Arsenal #7

For a long time, the world was white.

In this white world, the magical powers that had scattered with screams gradually returned to their places. They abandoned their theatrical attitude and moved ordinarily again.

<Still, it was amazing earlier, wasn’t it?>

<He survived.>

<Perhaps he can’t die.>

<Nah. It’s not that serious.>

<That’s not what’s important. He’s entered here. By his own power.>

<Right, right. How did he manage that?>

<Maybe…?>

The magical powers murmured as they gathered around me.

They praised the trial I had overcome, but they seemed to value even more the fact that I had entered this place called Arsenal #7.

Magical powers of all colors rushed toward me and were absorbed into my body. A sudden feast of sensations spread through my exhausted body.

Magical power touching my skin was hot and cold and refreshing and soft and rough,

Magical power touching my tongue was spicy and sour and sweet and bitter and savory…

It was more magical power than I had ever imagined. It seems twice as much as what Teacher Sena absorbed after killing the orc. Compared to the magical power I’ve accumulated my whole life, it’s three times as much.

Originally as a 1-star Blood Channel mage, the magical power I possessed was so little it was called “half-baked.” An amount of magical power that classified me more as a mana user than a mage.

But now I had instantly absorbed more magical power than the limit of a 1-star mage.

“Ah…”

A burning heat rose over my cheeks. My eyes felt like they were on fire, and my entire body ached as if someone was hammering nails into it.

The phenomenon that occurs when one possesses more magical power than one’s capacity.

The beginning of magical fever.

“Jun-woo!”

Sensing something wrong with me, Yuria ran over and supported me.

“I’m fine.”

I waved my hand and straightened my body. I can’t… I can’t show weakness over something like this.

After catching my breath, I looked around.

I thought we would be in some kind of room, but… that wasn’t the case.

Looking up, I saw a blue membrane covering the sky. Everything else was a vast field of metal.

A flat, well-finished metal floor stretched as far as the eye could see.

Buildings and facilities rising in the middle were all metal, and at the center was a vertically hollow, dizzying, massive cylindrical underground cavity.

It’s so huge that it feels more like a cliff than a cavity.

Standing in front of it and looking down, I could see corridors, terraces, devices, and facilities made of metal continuing endlessly downward.

There seemed to be an elevator somewhere that could take us down.

“Anyway… what is this? I’ve never seen such a strange place before. Are all relics like this?”

Yuria, having grown up in the wilderness and never visited a city, seemed overwhelmed by the large, bizarre scenery.

But with my memories from Earth, I could find a name to describe this place.

“An underground city…? No, an underground base.”

Of course, as far as I know, there’s nothing even remotely similar to this place on Earth.

However… through the stone of memory, I’d seen movies, animations, and SF novels that described bases similar to this.

‘Wow… really.’

Though it’s the world I live in, the Star Continent… I really don’t know.

What kind of twists and turns did this world go through to reach this point?

Is this underground base really a legacy left by gods, as the adults say?

Then what relationship does magical power have with gods?

What kind of relationship would allow us to enter the gods’ relic using magical power?

Why did the magical powers show more interest in crossing the blue barrier than breaking through the Forest of Death?

I was already dizzy from the magical fever, and adding complicated thoughts made me truly lightheaded.

Just as my mind was turning completely blank, I heard a voice.

It was the same voice I’d heard when passing through the blue barrier.

-Access granted for 3rd level administrator privileges to 1 visitor. Escort status for supply type 10 granted to 2 entities. Emergency situation! The arsenal’s power is greatly depleted. Time required for natural recovery… Error. Calculation impossible. Prompt facility maintenance by administrator is requested.

So I’m changed from visitor to administrator… Monggu and Yuria are supply type 10… whatever that means… in any case, it’s clear that whoever built this relic wasn’t human, right?

“Wh-what is this? Could it be a spirit?”

Yuria’s eyes widened. With a voice being heard when no one was around, she seems to think it’s a spirit.

But no… it doesn’t seem like a spirit. It sounds too ‘mechanical’ to be a spirit.

“Shh.”

I put my index finger to my lips and concentrated on whether there were any more sounds coming. It was the only clue in our current situation.

-Most functions of Arsenal Ego are unusable. Severe power depletion, maintaining only minimum functions of the arsenal. Arsenal Ego entering complete hibernation. Message function is stopping. Estimated recovery time… Error. Calculation imposs… i… ble… Prompt… main… ten… a… nce…

That was it. Like a stretched tape, the voice of Arsenal Ego grew longer and longer before completely stopping.

Damn… so much for clues.

+ – + – +

Tap! Tap! Ta… ta…

A massive metal base. A place where everything had stopped. It was filled with a deathly silence, causing every sound of striking the metal floor to echo all the way to the cavity.

We were looking around, chewing on the jerky Yuria had thrown us.

‘Anyway, we can’t cross the wilderness with just protective talismans, right? We should search to see if there are any treasures that might help us. Since it’s called an arsenal… there might be something useful.’

We were following Yuria’s completely reasonable suggestion.

But so far, we hadn’t found anything special.

There were metal buildings and facilities scattered around, but they all led to dead ends, and all the devices were cold as if dead, giving no response when pushed or pulled.

“How’s it going?”

“Not working.”

I answered while dripping with cold sweat. Yuria gave a small sigh.

