Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: ACT.20 Ruined World (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was a strange place.
I thought to myself as I stared at the thing before me.
There wasn't a single monster to be found, and while there were forked paths, it wasn't exactly a maze. Besides, I had Extreme Eye.
Even a novice could probably reach the final room after about two hours of trial and error.
However, what lay there was anything but ordinary.
[...So, you see. This is all the result of not heeding my advice. Tsk, tsk. I clearly warned them. The signs were there long ago.]
I just stared at the glowing sphere as it hummed and continued its tale.
The remnant of a hero who had been slumbering here for a hundred years.
It, which called itself that, seemed to know something of what was happening outside and was doing nothing but lamenting.
‘To think the massive source of mana was something like this.’
I had hoped for an S-rank piece of equipment, but there wasn't a single item here.
If I had to name something, it would be this crystal sphere that had preserved the hero's remnant.
...Couldn't I sell this for a pretty penny if I just took it?
[S-Stop! What are you doing! If that thing moves from its spot, this place will collapse immediately!]
“Tsk.”
[Isn't that an awfully blatant click of the tongue, you...?]
The sphere stopped moving and hovered in place.
For some reason, it reminded me of someone standing there with their jaw dropped.
“If there's nothing to gain, then this was a waste of time...”
[My apologies for that. This place was looted long ago.]
“Did you hear that? I was talking to myself.”
[You said it that loudly right in front of me!?]
It reacted to every little thing.
It did say this was its first conversation in a hundred years, so I guess that makes sense.
But I was serious about it being a waste of time.
If I'd known this was all that was here, I wouldn't have bothered putting on an act and playing along with Harrington.
“Anyway, since there's nothing to gain, I'll be on my way.”
[W-Wait, wait! Please, just talk with me a little longer! I've been so lonely all this time!]
“Then what can you give me?”
[Uh, uhm?]
“There has to be a give and take. If I'm going to spend my precious time humoring you, what do I get in return?”
[...An exciting hero's tale?]
“I'm leaving.”
The moment I turned, the sphere shot forward and blocked my path.
[Just listen! It's really interesting! It was even published as a book that graced the bookstores of its time! The story of how I defeated the demonic dragon, or the tale of how I purified the corrupted spirit tree... No, really, this is a story you can't hear even if you paid for it!]
“Not interested.”
I pushed the sphere aside and kept walking.
It's sealed here, so it probably can't follow me outside.
Once I kill the monsters as planned and return to the lab, my business here is done.
Seeing that I truly had no interest, the noticeably dejected sphere, which had been trailing behind me, suddenly stopped.
[By the way, you. There's something I've been wondering about.]
“...What is it?”
[I don't understand why I sense the same energy from you as I do from *them*. You're clearly human.]
His words stopped me in my tracks.
*Them*.
There was no way I didn't know what that meant.
This hero had also died fighting *them* in his life.
‘Disaster-class monsters.’
It wasn't that I didn't have my suspicions.
Disaster Eater.
A trait that absorbs a portion of the power held by a disaster-class monster upon its defeat.
So far, all I'd confirmed was a slight increase in my stats.
It was a late-bloomer trait, so it was admittedly weak for an S-rank right now, but I hadn't been too concerned about it.
[Hah. How is this possible?]
He kept muttering in disbelief.
[Something you possess is containing the power of the disaster. No, rather than containing... yes. Storing it would be more accurate.]
Something I possess.
A thought suddenly struck me, and I opened my inventory.
“Is it because of this?”
[That's it! I can feel the power from that thing! The fist-sized one seems to be storing the power most stably!]
“...”
My expression slowly hardened.
What I had taken out was none other than a Dimension Stone.
And a uniquely engraved one at that.
I couldn't be sure of the exact timing, but after carefully tracing back, I had figured it must have happened around the time of the Disaster of Verdure. However, it was just a hunch with no solid proof.
But his words were as good as proof.
“Specifically, what kind of power do you feel?”
[Its nature? Hmm... I see. If I had to say, it would be the power of vegetation. Hah. The destructive power of vegetation, how amusing.]
There was no way this remnant knew about the Disaster of Verdure.
And yet, it was certain that it was the power of vegetation.
‘The Dimension Stone is absorbing and storing the power of the disaster.’
At this point, that much was an undeniable fact.
Although it still bothered me that I didn't know exactly what power I had absorbed after defeating the Disaster of Verdure.
‘There's still something hidden about the Disaster Eater trait.’
And the Dimension Stone is connected to it.
One stack on Disaster Eater. One engraved Dimension Stone.
‘This means I need to have at least as many Dimension Stones as the number of disaster-class monsters I plan to kill from now on.’
I have no way of supplying Dimension Stones on my own.
Other than taking them from those who already have them.
For a long while, I rolled the two words 'The Order' around in my mouth.
[It seems you, too, carry a heavy burden.]
The sphere's atmosphere changed.
As I stood facing it, the light flowing from the sphere formed a shape.
[Take this. It is my reward for being my conversation partner.]
[Hero's Spirit (S)]
???
I couldn't tell if it was because the system was a mess, or if the item was like that from the start.
The necklace, with its ornate patterns fit for royalty, revealed nothing but its name.
“This is...”
But before I could even ask what it was, he had vanished without a trace.
I closed my mouth, which had been about to speak, and continued out of the dungeon.
He never revealed his name.
Perhaps he had simply been waiting for someone worthy of receiving this.
I fiddled with the necklace for a moment before quickly returning to the lab.
