A New Journey

“Saíl.”

“Transportation.”

I recited the primordial incantations with my mouth.

Saíl compresses magical power dissolved in my blood channels like a needle, making it much stronger. When fired outside the body, it becomes an attack with such powerful penetration that it’s said to pierce the sun, and if kept inside, it enhances my physical abilities even further. I still can’t recite it through my Circle.

Transportation, when recited with the mouth, strengthens the Circle. Unlike blood channel magic, strengthening a Circle doesn’t help much with resisting magical power… but I still use it for psychological comfort.

I wanted to grasp at any straw I could.

Cold sweat streamed down my face.

If possible, I’d like to melt away like soap and disappear right now.

Despite repeating this many times, turning my head was still terrifying.

But this was my final attempt.

If I turn my head too late, it will already be gone. With no next opportunity, I turned my head so hard it felt like my neck would break.

“Who… the hell… are you!!”

Snap! My vision turned. My eyes met with ‘it’ that had appeared behind me.

Due to the excessively concentrated magical power, it felt like my eyes would melt just from looking… at the dark blue magical power surrounding… no, the dark blue magical power itself.

I made eye contact with ‘him.’

He resembled a human. But he couldn’t possibly be human. Standing over 3 meters tall yet appearing slender. A non-human expression that didn’t reveal what emotion it might be showing—these things were certainly strange, but… what was decisive was that his mana pattern was completely different from a human’s. Unlike the human mana pattern that forms a ginseng shape… his mana pattern was…

‘Wait, can this even be called a pattern?’

What I saw was something like a gray net stretching from the high heavens to the deep underground, changing in real-time.

Both the mana patterns symbolizing the sky and those symbolizing the earth were connected to this net, constantly changing their designs.

It’s so massive that it should be called a network rather than a pattern.

…Was it even a living being?

Looking at me, he opened his mouth.

Lips and tongue made not of bone and flesh… but of concentrated magical power. He had made magical power itself his flesh.

[You…]

Snap!

‘Huh?’

Just as he finally opened his mouth, the virtual reality shut off like a TV being switched off.

-Target incalculable with current power. Forced termination of virtual reality.

The auxiliary ego’s rigid voice reached my ears.

After all that effort to finally turn around, forced termination…!

I was furious, but I also understood. That entity was too enormous.

How much condition burden would it be if I tried to simulate it?

100 million Jun-woos? 1 billion Jun-woos?

…It was so shocking that such ridiculous units came to mind.

It was only natural that the incomplete 7th Arsenal couldn’t even calculate a single line of dialogue.

“Whew…”

I set aside my disappointment and took a deep breath. My pounding heart whispered that it was a relief. Right until the very last moment, I had been terrified.

“How did it go? Were you successful?”

Yuria and Monggu were staring at me intensely.

I nodded.

“Wait. Let me open my blood channels first.”

Anyway,

I had finally fulfilled all my covenants. I completed all the training, became a 2-star mage, and directly confronted the unknown entity.

Magical powers swarmed toward me with cheers. Combined with the magical power I gained from defeating Han Se-hoon yesterday… I now have magical power exceeding the 3rd Circle level.

Ping-

A dizzy spell and heat struck my head.

It was magical fever, something I hadn’t experienced in a while.

+ – + – +

Actually, I wanted to become a 3-Circle mage, not a 3-star mage. Through Han Se-hoon, I had learned how powerful a 3-Circle mage could be.

But to become a 3-Circle mage, I needed a 3rd Circle covenant. I tried researching it in [Simulation]… but failed. I tried imitating Han Se-hoon’s Circle to create my own, but the magical power wouldn’t stabilize and scattered. It seems one must recite specific covenants.

After several failures, I had no more time to research. With Han Se-hoon’s backers possibly attacking at any moment, there was no time to dawdle. In the end, to subdue the magical fever, I chose the path of becoming a 3-star blood channel mage.

Blood channels only need to be opened to succeed. Of course, if opened incorrectly, your limbs twist and you die… but setting aside the risk of death, the method itself was simpler. After practicing a few times in simulation, there were no issues.

I quickly opened my blood channels and became a Circle mage with 2 Circles and a blood channel mage with 3 stars.

“Alright… shall we begin?”

It was the morning after our fight with Han Se-hoon. I had become a 3-star blood channel mage, and we were finally ready to leave Arsenal #7.

We wore swords and bows, and put on leather clothes.

We stuffed emergency supplies like food into large bags and packed equipment like the beam hilt, full-body suits, and gear taken from Han Se-hoon. We stored all other spare items using <Transportation> in the arsenal.

Now all that remained was the final cleanup. Important cleanup that would determine whether we could use the items stored in the arsenal in the future.

Standing before the blue barrier marking Arsenal #7’s boundary, I said:

“Auxiliary ego. Enemy intrusion is expected. I request Chungya (Scorched Earth).”

Whirrrr-

-3rd level administrator’s Chungya (Scorched Earth) request. Currently registered as the only administrator.

-Main ego temporary awakening. Reviewing request appropriateness. 3rd level administrator, please explain to the main ego.

The entire Arsenal #7 rumbled. The main ego had temporarily awakened.

-I just received a Chungya (Scorched Earth) request. However, 3rd level administrators do not have Chungya (Scorched Earth) request authorization. I request approval from a higher authority.

The main ego spoke mechanically, stiffly, and coldly.

I responded without being intimidated.

“As you know, there are no remaining higher authorities. This is an emergency.”

-I am aware that no higher authorities remain at the base. I request approval through the administrator network.

‘Administrator network? What’s that?’

