He dropped the seed into the hole and covered it with soil by hand.
The moisture-laden earth wrapped around the seed.
“This is the last one.”
As I rose to my feet, Soph cast magic around the area.
Alarm magic, and even a simple defensive spell.
Only a few people knew seeds had been buried here, but we still had to be careful.
[It may look like this now, but once the tree grows, I think this place will be the most beautiful.]
I thought the same as Soph.
A massive star tree growing beside a broad lake.
Once it was fully grown, it would truly be a picture-perfect scene.
“The other places aren’t bad either.”
[Did I say they were?]
The first seed we had planted beside the oasis, outside the terraforming ruins.
The second seed we had planted in the central park of the Ice Star underground city—once they all grew, they would be worth seeing too.
Besides, in terms of safety, this place was worse than the others.
This lake couldn’t compare to the terraforming ruins guarded by people, or the underground city guarded by spirits.
Even so, when I received the seeds, this lake was the first place that came to mind.
This was where we had first arrived.
This vast lake, too, had formed where the original base had been.
As far as I knew, this was the only natural(?) lake on this star.
On top of that, although its connection to the surface had been severed, there were ruins underground here that led to another star.
Later, once travel to Earth became easier and people could come and go from the surface again, villages and cities where humans lived would be built here.
“I got a new spear too. Should I try drilling through it now?”
[You would waste black stone on something like that? It is not impossible, but I fail to see why you would do such a thing.]
As expected, the new spear and the black stones were amazing.
I had said it as a joke, but apparently it was possible.
Though it would only be making a path for me to use alone, the fact that it could bore through several kilometers underground was astonishing.
It would have been impossible with my old spear.
“I was just saying it. I don’t intend to do it either. I can’t make the underground ruins that have finally become safe dangerous again.”
The underground ruins leading to Earth could only be reached by spatial movement after the lake formed.
There was no need to worry about monster attacks like before.
The day I drilled a hole into the underground ruins would be after every monster on this star had disappeared.
“People must be waiting, so let’s head back.”
The people who had finished preparing to go to Earth would be waiting for me.
Even if we left now, it would take several hours on foot to reach the terraforming ruins, but neither Soph nor I was worried.
Now, as long as I was alone, distance was no longer a problem.
[Rise. Gravity Reversal.]
Along with Soph’s spell, my body shot into the sky.
Whoooosh.
The lake rapidly shrank beneath me.
The speed was incredible. It felt more than twice as fast as before.
“It’s a shame. If you could change the direction of gravity, it seems like you’d be able to move freely even in the sky.”
[You have only just stepped into the threshold of a high-ranking mage. Only when you reach the end of that realm can you freely manipulate gravity. You still have a long way to go.]
Soph’s magic was already incredible. The more I learned about magic, the more keenly I felt that.
And yet this was only the threshold of a high-ranking mage.
I became genuinely curious what it would be like once he reached the end of the high-ranking mage realm and became an archmage.
‘Just what kind of monster was the Demon King, if even an archmage like that could only seal him?’
Soph kept avoiding questions about the Demon King by saying he didn’t remember.
I couldn’t tell whether he really didn’t remember, or was pretending not to.
Soph’s voice reached me.
[Besides, even without changing direction, if you use your trick, moving around is not an issue, is it?]
“That’s true. But something being a shame is still a shame.”
Floating high in the sky, I pictured a certain image.
An image of gathering air and blasting it out behind my body.
A formula formed, and a magic circle was drawn in my mind.
Air gathered behind my back.
“Launch!”
With my spell, the gathered air burst out.
Boom!
My body shot forward.
Tremendous pressure crushed down on me.
Breathing wasn’t difficult.
That was because I kept pushing away the obstructing air with magic.
[Stop making such strange spells. If that spell spreads to other people, the magic will become fixed under that incantation. “Launch” for air magic—if nature-type mages heard it, they might cough up blood.]
Listening to Soph’s interesting complaint, I shot toward the terraforming ruins.
It was a distance that would take hours on foot, but flying like a rocket this way, I could arrive in no time.
And so, after only a few minutes, I arrived at the desert.
The desert and the oasis ruins seen from the sky were deeply mysterious.
If a star tree were added there, it would become even more magnificent.
Thinking that, I landed in front of the ruins.
Since I had reduced gravity as I descended, I was able to land quietly.
The ruins were bustling.
Those who had rested enough were preparing for the next hunt.
People were checking equipment, warming up, and chatting.
Unlike before, their expressions were bright.
No one had died, and they were going to receive ample rewards.
Avoiding people’s gazes, I went down to the underground plaza where the greenhouse was, then immediately crossed over to the underground ruins connected to Earth.
Many people had gathered in the underground ruins.
Fourteen in total.
Not all of them were going to Earth.
All three technicians had come to watch as a large group went to Earth, and David was also here as the deputy administrator of the terraforming ruins.
The remaining ten were all people going to Earth.
First, there was me and the four exploration team members.
It wasn’t as if every member of the exploration team had no complaints about going to Earth, but no one said it out loud.
Because without me, this many people wouldn’t have been able to go to Earth.
Next was one Korean man.
Like the female student who had returned to Earth last time, he was part of the later group chosen by lottery.
He was someone I knew.
