Chapter 200 |
I cleared the path, so the rest is up to them.
Even though I got a clue, it wasn’t useful enough to warrant escorting them down the mountain or to a shelter.
Some might criticize me for weighing the usefulness of the information when lives were at stake.
“Like I care.”
Unfortunately, I’m not exactly someone who holds life in high regard.
That doesn’t mean I left them to die. I did more than enough to help, didn’t I?
There wasn’t even a witness, so I could have just taken the information and abandoned them. But I accepted the risk of rumors spreading and chose to help.
Part of me thought that even if they talked, no one would believe them.
Anyway, from what I saw, the couple’s problem was being trapped by the blocked path. Beyond that, there didn’t seem to be any other issues.
But if what the man said was true, there’s a shelter not far from here. If they hustle, they should make it in time.
Other problems might arise, but that’s none of my business.
Surely, they didn’t hike the mountain without understanding the risks.
They’re not close to me, and we just met for the first time. There’s no reason I should bear responsibility for their decisions.
Tap.
With a light step, I propelled myself upward, my body shooting into the air as if I’d been launched.
Whoosh.
The pounding rain continued battering my back, trying to drive me into the ground, but such a thing couldn’t stop me.
Even icy spears capable of freezing the soul or colossal forms towering toward the sky couldn’t defeat me, so mere rain was laughable.
Beneath my feet, the faint shape of a building passed by.
From the multiple presences I could sense inside, it was probably the shelter the man mentioned.
“Hmm.”
I simply ignored it and moved on.
I didn’t have any business there, nor was I tired enough to land.
“It’s not far at all.”
That was the extent of my thoughts.
In other words, the couple had come precariously close to dying just a short distance from safety.
Had I not happened to pass by, they almost certainly would have perished.
With that unimpressive thought left behind, I stepped forward again—this time, in midair.
The ground was far below, and there was nothing to hinder me. Naturally, there was nothing to step on either.
Thunk.
Yet, as my body fell toward the ground, it naturally kicked off the air, sending me soaring upward again.
It wasn’t enough that I flew so far in a single leap; I even managed to push off the air for a second jump.
If the people on Earth saw this, it would’ve caused an uproar.
But honestly, it wasn’t that difficult of a trick.
Even people here know the principle behind it.
Lift one foot before the other touches the ground, then repeat with the other foot before it lands…
Keep repeating, and ta-da.
Even a child could pull off floating in midair.
If I were to borrow one of Da-eun’s favorite phrases, I’d call it “Walking on Air.”
…Obviously, I’m joking.
There’s no way anyone could fly like that.
I was just bored on the way, so I thought about something Da-eun might say.
But that’s enough of that.
Thump.
My body, which had been soaring high into the sky, finally landed on the ground.
With a light sound, no different from taking a step forward.
The sensation of my foot sinking slightly into the rain-soaked ground wasn’t exactly pleasant.
As I brushed off the dirt clinging to my shoes, I lifted my head.
“I didn’t think I’d find the answer on the first try.”
Lucky.
Just as the man said, the summit of Hallasan Mountain was bathed in an ominous green light.
As I followed the source of the green light that shot into the sky and faded toward the end, my eyes naturally landed on the overflowing Baengnokdam.
Da-eun once said seeing Baengnokdam filled with water was a rare stroke of luck.
“Should I call this lucky?”
The answer came immediately.
Sure, the water was full, and it was easy to see. But with the water glowing green and overflowing beyond the crater, there was no way anyone in their right mind would call this lucky.
It seemed the cause of this situation lay dormant beneath that water.
“Is this a water fight now?”
…Great. Just great.
I’ve gone through all sorts of trials, but I never wanted to experience this literally.
Should I blow all the water away, or dive into it?
As the scale in my mind wavered with weights on either side, it eventually tilted.
Toward diving in.
“…So much for wearing this raincoat.”
Before jumping in, I crouched and dipped a finger into the water.
Judging by the color, it seemed like it would dissolve anything it touched, but it just felt cold—nothing more, nothing less.
The green hue was purely due to the light.
With that minimal check done, I flicked the water off my finger and stood up.
Tatat!
Without a running start, I leapt.
Even without one, it was enough to reach the glowing center of Baengnokdam.
As I let gravity pull me down this time, the green surface rapidly approached.
Splash!
The overflowing Baengnokdam enveloped me entirely.
Bloop.
As I instinctively opened my mouth, small bubbles escaped instead of sound. I promptly closed my mouth again.
