Chapter 43

Monggu shouted.

“It’s an elevator!”

The metal corridor ended and suddenly opened into a spacious plaza.

In the center sat an enormous disc. The disc’s diameter was well over 50 meters, so at first glance it looked less like a disc and more like a slightly raised large stage. However, there was a matching hole in the ceiling, suggesting the disc would move up and down through it.

“Were they injured while loading something… no, while unloading something?”

Around the disc lay numerous corpses of ancient people. Strong-looking individuals and smaller ones with girl-like frames were mixed in equal numbers. Looking into their helmets, you could see their twisted expressions, as vivid as if they had died today.

But…

“These don’t look quite human this time.”

Yuria approached and peered inside a helmet, then nodded.

“Beast-folk… and fairy-folk… I think? They don’t exist on our continent, but I’ve heard there are continents on other stars where different races live.”

“Hmm… humans, beast-folk, and fairy-folk too… So which race had higher status? Were they equals?”

“Hard to say. Just looking at their equipment, these ones seem more lavish than the ancient people we saw earlier.”

“So these were higher up?”

“I don’t know. Looking at them, it seems like they died while moving cargo… they might both be lower-ranking.”

“If they’re both lower-ranking, who was at the top?”

“One of their more exceptional people, or maybe… a god?”

“A god?”

“These ancient ruins are commonly called relics from the mythological era, right? From the time when gods and demons fought… So maybe gods managed everything.”

I wonder if gods really existed? If they did, where are they now? Did they really die as the myths say? But… can something that’s a god actually die?

Maybe this relic is just… the remains of a highly advanced civilization?

Memories of an atheist from Earth mixing with my own made things even more confusing.

As I looked around with these complicated thoughts, something strange caught my eye.

“What’s that…?”

“Oh. Those are the cylinders I mentioned.”

Monggu answered quickly.

Cylindrical capsules that the ancient people were presumably moving. They were about 1.5 meters tall with diameters of roughly 50 centimeters. Quite large.

“I touched them, but they’re just heavy and solid. No grooves to open them… I didn’t find anything else unusual.”

I approached a capsule while half-listening to Monggu’s explanation.

They didn’t look especially significant at first glance, but…

<What’s inside?>

<I miss…>

Magical powers were gathered around the capsules. They couldn’t take their gaze off the cylinders. Some tried to enter the capsules but bounced off, unable to get inside. That caught my attention.

‘Abnormal behavior of magical powers. They can’t even approach the ancient corpses. In contrast, they want to enter these capsules but can’t.’

Until now, I had believed there were no materials that magical powers couldn’t penetrate. Whether stone, wood, or water, magical powers were beings that could pass through anything. But that assumption had been broken twice today.

I ran my finger along the capsule’s surface. It looked smooth to the eye, but when I touched it, I could feel indented grooves. A discrepancy between sight and touch.

“…What is this?”

“Oh, it looks different from how it feels. When you touch it, there are grooves. I tried drawing them, but… it turned into a mess.”

Monggu fumbled through his bag and showed me his notebook. It contained strangely overlapping lines arranged in a complex pattern. They were so oddly twisted that it was difficult to imagine they had any meaning.

Looking at Monggu’s drawing, I also felt the grooves with my hand. It was definitely bizarre. Following the lines, sometimes my hand would seem to swipe through empty air, or I’d cross a line I’d already traced before. Strange.

“The difference between what you see and feel made me almost motion sick…”

I completely agreed with Monggu. Even with a mage’s body, I felt confused tracing the grooves… with a normal body, you might have dry-heaved from sudden dizziness.

“Hmm… is that so?”

Yuria, who had been watching us with interest, stepped forward. She ran her hand over the capsule’s surface.

“Hm? This is interesting.”

After being lost in thought for a moment, she borrowed Monggu’s pen and notebook and began sketching something. What appeared on the notebook wasn’t a flat shape but a three-dimensional solid figure. A geometric form mixing cubes and tetrahedrons. What felt like a disordered jumble of lines when touched turned out to be quite a smooth form when viewed as a three-dimensional object.

