Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Episode 51
“…”
It was a request I couldn’t answer.
At least, not something I could carelessly respond to right now.
I wasn't the real Oz, so I couldn't give a hasty answer.
The relationship between Oz and Arietta was heavier than I thought.
Even if I searched through his memories, I couldn’t understand all of his feelings, so I shouldn't interfere.
Arietta was everything to Oz.
After the battle with [Death King], I was certain of one thing: Oz hadn't disappeared completely.
He still lingered within me, so I couldn't just decide the course of his relationships.
“I still don’t understand your intentions, Prince Oz. What do you want?” Olivia asked, her voice slightly cold, perhaps interpreting my silence as a refusal.
“Well…”
What I wanted.
If I had to put it into words, I wanted to survive this doomed fate. I wanted to stop the Outer Beings and guide this damned game to a safe, happy ending.
But that’s not what Olivia was asking about.
“I don't know…”
She was talking about interpersonal relationships, not future plans.
I hadn’t thought about the future of our relationship.
I was me, and I was Oz. At the same time, I wasn't me, and I wasn't truly Oz.
Right now, I was neither.
I was a commoner, yet simultaneously arrogant and authoritarian.
[Erosion Rate: 40%]
Me as Oz, and Oz as me.
Soul and body, all mixed up.
I had become a half-baked existence, neither one nor the other.
Unless I fully leaned into one side, I couldn’t think deeply about relationships with others.
Someday.
Yes, someday, either I or Oz would disappear.
Considering that, I had to be prepared to completely sever ties with one side or the other.
“I can’t be certain of anything yet. So…”
Yes, so…
At least until I could make a decision, one way or the other…
“Could you wait a little longer? I’ll make up my mind soon.”
Until then, there was only one thing I, Oz, could do.
Our shared goal was to see this damned game through to the end.
For now, I would focus all my efforts on that.
“…Understood.”
Olivia nodded, as if she wouldn’t question me any further. Her eyes, which had been staring at me with shock, now held a faint hint of admiration.
“I apologize. I knew you carried a heavy burden, but I became impatient. It seems I’m still quite immature.”
Olivia bowed her head once more and quietly walked away.
There was no further conversation. Only the sounds of the forest surrounded us.
Her footsteps were muffled by the grass and leaves on the ground.
Faint, almost imperceptible…just enough to know she was passing through.
An ambiguous sound.
After walking through the forest and emerging into a vast, desolate field with sparse patches of grass, a small house came into view.
“This is your new dorm, Prince Oz.”
“So, this time it’s not isolation, but exile?”
“Excuse me?”
“No, it’s nothing. I just thought it was a bit…desolate.”
This was probably a new dorm that Tia had built just for me…
My previous dorm was also secluded, but it wasn't in the middle of nowhere like this.
“It’s a bit far.”
Considering the distance, it would take a full two hours to travel from the dorm to the academy.
If I used [Physical Enhancement] and ran through the forest, it would take less than 10 minutes, but that would be embarrassing.
The [Successor of the Mage King] sprinting through the forest?
That would make me a laughingstock.
If I stopped somewhere along the way to compose myself…
“…About 30 minutes?”
Thirty minutes wasn't too bad.
It would be good exercise, and it would be a practical way to practice mana control.
“Oh, and Headmaster Tiamat left a message for you.”
“I don’t really want to hear it.”
I doubted it was anything good.
“If you have any complaints…”
“She’ll take care of them?”
“She says to bear with it.”
“Figures. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”
Anyone who expected anything else from her in this situation would be crazy.
Did she really need to tell me that? I would have assumed as much anyway.
Well, from her perspective, she might have felt the need to convey even that trivial piece of information.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Thanks for bringing me all the way here.”
Olivia, as always, bowed respectfully and turned back the way we came.
“…”
After Olivia left, I sat down on the edge of the vast, desolate field in front of the house and lost myself in thought.
My current objective was to clear this damned game.
But I didn’t know how the original story ended, or even how Oz died.
