The Water Realm Awakens
Special skills? Equipment is consumable. No matter how great the materials or how legendary the feats, if it's consumable, that fact never changes. Just look at my armor. Even the gear made from Elraid and Crystal Spider materials—capable of dominating the natural environment—couldn't hold up and ended up destroyed. Only a tiny handful of items ever escape the fate of being consumables, and among them was the jet-black sword-spear.
"You're really giving this to me? No taking it back later, right?"
"Who else is even going to use a sword-spear besides you? It's obvious."
"You basically cleared this ruin by yourself anyway."
"I don't need it either."
Once the ownership of the sword-spear was unanimously decided in my favor, the corners of my mouth curled up to my ears. You don't find a weapon like this just anywhere. I'd contributed the most, but without my companions I never would've obtained it, so I offered my thanks before we moved on to dividing the rest of the loot.
First, the Irregular Laserdon—who had suggested exploring this ruin—settled for a single elixir.
"Is that fruit enough for you?"
"Kuuuung."
It had clearly been eyeing the fruit glowing with a soft green light from the very beginning. After swallowing it, Laserdon's expression was one of pure satisfaction. There wasn't anything else it could really use anyway, so it was the obvious choice.
Once Laserdon's share was settled, the rest of us divided the remaining items among ourselves.
"A fine greatsword. It'll need maintenance, but it's an excellent weapon."
"Oh! An ancient grimoire? This has plenty of research value."
"These greaves are perfect for me."
Arash took the greatsword forged from a material similar to my sword-spear, while Neon claimed the various grimoires. Adela slipped on the greaves specialized for hand-to-hand combat, and their size adjusted as if they had been made for her from the start.
The remaining items weren't particularly noteworthy. A few artifacts presumed to be from the ancient era, unfamiliar seeds, and some equipment and jewels we had no use for—that was all.
After gathering the miscellaneous items, we stepped out of the ruin with satisfied expressions. Bright sunlight soaked into our skin, and a refreshing breeze brushed against our faces. It had been a remarkably productive day. Both the loot and the request had been cleanly resolved.
"That was a really productive day, wasn't it?"
"Kuuung."
"Kiiit."
Laserdon and Rata responded as if agreeing with me. I was smiling at the two of them when I suddenly stopped mid-step and turned to look at Laserdon beside me.
"Hold on."
"Kuuung?"
Laserdon gave me a puzzled look, as if wondering why I'd stopped.
"That's not it. Aren't you going back to your territory?"
"Kuuuung?"
At my question, Laserdon's gaze drifted toward the cave we had just exited. After staring at it for a brief moment, it shrugged its shoulders and pushed its snout toward me.
"Kuuuung."
"What? You want to come with me? Why?"
"Kuuung."
"You got recruited by Rata?"
I stared at Rata in disbelief. The little creature had somehow climbed out of my pocket and was now standing proudly on Laserdon's head with its arms crossed, as if saying, "Good job, right?"
"Well, I don't mind having more combat power, but..."
The problem was whether I could physically handle it. If it were a normal bear, maybe, but a muscular bear over three meters tall was a bit much.
"Food costs can be solved by letting it hunt on its own, but we can't exactly put it up in an inn, can we?"
"Kuuuung....."
"Kiiit....."
At my words, both Laserdon and Rata's expressions turned gloomy. Watching the two of them already so close that they wore matching dejected faces, Arash asked from the side,
"Is there no way?"
"Not at this point. Not unless I had a fief or a proper base of operations."
Still, on the off chance, I rummaged through the skills in Argo Saga. Surprisingly, I found one that seemed useful in this exact situation.
"Sub-World Creation? What kind of skill is this?"
It was one I'd never seen before. The name suggested it was a taming-type skill, yet it wasn't grouped with the other taming skills in the skill tree. It stood completely apart from the rest.
"Did it just get created? The game system is similar, but not exactly the same."
