༺ Monologue (5) ༻
◆ ◆ ◆
[Status]
Name: Isaac
Lv: 103
Gender: Male
Year: (2nd)
Title: Prospective Second Year
Mana: 23880/24000
– Mana Recovery Speed (B+)
I bit my thumb.
The sensation of my teeth sinking nto it could be felt vividly.
I lowered my bitten finger and blinked slowly.
“Since when was it? I mean when I returned to this state.”
“You got gradually better at the karaoke and now you’re completely back.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I just wanted to observe the situation for a bit. President’s will power and stuff is good so I thought it would get better quickly.”
“…”
I feel like I’m losing energy…
Dorothy’s nonsensical proposal regarding how I should just play a ton seemed to have a much larger effect than I had expected. The reason I turned gray was probably because I felt isolated.
Since entering the Trial of Sandstone, I had been doing nothing more than marching along the same path I had already traversed during my time as a prep student. After all, I lived alone, isolated from everyone else.
However, because of this girl, akin to a refreshing breeze, I didn’t even have a chance to get lost in that feeling.
It was a simple solution that perfectly suited my exam life. Thinking of a solution was only a headache for me, but…
‘It felt like Dorothy literally grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out of that abyss.’
Even so, only my body had regained its color. The world was still monochromatic, so I hadn’t even returned to the starting point yet.
Putting that aside though…
“Uh, do we have to keep holding hands?”
This is so embarrassing…
“It’s fan service. You don’t like it?”
“No, I asked because I like it a bit too much.”
“Nihihi.”
I couldn’t believe I could hold the soft hand of a goddess. I liked it because it felt like we were a couple.
In that state, I was lost in thought. Thanks to Dorothy, I had a sliver of a clue to solve this situation…
To not be ostracized in this world.
If I smashed apart this world without abandon, making me an existence that no one could ignore…
It was possible that the world would return to its original colors and I could overcome this trial. It was a violent method, but it was worth a try.
…However, there’s no way that things will go as smoothly as I thought.
[External variable has intruded and greatly influenced the Trial of Sandstone!]
‘What the?’
Suddenly, a system window popped up in front of me.
External variable intrusion?
“Huh…?”
In succession, Dorothy’s hand, which I had been holding, disappeared like a collapsing sandcastle. I hadn’t lost my senses again. It was just that there was nothing to hold at all.
I looked at Dorothy again. Her body… It was turning into sparkling stardust and disappearing.
“Senior?!”
Dorothy looked down at her hands that had already disappeared, making an expression full of meaning.
It was a calm expression, almost as if she had already known this would happen.
“Nihihi, I seem to have overexerted a bit. I can’t hold on any longer.”
It seemed as if she had already been aware of her body’s condition, as Dorothy sheepishly smiled.
A transcendental ability that allowed her to intervene in other worldlines. No matter how one thought of it, it was absolutely ludicrous to think that such an ability could be easy to utilize.
Dorothy had been overexerting herself for me.
[Conclusion: [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade] is readjusting the Trial of Sandstone.]
“President.”
Before I knew it, half of Dorothy’s body had already disappeared.
However, she stared at my face intently, as if she wanted to see me even just a little bit longer.
“I had so much fun today. Because you were there with me.”
Dorothy smiled softly.
“That’s why you have to come back, okay?”
“…Yes, of course.”
And then, she disappeared completely.
Stardust fluttered in the wind, leaving an afterimage in my field of vision as it lingered. Dorothy seemed to have returned to her original world.
I was only thankful to Dorothy. Thanks to her, I was able to solve the most infuriating task.
However, looking at the contents of the system window…
Gormos’s Greatsword or, ‘Obsidian Blade’, seemed to have recognized the impact that the variable known as Dorothy had on me.
It looked like it was planning to adjust the trial content anew, as much as she had intervened. The difficulty would probably increase significantly.
‘I acknowledge it.”
This was the middle of a trial to become the owner of an ultimate weapon. It was absurd if I could pass the Trial of Sandstone and become the owner of the Obsidian Blade through Dorothy’s help.
