◈ Episode 189. We Certainly Gave and Received. The Appearance of the Zero Mountain Range.
Damage was expected to be so catastrophic that it could return everything humanity had built up to zero.
Scholars from all over the world put their heads together over the setting of the Zero Mountain Range.
“A dragon lives at the summit?”
“……
Something that absurd is going to rise on Earth?!”
“Why on earth did Cosmo create such an unrealistic mountain!”
“Even if it appears from the sea right now……!”
As the mountain range rose high, an enormous shockwave would spread across the ocean surface.
What would be the destructive force of the earthquakes and tsunamis caused by that?
This was not a problem limited to a select few countries.
“There will be no country that can serve as a breakwater against a tsunami like this. Literally every nation, every civilization, will be swallowed by the sea!”
The desperate news was relayed to the leaders of nations around the world.
“……
Is there any way to minimize the damage?”
No one could answer the question.
It was only natural.
Even before the Cataclysm.
And after it as well, humanity’s science had advanced at a terrifying pace.
But had that direction not ultimately been confined to destruction?
That was why they could not be pressed for an answer when there was none.
Yes.
Until that moment, humanity had overlooked something.
A concept completely different from science.
The fact that [Magic] from another world existed in reality....
The capital of South Korea, Seoul.
The Magic Tower.
News about the Magic Tower began to spread across the world.
The lobby of the Magic Tower.
Yun Jongjin urgently called someone.
The recipient, of course, was PD Hyeon Yongseok.
“……
Senior, I told you I’d definitely make up for it, didn’t I?”
—I’m busy as hell, so what are you talking about out of nowhere?
“I mean Mr. Hoyeol’s flower garden incident!!”
Today Arcana.
The main cameraman’s instinct.
The fact that it was a terrible instinct had been exposed to everyone while covering Hoyeol’s garden. The sight of Hoyeol tending his garden had become a major topic among viewers.
But the one who had actually recognized its potential had been Writer Kim, who had accompanied him.
Determined to make up for that mistake,
Yun Jongjin had taken only a single camera with him
and waited in ambush in the Magic Tower lobby.
“Camping out here for days was worth it.”
He continued meaningfully.
—I’ll send you the footage. Edit it and use it however you like.
Beep—Yun Jongjin said that and hung up.
Hyeon Yongseok frowned.
The broadcasting station was already paralyzed as it was.
“I was an idiot for getting excited, even for a moment, about the Zero Mountain Range.”
No matter how frightening an occupational disease could be,
to think that the first thing that had come to mind before the destruction of Earth was that there would be no shortage of broadcast material.
Of course, even if he worried,
there was nothing a mere broadcasting station PD could do in the face of a natural disaster.
Still, that damned occupational disease flared up again.
“……
Let’s at least see what he made such a fuss about.”
Click—completed the instant he clicked.
Soon, Yun Jongjin’s angle appeared in real time.
Upon checking it, Hyeon Yongseok’s eyes widened.
“What… what is this?”
From the strange stairs of the Magic Tower,
an eerily large number of mages were descending.
Unlike in the past, the Magic Tower had begun external activities.
However, that had only been on a limited scale.
After all, only a few, including Marcelo, had shown themselves outside.
But now.
“……!”
With Chief Mage Marcelo at the head,
all twenty Senior Mages followed behind him.
Behind them stretched a procession of hundreds of Adept and Apprentice Mages.
That alone was astonishing enough.
Soon, Yun Jongjin’s camera zoomed in on someone.
A woman with a gentle impression, closer to old age than middle age.
A robe with particularly ornate decorations and patterns.
Just by looking at her attire, one could tell her status.
Hyeon Yongseok muttered.
“……
Could she be an Elder Mage?”
The Elder Mage said to be called a demigod?
What that meant was simple.
Every mage of the Magic Tower, excluding the Tower Master, had revealed themselves to the world. This was a sight never heard of or seen even back when Arcana was merely a game……!
“Just what is the reason……?”
A possibility suddenly came to mind.
Yes.
At this moment, there was only one reason for them to move.
“The Zero Mountain Range……!”
Hyeon Yongseok asked himself. ‘The mighty Magic Tower, just for that one reason?’ Today Arcana PD.
Hyeon Yongseok possessed Arcana knowledge befitting his position.
In other words, he knew very well what kind of people mages were in Arcana. ‘Mages are arrogant.’ To be honest, they had every reason to be arrogant.
Unlike other classes, for whom equipment befitting their level was essential, for mages, the [Mana] flowing through their bodies was both weapon and armor. ‘And the Magic Tower stands at the very peak of those mages…….’ On top of that, stagnant water was bound to rot.
Because the Magic Tower had not interacted with the outside world all this time,
their current actions were unbelievable even as he watched them.
However, Hyeon Yongseok made a quick judgment.
“Whatever it is, a scoop is still a scoop.”