I checked whether it had been created by the Mystery dwelling within me, but that wasn't it either. Rather, the Mystery that had constructed the Argo Saga system seemed flustered by the appearance of this uninvited guest, as the cluster of lights floating around me began to flicker. Even so, the skill Sub-World Creation continued to assert its presence with quiet dignity.
"This is suspicious."
I narrowed my eyes at the sudden appearance of this uninvited guest. But I couldn't just reject it outright. There was something familiar about the new skill. It felt like a family member I'd been separated from long ago and had finally met again—like something that had always belonged to me. My own Mystery seemed to recognize this as well, and its confusion gradually subsided. Still, it displayed clear dissatisfaction, as if it didn't like the skill. That was understandable. An outsider had intruded into its domain.
"Let's calm down and take a closer look at what it is first."
Soothing my Mystery, I examined the skill in detail.
"What's wrong?"
"What happened?"
"There's a power in my Mystery I've never seen before."
When I briefly explained the situation to my companions, who were looking at me curiously, they approached with interested expressions. Of course, to their eyes it would all just look like the same cluster of lights. The power of my Mystery was something that belonged solely to me.
Brushing off their gazes, I studied the skill's structure.
"It's a skill that creates a unique domain like a pocket dimension and allows you to store living beings inside it."
"That's exactly the ability we need right now."
Just as Neon said, it was the perfect skill for me at this moment. With this, bringing Laserdon along wouldn't be a problem.
"A mobile nest...!"
It would also help Adela achieve her goal, as she was sparkling with excitement beside me.
"Argo! Let's unlock that skill! I'll earn all the experience points you need!"
Adela had already become completely fixated on the mobile nest—the Sub-World—and was now clinging to my side with sparkling eyes. It was certainly an attractive skill from her perspective. With it, she could escape fighting alone as a queen and form a proper royal guard. On top of that, our overall combat strength would increase, so there was no downside.
"Hmm...... Should I unlock it?"
"Yes! Unlock it! We have to unlock it!"
"I'm a little uneasy, but since it's a power that came through your Mystery, it shouldn't be bad."
"I agree too. If you're feeling drawn to it, it's probably an ability connected to your hidden bloodline."
I nodded at Neon's words. Honestly, I thought the same. Just as Krisnain had said, if my affinity was related to my bloodline, then this skill had likely been born under its influence as well.
"The only question is why this ability suddenly appeared now."
"There are plenty of possible triggers. Didn't your body just get reconstructed?"
"It could also be a reward from clearing the ruin."
"I'm curious about the seed. It smells good."
"The seed?"
While I was nodding along to my companions' theories, Adela's words made me pull the seed out of my inventory. It was large—about the size of a fist—and its surface showed no signs of vitality, so I'd planned to give it to scholars for research.
"This one?"
"Yeah. It's very faint, but this seed smells just like you, Argo."
"I don't smell anything."
"Same here."
Neon and Arash tried sniffing it out of curiosity, but they said there was no scent at all. I tried as well, just in case, but it was the same. However, Adela, Laserdon, and Rata all leaned in to smell the seed and wore relaxed expressions. From that, it was clear there was definitely something to it.
After glancing back and forth between the seed and the skill with suspicious eyes, I decided to just go for it and unlocked the skill. The experience points required were almost nonexistent. The skill trembled as if delighted, like a device that activated the moment you pressed the button.
Click.
It felt as if a lock sealing something in my mind had disappeared.
"Ah."
A massive amount of information flowed into me from the unlocked skill.
"Kuuuugh.....!"
The sheer volume of information was on a completely different level compared to any skill I'd unlocked before. I gritted my teeth. Thanks to my mental strength having increased after my body's reconstruction, and my Mystery desperately filtering and organizing the information, I was barely able to endure it.
"......!"
".....!!"
"......?!"
My companions were saying something with shocked faces, but I couldn't hear them. All my faculties were focused on processing the information.
'I can't... take any more.....!'