Seeing the still descending sky, it didn’t seem like the trial itself was going to initialize. The plan was to probably make the remaining time left much more difficult.
‘And my trauma…’
In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, the purpose of all trials were ultimately the same. It was to overcome trauma. This trial would be no different.
However, besides my prep student life, was there anything that I could call a trauma? Maybe getting rejected after confessing to a girl I liked in high school? Flipping over a pot of well-cooked ramen right as I was about to eat it? Honestly, the things that came to mind were only at that level.
“…?”
Suddenly, dense and dark ash powder intruded into my field of vision.
As I raised my head, large amounts of ash swirled in the wind, unfolding a vast spectacle. What was all this?
It got up from the bench and observed the cityscape.
The numerous buildings filling the city were gradually turning into ash from the top down, burned by black flames. It was not so much burning as it was a flame that ‘annihilated’.
At the same time, a complex and pitch-black shape of something, akin to the darkness of the universe, was emerging from various places, encroaching space.
“Why is that…?”
Where are those flames and black shapes appearing?
This was something I had frequently seen in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ and had witnessed with my own two eyes during the Trial of Frost; It was the magic of Evil God Nephid…!
‘It’s reusing the Evil God in this place?’
Is it fucking crazy?
Kuoooooo───!!
“The fuck?!”
Even the ground was collapsing…?!
This wasn’t the time to be lost in thought. I began to flee.
I looked around. The desperate screams of gray people who were crossing the street. They were either annihilated in an instant by the black flames, falling beneath the collapsing ground, or being devoured by the black spheres.
‘What should I do?!’
What kind of madness was it to reuse the Evil God right after readjusting the trial? Was it planning to just go fast and furious now?
Where was the Evil God? Why was the Evil God’s magic appearing here in the first place…
Crash──!
When I looked back, the ground behind me was sinking, as the solid heap of soil collapsed!
Think. Think fast. I need to find a way to survive here. Please, neurons, do your job!
◆◆◆
“Keuk…!”
A groan burst forth. My body just had to become excessively heavy at this moment. A part of my body had turned to stone. It seemed like a substantial amount of my vitality had been depleted.
However, I exerted all my strength and desperately avoided the collapsing ground, running for my life.
And then…
Kuoooooo───!!
“Uwak!”
The earth shook like crazy.
Before I could fall, I quickly created a rock with [Rock Generation] to anchor myself.
Scratches appeared on the road before it cracked and broke apart. I couldn’t stop moving.
A high-intensity earthquake. Even the burning skyscrapers easily came tumbling down.
And…
“…!!”
I felt a dense mana that pressed on my skin. It felt like just the mana itself could crush me with its sheer force.
A mana that easily surpassed even the Floating Island, Cavallion the Earthshaker.
“The Evil God? No wait… What’s that?”
It wasn’t the Evil God.
It was a different type of mana from what I had felt during the Trial of Frost. I had no way of knowing what it was, but it felt strangely familiar, like déjà vu.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down my cheek. I clenched my teeth and while gasping, I swallowed hard and looked towards the epicenter that emitted this tremendous mana.
I didn’t know where it was, but it was certainly very far away.
Kwanggggg─────────!!!!
From there, a navy blue light rose terrifyingly, like a volcanic eruption. How flashy. It was probably the light of a magic circle.
High in the sky, a wave of dark blue mana spread. It extended in all directions like ripples and swept over my head. As a result, the light that had filled the city abruptly disappeared and the Republic of Korea was shrouded in an alien black light.
Soon after, something received the light of the magic circle and revealed itself on the surface.
It was something with an extremely obese build.
[■■■…]
A strange voice echoed in the atmosphere. I couldn’t understand what it was saying at all.
Moreover, I couldn’t check what the owner of the voice looked like.
Bzzzzzzzz──.
Because noise enveloped that creature.
Almost as if it was an existence that shouldn’t be seen.
‘It’s not a demon.’
