◈ Episode 486. Fertilizer (2)
The fusion intelligent being, Yugweed Lüfeng.
Even with only half of its presence, it was enough to cause tremendous damage to reality. The AAU checked the flood of video feeds.
There was no need to even bring up the Another Space.
“What the hell is so huge about that thing?!”
“Any update notes on the official site yet?”
“Yes……! Nothing so far.”
“Things popping out of nowhere like this is cheating, you bastard Raymon!!”
AAU Korea Branch.
Because it was located in Seoul. And because it was close to the place where the fusion intelligent being had appeared. They could feel the gravity of the situation even without looking at the monitors.
“That crazy son of a bitch.”
Rumble rumble rumble.
Dust rose beyond the windows. The ground was shaking violently. Violently enough that the AAU headquarters, which there was no way had been shoddily built, was swaying.
Reports of damage came in one after another.
“The exact casualties have yet to be estimated. But the positive thing is that it’s the weekend, and early in the morning at that, so foot traffic is low. If evacuation proceeds quickly……!”
That could hardly be called a silver lining.
Grit.
Teeth ground together.
“What do you all think the reason is?”
“……!”
……
Tap tap tap.
Fingers stopped.
Park Minjae asked those who had been hammering away at their keyboards without pause.
It wasn’t about the authority of a branch chief. He was genuinely curious.
“Raymon Sean. What the hell does that madman want from us that he’d even break the unspoken rules that had held until now and throw us a giant middle finger like this?”
Raymon Sean.
They couldn’t know what was going on inside his head, but they had certainly expected that a day like this would come someday. But for his first move beyond their expectations to turn reality into a wasteland.
“…….”
At the moment when everyone remained silent.
Yun Sugyeom’s mind was racing without rest.
What he knew was only this.
Knowledge of the Arcana Continent Biography, back when it had been nothing more than a game.
The current situation could not be explained even by common sense after the Cataclysm.
It was impossible to infer it with only knowledge from the past.
However, that was the best use of a useless asset.
Soon, Yun Sugyeom opened his mouth.
“Judging by its form, it is presumed to be a golem.”
“A golem? Yeah, it certainly looks that way. From its body made of rock to its human-like shape. Of course, maybe because it’s so enormous it can’t stand up. Or maybe because only half of it has come through the rift. It’s fallen over and flailing around.”
That was what made it frightening.
“That bastard is causing unprecedented damage with just that.”
What if the other half appeared in reality, or if it stood upright on two legs? Not only the area where it appeared, but even the AAU Korea Branch might vanish into history.
Park Minjae asked.
“So what did you see from the clue that it’s a golem, Sugyeom?”
“If it’s a golem, then that means it is, ultimately, magic.”
“……Magic?”
He searched the database from the days when Arcana had been nothing more than a game.
Yes, among the monsters players could hunt, giants had existed.
But golems had not.
“If a golem is a summoned creature called forth by magic…….”
Then was that also 『Magic』 manifested by someone?
As he thought, his thoughts arrived there.
Yes, at Yugweed, the gentle giant and elder mage of the Magic Tower.
“Surely, Yugweed also used something like that……?”
“Yes. He summoned a golem in the Zero Mountains.”
“B-but that was much smaller than that, senior?!”
At Seong Hyeonjun’s words, Yun Sugyeom nodded. The size of the golem that had now appeared was on a different level, to the point that one wondered whether even the world-renowned Yusra General Manager Lee Hoyeol could manifest such a thing.
As if denying it, Seong Hyeonjun continued.
“And even if Elder Mage Yugweed left the Magic Tower of his own volition…… It wasn’t because he had ill feelings toward the Magic Tower, right? As far as I know, he simply took responsibility and left the Magic Tower…….”
“It was an internal matter. Do you remember what the General Manager said?”
“!”
“It means we can’t be completely certain.”
Park Minjae asked.
“What are the chances it’s the work of a mage other than Yugweed?”
……
Slide.
At Park Minjae’s follow-up question, Yun Sugyeom adjusted his glasses.
He swallowed dryly.
As if resolved, he answered.
“No. I’m certain that is Yugweed’s doing.”
“……!!!”
“We just identified the exact location of its appearance.”
