Chapter 191: Status (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 191: Status (2)
[First.]
[The formula is Defying Heaven.]
“Wait—”
The entity in the mirror began speaking without warning. Alon tried to engage him in conversation, but...
[Second.]
The man wearing the worn-out coat—who looked different from Alon’s current self yet exuded a strange sense of familiarity—did not stop.
[Contemplate the anomaly.]
“Hold on—” Alon tried once more.
However...
[Third.]
The existence in the mirror continued to list information unilaterally, as if he had no intention of engaging in a normal conversation from the start.
[Cognize.]
By that point, Alon gave up. Instead, he began to focus on what the entity was saying. He didn't know what this mirror was or who the person reflected in it might be, but he realized one thing instinctively:
The man’s words were undoubtedly a vital key. Whatever this being inside the mirror was saying was of the utmost importance.
[Fourth.]
[Use Direct Sight.]
[Fifth.]
[Do not run away.]
Even though Alon didn't respond, the entity in the mirror continued his explanation as if delivering a proclamation. And then...
[If you do so, you shall reach it.]
With those final words, the existence in the mirror began to fade. From his feet up to his head, he vanished slowly.
It was then.
[What are you doing?]
Basiliora’s voice drifted in from behind.
“...What do you mean?”
[I mean, you were muttering something while staring at the mirror.]
Alon looked bewildered at Basiliora’s sonorous voice. “I was?”
[Who else is here besides you?]
“...No, there was definitely someone else inside the mirror.”
[What kind of nonsense is that? From the moment I looked, there was nothing there but your own blank face.]
“...Are you sure?”
[Do you not trust me?]
Alon turned his head blankly to look back at the mirror. The man had vanished, and only his own reflection remained.
‘What on earth—’
Just as Alon’s brow furrowed in confusion, a bizarre sound echoed.
Gurook!
He felt the ground vanish beneath his feet. In that split second—
[Oh no—!]
[Kyu!?]
He heard Basiliora’s panicked voice and Blackie’s startled cry growing distant. Only then did Alon realize his body was falling into a space that had suddenly opened beneath the mirror.
“!”
Displaying quick reflexes, Alon immediately reached out to grab a root, but—
Snap!
The root, unable to withstand Alon’s weight, snapped instantly. Instead of saving him, it dragged him further down into the abyss below.
[Dammit—!]
Basiliora moved urgently, but the roots that dragged Alon down seemed to possess a will of their own. As soon as he fell, they completely sealed the hole where the light had been streaming in.
In the lightless darkness, Alon felt the sensation of floating. Then...
“?”
Suddenly, he felt the ground beneath his feet.
‘I should have been falling.’
He tapped his feet against the floor in the darkness; he was definitely standing on solid ground. It felt as if his entire sensory system was in a state of massive confusion.
Alon began his Contemplation of this mysterious space. It was a void where only the floor could be felt, situated in the middle of a vast darkness whose scale was as immeasurable as the universe. In this pitch-black abyss where nothing could be seen, paradoxically, only his own body appeared normal.
‘What is this...?’
It was an incredibly bizarre situation. Feeling his cognition warping, Alon repeatedly checked the abyss and his own body before moving to find a way out. Whatever threats might lurk here, he couldn't just wait around.
He walked aimlessly for who knows how long.
“?”
At the edge of the abyss where there had been nothing, Alon discovered writing. The letters seemed carved into something, yet they also appeared to be floating in mid-air. He approached them.
‘...It’s crude.’
The letters looked as if they had been roughly gouged out with a knife without any professional skill. Since they were legible enough, Alon began to read, and his eyes widened.
The content of the inscription was...
‘...How to use Status.’
It was a guide on how to wield Status.
* * *
[O seeker of Status, contemplate.]
[If you use Direct Sight,]
[You shall be able to leave this place.]
Alon silently reread the crude handwriting. A hint of dissatisfaction crossed his face. It was indeed a method for using Status, but it was written like a cryptic riddle.
‘...It would have been nice if they just explained it plainly.’
Knowing there was no one to listen to his complaints, Alon let out a soft sigh. He wondered for a moment who could have written this, but...
“Whew.”
For now, he sat down. The most important thing was finding a way out. Alon slowly closed his eyes and maintained a calm state, just as the text instructed.
Simultaneously, he felt the quickening of his mana. Though he had used a great deal of power to deal with the Mother of Greed, the thread of mana remaining in his body began to swim through him.
He was inwardly surprised.
‘...It shouldn't be this easy to enter such a deep state of Contemplation.’
Contemplating the mana moving through his body wasn't particularly difficult for Alon. It would be absurd for a mage who handles mana to be unable to contemplate it. What surprised him was the level of this Contemplation.
