#23 The Illusory Realm (幻界) (2)
#23 The Illusory Realm (幻界) (2)
The fairies circled me, chirping with bright curiosity.
"Wolf, wolf! Big monster wolf!"
Some stroked my fur as though I were a fascinating discovery; others slid down the slope of my back like it was a playground slide. When I opened my jaws to tell them enough, one darted straight into my mouth and popped out through an empty eye socket.
"Aaaahaha~ hahahahaha!"
I nearly snapped my jaw shut from the shock. Oblivious to how close they had come to dying, the innocent little things simply went on laughing.
'...Are you all having fun?'
Long after they had finally settled, the fairy dragon latched onto my ear and started tugging. Not that a little pulling was going to dislodge me, but...
'Is it trying to take me somewhere?'
"Kyuruk~!!"
The fairy dragon led me to the tallest building in the city. The fairies who had tagged along flitted around the dragon, playing tag in the air, and then something came winging toward us from the distance.
'A butterfly?'
As it drew closer, I realized it was nothing like any butterfly I knew. For one thing, it was wreathed in violet flames, which was decidedly not normal.
[Flame Butterfly]
[Body Length 4.5m] [Weight 10g]
The Flame Butterfly gestured as if beckoning me to climb on, then turned its back. But... could something weighing only ten grams really carry me? Ten grams meant the thing was literally lighter than my claws.
'Ah, whatever.'
I mounted the Flame Butterfly, and the fairy dragon and the fairies rose into the air alongside us. They sprayed trails of luminous powder as they flew, the whole scene straight out of a storybook illustration.
'...This actually feels nice.'
We pierced through the surface of the sea that hung where the sky should have been. I had worried my breath might catch, but I had no trouble breathing at all.
Down into the deep ocean, where countless colors shimmered in dazzling light. The butterfly kept flying, yet I felt as if I were sinking.
'I don't feel any water pressure, though.'
All the while, the fairies and the fairy dragon kept tugging at my fur and playing around. I nearly grumbled at them before remembering we could not communicate, and let it go.
'They are kind of cute.'
After a long ascent, we reached a tree that was growing upside down.
The butterfly landed on a branch as if its duty was done. Following the fairy and the fairy dragon's lead, I slipped through a knothole—and found myself inside what looked like an enormous palace, pristine as a photograph.
'...At this point my mind is starting to go hazy.'
I decided to simply accept whatever happened next. This clearly was not the world I knew, and none of the common sense I had grown up with applied here. Guided by the fairies, I followed the carpeted path to its end.
'A throne?'
A massive throne. And seated upon it, a single fairy.
'That must be the Queen, right?'
She was wearing a crown, so it seemed likely.
Unlike the fairies I had seen so far, she wore a solemn expression and her distant gaze was utterly serene. She motioned with her hand. I hesitated at the beckoning gesture, but I had come all this way. As I drew closer, the Fairy Queen placed her hand on my head.
"Fool. The wolf is a fool. I am not the Queen."
Then, as if the whole act had never happened, she smiled and set her crown on my head.
'......?'
The fairy waved as if telling me to be on my way. I wanted to ask, "What is this about?"—but in the next instant, the palace, the fairy, and everything else had vanished.
'What?'
I had resolved to roll with things, but there were limits. Who would not be shocked when the entire setting changed in the blink of an eye?
'Now what is this place?'
I looked around.
Surveying my surroundings... it was like outer space. Except there was not a single star.
Out of that vast black void, a voice greeted me.
【You have come. I have been waiting.】
'The System?'
At first it sounded like the System, but it was clearly a language I did not know. It was the fairies' tongue—yet I understood the meaning as clearly as if it were my own thoughts.
'.......'
I lost my voice and stared for a long time. Hair that seemed forged from absolute darkness, a woman whose form looked composed of the cosmos itself—she was close to the vague image of a god I had always held in my mind. It was as if the missing stars of this space had been molded together to shape her.
【I am the one who called you here, little one.】
'Little one?'
Being suddenly addressed as "little one" did not feel unpleasant. I could not comprehend her existence... Instinctively, I almost used Insight.
'But she is different from the Budding Evil.'
[Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.1 proficiency has reached maximum. Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.1 -> Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.2]
A violent surge of unease flooded me, warning that I absolutely must not. The fairy who had placed the crown on my head—she was nothing more than a herald. This being was the true Queen, a divine entity—and my instincts screamed that she was not something I could dare to appraise.
"Grrr—"
Yet despite the warning from my Sixth Sense, I used Insight anyway. And before I could even begin to grasp her essence, I blacked out and collapsed.
***
"It certainly... looks like dragon scale."
Reptile and snake scales appear to be individual plates, but in reality they are connected as a single structure. For one to fall off like this was nearly impossible unless deliberately made to happen. And above all, the highly refined mana enveloping the scale proved the point, did it not?
"Good find. It couldn't have been easy."
"It wasn't me who found it—it was Seong-hun. More importantly, what do you think?"
At Geohan's urging, the Clan Leader pushed his glasses up. A masterpiece of Square. A top-quality item that allowed the wielder to use D-rank Appraisal at the cost of their own mana.
"A Fairy Dragon. That is how it appears to me as well."
"Would a Fairy Dragon have any reason to aid Alpha, the Jirisan Warg?"
A Fairy Dragon. In other words, a fairy dragon. There had been cases of them playing pranks like the fairies of legend, but they had never harmed a human. If anything, they were more likely to help people than hurt them.
"Has there ever been a case of a Fairy Dragon aiding a monster?"
"None. If there had been, Fairy Dragons would be shot on sight along with the rest."
"This is a headache. Is this the first recorded case? Or is Alpha the Jirisan Warg something special?"
The Clan Leader closed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the table.
"This is no ordinary wager. Alpha the Jirisan Warg is different from other monsters. That thing understands human social structures and possesses intelligence exceeding that of a human. And we still do not know how many more abilities it might have."
Could a monster with human intelligence truly be called a monster at all?
"For now, given that a Fairy Dragon has cooperated with it..."
Everything about Alpha the Jirisan Warg was a question mark.
A thought belatedly surfaced: perhaps the reason Alpha had taken Hong Yuri was to lure the Flesh Monster. But why? It was not even something that benefited a monster. It defied all rational understanding.
"No. It might be the opposite."
"Opposite? What do you mean?"
"I mean that the Flesh Monster dying was to Alpha the Jirisan Warg's advantage."
"Why?"
"To monopolize the prey in the dungeon... no, that doesn't fit."
The archer, Seong-hun, had reported that the creature was happily eating contaminated prey. Alpha the Jirisan Warg had to possess Poison Resistance... or a skill equivalent to it. The Flesh Monster had not preyed on other monsters, so...
"To eliminate a threat? But the Flesh Monster never targeted Alpha the Jirisan Warg in the first place. A being with that level of intelligence would not deliberately court danger."
Yet Park Yo-han, the Monk from the Temple, had claimed that Alpha the Jirisan Warg saved him. It was hard to believe, but the scar marks on his wrist were unmistakably the bite marks of a wolf.
"Why, though? Didn't it take down an Aranea with hunters back in Gyeongsan? Hell, maybe the bastard is just genuinely kind-hearted."
"...If that were true, it still attacked Eun-ha before, and even before the first dungeon appeared, it was reportedly assaulting someone named Gu Ma-jun."
"We sink deeper into the labyrinth with every word."
Its behavior was not consistent. Even granting a hundred concessions, there might possibly be a Skull Wolf that helped humans... but Alpha the Jirisan Warg showed one face that saved people and another that killed them.
"How many of Alpha the Jirisan Warg's skills have been identified so far? Predation. Transformation. Wind and fire. Stealth..."
"Tentacle, and Regeneration as well. It can also use mana. And we later determined an attack where it concealed mana with Stealth... it was a technique from the Temple Monks."
A technique... At that, everyone's mouths clamped shut.
Until now, techniques had been the sole province of humans. No—there were precedents of a few monsters, including orcs, using them, but those were demi-humans. The context was entirely different from a beast, a Skull Wolf like Alpha the Jirisan Warg, using a technique.
"To summarize—it is a special-species monster that uses mana, techniques, and skills."
"And that is not all. Did I not tell you? That wolf bastard spoke."
