Were Synchronization Marbles Always This Easy?

Were Synchronization Marbles always this easy to come by?

At this rate, shouldn't a few more have turned up long before now?

The thought had crossed his mind. For the most part, though, Synchronization Marbles existed only in truly dangerous regions—one look at the predators and monsters nesting nearby was enough to understand why. The king's bedchamber had been an exception, and even that, in its own way, had been a dangerous place.

"Hoo……."

If anything, the interior of the Ice Palace was colder than the world outside. Even after consuming the Essence of Fire, he could feel the chill with perfect clarity. Of course, the item's effects were so absurdly overpowered that he never actually felt cold.

"I don't sense a single presence……."

"Were we not told a trial awaited?"

"The Ice Palace itself doesn't seem to be the trial."

There might be some device inside that administered it.

Yujun, Tapagol, and Paranet split up. Nothing in the Ice Palace posed a serious threat, and a summon could be revived even in death, so there was no harm in letting them move alone. Manuela and Harp stayed with Yujun—Harp most of all. The little beast carried a devastating attack skill and limitless potential, and Yujun meant to keep him protected at every moment so he would not die.

The palace interior was broad, though not so vast that they would have to scour it day and night.

Yujun was more interested in the Synchronization Marble than in the trial.

Find the marble first.

Nothing required him to undertake the trial within a set time, so he could afford to take his leisure. The moment a Synchronization Marble vibrated even once, hunting down another became easier than taking candy from a baby. All he had to do was walk toward the strengthening pulse.

Yujun followed where the marble led.

At some point he stopped and cocked his head. Something strange had come into view.

A portal?

A warp portal stood there—an enormous one, inscribed with intricate, precise patterns. The magic circle drawn across its floor held a staggering volume of circulating mana.

What is this place?

Someone had clearly raised the Ice Palace, and within it sat a magical portal on a scale he had never seen. Even with the vast magical knowledge granted by Ancient Magic (EX++), he could not begin to imagine constructing a circle or a gate like this. The craftsmanship was so far beyond him that it stirred a sting of inadequacy.

What kind of mage had made it?

Should I pick up more magic skills and traits?

Were Ancient Magic and the Magic Comprehension trait already reaching their limit?

No.

His stats were high enough as they stood. High was putting it mildly—the numbers he posted were beyond anyone else's reach. Skills and traits would come in time. He needed to keep a looser grip on his impatience.

Yujun donned the Eagle Eye Scouter and searched the surroundings.

The Synchronization Marble.

He could not see it.

It should be right around here.

Then he found a sphere even larger than a Synchronization Marble.

……A sealing orb?

An Absolute Sealing Orb.

Why was it here?

Yujun hurriedly opened his inventory. He checked on the off chance he had dropped his own, but the Absolute Sealing Orb was sitting right there, plain as day.

"Then what is this?"

Why was an item this precious lying in such a shabby place?

"Not that I'm complaining."

An ownerless object could have its ownership claimed, so long as no separate barrier protected it. If enough time had passed, that was guaranteed.

Yujun snatched the Absolute Sealing Orb up without hesitation.

Good. Ownership's already lapsed.

Just as he had expected. A smile bloomed across his lips as he turned the orb over in his hands.

Wait…….

It occurred to him that someone might still be sealed inside.

After a moment's thought, Yujun released the seal.

"……."

Someone popped out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the orb—a figure no taller than five foot three, with a familiar sort of face.

A human?

The eyes were sunken, the body little more than skin and bone. At first he had wondered whether it was a goblin, but a closer look confirmed it was human.

Absolute Sealing Orbs are genuinely difficult to obtain.

It was not a paid item, and yet it was rarer than most things money could buy. Even Yujun possessed only a single one. That said everything.

There's only one place an Absolute Sealing Orb can be obtained. And no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one but me should know where it is.

That was no guarantee other players would never find the location, no matter how much time passed, so one additional orb was hardly strange. More of them might simply have been released into the Tower of Infinity.

Well. I'll take the gift.

Yujun rifled through the unconscious man's clothes.

Decent gear.

Every piece of equipment was Legendary grade—and a set, at that. Players outfitted to that standard were exceedingly rare.

Then he found a large pouch hanging at the man's waist.

What's this? It's stuffed.

Yujun loosened the drawstring to check ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the contents, and his mouth fell open.

"What is all this……."

Horrifyingly, the pouch was full of severed ears. Not one or two. Several dozen, at the very least.

"What kind of bastard is this?"

They were not items. The man had simply cut the ears off and kept them. It made no sense.

Some kind of twisted collector?

Yujun looked down at the unconscious man. Snake eyes and a mean little mouth lent the face a peculiarly unpleasant cast. But the man was worse than he had imagined. The pouch was not the end of it. Strapped to his back was a bag even larger, and when Yujun opened that too, it was packed with ears as well—ears of wildly different shapes.

Collected by race?

He understood well enough now what kind of psycho and pervert this was. No wonder the man had been locked in an Absolute Sealing Orb. A monster this vicious could spend the rest of his life sealed away and have nothing to say for himself.

I've got an equally horrific wreck of a person sealed in my own orb. Colchi.

