episode_0014
by admin[1st play data: The succession of ‘Romantic One Tool # Barrier Wizard’ has been completed.]
[1st play data: View the records of ‘Romantic One Tool # Barrier Wizard’.]
***
The consciousness that had been lost returned. I felt vitality and magic filling my body.
When I opened my eyes, there was a huge tree growing before my eyes.
World Tree Yggdrasil.
It is the last hope and arrangement that Othinus planted in this land during the cataclysm to prevent Ragnarok, the apocalypse that will one day come to this world.
‘Why is this here… ?’
As soon as I remembered its identity, a curiosity arose.
Why is this tree in front of my eyes?
Did Othinus personally bring me to the World Tree?
I had a question that no one could answer. To find the answer on my own, I decided to first look around.
“Heo Eok… ?!”
The moment I turned my head, I was so startled that I almost lost my breath.
The first place I looked was below. The moment I lowered my head and looked down at my feet, a mixture of confusion and astonishment came to me.
My body was floating in the air. The land, which was supposed to be flat, was dented as if it had been hit by a meteorite.
The roots of the World Tree, which were supposed to be hidden beneath the ground, were clearly revealed, filling my field of vision.
But through all the scenes, I muttered the name of the being that left the strongest impression in my mind.
“… Nidhogg?”
Nidhogg, that was definitely the name. It is a devil dragon from the mythical era with a haggard appearance.
Nidhogg’s body, which had a shocking appearance, like a corpse with all its blood sucked or a mummy, was entangled in the roots of the world tree like an insect caught in a carnivorous plant’s trap.
‘What on earth is this…? .’
At that moment, my head lifted up as if someone had pulled my hair.
Near the top of the tree, the object hanging high up was clearly visible even though it must have been hundreds of meters away.
It was a nameless repair. It is a huge bird of prey, and is originally a eagle that protects Yggdrasil from Nidhogg, who is gnawing at the roots of the World Tree.
However, even the repair did not help the body. One wing was cut off, and even the feathers on the other wing were plucked out.
It was when I stared at that scene blankly, forgetting even to breathe.
“In the end… You ignored my advice and ended up here.”
A weak voice came from in front of me. It’s a sign of popularity that I couldn’t see or feel until just now.
I was startled and quickly lowered my head from looking up. My eyes, looking straight ahead, reflected on my retina a blonde woman bound to Yggdrasil.
I saw long hair down to her thighs and a black eyepatch covering one of her eyes.
Subconsciously, I muttered her name. Because he was a person who had no choice but to be called that.
“Othinus… ?”
“Yes, it is me.”
“Why… In that way?”
She is the head of Eden and the queen of the gods who planted Yggdrasil to protect humanity from the end of the mythical era.
She was hanging on Yggdrasil. It was tied to the trunk of the world tree as if it were about to sacrifice itself to become nourishment for the world tree.
Othinus, who heard my devastated voice, responded in a dejected voice.
“The obvious, in the end, this was just my limitation.”
“So, what on earth happened…? .”
Out of frustration, I tightened my grip and clenched my fist. But clenching my fists was impossible.
It was because something was holding onto my hand.
I looked down at my hands at the strange feeling I felt. A familiar golden window appeared. The main character of the feeling of strangeness was Gungnir, which was already in his grasp.
“Don’t worry, even though I didn’t solve Ragnarok perfectly… Still, I bought enough time.”
For a moment, hearing her words brought back old memories.
This is the ending of . This is the ending of this world that ‘I’ reached in the first episode after passing countless turning points.
Normal ending, 《Arrangements in a Collapsed Age》.
“You listened to my foolish nonsense, but to my shame, I ended up like this.”
The path I chose in the past while moving the character in the game. The ending of the world that unfolds at the end of the journey.
Efforts were made to save the world, but in the end, the beginning of a bleak future unfolded, only delaying destruction for a moment.
Othinus laughed and shed tears.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Othinus’ body, chained to the World Tree, gradually began to blur.
Her body, which had begun to transform into a faint light of magic, is slowly dispersing.
Yggdrasil began to ravenously devour Othinus’ body and magic power.
“Shameless, but I would like to ask you one last favor.”
Instead of being absorbed into Yggdrasil, some of the magic power scattered from her body seeps into Gungnir.
The golden window began to shine brilliantly. At the same time, the memory of watching the ending of the first episode came back to me vividly.
“You become the president of Eden. Just as I found you, from now on you will find a hero who can prevent the end of this world.”
The voices overlap. At the end of her life, the heart of the goddess sings as she fails to complete her mission and leaves it to me to take over.
The light of the World Tree that bound Othinus’ body became a little dull. At the same time, the majesty felt slightly diminished.
“Othinus… ?”
“I’m glad the last person I met was you.”
The image of Othinus that remained in my memory overlapped with the image of Othinus that was now disintegrating before my eyes.
The illustrations and voices I saw in the game took on the appearance and resonance of reality and came to me.
“Goodbye… .”
─My eternal king.
With those words, Othinus disappeared into the light without even having a chance to do anything.
Situations that I could not understand occurred one after another.
Was my brain refusing to understand this reality? Or is this world really real?
Questions that arise from a confusing situation.
The status window gave me the answer to such a complex question.
[1st play data: End of viewing records of ‘Romantic One Tool # Barrier Wizard’.]
As the message on the status window appeared before my eyes, my consciousness was driven out into pitch-black darkness.
.
.
.
“Huh?!”
Surprised, I took a deep breath and checked the inverted vision.
Was what just happened a dream?
As soon as I woke up, I checked both hands and quickly looked around.
