I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 12

—–CROW—– 

[Encounter with Silphy: A Review]

– Author: ShurikenMaster

Today, we had a joint practice session with another class, and I was lucky enough to see Silphy in person. Now I understand why everyone raves about her. Wow, she’s absolutely stunning.  Honestly, she looks more elven than the elves in our class.  She’s also really kind. Silphy even shared some fruit with our team.

– I’m so jealous.

– Silphy is pretty magnanimous.

– Very open-minded.

– But Silphy is a spirit, right?  So she must have lived in ancient times too?

└ Oh, Silphy in ancient times? I’m curious.

└ Agreed.

└ Do you think the Gallery Master would ask her to post about it if he saw this?

└ You’re a genius.

I remember reading a post like that one day.

Silphy. The Wind Spirit King. In the game, she was contracted to a young girl.  Known for her benevolent heart, she was like a second parent to the girl, caring for her when her parents were away.  Her elven beauty only added to her popularity, which honestly surpassed that of the girl she was contracted to.

So why bring this up now?

Because my image of Silphy had been shattered.  Who knew that Silphy in ancient times had a personality 180 degrees different from what we imagined?

Whoosh.

“Ssssaaa.”

I had no memory of being dragged deeper into the cave by an unknown force.  The sudden surge of mana had overwhelmed our preparations, knocking us unconscious in an instant.  And when I woke up, I couldn’t move. Every joint in my body ached and throbbed, as if I’d been beaten with a club.

“What the…”

What was going on?  I had been forcibly dragged here by what I suspected was a spirit. I’d lost consciousness from the intense mana, and now I couldn’t even move.

“Meowww.”

“Sss.”

“Hey, are you alright?”

I wasn’t alone.  Hearing the familiar meow beside me, I felt a sense of relief. We started off on bad terms, but I didn’t want it to die at the hands of someone else.

“But it seems to be in a similar state.”

The cat’s meow was weaker than usual, indicating that it was in a similar predicament.

Wiggle.

I couldn’t even turn my head.  What was I supposed to do in this situation?  The uncertainty of how long we could withstand the mana and how long it would take to adapt was frustrating.

– What’s this?  Why are they like this?

Just as I was feeling lost and helpless,

A strange voice drifted through the air, as if carried by the wind.

“A human voice?”

There couldn’t be a human here. Who was it?

– Oh! Can you hear me now?  Nod your head if you can.

“I can’t even lift my head, how am I supposed to nod?”

Did this person even think?  It seemed the owner of the voice didn’t understand our situation.

“Sss…”

– Ah, is it because you can’t move?

Yes, that was it!  I couldn’t exactly nod vigorously, but I made a sound to indicate that it was correct.

“Sss! Sss!”

“Meow?”

– Hmm. This is troublesome. Then how about this…

Whoosh.

A gentle breeze enveloped us. Unlike the forceful wind that had pushed us deeper into the cave, this wind was soft and soothing, creating a small space around us.

– How is it?  Are you feeling better now?

Whoosh!

“This is!”

I was fine! I could move again!

Ssssss.

The wind formed a protective barrier around us, shielding us from the oppressive mana.

Hop.

“Meow!”

“Sss!”

– Mmm! You seem fine now!

We had regained our freedom.  We simultaneously turned our heads towards the voice, which sounded oddly pleased with itself.

“Sss?”

“Who is that?”

A small girl with green hair, blue eyes, and long, elf-like ears.  Familiar.  Her appearance evoked a nostalgic feeling from a familiar past. But she looked much younger than the one in my memory.

– Hello everyone! I’m Silphy, a Lower Spirit!

‘I knew it.’

Silphy, the Wind Spirit King.  But perhaps because this was the past, she held the lowest rank among spirits, Lower Spirit, instead of her future title.

‘She’ll probably become the Spirit King by the time the main story starts.’

A Lower Spirit becoming the Spirit King.  I immediately wrote a post on the gallery.

[Question about Spirits]

– Author: YonggariSnack

How long does it take for a Lower Spirit to reach Spirit King?

– ?

