Ch.381Dice (4)

Was it too abstract? Or was it a story that people in this world couldn’t believe even after hearing it?

Rina showed a reaction that it was a ridiculous story as soon as she heard what I told her. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit dumbfounded.

But soon I realized that she was pretending to be nonchalant, pretending not to believe.

Tremble-tremble-tremble-

Her hand holding the teacup was shaking as if there was an earthquake. Literally, she was just pretending, but she believed my story.

From Rina’s perspective, it was an unbelievable story about Earth that seemed like it could only come from books.

There was no Mana or magic, and even other races didn’t exist. Only humans existed.

People in this world received civilization from Elves and metallurgy from Dwarves.

This is the “common sense” that people in this world, specifically humans, basically have. That they couldn’t have done anything without other races.

Of course, since “monsters” exist here, that might be true. Even now, monsters are a direct threat to human life.

Clatter-

While I was organizing my thoughts, Rina put down her teacup. Her hands were still trembling until the moment she put down the cup.

Then she took a deep breath and looked at me while maintaining a smiling face.

Her face was clearly smiling, but she couldn’t hide her trembling hands.

“C-created things, you said? Not other races, but humans created such things? Are the humans on your side different from us?”

“They’re exactly the same. So much so that if you brought people from that world here, they’d fit right in.”

“Like having good hand skills or being smart?”

“If I had good hand skills, I would have made plenty of things by now.”

What’s commonly called “genius” has contributed greatly to world development, but nothing beats the passage of “time.”

Originally, technology doesn’t just appear out of nowhere with a poof! It’s the accumulation of knowledge that eventually ties together into results.

Even the Industrial Revolution, which changed the world, was born that way. The Magic Engine, similar to the steam engine, was invented because technology had accumulated.

“Intelligence, that is, intellect is similar too. It’s just that there wasn’t enough time.”

“Time?”

“Yes. In our world, human civilization was established about 6,000 years ago. At least according to what’s been verified.”

Rina responded incredulously to that answer.

“Elves established civilization 3,500 years ago. Humans, according to records, established it 3,000 years ago. Yet we don’t have the technology to float in the sky with our own creations or sail without wind. Even Dwarves can’t make such things.”

“But you have magic instead. In our world, science takes the place of magic.”

There’s a famous saying: Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

The reverse would also apply. If people from this world saw an airplane or a massive cargo ship, they would wonder what kind of magic was used.

It’s inevitable that scientific development is slow because magic substitutes for science.

However, thanks to the advanced development of that magic, there are appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners, and even ice cream is sold in markets.

“Fine. Let’s say that’s true. But what about being able to talk to people all over the world through created things? That ignores the concept of space.”

“Don’t you have something similar here? Last time, I talked with Cecilly using a communication orb.”

“Then let me change the question. Can commoners in your world use it too?”

“Yes. Even I used it.”

Though I rarely had a reason to use it. Since there was no need to mention that, I didn’t bother saying it out loud.

Rina opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, not knowing how to respond to my answer. Then she reorganized her complicated thoughts once more.

During that time, I took a sip of tea and then pulled out a notebook. It might be better to draw pictures for an easier explanation.

First, the airplane and ship I just mentioned. Since the internet and nuclear bombs are difficult to explain with pictures, it’s better to just do these two.

“Would you like to see this?”

“Huh? This is…”

“These are the creations I mentioned earlier that can fly in the sky and sail without wind.”

“…”

Rina stared intently at the pictures I drew. Although they looked like a child’s drawings, I captured the key features well enough that she shouldn’t have trouble understanding.

After staring for a while, she glanced at me and then pointed at the airplane.

“…This flies in the sky?”

“Yes.”

“How big is it? Bigger than a carriage?”

“Just think of it as a ship that flies in the sky. There are big ones and small ones.”

“…”

Rina nodded, seeming to understand my analogy. Next was the ship.

“You said it doesn’t need wind… Does it sail without masts?”

“That’s right. Of course, some ships have masts installed as needed.”

“Is this really possible? What kind of magic would you need to…”

“It’s science. You need Mana to use magic, right? These also need energy similar to Mana to move.”

Hearing that explanation, Rina lifted her head slightly. Her blue eyes were filled with questions.

“You said there’s no Mana or magic in your world?”

“Instead, there are resources that substitute for Mana, and science like magic that converts those resources into energy. The Magic Engine that Eins invented is exactly like that.”

“…I feel like I understand but also don’t understand.”

Perhaps she was using her brain too much. Rina placed her hand on her head as she looked away from the notebook, as if she felt dizzy.

I waited quietly until she organized her thoughts. Just in case, I looked back and saw Ariel sleeping soundly.

