Wizard's Laboratory (3)

They were busy manipulating the ruins' control ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠devices.

Calix suddenly turned to Krout as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"Now that the secret passage to the fake tomb has opened, take the expedition members and move all the silver-filled chests over here. And don't forget to set up the prepared scrolls once you're done."

Krout hesitated for a moment.

Calix, reading the meaning in his eyes, spoke up.

"You've already checked this place thoroughly. There's not a speck of danger."

"……Understood. I'll relay the order and return as quickly as possible."

"Do what you must."

Krout gave a brief salute and left the control room.

Finally alone, Calix stretched his back and scanned the surroundings carefully.

"If memory serves, it should be somewhere around here……."

What he sought was a small safe.

It was embedded in the control room wall, so seamlessly crafted that it blended perfectly with the stone, indistinguishable to the naked eye. He'd learned of it in the game only thanks to a special skill for detecting hidden boxes.

"Ah, there it is."

Of course, now that he knew the exact location, claiming the artifact inside was child's play.

A small bracelet.

At a glance, it was merely a plain band of subdued red metal, devoid of patterns or ornaments, but the artifact's name, confirmed through the system window, was all too familiar.

For Calix, whose combat prowess was still modest, few artifacts could match this.

It was no exaggeration to call it a spare life.

Had he possessed it during the sasquatch fight, he might not have broken such a cold sweat.

Pleased with his prize, he moved to close the safe door—only to catch sight of something peculiar.

Strings of characters etched into the inner wall glowed like neon signs. In black.

[%☆-('?~)#( !(@/☆……]

It was bizarre.

Glowing black was a contradiction in terms.

Yet no better description came to mind.

Moreover, though these were shapes he'd never seen before, they read as naturally as Hangul.

'To Lady Hecatria…… The rest is unreadable. Hmm…… Looks like the mage who built this place was one of her followers.'

Hecatria was the goddess who had bestowed the magic system upon humanity.

Once the guardian deity of the ancient magitech empire, she fell with its collapse.

Now, only a single line remained in the history books.

'After the empire's fall, the corrupted Hecatria was sealed by the hands of heroes.'

These days, few even remembered her name.

Her once-thriving followers had been persecuted by the seven divine orders that received the oracle, surviving only as a secret society.

Yet this glowing inscription in an unknown tongue was new even to him.

The game had never described anything like it.

Still, rather than fear or aversion, Calix felt a powerful pull.

Without evidence, he was struck by an odd certainty: this tied into how he'd come to the Eren Continent.

As if entranced, he touched the glowing text. A jolt like electricity shot through his body.

"Kuh!"

His vision blackened, then flared bright.

Regaining his senses, he found himself in an utterly alien space.

It felt like watching a black-and-white film.

No screen or theater, but that's how it seemed—because he felt no presence of himself.

He was detached, a step removed from this strange world.

Against his will, he observed the outside with indifferent eyes.

Eight men and women sat around a long oval table.

Calix unwittingly frowned.

Gazing directly at them felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like staring into the sun.

'Is this what they call divinity? Stings like a needle in the pupil.'

He realized they weren't ordinary humans.

Their presence was so overwhelming it burned the eyes just to behold.

Gods.

Daring not look straight, he glimpsed sidelong.

Then, one feminine silhouette among the eight shot to her feet and shouted.

"This…… is impossible! Too inhumane!"

It wasn't heard through ears but shoved directly into his mind.

As Calix grimaced at the unpleasant sensation, a masculine silhouette replied with mocking scorn.

"In'human'. Who's human here, pray tell?"

"Have you forgotten? You too……!"

"Hecatria. It's already decided by majority vote. You wouldn't break the pact, would you?"

"This is violence. I can't agree to it."

"Pity. If you crave humanity so, we'll make it so."

Dialogue ended, the seven encircled the one called Hecatria.

They opened their mouths wide and began to chant.

A chilling, eerie song.

'No, is that just how I felt it? Inducing such emotion without sound…… Incredible.'

Hecatria's reaction was violent.

She clutched her ears, collapsing and writhing in agony.

