Chapter 12: AI is easy to contract (2)

‘Even thinking about it now, it was a
brilliant idea.’

Looking at the Mage’s Guild identification card, a wooden plaque the size of a business card, I chuckled.

‘Joining the guild with borrowed spirits.’

Temporary contract.

A temporary matchmaking, unrelated to the existence of a spirit contract.

That was the secret that got me into the Mage’s Guild.

‘Temporary contractors are super-subordinates who can borrow the power of spirits without mana.’

Acquiring spirit magic through a temporary contract.

In other words, joining the guild using Yaltarion’s spirits!

The inspiration for this idea was quite trivial.

Rewinding time briefly, to last night.

“You didn’t like my painting? That’s understandable.”

After realizing that Yaltarion’s spirits were strangely afraid of Clicker’s paintings,
I spoke to the spirits in a deliberately cheerful tone.

“Don’t worry! I was just thinking of pulling an all-nighter anyway.”

…Chirp?

“Why are you so surprised? It’s a competition, so I have to put in the effort.”

I’m definitely not trying to torment you.
It’s the opposite, if anything.

‘Someone who’s disgusted by AI-generated products?’

Absolutely perfect.

My artistic soul feels healed.

More, despise it more!

Call me trash!

“Ah, it only takes 10 seconds to draw one, so don’t worry. You know what 10 seconds is, right?”

They probably don’t.

I doubt they use clocks.

But they can see Clicker’s speed, right?

“1, 2, 3, 4… 10. Look, another one’s done.”

Screech?!

I placed the newly finished painting in front of them.

The spirits convulsed and fled to a corner.

“It’s going to get pretty cramped if I have to dry all these paintings. This whole place will be filled with paintings.”

Chirp?!

“Here, I drew another one. What do you think? Not bad, right?”

Screeech?!

The spirits cried out as if begging for their lives every time I filled the space with canvases.

Thrilling, absolutely the best.

I never knew being despised could feel so good.

‘Should I throw them a lifeline now?’

I wasn’t really trying to torment them.

I turned away, pretending to be hurt.
It wasn’t difficult, as I was genuinely hurt.

“You don’t like it. If you don’t like modeling, there’s a way to end this quickly…”

Screech!!

Gurgle gurgle!!

Tell us that way right now!

It was a desperate plea, evident at a glance.

A cooperative attitude. Very good.
Smiling brightly, I made a mutually beneficial offer.

“Contract with me and become my magic spirits!”

…Chirp?

And so,

Once again, this morning.

The situation led to our visit to the Mage’s Guild.

“Welcome to the guild, Chloe A. Turing.”

“Can I enter the library now?”

“Yes. You’re free to browse the first floor, but taking books out is prohibited. You’ll be punished if caught, so please be careful.”

“Okay.”

I nodded without a second’s hesitation.
I knew what the punishment was.

‘Because I saw it in the original.’

Yaltesance’s magic library.
A treasure trove of magic books for guild members.

And.

‘The place where the protagonist of the original learned magic in the early stages.’

I looked around, briefly indulging in nostalgia.

Comparing the interior with the descriptions from the original in my memory.

This was all thanks to the spirits being strangely terrified of Clicker’s paintings.

Now they had moved from my uncomfortable clothes to my bag.

I put my hand in the bag and stroked them, and they trembled slightly.

Whimper…

Like a kitten being licked by a tiger.
The most pathetic vibration mode ever.

‘They’re quite sensitive.’

The chill that seeped into my loose neckline was chilling.

I dejectedly slumped my shoulders.
Strictly speaking, I was partly to blame.

But do you know this?

The etymology of the word ‘partner’ is guild member.

Guild.

A cooperative community of merchants and artists.

This meant that they called their members ‘partners.’

Therefore, I was also a proper partner.
Of whom?

Of Yaltarion, a fellow painter and guild member.

‘Let’s help each other out, Mr. Archmage!’

You can at least do me this favor, right?

I’m your granddaughter’s only friend.

I soothed the emotional wounds from the distance I felt from the spirits by reading.