There was still some time left until Adelia’s special training ended. It didn’t matter if our conversation was interrupted in the middle, as I planned to talk to her whenever she wanted.

Now that she already knew, I’d feel sorry if she suffered alone.

“Sigh… What kind of world is this… Did humans really create all this? Those weak, fragile humans?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are we like this? We have Mana and magic, and even the gods lend us their power. If what you say is true, our civilization should be behind yours, but it’s not at all.”

“Hmm…”

It’s a perfectly reasonable question when you think about it. Elves are an overwhelmingly superior race that established civilization ten thousand years ago, and Dwarves are a race with extremely skilled hands.

A world with potential so great they could build not just airplanes but floating castles in the sky. Yet in reality, they can’t even make airplanes.

Moreover, when you dig deeper into the science, there are many unbalanced aspects. Like the appliances I mentioned earlier—refrigerators and air conditioners.

If they could make them, they would have easily created them using magic. But there are things preventing that everywhere.

‘The gods tend to interfere too much.’

First of all, the gods. The gods love all races on earth and give them power, but ironically, they also prevent development.

Because if a difficult problem arises, you just pray to the gods and that’s it. One example is medicine.

Normally, as science develops, medicine evolves too, but here, priests substitute for all of that.

Even plagues, that is, bacteria and viruses, can be solved with divine power. As a result, divine authority is very powerful in this world.

‘Earth had gods too, right? But why don’t those gods interfere?’

Luminus explained it before. The moment one interferes, other gods will start interfering too.

But there are no cases of gods directly intervening even if you search through history. Unlike here where myths are treated as history, they are just myths there.

In fact, wasn’t it Luminus who stopped Sabre’s rampage in the past? If he hadn’t stopped it, the spark would have spread worldwide and developed into a major war.

That war could have served as a foundation for great development, but he stopped it simply because he didn’t like seeing people fight.

It’s a moment that raises many questions, but since there are differences between worlds, let’s just accept it. This is a rather complex issue that I can’t intervene in.

‘Secondly…’

Besides the gods, the most significant difference is “culture.” Science and culture develop together.

To be honest, this is an inevitable aspect. First of all, unlike Earth, “races” are clearly distinguished.

Not only does each race have its own culture, but they also show a tendency to stick together.

Humans are overwhelmingly numerous, so there are several countries, but for races other than humans, there is only one country per race.

Crucially, they don’t wage war often. Earth had wars at every opportunity, but here there are almost none except for racial wars.

‘Unless the revolution had succeeded.’

The Jeiros Revolution, this world’s version of the French Revolution. It ended in failure, so the royalty and nobility began to be wary of the citizens.

Honestly, I think it’s fortunate that it failed. Otherwise, many royals and nobles would have lost their heads on the guillotine.

Anyway, there are too many reasons why development in this world is particularly slow to pick just one.

“There are too many to choose from. The humans in the world I lived in were weaker than here, so they absolutely needed superior tools. To be a little more comfortable, a little safer, to deal with opponents a little more easily. They created everything they could, taking risks. That accumulated and built up to form such a civilization.”

“That’s amazing… Really. Could we do it too?”

“If enough time passes. Technology doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere.”

Development may be slow, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Eins invented the Magic Engine, didn’t he?

Instead, it will take some time for an industrial revolution to happen. The true value of the Industrial Revolution was factories.

With factories came workers, those workers were exploited and fought back, and the result of that struggle…

‘…is communism.’

This is something I need to be careful about. I should write it in a book soon.

While I was briefly lost in thought, Rina stared at the pictures drawn in the notebook and then said to me:

“Did your world also have wars like racial wars?”

“It happened twice. Within less than 30 years.”

“Twice?”

“Yes. And that’s when weapons of mass destruction—the world-ending weapons I mentioned earlier—were first used.”

“Wow…”

Maybe because it’s a story from another world, Rina’s eyes began to sparkle more and more.

Until just now, she didn’t have time to organize her thoughts due to confusion, but not anymore.

Now that she’s sorted things out somewhat, everything I say probably sounds like fantasy to her.

Then, after hearing me talk about weapons of mass destruction, that is, nuclear weapons, she picked up her teacup.

I don’t know when it was filled, but the teacup was full of tea.

“Can that weapon really destroy the world?”

“Yes. More precisely, it resets human civilization completely. Not just because of its power, but because it makes the land unusable.”

“I see. Then it must have been sealed away?”

“Huh? Not at all?”

I answered with an expression that said “not at all.”

“There are over thousands of those now?”

“PFFT!!”

And sweet tea was sprayed onto my face.