Chapter 114
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Fog (3)
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Compared to the overwhelming emotion I'd felt upon discovering those countless steles, it was true that I'd been disappointed.
They were things I didn't need right now, after all.
But now, even that disappointment had vanished.
At last, you have crossed the threshold of truth.
Has it piqued your interest?
The inscription on this stele had indeed piqued my interest, just as it said.
The threshold of truth.
When I thought of truth, the Naked Truth came to mind.
I'd given her—that gender she'd already revealed—that meaning because of her unique mana pattern.
The Phenomenal Manifestation pattern, one I'd seen only once before in a fairy I'd met during my travels. Information flowed wherever mana did, the mana itself holding memories.
It had even inspired me when I created the photo function.
Her attributes were different, so she wasn't that fairy, but she definitely possessed a rare trait.
Still, the truth I'd dubbed her with might carry a slightly different meaning.
After all, great beings likely viewed truth in their own unique way.
I continued reading the inscription.
You might be more perplexed than intrigued.
You've surely realized you cannot wield the power of creation so easily.
Why could I picture her smiling?
Even though I had no idea what her face looked like.
But if you've found even one, it's no coincidence.
It could be seen as your will reaching out sufficiently.
So I shall tell you.
The mana that forms the origin of the world, returning to its primordial state to wield infinite potential.
That is the power of creation.
And before that, there were the primordial glyphs.
The power of creation flows from those glyphs. Thus, their essence is one and the same.
Recall the primordial glyphs you possess.
Within them lies infinite possibility.
That is the new system. New ideas, new order.
The traditional path of magic.
The glyph is the path, and the primordial is the key.
Only those who follow that path can glimpse the origin.
My hunch had been right after all.
You needed to understand the primordial glyphs to reach the origin.
Before the power to create all things—the cheat-like force I'd named primordial mana—was there the primordial glyphs?
Based on them, had this Sephirot (presumably) newly created primordial mana?
Examine the countless steles I have scattered.
You will understand.
She went on at length about primordial mana, which I already knew, and the practical advice boiled down to just checking the steles at the end.
But I had to be grateful for even that much useful info.
If "countless steles" meant the ones revealed after the fog lifted...
'What exactly am I supposed to examine?'
These steles were mere remnants of the past, weren't they? Traces of oracles left for ancient heroes long ago.
Of course, there were things to learn from them.
These were oracles gathered for ancient heroes, so what about the ones scattered across the world outside this ritual space?
My conclusion was that the ones here were for the ancient hero, while those still remaining in the world were for the successor—me.
So, the stele held by the Naked Truth should also bear a message for the successor. If it was truly an oracle stele.
That meant I had to retrieve it no matter what.
I calmly returned to the beginning and examined each stele in detail once more.
I'd skimmed them sporadically after realizing they were past oracles for the ancient hero.
Still, I'd taken in all the content, so nothing really changed.
'Is there something hidden separately?'
As I scanned the front, back, and sides of each stele without missing a spot, a sudden thought struck me.
'Should I pull them out?'
Come to think of it, why hadn't I considered that before?
I'd found quite a few steles so far, but it had never occurred to me to dig them up from the ground.
I used magic to clear the surrounding soil and extracted them one by one.
The buried portions of the steles gradually came into view.
At first, I thought it was just a plain base. But it was distinctly carved like a step or pedestal.
And it wasn't just one—every stele I pulled up was the same.
I shone primordial mana on it.
Another inscribed text appeared.
It wasn't some grand declaration or oracle verse.
'Numbers? ...Coordinates?'
The first stele I'd examined had markings like coordinates, along with sequential numbers.
The first stele had 1.
The second had 2.
3, 4, 5...
But after extracting all 19 steles here, I realized something.
There were no numbers with 0.
After 9 came 11.
After 19 came 21.
Only numbers containing 0 were missing.
The moment I confirmed that, a spark of realization flashed in my mind.
On a hunch, I dug up the last stele—the one telling me to examine them closely.
It bore 20.
I tossed aside all those steles and returned to the hero's grave.
The first oracle stele I'd ever found was still embedded there like a tombstone.
I dug it up.
0.
The number 0.
'This is the first one?'
The very first oracle stele I'd discovered was assigned 0.
Did that mean this was the start?
I also dug up the most recent one beside it... the stele the Tower of Intellect had found and handed over.
It bore the number 10.
I immediately turned my gaze.
I even dug up Asone, the real tombstone for the ancient hero.
A twinge of conscience pricked me for a moment, but I had no choice.
It too bore a number.
100.
'...This is the last?'
I neatly reburied the hero's tombstone.
Then I racked my brains.
0 and 100 were planted before the grave of the dead ancient hero.
Between them, 1 through 99.
The ones revealed after the fog lifted had all numbers except those with 0.
And the newly discovered stele with the primordial glyph of cold bore 10.
'Do the oracles left for the successor all get numbers with 0?'
Excluding 0, 10, 20, and 100, there were 7 oracle steles remaining.
Each probably bearing different primordial glyphs or arrangements.
'Marron's faction had one too.'
But strictly speaking, that was an oracle for the hero.
The inscription on it had been carved by the ancient hero himself, which was how they'd known a hero would arise in their time of chaos.
My guess was it was assigned 99. Or, since the hero carved it, maybe no number at all.
That felt most natural.
My scattered thoughts began to coalesce into clarity.
'I just need to find 7 more oracles.'
That simple conclusion hit home.
Searching blindly without knowing how many there were versus hunting with a clear count—the difference in hopelessness was vast.
And one crucial fact I'd overlooked.
Coordinates.
Those carved on each stele were probably their original locations.
Of course, after thousands of years, the terrain had changed, and the values might be imprecise.
But rough positions were estimable.
I approached the other steles and checked their coordinates one by one.
Surprisingly, the numbers weren't just sequence markers—they reflected spatial distances.
1 and 2 were close coordinates, with 2 positioned between 1 and 3.
'Then... I can roughly calculate the coordinates for the missing numbers in between.'
Of course, only twenty steles had been revealed so far after the fog lifted.
And the estimable number 10... I'd already found it.
More precisely, the Tower of Intellect had found it in the snow mountains.
Of all numbers, it had to be 10—talk about bad luck...
I stood up. Infusing mana into my finger, I swung it through the air.
A thin line of light traced in the air, lines connecting.
A massive continent map began to draw itself.
Mana unfolded before me like a map.
I marked the twenty coordinates on my drawn continent and connected their paths.
The estimated coordinate between 9 and 11.
It was, as expected, in the northeastern snow mountains.
But the problem came next.
From the 20s to the 90s.
There were still so many undiscovered steles.
In other words, dozens more steles lay buried somewhere in the fog.
'Should I scout the fog?'
Now that the idea had struck, I couldn't just sit still.
I stepped straight into the area where the fog hadn't lifted.
It wasn't forcibly blocking the path or anything.
Even in the fog where I couldn't see an inch ahead, maybe I'd stumble on a stele if I walked...
...Or so I thought, but no.
I walked for a good while, but nothing appeared.
According to my estimates, there should have been a stele around here.
Were there really no more steles?
Or...
'Maybe they can't be seen because the fog hasn't lifted yet.'
There had to be a reason certain areas remained fog-shrouded.
If I could just push through the fog and find them, there'd be no point in blocking them off to begin with.
Then the traces for the next stele would vanish too.
The last remaining clue was the stele held by the Naked Truth.
'...Only by finding that one will the next path open.'