Chapter 686: Without Consideration, There Is No World
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 686: Without Consideration, There Is No World
The Mage Federation is a nation that scorns the ignorant and reveres mages. By the very nature of magic, where the more skilled are usually the more powerful, magic is the symbol of strength and power in the Federation.
It seems this culture didn't arise solely from the need to survive a harsh environment with magic.
"When you say 'bring it down,' you mean making 'Pride' fall, don't you? The Star of Ruin, at an altitude even higher than the Floating Castle. If it fell, it would be more than just a disaster."
"Correct. The White Tower Master told you about 'Pride,' did he not? Good, that saves me the trouble of explaining. Usually, I have to gauge the other person's intellectual level and explain things accordingly. It's quite tiresome."
The Mage King spoke with a refreshed expression.
"If 'Pride' were to fall, the tectonic plates would shift, volcanoes would erupt, and earthquakes would strike. The ground would constantly collapse, making it impossible to build anything upon it. The old order, built on solid ground, will become obsolete, and the Mage Federation, protected by its Floating Castle, will become the only nation. The world will be reshaped according to the Mage Federation's standards."
"But if 'Pride' falls, the aftershocks will reach the Mage Federation. Being in the northeast of the continent, the Federation might receive the least of the initial impact, but all sorts of meteorological anomalies and climate changes will sweep across its territory. Will the Mage Federation truly remain unscathed?"
"Why would there be a problem? We have an ark right here."
An ark. A vessel to save humanity from ruin. A world that would crumble and break. And a castle in the sky, far removed from the earth. The Floating Castle.
I had wondered why such rational people as mages would display the height of inefficiency.
"I wondered why such an extravagant facility like the Floating Castle was necessary. It was to keep your distance from the land where 'Pride' would one day fall."
"That's not the only reason. It's magnificent, isn't it? It's a symbol that motivates the chosen and reminds the ignorant of their place."
"A sense of wonder is important. It instills a desire for magic in the people of the world below."
It is magnificent, but they factored that in, too? It feels dissonant.
"The artificial sun, the gravitational anomalies, the five towers that sustain life within the castle. And countless convenient facilities and magical tools... As long as the food problem is solved, you could live forever roaming the skies. How do you handle food?"
"What did you think when you saw the top of the Tower of Babel?"
A vast meadow exposed directly beneath the artificial sun. I had wondered why such a space existed.
"...Fields created using spatial anomalies. Your preparations are perfect."
"We haven't touched them yet, as we have no one to work them. When we take the ignorant aboard the ark, we'll have to bring the farmers first. A mage can't very well till the fields, can they? Though nothing in this world is absolute. If we're truly short on hands, who knows."
While the Mage Federation has many mages, that's only in comparison to other nations. They alone cannot form a society. Someone has to do the menial jobs, and it's inefficient for mages to do them.
The Mage King planned to board laborers onto the ark that was the Floating Castle. Their place would likely be in the castle's outer shell, in the cramped and crowded residential areas. Dark, narrow rooms untouched by the artificial sun would be their quarters.
This was no joke. His plan was specific and realistic. In fact, it felt as if everything had been designed to fit this purpose from the very beginning.
"I'd say your preparations are perfect. It seems like it wouldn't matter if 'Pride' fell right this moment."
"You've caught on quickly!"
"Hm?"
"Here. Take this!"
The Mage King pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from his robes and tossed it to me. I unfurled it. Drawn inside was a magic circle so complex and intricate that it was difficult to take in at a glance. Certain parts were so detailed that even I couldn't understand them immediately.
"A scroll?"
"I'm sure you'll be satisfied when you see it!"
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Two questions. I'll answer them separately. First, because you climbed this Tower of Babel. You've already grasped the essence of spatial magic, so you should be able to decipher the circle with ease. Decipher the magic circle, and the path to the Divine will open."
It wouldn't be easy. It would be difficult. But there were enough hints.
The rules governing the Floating Castle are gravitational and spatial anomalies. The inside of the castle has an inverted gravity structure, and the Tower of Babel is filled with various spatial distortions.
Are the spatial distortions caused by the Mage King's unique magic? Or by the relic of Saint Rene? Perhaps both. Just as a mage from House Celsius used the Celsius family relic, the synergy from using unique magic of the same lineage is immense.
But if that's the case, one thing remains unexplained.