Although I couldn’t detect demons at a far distance…
If their mana leaked into my perception range, I could sense them. I had learned this during the Trial of Frost, thanks to the Evil God.
‘So what in the world is it…’
I tried to open the status window, but…
[ ※ Unable to check the information! ]
Even the status window couldn’t uncover a single scrap of information.
Whether it was Dorothy, Alice, the Primordial Beast that transcended death, or even the Evil God, who was my final goal… It may have been limited, but the status window had still appeared.
That creature seemed to be fundamentally different from all the existences I had seen until now. It meant that it was hiding some sort of secret.
Furthermore, the problem was that I couldn’t even speculate what it was.
By all means, in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, there was nothing more dangerous than the Evil God. Was it a hidden last boss? No, there was no way that was the case. After all, even as a ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ tryhard, I had never seen anything like that.
It seemed that the noise couldn’t completely conceal that creature, as from time to time, small gaps opened and closed, revealing parts of it. Each time it did so, I saw skin with unclassifiable color and numerous eyes embedded thickly.
Suddenly, an unbelievable possibility crossed my mind.
Whenever I tried to see something related to ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, noise occurred and the same phenomenon was happening with that gigantic form.
‘That meant…’
That being was not an existence from ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
However, that being was an existence related to ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
That being was probably an existence that belonged in the land of the Republic of Korea.
And it appeared when this world was facing its end. Almost as if it had been shackled up until that point.
I suddenly had a thought.
Why did noise occur for ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱?
The world and people appearing ashy were related to my trauma. However, there was no reason for ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ to be affected.
In other words, the one causing the noise was separate from my trauma. Could it be that it was… that monster?
“…!”
At that moment, a cheerful sound effect rang in my ears. I was so tense that I jumped in surprise.
In front of me, there was a system window.
“What’s this…?’
After looking at that system window, I stood stiff, as I did not understand the situation for a while.
[[The Evil God of Destruction Nephid] has brought forth the end of all worlds.]
[Survive until the initialization.]
[Loading…]
[1%]
***
[2%]
༺ Monologue (5) ༻
◆ ◆ ◆
[Status]
Name: Isaac
Lv: 103
Gender: Male
Year: (2nd)
Title: Prospective Second Year
Mana: 23880/24000
– Mana Recovery Speed (B+)
I bit my thumb.
The sensation of my teeth sinking nto it could be felt vividly.
I lowered my bitten finger and blinked slowly.
“Since when was it? I mean when I returned to this state.”
“You got gradually better at the karaoke and now you’re completely back.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, I just wanted to observe the situation for a bit. President’s will power and stuff is good so I thought it would get better quickly.”
“…”
I feel like I’m losing energy…
Dorothy’s nonsensical proposal regarding how I should just play a ton seemed to have a much larger effect than I had expected. The reason I turned gray was probably because I felt isolated.
Since entering the Trial of Sandstone, I had been doing nothing more than marching along the same path I had already traversed during my time as a prep student. After all, I lived alone, isolated from everyone else.
However, because of this girl, akin to a refreshing breeze, I didn’t even have a chance to get lost in that feeling.
It was a simple solution that perfectly suited my exam life. Thinking of a solution was only a headache for me, but…
‘It felt like Dorothy literally grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out of that abyss.’
Even so, only my body had regained its color. The world was still monochromatic, so I hadn’t even returned to the starting point yet.
Putting that aside though…
“Uh, do we have to keep holding hands?”
This is so embarrassing…
“It’s fan service. You don’t like it?”
“No, I asked because I like it a bit too much.”
“Nihihi.”
I couldn’t believe I could hold the soft hand of a goddess. I liked it because it felt like we were a couple.
In that state, I was lost in thought. Thanks to Dorothy, I had a sliver of a clue to solve this situation…
To not be ostracized in this world.
If I smashed apart this world without abandon, making me an existence that no one could ignore…
It was possible that the world would return to its original colors and I could overcome this trial. It was a violent method, but it was worth a try.
…However, there’s no way that things will go as smoothly as I thought.