Without hesitation, he began preparing a special broadcast of Today Arcana.
That judgment of Hyeon Yongseok’s proved exactly right.
Channel VBC.
Today Arcana Special.
On the screen, Marcelo opened his mouth.
—We received salvation, so we shall offer salvation.……
The mighty Magic Tower had received salvation?
“What on earth is he talking about?”
Among the billions of people in the world,
there was only one person who immediately understood what those words meant.
Only one, Hoyeol, stared at the screen....
Those words that I, that Grandfel, had practically lived by.
“All things involve give and take.”
Marcelo.
You had been taking those words, so full of lingering resentment,
seriously!
I had already been wondering whether I needed to return to the Magic Tower. After all, the moment the update details appeared, the uproar had been no small matter. ‘The Zero Mountain Range, all of a sudden.’ They said that a supermassive natural disaster would follow in the wake of its appearance.
That humanity was going to be destroyed not by monsters, but by natural disaster.
The experts on the news had spoken so gravely.
But even though I hadn’t sent any telepathy,
to think Marcelo would move first.
To be honest, I was a little moved by the Magic Tower…….
“Procedures must be observed.”……
You’re shameless even while I’m being moved, Grandfel.
Since I had submitted my leave of absence, it was only proper that they handle it on their own.
However, unlike my words,
I was straightening my clothes.
Because even if I was a parachute appointee, I was still a member of the Magic Tower.
I looked out the window at the field of elixirs.
“Excessive moisture only rots the roots.”……
Don’t compare a supermassive tsunami to water in a watering can, Grandfel.
In any case, it meant I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing in the face of a natural disaster like this.
“Also, rewards follow after trials.”
Moreover, it was not just any region, but the [Zero Mountain Range].
A place where a dragon was said to live at the summit.
In effect, it was an area that could serve as a stage for activity
until the very endgame of the Chronicles of the Arcana Continent.
After entering the level 500 range,
I had eaten up the experience accumulated in the Quirnberg Machine Tower for free…….
No, the level I had acquired and risen by was 95. ‘Thanks to that, I haven’t felt the increased experience requirement.’ Naturally, it would have been impossible to raise my level that much just by clearing rifts.
Unless it was not a rift that disappeared upon being cleared, but a hunting ground where monsters never stopped appearing. ‘I might definitely be able to worry less about experience.’ Assuming I safely got through this excessively noisy update, that is.
If someone were to ask me whether I had the confidence to stop a natural disaster on the level of Earth’s destruction, of course I would answer that I did.
The Lee Hoyeol who borrowed the Magic Tower’s authority from behind it no longer existed.
Why?
Whether I had skipped the intermediate process or not,
I held a Circle within my heart.
[Current Achievement Reached: Circle (All Magic Manifestation Power increased by 1,000%)]
If attributes had affinity, then magic had manifestation power.
I intended to confirm the power of such a Circle.
There was no time to hesitate.
When I drew up my mana, it definitely felt different from usual.
Whoooong─……
So this was the power of a Circle?
High-level magic, a Portal, manifested directly in midair.
Even Marcelo had to put effort into the interference process for a Portal.
And yet, to think I would manifest it so swiftly
that it could practically be called instant.
It was growth astonishing even to myself.
Yet as always,
I, Grandfel, did not waver in the slightest.
“It is my first time opposing the providence of nature.”
I merely murmured and moved my feet.
“I will not hold back in order to defy providence.”
Truly.
“Come, nature.”
In many ways, this was serious……!
*
The location of the Zero Mountain Range was identified.
The Pacific Ocean.
Humanity fell into distress.
“Expert Baek, should we be happy about this?”
“I would say we have at least avoided the worst-case scenario.”
“My opinion is somewhat different.”
“What do you mean by that, Expert Hwang?”
“It was impossible for this to pass without damage. If it had instead formed somewhere on a continent, the surrounding area might have been devastated, but humanity could have minimized the damage. But this is……!”
“Now, are you saying the few should be sacrificed for the many?”
Yes.
It might be a cold thing to say to some.
But it was the truth.
“Don’t you all know? This is not damage that can be divided up and endured!”
However, getting heated now would change nothing.
The Zero Mountain Range would form in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
All of humanity faced a situation in which it would have to bear the aftereffects of that formation directly. The threat of a tsunami hundreds of meters high, something seen only in disaster movies, was becoming reality.
All of it had become a scheduled fact.
It was then.
“S-Sorry to interrupt, but this is breaking news……!!”
“……?”
New information reached the studio.
The anchor continued urgently.
“We have news that all mages of the Magic Tower have begun external activities. According to the AAU, this is something unprecedented even before the Cataclysm. For more details, we go to our correspondent on site……!!”
The Magic Tower had begun to move.
Chief, Senior, Adept, Apprentice, and even Elder Mages.
