Circuits of the Trembling Giant (2)
Finally stepping into the forest, I opened the violin case and drew out my weapon. The bulletproof case unfolded left and right, serving as shields I could wield with telekinesis.
Ssssh... The branches of the poplar trees rustled endlessly in the wind. Beyond that, the forest was utterly silent. A stillness so oppressive it felt suffocating. For an ordinary person, it might pass unnoticed, but to the heightened senses of a grand magus like me, the complete absence of even a single birdcall was blatantly abnormal.
To test the forest's reactions—and to observe any new incantations it might have developed in my absence—I deliberately stepped beyond the Gate of Death. Into the danger zone where the Giant's active mana circuits pulsed with dense efficiency.
「-」
The Trembling Giant's mana field rippled gently. Waves of mana and mana power repeatedly swept over the boundary of my dominance field. It was as if the forest were using its mana field as a sensory organ, groping blindly for my presence. Much like a spider shaking its web to locate prey just beyond its sight.
The forest's magical prowess had grown this much. Impressive.
The next instant, I spotted phenomena forming beyond the mist beneath the canopy. Frowning, I secured cover.
"This is it."
Kwaaaaaa—!
A ferocious downpour ignored gravity, blasting horizontally from a narrow frontal area. These thick rain lines—formed by condensing the mist and infused with telekinesis—were lethal shotgun pellets, each packing murderous kinetic energy.
Unable to project magic directly into my mana field, it resorted to this indirect assault. As if it had battled grand magi like me multiple times before.
The fallen log I used for cover splintered in real time under the barrage. Pak, papapapak! Shards flew wildly, releasing the musty scent unique to dead wood.
This log that shielded me had been the original owner of this land, shoved aside as the Trembling Giant expanded its territory. Similar casualties littered the surroundings.
In human terms, it was like a pile of indigenous corpses massacred by invaders.
This time, from above. A vertical telekinesis incantation flow constructing in the empty air overhead. I might not grasp the process, but the outcome was clear. Dodging instantly, I watched the nearly complete incantation dissipate—only for identical ones to begin forming from five different angles.
A simple yet devastatingly efficient crossfire: magical binding on water linked with telekinesis.
'Is it desperate to devour me, or has it had bad experiences with powerful mana fields before...?'
If the former, credit went to the devil worshippers who'd offered their corpses as tribute early on. It was bound to happen eventually, but still.
The shower attack was defendable even with reduced telekinesis output compared to outside the forest. The droplets lost binding the moment they crossed my mana field boundary, crumbling against air resistance.
But once I started blocking, it'd pour endlessly. Better to evade.
Continuing to anticipate and dodge, I discerned one obvious rule in the forest's attacks: it never struck toward its own body. All assaults targeted directions with no risk to its components—or where misses could decelerate droplets with spatial margin.
That explained the absence of steam explosions too.
Much easier to evade, then. Mastering the pattern, I claimed positions that complicated its attacks. The Giant adapted, shifting tactics.
My normal field of view suddenly widened dramatically. The mist vanished across a vast area, morphing into dozens of streams weaving through the shadows.
With the abrupt change, highland chill rushed in like a knife wind where the mist had been. Vertical gusts flapped my clothes downward.
'Planning to drown me?'
Hardly enough volume to flood my entire mana field range. But as I pondered, I spotted another incantation loading into the Giant's massive circuits via linkage gear—and let out a hollow chuckle.
How much experience had this thing accumulated to deploy such systematic applications?
The loaded incantation: discharge. Impossible for precise mid-to-long-range guidance at primitive magic levels. Yet the Giant planned to use the branching streams as lightning rods and ground lines for self-protection, unleashing unlimited discharge between them for area denial.
A net of intense lightning to blanket the zone.
As azure-white bolts stabbed my eyes, I conjured far more ionized waveguide channels than streams, plastering the space like a mesh.
Pazzzzt—!
Pale discharge tendrils lunging for my flesh slammed earthward along the charged air paths.