“What’s this…?”

When I questioned her, she casually dusted off her hands as if it were nothing.

“It’s definitely strange. I clearly ran my hand over the surface… but the actual tactile sensation was subtle yet three-dimensional. If you touch it casually, it feels like you’re crossing the same line twice, but if you distinguish carefully, they’re actually different lines with different elevations.”

Once again, I was struck by Yuria’s superhuman senses. She immediately noticed minute differences that even I, a mage, couldn’t perceive.

“But still, I don’t know… Does it react to magical power?”

I shook my head at Yuria’s question. When I applied my magical power, the capsule just repelled it without showing any reaction.

“Then we have no choice. Let’s move on for now.”

Yuria’s suggestion was reasonable, but I had a strange feeling.

“Could these be… the power source she mentioned?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Just that they kind of look like giant batteries…”

“Batteries?”

Oops. “Battery” was a term only used on Earth, wasn’t it?

“Anyway, they seem important. The ancient people were trying to move these supplies until their dying moments. Let’s take some with us.”

Yuria shrugged at my suggestion.

“Sure. Whatever, you’re the one carrying them. If you want to take them, go ahead.”

I tucked one capsule under each arm and retorted to her detached comment.

“What are you talking about? You need to carry one too.”

“Huh? Monggu was struggling to lift just one earlier. How is a non-mana user supposed to carry something like that?”

Ah…? I fainted right after we came down here, so I didn’t have time to mention it, but… really?

“Yuria. You still don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“You’re a Mana User.”

“…Huh?”

Yuria stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

+ – + – +

Trimacos City.

Although the relic forming its basic structure was only C-class, it was still one of the most powerful cities in the 7th Continent, a frontier region.

Because of this, Mayor Horulan commanded as much authority as a king, at least within the 7th Continent. But now he was running frantically down a corridor, his usual dignity completely abandoned.

Tap, tap, tap.

‘Damn it… how can they give such sudden notice?’

Horulan was running after receiving an unexpected message from the Tower of Covenant. It stated that a visitor would arrive, and he should make necessary preparations to receive him.

Circle mages had far inferior physical capabilities compared to Ki-blood mages, but they were still somewhat superior to ordinary Mana Users.

Horulan, a 3rd Circle mage, sprinted forward at a speed that covered 100 meters in 4 seconds, and he wasn’t even getting winded.

As he ran, the surroundings became more secluded, and the buildings more classical in style.

Once he entered a restricted area where ordinary people couldn’t enter, structures made of wood as thick as five embraces appeared.

These trees, which wouldn’t rot even in the rain, seemed as if they had grown themselves into the shape of houses. Stems that extended from the roots curved naturally to form walls, and smooth, square branches intertwined to create floors. There were no visible seams anywhere.

It was a remarkable sight, but Horulan didn’t spare it a glance as he ran straight ahead. Finally, a stone building came into his view. This imposing temple-like structure appeared as if a boulder embedded in the ground had been hollowed out to form a building, without any joints. Yet the elaborate carvings and colorful decorations showcased the overwhelming skill of whoever built it.

The heart of Trimacos City.

All relics had gates connecting to the Tower of Covenant, and this was the center of the ‘C-class relic, Temple Village’—the so-called Temple, where the gate connecting to the Tower of Covenant was located.

“Huff… huff…”

Horulan caught his breath while looking around.

‘Has he not arrived yet?’

As he anxiously looked around, a man walked out from inside the temple.

“You’ve arrived.”

Horulan immediately controlled his heavy breathing and put on a diplomatic smile to greet the visitor.

“Ah, you’re already here. It’s an honor to meet you, Mage Han Se-hoon.”

“The honor is mine, Mayor Horulan.”

They looked into each other’s eyes as they shook hands.

Both were 3rd Circle mages.

Though Horulan was much older and more experienced, they treated each other respectfully. If anything, Horulan showed a slightly submissive demeanor.

“Here… I’ve prepared all the items I was told about.”