The Magic Tower’s entire force
had stepped beyond a Portal.
Leaving behind only a single statement.
—We received salvation, so we shall offer salvation.
The mages of the Magic Tower were captured
by a helicopter flying to film the Zero Mountain Range.
Within the camera angle.
Craaaaaack─!
The Zero Mountain Range surged upward with a roar.
Its size and the speed of its formation were enough to say that a new continent was being created in real time.
At the same time, the surging waves were also something seen only through CG in disaster movies.
Swoooooosh─!
However, the camera was not pointed at the Zero Mountain Range.
It was pointed toward the mages of the Magic Tower floating in the sky.
Senior of Fire Magic, Bensch, shrugged.
“This thing called science is inefficient. Wouldn’t you agree, Senior Vangrit?”
Thududududu─In order to fly through the sky,
one had to board that noisy mechanical device.
Senior of Pure Magic, Vangrit, answered awkwardly.
“I suppose everything has its pros and cons.”
“Pros and cons? Senior Vangrit, what do you take magic for? There is nothing in the world as great as magic. Just like now. Can we not calm those rough waves into stillness like this?”
“That is……. Not my thought, but something Chief Lee Hoyeol said. Everything has its strengths and weaknesses. He said the inquiry into [『Oddity』] began with that very acknowledgment.”
“……
Gasp.”
When had he said such a thing without my knowing?
Could it have been then, when I got scolded by Senior Matisse during the round table meeting
and, while curled up, ended up dozing off for a moment?!
To the flustered Bensch, Vangrit asked in return.
“Surely, you are not saying you disagree with Chief Lee’s words……?”
“N-No! How could that be?”
Whoooooong─Bensch hurriedly drew up his mana.
“It’s just that I misspoke for a moment because I was focusing on this manifestation. As you know, I’m rather clumsy with any magic that doesn’t burn things. Haha……. You know how I feel, don’t you, Senior Vangrit?”
Magic that trampled upon the Pacific Ocean.
To calm the sea, there was no need for a complicated interference process.
The mages of the Magic Tower, each and every one called chosen,
were effortlessly controlling the waves with their vast mana.
“It is a sight hard to believe even as we watch it!”
The scene spread across the world in real time.
Like a lie.
No, like 『magic』.
The wave that had nearly dragged humanity to extinction began to subside.
The elder mage, Yugwid, let out a laugh.
“This kind of cooperation feels new as well, Marcelo.”
“Thank you for joining us.”
“Feeling disappointed at being thanked is new, too.”
“Ah……”
“I jest. I jest.”
Yugwid looked toward the Zero Mountains, which were slowly revealing themselves.
Indeed, it was a colossal mountain worthy of mobilizing the entire Magic Tower
itself.
For in the nest at its very summit……
“The scent of an old ill-fated bond is beginning to waft in.”
The victors of the Dragon-Mage War, the dragons, lay crouched there.
The reason every member of the Magic Tower had moved was precisely because of them.
If, in the midst of this commotion, the dragons sleeping in their nests—
if even one of them were to awaken……
“A true disaster will be upon us.”
Their full sortie from the Tower was to deal with such a catastrophe.
That was why Yugwid, who had been watching the Zero Mountains closely,
soon noticed an unusual sign.
“……
Chief Marcelo.”
The losers of the Dragon-Mage War, the Magic Tower.
The lesson that the Magic Tower had learned.
No one must ever wake a dragon from its sleep.
To ensure that lesson would not be forgotten,
magic circles had been manifested near the summit.
One of those magic circles had been destroyed.
What that meant was simple.
“It seems an unexpected variable has arisen.”
Who had done it could not be determined at once.
The Zero Mountains were vast enough just to behold,
and within them existed an even deeper abyss known as the Hundred Thousand Caves.
So the objective that had to be prioritized was, after all—
“I will focus on restoring the magic circle.”
The restoration of the destroyed magic circle.
Marcelo, the founder of theoretical magic.
Yugwid knew his abilities better than anyone,
but he suspected it would not be easy.
Was the Dragon-Mage War not a matter of the distant past?
Even if they grasped the structure of the ancient magic circle, searching it out, interfering with it, and manifesting it again were another matter entirely. Yugwid murmured softly.
“……
Those winged lizards aren’t exactly known for their patience.”
However, Yugwid, too, had overlooked something.
For in the Magic Tower as well,
there existed one who had as little patience as a dragon.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
“You have all worked hard.”
“……!!!”
“As of this moment, I too shall return to my duties as Chief.”
Fluttering silver hair.
An unchanging appearance.
An unchanging voice continued.
“I will take charge of restoring the magic circle.”
And then—
“……
C-Chief Lee Hoyeol?!”
As always, he did it in the end....
What did it matter that it was an ancient magic circle? 『Reversal Magic』.
One shot, and it was restored to its original state.