Chapter 75 16. Tirpe (1)
Tirpe (1)
Episode 76
It had been quite a while since I woke up. Yet, it still didn't feel like I had fully shaken off sleep.
Tirpe rubbed her eyes in bewilderment.
Even so, this sight was something she couldn't easily accept.
"Here! Eat up. Quick! This too!"
Park Si-hyun was gripping the Wanderer's jaw and shoving food into its mouth.
Sizzle!
After suddenly throwing a tantrum about pulling out a portable stove from subspace, he enthusiastically began frying bacon on a heated pan, occasionally flicking his fingers to stylishly sprinkle salt.
The Wanderer chomped down on the bacon piled on the plate.
Seemingly satisfied with the taste, its previously turbulent gaze softened into something round and gentle.
'...W-what in the world is this situation...?'
It was a bizarre scene—a human serving food to a Wanderer.
...Good god, that enigmatic Wanderer was devouring human food. Even seeing it with her own eyes, Tirpe couldn't believe it. It felt like she was trapped in some absurd dream.
"......."
Tirpe glanced awkwardly at Park Si-hyun.
"......."
But even when their eyes met, Park Si-hyun had nothing particular to say. He just kept his mouth shut and vigorously stirred soup powder into a pot of boiling water. There was nothing more infuriating than clumps of undissolved soup mix, so he worked at it with equal fervor.
Incidentally, the pot, the soup, the ladle, and even the portable stove had all been retrieved from Tirpe's subspace.
Tirpe, too, had handed them over in a panic after waking up to Maltaira's presence, trembling in fear.
The laws of the Outer Dimension were so wretched that the gas flame flickered unpredictably, but it was still bearable.
At the very least, the immediate threat to their lives from the Wanderer had diminished.
[It's... delicious.]
Finally, the Wanderer, its belly full, began to grow more distinct.
If before it had been little more than a foggy imitation of a human form, now strands of hair had sprouted—not quite a full head, but enough to suggest the beginnings of a woman's appearance. The visible transformation left Tirpe utterly dumbfounded.
"Good, right? We don't have much, but eat as much as you want."
And he even had the audacity to act proud about it.
"...."
Tirpe silently observed Park Si-hyun.
Sweating, he energetically shook the frying pan before scooping out soup for the Wanderer.
And then he smiled.
"'We don't have much, but eat as much as you want'?"
...A glimpse of humanity had surfaced in that wicked face. It was a side of Park Si-hyun Tirpe had never seen before.
And slowly, Tirpe began to piece it together.
The more the Wanderer chewed its food—
[This taste... is nostalgic...]
—the more it gazed wistfully into the empty air.
Wanderers were neither dead nor alive—an ambiguous race.
Even their memories were vague.
But if given a clue to recall their past...
[Thank... you... human...]
They responded with pure goodwill.
Park Si-hyun's expression relaxed, as if he had finally let out a breath he'd been holding.
'An unfathomable man...'
He truly was a strange one. How had he known Wanderers could be this pure? Even if someone had guessed it, they would never have dared act on it.
Yet he had done so effortlessly.
'Is he really a prophet...?'
When he abruptly woke her up to face the Wanderer, she had thought it was over.
But he had turned crisis into opportunity.
And not just that—he had even displayed an astonishing affinity with the Wanderer.
"Hey, Maltaira. We need to get out of here. Can you guide us to the Obelisk of Origin?"
[The Obelisk... of Origin...]
Tirpe's ears perked up at the unfamiliar term.
Maltaira swayed her chillingly pale body before answering.
[...I can... guide you... but...]
Her gaze shifted toward the cave's crevice.
The murky sky swirled ominously—a sign that a storm was approaching the Outer Dimension.
[...Only... after the storm... passes.]
"Tch. Figures."
The storms of the Outer Dimension were spatial upheavals. The dimension itself was inherently unstable, with space constantly warping and shifting. These storms were disasters where such distortions occurred relentlessly.
Unless one was exceptionally strong, the pressure from successive spatial shifts could tear a body to shreds.
[...Once the storm passes... I will guide you.]
Park Si-hyun wanted to smile, but he couldn't.
Because this small victory had cost them a week's worth of food.
#
During the meal.
I stared intently at Maltaira, who had given her firm answer.
Right now, Maltaira's Affection Level was...
『Maltaira's Affection Level: 43 / 10』
Not bad at all.
On a whim, I checked Tirpe's as well.
『Tirpe's Affection Level: 72 / 100』
Surprisingly high.
At this point, even if I pinned her down and took her virginity, she probably wouldn't complain.
When our eyes met, Tirpe's face flushed bright red. Her dark pupils darted away from mine.
—...H-he really is... handsome, huh. Even among humans and elves... I doubt there were many like him...
Heh. Of course. I'm Park Si-hyun, the dangerously sexy heartthrob.
Park Si-hyun, you dumbass. With this kind of charm and looks, the fact that you couldn't even bed the heroines just proves you were a fucking loser.
Then.