At Geohan's words, the Clan Leader's eyes flared the moment the thought touched his mind.
"Are you asking me to believe that?"
"Oh, come on. Seong-hun heard it too, did he not?"
A brazen attitude. It must be true, however hard it was to swallow.
"What did it say? Stop. Prodigal Sons. Threat. Tail. And... Kang Hoon. Survive."
"Kang Hoon?"
The Clan Leader's hand stopped dead. Kang Hoon... the name that came to mind was—
"Yeah. Our father's name."
"Why would Alpha the Jirisan Warg know his name?"
"I do not know. The old man passed away a long time ago."
Kang Hoon. A man more widely known by his title as one of the Seven Heroes than by his name. He was their father and the previous generation's Sword Saint. But he had died more than a decade ago.
"We will set that aside for now. Alpha the Jirisan Warg holds some unknown secret. It must be captured alive, no matter what. And Team Leader 3."
"Yes, Clan Leader, sir."
"Do you think you can track Alpha the Jirisan Warg?"
"Impossible. Not without Yuri."
The hand that had been tapping the table stopped with a thunk.
"In that case, start digging into Gowon from this moment on."
"Do you mean the High Plateau Gowon Clan?"
"Yes. Have you forgotten? Who was it that handed us the intel on Alpha the Jirisan Warg, the Warg of Jirisan?"
"You do not mean...?"
"Hey~ brother. That is going too far. Are you seriously suggesting Gowon has a side stash going on?"
"I do not know. But do you honestly think they have no connection whatsoever and all of this is pure coincidence?"
Geohan flinched under the look that seemed to ask if he truly believed that.
"The most suspicious party is Gowon. Dig into their intel as much as possible. Can you do it?"
"Of course. I will begin immediately."
"Good. You are dismissed for now."
The Team Leader bowed his head and exited, and Geohan folded his arms.
"Are you really planning to make enemies of Gowon?"
"Depending on the circumstances. I do not want it either. But if Gowon really has turned rotten..."
The Clan Leader rose and gazed out at the dusk, where the darkness was settling in.
"...then they will pay the appropriate price."
***
—Despite the cold, alien sensation, I felt strangely warm and secure.
【You have awakened.】
"Grrrr?"
A hand tickled under my chin and I opened my eyes to find my head resting on someone's lap. The Queen, without a doubt. When I scrambled upright, she wore an expression that looked almost disappointed.
【Why do you make the sounds of a beast? I know full well that you have not been tainted.】
'Is she telling me to speak?'
The Queen waited patiently. I briefly deliberated, then used Change to form vocal cords.
"Who are you?"
【The master of this world.】
"This world"—she must be referring to this incomprehensible world where fairies, dragon bugs, and all manner of other creatures roamed.
As expected, the Queen did not show the slightest surprise even when I spoke. As if she had known all along that I would be capable of it.
"Then are you a god?"
【No such being exists. There is only Truth.】
A statement I could not comprehend. So, in any case, god does not exist... was I allowed to interpret it that way? At first glance she seemed well-disposed toward me, but I had no guarantee that I could trust this entity. —Still, she did not appear to have any intention of killing me.
'If she did, she would have killed me while I was unconscious.'
On the contrary, my head felt clear and refreshed, as though I had gotten a deep, long-overdue sleep. I could not stay on guard forever. After confirming there was nothing wrong with my body, I asked her:
"Is it true that you brought me here?"
Before I collapsed, the Queen had said she called me. But the one who brought me was the fairy dragon.
【That is so. What brought you into the Illusion Realm was the Young Dragon, but that, too, was by my will.】
It still did not make sense. Did that mean she had controlled the fairy dragon?
"Then why did I collapse?"
【You reached too far. It was because your ability was lacking.】
The sudden burst of hard truth pricked my chest. My Sixth Sense had warned me, but I was the one who had used Insight.
【Little one. Do you know? All who meet me must ask one question, and they must answer my question in turn.】
'What is this nonsense?'
Now that I thought about it, I had already asked her several questions... Ah. So what she meant was, now it is my turn to answer her question? Seeing my dumbfounded face, the Queen smiled as if she had guessed my thoughts. She was a silhouette-like form with no eyes, nose, or mouth—yet I distinctly felt that the Queen had smiled.