The gravitational anomaly that fills the Floating Castle. The force that allows people to walk on the castle's shell.
What on earth is the source of this power?
And what connection does it have to spatial magic?
"And now to answer your second question. I didn't give it only to you."
"Pardon?"
"This scroll has been given to everyone you brought with you. I will also hand it to the Red Tower Master, who will be arriving shortly. Anyone who reaches the top of Babel, the center of the Floating Castle, is worthy of this knowledge."
"But you've been with me the whole time, Mage King. When did you... Ah."
So you weren't just by my side. A pointless question.
I could see the space around the Mage King shimmering. The air beside him was connected to different locations.
Lankart, Shei, and Hilde had climbed with me. I hadn't hidden our route, so it was possible the Blue Tower Master and the Avant-garde had followed.
"Distance is meaningless to you, who commands space. It means you are here and there at the same time."
"Precisely. For your information, I am also having a pleasant conversation with Lankart. He was the mage closest to my level before you arrived. I believed that if any mage were to reach this place, it would surely be him. Your arrival was a pleasant miscalculation on my part!"
The Mage King showed respect and consideration for Lankart. It was a little different from the amusement he showed when his other disciples were at each other's throats.
It was probably because Lankart was a spatial mage. His World of the Right-Handed wasn't just a metaphor for human affairs.
"So this scroll isn't exactly a rare item. What in the world is the magic it contains?"
"You can't tell by looking?"
"It's too dense to even see properly. I have a good head on my shoulders, not good eyes."
"Ah, yes. That could be a problem. They say you see as much as you know, but I suppose you can't apply that to a blind man."
"My eyesight isn't so bad as to be compared to a blind man's. Not everyone can look at a magic circle and understand it instantly. Is this even magic in the first place? For the complexity of the circle, it has very little mana."
"It is magic. It's a spell called Meteor."
"Aha. Meteor."
...What? Meteor? I have a bad feeling about this.
"And the reason it has little mana is that this magic is closer to 'summoning' something that already exists. It takes effort to place a stone on high, but pushing it off is quite simple, isn't it?"
"No. Wait a minute. Then this is literally a switch to end humanity, and you've been handing it out to everyone who climbed the tower?"
So Ruel was telling the truth. She's insane. This scroll is literally a humanity extinction switch. Should something like this even exist?
"Is it really okay to be handing something like this out?"
"It's simple once you know the principle. Anyone with a little mastery of gravity magic can do it."
"The problem is that anyone can do it! Why would anyone need such magic in the first place? What I need is the knowledge of the Divine! I climbed this tower to see Saint Rene's holy relic and gain enlightenment from it!"
"You've asked two questions at once again. Whether intentional or not, it's very efficient. I'll answer you just this once more."
The Mage King raised a finger.
"I cannot give you Saint Rene's holy relic. I'm not being spiteful. It's because I do not possess it."
"What? Then who has it?"
"The relics of Saint Rene are scattered throughout the world. You know this as well."
Rene's Pocket? But there isn't just one. There are many different kinds. It could be a pocket like Shei's, or a space like an attic that anyone can enter and exit. It can also be an invisible storage for items, like the Celsius family treasury.
And all those pocket dimensions are probably connected. I said, "The pocket dimension within Rene's Pocket is the relic itself."
"Most of it is meaningless empty space. But there is one key that leads to her holy relic. Unlike other pockets that connect to empty space, it possesses the power to distort space itself. I, too, was unaware of its true nature... that is, until your companion set foot in this Floating Castle."
My companion, huh...
Rene's Pocket is just a key to an empty space. But the one leading to Saint Rene's relic has the power to manipulate space.
Tch. As it happens, I know of one such treasure. They hid it well. The relic itself never manifested outside the pocket dimension, so I wouldn't have been able to read it.
I guess I've been too reliant on my mind-reading.
"And second, Saint Rene is not the Divine. The relic of the Divine is up there."
"'Pride'."
"A Divine who decided to leave the surface, full of fools, and watch from the vast, empty void of space."
Ah. I see. I know what I have to do.
I gripped the scroll. The strange mana coiled within the magic circle stirred. The formula was complex, but the mana it contained was minuscule. Because the magic itself already existed. This was nothing more than a trigger.
Seeing my expression, the Mage King smiled as if he had been waiting, looking utterly delighted.
"I do like how quickly you understand things."
Riiip.
I tore the scroll in two.