Chapter 68

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 68

Chapter Title: Transcendent's Preparations

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- To the one who has witnessed Eden, there is a message. Should the successor paper of the future discover this, deliver it to your master.

I could grasp one hidden meaning in this inscription right away.

It was written with the future hero—the next Hero—in mind, the one who would find this stele first. From that, I could tell that not even he was truly omniscient, able to predict everything.

And another thing.

The previous Hero had seen this inscription first but hadn't engraved it himself.

He knew this message was meant for me in the future.

'Does that mean there was some kind of indirect communication like this between them?'

I lowered my gaze further down.

- The oracle will be severed. Yet provisions remain for the successor, so do not lose the light. Finding the provisions will not be difficult.

Provisions remain...

My guess was the System of Creation. The stele in front of the Hero's Tomb had the System of Creation inscribed on it, but the record cut off around the halfway point, didn't it?

Did that mean parts I hadn't fully checked were still there? Or were there other provisions beyond that?

"Do not lose the light" likely referred to primordial mana. After all, it was primordial mana that had revealed these hidden words so far.

In other words, anyone who could wield primordial mana would have no trouble finding those provisions.

'I already knew that...'

I shifted my gaze even lower.

- Provisions for the next Hero also remain.

- They lie where the sun dips toward the west and the earth's shadow grows longest. Where the third star of the north aligns in a straight line with the seventh star of the south. On the land where an ancient tree splits into three branches...

The text continued after that, but from there, it was a message directed at the Hero.

Provisions for the Hero.

Complete with precise coordinates, no less.

And there, the stele's hidden inscription came to an end.

'Why reveal the Hero's provisions but not mine...?'

I could vaguely guess the reason. The provisions for the Hero could be claimed by anyone without issue, but mine were only accessible to one who wielded primordial mana.

'In the end, I have to hunt down another oracle stele.'

The lack of a specific pointer meant finding more steles like this one would do the trick.

Looking on the bright side, it wasn't a dead end with no countermeasures. Preparations had been made for the successor.

'If the stele at the Hero's Tomb had truly been the last one, even reaching the origin wouldn't have gotten me anywhere afterward.'

I recovered the offshoot primordial mana and rose to my feet.

As I walked back through the cave and emerged outside, I spotted Gabina and Merin sitting alone at the table.

They turned their heads toward me, sensing my presence.

I shrugged.

"No traces."

"It's fine. It'd be weirder if traces lingered on something that old."

"Sorry for being stubborn."

Merin chuckled and shook her head at my words.

"Never thought I'd hear an apology from you. Anyway, congrats on reaching the 7th Hierarchy. That was the whole reason we came here, right? Just one step left now."

One step meaning just one step to Transcendent.

Expectancy gleamed in Merin's eyes. Was she really plotting to scout me the moment I hit that point?

She'd gotten so blatant lately that playing dumb was getting tough.

"Don't get cocky just because you're at the 7th Hierarchy. Get back to training pronto. Didn't that Oz girl get you a 7th Hierarchy spellbook last time?"

"That's the plan."

I needed time to adjust anyway. I'd skipped straight to the next hierarchy again this time.

"I said one step, but a massive wall beyond words will appear before you. A hurdle training alone can't overcome—and I'll help you with that."

Merin flashed a confident smile.

"Hard to come by guidance like this, right? Especially at the 7th Hierarchy, you'll face a whole new world unlike anything you've trained for so far."

She was talking about refining the image, probably.

I was curious about that process myself. The other Transcendents in the chat room had all mentioned it too.

Merin was offering to help with it. Her smug confidence made sense now—like she was dead certain she'd be a huge asset.

"Well, if you're reluctant to leave and want to keep training here, I won't stop you."

"Nah. It's the same old training anyway."

I shook my head. I'd used checking the oracle stele as an excuse to come here myself. With my goal achieved, there was no reason to linger.

As the mood shifted to departure, Gabina approached me too. Up close, she really was only up to my solar plexus in height. A slight bow, and I'd see the top of her head.

"Next time we meet, you'll be a Transcendent? By then, you can face off against the others too."

I did want to meet that Maron fellow once.

I nodded, then before leaving, gathered mana in my palm. I shaped it.

The mana swelled with a gurgle, taking form in an instant. Becoming a Transcendent had skyrocketed my shaping speed too.

In the blink of an eye, the mana clump transformed into an exact replica of the oracle stele from deep in the cave.

"...What the heck, all of a sudden?"

"In case something similar turns up, I figured I'd check it. Want me to make you some?"

Even if they found one, they couldn't read the hidden inscription—but an opportunity like this might arise again.

"Sure, make one and let's go."

My original plan with the human Transcendent group was to walk a tightrope, maintaining ties just enough to extract information.

Things had gone smoothly so far, but the moment I became a Transcendent, something would shift. They seemed to be waiting for exactly that.

'The provisions...'

For now, I'd scattered the word far and wide. To the human Transcendent group, and before that, to the chat room folks too—offering a reward for any oracle steles found.

No need to rush. I hadn't reached the origin yet, after all.

What I needed to do now was methodically prepare to become a Transcendent.

Someday I'd have to tell the people around me that I'd become one, but not yet. At least not until I had the full power of a true Transcendent.

My benchmark would be domain magic. Once I could create the domain magic that Transcendents make, then I'd worry about it.

'Wonder if Anonymous (2) can help.'

Oh right—I'd shared my status in the chat room and hadn't checked back since.

Pulling out my manaphone, I saw messages piled up high.

Anonymous (1) was suffering from the agony of an unexpected read-but-no-reply.

No read receipts here made it even more maddening, probably.

Time to update the features. I'd been mulling over photo functionality for a while anyway.

I'd even convincingly replicated Philip Deran's clone with it once. Close to video projection, sure.

I'd once said swapping in a new manaphone was impossible.

This one had such robust connections.

But as an admin phone, it packed a ton of extra features.

Connectable anywhere mana existed—and good luck finding a spot on this continent without it.

That ironclad link enabled all sorts of admin perks.

Otherwise, it wouldn't reach the ocean depths where Anonymous (3) presumably lurked.

'How does it even work down there normally, though?'

Connection aside, the deep sea should've wrecked a manaphone before any signal issues.

Well, whatever lived down there probably shielded it somehow.

'Oh yeah, I promised Professor Palrez another invention.'

This was a chance to knock out two birds with one stone.