– Why are you suddenly asking about spirits?

– Doesn’t it take at least tens of thousands of years?

└ There’s only one Spirit King per element, so even if you want to rank up, it’s impossible if there’s no vacancy.

– But wouldn’t it be faster if you have talent?

└ Yeah. It varies depending on talent, but my spirit ranked up from Mid to High in just 10 years.

└ Wow, your spirit has some talent.

└ That’s because his achievement was spirit-related LOL.

– Wouldn’t it be even faster in ancient times?

└ Probably?

└ I don’t know LOL.

‘Tens of thousands of years. Even considering ancient times and talent, it would still take hundreds, if not thousands of years.’

Damn. Just how long would that take?  It hit me again.  The sheer difference in time between the era I was in and the modern era of the original story.

– What? It suddenly perked up and then slumped again. That’s really strange.  Isn’t it?

“Hiss!”

– Hey! I helped you, and you’re glaring at me?!

Rumble.

“Sss?”

“Wh-What’s that?”

Startled by the sudden tremor, I snapped out of my thoughts.  Silphy waved her hand dismissively.

– Ah, don’t worry. It’s coming from deeper inside. It’s safe here.

Come to think of it, how far did this cave extend? I turned my head slightly and looked into the seemingly endless depths of the cave.  Even though I thought we had come quite far, the path continued further inward.  Just where did this cave end?

– Even I have trouble moving freely in there.  Asild-nim forbade anyone below Mid-rank Spirit from entering.

Asild. I knew that name.  He was one of the Peak Spirits who protected Silphy in the original story.  She had turned her former superior into her guard.  This just further proved Silphy’s talent.

“Sss.”

“But why were we dragged here?”

The Silphy I knew would never do something like this… I didn’t understand.  This wasn’t the Silphy I knew.  The Spirit King Silphy in my memories and the Lower Spirit Silphy in front of me felt like completely different beings.

– Don’t be so stiff!  Both you, snake friend, and you, tiger lady!

“Sss?”

“What?”

Snake friend was referring to me. But tiger lady?  Who was that?  No, I knew.  There was only one other being here besides me.

“Meow?”

‘That cat is a tiger?’

Where did she get that idea?! I knew what a tiger cub looked like.  And this was definitely a cat, not a tiger!

“Meow.”

See? It just meowed. Meow! A tiger should roar or growl. But it only made cat sounds: meow, hiss.

‘Maybe Silphy is mistaken.’

She was still a Lower Spirit, so maybe she couldn’t tell the difference between a tiger and a cat.

– I guess it’s because it has strong Cat Spirit blood.  It definitely looks more like a cat than a tiger! Much cuter!

Silphy’s explanation immediately refuted my assumption.  According to her, the creature I thought was a cat was actually a mix of Tiger Spirit and Cat Spirit blood.  It currently resembled a cat because the Cat Spirit blood was more dominant, but as it grew, the Tiger Spirit blood would become stronger, and it would gradually transform into a tiger.

‘So, it’s a silver-spooned creature with a direct ticket to becoming a mythical creature?’

That explained its abnormal growth rate.  Well, a creature born between spirits should be this strong.

‘And the Lion’s Roar makes sense too.’

Of course, a creature with Tiger Spirit blood would be able to learn it.  Hoping that I might also have some hidden spirit blood, I looked at Silphy with anticipation, but unfortunately, I wasn’t that special.

“Sss.”

– Don’t worry!  You’re still incredibly smart!  You’re a bit like a monkey!

‘Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?’

With those strange words that sounded like a compliment to a snake but an insult to a human, we slowly began to float as Silphy manipulated the wind.

– Hehe. Now, let’s go to my home!  I stopped for a bit because you two were struggling, but you seem fine now!

Wait, wasn’t this her home?  Looking around, there really wasn’t anything here.  But the only path here led deeper inside.  Silphy said she couldn’t go there, so where were we going?

– You can look forward to it.  You’re the first guests to my home.

We moved about three adult human steps further into the cave.

– Here we are!  We’ve arrived!

‘…?’

—–CROW—–