Alon was contemplating his mana far more deeply than usual. Normally, he could only discern where the mana was flowing and how much was left. Now, he could perceive the minute textures of the mana itself.
His senses were incredibly heightened. While marveling at the level of detail—like looking at microorganisms through a microscope—he felt something else.
“?”
At some point, Alon felt his consciousness expanding in a bizarre way. His head spun, and he felt nauseous. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure and continued his Contemplation.
In that moment, with a strange sensation of being sucked into something...
“...?”
Four spheres appeared before him. Four spheres, each a different color.
‘Blue, green, red, white...?’
As Alon identified each color from the far left, he realized instinctively: these were not mana, but Divinities.
On the other hand, he was puzzled.
‘...Four Divinities?’
Alon was already somewhat aware that he was gaining Faith through the Dragonkin. However, he had never imagined there would be four different types of Divinity. It was deeply confusing.
‘If my guess is right, one of these is the Divinity of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver... but what are the other three?’
Divinities of unknown origin and identity. As his thoughts deepened...
“?”
Alon became aware of another sphere floating beside him. Because the space was so dark, it hadn't been easily identifiable. A sphere of darkness so deep it seemed to assimilate with the abyss was floating silently behind his back.
‘This is...?’
It was similar in size to the other four, but unlike them, this dark sphere sat behind him. It emitted a dangerous light, like a black hole within the abyss.
Then...
Woooong—
As he focused his nerves forward at the sound vibrating through the air, he felt the green sphere emitting a strange resonance, unlike the others. The sphere vibrated slightly as if asking to be chosen.
After a moment’s thought, Alon reached out and touched the green sphere.
In that instant...
Fwaaaaaaaaah!
A brilliant white light engulfed him.
“!?”
Alon snapped his eyes open to find his body glowing with a mixture of green and golden light. He stood up immediately. Soon, he discovered something emitting a faint green glow within the crudely carved letters and reached out.
Tap.
the moment Alon’s index finger touched the writing...
Fwaaaaaaaaah!
From that spot, sprouts began to grow. It wasn't just one. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands—no.
“!”
Countless sprouts began to flourish. A fresh scent. A beautiful green hue. The sprouts took over the abyss, providing an ecstatic sensation. The sprouts, growing as if contagious, devoured the darkness, and the ‘true form’ of this space began to reveal itself.
Finally...
“Ah.”
It was fully revealed. A massive garden filled Alon’s vision. Fresh green leaves were scattered everywhere, and a giant old tree stood at the center. Alon couldn't help but let out a gasp of admiration at the brilliant sight.
Then, the giant tree at the center of the garden swayed as if beckoning him.
Come this way.
It wasn't that he heard a voice or that a sound echoed in his head. However, quite naturally, Alon sensed the tree was saying so and approached it as if enchanted.
Thud.
As if acknowledging his presence, the moment Alon stood beneath the tree, something dropped from a branch and landed in his hand. It was a fruit. A golden fruit about the size of an apple.
Thank you.
As he looked at the fruit, another ‘communication’ was etched into his mind along with the rustling of the tree. Alon looked up at the tree and discovered a spiral staircase behind it leading upward. Without hesitation, he began to walk toward it.
* * *
[Kyu!]
[Are you alright!?]
Alon emerged from the spiral staircase. Basiliora and Blackie approached him as if they had been waiting.
[Wait—what is that?]
“?”
[Why are you dripping with Divinity like that?]
Basiliora, who had shrunk back into his spirit form as the fifteen minutes had passed, reacted vehemently. Alon looked down at his body. A green light still enveloped him, refusing to fade.
After realizing this, Alon looked around. The area beneath the roots, which had been desolate, was now covered in sprouts and flowers.
“...By the way, why did this place change so suddenly?”
[It changed like this a short while after you went inside.]
What he had experienced below had manifested here as well. Alon suddenly noticed the Elves standing in the distance. In addition to the four members of Pagade who had accompanied him, the number had grown to over twenty. They were those who had followed after him using the Black Leaves, but Alon, having no way of knowing that, made an assumption.
‘Did reinforcements arrive in that short time?’
He approached them, as his business here was finished. He looked toward Rim, who was staring at him blankly.
“Let’s go back up—”
Alon started to speak, but...
Thud!
Rim suddenly dropped to her knees.
“?”
What is this sudden...
Thud!
Thud!
But that wasn't the end. As if by prearranged signal, the Elves knelt before Alon all at once. And then...
““The humble servants of the forest greet the Great One.””
“...???”
As if they had rehearsed it, they bowed their heads toward the ground in perfect unison.