NOVPUBSpirits are beings born of nature.
They have existed since the primordial age of the great natural world, and naturally, they have lived in this world far longer than humans.
Spirits, derived from nature, retain the very power of nature itself.
For that reason, they are strong, beautiful—and the purest beings of all.
And the only two emotions spirits feel toward humans are:
Affinity and indifference.
Thus, spirits determine whether or not to form a contract with a human based solely on curiosity.
Even if the person is a cruel villain, even if others point fingers at them in condemnation, the spirit simply doesn’t care.
Because before the great force of nature, the human concept of good and evil is less than a speck of dust.
Nature does not fear humanity.
Humans, too, are part of nature. Just another element of the world.
Therefore, spirits born of nature have no reason to fear humans, who are also part of it.
And yet—
That very phenomenon was happening right before her eyes.
Spirits were feeling fear... toward a human.
As far as Selina knew, there had never been a case like this. Not even once.
“Ludger... sir? W-What exactly is going on here...?”
“Miss Selina. There’s no need to be so surprised.”
Ludger spoke calmly as he noticed Selina staring at him like he was some bizarre creature. He figured it was best to try and soothe her a little.
“There are all kinds of people in the world. It’s not too strange that there might be someone whom spirits find unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant... to spirits?”
“Yes. I just happen to be one of those peculiar cases.”
The excuse Ludger gave was, frankly, too feeble to even be called an excuse.
But it was the best one he could offer.
Because he couldn’t possibly reveal the truth about his real ‘constitution’.
If there was one stroke of luck—
“R-Really?”
—it was that Selina seemed to believe him.
Of course, Selina wasn’t completely naïve.
There are limits to how innocent a person can be. Even she wouldn’t normally believe something that absurd.
Under ordinary circumstances, that is.
But if the one saying it was Ludger... the story changed.
Ludger was an enigma.
Since his appointment to Seorn, he had displayed a level of skill and composure unthinkable for a fellow new instructor.
Among the many stories surrounding him, perhaps the most famous was the creation of a completely new form of magic—[Source Code].
Creating new magic.
Even Selina, a teacher herself, felt like a student again whenever she saw Ludger’s work.
That was the key.
Even if the same words are spoken, the person saying them determines how persuasive they are.
And to Selina, Ludger was someone whose words carried weight—no matter what he said.
“Besides, you’ll notice—it’s only the lower-grade spirits that avoid me. The others don’t react like that.”
“Um... But the only ones around here are lower-grade spirits, though?”
“In that case, Miss Selina, why not check on your own contracted spirits?”
The spirits currently floating about were all lower to lowest-grade.
Selina, on the other hand, was a young instructor recruited by Seorn precisely because of her excellence—and had contracted with at least mid-grade spirits.
Not just of one attribute either. Among her mid-grade spirits were ones of water, wind, and earth—three in total.
“Ah.”
Just as Ludger said.
Though invisible to others, her contracted spirits were definitely there, surrounding her.
Three mid-grade spirits.
Unlike the lower-grade ones, they showed no sign of fearing Ludger.
In fact, the mid-grade spirits—visible only to her—seemed confused by the reactions of the lower-grade ones.
“Well? What do you think?”
“Oh? You’re right. The mid-grade ones I’m contracted with are totally calm.”
Selina's eyes sparkled with fascination at this newfound discovery.
“But it’s so strange! I’ve never seen lower-grade spirits act like this toward anyone before.”
She leaned in toward Ludger, face curious.
Ludger instinctively leaned his upper body slightly backward.
“There are all sorts of people in the world.”
“That’s too bad. It would’ve been nice if you could get along with spirits too, Ludger.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, Miss Selina, are you sure it’s all right to be spending so much time with me? The students are waiting.”
“Huh? Oh no! Right, the test! Thank you, Ludger!”
“Think nothing of it.”
Ludger let out a silent breath of relief as he watched her hurry back toward the students to assist with their spirit contracts.
If it had been anyone other than Selina, they might have started asking dangerous questions about his identity.
‘Good thing I’m not low on mana right now.’
Ludger was fully aware that the spirits were afraid of him.
But if one asked whether it was him they feared—he would answer no.
What the lower-grade spirits were truly afraid of was not Ludger himself, but the strange ‘something’ they saw behind him.
‘Thankfully, with my mana fully charged, it seems mid-grade spirits and above can’t perceive it.’
However, if he ever fell low on mana—
And if that dreadful [Noise] began to echo in his head again—
Then even the mid-grade spirits would start reacting.
In that case, not even an excuse could cover things up, not with Selina watching.
‘So even at peak condition, lower-grade spirits are sensitive to it... How ironic. The weakest beings are the ones who can sense this bizarre force.’
Crunch.
Standing far away from the students, Ludger quietly chewed and swallowed a mana-recovery pill, careful not to be noticed.
His gaze drifted toward Selina, who was now praising a student for successfully forming a spirit contract.
She was genuinely happy for the student’s success, as if it were her own.
‘Still... is Miss Selina only contracted with mid-grade spirits?’
From what was known, she had three—one each for water, wind, and earth.
That alone was impressive, certainly.
But as a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ teacher at Seorn, Ludger had assumed she would have one more hidden trump card.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a strange sensation.
'A gaze.'
Ludger narrowed his eyes.
