Chapter 288
Chapter 288
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 288
Chapter Title: S5. Stellaria of Bursting Stars ~Hope Dormant Beneath the Ruins~ -1
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Where is this place?
It's so dark I can barely see ahead. I can't even tell if I'm standing or sitting. Gordius calmly reflected on the past. Why am I in the darkness?
"......"
His memories were intact. He could recall them clearly.
He had received the mad professor's proposal.
Yes, the professor had dangled the enticing bait of a "different world" from his lips. At first, he was skeptical... but the sketches of mechanical devices the professor drew right there from his seat—devices Gordius had never seen before—struck him like lightning.
These weren't from this world. He knew it instinctively. The engineering marvels formed by bolts, nuts, and tiny components in perfect harmony!
And so... he gladly agreed to journey to that "other world."
The darkness was starting to feel familiar. His pupils, adapted to the gloom, began absorbing faint light and transmitting images to his brain. His senses, released from their tense alertness, sprang back to life.
Drip, drip, drip.
Water was flowing. Right beside him. Slightly lower than where he stood, some kind of liquid trickled along a long passage.
And there was a stench. Damp mold mixed with the filth humans leave behind.
The outlines of objects were faintly coming into view. An angular passage stretched endlessly forward and back. Only then did Gordius realize he was in a sewer.
There was a way up... and it was there.
A ladder made of iron bars bent into a U-shape and embedded in the wall. Even when he gripped it firmly with his gloved hand and pulled, it didn't rattle or creak. It was sturdy enough to support his weight.
Clang. Claaang.
He climbed the ladder. Each time his shoe sole struck a rung, the sound echoed through the entire passage. At the top, the ceiling was sealed by an iron disk.
When he pressed his palm against it and pushed up, the disk budged. It wasn't locked. He carefully shoved it aside and poked his head out—
Vrooooom—!!
Thud!
"......"
If Gordius hadn't ducked in time, his head would have been crushed.
Something had rocketed past at tremendous speed, stomping down on the manhole cover. Considering how his hand pushing the cover had been flung aside effortlessly, whatever it was must have been incredibly heavy too.
He shook his stinging wrist lightly to dull the pain.
It had all happened so fast, he couldn't tell exactly what it was. He replayed the memory.
It emitted a blindingly bright light from its visible parts, and it had wheels... two? No, four. Around what might have been the front, numbers and letters were etched into sheet metal. It didn't look like any living creature.
He pressed his ear to the ceiling and listened quietly. A rumbling grew closer, the disk jolted, then it faded away—repeating irregularly. Sometimes every minute, sometimes every five.
"Echo of the Earth."
He chanted the spell cautiously. It was a Golden Magic Tower detection magic that sent formless waves through the ground to map the surroundings.
Once he confirmed it was safe, he lifted the metal disk again and peeked out. And then—
In that fleeting instant, Gordius was overwhelmed.
"Ha, haha..."
There lay a city that never slept.
A moonlit night draped in quiet darkness, yet the city pulsed with life.
Skyscrapers towered so high he couldn't tell where they ended, proclaiming their vitality with colorful glows. The windows flickering on and off intermittently were like watching a master's performance.
Even the shorter buildings matched the splendor. Neon signs in every hue and bizarre architectural styles flaunted their charm. It was as if all the stars that belonged in the sky had descended to earth.
And above all, the steel carriages.
Vroooom—!
A car sped past the mage who had the manhole cover half-raised as he gawked at the world. That was it—the thing that had just stomped the cover shut moments ago.
No mana emanated from the roaring steel carriage tearing down the road. Gordius shuddered at the impossibility. How could that be?
A magnificent city. The mad professor was right. If they could erect hundreds or thousands of such towering structures without magic... building golems that massive wouldn't be a pipe dream.
If only he could acquire their know-how, their otherworldly knowledge!
Gordius climbed out of the sewer and walked the streets. Not dirt or stone. The road was paved flawlessly smooth with some black material he couldn't identify. Just walking on it was fun.