[External variable has intruded and greatly influenced the Trial of Sandstone!]
‘What the?’
Suddenly, a system window popped up in front of me.
External variable intrusion?
“Huh…?”
In succession, Dorothy’s hand, which I had been holding, disappeared like a collapsing sandcastle. I hadn’t lost my senses again. It was just that there was nothing to hold at all.
I looked at Dorothy again. Her body… It was turning into sparkling stardust and disappearing.
“Senior?!”
Dorothy looked down at her hands that had already disappeared, making an expression full of meaning.
It was a calm expression, almost as if she had already known this would happen.
“Nihihi, I seem to have overexerted a bit. I can’t hold on any longer.”
It seemed as if she had already been aware of her body’s condition, as Dorothy sheepishly smiled.
A transcendental ability that allowed her to intervene in other worldlines. No matter how one thought of it, it was absolutely ludicrous to think that such an ability could be easy to utilize.
Dorothy had been overexerting herself for me.
[Conclusion: [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade] is readjusting the Trial of Sandstone.]
“President.”
Before I knew it, half of Dorothy’s body had already disappeared.
However, she stared at my face intently, as if she wanted to see me even just a little bit longer.
“I had so much fun today. Because you were there with me.”
Dorothy smiled softly.
“That’s why you have to come back, okay?”
“…Yes, of course.”
And then, she disappeared completely.
Stardust fluttered in the wind, leaving an afterimage in my field of vision as it lingered. Dorothy seemed to have returned to her original world.
I was only thankful to Dorothy. Thanks to her, I was able to solve the most infuriating task.
However, looking at the contents of the system window…
Gormos’s Greatsword or, ‘Obsidian Blade’, seemed to have recognized the impact that the variable known as Dorothy had on me.
It looked like it was planning to adjust the trial content anew, as much as she had intervened. The difficulty would probably increase significantly.
‘I acknowledge it.”
This was the middle of a trial to become the owner of an ultimate weapon. It was absurd if I could pass the Trial of Sandstone and become the owner of the Obsidian Blade through Dorothy’s help.
Seeing the still descending sky, it didn’t seem like the trial itself was going to initialize. The plan was to probably make the remaining time left much more difficult.
‘And my trauma…’
In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, the purpose of all trials were ultimately the same. It was to overcome trauma. This trial would be no different.
However, besides my prep student life, was there anything that I could call a trauma? Maybe getting rejected after confessing to a girl I liked in high school? Flipping over a pot of well-cooked ramen right as I was about to eat it? Honestly, the things that came to mind were only at that level.
“…?”
Suddenly, dense and dark ash powder intruded into my field of vision.
As I raised my head, large amounts of ash swirled in the wind, unfolding a vast spectacle. What was all this?
It got up from the bench and observed the cityscape.
The numerous buildings filling the city were gradually turning into ash from the top down, burned by black flames. It was not so much burning as it was a flame that ‘annihilated’.
At the same time, a complex and pitch-black shape of something, akin to the darkness of the universe, was emerging from various places, encroaching space.
“Why is that…?”
Where are those flames and black shapes appearing?
This was something I had frequently seen in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ and had witnessed with my own two eyes during the Trial of Frost; It was the magic of Evil God Nephid…!
‘It’s reusing the Evil God in this place?’
Is it fucking crazy?
Kuoooooo───!!
“The fuck?!”
Even the ground was collapsing…?!
This wasn’t the time to be lost in thought. I began to flee.
I looked around. The desperate screams of gray people who were crossing the street. They were either annihilated in an instant by the black flames, falling beneath the collapsing ground, or being devoured by the black spheres.
‘What should I do?!’
What kind of madness was it to reuse the Evil God right after readjusting the trial? Was it planning to just go fast and furious now?
Where was the Evil God? Why was the Evil God’s magic appearing here in the first place…
Crash──!
When I looked back, the ground behind me was sinking, as the solid heap of soil collapsed!
Think. Think fast. I need to find a way to survive here. Please, neurons, do your job!
