The Reason I Didn’t Get It
by Afuhfuihgs
Ellie shouted, seemingly surprised.
,”Roel-oppa didn’t get the essence of magic engineering?”
“Yeah, I’m sure of it.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes, looking doubtful at my certainty.
“How can you be so sure?”
To Ellie’s question, I first explained why I chose magic engineering as the target of my Quantum Jump.
“The reason I chose magic engineering with the Quantum Jump is because I judged it to be a choice that would help my growth and reduce the risk of Roel becoming stronger.”
To put it simply, it’s similar to a mass-produced roguelike game. It’s like choosing a high-risk, high-return option where the character gains good abilities but the enemy gets stronger, versus a safe option with low risk and low return that gives the character an advantage without changing the difficulty much.
At the time, I was wary of the variables that would arise if Roel became stronger than he is now, so I chose the safer option. If I had chosen Sword Master or Archmage instead of magic engineering, there was a good chance that Roel, thinking he had enough power, would immediately attack the Order, leading to the worst-case scenario.
If that happened, the progress of the main story would skyrocket, potentially causing a butterfly effect where things that were supposed to happen years later would happen sooner than expected. That’s why I chose magic engineering out of the available options, as it allowed me to create somewhat predictable variables.
“I was able to further develop spatial magic based on my knowledge of magic engineering. As I thought, the usefulness of magic engineering was a great help to my combat direction.”
Maximizing the efficiency of the improved portal was also thanks to my knowledge of magic engineering, and using guide magic to recognize spatial coordinates solved the limitation that I couldn’t create dimensional passages in places I couldn’t see.
“But unlike me, Roel, who gained knowledge of magic engineering, hasn’t changed at all. He obtained the essence of magic engineering through the Quantum Jump… Don’t you think it’s strange that Roel, who has the blind goal of saving the world, isn’t doing anything?”
At my question, Ellie flinched and bit her lip for a moment. She looked like she was wondering if there were any contradictions in my words, or if she had missed anything. After a moment, Ellie said in a careful voice.
“Maybe it’s just that the essence of magic engineering isn’t significant enough to change Roel-oppa’s plans… Could that be it?”
“Of course, for the overpowered Roel, knowledge of magic engineering is an optional ability. But not using the abilities he gained at all is something a protagonist shouldn’t do.”
Ellie tilted her head, looking like she didn’t understand what I was saying. She gained my memories, but it seems that’s not enough for her to judge the situation from the author’s point of view.
“From the author’s perspective, magic engineering isn’t a big plus for Roel, but there are definitely several ways to use it. From the start, I calculated that Roel would head straight to the basement of the Imperial Palace if he gained knowledge of magic engineering. I judged that I could control the variables that would arise from that action.”
The author can predict the character’s actions. It’s not as difficult as you might think. It’s just observing a character who lives in my head.
The character I cherish the most in the novel is, of course, the protagonist, Roel. If Roel’s actual actions are different from what I, the author, predicted, there must be a good reason. I interpreted that reason as something that happened because Roel didn’t get the essence of magic engineering.
Perhaps my answer was a bit lacking, as Ellie asked with a complicated expression.
“The basement of the Imperial Palace? What’s there?”
“The Endless Labyrinth.”
Ellie’s big eyes widened a little more at the unfamiliar words. That’s because there was no information about the labyrinth in the memories I conveyed.
“…Labyrinth?”
“It’s a dangerous and fascinating place that no one can conquer. The first emperor of the Empire hid the entrance to the labyrinth deep in the basement of the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace guardian golems protect the passage to the basement, preventing anyone from entering.”
The labyrinth isn’t a revived discarded setting, but it appears in the latter part of the novel. There was an episode where Roel, waiting in the basement of the Imperial Palace before the battle with the Demon King, entered the labyrinth with his harem party members and rapidly increased their power.
“The labyrinth is a place where dangerous monsters that are now known to have disappeared exist. As dangerous as it is, it’s a place where powerful relics and treasures lie dormant.”
Even if the labyrinth is a setting that originally appears in the novel, there is no place as dangerous and fascinating as the labyrinth in this world where discarded settings have come to life.