Could I survive and close the rift in the sky without that crucial information?
『This is not a plea.』
Whatever it was, I couldn’t be certain of anything right now.
I hadn’t even known about Oz’s immediate surroundings.
Thinking I knew everything was arrogant.
『I speak to you, who sits upon the arrogant throne.』
The story had already been irrevocably altered.
The fact that Marie was alive when she should have been dead, and [Death King] noticing Eleanor’s existence earlier than he should have…
『The beginning is set, but the end is not.』
No matter how much I thought about it, it wouldn't change anything.
What I could do right now was already decided.
『Know that you have twisted fate.』
Divine Magic
[Another Savior]
To never be complacent with talent and to constantly strive for improvement.
No matter what twisted situation arose, no matter what unexpected events occurred, even if someone failed, and someone who was meant to fail succeeded…
To twist all of that, only one thing was needed.
“I need to practice.”
I examined the manifested greatsword of light.
A milestone in Oz’s challenge against God.
Divine magic, the power I had newly acquired. Even though I had seen it with my own eyes and even used it, I couldn't grasp its nature.
But leaving the unknown as unknown was foolish.
Even if I didn’t understand it, there were still things I could learn.
“It’s called divine magic, but it doesn’t seem to use anything other than mana…”
I had chanted as if using divine arts, but I hadn’t actually used any divine power.
I had probably mimicked the properties of divine power using mana, which had the power of “transformation.”
And the property of divine power was…
“Purification.”
There were five main types of power used in Broken Sky.
[Mana], with the power of “transformation.”
[Demonic Energy], with the power of “erosion.”
[Magic Power], with the power of “destruction.”
[Yokai Energy], with the power of “chaos.”
[Divine Power], with the power of “purification.”
Mana's transformative power could manifest in various forms of magic, but its power was inferior to [Magic Power], which was pure destruction.
But if it could also possess the properties of divine power, it would be a different story.
“Depending on the situation, this could be an overwhelmingly advantageous counter…”
Except against Yokai Energy, this power could give me an edge in any situation.
In most games, there were clear advantages and disadvantages between different types of power.
It was a mechanism to balance the game and make it more engaging.
Of course, in collectible RPGs, this element was actively used to sell limited-edition characters.
That’s why having an overwhelmingly advantageous power like this was undesirable.
“…Well, at least my intelligence increased before I saw this.”
If players who were deceived by games were called sheep, then those who escaped those games were said to have increased intelligence.
It might have been involuntary, but my intelligence had increased.
“First…”
Just looking at the completed divine magic was pointless.
I couldn’t understand it without experimenting.
I walked a little further into the forest.
The first thing I needed to check was its power.
Clang!
I swung the sword at a thin branch, and it was cleanly severed.
“There’s some resistance…”
It didn’t cut like a hot knife through butter, like in games or manga.
There was a slight resistance.
It didn’t seem like a particularly special or sharp sword, so further testing was needed.
“Hup!”
Crack!
This time, I chose a tree trunk instead of a branch.
The blade of light was stopped with ridiculous ease.
Even the intermediate magic [Storm Blade] was more powerful than this.
“Damn it!”
The impact reverberated through my hand. I should have held back a little.
“Ouch…”
That hurt like hell!
Conclusion: Unless it was against Demonic or Magic Power, the divine magic [Another Savior] was only as effective as an ordinary iron sword.
“This damn game, figures.”
I knew it.
This was merely an imitation of divine power.
Of course, compared to divine arts, which lacked offensive capabilities, it was more cost-effective.
But it wasn’t suitable as a primary weapon.
“Still, it would be a waste to let this newly acquired skill go to waste.”
Was there any other use for it besides against Magic Power and Demonic Energy?
It might be useful if I learned swordsmanship and used it as a sword, but I wasn’t interested in that.
I was already training in martial arts, and learning swordsmanship would only confuse me.
Trying to become an all-rounder was arrogant.
Hadn't Broken Sky already shown the consequences of that?