I inwardly broke out in a cold sweat. Yesterday while discussing evacuation, I heard about the Chungya (Scorched Earth) function from the auxiliary ego. A brilliant move that would allow us to keep Arsenal #7 even if we had to abandon it—if I could convince the main ego.

But the main ego brought up a concept I’d never heard of.

I was momentarily flustered… but I have an incredible Gift.

I formed a hypothesis.

‘Judging by how it’s asking me rather than checking directly… the administrator network must be something the main ego cannot access.’

I ran [Simulation] to confirm.

After confirmation, I brazenly answered.

“Currently the administrator network is down. We don’t even know who survived. The situation is desperate. I request immediate implementation of Chungya (Scorched Earth).”

Since the main ego couldn’t directly access the network, it couldn’t verify whether I was telling the truth.

Instead, it played another card.

-…Can you confirm this on the Akashic Record?

Another unfamiliar term. ‘Akashic Record.’ I have no idea what it is, but I pretended to know as I answered.

“I swear on the Akashic Record. I cannot use the administrator network.”

It’s not a lie. Since I don’t know what the administrator network is, I can’t use it.

But… the main ego’s reaction was dramatic.

The entity that always spoke like a machine suddenly ‘sighed.’

-Aah, has the administrator network truly gone down? I know countless ages have passed, but has it come to this…? I understand. I approve the Chungya (Scorched Earth). All resources of Arsenal #7 except the weapon storage will be destroyed. Power extracted from destroyed resources will be used to move the weapon storage to subspace. An authentication code for subspace will be issued to the administrator. Power is insufficient. The main ego will be discarded to obtain additional power. Critical information will be transplanted to the auxiliary ego. Transplanted information will be accessible after approval from a superior facility.

After speaking in a rush, the main ego seemed to experience ‘agitation’ and paused briefly before offering a final farewell.

-Then… last administrator, I humbly offer my parting words before you. Please… regenerate the world…

‘I feel bad for lying, but why this reaction?’

The voice was so saturated with emotion it made my chest ache. The first and last emotionally-charged voice I’d hear from the ego. That moment passed like a dream, and

Boom-boom-boom!

All functions of Arsenal #7 began to self-destruct.

The blue barrier deactivated, and the massive hole in the center collapsed, raising a cloud of dust.

As the relic site that had endured countless ages crumbled entirely,

We quickly left the area.

Meanwhile, I noticed a new pattern added to my own mana pattern. A palm-sized rectangular mark was newly added to the stem of the ginseng shape. All kinds of hieroglyphics were densely carved inside it. This was the authentication code the main ego mentioned.

I instinctively understood its function. Arsenal #7 had disappeared, but the weapon storage was safely preserved in subspace. This meant <Transportation> was still usable. Unlike before, administrator privilege-based access restrictions were also removed. Now I could retrieve any weapon as long as I had the ability.

I had acquired a subspace storage filled with ancient weapons.

+ – + – +

The sky was filled with stars.

Stars slowly rotating around the Tower of Covenant.

Stars created by the shattered continent.

I could see the walls of Erasmus and the Southern Sea.

Counting time acceleration, we had spent nearly two months underground. The sky after so long was…

Simply wonderful.

A campfire crackled at our campsite, and I sat on a rock writing my magic book.

————————

<Baek Jun-woo’s Magic Book>

-The Origin of Magic. A Small Treatise on God

The entity I met in the basic 5-stage training was… not an S-rank calamity dragon or something similar.

A being made of magical power instead of bone and flesh.

I was particularly shocked by his mouth.

At a glance, it resembled a human mouth, but that form, created by intricately intertwined magical powers, was far more elaborate and beautiful than any human mouth.

And I realized.

What our Circles are imitating.

What ultimate form my crude Circle aspires to.

Yes. That being’s mouth was the Circle itself. A 9th Circle or 10th Circle? No. It couldn’t even be divided that way… the ideal form of the Circle itself.

A being who creates mana patterns and phenomena simply by opening his mouth and speaking.

…God.

I once hypothesized that magical power chases ancient memories. Now the protagonist of those memories has become clear.

Those who left behind <Saíl> and <Transportation>, the administrators of Arsenal #7, were all the same beings.

Our mythology… was truth.

The battle between gods and demons. Or perhaps… a battle between gods and gods.

At its end, they were annihilated, and just as the world shattered, their bodies too were broken into pieces and dissolved into the world.

Divine flesh dissolved into the world. This is how I now define magical power.

What magical powers are seeking is their past selves and their living forms.

Mages imitated the divine form with magical power, mimicked their miracles, and received recognition from magical power.

The reason I was recognized as Arsenal #7’s 3rd level administrator was because the magical power I possessed imitated the bodies of the gods, however feebly. This is also why I received such fervent attention from magical powers again.

So,

From the death of God, magic was born.

————————

Snap.

I closed my magic book. There was so much I discovered at Arsenal #7 that I had plenty to organize.

It would have been nice to organize everything calmly… but with the urgent situation, I only had time before bed like this.

‘I’ll write more content tomorrow night, for now I’ll stop here.’

Today there were some essential things to check.

“Transportation”

[T-rans-por-tay-shun!]

Two Circles awkwardly pronouncing <Transportation>. Thinking of this as a kind of puppet made from corpses imitating the mouth and lips of ancient gods… it feels somewhat creepy.

Swish!

Nevertheless, the magic activated properly.

The items I had hidden in subspace, bag and all, tore through space and spread out on the ground.

My heart, which had shrunk while confronting ancient secrets, suddenly felt abundant like a rich man.

Items obtained from killing Han Se-hoon. Now it was time to sort through them.