

◇

“Shiro, by the way, I managed to create that external-execution-type upper-tier spirit.”

Mid-preparation for the final battle, Mitoka suddenly told Shiro.

“Wait—suddenly? Now?”

“Not exactly sudden. I’d been working on it for a while, but I managed to finish it just in time for this fight.”

“That’s a relief. So I can rely on additional simultaneous spellcasting now?”

“Yes, exactly. Plus, it converts mana from its own reserves. So it won’t drain your magic, and the impact on combat duration should be minimal.”

“Wait—really? So that’s how spirit magic works?”

“No, no, regular upper-tier spirits can’t do that. This one’s special. I built it by drawing on parts of both my soul and yours.”

“Wait—what? You mean that’s how it’s made? I mean… can you actually do that…? Eh, whatever. I trusted you, so I’ll take it. You’re the expert.”

Mitoka suddenly flushed slightly.

“Ah, I’m joking. Well, metaphorically speaking. I’ve allocated a portion of our core frequencies to manage the upper-tier spirit. And by selectively using a fragment of your soul-link, I’ve boosted its capabilities—enough to allow feats beyond what normal upper-tier spirits can do,” Mitoka explained.

Spirit magic was essentially distributed, concurrent execution—like running a program on a spirit.

An upper-tier spirit could command twelve mid-tier spirits. Each mid-tier spirit could command twelve lower-tier spirits. So, theoretically, that meant 12 × 12 = 144 simultaneous activations.

“Plus, I made three more. So total, 432 simultaneous activations. And since it’s an external upper-tier spirit, when not using homing, it can double as a familiar—just like a spirit-bound talisman.”

“Sounds interesting,” Shiro replied.

"And as a Spirit King, I can command twelve upper-tier spirits. So, twelve hundred and eighty simultaneous activations are possible. Combined with you, that’s two thousand one hundred and sixty simultaneous activations," Mitoka said, smirking.

Shiro thought, *Cute smile, but the words are terrifying.*

If you found this interesting, please consider rating, bookmarking, or leaving a comment—it really helps!