Chapter 132
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Chapter 132
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Response
The first option that came to mind was, of course, heading straight to the group of Transcendents led by Maron.
If the worst-case scenario unfolded where the prisoners of the Abyss extended their reach all the way to the Empire, they were the only ones with the power to at least stem that tide.
With Ivan's identity, relaying the situation to them would actually be straightforward.
He already had a Communication Orb that allowed real-time communication with Maron, and he knew the exact location of their hideout to begin with.
They'd even been exchanging occasional messages through it up until recently.
The group seemed to be focusing on expanding their numbers lately.
They'd even subtly asked me when I was coming back.
But I decided not to use Ivan's identity.
It was true that reaching them would be easy, but there was another issue.
The information about the Abyss.
As Ivan, I couldn't relay the current events exactly as they were.
I could hint at it indirectly by saying I'd sensed something off while traveling in the south... but the problem was I couldn't utter the word "Abyss" out loud.
If information had levels of classification, the Abyss would rank pretty high up there.
It would be unnatural for Ivan to know about it, and it would raise suspicions with them.
So I chose to use Cedric's identity instead.
The reasons were twofold. First, I already knew their hideout's location. If I wanted, I could head there myself.
Second, I'd achieved magical integration. I wouldn't have even considered this without reaching that stage.
They were more insular and paranoid than expected; without that power, I wouldn't be able to handle any variables that arose.
Wrapped head to toe in Cedric's garb, I made my way to the hideout I knew of.
Even before achieving magical integration, I'd sensed something off about this spot.
Now, that feeling hit me even more intensely.
Sure enough, some kind of trap must be set up here.
Or maybe a space-warping spell.
Ever since becoming a Transcendent, I'd frequently encountered traces of hidden spaces tucked within these distortions.
Probably a common trick among Transcendents.
Then, in the middle of the forest, a voice echoed from afar.
"Who goes there."
The voice was familiar. It was Gabina, the diminutive dwarf half-breed.
The first time I'd visited as Ivan, she'd practically bounced over to greet me.
Back then, I'd thought her movements were incredibly swift and elusive, but now they'd be plain as day to me.
"I've come to deliver news to you all."
"News?"
"Figured you wouldn't know yet."
What followed was something close to genuine bewilderment.
"What nonsense is this? How do you even know to come here?"
"The prisoners of the Abyss have escaped."
"...What? The Abyss? What's the Abyss... Huh? The Abyss?"
As expected, they were still in the dark about the situation.
It was only natural, really.
I'd witnessed the prisoners' escape in real time and come straight here afterward.
No one could have relayed this info faster than me.
"... "
Gabina's voice didn't return for a while. Was she gathering her thoughts, or talking it over with her comrades inside?
I had no intention of giving her that time. This was their hideout, after all. If she started a long back-and-forth with those inside, variables could crop up.
I had no plans to go in; I just wanted to drop the info and leave, so they could respond that much faster.
"The prisoners from the Abyss's first floor were freed by the forces of evil. The fallout from their ruthless breakout could spread toward the Empire, so keep it in mind and prepare accordingly."
"Wait... Why tell us? No, how the hell do you even know this place? This is insane."
She sounded pretty flustered, her words tumbling out uncoherently.
"That's all I have to say."
With that, I spun on my heel without hesitation.
"Hey, wait!"
Gabina called out urgently from behind, but I didn't look back as I swiftly exited the forest.
No signs of pursuit.
They must have judged it too risky to chase a suspicious intruder outside.
Makes sense. The interior would be fortified, but not the exterior.
They wouldn't recklessly venture out to pursue someone who knew their hideout.
'No other Transcendents inside?'
Merin had once mentioned that, hideout or not, they didn't always stick around there.
With Gabina panicking alone and no other presences, I could make a reasonable guess.
Talk about perfect timing on my part.
Now it was time to go into hiding again and revert to Ivan.
What came next was 'the act.'
Since I'd snatched the Oracle Stele right under the Tower of Intellect's nose, I needed to leave messages in the chat room as if reporting to '0.' And I'd have to put on a show through the orb linked to Maron too. If possible, I could even request protection for the family.
Vieirn territory was in the Empire's south, so if any prisoners passed through there on their way north, it was dangerously close.
Before slipping away as Ivan, I checked the Manaphone while still concealed.
The chat room was buzzing with conversation.
Not much time had passed yet, so there was no report about Chamar arriving at the Merciful Crown.
That said, talk of the Abyss prisoners' escape was heating up the discussion.
No one seemed overly rattled.
The Merciful Crown's western seas were far outside the impact zone to begin with, and the elves' lands were at the very northern edge of the Empire. It would take quite some time before it affected them.
Their focus was elsewhere.
More than other concerns, they were wondering what '0' would do next.
It was a question I'd been pondering myself.
The Tower of Intellect claimed '0's plan had gone perfectly, but that was only because we'd adapted to new info as it came.
Strictly speaking, the prisoners' escape meant not everything had gone according to '0's script.
So right now, as '0,' I needed to show that I had another countermeasure ready, as if I'd foreseen this too.
For starters, I'd bring up the Oracle Stele.
Found the Oracle Stele.
You're only mentioning that now?
What have you been doing all this time?
What were you doing while I was playing babysitter for nothing?
And strictly speaking, it's not the Oracle Stele.
We don't know yet.
We can't know its true nature.
Still, the fact that such a stele exists in the Abyss makes me think it's no ordinary item.
Specify the location, and I'll check it.
It was a ridiculous situation where I was talking to myself and responding... but I'd endure it. This was a secret I couldn't share with anyone, one I had to keep to myself.
Compared to what's unfolding now, this was nothing.
I've come too far down this path already...
The Tower of Intellect seemed pretty pent-up with frustration.
Having left a message as '0,' I needed to roll out the next countermeasure.
For now, I pulled the stele from my subspace and touched it.
Just like before, it vanished in an instant.
'Definitely the Oracle Stele.'
Truth be told, like the Root of Understanding said, I'd been 99% sure the moment I found it in the Abyss.
The first stele I'd touched in the snow mountains had disappeared just as quickly.
And that one had transferred me to the hero's grave in my consciousness.
Same thing this time.
I dove straight into my consciousness space.
There, before the hero's grave and the newly appeared stele nearby, I summoned Aru's primordial mana.
The moment the light bathed the stele's surface, words began to emerge one by one on what had been blank stone.
'This time... it's not about the primordial glyphs.'
A quick skim of the beginning showed no mention of the primordial glyphs.
Maybe because it came from the Abyss. Well, considering how many steles remained, even explaining all the elemental primordial glyphs wouldn't use them up.
Do you know the star that lingers not in the heavens, but is bound beneath the depths?
I continued scanning the lines that followed.
After calmly reading through to the next part, it seemed this stele was explaining the Abyss.
Comparing it to a star?
And then I paused at a certain passage.
"...Huh?"
Like a star's orbit, it is inherently unreachable, yet the one who awakens the primordial can alter its path.
This is the shadow of the star that opens and closes the dormant path in response to primordial power.
⟨ Abyss Revelation ⟩
It's a bit verbose, but boiled down: Using primordial mana lets you control the Abyss.
Just like how the traps in the hero's original setup had all shut down in response to primordial mana.
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