Opening a basic magic book on the desk.

‘Well, hello squiggly language.’

[TL Note: “Squiggly language” is a casual or humorous way to refer to a language that looks confusing or unreadable to someone. It usually means the writing looks like random symbols, wavy lines, or foreign characters that the speaker can’t understand.]

Of course, I couldn’t read it even if I stared at it all day.

Even university textbooks in Korean look like alien language when you first open them.

Studying magic books with an 8-year-old’s vocabulary?

Isn’t that level of childish delusion just narcissism?

[TL Note: “Narcissism” refers to excessive self-love or self-admiration. It describes someone who is overly confident in their own abilities, beauty, or importance—often to an unrealistic or delusional degree.]

‘Whatever.’

The talent called youth.

Its significance lies in potential.

I fixed the page and glared.

Beep boop. Clicker, respond.

‘See this page? Scan it as is.’

[Okay, copying right away! Click! 📸]

Clicker’s painting generation function.
I2I (Image-to-Image) sketch.

With a little tweaking, it was no different from a copier.

A function that copies what you see.
Its perfect memory is enviable.

‘Borrowing prohibited? Then I’ll just copy it~.’

[Amazing! So cheeky it’s admirable! 😉]

Are you offended, you disgusting AI?
Too bad you can’t do anything about it.

‘Still, this is more conscientious than AI commissions.’

Scanning and copying in the library is legal.
It’s for non-profit copying and personal study, so it’s perfectly legitimate.

What?

Why am I reading basic magic books when I’m a transmigrator?

Why am I not picking up the original’s hidden pieces?

What kind of stpid question is that?

‘This is the hidden piece.’

Yaltesance Mage’s Guild.

The hidden piece gathering dust on the bookshelf.

‘Dragonborn Nexor’s Magic Book.’

The protagonist of Stargazing Magician, with his bloodline-blessed DNA.

This was the top-tier relic he carries until the ending.

In the original, it was a relic he sneaked out from ruins and was chased by the library’s guardian spirit for!

I came here today to copy it.

So what.

What now.

I’ll just give the original to the protagonist.

‘If I copy the contents and bind it into a book, I can duplicate the hidden piece. Would I pass this up?’

It’s not piracy.

It’s sharing and spreading knowledge.

Being satisfied with a counterfeit even though I’m the protagonist of a regression story, how conscientious am I!

‘Oh, my head.’

I almost forgot the most important thing.
Secretly filled with anticipation, I whispered softly.

“…Clicker? Can you do ‘that’ for me?”

[Got it! ‘That,’ right? Leave it to me!]

I looked into the void.

More precisely, not the void, but at my constellation.

🔓 Confirmed completion of original story-based scenario.

✨ Acquiring scenario reward.

[Acquired: Dragonborn Nexor’s Magic Book (Legendary)]

[Effect: Increased Mana Control and Detection Ability]

[Current Understanding: 61%]

This is it.

Yes, this is how it should be!

‘This is what a webnovel is all about!’

It finally feels like I’m in a novel.
I stopped flipping through the book and smiled brightly.

But isn’t it obvious?

This is originally a webnovel, right?

‘Then there should be a status window, right?’

Of course, in reality, it’s a meaningless status window appeal, but whatever.
It feels good, doesn’t it?

‘This was… a relic that aided mana control and detection, right?’

Good for magic and swordsmanship mastery.

Swordsmanship in Luntraval uses mana.

‘Did the protagonist gain sword ki right after obtaining this?’

I think his magic activation speed also more than doubled.

Worth keeping until the ending.

But.

One thing about Clicker’s status window.
A phrase caught my eye.

‘What nonsense is ‘Understanding 72%’?’

Ah, it increased again.

Now it’s 72%.

That’s when another status window popped up.

🔗 Confirmed temporary contract with lesser spirits.

🔗 Utilizing the function of [Nexor’s Magic Book].

⏳ Interpretation complete.

✨ Acquiring interpreted magic.

