Chapter 198 - 18th Floor Hidden (3)

I couldn't tell them the whole truth, since there was no point in bringing up the Tower.

Still, I gave the two of them a rough explanation they could follow.

I told them I'd come from another world, landed at a place called a Plant by accident, and run into the Revolutionary Army while trying to rescue the people I found imprisoned there.

“You're from another world... Are you saying you came from a world entirely separate from this planet?”

“Yes. That's why I don't know anything about this world.”

I spoke earnestly, as though every word were true.

Kagan and Patriot seemed unsure whether to believe me, but at least they weren't dismissing my story as complete nonsense.

“If that's true, how did you travel to this world?”

“...I used magic. Does magic exist here as well?”

“We're familiar with the concept, but only as fiction.”

Kagan had a request.

“Could you demonstrate this magic for us?”

“That won't be a problem.”

I conjured a Mirror Barrier in midair.

Lights flickered across Kagan's retinas again as he studied it.

A moment later, he spoke, sounding surprised.

“This... is fundamentally different from Astral Energy. An energy source like this certainly doesn't exist in our world.”

Seeing magic for himself must have been convincing, because Kagan now seemed to believe me, at least to some extent.

Then I got to the point.

“So I came with you hoping you could tell me about this world. You were rescuing people, so I didn't think you were the bad guys.”

Patriot spoke up.

“Of course. Like I said, we're the Revolutionary Army. We're risking our lives fighting back against that lunatic Emperor and his Empire.”

Kagan nodded in agreement before speaking.

“In that case, let me tell you about this world.”

Kagan began his explanation.

First, this world, or rather this planet, was called Runexis.

It was like something out of cyberpunk fiction, with a civilization far more advanced than Earth's and a blurred line between human and machine.

One power held absolute control over all of Runexis: the Ur Empire.

“Until a little over twenty years ago, Rodin XXXIX, the current Emperor of the Ur Empire, was praised as a wise and benevolent ruler.”

Rodin XXXIX.

The current Emperor had apparently ruled the Empire for more than three hundred years.

He was credited with advancing the Empire's civilization by several centuries and hailed as a genius without equal in its history.

He had also freely shared the benefits of that progress with neighboring nations, bringing prosperity to the entire world.

People had even hailed him as a Messenger of God, and under his rule, the world had enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity. But...

“Twenty years ago, the Emperor suddenly went mad.”

The once-benevolent ruler had apparently turned into a tyrant overnight.

After centuries of pursuing peace, the Empire had suddenly begun launching wars of conquest at a frenzied pace.

The Empire's overwhelming might had brought every nation on Runexis to heel in less than ten years.

Having brought all of Runexis under its control, the Imperial Family had begun building facilities called Plants around the world.

Just as people in fantasy worlds were born with varying levels of magical talent, Runexians apparently had an inborn aptitude called Astral Affinity...

People with high Astral Affinity were captured and used as raw material at the Plants for some unknown purpose. It was exactly what I'd seen for myself.

No one knew why the once-benevolent Emperor had suddenly gone mad, or what he hoped to achieve by building the Plants and sacrificing countless people.

The Revolutionary Army was simply a group fighting to resist that Emperor and his Empire.

‘A mad Emperor, huh...’

I thought over what I'd learned about this world.

The Emperor had even been hailed as a Messenger of God.

For a moment, I wondered if he might really be a god who possessed Divinity, but...

‘No, that can't be it.’

If the Emperor really were a god, there was no way I could have failed to sense his influence over this world.

No gods currently existed in this world.

So my best hope was to find Divine Artifacts containing Divinity. The Emperor wasn't my concern.

I had a question for Kagan.

“Are there any legends, myths... anything like that about gods in this world?”

Kagan tilted his head, apparently puzzled by the question.

“Well, gods...”

“Anything at all will do.”

He thought for a moment before answering.

“We Runexians have a creation myth that's been passed down by word of mouth.”

“What does it say?”

“It says all Runexians were born from the flesh and blood shed by an Ancient God called ‘Ram’.”

I followed up with another question.

“Then are there any relics or other objects associated with this Ancient God Ram?”

“There should be some, though most are probably fakes or scams.”

Good. Then I'd start there.

“May I ask why you're interested in gods?”

“It has to do with why I came to this world. There's something I need to find.”

“I see...”