Click.
When Yun Sugyeom clicked the mouse, precise coordinates appeared on the control monitor. Then a sense of emptiness settled on Seong Hyeonjun’s face, who had been desperately trying to refute it.
“……I-it’s the Magic Tower, isn’t it?”
That was right.
The rift that had spat out the golem had appeared at the same coordinates as the Magic Tower.
Beads of sweat formed on Park Minjae’s forehead.
He muttered to himself.
“……Just what in the world is happening in the Magic Tower, Tower Master Marcelo?”
However, Marcelo, who could answer that question, General Manager Lee Hoyeol, the Chief of the Magic Tower, and the senior mages had all headed to the Arcana Continent to stop the advance of the great beast.
Therefore.
“……More importantly, is the Magic Tower safe?”
The AAU had no choice but to worry about the mighty Magic Tower.
The reason South Korea’s national power had skyrocketed after the Cataclysm.
It was all thanks to the single fact that the Magic Tower had appeared in Seoul.
But Park Minjae was not worrying about the Magic Tower’s safety simply out of concern for South Korea’s national interests. If the Magic Tower were to collapse or even waver because of this incident…….
‘Reality will begin to crumble under the overflow of the Arcana Continent.’
So what was the exact situation at the Magic Tower?
Park Minjae combed through the Another Space’s footage records, but he could not see the shape of the Magic Tower. It was because it had been almost completely buried beneath the golem covering the area.
It was then.
Through the players.
The specific contents of the appearance message were relayed to the AAU.
The faces of everyone, including Park Minjae, turned pale.
“It wasn’t Yugweed’s doing…… That thing is Yugweed itself……?”
*
Contrary to their concerns, the Magic Tower was safe.
The underground of the Magic Tower.
The foundation of the Magic Tower was Mugan (無間).
The framework that transcended time and space was firmly protecting the Magic Tower from external shocks. However, even within the Magic Tower, only a very small handful knew of the existence of Mugan.
“Wh-what should I do?”
Class: Explorer, player Park Hwigang.
“I knew things were going too well.”
“Hwigang, thanks for everything until now.”
“Hyungs, are you seriously going to say something so ominous?!”
He had completed preparations to enter the Arcana Continent with the Alliance explorers. In hunting the great beast, explorers would be more of a hindrance than a help.
But since they had learned of the existence of the prototype rift.
For explorer players, it was as good as being given an opportunity to earn their keep. However, now that they had gathered at the Magic Tower portal in order to head to the Arcana Continent.
“It may not be a tiger’s den, but let’s get our heads on straight first!”
An unprecedented event.
An unprecedented monster appearance.
They had become completely isolated inside the Magic Tower.
“Alliance Leader Fabian, the entrance to the Magic Tower is blocked.”
“The portal is still working, so what should we do?”
“First, we will grasp the exact situation.”
Because there was such an order from the Explorer Alliance Leader, Fabian Delong.
Park Hwigang pressed the button to start streaming.
Viewers on the outside should know the situation at the Magic Tower better than he did.
The chat window updated the moment the stream began.
-Hwigang, you were aliveㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Wtf Seoul is completely devastated;;;;
-But where is Hwigang??
-Why does the background look familiar?
-What the, it really is the Magic Tower? I thought the title was clickbaitㄷㄷ
“Hah…….”
However, the news was so negative in succession that he could not easily make any comments. To the point that even the number of viewers who had entered the stream out of curiosity about the situation inside the Magic Tower did not enter his eyes.
Park Hwigang swallowed his regret and forced himself to answer.
“The Magic Tower? It’s shaking little by little, but I don’t think it’s going to collapse. What are the mages doing? Well, I can see a few of them, but honestly, they don’t seem to be in a much different state from us…….”
The reactions of apprentices and skilled mages, visible at a glance.
The Magic Tower, the strongest armed group in Arcana, had never been threatened by anyone. Now that such a Magic Tower was surrounded and isolated by an unknown enemy, worry was clear on the faces of the mages.
“Miss Jibril……! Should we prepare ourselves too?”
“Stop making such a fuss, Linne.”
“No, but isn’t it obvious no matter how you look at it?!”