As there is a setting where the stronger the enemy that appears as you go down the floors, the greater the reward if you defeat the enemy. There may be a powerful relic at the bottom of the labyrinth that can even kill the cult leader with plausibility.
However, the difficulty of the labyrinth tormented challengers in various ways to the point that even the overpowered Roel considered it extreme. Eventually, after reaching the 4th floor, Roel completely sealed the labyrinth.
Still, thanks to the massive power-up that Roel’s heroines all received from the rewards they obtained on each floor, I was able to create the plausibility that they all didn’t die in the fight against the Demon King.
“Even without the Holy Sword, if Roel’s current skills and knowledge of magic engineering are combined, he should be able to easily break through the first floor of the labyrinth alone.”
Even with the knowledge of magic engineering in my head right now, there are several ways to safely attack the first floor of the labyrinth using numerous Imperial Palace guardian golems.
It wouldn’t be difficult for Roel, who has more combat experience and natural senses than me, to come up with even better strategies.
If he obtains a weapon to replace the Holy Sword on the first floor, he will be able to break through the second floor alone without party members with the help of the golems.
But Roel hasn’t challenged the labyrinth so far. That’s why I was able to be sure.
“If Roel really got the essence of magic engineering… there’s no reason why Roel, who even killed the Fairy King because he needed power right away, wouldn’t challenge the labyrinth where he can get great rewards.”
Roel’s action of killing the Fairy King, who was a future comrade, for the sake of necessity.
The fact that he doesn’t immediately challenge the labyrinth where he can get good rewards proves that there is some kind of contradiction.
“…Just because he hasn’t challenged the labyrinth doesn’t mean we can be sure that Roel-oppa didn’t get the essence of magic engineering. If it was a misunderstanding, it would be an irreversible mistake.”
Unlike her usual self, Ellie seemed to be cautious when it came to safety. Certainly, if this was a misunderstanding, it would be an irreversible and terrible blunder.
Nodding in agreement with Ellie’s opinion, I said.
“I’m not completely sure based on that alone either. But if we think about why Roel didn’t get the essence of magic engineering under the assumption that he didn’t get it, we can find a correct answer that allows us to be sure that Roel didn’t get the knowledge of magic engineering.”
“What correct answer did you find?”
“As I said earlier, our connection is in real-time. But when I chose magic engineering with the Quantum Jump with the help of Ross of Yearning, I was on the outskirts of the Outer Universe. Because I was in the Outer Universe, Roel couldn’t sense me, and the connection was cut off, so he didn’t get the essence of magic engineering.”
That’s right. There was no way for Roel to get what I got in the Outer Universe.
If the connection had been maintained, all the Roels in the worlds that could be observed from the Outer Universe would have ended up gaining knowledge of magic engineering.
Perhaps it was a sufficient explanation, as Ellie stared at me silently with a face that showed she completely understood, then sighed.
“…I never even thought of that.”
Seeing her looking a bit depressed for some reason, I, as a senior in depression, offered words of comfort.
“You received too many memories at once, so you didn’t have much time to organize your thoughts. I had a lot of time to think.”
At my comfort, Ellie gave a weak smile and summarized the conversation so far.
“So, since Roel-oppa didn’t get the essence of magic engineering, you’re going to use the Quantum Jump by cutting off the connection in a similar way?”
“That’s right, I can’t go back to the Outer Universe to cut off the connection with Roel. So, I’m going to stop my heart.”
If Roel doesn’t get what I get when I use the Quantum Jump in a disconnected state, the options for the Quantum Jump will increase considerably. If I use the Quantum Jump well, I’ll be able to get more than what I lost this time.
Ellie stared intently at my face with her obsidian eyes shining. She looked strongly curious about the Quantum Jump, which allows her to easily obtain the level reached by Ross in another world. As expected, she cautiously looked at me and opened her mouth.
“Maybe….”
“When everything is over, I will diligently help with research on the Quantum Jump.”
Ellie seemed happy that I had figured out what she was thinking first, and she nodded enthusiastically and asked with a passionate face.
“Okay. But what are you thinking of getting with this Quantum Jump?”
I smiled at Ellie’s curious gaze. What I would get through the Quantum Jump was already decided. It was something I didn’t have until now, and I desperately needed it.
“Talent.”
It’s time to break free from inferiority.
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