Day 19 since entering the deep sea.
The morning after I killed the Reaper.
There was a lot of meaning in having overcome the Reaper.
It meant that, in this area, I no longer needed to act so passively. As for anything else…
“Hup!”
Slice.
I drew my sword, and at the same instant light flashed, a boulder more than ten paces away was cut apart.
The next realm a swordsman who cloaked his blade in mana looked toward: sword energy.
The battle with the Reaper had opened up senses that had been blocked somewhere.
How to control the flow of mana. How to move that vast tidal wave.
Perhaps because I was still inexperienced, a tingling pain climbed up from my grip.
I couldn’t use it much yet, but it was enough to use as a weapon.
And the experience of entrusting my body to the intuition I had felt during the fight with the Reaper.
I had definitely sensed something there, but… whenever I tried to recall it, my head throbbed, so I stopped remembering.
In any case, I gained a lot from the fight with the Reaper.
Using the Reaper’s fragmented corpse, I strengthened the “Combat Support Acceleration/Deceleration Device.”
Right now, I was in the middle of testing that equipment.
“I used quite a bit of gold and Reaper fragments, so the performance should be better… right?”
What I could feel immediately was that it had become much lighter.
By replacing part of the titanium with Reaper fragments, the weight had dropped by about twenty percent.
Now it was time to experience its functions.
“Whew… first, jump.”
Just like when I first equipped the device, I took my stance.
The flow of mana gathered, and I kicked off the ground.
Tung!
Along with the release of mana toward the ground, I shot upward.
Resistance pressed down on me, vanished for an instant, then rose upward again.
When my feet touched the sandy floor, a weak impact, about the level of a tap, traveled up through my soles.
Even though it had been high enough to leap over five or six people, the impact was faint.
The acceleration device, which moved according to my will, could also regulate the amount of impact.
If I wanted to strike harder and faster, I accelerated in that direction. If I wanted to reduce the impact, I reversed it and decelerated.
Once I got used to the controls, I could even use it with my quickdraw technique.
Acceleration when drawing. Deceleration when the end came. The flow of force, and the control of its intensity.
“The performance has improved quite a bit.”
It did rely on my senses, but… at the very least, it was hard to deny that it was a more improved form.
The way it reacted faster to my senses, and the engine’s durability, had become much better as well.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The sword, buried deep in its scabbard, was swung without any particular intent.
But its speed was fast enough that an ordinary person would struggle to follow it with their eyes.
I could see the surrounding air ripple along with the swing of the blade all too clearly.
Whoosh, whoosh.
After swinging the sword a few times, what I felt was that I was becoming proficient at a frightening speed.
It hadn’t even been three weeks since I opened my eyes in the deep sea.
Was it because of the intuition I hadn’t felt on Earth?
Or perhaps it was because I had come from a place without mana to a place with mana.
Whirrr.
Assolusion, who had only been watching from nearby, approached me while leaving track marks in the sand.
At first, I had been rather expectant, but now I could see what it intended, so I gave it my hand familiarly.
Then, as if it had been waiting, it moved its mechanical hand and took mine.
The flow of mana connected, and my mana flowed out and was passed to Assolusion.
“Hmm…”
As I watched Assolusion fill itself with mana, I thought the sensation at my fingertips seemed to have changed.
How should I put it? It felt subtly warmer.
Well, it was probably my imagination. A machine couldn’t become warm, after all.
Unless it turned into a person.
Apparently finished filling itself with mana, Assolusion moved through the sand with motions that looked more energetic than before.
Following the tracks left in the sand, I also headed toward the submersible.
When I crossed the hatch and went inside, I saw Jui sleeping soundly, lying in midair.
Seeing it sleep without a single worry made me feel quite envious.
When I tore my gaze away from Jui and looked around the interior, the holy water, the most conspicuous thing there, came into view.
Even though I had used it a lot recently, the holy water was nearly half full.
Originally, I had used enough of it that the bottom was visible.
Twice for my recovery, and once for divine magic.
Even so, the reason it was half full was…
When HealingIsViolence handed me the holy water, they had explained something.
HealingIsViolence: The holy water won’t run out completely. At least, as long as there’s faith.
Aurora: Faith? I don’t believe in gods, though…
HealingIsViolence: …Just believe in anything. Believe in yourself, or believe in your tools.
“Back then, they told me to believe in myself if possible…”
Just as they had said it wouldn’t run out completely, the holy water continued to refill while I wasn’t looking.
It didn’t fill enough to overflow, so I couldn’t use large amounts of holy water.
Still, it was a relief that I could use holy water continuously.
Clatter.
I picked up the holy water and put it away somewhere out of sight for a moment.
It was time to turn on the broadcast to report that I was still alive.
[Deep Sea Escape Log, Day 19: Important Matter]
As soon as I turned on the broadcast, countless people poured in.
Of course, only a small number of them were typing in chat.
ㄴTruthScholar: Gasp! What’s the important matter????
ㄴQuickdrawSwordSaint: You turned it on rather late.
