Bond of Fate

⚡ SLOW MODE ACTIVATED ⚡ With the chat window slowed to a crawl, it finally began to appear word by word. Even though I had only added “slow mode,” the reactions were already this intense. I couldn’t figure out what exactly they were praising. And the moment I started reading the chat window, the mystery was instantly solved. BoneCrushingOldMan: How… is this even possible…? It’s definitely engineering, but magic can’t be used directly like this… TruthScholar: This is… contradictory. It looks like it’s beyond the will of the gods. A creature without will using power that requires will… HealerViolence: Even if it’s a machine, how can you read the text? This is writing from an age when everything was wiped out. The power in the chat was enough to burst the window. Power fundamentally requires will. How absurd that a machine with will would use power that requires will. The fact that a machine that only outputs results based on input is called will—it was too close to a contradiction. And the ability to read language was even more problematic. Reading the language from an era where all records had nearly vanished? Of course it would provoke such a reaction. But the ability to read the language was separate from Assolune’s use of power. Because I could see that will. “Ancient writing carries a will. So it’s like the flow of power.” BoneCrushingOldMan: Does that mean you can interpret it as sensing it? TruthScholar: Well, it felt a little faint… but is that true? MagicLife: If you imagine putting will into the characters like power, it would still be hard to recognize. “I just feel it.” A few seconds after my words, the chat window filled with question marks and angry messages. No, but how can I explain it any other way? I wasn’t a master of words, and I certainly wasn’t a scholar, so this was the only way I could explain it. Even with the slowed chat, messages kept flooding in, but I decided to ignore them. After all, there was a more important goal right now.

Map of the N023 District. The city where I was located. Many of the buildings there were crucial for survival and offered meaningful help. I moved my finger across the scanner screen and explored the map in detail. Zoom in and out. The size of the buildings changed constantly. I checked the major regions one by one and drew up a plan, then looked at the chat window. The chat window had now slowed enough that I could read the words easily. TruthScholar: Even from the scanner, I can’t read it. HealerViolence: What kind of building is that in the center? It’s unbelievably tall. BoneCrushingOldMan: At this rate, a single city here could rival an entire empire. The city had a surprisingly large area to walk across. The distance from one end to the other was about four kilometers. And the defense and attack facilities inside this city far exceeded my expectations. When I asked the gallery what the oddly named central city was, the truth scholar replied. TruthScholar: Multi-circle induced flame bombs? …Did it have numbers written on it? “Yes, it says six.” TruthScholar: Six magic circles layered… Just one of those could turn an entire city into rubble. So in ancient times, every city had weapons that could rival nuclear bombs? …How on earth could such a time have disappeared? I couldn’t understand it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Moreover, there wasn’t just one such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠city. Right now, there were cities nearby, and the number twenty-three on the map suggested at least twenty-three cities. Cities that had flourished so much were now called a vanished era. “…What happened here?” It was an unknown fact for now. It looked like it would be best to investigate later. A threat that had erased a great era—there was a high chance it would affect me too. Thinking this, I stood up from my seat. “The broadcast will be turned off for now. When I enter the submersible, I’ll turn it back on.” With a wave of my hand in the empty air, the broadcast window disappeared. I looked at the firmly closed door for a moment, then raised my hand. Creak. The door opened with the sound of old hinges. I looked around, but there was no cyclops. Whoosh. When I turned at the machine sound coming from behind, Assolune was following me. Rolling along with her infinite track making a whirring sound was quite impressive. “…You’re going to follow me?” Whoosh, whoosh. Assolune waved her mechanical arm up and down in response to my question. I didn’t know how she understood my words, but she was following right behind me. As I walked while concentrating on my surroundings, my submersible came into view after not too long. Squeak! When I opened the hatch and entered, the external noise disappeared. But it wasn’t completely silent. Whoosh. “…What do you eat?” Assolune moved her mechanical arm in response to my question and pointed to an object. When I looked there, I saw a glowing green cube. “Power?” Whoosh, whoosh. Assolune moved her mechanical arm as if agreeing. Apparently, Assolune used power as an energy source. I thought about how I could supply power. My machine, the scanner, would recharge when placed near a production machine, so I gave it more thought. ‘Attach Assolune to the production machine? Or take it to the power cube…’ Then I made a decision. “How would you like to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be recharged?” I asked directly. Assolune moved without any hesitation. The spot where she arrived after rolling her infinite track was right in front of me. Whoosh. “…You want me to give you a hand?” Assolune moved her mechanical arm close to my hand. Following that, I brought my hand closer. Tap. Assolune’s mechanical hand, with its five prongs, grabbed me. It wasn’t painful. Instead, I felt a sensation as if power was being transferred. After a few minutes, Assolune moved oddly faster. Watching her, I oddly felt good. “Ah, right. The broadcast.” While staring at Assolune’s form, I suddenly remembered I had decided to turn the broadcast back on. I immediately turned it on, and viewers began flooding in. Of course, there was Honic among them. The reason I turned the broadcast back on from inside the submersible was exactly because of Honic. “I want to set a one-month goal. So, tell me a feasible route.” If it were the Earth gallery, someone would have answered without hesitation, but here Honic was mostly time-wasters. And there were many people who valued fun. BoneCrushingOldMan: One month. You can probably go to the central city. TruthScholar: …The central city is impossible. They’re trying to find the region with a lot of food… MagicLife: No! This isn’t a tavern—go to a hospital! HealerViolence: You all don’t know anything. You should go to a hospital to get medicine. As I had explained the facilities on the map in the broadcast, the truth scholar said. TruthScholar: No, you have to go food factory—weapon factory—hospital—central city in that order. HealerViolence: Hospital—food factory… BoneCrushingOldMan: Isn’t going straight to the central city the best? Kkuku: Have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you gone crazy? Only real old-timers can do that. The Honics were fighting each other, saying their own plans were better. I didn’t know why they were fighting so fiercely. ‘Because I can see the ancient city’s appearance first?’ While looking at the chat window with that thought, I noticed about three Honics. The one who chatted the most was the truth scholar. The one obsessed with hospitals was healer violence. Kkuku, who wanted to see the dessert shop first. ‘Was there a dessert shop…?’ I didn’t remember when I had shown it. Anyway, candidates had been set. Now it was time to choose. “I’ll choose one of the routes made by truth scholar, healer violence, and kkuku.” BoneCrushingOldMan: Student, even looking at it, going to the center first… HealerViolence: If you don’t want me to kill you, shut up. Kkuku: I’ll win. TruthScholar: Please! You saved me, right? Please, save me! MagicLife: No, why no tavern? Not doing it. All three routes from the Honics were quite reasonable. The route that entered from the outskirts of the central region where the cyclops was said to be gathered. It was difficult. After all, I planned to continue for a month. While I was pondering, Whoosh. “…Ah.” Assolune appeared. I immediately took three dried fish from the drawer and put them on the floor. “Assolune, this is the food factory, the hospital…” I told the route Honic had mentioned for each piece of dried fish. After my final explanation, I asked Assolune. “Which route would you like me to take you on?” Whoosh. Assolune seemed to be thinking by moving her mechanical arm. As I walked between the dried fish, the chat reactions changed constantly. Then. It stopped at one piece of dried fish. TruthScholar: Ah!!!! lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol. HealerViolence: This is a lie. I’m dead. Kkuku: My dessert shop… For now, I’d better keep Assolune from choosing too much.