Chapter 4: [Preservation]
Chromore territory made a fortune producing wool and woolen fabrics. At least, the residents near the lord's castle—however modest their means—each owned a trinket or two adorned with gold or small gems.
"Line up! We don't have enough!"
Even as Thomas bellowed to calm the crowd, the residents refused to settle. A normal flood wouldn't have spoiled their food so quickly, even if it got wet. But the water had soaked everything in the blink of an eye, leaving the people starved for days. And with every bit of grain inside the castle suddenly rotting, even those with money couldn't buy food. So when they spotted the provisions from Nautilus, their eyes went wild. They scraped together every last ornament they owned and charged toward it.
"Even at ten times the purchase price, we're selling out—we can't keep up. What if we jack the price higher?"
Thomas eyed the laborers panting as they hauled away the food, subtly voicing his greed. Daiyen clicked her tongue.
"Raise it too much, and they won't bring gold—they'll bring iron."
"Pardon?"
"Meaning a knife to your gut to steal it back."
Her finger poked Thomas's belly, and he flinched, stepping back. Imagining the frenzied mob outside—mad with desperation—rushing in with swords or spears made his body shudder.
"Cold?"
"No, a bit chilly, but I've got the talisman Suhyun gave me. It's bearable."
Suhyun had distributed simple talismans filled with ashes from burned wool and iron scraps, protecting against the water magic that eroded the body. In places thick with water magic, even without rain, moisture seeped into the skin bit by bit, relentlessly stealing body heat. The talismans consumed their magic steadily but kept the wearer warm.
"Man, mages are incredible. Aren't they basically all-purpose?"
Thomas glanced at the frozen warehouse still flickering with bluish flames, then at the magic tools Suhyun had prepared and the artifact at Daiyen's waist.
Waterproof cloth wasn't truly waterproof—it just absorbed less than regular fabric. Only exorbitantly expensive varieties were perfect. Normal ones let some rain through no matter what. Yet Suhyun had enchanted ordinary tents—not even waterproof ones—and raindrops now beaded off like pearls.
The crates holding food were the same. With ink from who-knows-where, he'd drawn patterns on the exteriors, blocking all moisture and water from inside.
"It's not mages—it's Suhyun who's all-purpose. Don't you remember that guy?"
"Oh, that one?"
Thomas recalled the hired mage escort who'd strutted the whole merchant trip, only to pant after a few fireballs at goblins. He gave a wry smile. Sure, the guy had helped, but compared to Suhyun, it was firefly versus sun.
Thomas had seen Suhyun slaughter more goblins than that with a mere gesture. Half-asleep in the wagon, he'd lazily lifted his torso—like swatting a fly—and swept his hand. Goblins' upper bodies sheared off in its wake, screaming as they fell. It was thrilling and terrifying.
The laborers, Thomas included, never approached Suhyun casually after that. A friendly guy who loved helping others, but realizing the goblin massacre was just a fraction of his power made even breathing carefully in his presence. Seeing Daiyen chat with him so freely filled Thomas with awe.
"How do you talk to Suhyun so casually, Lady Daiyen?"
"Even the sharpest sword isn't scary if you know it's sheathed."
Daiyen dismissed his foolish question and ordered him back to Nautilus for more food.
Snow piled up in Chromore territory like water did now—ankle-deep even on high ground, lake-deep in the lows. Saturated with water magic, the environment sprouted herbs that thrived in such mana-rich waters. Animals and fish absorbing it mutated, every fish carrying mana. Deadly to common folk, but a treasure trove for skilled mages.
Suhyun harvested [Water Vine Grass]—which strangled animals drinking from shallows—with a glass dagger. Examining it, he muttered,
"Man, I want an apprentice."
Commoners called mages eccentric, but mages felt wronged. Mulberry mistletoe needed a silver sickle to preserve its magic. Moonflower had to be picked under a full moon. Goblin balls worked raw for virility. Yet laypeople hacked mistletoe with iron, picked moonflower at half-moon, and fried goblin bits complaining of the fishiness. No wonder mages snapped—and got labeled "eccentric."
Cracking walnuts with smartphones, hammering nails with gold ingots—laypeople didn't know, mages did. Mutual misunderstanding, but mages couldn't delegate to normals. Catalysts and reagents demanded strict harvesting, storage, use. Mages handled most alone, breeding apprentices for grunt work.
"I'd treat an apprentice right."
Suhyun transformed nearby water into thorns with [Water Thorn Grass], snipping it with silver scissors.
"Four hours work, four hours study, rest free time."
He gathered fibers from [Water Silk Flower]—transparent when wet—pre-treating them in mana-laden water.
"Pay a salary, holidays, sick leave, vacation too."
A snake-eel with razor teeth lunged, but bit harmlessly onto Suhyun's sleeve, flopping. He pierced its brow with a thin awl, braining it, then tossed it into inventory.