ㄴEducationMaster: I woke up early today, so I’m not sleepy!
Maybe because of the clickbait title, there seemed to be more viewers than usual.
I cleared my throat briefly, adjusted my voice, and opened my mouth.
“Starting today, I’m going to try heading toward the central area.”
Immediately, the regulars responded.
ㄴTruthScholar: Oh! Then can we see that multi-circle guided fireball first?
ㄴHealingIsViolence: Aren’t you going into the weapons factory?
“No, I will stop by the weapons factory.”
I had no intention of heading straight for the center.
There might be more things like that biological fighter, after all.
The plan was to go in one district at a time.
This city seemed like a city built according to a plan.
From the center to the outskirts, there were four districts. And it was divided into four sections by lines extending out from the center.
The weapons factory and food factory were in the third district from the center.
I intended to go to the weapons factory, then enter the second district.
From the second district onward, biological fighters appeared.
If I could walk through the second district with ease, only then would I enter the first district.
When I explained that, the regulars responded.
ㄴTruthScholar: You’re going in more safely than I expected?
“…It’s not like I’ve been going around that dangerously.”
Of course, problems arose wherever I went, I had overcome life-or-death crises several times, and I had done a lot of exploring.
But I probably… hadn’t gone around that dangerously.
In any case, I picked up the sword I had set down and moved my feet.
Naturally, my steps were heading toward the weapons factory.
Creak.
I had just grabbed the hatch and was about to leave.
“Piik!”
“Uh… did I wake you?”
Jui shook its body and got up.
Then it looked straight at me and bit my shoulder. More precisely, my clothes.
“Oof!!”
“No, wait…”
I had no intention of taking Jui to the weapons factory, so I tried to detach it.
But it bit down on my clothes even harder. As if telling me to take it with me.
If I kept trying to pry it off, my clothes looked like they would tear, so I simply gave up.
“Fine… all right. I’ll take you.”
“Pii!”
At my words, a smile immediately appeared around its mouth.
Well… it probably wouldn’t cause any trouble. In the first place, it seemed stronger than me.
And so, leading Jui along, I set off toward the weapons factory.
***
The Master of the Magic Tower, Azentas.
Normally, she was not the type to leave the Magic Tower very often.
To others, she might look like a workaholic, staying in the Magic Tower all day long… but right now was an exception.
Ever since she appeared at the “Grand Imperial Exchange” hosted by the Empire, she had not left the Magic Tower even once.
Yet now, beneath the warm sunlight, she wore a carefully arranged smile.
Long, curved eyes.
Eyes where blue and green mingled, as if green pigment had been dissolved into the sea.
Skin without a single blemish.
A faint smile drawn gently at her lips.
Short silver hair sparkling in the sunlight.
A tightly fitted Magic Tower uniform, harmoniously composed of blue and black.
She stood waiting, adjusting her black gloves.
Her appearance was like a painting, and many had their gazes stolen by her.
The sight was made even more striking by the tiger beastman wrapped in dark clothes standing a short distance away from her.
She shaded the sunlight with her hand and focused on the light slipping through the gaps between her fingers.
After a short while, she began slowly drawing up her mana.
She had even pushed aside the broadcast she had been watching moments ago.
She had inferred it from the position of the sun, so any moment now—
Dudududu!
The sound of brass instruments rang out, and the sound of countless footsteps began to move.
Without giving the Gallery even a single glance, she focused on the movement.
For this place was now…
The site where the throne would change hands.
Clank. Clank.
Countless suits of armor struck against one another in unison, producing a noise that even carried a sense of intimidation.
Twenty knights bearing the imperial crest. And at the front stood the current Sword Saint, Haiden.
The knights who moved first soon split to either side, creating a single path.
Haiden stood at its center in a rigid, formal stance.
Through the center of the imperial knights, a woman with golden hair fluttering walked forward.
The former princess who had inherited the throne. The current Empress.
With steady, unwavering steps, she walked up to Haiden.
Haiden knelt on one knee in a dignified posture that normally showed not even a speck of flaw, and raised his sword with both hands.
Shing.
The sword was drawn from the Empress’s hand.
Then it descended toward his shoulder.
Her mouth opened, and an oath flowed out.
Haiden listened to every word, then opened his mouth.
“Yes. I am the sword of the righteous Empire.”
With the inheritance of the throne, the imperial sword was inherited as well.
The sight was quite magnificent, but the Magic Tower Master’s brow furrowed faintly.
It was not that she disliked the succession. Nor was she angry at Haiden for showing off.
Even so, she felt discomfort.
‘…Why does it feel unimportant?’
It was a truly vague emotion.
The feeling that something, something was missing. The feeling that she had forgotten it, yet that it was not all that important.
Unable to resolve that question until the imperial succession ended, she returned to the Magic Tower.
Meanwhile, on Aurora’s broadcast…
“…Why is no one chatting?”
ㄴAlcoholIsLife: Want a drink too?
“If I drink, I’ll die on the way in.”