How horrific was Colchi? He belonged to the Demon God Worshippers. He was a cruel, merciless criminal who had refused to answer a single question and clung to his loyalty to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cult until the end. A Demon God Worshipper could not be forgiven for any reason. Merely belonging to that group was enough. At least, that was how Yujun saw it.

"Ugh…… Wh-where am I?"

The pervert woke.

Yujun leaned in close.

"Wh-who are you!"

"Who are you?"

"Miura Genshin. That is my name."

"Huh? You're Japanese?"

"I am."

What was a Japanese man doing here? He had thought the face looked a little off. A Japanese national who had been living in Korea, maybe? That would make sense. Not everyone summoned to the Tower of Infinity was Korean.

"Why were you sealed?"

Miura Genshin floundered in confusion until Yujun slapped his cheek. The blow seemed to snap him awake; his eyes flew wide.

"What was that place? The suffering was so bad I thought I would die. I was trying to flee that monster and cross over to the Korean server……. Death would have been kinder. And my head is so fogged it feels as if an enormous stretch of time has passed……."

"Hold on. Korea? The Korean server? You're saying there's a Japanese server too?"

"Th-that's right. I only learned of it a little while ago myself."

"……."

The more he heard, the more absurd it sounded. Did that mean this was not reality at all, but something operated and managed by someone, the way a game was? It might have been a leap. But if it were true…….

There was a great deal he wanted to ask.

"Genshin, was it?"

"Yes."

"Hand over the Synchronization Marble first."

"Who are you to give me orders?"

"Your master. Want to go back in there?"

"……Unbelievable. Do you know who I am? You stand before Lord Miura Genshin, the one they call the God of the Sword."

"Wow. I just cringed."

What kind of way was that to talk? Even after a translation had already sanded the words down once, they were still that bad. Hopeless.

Yujun stuffed Miura Genshin back into the Absolute Sealing Orb, then summoned him again at once.

"Hrk—hah!"

Miura Genshin gasped for breath, snatched up his sword, and charged. Yujun knocked the blade aside with the flat of his own and drove two blows into the man's flank.

Thwack! Crack!

"Ghk!"

"Where's the Synchronization Marble?"

"I—I don't know! I mean—I do not know! There is no such item!"

"You don't? Funny. It's saying you've got it."

The vibration grew stronger the closer he came to Miura Genshin. The man was clearly carrying it.

"Check your inventory properly."

"Y-yes!"

A single exchange had been enough for Miura Genshin to grasp the gap between them. He turned docile.

"H-here it is!"

"If you had it, why hide it?"

"I—no, I didn't even know an item like this was in my inventory! Truly! I'm not lying!"

"You didn't know?"

"Yes! But why do you want it? From what I could tell, it doesn't even do anything……."

"None of your concern."

Yujun placed the Synchronization Marble he had taken from Genshin into his inventory. A message surfaced before his eyes.

That was when Paranet came pelting over in a panic.

"Master!"

"What."

"I have found it!"

"Found what?"

"A statue that bestows the trial! It addressed me without the slightest warning and gave me a proper fright. I inclined my ear, and—well—it asked, in so many words, whether I meant to attempt something difficult!"

"Where is it?"

"You need only follow me! Hah-hah!"

Convinced he had accomplished something, Paranet strode ahead with a swagger. He was so delighted he did not even notice Miura Genshin.

Ridiculous.

Still, the skeleton had undeniably been useful. Yujun shoved the blank-faced Miura Genshin back into the Absolute Sealing Orb.

"Wh-what are you—!"

Unable to finish, Miura Genshin was returned to the chamber of pain.

No need to show a man like this any consideration.

He was obviously a villain. The conversation that might prove the most important of all could wait until Yujun had the leisure to hear it properly.

Yujun summoned Tapagol and followed Paranet.

The statue said to administer the trial stood at the far end of the Ice Palace. Paranet must have found it first because he had charged all the way to the end in a fit of enthusiasm. It depicted a warrior bearing sword and shield, and it looked at least thirteen feet tall.

Then a low, heavy voice rolled out of the stone.

The statue's kindly counsel—to treasure one's life—came through clearly enough.

Yujun answered without a shred of hesitation.

The world before his eyes went white.

It lasted only a moment. A new landscape unfolded, and from somewhere the sound of someone groaning under strain went on without end. The sound came from very far away, but Yujun, with a body past human limits, could hear it with perfect clarity.

He listened.

"Ugh……."

"Did they say they found him?"

"No. The bastard would have to be that slippery. For a mage, he seems awfully good at darting away."

"He didn't even seem that strong. I still don't understand how he gave us so much trouble."

"He used to be strong. At some point he simply weakened all at once."

"Heh. I can still picture him scrambling off in a panic. Serves him right."

"They'll catch him soon enough. The Black Knight Order has already been sent out, hasn't it?"

"True. If it's those monsters, a freakish-looking rabbit mage shouldn't be hard to bag."

Eavesdropping from a great distance, Yujun's eyes went wide.

A rabbit mage. Hardly a common existence. King Calton and Prince Sirius looked like rabbits through and through, and yet, strangely, the Underground Kingdom had almost no rabbits. Aside from the king and the prince, he had never seen a single one. Perhaps the rabbit race itself was a mark of royalty.

Could it be Genus?