***
“Well? What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?”
Yurgan pointed at the magic circle with a pleased smile.
Harrington answered Yurgan's words distractedly, staring intently at the magic circle.
“To think your world has no magic, it truly sparks my curiosity in my old age. What one doesn't have always seems fascinating. Gaze upon it to your heart's content.”
‘Damn old man. If you have time to chatter, just hurry up and finish it!’
Harrington gave an awkward smile and nodded.
He could feel his hands getting slick with sweat.
Because he could sense Kim Se-hyeon returning.
He felt like punching Yurgan in his laughing face, oblivious to Harrington's burning anxiety, but he forced himself to hold back.
Doing so would ruin everything.
If he just endured and humored him for a little while, a great reward would follow.
Harrington knew that well.
‘Why else would I have stolen this and come here.’
Kim Se-hyeon was strong.
He knew that in a head-on fight, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Recalling the powerful knight that seemed to be his summon, Harrington's face paled for a moment.
‘A guy who commands a monster like that being in another country will only get in our guild's way.’
He'd said they should find a way back, but if they were going to find one anyway, couldn't he just go back first?
And if Kim Se-hyeon couldn't come back, it would be like removing an obstacle.
With that judgment, Harrington had succeeded in stealing the Dimension Stone.
‘Good thing my Steal is A-rank.’
Harrington was confident that even most S-rank players wouldn't notice his Steal.
Harrington's lips twitched as he recalled the Black Steel fragments he had secretly pocketed from Kim Se-hyeon before returning to the lab.
‘Right, the first thing to do is use the fact that I'm the only one with this Black Steel to raise my own value, craft good equipment, and sell the rest to the guilds to earn coins...’
Just imagining it was thrilling.
For Harrington, who had no way to acquire many coins and was struggling to grow due to the system fees, it was like hitting the jackpot.
In the current situation where cash had lost most of its value, it was far better than winning the lottery.
“Oh, it seems he's returning just in time. He'll be happy to see the magic circle is complete.”
“Th-Then can it be activated?”
“It can be activated anytime, just by infusing it with mana.”
“Let's just check it once, just in case.”
“Hmm? This may be my first time with dimensional travel magic, but I am a man of considerable pride. There's no way it's wrong.”
Harrington felt a curse rise to his lips, but he barely managed to control his expression and forced a smile.
“That's not what I mean. I'm just saying we should run a test. You said it's a dangerous spell if even a small part is wrong. Besides, it won't activate properly without the materials anyway, right?”
“That's not wrong.”
Stroking his beard, Yurgan seemed to agree it had merit and nodded.
*Fwaaa!*
Yurgan lightly waved his staff.
The magic circle began to emit a dreamlike light.
Seeing this, Yurgan smiled with satisfaction.
“It's working well.”
‘It worked!’
Harrington cheered inwardly.
Kim Se-hyeon?
Who cares.
One's own life is the most precious thing.
Whatever happened to others was of no concern to Harrington.
“Yurgan.”
Kim Se-hyeon's voice echoed from the passage.
The hair on Harrington's entire body stood on end as he shot into the magic circle like an arrow.
‘Hurry!’
I just have to get back to Earth before that monster arrives.
He had confirmed before that it takes a long time to cancel an already activated magic circle.
That calculation flashed through Harrington's mind in an instant.
‘Hurry up!!’
Holding the Dimension Stone he had already taken out, Harrington thrust his arm forward as if sliding.
And he succeeded in planting it precisely in the center of the magic circle.
‘I did it!!’
“You shouldn't have done that.”
***
My eyes fell on Harrington, breathing heavily in the middle of the magic circle.
My gaze shifted to the small Dimension Stone embedded in the center of the circle.
The light of the magic circle was intensifying.
The spell itself had been successfully activated.
“Ha, hahaha! Too late, you idiot! I'm going back to Earth!”
“...”
High-level magic like dimensional travel automatically creates a 'barrier,' blocking any attacks against the caster.
It wasn't impossible to break through with brute force, but doing so would damage the magic circle, leading to the disaster of having to draw it all over again.
I let out a small sigh as I watched Harrington, who was now almost completely enveloped in light.
“Have fun finding your own way back, you monkey!”
*Fwaaa!*
Finally, the light completely swallowed Harrington, and the magic circle slowly began to dim.
Only the Dimension Stone embedded in the center remained.
I turned my head toward Yurgan.
“Couldn't you have canceled the spell?”
“It was possible. But would it have mattered if I just let it be? It's a half-baked spell with no coordinates set.”
“For someone who knew that...”
“Well, I was just curious. About what happens when the coordinates aren't set.”
Yurgan laughed cheerfully and stroked his beard.
I let out a disbelieving laugh and recalled what Yurgan had told me before.
“A teleportation spell without set coordinates results in one of two outcomes.”
“Oh, you know? That's right. But that's generally speaking. High-level magic like dimensional travel could be different. The first case is being torn to shreds across countless spaces. In this case, it would be torn apart on a dimensional scale, not a spatial one, so the pain would be immense. Well, if not that...”
“You either return to your original spot.”
*Fwaaa!*
The moment our conversation ended, the magic circle once again erupted in light.
“I'm back! I'm back! Dammit, I missed this goddamn Earth so much...!?”
Harrington, who had been shouting in ecstasy, looked around and froze solid.
Yurgan and I weren't particularly surprised, as we had expected this.
A few seconds passed like that.
Yurgan was the first to speak.
“Oh, so that's what happens.”