Without moving his head, he shifted his eyes and traced the source of the gaze directed at him.
'Where?'
It wasn’t from the students. The direction was clearly beyond them—between the densely packed trees.
Yet, just like a thick fog cloaking the forest, the exact origin was hard to pinpoint.
'A spirit?'
Lower-grade spirits wouldn’t dare come near him out of fear.
Mid-grade spirits hovered only near Selina.
'A strange heat riding the gaze... This one’s powerful.'
Yes. It was definitely a fire spirit.
A mere flicker of its attention was enough to raise the surrounding air temperature.
At minimum—a high-grade spirit.
And “high-grade” wasn’t just a title. Such spirits held the power equivalent to a 5th-circle mage at least. The stronger ones could even reach the 6th circle.
And the gaze staring at him was filled with wariness.
'A high-grade fire spirit appearing at the edge of the Illusory Forest? Impossible.'
Especially in a forest like this. Spirits dwelling here are typically those of plants, light, water, wind, and earth.
Fire spirits dwell in hot places—volcanic regions or deserts.
And yet, here was a high-grade fire spirit in the outer rim of a forest.
'The other students don’t seem to notice it at all.'
Even Selina, normally the most sensitive to spirits, wasn’t reacting.
'It’s not a naturally occurring entity. Someone is controlling it.'
The gaze—it wasn’t just watching. It was evaluating him. Judging what kind of person he was.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Could it be that the spirit, feared by others, was trying to confirm whether this human was truly dangerous?
Ludger found the situation mildly irritating, but he had no intention of letting that show.
‘Is there someone else in this forest controlling the spirit? Or is it someone hiding among the students, manipulating it from within?’
He couldn’t be sure yet.
And if he tried to confirm the fire spirit’s identity by exerting his power, it would flee immediately.
For now, he had no choice but to let it watch and evaluate him at its leisure.
‘Someone who can summon a high-grade spirit while concealing their identity...’
A spirit studies instructor in charge of upperclassmen?
Highly unlikely. The way the gaze was openly fixed on him made the answer all but obvious.
First Order.
A high-ranking officer of the Black Dawn Society, hidden within Seorn.
Whether it was a man or a woman, student or teacher—
He still hadn’t confirmed. But unlike the others from Black Dawn, this one might actually notice something was off about him. A person to be wary of.
‘Why are they suddenly looking at me like this? Are they trying to send some kind of signal?’
Then what would happen if he responded?
Reacting too openly could backfire.
The other party was a First Order—an executive of a secretive organization. Even their internal contacts would be cautious.
So, what should he do?
On a hunch, Ludger opened his mouth.
“It’s a bit warm today.”
A quiet, casual murmur—spoken like someone muttering to himself.
To anyone watching, it looked like nothing more than idle words.
But to the one watching him, the message was received loud and clear.
‘There it is. A reaction.’
He felt it.
For a brief moment, the air around him rippled.
A clear sign that the spirit—or more accurately, its summoner—had heard him.
But Ludger didn’t say anything further.
By keeping silent, he drew a firm line: that was the extent of his response.
‘Now then. What will you do?’
It didn’t matter if there was no response.
Regardless, Ludger had gained something crucial—confirmation that the other party was indeed controlling a high-grade fire spirit.
Still, no further response came, even as time passed.
Ludger began to feel a flicker of unease. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
‘If they’re summoning a high-grade spirit, then to provoke a reaction, should I release one of the seals?’
“Seal” sounded impressive, but in truth, it was a mental barrier forged from his own mana.
A safeguard he maintained to suppress a certain eerie ‘source’ within him.
The source.
The true reason the lower-grade spirits were afraid of him.
They didn’t fear Ludger himself.
Strictly speaking, what they feared was the power that dwelled within him.
‘It’s not like I wanted this power...’
Could he even say he possessed it?
This source was beyond Ludger’s control. He couldn’t remove it—and ignoring it was even more impossible.
If he didn’t constantly maintain his mana levels, that source would try to devour him from the inside out.
That’s why he routinely took mana pills, keeping himself at peak magical condition at all times.
He currently had three seals in place.
So far, only the lower-grade spirits had reacted.
‘If my guess is right... each time I release one, the spirits of higher ranks will begin to perceive it.’
To affect a high-grade spirit, he might have to remove two of the three.
That was not something Ludger welcomed.
Releasing two seals just to test the other party?
Even a single one would mean hearing that wretched, static-like voice again.
If he released the second—
He’d start to feel their touch.
And the third—
His teacher had begged him never to release it, not even at the cost of his own life.
What might happen if he did... even Ludger couldn’t begin to imagine.
‘How the hell did it come to this?’
Suddenly, a memory from his previous life came to mind.
Something his mother used to say.
That all kinds of beings were watching him.
He hadn’t believed her back then—but ever since coming to this world, he had felt it in his bones every single day.
That’s what pissed him off. These memories, unwanted and buried, kept being dragged to the surface.
And then, it happened.
Fwoosh.
Before Ludger’s eyes, a tiny ember appeared and quickly shifted into a string of letters.
Even faced with such a scene, Ludger didn’t flinch. He had already mentally prepared himself.
Calmly, he read the words etched in flame.
‘So. They were just as impatient as I was. Took the initiative, did they?’
[Three days later. After dismissal. Same place.]
The First Order he had been searching for... had just made the first move.