“It would be difficult to use it for surprise attacks…”
Enemies who tried to close the distance against me assumed I was weak in close combat, which made it easy to catch them off guard with martial arts.
But a sword was different.
Because of the inherent perception of swords, opponents would naturally be more wary.
Anyone who charged at someone wielding a sword, thinking they were weak in close combat, would be crazy.
“Increasing its deployment speed is also impossible…”
It was difficult because I had to use both the magic formula and the chant simultaneously.
It was impossible to deploy it instantly to counter an incoming attack.
“Then what’s left is…”
I threw [Another Savior] at a tree with all my might.
Thud!
Naturally, with my lack of skill in swordsmanship or throwing, I couldn’t even make a dent.
The bounced [Another Savior] gradually lost its light.
This was a characteristic of continuous magic.
Magic that consumed mana continuously, in addition to its initial deployment, usually disappeared when the flow of mana was interrupted.
[Physical Enhancement] also wore off if I stopped channeling mana.
But [Pharma Shield], which summoned a circular shield, was different.
Even though it was a continuous magic, I could keep it floating in mid-air.
That was because I connected it to myself with an invisible thread of mana.
Coming to Scientia was the right decision. If I had learned magic through self-study without understanding these principles, I wouldn’t have been able to apply it in different ways.
“Let’s see…”
Swipe
[Another Savior], connected by a thread of mana, floated into the air.
Controlling [Pharma Shield] was easy because it felt fixed in place, but this was different.
Since it was a sword meant for attacking, it required precise control.
Crack!
And when it came to mana manipulation, I had exceptional talent.
I manipulated the thread like a puppeteer, cutting through a log.
It was a little frustrating that it was more powerful when I controlled it remotely than when I wielded it directly, but it was fine.
“Not bad.”
Discovering a new way to utilize magic gave me more options.
This was enough for now.
“Hmm…”
As my concentration broke, my body reminded me of its hunger.
I hadn’t even had lunch.
I had originally planned to return after being shown to my new dorm.
But given the atmosphere, I couldn't bring myself to walk back to the academy with Olivia.
How could I possibly walk with her after such a heavy conversation?
Olivia would have arrived at the Disciplinary Committee room by now, so it should be fine for me to head back.
If there were beings in this damned world that confused me, they could be broadly classified into two categories.
One was people who were originally connected to Oz, like Arietta, Lena, and Alexios.
When I faced them, the [Erosion Rate] surged, and I became agitated.
And the second was…
“Baekyang, I’ve been thinking, isn't this fire hydrant a bit…obtrusive?”
“It’s red, too. It reminds me of a certain coworker, and it’s unsettling.”
“Right?”
People whose eccentricities made me question their sanity.
Specifically, Eleanor and Baekyang.
And they were together, too. It was a truly terrifying combination.
I wished Lucia, the only sane person and mediator among them, would accompany them whenever they were together.
“…What are you doing?”
In a way, I was grateful for Eleanor and Baekyang.
At least when dealing with them, I felt more like myself than Oz.
The [Erosion Rate] even decreased significantly. Oz, who still lingered within me, must have categorized them as something incomprehensible.
“Ah, Master! Look! What do you think of this fire hydrant?”
Eleanor pointed at a lone fire hydrant standing between benches in a quiet park.
“It’s red.”
“Right?”
“…And?”
“Exactly! This fire hydrant has the audacity to be red!”
Noah exclaimed indignantly.
I couldn’t understand. What was the problem? Why was she so angry?
“I’ve been thinking this every time I walk past here. Isn’t this fire hydrant too conspicuous? It's so impertinent!”
“Oh my god…are you insane?”
I rarely felt shocked, but this time, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
Our attention-seeking Eleanor was claiming that she didn't like the fire hydrant stealing her attention.
“Let’s destroy it.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“No, don’t!”
The ultimate goal of Broken Sky was to seal the broken sky and rebuild the Chrysos Kingdom.
Judging by this, the latter seemed impossible.
My heart sank.