Ionizing air to form conductive channels was originally an auxiliary incantation for guiding conjured currents. A plugin code to pair with basics.
It was also what enabled Suyeon to exceed mere air insulation breakdown. Same principle, vast rank gap notwithstanding.
After pouring a waterfall of bolts, the forest halted once my mana field endured. The deafening roar vanished; dense silence returned.
Piii— Ringing tinnitus faded seconds later. Incoming fog rapidly expelled the invading chill.
「-」
The initial probing resumed. The massive mana flow undulated oddly. From my perspective, it felt like entering the Giant's belly.
And that sensation might nail the essence. I wasn't facing the entire Trembling Giant's will—just localized reactions from its plant-like distributed cognition network.
Humans don't consciously orchestrate organ movement or biochemistry. Comparing to concentrated human cognition was flawed, given this fragment's evident intelligence.
But if the whole Giant recognized me as enemy—
'Grand magus or not, I'd be a corpse long ago.'
Raw power crushes technique. Resisting overwhelming suppression? Unlikely.
Yet a plant's dispersed intelligence rarely unified without extraordinary conditions. Its cognition net spanned such vastness that signals took at least 150 seconds end-to-end. Alien intellect, hard for humans to fathom.
'This is... enjoyable.'
Observing the forest's refined circuits, dissecting incantation flows to extract code—it was pure intellectual bliss.
I prowled sensitive zones, scrutinizing: water-binding incantations evolved differently from mine; telekinesis and ignition with high efficiency per circuit occupancy, if unrefined; discharge brute-forcing flaws with output alone.
All codes bundled with inscrutable ones, but early circuit blueprints and two-year code puzzles yielded glimpses of the schema.
Still, far clearer than the frustration-inducing haze of old. Junk code sorted from meaningful—differentiated, systematized.
Optimization progress? From my disappointed winter revisit, hesitation lingered—but coming was right.
Wonder what harvests awaited in the fungal kingdom. Hoped that colossal mushroom followed a similar path.
After pummeling the violin case's exterior ragged testing death-zone magic, as late afternoon hues bled into the mist, I—drenched in sweat—reached relative safety.
「-」
The mana field probed again. This time, missing me. I'd shrunk my field appropriately.
Resolution was low here; circuit density sparse. Circuits doubled as spirit senses, naturally.
Leaning against a broken stump, I caught my breath. Hunger gnawed.
Explorers' meals were spartan. Crushing compressed rations telekinetically, I gathered mist into a pure water orb, mixed in the powder, and heated it with mana-fueled fire.
Intense heat boiled it swiftly into porridge. Transforming tough rations into something edible. Fully controlled moisture and odorless base meant minimal scent leakage. No utensils needed.
Sipping portions telekinetically, I eyed nearby human remains. Five skeletons scattered amid shredded tents: the Giant's predation leavings.
Bare bones suggested time passed postmortem, but unfaded tent fabric, tiny flag, and functional (if rusty) firearms screamed recent slaughter.
A bit closer to safety, they'd have seen another dawn.
Sensory density was subtly higher there. Near-miss mana fields snared by the turf. They'd relaxed at no reaction. Perfect campsite. Joy at lucrative coordinates.
But the Giant eventually noticed. Nutrient-rich meat blobs.
Did it grasp live animals? Felt hostile mana field → attack till extinguished → ample sustenance. Pure experiential hunt, perhaps. Or no hunt concept at all.
Plant-animal cognition chasm: different worlds.
Meal done, I rose. Hoped to glimpse spatial refraction before nightfall—that rare Giant trick, absent from the Majestic Book of Gold.
Round Table might've extracted similar wisdom from Essence of the Golden Age. My slain "librarian" mentor once glimpsed such inspiration peering in.
But both Golden Age's Eyes—keys to the depths—were mine. Slim chance.
Then, localized rain poured into my ears. Lethal aqueous shotgun vibrations drumming terrain.
Someone else about to feed the forest. But as I dismissed it lightly, I realized the source rushed closer. Fast.