Only a veteran Golden Tower mage could achieve such pristine perfection.
And in the sky, unidentified flying objects streaked through the clouds with red lights blinking. If he could make out their shapes from this distance... how enormous must they be?
"Hahat, hahahaha...!!"
His heart raced wildly.
Would stepping into a dragon's treasure hoard from a fairy tale feel like this? He burned to uncover every secret of this civilization. His dream felt closer than ever.
A memory flickered—a silhouette from the past.
The back of a fake knight in crude armor, gazed up at in his youngest years.
To little Gordius, it had looked like a colossal golem. Eyes closed or open, that moment remained vividly etched—not in his mind, but in his soul.
His dream had been born from that childhood memory and carried him to this day.
He clenched his fist. This chance wasn't a dream.
"Yes, this is no dream anymore. I'll plunder all the knowledge of this other world! And at the end—"
Giant golems were just a mirage.
"Hey, Gordy! What're you doing slacking off like that at your age? Hustle it up!"
"Yes, sir, foreman. Coming..."
Gordius sighed deeply and hefted the cement bag onto his shoulders. Two weeks had passed since he'd wandered the streets as an outsider and jumped into day labor to make ends meet. His back felt like it might give out.
Without papers or ID, decent jobs were out of reach.
The pittance he earned barely covered rent. The first night he'd slept rough (no worries about robbers, and not too cold—relatively comfortable homelessness), but by day three, he'd found a great alternative: the PC bang.
Money ruled both this world and the next.
In his current pathetic state, earning cash took priority over golems or whatever. He considered leveraging his mage status for grants... but two problems.
First, this world had no mana.
Ambient mana levels were near zero, so no drawing from the environment. The tiny amount produced by his soul was all he had for recovery.
Blasting spells left and right could leave him mana-dry and powerless—a true outsider. With mana limited, he needed to save it for emergencies.
Second, no mages existed here.
No mana, so it made sense. From probing the internet thing, magic was pure fantasy or fiction.
Brandishing it recklessly? He could guess the fallout. Better to use it after understanding this world more deeply.
How beautiful the one who knows when to hunker down.
If only he'd known this sooner.
- Next up: Strange phenomena reported one after another in downtown Seoul.
- Yes, eyewitnesses have spotted building exteriors peeling off, cars suddenly turning transparent, and other bizarre events. Police are investigating, including possibilities of hallucinations from chemical terrorism.
Then this news wouldn't have hit.
Thus, Gordius's routine: Day labor at construction sites by day, PC bang zombie by night. Magic use minimized.
"...Maybe a different ramen today."
Last one was too spicy. He'd slurped the broth to save money, but his tongue burned so bad he nearly splurged on a drink.
He ordered a mild bowl, then clicked away furiously, swimming through seas of info once more. Guns, bombs, robots...
Basics of science down pat; last couple days, he'd delved into journals and papers. Modern knowledge was vast, but with time, he'd master it all.
Slurp.
Lately, fixated on a paper: Development and Application of High-Efficiency Robot Joint Drive Mechanisms. Author: Woo Chaerin.
Like an artist's soul in their work, a researcher's essence shines in papers. Gordius saw genius sparkle in hers. They just clicked; he loved it.
He'd hunted down and read everything she'd published.
Days filled with joyful study. Labor was grueling, but new knowledge erased the fatigue. He cherished this peace.
If possible, he'd rent a small container and set up a lab.
Fusing learned knowledge into inventions might unlock unprecedented breakthroughs.
Results already showing: Deeper science grasp clarified Golden Tower magic gaps, slightly cutting spell costs.
Optimize through understanding, grow a bit more... not just him, but the whole Golden Tower could leap forward.
A proper teacher would help, but with no place to live, hiring one was impossible. Self-study it was, regrettable but necessary.
Hang in there. Gordius reaffirmed his resolve.
Pumping his fist for motivation lifted his sleeve, exposing his wrist. A mysterious watch-shaped rune glowed there.