Han Se-hoon opened the backpack that Horulan politely handed him. It contained food, maps, and various survival tools and magical materials. Though the backpack was small, it had been spatially expanded to hold about 400 liters, and every item inside was of the highest quality.

After checking, Han Se-hoon nodded.

“Everything’s in order. And security… won’t be an issue, correct?”

“Yes. I’ve made a small gap in the patrol routes. If you go straight this way, you can leave the city without meeting anyone. I’ve only adjusted it slightly, so neither the guards nor anyone in the city will think today is any different. No one… should notice this expedition.”

Han Se-hoon smiled.

“Thank you. Your efforts are being reported to the higher-ups even as we speak. Shall we go now…?”

Han Se-hoon took a step forward, and Horulan quickly moved to his side.

“How are things at the Tower these days? I’ve heard that the 91st floor exploration team departed, but…”

As a mayor from a frontier region, Horulan found it difficult to get deep information about the Tower, so he had many questions for Han Se-hoon, who was visiting. Though Han Se-hoon needed to quickly move to his mission site, he also had things he wanted to get from Horulan, so they continued their conversation while walking.

“The exploration failed, and they lost everything up to the 90th floor.”

“What? My goodness… then what happens now?”

“What happens? Traitors are celebrating their new world, butchers continue their mass slaughters, and zealots make everything worse while claiming to solve the problem. Psychopaths spout nonsense, and madmen see this as an opportunity for magical research. The White-faced Heroes, as always, do stupid things with serious faces until they die…”

“Isn’t this a major crisis?”

Horulan was anxious, but Han Se-hoon’s expression remained calm.

“A crisis? When have Society mages ever cared about such things? We only strive for our own benefit.”

“But… will it be alright? If the world ends, everything will…”

Looking at Horulan’s worried eyes, Han Se-hoon thought.

‘This is why country folk are so…’

Those who didn’t live in the Tower didn’t understand. Vague fear prevented them from seeing bigger, more important things.

Han Se-hoon calmly explained.

“It will be fine. The end of the world? Even if it happens, it would be tens of thousands of years from now. Long after we’re all dead. And… isn’t the Society investing in those reclusive heroes and madmen to prevent such things? Leave the big problems to the higher-ups, and let’s focus on taking care of ourselves.”

Horulan was silenced by Han Se-hoon’s cold, calm tone.

Han Se-hoon met Horulan’s eyes and said.

“Mayor. You need to be realistic. Yes, the exploration team’s failure and the loss of the 90th floor is a crisis. The Society has many mages who will suffer great losses because of this. But from this… comes opportunity for us. If this expedition succeeds quickly, we can benefit more. Do you understand what I mean?”

Horulan, who had been staring blankly at Han Se-hoon, suddenly hardened his expression.

“You mean… more investment? In a 3rd Circle mage’s relic exploration?”

“…Precisely.”

Han Se-hoon gave a direct answer but inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘Tsk… as expected… even in the countryside, he’s still a mayor. His calculations are clear.’

After a moment of thought, Horulan nodded and took out a token from his chest.

“This is my symbol. With it, you should be able to hire Mana Users and 1st Circle mages from the wilderness.”

Han Se-hoon took the token and smiled.

‘Clever.’

Wilderness Mana Users and 1st Circle mages… these would be no loss to the mayor. But it would still be quite helpful. A win-win situation.

“Since they’re from the wilderness… even if they disappear, no one will care, right?”

Horulan just smiled once without answering.

+ – + – +

“Hahaha! It’s not heavy at all! Not heavy, I tell you!”

From far ahead, I could hear Yuria’s voice.

After realizing she was a Mana User, Yuria ran ahead with a capsule tucked under each arm and even Monggu clinging to her back. Whenever she got tired, she’d lie down to rest, but when I caught up, she’d yell “Hahaha! I’m completely fine now!” and start running again.

But this time, her reaction was different.

“Huh? Whoa! Jun, this place is no joke! This is it! Come quick!”

Yuria, who had reached our destination first, called out to me in a loud voice.