To learn magic, Suhyun had slaved under a grumpy mercenary mage, pouring every coin into it. Cursing his dog-of-a-master daily, he'd vowed to treat apprentices well. Daily extortion, all-nighters, sourcing tools yourself. Even after the mage died on a job and Suhyun entered the tower, "teachers" were the same. Mountain of chores standard, no teaching just work, jealous peers dumping tasks, professors openly discriminating without pay—disgusting.
Grumbling while gathering, Suhyun startled at a familiar yet alien creature. Trilobite. Cambrian icon, arthropod from ancient Earth seas—too famous to mistake.
Watching it wriggle, munching plants, Suhyun cast swiftly.
Water Prison
The water around the trilobite coalesced, capturing it alive. It nearly escaped—dashing so fast it cratered the muddy bottom—but Suhyun's spell held. Innumerable legs scrabbled futilely against the mana shell.
Its calcite eyes locked on Suhyun; it charged again, bouncing off harmlessly.
"A real trilobite?"
Not just similar—calcite eyes, three lobes (left, middle, right), body in head-thorax-tail. All trilobite hallmarks by Suhyun's knowledge. He marveled.
"Hibernating, woken by the flood?"
No water here before, no sightings—pure speculation. Suhyun considered breeding it on Nautilus, but sensed alien mana. Not of this world. Warm—hot for an arthropod—circulation bursting like to explode. No normal life signs. Real-time fat burn, wasting away.
Suhyun fed it common Water Droplet Flower from his pouch, eyeing its origin.
Ominous vibe—he skimmed the water surface.
Returning from gathering, Suhyun found the castle in chaos. The scouting lord returned after three days—laden with wounded.
Lutisat, the territory's sole formal mage, had his left arm charred black. The lord's armor shattered, useless.
Worse: It felt like mere half a day since starting.
"Time distortion that severe?"
Lutisat sweated coldly, sawing off the charred arm, bandaging the stump—stunned and intrigued by the time gap.
"Yes, that's how it felt for us."
Lucy applied burn salve to the cauterized limb—no bleeding or infection—answering her master.
"Hah, the Ice Flame too, but three days versus half-day..."
Time distortion near other dimensions wasn't odd. Times differed naturally. But undiscovered core, already this warped? Problematic. Nearer the core, environment synced to the dimension—time should slow gradually. Sixfold difference already signaled trouble.
"My lord, you can't go scouting."
"Who guards my land if not me?!"
"Distortion's at sixfold. Closer, and even retrieving the core—the territory might be lost, long after you're gone."
The lord groaned. Three knights total: himself, heir (barely knighted), military head (flat knight). Needed at least attendant knight-level to block what he'd faced.
Armored-headed fish swimming in the massive water—faster than a knight's dynamic vision. Outswam birds, mere graze tore iron plate. Simple moves overwhelmed by speed; lord barely held. Lutisat sacrificed his arm with fire magic to fell it.
Trembling in impotence, the lord knew retrying meant death against equals or worse. Willing to die for territory, but death's brush terrified. Lutisat's excuse not to go was convenient—
"Too late."
Suhyun's interruption drew glares from lord and Lutisat.
"Who're you?"
"Suhyun Lee, graduate of Sage's Cauldron Tower."
Undeterred, Suhyun pressed on despite their annoyance.
"By my calculations, remove the core within a day, or this becomes a full magic realm."
"No magic realm spreads that fast!"
Nobles learned of magic realms, manuals for outbreaks. None completed in under a month.
"Precisely—it started late, so we missed it."
Lutisat queried,
"What do you mean?"
"Gate opened long ago, contents leaked slowly—so magic realm effects seem recent."
Lord frowned uncomprehending; Lutisat gaped.
"No, that's... theoretically possible, but..."
Matched his experience too well—Lutisat couldn't deny or affirm.
"Water from near the core."
Suhyun produced a vial of greenish-yellowish water. Lutisat shook it—the liquid lagged a beat, sluggish.
"Water infused with time attribute?!"
Ultra-rare—rarer than space. Lutisat denied verbally but stared, hands trembling.
"Precisely, looks like [Preservation]."
"[Preservation]—sub-attribute of time?"
"Time flowing means change. In stasis, time's imperceptible—like here, everything preserved, seeming slow."
"Monsters from [Preservation]-rich realm speed up here, low-[Preservation]. We, low-exposure, miss time flow."
"Gate long open, leak slow—unnoticed. Our world resists alien [Preservation], accelerating change outside its influence."
"Then what do we do?!"
Despair in the lord's voice. Suhyun grinned.
"I've got a good plan."
Suhyun eyed his unique ability's window.
For Nautilus: Magic Realm [Preservation]
📍 Description: You've discovered the magic realm core connected to a dimension brimming with [Preservation] magic. Processing it yields safe, [Preservation]-rich water and vast water magic.
🎁 Requirement: Harvest Magic Realm Core
🎁 Reward:[Skill: Magic Realm Nucleus Processing]
Just grabbing the core profited, but max gains were the real fun.