The mad professor's gift. He'd called it his "ace in the hole."
- That world faces a calamity. This rune is for when you're cornered. When your life hangs by a thread... infuse it with mana.
Calamity.
In this peaceful world?
Gordius hadn't dismissed the warning. Hoarding mana partly prepared for this unknown "calamity."
But two weeks gone. No sign of it. Modern civilization flowed serenely. Wars raged globally, sure, but not calamities.
Lost in thought at his monitor, a PC bang clerk approached timidly. She winced at his seat littered with empty bowls.
Gathering courage, she spoke.
"Um, sir... sorry, but could you leave?"
"I've paid. Isn't this legitimate use?"
"Other customers are complaining. About the... smell..."
Gordius sniffed his sleeve and concluded. Plenty clean. Mages deep in research often went over two weeks without bathing.
"Seems fine to me. Maybe you're oversensitive? Violating my rights like this..."
"I-I'll call the cops...!"
"I'll go. But refund the remaining six hours I prepaid."
This is the calamity?
To a man without passport or ID, authority terrified him. Even Mike from the site got nabbed that way.
Gordius got his refund and trudged out, booted from the PC bang. Outside, stars twinkled faintly in the moonlight, mocking his misery.
"...Roughing it tonight, huh."
Fine. As long as he could keep researching.
Public bathhouses existed here. Locals seemed germaphobes, so washing up early wouldn't hurt. Sleep solved too? Perfect.
Hands in pockets, he shuffled along, pondering.
The city still amazed. How much toil went into it? The more he learned, the more he admired... and yearned.
Ahead... two, maybe three weeks.
That'd build foundations. He had plans. Knowledge acquisition on track, lab setup possible.
Prototype done, pitch to big corps for funding. Solidify income with their cash, then launch the giant golem project full throttle.
Counting such bright tomorrows, Gordius—
—Boom.
A soul-shaking roar, instincts screaming warning. He reflexively surged mana, shifting to combat readiness. The scientist mask shed; Golden Magic Tower mage reborn.
—Craaack, craaackle!
A noise unlike any in his life. Just hearing it spiked dread. Downtown rats, cats, pigeons, sparrows convulsed and fled the epicenter.
Pedestrians froze, heads snapping to a point in the sky like mesmerized.
"... Rock Flight."
Boom!
Gordius levitated a cubic meter of pavement like an elevator, riding it to a nearby rooftop. Gasps rose at the modern mage, shutters clicked, videos rolled—he ignored them.
From the height, the rift in the sky sharpened into view. It tore wider with each boom.
And spewed thick mana everywhere, as if to taint the world.
—Ruuuumble!
Looking back...
It was the sound of modern civilization crumbling.
Something.
A colossal something wormed through the gap.
Is that—an arm—?
A limb tipped with beast-claw spikes brushed a mid-rise building beside the rift. It pressed slowly, as if annoyed by the obstacle.
Grrrind—!
The building crumpled instantly. Concrete shattered like soft gravel, rebar bent like foil. Severed at the waist, it collapsed.
Ruuuumble...
Screams drowned in the din.
The thing cleared space with both arms, extruding a snail-like elongated head. Pale. Ghostly pale, visible even in moonlight.
It bulldozed obstacles ruthlessly. Tail whipped. Explosive blasts shook the world.
Seoul's skyline, decades in the making, reduced to rubble in minutes.
Debris fell. People died. Buildings toppled like dominoes, the heart of the city a wasteland. People died.
To that chorus of death, the Mega-Kaiju fully manifested its immense body.
An amorphous, rippling form midway between solid and liquid. Black patterns etched on its flesh eroded minds.
No eyes, ears, mouth. No organs for communication. Yet humans sensed its malice crystal-clear, chills down spines.
This thing exists to shatter human civilization.
Gordius gazed at the PC bang crushed under the kaiju's tail, spitting curses.
"...Damn it."
Now he knew the "calamity."