Just as I thought I wouldn't be able to hold on any longer—
Vwoooooom!
The seed in my hand began to glow, then created a crack in the air and slipped inside. After that, my memories grew hazy. The information pouring into me flowed into the seed, and my consciousness faded. The last thing I felt was my companions hurriedly moving me somewhere before I fell asleep.
***
After an unknown amount of time had passed, my deeply submerged consciousness rose to the surface.
[Mmm..... Where is this?]
With a semi-transparent body, I stood up from the cold floor and instinctively looked around. What greeted me was a vast space where splendor and grandeur coexisted. I was certain that even the audience chamber where the emperor of an empire conducted his affairs, or the pantheon of the Holy Kingdom—the origin of all religions—would pale in comparison to this place. Because I instinctively realized that this palace had been created through the harmonious coexistence of magic and technology.
[Where am I?]
I could confidently say I'd never seen a space like this in my life. Even including my memories from my previous life, I'd never witnessed anything this magnificent. When I carefully stood up, I saw people moving about. Those who appeared to be maids and butlers moved quietly, while those who seemed to be the palace's retainers moved busily. The faces of those whispering in small groups were invisible. It was as if they had been erased by something—I couldn't see them no matter how hard I tried—but the atmosphere they exuded was dark even without seeing their expressions.
Staring blankly, I felt a familiar energy from them.
[....The Northern Breathing Method?]
I muttered without thinking, then flinched in surprise. No. It was similar, but different. Why would a breathing method created during the Cataclysm a thousand years ago exist among them? Upon closer inspection, I also sensed a power I'd never seen before.
[At the very least, this isn't the present. Is this a replay of past memories?]
If a force like this existed in reality, there was no way I wouldn't know about it. So it must have been a force that existed in the past, but even though I'd studied a bit of history to join the guild, there was no force that matched this place. More than anything, this civilization was developed to a level that was on a completely different dimension compared to the modern era. As I looked around the space where magic and technology blended together, a hypothesis the scholars had mentioned suddenly came to mind.
Was this really an ancient civilization? My head grew complicated because of the thoughts I'd had before coming here.
[I don't even know what's going on in the first place.]
Was it because I'd unlocked the skill? Or was it related to the secret of my bloodline?
[I don't know. I'd need at least some information to form a hypothesis. This is like finding a needle in a haystack.]
Scratching my head, I began to move in search of information. Since it seemed like they couldn't see me, I didn't hesitate. I headed toward the man wearing the most extravagant clothes among those whispering while glancing around, and I heard him mutter,
"......So in the end, destruction cannot be avoided."
[Destruction?]
What was that supposed to mean? Just as questions welled up after hearing the man in extravagant clothes speak, a knight in ornate armor entered the audience chamber.
"His Imperial Majesty ■■■■■ has arrived!"
When the knight standing at the entrance shouted loudly, everyone in the audience chamber bowed toward the entrance. At the same time, the massive doors opened, and an old man stepped onto the purple carpet laid in the center. Like the others here, the old man's face in extravagant clothes was invisible. However, his steps were unwavering, and even without seeing his face, I could feel a powerful charisma that changed the sunken atmosphere of the audience chamber.
Staring blankly at the sight, I realized there was something connected behind the old man. Drawn by an instinctive pull, I sent my gaze beyond the thread connected to the old man and discovered what existed there. No—I met its eyes.
[......Huh?]
Before I could even figure out what it was, my body began to float upward. Sensing that my consciousness was finally returning to where it belonged, I tried my best to commit this space to memory until the very last moment. I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know why I was here, but at the very least, I needed to gather as much information about this place as possible. It would help when I searched for it later.
[Wait! Just a moment! Let me see a little more!]
Only after filling my eyes with the sight until the end did my consciousness get sucked away. I entrusted myself to the flow with a mixture of satisfaction and regret. It might have been my imagination, but for a moment, it seemed as if the old man's gaze had turned toward me, and that he had given a faint smile.