episode_0036

[Tick-tock, the clock’s second hand began to move.]

Before my eyes, a dusty clock, which the System seemed to have prepared at some unknown time, revealed its form, ticking away.

It was now diligently running towards one o’clock.

[You have discovered an anomaly of the world.]

[The System shouts for you to immediately leave this place.]

I glanced at the message and spoke.

“…Excuse me, I’m just curious. If I use the item from my inventory, the one that pierced the Queen’s heart, will I be able to win?”

[The System violently shakes its head, stating that it is not that kind of ancient species.]

Although the words themselves conveyed desperation to me, perhaps it was the earnestness embedded in each character.

My ears began to throb.

Trembling, my hands involuntarily began to shake.

Since when had my eyes begun to see so clearly?

Her wide, open eyes, still visible from the mana I had absorbed, only elicited a bitter laugh from my lips.

Growling, Brownie, who had been trembling beside me, immediately blocked my path faster than anyone else as soon as he saw my feet heading forward instead of backward.

[It’s suicide, Master. I have no intention of serving a new master here.]

[The System strongly agrees with its cute pet’s words.]

The blue System, a mass of intensely blue mana that could be felt without even manifesting its power, shone more brightly than ever, as if it wished for me not to advance further.

Normally, it would have been a mere mana mass that I could pass through as if nothing were there, but whatever trick the System pulled, my feet, which had been moving forward, were bound by that blue mass and could no longer move.

Only the whales swimming around me, creating shallow ripples, seemed to understand me, swimming powerfully.

“Hey, System. I don’t know who you are, but given that you’re telling me the clock is moving, it seems you’re not on the side of the higher-ups.”

I muttered, looking up at the sky, where the System might reside, but which was now blocked by a sturdy ceiling.

“I’m trying to fight the higher-ups with all the knowledge I have, so if you’re not going to help, just stay still as usual.”

I was convinced by the System’s words.

The spear that pierced the Queen’s heart would be extremely useful in a battle against the gods.

This fact remained unchanged.

However, the System’s dissuasion proved that victory could not be achieved by using only this divine artifact.

There might be a possibility of meeting higher-ups who were friendly to humans.

Furthermore, the description of the being before me stated a war with ‘gods.’

If their relationship was bad to begin with, wouldn’t there be room for negotiation for me?

[The System notices the beings you euphemistically referred to as higher-ups.]

[It realizes you know the clock’s purpose and is appalled.]

As soon as this message of shock appeared, the mass that had been blocking me could no longer firmly hold its ground, unable to bind my body.

Was the System trembling its hand up there? Numerous messages trembled, clinging to each other.

[Master, a clock? What do you mean by that?]

“It’s the time when those above would mercifully grant permission to build an ark, normally.”

The small wolf, far tinier than them, understood the meaning of my words. Was he speechless at my reply, and at me still moving forward despite being so strongly advised against it?

He simply trotted behind me without a word.

He must have held the conviction that he should at least see off the grave of someone who had briefly acted as his master.

Drip by drip, as the laboratory waste dripped,

I enveloped the ripples of my wave, also dripping drop by drop, to check for any traps set by the being ahead.

Plodding, my feet eventually stopped in front of a door.

Perhaps it was because I was too immersed in the surrounding mana, but only after bumping my head against the door with a thud did I realize its presence.

Tap, my hand touched the doorknob, and I saw a blue message appear before me, which I thought had given up trying to stop me.

[The System states it will help as much as it can.]

Gently, I offered a faint smile at the blue message.

Sighing once, I slowly turned the doorknob.

Perhaps my tension was too great.

Ignoring my tension completely, the door simply opened weakly with a creaking sound.

Perhaps it was because the inside was so filled with silence.

I could only hear a splashing sound in my ears, like waves held back by a breakwater.

‘A breakwater…?’

As I stepped two feet into the room, the sense of incongruity about a breakwater became reality.

The sound of waves, the sound of waves that had filled my ears, disappeared like sand.

[Mind Sword]

Nothing happened.

[Cetus Style First Form]

This also did nothing.

Mana itself could be deployed, but more precise mana manipulation, like casting skills, was impossible.

The blue mass of mana used by the System, perhaps a type of mana similar to skills, crackled and said nothing as soon as it entered this room.

If only such manipulation were forbidden, I might have found her location more easily.

My mana was gradually being absorbed by the surrounding walls and disappearing.

For the first time in a long while, reverting to a state before I mastered this method, I momentarily lost my sense of direction in this bewilderment.

[Hey, Master, as soon as I entered this place, my mana became too stable. This is dangerous; I can’t even transform and I’ll be caught defenseless!]

In a room where mana manipulation was impossible, I stared at my hand, from which only faint mana was leaking.

This wasn’t something I hadn’t anticipated.

Isn’t the fact that I’m still alive proof of that?

If the being inside could manipulate mana even a little stronger, I would have been torn to shreds when I killed the Wendigo outside.

Should I call it fortunate?

My mana was gradually weakening, unable to reach the being inside.

What method could I use to reach the being inside from here?

“This place is all broken too…”

A trickling sensation of hot liquid was felt on my hand.

The liquid was not something alien from outside, but a familiar one slowly coming from within my body.

Cautiously, grabbing objects around me, as I walked towards the place where I first saw her, my hand was cut by broken glass.

At the entrance, the gentle flow of mana now trembled strangely, as if something existed in the center.

How many obstacles had there been leading up to this broken glass?

Fearing there might be traps or remnants left by the Demonic Cult, I deployed a small amount of mana into each experimental bottle I could grasp, reading their names.

Bottles with only strange names like Zoroaster, Solomon, and Agent Orange were abundant, but perhaps I discovered this place too late?

Or perhaps the Wendigo could not enter this mana-suppressing place?

The substances inside the bottles were either solidified or had evaporated, as if their power had been exhausted.

After walking for a long time, I instinctively had to stop at one section.

What appeared before my eyes was pure darkness itself; no mana could be deployed or received.

But isn’t there such a thing as animal instinct?

That instinct gripped my shoulder, preventing me from moving forward.

Tap, I shook off that instinct and reached out my hand to something standing tall in front of me.

Scattering the remaining mana into the intact experimental cylinder.

I can see it.

The entire body of a being I should not be seeing right now.

White hair elegantly wrapping around its body.

A body without a single curve.

And those red eyes staring intently at me.

“Gasp…..”

I thrashed my hands, trying to escape from whatever was choking my neck.

However, nothing grasped my hands, and all I could do was flail my arms in the air.

Had I been too arrogant?

Even if I consider my full strength, I’m only at the level of an ancient species.

Even if I’d pushed past the limits of my mental fortitude.

Had I thought that after receiving the title of Player, I would never die and everything would go smoothly?

How could I have known what horrors the humans had inflicted upon the being with wide, ghastly eyes before me?

“Gasp… choke…”

[Sys….tem…….is…]

The crackling blue mass of mana entered my sight even as my consciousness faded.

Perhaps it was trying to help me, who had made a foolish choice?

I thought nothing would change.

But I discovered it.

The head of the being, which had shown me its wide, ghastly eyes, was lifting upwards.

[The System intervenes.]

Seeing the words clearer than any other message, I lost consciousness.