A soft blanket covers my body as I lie down on a soft bed.
There is nothing in your hand. The surrounding landscape is also not a barren land in front of the World Tree.
It was a familiar place. As I slowly caught my breath, I recalled where this place was.
‘This place… Is it the health room?’
And then I remembered. The place where I woke up was the health room.
This is where Eden’s cadets visit to receive professional treatment when they have health problems or are seriously injured.
“Alternative… .”
My head is still confused. The ending of this world that suddenly unfolded before my eyes and the message in the status window confused my head.
1st play data. Romantic circle tool barrier magician. End of record viewing.
Several words shown in the status window message came to mind fragmentarily.
The illusion I just saw was that the status window showed the ending I saw during the first playthrough in the form of a record view.
‘But why did the status window suddenly show me this illusion?’
As my curiosity about the status window came to mind, the memories that had been jumbled into pieces returned to their original places.
Memories of the time when the world tree’s great illusion was absorbed and the magic power stabilized were replayed like a panorama. I remember suddenly having a seizure and losing consciousness due to unbearable pain.
“Oh, are you awake?”
“Professor Bella… ?”
“Yes, it looks like you recognize me. But how did you know my name?”
Didn’t you make a clear statement last time? As I thought about it, I remembered that I was the only one who revealed my name.
I made a mistake. I urgently came up with a suitable reason and presented it to Professor Bella.
“Because you’re famous. I know this because I often hear stories about the professor among other cadets.”
“Really? Even though I am a retired hunter, it seems there are still many cadets who are interested.”
Fortunately, it seems to have gone well.
As I was sighing in relief, Professor Bella approached me.
“By the way, do you know what your physical condition is right now?”
“How is my physical condition?”
As soon as I heard what Professor Bella said, I unconsciously lowered my head and looked at the body.
Is there something wrong with my body? I looked carefully at every part of my body, but there wasn’t anything that seemed particularly problematic.
When I looked at Professor Bella, wondering what had changed, Professor Bella placed his hand on my lower abdomen and gently stroked it.
No, why are you touching there… ?
“Don’t you feel something here?”
“What is there… Huh?”
Wait a minute, why is this here?
I urgently tried to circulate the magic power in my body. The magic that flowed from the core spread throughout the body through the circuit.
The spread magic completed the circuit and returned to the core.
However, the result was different from before. The path of movement of magical power along the circuit was different from my previous memories.
The biggest difference was the beginning of horsepower operation. The starting point of the magic power that was supposed to be in the heart also had a new opening in the lower abdomen.
“Did you notice?”
“Why the core… .”
The number of magic cores that was only one increased to two.
“Yes, the core has increased. And it’s a stronger core than the one you originally had.”
An additional magical core appeared in the lower abdomen below the navel, an area commonly referred to as the Danjeon in martial arts circles.
It wasn’t an imperfect or sloppy core. In fact, its quality was superior to the original core in the heart.
When my core, located in my heart, was converted to a skill level of C rank, the core that formed in my lower abdomen was comparable to A rank.
Implantation of the core? Or a new occurrence? Either way, it’s an amazing situation.
“Each person is originally born with only one core. There was research conducted on cloning or transplanting the core, but it was eventually discarded because no one survived the experiment.”
Professor Bella looked at me with a serious expression.
Perhaps because it was the gaze of an expert who was well versed in this field, my body stiffened for no reason.
“Cadet Yujin Seong. Can you tell me in detail what happened?”
“Ah, yes.”
I told Professor Bella everything that had happened so far.
I told him everything, from what happened at Professor Caria’s lecture this morning to how he passed out in terrible pain after absorbing the elixir given to him by her.
The story about the ending of the first episode was not mentioned. Because that is the knowledge of the future that I must hold in my arms.
Professor Bella, who had been listening to my entire story, had a hard expression on his face.
Perhaps because of his habit when he was thinking about something, he started tapping his chin with his index finger.
Finally, her mouth opened.
“As expected, the magical power that suddenly increased due to the elixir condensed and formed a core.”
“Is that possible?”
“I don’t know. This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Professor Bella placed her hand on my lower abdomen. A little magical power came into her body through her hand placed on the Danjeon.
“The connection to the existing circuit is not faulty or the existing core is damaged. Rather, as they resonate with each other, the level of the core located in the heart is adjusted to the core in the lower abdomen.”
The words that came out of Professor Bella’s mouth were definitely good news.
This meant that my original core, which had been at a C rank, was being leveled upward due to the A rank core that had formed in my lower abdomen.
As I understood that fact and smiled to myself, Professor Bella stood up from his seat.
“I’ll call the magic professor for a thorough examination, so lie down on the bed and rest for a while.”
Professor Bella took out her cell phone and made a call, then hung up the phone with a sigh and walked out of the health room.
Apparently, the person on the other end didn’t answer the phone, so he went out to find it himself.
‘… It’s quiet.’
Professor Bella, who was the only person guarding the health room, left, so naturally I was left alone in the health room.
‘Should I check the status window during this break?’
It was too long to wait for Professor Bella’s return while I was bruised, and I had to check what changes had occurred in my body.
The reason why the status window showed the record of the first round when the core was suddenly increased and the mind was lost.
All the truth will be displayed in the status window.
And even if it wasn’t for that reason, I wanted to see with my own eyes the increased abilities after consuming the Great Hwandan of the World Tree.
It is a chronic disease of numerical RPG users who convert the measure of strength into a number of abilities.
‘Check status window.’
With determination, I called up the status window.
“… crazy. What is all this?”
And as soon as he saw the status window unfolding before his eyes, he burst out in deep admiration.
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