Skilled mage, Linne Ardem.
For the first time in a while, he displayed his specialized knowledge. Linne’s major magic was earth magic, and his trembling finger pointed beyond the window at the heaving rock.
“That is clearly a golem no matter how you look at it!”
Jibril snapped at Linne.
“Linne, are you saying that this situation occurred because of Lord Yugweed, the only mage of this era capable of manifesting a golem?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant……!”
“Then please wait quietly.”
“Urk.”
It was no coincidence that people gathered around Jibril.
Jibril possessed a composure unbefitting a skilled mage.
Before entering the Magic Tower.
It was one of the traits cultivated in her by her family.
Jibril’s gaze turned toward the stairs of the Magic Tower.
“Because they surely won’t stay still.”
However, the current power of the Magic Tower was not intact.
The only ones who had left the tower for the Arcana Continent were Tower Master Marcelo, Chief Lee Hoyeol.
And a few senior mages.
‘……Just the fact that Chief Lee is absent.’
Even saying that the Magic Tower’s current power was at half strength.
Would be a generous estimate.
It was the moment Jibril was thinking seriously.
With a presence, she saw a welcome face in the distance: Klee.
“Miss Klee……?”
But Jibril trailed off.
At the end of the corridor.
Klee, who appeared from the healing school’s side room, looked unfamiliar.
Where had the plain robe she usually wore gone……?
“Why are you dressed in such splendid attire, Klee?”
A gossip.
Jibril’s eyes sparkled.
Thanks to that, Klee quickly changed the subject.
“Please don’t all look at me like that. And why is everyone here? Why are you still wearing your robes just as they are?”
“……Pardon?”
“Miss Klee, what do you mean by that?”
At those words, Jibril and Linne were puzzled.
The two examined Klee’s appearance more closely.
No, now that they looked, wasn’t this not simply a flashy outfit?
Especially this at her waist, a staff……!
Jibril’s pupils widened.
As the gossip of the Magic Tower, how could she not know?
“A decisive-battle magic tool……? Klee, don’t tell me……?”
Klee nodded with a grave expression.
“Yes. The use of decisive-battle magic tools was approved just now, wasn’t it?”
“The use of decisive-battle magic tools was approved……? Such an unprecedented major matter was approved?! Decisive-battle magic tools are something even senior mages cannot handle carelessly, and you’re saying their use has been approved for us skilled mages as well?”
“Don’t make a fuss, Linne.”
“Urk.”
Jibril nodded slowly.
It was an unprecedented situation, so it was only natural that an unprecedented decision might be made.
However, the problem was that the situation was what it was.
Jibril suddenly recalled it.
‘The only ones who can make such a decision are…….’
Tower Master Marcelo or Chief Lee Hoyeol.
However, the two of them were currently.
Absent, having left the tower for the Arcana Continent.
‘The one who can fill the vacancy left by those two is…….’
Only Matisse Dean Karl, senior of black magic.
But even Senior Matisse had left the tower for the Arcana Continent, so one of the senior mages currently remaining in the Magic Tower must have made such a decision as their proxy.
Jibril muttered.
“……Surely not?”
And that surely not was, as expected, the case.
At this point in time, why had the acting Chief of the Magic Tower fully permitted the use of decisive-battle magic tools? It was according to fair procedure. So that he himself could use a decisive-battle magic tool.
Garnet Hall.
Senior of enchantment magic, Kiko Armin.
She looked at her colleague with worried eyes.
“Ehehehe.”
Similar to a small mana sun, yet different.
To be precise, it would not be wrong to call it an upgraded version, the decisive-battle magic tool, [Anatosh’s Flame]. Watching the temporary Acting Chief, Banshee William, hold the magic tool in his hand with a satisfied laugh, Kiko muttered.
“Just what did Chief Lee see in him…….”
That he appointed something like this as temporary Acting Chief……?
*
Tower Master.
Marcelo received the news via telepathy.
The Magic Tower in reality was under threat.
However, he was not worried.
“Because we have the Flame Emperor.”
Marcelo was in awe.
That judgment to appoint Senior Banshee William as temporary Chief.
At last, I have come to understand it completely.
“Once again, I learn from you, sir.”