We've Settled the Score – The Zero Mountains Emerge
The emergence of the Zero Mountains was expected to inflict damage devastating enough to reset everything humanity had built back to zero.
Scholars from around the world huddled together to analyze the settings of the Zero Mountains.
"Dragons live at the peak?"
"...This absurd nonsense is sprouting up on Earth?!"
"What the hell was Cosmo thinking, creating such an unrealistic mountain?!"
"Even if it starts rising from the ocean...!"
As the mountain range thrust upward, it would send massive ripples across sea level. The resulting earthquakes and tsunamis? This wasn't a problem confined to a few countries.
"No nation can stand as a breakwater against tsunamis like these. Quite literally, every country, every civilization will be swallowed by the sea!"
The despairing news reached leaders across the globe.
"...Is there any way to minimize the damage?"
No one could answer.
And how could they? Even before the cataclysm, and after, humanity's science had advanced at a terrifying pace. But that progress had always been geared toward destruction, hadn't it?
That was why no one could demand an answer.
Yes. Up until then, humanity had overlooked it.
A concept entirely separate from science.
The existence of magic from another world, now real.
......
The capital of South Korea, Seoul.
The Mage Tower.
Word began to spread worldwide about the Mage Tower.
In the Mage Tower lobby, Yoon Jongjin frantically dialed a number. The recipient was, naturally, PD Hyun Yongseok.
"...Senior, I told you I'd make up for it, right?"
"No, the flower garden incident with Hoyeol!"
Today Arcana. The main camera director's instincts. That they were crap had been exposed to everyone while covering Hoyeol's flower garden.
Hoyeol tending his garden had become a huge hit with viewers. But the one who'd spotted the potential was the accompanying writer, Kim.
Determined to make up for that mistake. With just a single camera in tow.
Yoon Jongjin lay in wait in the Mage Tower lobby like it was a stakeout.
"All that time camped out for days paid off."
He spoke meaningfully.
Click.
Yoon Jongjin hung up.
Hyun Yongseok furrowed his brow. The broadcasting station was already in chaos.
"I'm an idiot for getting even briefly excited about the Zero Mountains."
No matter how scary occupational hazards were.
To think his first thought had been about endless broadcast material over Earth's destruction.
Of course, worrying wouldn't help. A mere PD at a station couldn't do a thing against natural disasters.
But damn, his occupational disease flared up again.
"...Let's see what the fuss is about."
Click.
The footage from Yoon Jongjin popped up in real time.
Hyun Yongseok's pupils dilated as he watched.
"What... the hell."
On the eerie stairs of the Mage Tower.
An bizarrely large number of mages were descending.
The Mage Tower had begun external activities unlike in the past.
But only to a limited extent. Only a few, like Marcelo, had shown themselves outside.
But now.
"...!"
Led by Chief Mage Marcelo.
All twenty senior mages followed.
Behind them, a procession of hundreds of skilled and apprentice mages.
That alone was shocking enough.
Then Yoon Jongjin's angle zoomed in on someone.
A gentle-faced woman closer to elderly than middle-aged. A robe adorned with especially ornate decorations and patterns. Her attire alone revealed her status.
Hyun Yongseok muttered.
"...No way, an elder mage?"
Those called demigods?
The implication was simple. Every mage in the Mage Tower except the Tower Master had emerged into the world.
This was unprecedented even when Arcana was just a game...!
"What the hell is going on...?"
A sudden possibility flashed in his mind.
Yes. There was only one reason they'd move now.
"The Zero Mountains...!"
Hyun Yongseok posed a question to himself.
'The almighty Mage Tower, just for that?'
Today Arcana PD Hyun Yongseok possessed Arcana knowledge befitting his position. He knew well what kind of folk mages were in Arcana.
'Mages are arrogant.'
They had every right to be arrogant. Unlike other classes needing level-appropriate gear, for mages, the mana flowing through their bodies was both weapon and armor.