Under the surface, it was far brighter than above, but that didn’t mean it was easier to see.
The overwhelming brightness filled my eyes, making it harder to discern anything.
But it didn’t matter.
What my eyes lacked, I could make up for with mana.
Even without seeing it, I swam through the water path that was clear in my mind.
Downward, further downward.
Eventually, when I reached the bottom, I tilted my head in confusion.
“…What is this?”
Bloop, bloop.
Although I had checked beforehand and confirmed there were no Dimensional Creatures here, you never know.
There might be one capable of deceiving my Aura Perception.
Even though I could fight in water almost as effectively as on land, it wasn’t completely without its challenges.
I had braced myself, but fortunately, there were no Dimensional Creatures blocking my way.
Instead, there was only a cube-shaped object emitting green light in all directions.
Standing on the bottom as if I were on land, I observed it closely.
First, its shape.
Just as I saw earlier, it was a perfect cube with all sides equal in length.
Of course, I didn’t measure it; this was just based on my estimation.
Next, its size.
It seemed too big to lift with one arm but would leave plenty of space if I hugged it with both.
Big if big, small if small—about that size.
As for its material… I wasn’t sure.
Given that it remained intact underwater, it obviously wasn’t paper.
“…Hmm.”
Bloop.
Though I felt my thoughts were ridiculous, I couldn’t help but glance around as if someone might be watching me.
There wasn’t anyone, of course, but still.
Skipping the irrelevant details…
The most important part was the light emanating from the top of the cube.
It was now almost certain that this light was the root cause of the incident.
Yet, even being so close, I couldn’t feel anything special from it.
Was it something the Dimensional Creatures had meticulously crafted?
Or was my level of perception simply too low to sense it?
If it were the latter, that would hurt my pride…
Not that I’d be thrilled if it were the former.
“I don’t get it.”
But pondering over it wouldn’t change anything.
So I grabbed the cube that floated motionlessly in the water…
Hmm, calling it a “cube” every time seemed too tedious. Let’s just call it “the Cube” for now.
Anyway, I grabbed the Cube and swam forcefully toward the surface.
Despite its previous stillness, the Cube showed no resistance and easily left the water in my hands.
Once I reached solid ground and placed my feet firmly, I ignored the water dripping off me and examined the Cube.
While it was hard to see clearly underwater, now I noticed its entire body had a violet-black hue.
Almost as if it were trying to scream, “Yes, I’m definitely related to Dimensional Creatures!”
How considerate of it to make that so clear.
“…Oh.”
When I tilted the Cube slightly, the vertical green light beam shifted its trajectory.
That was obvious, of course, but somehow, it still felt fascinating.
For fun, I tilted it in another direction, laid it on its side, and even flipped it upside down.
Each time, the light beam moved accordingly.
It reminded me of something I’d seen in a video once.
Was it called a laser show?
After playing with the green light for a while, I suddenly released the Cube from my hand.
“Wow.”
As expected, the Cube floated midair without even a single tremble, just like it had in the water.
At this point, I became curious about what it was made of and how it worked.
If I brought it to Edel, maybe I’d learn something…
“Would that even be possible?”
Assuming this Cube was indeed the medium separating dimensions, moving it could cause dimensional changes.
And since I had no idea what kind of changes those might be, blindly carrying it to Seoul didn’t seem like a great idea.
That meant I would have to destroy or break the Cube.
“Hopefully, it leaves behind some remnants.”
Dimensional Creatures always disappeared upon death, leaving behind only a single core.
Since this Cube was linked to them, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t do the same.
But as I said earlier, that didn’t mean I could avoid destroying it.
Sigh.
Letting out a long breath, I raised my head.
At some point, a long pink sword made purely of mana appeared in my hand.
While it did consume quite a bit of mana, I currently had an abundance of it to spare.
Raising the sword high, I prepared to execute an environmental disaster in the name of justice.
Filled with determination, I swung the blade.
Slash!
The pink blade penetrated the Cube effortlessly, without even the slightest resistance.
The sensation was so smooth, like cutting through tofu, that I paused in brief surprise.
“…What—”
Flash!
Suddenly, the Cube erupted with a blinding light.
As the green radiance threatened to engulf the world, I took a step back, narrowing my eyes.
It was hard to keep them open, but I couldn’t afford to close them without knowing what might happen.
Summoning mana to shield my eyes, I waited for the light to subside—or for something to emerge.
“…!”
Beyond the shattering green light, I met the gaze of a colossal, slowly moving eye.
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