Chapter 135
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Flow (2)
I carefully picked up that hat-like object.
Up close, it looked even stranger.
The curved... brim, I suppose you could call it.
Below it, thin threads stretched out like tentacles, touching the floor.
When I held it in my hand, the threads simply dangled long without breaking.
Something that was neither a living being nor an artifact. A bizarre object straddling that boundary.
I hesitated for a moment before lightly placing it on my head.
Surprisingly, there was no resistance at all. Not even the sensation of weight on my head.
And the next moment.
Like dropping thick ink into a glass of water, the vast structure of the unseen Abyss invaded my vision and consciousness in an instant.
Connections formed that even I couldn't achieve right now.
It was as if thousands of eyes opened at once, revealing everything.
Really just like CCTV.
Since this was a zone created by the one who grasps the system of creation, it wasn't strange for an object with such functions to exist.
Still, the more I looked, the more I sensed that the successor was truly cut from the same cloth as me.
But the pure surprise lasted only a moment.
The very instant I thought to examine below the first floor, a torrent of information slammed into my brain.
The endless depths of the prison, incessant passages and cracks intertwined across every layer, traces so vivid you could even tell who had passed through.
The overwhelming volume of data sparked a stabbing pain, as if something in my head was tearing apart.
That pain swelled in an instant.
An unbearable migraine crashed over me like a tsunami.
...Damn.
I reflexively tore the hat from my head like flinging it away.
In that split second, the information flooded into my brain was literally the entire Abyss.
All the layers below the first floor—unconnected to me—had been forcibly shoved in at once.
I hadn't even been able to scrutinize below the first floor.
'Is it because I haven't adapted yet?'
Or perhaps the Daon tribe itself could handle this overwhelming information, and the device was tailored for them.
I took several breaths to steady myself and sort my thoughts.
Adapting to this hat to survey the entire structure of the Abyss wasn't really urgent, honestly.
Right now, I already had a backlog of tasks within the limits of what information I could process.
'At this point, I've pretty much checked most of the spaces linked to my senses...'
It was true—I was gradually growing accustomed to my connection with this space.
And that made it all the clearer.
This hidden space itself was heavily damaged.
The traces left by the first-floor prisoners as they tore and broke through everywhere during their escape were vividly apparent right now.
This place was a kind of twisted space, impossible to easily find from outside.
A space hidden in the gaps completely averted from external sight.
This sort of technique seemed to be a favorite among Transcendents.
Not mere concealment magic, but a separate dimension crafted by twisting the very fabric of space.
Probably not easy magic. I hadn't even seen it back when I didn't understand Transcendents.
At best, it resembled the structure of the space hidden in Philip Deran's castle.
They seemed to share a similar weave... but ultimately, I'd have to delve deeper to know for sure.
And the reason I kept pondering this was because I thought I could repair it to some extent.
I immediately headed to the boundary of the hidden space.
As I drew near the boundary, a sensation came over me, as if something brushed my fingertips from beyond a thin membrane.
Invisible to the eye, but the connection felt beyond my consciousness unfolded the space layer by layer.
The gaps in the space—tangled like a ball of yarn—revealed their nature, direction, and exactly where they were severed, down to the finest detail.
Having encountered such techniques multiple times now, my eyes had opened to them. And above all, from the moment I connected to this space, I could directly adjust the entry structure to the first floor.
If repaired, the space would be concealed from the outside once more.
Of course... I still couldn't hide it from a Transcendent on the level of the Tower of Intellect.
'Hmm... I think I can patch it up to some degree with derivative primal mana.'
The hidden space was already torn in spots here and there.
Deep gouges left by the escaping prisoners. Ordinary mana couldn't fill or conceal those gaps. Anyone would notice.
But primal mana was different.
If you truly grasped its essence, it could become anything.
Upon closer inspection, the key to the technique hiding this space was the concealing weave itself.
That subtle flow twisting the space to hide it.
To mend the damaged sections, I'd need to bind them with threads.
My primal mana could serve as those threads.
On a whim, I summoned derivative primal mana. And that primal mana transformed once more into a property akin to this space's own weave.
I slightly raised my fingertip and began stitching the threads along the space's fabric.
Picking up each gap one by one, pulling, connecting, covering.
It felt just like meticulously sewing the torn sections of old fabric with precise needlework.
The more I did it, the more it came naturally.
The threads of primal mana began forming a new, thin yet sturdy membrane over the boundary.
The originally unified fabric of space slowly regained its proper form.
I mended one torn gouge.
It took a fair bit of time... but well, first time's the charm.
I was certain I'd get faster with practice.
I had no idea how searching for the Hero's arrangements had led to me doing this...
'Shall I fix a few more?'
As I meticulously traced the space's weave, something snagged in my senses.
An unfamiliar sensation.
It was a sensation relayed by this Abyss space itself, now linked to me.
...Had someone come nearby?
The fact that this sensation hadn't registered until now meant there really wasn't a single prisoner around the entrance.
'The chat room members shouldn't be gathering for a while yet... who could it be?'
I quickly moved to the warden's seat and picked up the hat again.
Below the first floor was too much, but around the entrance, I could layer my vision and senses.
I expanded my consciousness through the hat and probed the direction where the sensation had snagged earlier.
Nearby, but not yet inside this space.
Right outside the entrance. The point not fully entered into this space.
Someone was visible.
An appearance I'd never seen before.
The body proportions vaguely resembled a human, but the size exceeded human limits.
And strictly speaking, the limbs were abnormally long and thin, while something like jointed bones spread out from the back in multiple directions, like a peacock's tail.
He stood in the shade of a dense forest.
In that dim place where light barely reached, his form was strangely blurry.
Flickering as if the actual shape itself was indistinct. Like a moving silhouette.
But one thing was crystal clear.
He was looking around, a black sphere clutched in one hand.
'...An Apostle of Evil?'
But he wasn't one of those I saw when my clone was kidnapped.
No, if it was a form blurred in the darkness like that, maybe I hadn't spotted him.
Back then, they had looked at me and mentioned the 11th Apostle.
Which implied the prior ten Apostles existed, yet I'd only clearly confirmed the appearances of four or five.
So it was natural there would be Apostles of Evil I didn't know.
The black sphere in his hand—probably the tool that deploys the black curtain.
Asma had deployed one here last time, after all.
'...This is bad.'
If my guess was right, this was a real headache.
I was alone here right now.
I still lacked the power to stand against an Apostle of Evil. That was why I'd called the Tower of Intellect here in the first place.
I couldn't let that Apostle in now. The thought flashed through my mind.
The current hidden curtain was ragged from the wounds left by the escaping prisoners.
I needed to repair it. Hide the space again. Before that guy entered.
Fortunately, I didn't need to seal every crack right away.
Out of the dozens of wounds, I just had to block the single passage linked to the Apostle's direction.
My swiftly connected senses revealed exactly where.
I removed the hat and headed straight there.
From the way the Apostle outside was glancing around, he hadn't pinpointed the location yet.
Not that I had endless time, but sealing just one gap was plenty.
I crossed the Abyss domain—now as navigable as my own home—and arrived at the gap the outside Apostle was hunting.
I summoned primal mana, revived the recent sensation, and swiftly began stitching the space's rift closed.