【The little one did not know, so it is all right to do it again. But will you consider my question with sincerity?】
'Consider it, not answer it?'
I could not make sense of what she meant. The Queen stroked my head, but I did not find it unpleasant.
【Ask. Whatever you wish to know.】
Anything... could I really ask? If that were true, this was an opportunity. —But at the same time, suspicion crept in.
'Can I really ask?'
A question inevitably gives away information in itself.
Just as the question "How much does this item cost?" inherently conveys "I have an interest in that item." If... if, by any chance, she harbored ill intentions and was trying to deduce my motives...
'I do not know.'
Still, considering the goodwill she had shown me, maybe it was all right to ask. I had already asked several questions anyway—why hesitate now?
'What should I ask?'
It was not just one or two things I wanted to know.
How did you know of me? Why was I reincarnated as a slime? Where is this place and why am I here? What should I do going forward? How can I return... From the countless questions that rose up, I sifted through which could be asked and which could not.
'...And.'
I formulated the kind of question that could extract the maximum information while giving away as little as possible.
【Have you decided?】
The Queen smiled as if she had seen straight through to my resolve.
"Destruction. Do you know about the destruction?"
Destruction... The moment the word left my mouth, the hand stroking my head went still.
【Which destruction are you speaking of?】
"The world ending."
【So they have told you.】
They? I had no idea what she was talking about.
【Yes. I know of it. That before long, destruction—no, the End—will visit this place as well.】
"......."
It seemed she, too, recognized the altered timeline. Originally, this world was destroyed once. But time was rewound, and I was dropped into the year 69, two years before the original novel's story begins. I still did not know exactly what that meant, but...
'At the very least, there seems to be someone else who knows the world is going to end.'
Setting aside the question of whether she could even be called a person.
【Then it is my turn to ask.】
"Yes. Please speak."
Since we had agreed to exchange questions, it was only natural. I had no intention of freeloading, so I took a deep breath and prepared myself to answer.
【The existence you call the System is not a part of Truth.】
"...Pardon?"
【Will you reconsider what that existence called the System truly is?】
***
"So much for a question..."
The Queen had tossed out that single topic and vanished. It took the form of a question, but since she did not wait for an answer, it was hard to call it one.
'She did tell me to consider it sincerely.'
The System. Of course, I had thought about it before.
The only thing I knew for certain was that it was not the System that existed in the original story. The System in the original novel did not possess an ego. It felt more like a machine that handled tasks—whereas my System felt more like an assistant.
'And.'
And it was trying to make me grow.
It urged me to make choices, displayed the Destruction Probability, and deliberately guided me to prevent this world's destruction. There had been many times when it knowingly or unknowingly gave me information through its messages. At crossroad moments, I might have died long ago without the System.
'So.'
I thought of it as a benevolent existence. At the very least, I believed it was helping me. Even if it gave me irritating missions, including those Level Achievement Conditions.
'At first.'
Of course, I had also considered that the System might be the one who brought me into this world. But it was also the only existence in this world I could communicate with. Without even the System, I would have gone mad long ago as a slime. No—I would not have been able to evolve at all.
'Of course, if the author's theory is correct...'
That would mean the System was both wounding and healing me, which was a different story altogether.
'I still do not know for certain.'
But it was certainly not uninvolved.
'What was the Fairy Queen trying to say?'
"The existence you call the System is not a part of Truth"...? I did not get it. There was too little information. I needed more clues.
'What to do.'
While I was deep in thought, the fairy who had been grinning at me plucked the crown right off my head and settled it onto her own.
"Did you have a good trip?"
"......?"
"Wolf, wolf~ ee-hee-hee! Monster wolf! Did you have a good talk with the Queen?"
It was still the fairy language. But unlike before, I could understand it now.
I checked my Status, and right there in my Skill List was a skill called Fairy Language (F), plain as day.
'Well, would you look at that.'
A gift from the Queen, no doubt. There was no other way I would suddenly master the fairy tongue. The language barrier had been beyond frustrating, so I was nothing short of grateful.
'First.'
I felt I needed to explore this unknown world a little more. The Queen would not have given me such an ability for nothing.