'And the Mage Tower is the pinnacle among those mages...'
Stagnant water turns foul. The Mage Tower, isolated from the outside all this time.
Their current actions were unbelievable even seeing them.
But Hyun Yongseok judged quickly.
"Whatever it is, a scoop's a scoop."
He dove into preparations for a Today Arcana special broadcast without hesitation.
And his judgment proved spot on.
Channel VBC. Special Today Arcana.
Marcelo spoke on screen.
......The almighty Mage Tower had received salvation?
"What the hell does that mean?"
Out of billions worldwide.
Only one grasped the meaning immediately.
Lee Hoyeol stared at the screen.
......
A phrase I—no, Grandfell—practically lived by.
"All things involve give and take."
Marcelo.
He'd taken those words dripping with implication to heart!
I'd been wondering if I should return to the Mage Tower anyway.
Why? The update notes alone had caused a massive uproar.
'The Zero Mountains out of nowhere.'
The aftermath of its emergence would bring mega natural disasters.
Humanity facing extinction not from monsters, but nature.
The news experts had spoken so gravely.
Yet without me even sending telepathy.
Marcelo moved first.
Honestly, I was a bit touched by the Mage Tower... .
"Procedure must be observed."
......Even while touched, you're shameless, Grandfell.
Since I submitted my leave, they should handle it themselves, right?
But contrary to my words.
I straightened my attire.
Even as a parachutist, I was still part of the Mage Tower.
I gazed at the elixir field outside the window.
"Excess water rots the roots, after all."
......Don't compare a mega tsunami to water from a watering can, Grandfell.
Either way, I couldn't just sit idle before such a natural disaster.
"Moreover, trials are followed by rewards."
And not just anywhere—the mighty Zero Mountains.
Where dragons dwelled at the peak.
A region that could serve as a stage right up to the late-game of the Arcana continent storyline.
After entering the 500s.
Devouring—no, acquiring—the experience piled in the Quirnburk Mechanical Tower...
I'd risen 95 levels.
'Thanks to that, I haven't felt the increased EXP requirements yet.'
Obviously, clearing rifts alone couldn't yield that. Rifts vanish upon clear, unlike endless hunting grounds teeming with monsters.
'Might actually ease my EXP worries.'
If we safely weathered this flashy update.
If asked if I was confident stopping Earth-ending disasters, I'd confidently say yes.
The old Lee Hoyeol hiding behind the Mage Tower was gone.
Why? Skipping steps or not.
I now held a circle in my heart.
All magic manifestation power +1,000%
Affinity for elements? Magic has manifestation power.
I intended to test this circle's might.
No time to hesitate.
Raising mana, the sensation was distinctly different.
Hummm—
......This is the circle's power?
High magic manifested in thin air: portal.
A portal even Marcelo labored over in interference.
Yet it formed so swiftly, near-instantly.
Growth that surprised even me.
Always.
I, Grandfell, remained unflinching as ever.
"Challenging nature's order for the first time."
Merely murmuring as I stepped forward.
"To defy the order, I shall not restrain my power."
Truly.
"Come, oh nature."
Seriously... in every sense!
*
The Zero Mountains' location was pinpointed.
The Pacific Ocean.
Humanity plunged into dilemma.
"Dr. Baek, should we be glad about this?"
"At least it's not the worst case, I'd say."
"I differ slightly."
"What do you mean, Dr. Hwang?"
"Zero damage was impossible. If it'd spawned on a continent somewhere, that area would be devastated, but humanity could minimize overall harm. But this...!"
"Ahem, sacrificing the few for the many?"
Yes. Cold to some.
But fact.
"You all know this damage can't be shared out!"
But lamenting now changed nothing.
Zero Mountains manifesting mid-Pacific.
All humanity facing the full shockwave.
Hundreds-of-meters tsunamis from disaster flicks now real.
All predetermined.
Then.
"S-sorry to interrupt, but breaking news...!!"
"...?"
New info hit the studio.