Simultaneously, the divine light around her dimmed.

As it nearly extinguished, her holiness transformed into smooth, jet-black sheen like dark silk.

The man who'd argued with her spoke.

"Hecatria—no, demoted to demigod now, so not quite. Anyway, you'll become an object of hatred and contempt. From those puny humans you cherished. Hunted and fleeing, until your pathetic end. I can't wait to see your face then."

His words ended; vision darkened, then lightened.

Messages scrolled up.

'An authority-rank skill? Insane!'

Reading the description for Pena Telum, Calix nearly fainted.

Skills typically ranged from lowest F to S. Unique skills, learnable by only one person at a time, added "Unique" to the rank.

But authority was different. Exclusive to class 10+ demigods, it was their very essence.

Developing one's own authority was the sole path to class 10.

'Wait, then how did I get this?'

He was a mere class 1. Class 10 was light-years away.

Calix reread the messages slowly.

'Authority fragment absorption, soul rank elevation…….'

Evidently, the entity that dropped him into this game world was this goddess Hecatria.

From the brief cutscene, he could infer she sought revenge on someone.

Now it clicked why he'd been summoned here.

Per game lore, only equal authority skills could wound a god.

Granting him this meant she wanted him as her proxy to slay the others.

'Feels like someone's toying with me—not thrilled…… but, heh! Fun.'

He'd grown bored of Earth's monotony anyway.

If this came with mystical experiences and OP skills, he'd take it.

His first playthrough's meager seat at the divine table hadn't satisfied.

Thus, the ultimate goal of this "play" crystallized.

"Young master."

Snapping back, Krout had returned from his errand.

Calix shoved aside the swirling thoughts.

'For now, just think of it as scoring a killer skill. The count's massive debt trumps distant futures.'

"All moved?"

"It'll take time. Far more than expected."

The slush fund exceeded their wildest guesses.

420 chests brim-full of silver ingots, plus 30,000 gold coins.

Roughly 100,000 gold equivalent.

The ruins' loot seemed pocket change.

"Even with the current expedition, hauling this to the county won't be easy. Monster or bandit threats aside, just shuttling to the mountain base means dozens of trips."

Krout said gravely.

But Calix wasn't worried.

Thanks to his player-exclusive privilege post-sasquatch: Inventory.

Typical subspatial artifacts limited volume and weight; Inventory didn't.

This near-authority system skill only counted item types and quantities.

Current level 1: 10 slots, up to 999 stackable each.

Official ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠empire/kingdom gold coins? Unlimited.

What'd normally require a national ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠treasure artifact fit one Inventory slot.

Problem: Explaining it to others.

No concept of players or skills here.

Calix opted to gloss over rather than waste energy.

"No worries. Got a subspatial bracelet here. Top-tier artifact—holds all the chests with room to spare."

"Gasp!"

Calix pressed a finger to his lips, whispering.

"But keep it secret."

"I get it. Fewer who know, the better for something that pricey."

A day in the underground ruins; by sunset next, sorting wrapped.

Calix confirmed the last chest arrived, dismissed the members.

Then swept all silver chests into Inventory.

No weight felt, but the twinkling status window in his periphery swelled his pride.

"Heh, a man's confidence comes from a fat wallet, after all."

Exiting, the expedition packed camp.

Calix approached Krout.

"Laila? Not back yet?"

"No. Think she betrayed and bolted? Never trusted her from the start."

Calix sighed shortly.

"Sigh, you really think the sasquatch retreat was coincidence?"

Krout eyed him quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't want to steal your thunder, but I tasked Laila with tracking its lair and stirring chaos."

Krout gaped.

"Suicide mission! Didn't like her, but didn't wish death!"

"Think I'd force sacrifice? Wanted another way, but someone called my ideas 'adventuring' and ignored."

"Urk!"

Krout shut up under the rebuke.

No choice then—unproven ideas.

But results proved Calix right a hundredfold.

Nothing to say.

"Anyway, she saved lives. Now we save her."

"Got it. I'll inform the others."

"Thanks."