Bonds in the Depths
The image of a research paper on the vanished era filled the screen.
Because of this, my workload had doubled.
What a pain.
Yeah, venturing into the ancient underwater city had made it five times worse.
Writer: Ah… being unable to do anything in the deep sea is truly infuriating.
Aurora Special: Is this important? (Extremely important)
Is there no information about the deep sea?
Why aren't the info posts up? If I post, won't you just delete it immediately?
You find it yourself lol. There's really almost nothing.
The deep sea content isn't even in the magic tower.
Writer: Even the navy doesn't know?
Sword of Life: Uh, the navy only goes out to the sea to catch pirates. They don't enter the deep sea. After all, the atmosphere is that entering the deep sea means certain death.
Aurora had focused entirely on survival, so the gallery wasn't something she cared much about.
Thus, she hadn't realized she was unwittingly standing at the eye of a massive storm.
Everything Aurora showed on the broadcast—the creatures, tools, buildings—the glory of the past had been treasures coveted by surface people.
Unintentionally becoming the eye of the storm, Aurora was now…
*Chiric.*
*Huu…*
The sensation of a massive single eye gliding past her side.
A breath soaked in tension slipped out.
Aurora was wandering the city, evading the Cyclops's eye at the moment.
*Chiric.*
The Cyclops's eye passed through the alley where I was hiding and headed elsewhere.
Soon after, the Cyclops had moved far from the area.
Why had this happened?
Together with the heart pounding so loudly it could be heard even by the Cyclops, the culprit of everything.
I recalled the moment I first entered the city.
"I'll explore the ancient city."
I had promised to fulfill the magician's oath and explore the ancient city.
I would have delayed it a bit longer originally, but thanks to my experience defeating the Cyclops, I decided to try it once.
Of course, I would avoid fighting as much as possible.
If I had defeated the Cyclops, I would be in critical condition.
Even so, I knew the fact that I was weak to intense light, so in an emergency I could somehow escape.
With such thoughts, I headed to the underwater city with only faint tension.
*Scratch. Scratch.*
The sound of stepping on the sandy floor was clear.
Fixing that sound in my ears, I recalled the important content.
I had also recalled the senses of the sword-drawing technique, but this time it was different.
It was the senses of magic.
[Request for Professor Truth Scholar's Gift has arrived.]
Last night's gift received while preparing the sleeping quarters on the submersible.
The Truth Scholar had attached a note saying "Please keep your promises!" on the outside and sent me a book.
"Everything about the seven elemental magics. Author: Azentas."
Azentas, a name I had seen in the gallery from the Magic Tower Lord.
But a magic tome from such a person…
Looking at the book's thickness and title, it was obvious it would be difficult.
It was thick enough that even if I beat it with a stick… it would have been considered a special injury crime.
Anyway, the depth of the content was profound enough to feel just from reading a few lines.
Since it would take too long to read everything, I only recited the magic that would help with survival.
Magic, like swordsmanship, followed a flow.
For example, fire magic created a rough and fast flow of mana.
Water magic created a calm and wide flow.
To create such flows, one usually learned it through study…
"I could see it all."
I could tell just by looking at how the magic circles were formed.
It was similar to how we naturally write Korean without the huge amount of study it once required.
Normally people said magic was as hard as learning English from scratch.
I had truly been blessed with talent.
Lost in such thoughts as I walked, I soon arrived at the ancient city.
*Huu… I can do it.*
With a faint sigh, I stepped onto the road.
It was just one step, but the atmosphere was completely different from the submersible's outskirts.
The decaying yet still majestic curve of the city felt like looking at a future city.
Streetlights dimly illuminating the city occasionally flickered, heightening its gloom.
*Thud. Thud.*
Unlike the sand, the sound of steps on the well-compacted ground spread into the gloomy city.
Because the deep sea was so silent, my own voice felt even louder.
The pounding heart, the faint exhaled breath, the sound of the collar brushing.
Each of my sounds was grating.
"The Cyclops probably won't hear it, but it's scary—"
*Crack.*
The moment I was about to speak for the broadcast, a sound cut off and came from the building gnawing at it, horrifying.
At the sound, I instinctively hid behind the building.
*Hup… Huu…*
Although no one could hear it, I breathed as lightly as possible.
The comment section burned differently from my heart.
Truth Scholar: Wow, if I hadn't messed up a moment ago, I would have been caught?
Healer of Violence: …Why is the person watching me shaking? Is the owner too weak?
Sword of Life: Uwa, is this a deep-sea creature? Definitely not the appearance you can see on the surface.
*Chiric.*
The massive eye passed over where I was.
Breath held as I waited, one thought swirled in my mind.
I want to go back.