The anchor continued urgently.
The Mage Tower was on the move.
Chief, seniors, skilled, apprentices, and even elder mages.
The Mage Tower's full force stepping through portals.
Leaving just one phrase.
The Mage Tower mages were captured.
By a helicopter filming the Zero Mountains mid-flight.
In the camera's angle.
Rumble—!
The Zero Mountains surging with deafening roar.
Its scale and speed like a new continent forming.
The churning waves rivaled disaster movie CG.
Whoosh—!
But the camera aimed not at the Zero Mountains.
Toward the Mage Tower mages floating in the sky.
Senior flame mage Bensy shrugged.
"Science is so inefficient. Don't you think, Senior Banggrit?"
Whirrr—
To fly, they needed those noisy mechanical contraptions.
Senior pure mana mage Banggrit replied awkwardly.
"Everything has its pros and cons, I suppose."
"Pros and cons? Banggrit Senior, what do you take magic for? Nothing greater than magic exists. Like now. Even those raging waves can be calmed like this, right?"
"Well... that's not my thought, it's Chief Lee Hoyeol's words. 'Everything has pros and cons.' Your exploration of the 'bizarre' began with that acceptance."
"...Gasp."
When did he say that without me knowing?
No way, during the roundtable when Senior Matis scolded me. Did I doze off while sulking?!
Banggrit countered the flustered Bensy.
"Surely you don't disagree with the Chief...?"
"N-no! Of course not!"
Hummm—
Bensy urgently raised his mana.
"I was just focused on manifesting, words slipped. I'm clumsy with non-burning magic, you know? Haha... You get me, right, Banggrit Senior?"
Magic trampling the Pacific.
Calming the sea required no complex interference.
Mage Tower mages, the chosen ones.
Their vast mana effortlessly controlled the waves.
"Unbelievable, even seeing it!"
The scene spreading worldwide in real time.
Like a lie.
No, like magic.
The waves that nearly doomed humanity began to subside.
Elder mage Yugweed chuckled.
"Such cooperation is refreshing, Marcelo."
"Thank you for joining."
"Gratitude feels novel too."
"Ah... ."
"Kidding. Kidding."
Yugweed eyed the slowly emerging Zero Mountains.
A giant mountain worthy of mobilizing the entire Mage Tower.
Why? At its peak nest...
"The scent of old grudges wafts already."
Victors of the Dragon-Mage War, dragons lurked there.
The full mobilization was for them.
Lest the commotion awaken a sleeping dragon in its nest.
If even one stirred...
"True catastrophe would follow."
Thus, the full outing to prevent mishaps.
Scrutinizing the Zero Mountains, Yugweed soon sensed anomaly.
"...Chief Marcelo."
Losers of the Dragon-Mage War, the Mage Tower.
The lesson learned: Never wake a dragon.
To never forget.
Magic circles manifested at the peak ledges.
One was destroyed.
The meaning was clear.
"Seems a variable has arisen."
Whose doing? Unclear for now.
The vast Zero Mountains alone daunted.
Within, 100,000 caves—deeper abysses.
Priority remained.
"Focus on restoring the magic circle."
Marcelo, founder of theoretical magic.
Yugweed knew his abilities best.
But foresaw difficulty.
The Dragon-Mage War wasn't ancient myth.
Deciphering ancient circle structure was one thing; scouting, interfering, manifesting another.
Yugweed murmured.
"...Those winged lizards lack patience."
Yet Yugweed overlooked.
One as impatient as dragons.
Existed in the Mage Tower too.
Suddenly, a voice from behind.
"Everyone's working hard."
"...!!!"
"From this moment, I resume Chief duties."
Fluttering silver hair.
Unchanging attire.
Unchanging voice continued.
"Leave the magic circle restoration to me."
And.
"...Ch-Chief Lee Hoyeol?!"
Unchangingly, he succeeded.
......
What if it's an ancient magic circle?
Reversal Magic.
One shot restores it to original.