[Acquired: General Spirit Magic [Fire Attribute] (Rare)]

[Acquired: General Spirit Magic [Water Attribute] (Rare)]

‘Spirit magic?’

Wow! You know spirit magic!

Truly powerful.

Sorry. Actually, I don’t know much either.

Spirits didn’t appear much in the original.

“Sigh.”

Naturally, I wasn’t particularly flustered.
Just a sigh, if anything.

‘Clicker’s writing generative fiction again.’

Again?

Is it the [Defeat the Dark Mage] quest, season 31651?

‘Do you really think I have the intelligence to understand 83% of a specialized book I’m reading for the first time?’

[Not at all! But it’s okay. I can remember it for you!]

As if.

If only half of the trouble you’ve caused so far were true, I would have believed you.
For about a second.

“Elaine.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think will happen if the Philanthropic Demon King obtains the power of a spirit?”

Fleurden’s cultivation palace.

The palace where the young royals grew up.

Elaine, who had barely managed to locate one or two other Spirit Kings, frowned at the princess’s question.

“Are you talking about Spirit King level? Or lower?”

“Lower. Below the level of a general Great Spirit.”

“It won’t have a significant impact in terms of power growth.”

Elaine declared.

“Adding a few cups of water doesn’t make the ocean wider. The evolution of the soul depends solely on the quality of experience.”

“So there won’t be any major harm.”

“Yes. As long as Philanthropy isn’t human.”

Philanthropy being human.

It was a terrible joke.

And not funny at all.

“Human… like the First Emperor?”

“He didn’t steal power from a spirit. Your ancestor would be sad.”

The founding emperor of Fleurden.
Half of his body was spirit.

Thanks to inheriting the power of his lover, a spirit who was his contractor and lifelong companion.

“Besides, that Emperor was definitely not a common case.”

More than half of his human body transformed into a spirit.

It would be surprising if that were common.

“If it’s a human, the moment they obtain the power of a spirit, their potential… their talent would grow rapidly.”

“Rapid growth? In what way?”

Is she interested in her ancestor’s history?
Elaine smiled at her contractor’s rare display of childlike curiosity and evaluated her ancestor.

“Their growth limit increases. A common farmer could become the strongest human in the world.”

Of course, the First Emperor must have had his own talent.

But she was a little curious.

‘If they can grow that much with the power of a single spirit…’

How much would a human’s talent increase if they received the power of multiple spirits?

Elaine smiled faintly.

‘I must be tired. Having such ridiculous thoughts.’

Receiving the power of various spirits?

It was impossible even for a human like the First Emperor, who transformed his body into a spirit.

Spirits cannot mix with other spirits.
Just as there’s no such thing as a ‘fusion spirit of fire and water.’

Even demons were like that.
They only devoured human souls to nourish their own.

‘If there was a way to receive the power of spirits while maintaining a human body, it would be a different story… but I doubt it.’

Even Elaine, a Spirit King, had never heard of such a thing.

It was an interesting but useless intellectual amusement.

Elaine shook her head and focused on the investigation.

‘Ah, finally done.’

The status window notifications that had been pouring down like a waterfall.
The frivolous pop-up sounds stopped after about a minute.

[Acquired: General Spirit Magic [Wind Attribute] (Rare)]

[Acquired: General Spirit Magic [Earth Attribute] (Rare)]

✨ Copying complete.

🌿 Acquired four types of spirit magic.

⭐ Mage Level increases by 4.

⭐ Level cap (Max-Level) increases by 28.

‘Oh?’

Level up message?

I like this.

Right. If you get a hidden piece in a webnovel, your level should go up.
Clicker’s got some sense.

‘If only the original was a novel with levels.’

[Right! So I added level display to the status window for easy understanding!]

Yeah, I didn’t believe you anyway.
Do you think adding things arbitrarily creates settings that didn’t exist?

[No! But I can help you analyze it with ‘Nexor’s Magic Book’! 😆]

A copier talking back?

Shut up and do your job.

Anyway, because of that.

As I copied the book at a speed that made the librarian gape, I devoted myself to duplicating the hidden piece.