◆◆◆
“Keuk…!”
A groan burst forth. My body just had to become excessively heavy at this moment. A part of my body had turned to stone. It seemed like a substantial amount of my vitality had been depleted.
However, I exerted all my strength and desperately avoided the collapsing ground, running for my life.
And then…
Kuoooooo───!!
“Uwak!”
The earth shook like crazy.
Before I could fall, I quickly created a rock with [Rock Generation] to anchor myself.
Scratches appeared on the road before it cracked and broke apart. I couldn’t stop moving.
A high-intensity earthquake. Even the burning skyscrapers easily came tumbling down.
And…
“…!!”
I felt a dense mana that pressed on my skin. It felt like just the mana itself could crush me with its sheer force.
A mana that easily surpassed even the Floating Island, Cavallion the Earthshaker.
“The Evil God? No wait… What’s that?”
It wasn’t the Evil God.
It was a different type of mana from what I had felt during the Trial of Frost. I had no way of knowing what it was, but it felt strangely familiar, like déjà vu.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down my cheek. I clenched my teeth and while gasping, I swallowed hard and looked towards the epicenter that emitted this tremendous mana.
I didn’t know where it was, but it was certainly very far away.
Kwanggggg─────────!!!!
From there, a navy blue light rose terrifyingly, like a volcanic eruption. How flashy. It was probably the light of a magic circle.
High in the sky, a wave of dark blue mana spread. It extended in all directions like ripples and swept over my head. As a result, the light that had filled the city abruptly disappeared and the Republic of Korea was shrouded in an alien black light.
Soon after, something received the light of the magic circle and revealed itself on the surface.
It was something with an extremely obese build.
[■■■…]
A strange voice echoed in the atmosphere. I couldn’t understand what it was saying at all.
Moreover, I couldn’t check what the owner of the voice looked like.
Bzzzzzzzz──.
Because noise enveloped that creature.
Almost as if it was an existence that shouldn’t be seen.
‘It’s not a demon.’
Although I couldn’t detect demons at a far distance…
If their mana leaked into my perception range, I could sense them. I had learned this during the Trial of Frost, thanks to the Evil God.
‘So what in the world is it…’
I tried to open the status window, but…
[ ※ Unable to check the information! ]
Even the status window couldn’t uncover a single scrap of information.
Whether it was Dorothy, Alice, the Primordial Beast that transcended death, or even the Evil God, who was my final goal… It may have been limited, but the status window had still appeared.
That creature seemed to be fundamentally different from all the existences I had seen until now. It meant that it was hiding some sort of secret.
Furthermore, the problem was that I couldn’t even speculate what it was.
By all means, in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, there was nothing more dangerous than the Evil God. Was it a hidden last boss? No, there was no way that was the case. After all, even as a ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ tryhard, I had never seen anything like that.
It seemed that the noise couldn’t completely conceal that creature, as from time to time, small gaps opened and closed, revealing parts of it. Each time it did so, I saw skin with unclassifiable color and numerous eyes embedded thickly.
Suddenly, an unbelievable possibility crossed my mind.
Whenever I tried to see something related to ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, noise occurred and the same phenomenon was happening with that gigantic form.
‘That meant…’
That being was not an existence from ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
However, that being was an existence related to ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
That being was probably an existence that belonged in the land of the Republic of Korea.
And it appeared when this world was facing its end. Almost as if it had been shackled up until that point.
I suddenly had a thought.
Why did noise occur for ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱?
The world and people appearing ashy were related to my trauma. However, there was no reason for ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ to be affected.
In other words, the one causing the noise was separate from my trauma. Could it be that it was… that monster?
“…!”
At that moment, a cheerful sound effect rang in my ears. I was so tense that I jumped in surprise.
In front of me, there was a system window.
“What’s this…?’
After looking at that system window, I stood stiff, as I did not understand the situation for a while.
[[The Evil God of Destruction Nephid] has brought forth the end of all worlds.]
[Survive until the initialization.]
[Loading…]
[1%]
***
[2%]