[...I sense... a licentious aura.]
The mist-formed Wanderer turned its gaze toward me.
My hand twitched involuntarily from the shock.
"Stop yapping and eat this."
I ladled boiling soup into a dish.
The wanderer peered into the bowl and nodded silently.
Its smooth, featureless lower jaw split horizontally—schlick—and the food was sucked in through the gap.
Honestly, the fact that wanderers could be appeased with food was closer to a gamble than a strategy.
'Thank god the game had an option to feed wanderers.'
Wanderers had no facial features whatsoever.
Where eyes should be, only eerie light bloomed.
The mere idea of feeding creatures without mouths was frankly insane. Yet the game had forced it as a choice.
『1. Engage the wanderer in combat.』
『2. Attempt to placate the wanderer.』
『3. Offer food to the wanderer.』
Out of those, the third option had been the least terrible.
And thanks to that, I'd steadily built up their Affection Levels.
'The game's paying off big time. Well, that's what being a Possessor is all about.'
[More.]
Maltaira pushed an empty dish toward me.
I shook my head and scooped more soup for her.
"Guess you missed the taste. Fine, have more." ("Stop stuffing your face.")
I barely managed to keep the latter thought to myself.
[Th...ank you. But you...]
"Hm?"
[...Why did you... enter the Outer Dimension?]
For a moment, I put on a sorrowful face and shot Tirpe a pointed look. She flinched and averted her eyes.
All I could do was sigh.
"Let's just say there's a long, complicated story behind it."
[I... see... Has the Tower... begun opening again...?]
"Yeah. The Tower's gates have reopened."
[Is that... why the <Ambiguous Terminator> is running wild...?]
"Can't say I know about that."
[I... see... Well... Stay here until the storm calms... You two...]
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Maltaira's luminous gaze sharpened.
Her translucent eyes scrutinized me intently.
[But... you... Why hasn't your mind collapsed yet?]
"What?"
What kind of nonsense was this?
But the shadowy figure's stare was deadly serious—not something I could brush off.
[You have no organ... to materialize Records...]
That struck at the heart of it.
Sure, the Circuit of Reckless Uncertainty was close to all-purpose, but by the same token, it lacked specialization.
It could handle a certain amount of Record energy, but of course, it was less stable and efficient than circuits specifically designed for Records. I'd been compensating for that instability with the Semi-Spirit Form, but still.
No wonder my head throbbed sometimes—it must've been a sign of my mind being corroded by the Outer Dimension's Records. Though, the symptoms weren't as severe as I'd feared.
[Unlike that girl... No... Is she... the special one...? A mechanism I've never seen here before.]
Maltaira's gaze shifted to Tirpe. Caught off guard, Tirpe's eyes widened.
Maltaira's luminous pupils visibly distorted.
[...How... did you obtain that circuit?]
Tirpe hesitated, swallowing hard before speaking cautiously.
"I... awakened to it naturally..."
Maltaira's eyes narrowed further. She clearly didn't believe it.
But she didn't press further.
[If you don't wish to speak... fine... But... your circuit...]
Maltaira trailed off, hesitating, before finally adding:
[It resembles the Self-Oblivion of the Boundary, the Overlord... an outsider who can exist anywhere, anytime...]
...Overlord? What the hell was that?
[Otherwise... the refinement of your circuit... cannot be explained.]
Baffled, I scrutinized Tirpe again.
The veins running through her entire body—every circuit—converged at her heart.
[Outer Dimension Circuit (Rare)]
It was undeniably strange.
In the game, circuits related to the Outer Dimension—like the [Record Circulation Circuit] or [Chaos Affinity Circuit]—only implied an indirect connection.
None were as blatantly named as [Outer Dimension Circuit].
No circuit was ever christened as if it embodied the Outer Dimension itself.
Yet Tirpe's circuit was far too... unique to be something she'd just picked up here.
'Overlord... Another name that wasn't in the original.'
But I couldn't ask who this supposed Overlord was.
I had to maintain my facade as a prophet.
I couldn't afford not to know.
Tirpe bit her lip, her eyes flickering with unease.
She clearly didn't want me digging deeper.
But Maltaira, as if it no longer mattered, turned back to me.
[The girl... will be fine... But you... are in danger.]
"..."
Damn, so my early-game stats really weren't enough to survive the Outer Dimension...
'I thought I could tough it out...'
Being eroded by the Outer Dimension's Records... I was at risk of degenerating into a wanderer.
[There's no need... for you to lose your way too.]
Then Maltaira said:
[Create... meaning.]
"What?"
[In a world where all meaning is fading... forge your own.]
Her luminous gaze flickered between me and Tirpe.
[Creating life... is the only noble meaning left in this world.]
With those words, Maltaira rose and left.
[Though... I doubt even the will to leave life behind remains in you...]
She trudged away, disappearing into the cave's darkness.
In other words—
'Pregnancy...?'
I stared dumbfounded at Tirpe.
"Eh...?"
Tirpe's panicked pupils darted side to side.