In front of me was an object that looked like a massive screen. I placed my hand on it and focused my concentration to the point of fainting, trying to make contact with a mana fingerprint, but nothing happened. I thought it would work somehow…

‘Earlier it said most functions are shut down except for minimum functions… is that why?’

It seemed plausible, but then what are the minimum functions that are being maintained? Where are they? I have no idea…

As I sighed quietly and stepped away from the screen, Yuria murmured.

“But… isn’t this strange? This doesn’t fit.”

She was examining the wall on the opposite side.

“Right. It doesn’t.”

She was right.

On the metal wall, from floor to ceiling, were drawings that looked like they’d been done with chalk. Squiggly lines and hieroglyph-like symbols. They were so incongruous with the metal walls that anyone could tell that whoever built this relic and whoever drew these pictures were different groups.

“…This must be an incredibly ancient relic. And we’re not the only ones who have visited here in between.”

I completely agree with Yuria’s reasoning.

“…Just how old is this relic…”

I shook my head and moved on. I kept the accumulating questions locked in my heart for now.

“What kind of arsenal doesn’t have a single weapon to be found?”

I vented my rising frustration with grumbling.

“Um, Jun-woo.”

Just then, an unwelcome voice came from behind. It was Monggu, who had been following silently all this time.

When I glanced back, Monggu approached me hesitantly. He looked tearful and couldn’t meet my eyes properly.

“I-I’m sorry… But I think I need to say this now…”

“…What is it?”

The sound coming from my mouth was cold. It couldn’t be helped.

Monggu flinched as if struck by an arrow, then bit his lip hard and bowed deeply.

“Well… I’m sorry, Jun-woo! I didn’t know you couldn’t fight… because of me, your parents…”

Right.

He was a worthless bastard.

With his wobbly stance like he might collapse any moment, with his weak appearance like he might cry… What? Sorry? What do you want me to do… laugh and say ‘It’s okay. Haha.’? What are you hoping for? Shameless bastard.

I walked right past Monggu and said,

“Ha… When we were being chased earlier, I thought it would be better if you just died. But you lived. My mom and dad died… Let’s stop. I don’t think we’re the type to have this conversation.”

As I walked away leaving him behind, Monggu wouldn’t shut his mouth.

“I… I should have broken from formation then… I couldn’t think straight… I was supposed to be the one to die… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“Oh, fuck it, really!!”

My voice rose without me realizing. I whirled around and glared at Monggu. He was visibly trembling, perhaps from the aura of a mage being released unconsciously.

But once I’d shouted, was that the reason? The words I continued to say were, in contrast, delivered in a calm tone. Although they were cold and sharp.

“Then you should have done that. Why didn’t you do it then, why now… ha… let’s just stop. It’s just that you’re a piece of sht, what can I do? Even I could see that you wouldn’t make it ten steps as bait before getting caught and killed. That’s why Dad stepped up. We had no choice since we couldn’t trust a piece of sht like you. It’s just unfortunate from my perspective that someone like you survived instead of Dad, but what can I do? That’s the kind of person you are. So just stop. There’s no point in a worthless piece of sht… apologizing.”

Actually, I don’t know. Whether Dad really made this calculation… I just rather hoped that Dad had made such a calculation. In fact, there have always been such people in the world. People who, at critical moments, choose sacrifice over family or self-preservation. People who can’t push others to die, even if it means they themselves might die. An altruistic gene that stubbornly survived even in this cursed Star Continent. I like that about him. And I hate it… but in the end, I’m left wondering what that makes me… something like that.

And Mom was the same. True to her wandering guide nature, she followed her desires. I was important as her only son, but Dad was even more important to her. It’s just how it is. And what’s this guy going to do by apologizing? Who does he think he is?

Damn it…

I didn’t want to think about it anymore right now.

“Let’s stop.”

Leaving one last word, I walked ahead alone.

Tap! Tap! Ta… ta… t. t…

My footsteps echoed loudly again. Monggu fell behind, and Yuria approached me and asked,

“So… what will you do from now on?”

“Huh? We need to find something useful.”

“No, not that. If we manage to get out alive, I mean.”

Now I see that Yuria was thinking far ahead. Even though it’s not yet clear if we can survive or not…

If we do survive…?

Then of course, there’s only one thing I want to do.

“Get stronger and wipe out those ogre bastards.”

Yuria stared at me intently. Then she grinned and nodded readily.

“Perfect! That’s a great plan. Makes me feel motivated! Yes! Let’s do it together!”

Yuria hugged my shoulders once and then walked ahead with a swagger.

I scratched the tip of my nose.

‘Together… huh?’

Someone who knows the horrors of calamities better than anyone else… is now saying she’ll fight alongside me? Without even being a mage, let alone a mana user?

I was surprised, grateful, and… in the end, I thought it was just like her.

‘Right. Yuria’s wish was to kill all the calamities in this world, wasn’t it?’

A small laugh was about to form on my face when Monggu cut in again.

“Me too. I’ll join you. I’ll risk my life.”

Like he was making a pledge to himself, his voice was quiet.

When I turned around, Monggu’s expression was completely different from before. His eyes were steady, and his lips were firmly pressed together.

He had quite a usable face now.

…Do boys become men so quickly?

At this surprising change, I gave him my most sincere response.

“You?”

Help? Ha! That’s not even funny.