A university student majoring in astronomy, whom I had hunted with during the first hunt.
The young man who had once been moved by the sight of the stars had turned into a gloomy laborer steeped in homesickness.
Even now, he avoided meeting my eyes.
One researcher was also going along to report on our results so far, and there was an American woman from the advance party as well.
I found it strange that an American from the advance party was already returning, but when I heard that the acceleration ability user, the Latino man Carlo, had strongly recommended her, I understood.
That woman was undoubtedly the person Carlo had been protecting so desperately—the person he loved.
This group returning also included someone from another country.
Secretary Li, the only person from a third country on this star, was going along as well.
There was nothing strange about his return.
Until now, he had simply been unable to return because there was no room.
Since China was digging down toward another ruin, he was certain to take on an important role once he returned.
The last person was Catherine.
This time too, Sterling would remain here.
Since the commander and deputy commander were going to Earth, it was only natural that he stayed.
However, when he had come to this star, he had come in an auditing role, so I did feel a little sorry for him.
When I arrived at the underground ruins, the team members welcomed me.
The others did the same.
Everyone except the astronomy student greeted me.
After that, the technicians handed me the luggage they had prepared.
“There isn’t much to take to Earth this time.”
This time, the luggage was small enough to hold in one hand.
“We’ve already handed over all the samples. The most important things are these black stones.”
Catherine lifted the bag in her hand.
It was a bag containing black stones.
Unlike before, the bag was mostly filled with Akzar black stones.
As Catherine said, those black stones were what mattered.
Everything else was just being taken along incidentally.
Of course, what I was taking separately was even more important than the black stones.
The invisible spear on my back was important, as were the black stones in my backpack and the box containing the monster corpse, but the most important thing was the stimulant sample made from the “Mage’s Flower.”
“Then we’ll depart.”
At my words, the people climbed onto the altar.
I also took the luggage and stood atop the altar.
After stepping onto the altar, I looked at the shelves where the technicians had gathered.
A hologram appeared above the shelves.
Characters flowed endlessly within the hologram.
The technicians, who had been watching the hologram with shining eyes, let out sighs.
“How on earth is this possible?”
“Even if it received dark energy from the terraforming ruins, that shouldn’t be enough to send this many people.”
At the other technicians’ lament, the young technician said,
“They said it’s magic.”
“Even magic doesn’t escape the law of conservation of energy. This requires more than twice as much energy.”
“Then we must have calculated the amount of dark energy wrong.”
At the cynical young man’s words, the other technicians looked at me.
“You’re saying we’ve been wasting energy all this time?”
They probably weren’t seeking an answer, but I was able to hear one.
[It seems they are finally realizing it. Just how much energy they have been wasting.]
Those were the words of an archmage saying Earth’s scientists were wrong.
Along with Soph’s words, a portal formed in the air in front of the altar.
People entered the portal one by one.
After everyone had gone in, I also moved forward.
Flaaaash!
The world turned white.
As always, several strands of paths appeared within the white world.
The other paths quickly vanished behind us, and only the path we stood upon stretched far into the distance.
As expected, this time too, I couldn’t see where the people who had escaped this star had gone.
Instead, just before we arrived, I saw paths branching off to other places.
The path leading to Venus, and the paths leading to other ruins on Earth.
It seemed like I could go elsewhere if I simply moved my feet.
But I did not move.
It still wasn’t time to let people know that I could change the destination.
Flaaaash!
A moment later, the light vanished, and the underground ruins of Baekdusan came into view.
We had safely returned to Earth.
But the atmosphere in the ruins was strange.
The technicians and the soldiers alike were clearly tense.
In particular, the Americans seemed even more tense this time.
The people who had been staggering from dizziness stepped down from the altar one after another, and Catherine and Margreta immediately spoke with the Americans.
“War…”
“Danger…”
After exchanging a few words, the two of them, like everyone else, grew serious.
After receiving cell phones, the two immediately made calls.
I handed the luggage to the people waiting, then waited for the two of them to return.
The others also waited below the altar with bewildered expressions.
A short while later, the two returned.
Both of them wore extremely grave expressions.
“I’m sorry. It seems we’ll have to wait a while before going to Paradise. Once the situation is settled, I’ll contact you immediately.”
Catherine apologized to me first.
When everyone looked at her with stiff faces, Catherine waved a hand.
“It’s not that there’s a problem here right now.”
“Then…”
“War has broken out in the Red Sea. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have been blocked. Several countries are fighting in the Middle East and parts of Africa.”
People were shocked at the word war, but in any case, the place where war had broken out was far from here.
Their stiff expressions relaxed.
I could not relax like they did.
If it were just a war in the Middle East, those people wouldn’t be that tense.
At that moment, Margreta, having finished her call, whispered into my ear.
“According to what the intelligence agency confirmed, it seems Russia instigated the war. The Middle East and Africa are all in chaos, but the place in the worst state is a country in northeastern Africa. Djibouti, Africa. There’s a U.S. military base there.”
Russia, all of a sudden?
Every time I came to Earth, incidents kept happening one after another.
“And there are ruins there that lead to Paradise. It seems Russia is targeting that place.”
I had thought the ruins connected to Paradise were in America, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
In the end, what Margreta was saying was that the ruins connected to Paradise were in danger.
The Great War (2)