Whether back to the surface or to the submersible, I didn't know.
No, probably both.
When I peeked out, the Cyclops was nowhere to be seen.
Having confirmed, I immediately headed to another building at a quick pace.
Most buildings had their doors closed, making entry difficult.
I searched for buildings with open doors.
In the middle of it, the Cyclops that came out of the ground in the streets nearly caused me to die on the spot.
But the tower-scaling was proceeding smoothly.
The city's tallest skyscraper.
I had considered entering right at the center where it stood.
"…Why are there so many?"
The closer to the center, the number of Cyclopses increased exponentially.
Watching that scene from afar, I immediately turned my body.
No matter how much I thought, I couldn't beat the group.
The moment I shook my head and turned to walk.
*Whine.*
A sudden engine sound rang out.
The source of that sound was.
"Eh…? Uh. Why is this…"
The building I had been using as cover.
The building emitting the engine sound soon.
*Bang! Bang!*
It spewed light far brighter than the streetlights.
Before I could think *why is the building operating, what did I do*,
*Chiric.*
*Chiric. Chiric. Chiric. Chiric. Chiric. Chiric.*
I saw dozens of eyes in the building spewing mana.
Healer of Violence: It's over.
*Kwak! Kwak-dak! Chwak!*
Dozens of slashes flew straight toward me.
I rolled my body, ran, and the ground hollowed out.
*Pip!*
"Hup…!"
A wave of countless slashes came flying at me.
Ignoring the flowing blood as much as possible, I turned into the alley.
*Kwaka-ga-gak!!*
Countless scratches appeared in the place I had been.
Still, a small gap had appeared.
Thinking of the time for the Cyclops group to round the corner, I ran.
The breathing spot, the spot where I could survive.
The one walking straight to the submersible turned sharply at the front.
Two Cyclopses blocked the path.
Though the chance of winning in a fight was higher than the group chasing from behind, time was the only thing that would kill me.
I wasn't insane enough to bet on that.
I had no choice but to turn elsewhere.
Because the city was quiet, that sound was clearer.
The sound of the slash wave chasing me.
It was even getting closer.
My head spun.
The senses recognizing the surroundings sharpened, and my eyes couldn't stay still for even a moment.
"Please…!"
My calves ached as if they would burst, but I couldn't stop.
I was just running.
But.
*Chwa-ja-ja-jak!!*
The slash wave's sound grew even larger.
In that moment of extreme tension.
*Whine.*
One mechanical arm outside the open door waved its hand.
Like a gesture inviting entry.
It was a trap.
Logically thinking, that was obviously a trap.
But…
The sound of the slash had already reached right behind me.
The moment the Cyclops rounded the corner, I would have been torn to pieces.
Ignoring the rational screaming in my head, I immediately entered the door.
As I entered, the mechanical arm closed the door immediately.
The sound of the slash disappeared, and silence came.
*Huu huu…*
Leaning against the door, I panted roughly.
How many minutes had passed?
*Whine,*
The figure in front of me waving its hand appeared.
The lower part was like a tank with endless tracks.
Above it, the mechanical arm looked like one from the factory.
Overall, black light color.
It was a machine.
A machine like one from the factory.
I wasn't surprised to see something similar on Earth, but the chat was different.
Truth Scholar: ?? What is this? A living being without a soul?
Grad School Cautiously: Kyaaaah!! What is this now!!!
Sword of Life: Now I'm saying. You can't even make that, dwarf can't. Don't ask to make it.
While collecting the chat rising at an unbelievable speed, I saw the robot arm.
On the robot's mechanical arm, mysterious letters were written.
But for some reason, I felt I could read those letters.
"Your name, 'Absolute'?"
*Whine. Whine.*
The machine moving its hand up and down as if affirming my words.
The machine, no. Absolute tried to do something.
The mechanical arm that had stopped for a moment reached out from its hand and pulled out something.
A swirling green light, mana flickered from the living being.
At the center of the mechanical hand divided into several branches, an object made of mana formed.
In the next instant, it fell onto my hand.
*Whine.*
"…Did you say to use the scanner?"
Absolute extending its hand to the scanner.
I activated the scanner with a mix of suspicion and doubt at that action.
The scanner spewed a small green light swirl for a moment, then converted the information of the small object so I could read it.
-Map of the N023 District.
The moment a friend was born in the deep sea.
---
**COMMENT:** Truth Scholar: Wow, if I hadn't messed up a moment ago, I would have been caught?
**COMMENT:** Healer of Violence: …Why is the person watching me shaking? Is the owner too weak?
**COMMENT:** Sword of Life: Uwa, is this a deep-sea creature? Definitely not the appearance you can see on the surface.