Kagan nodded as he spoke.

“Then I'll check our database for any information on relics of the Ancient God Ram.”

“Really?”

“You saved our soldiers' lives. This is our way of thanking you.”

Well, I wasn't about to turn that down.

Still, the look in his eyes suggested there was more to it than gratitude.

“It will probably take a few days. Why don't you stay here in the meantime?”

Hmm. I could guess what he was after.

It seemed he wanted to win me over to the Revolutionary Army's cause.

“All right.”

For now, I agreed.

Sorry, but I had no intention of helping with their cause. There was no point.

I could stay for a few days, but as soon as I knew whether they had any information, I'd leave.

*

After accepting their offer, I was shown to my temporary quarters. The room was fairly spacious.

“The cafeteria's this way. Let's get something to eat.”

Patriot led me to the cafeteria.

My body hadn't needed food or sleep since I'd become a god, but I saw no reason to refuse, so I went along.

The meal was just a mysterious soup made from ingredients I couldn't identify, along with bread and canned meat.

‘Hmm.’

I took a spoonful of soup. It had a faintly sour taste, and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

Patriot, who had been digging into her meal across from me, noticed my expression and spoke up.

“What's wrong? Don't like it?”

“It does taste a little strange. What's in it?”

“It's made from ground-up Depo and potatoes.”

“What's Depo?”

“A bug.”

I set down my spoon.

Patriot snickered.

“That lunatic Emperor's wars wrecked our whole food supply ages ago. This counts as a feast in our world. Life must be a lot better in yours, huh?”

“Well...”

The Tower had fucked things up, but at least we weren't eating bugs.

“Tch. Just give it here if you're not going to eat it.”

Patriot took my bowl and began eating the rest of the soup herself.

I stuck to the canned meat and bread. They tasted all right.

Patriot glanced at me before asking another question.

“Why would you come all the way to another world to look for relics connected to gods? What do you need them for?”

I saw no reason to hide it, so I told her.

“I need to save my world.”

“...? Is your world in some kind of danger?”

“There's an enemy as powerful as a god. If I can't defeat it, my world will be destroyed. So I need the same kind of divine power myself, and that's what I'm looking for.”

Patriot was quiet for a moment.

“...So you're struggling to save your world too.”

“You could say that.”

“Sorry. Forget what I said about life being better in your world.”

“It's all right.”

I knew.

Whatever happened with the mad Emperor or the Empire, the Tower would eventually appear here too, and this world would be destroyed.

They had no way of knowing that, though...

“Um, e-excuse me.”

I was almost finished eating when a child came up to me.

I recognized the child as one of the people I'd rescued from the Plant.

“Thank you so much for saving me and my dad.”

The child bowed politely.

I smiled and patted the child's head.

“Where's your dad?”

“He hurt his leg, so he's getting treated.”

“I see. He'll be better soon, so you don't have to worry too much.”

The child smiled shyly back at me.

Patriot gave me a surprised look.

“You're nice to kids, huh? You sounded pretty cold up until now.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

...Had I?

I hadn't noticed until she pointed it out.

Maybe I'd unconsciously kept my distance because they were all just characters who would disappear as soon as I left.

Soon, it wasn't just the child. Other people began coming over, one or two at a time.

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you...”

“I heard what happened. Thank you for saving our comrades!”

It wasn't just the people rescued from the Plant; members of the Revolutionary Army came over too.

More and more people gathered around, smiling as they thanked me.

...I accepted their thanks, though I wasn't exactly pleased by the attention.

Patriot waved the soldiers away.

“All right, all right, move along! You're interrupting his meal!”

“It's all right. I'm done.”

The meal was over.

Next, Patriot offered to show me around the base.

“By the way, Kim Seo-hyeon, how old are you?”

“I'm twenty-seven.”

“Oh, we're the same age? I'm twenty-seven too.”

Patriot pointed back and forth between us.

“I've been talking casually to you this whole time, but you're still so formal with me. You can drop the formalities too.”

Instead of replying, “Then why don’t you speak politely to me?” I simply nodded.

Then I asked something I'd been wondering about.

“You said the Emperor's ruled the Empire for over three hundred years.”

“Yeah.”

“How long do people in this world live?”

Could people here easily live for centuries with the help of machines?

Patriot answered.

“I've heard you can live for over a thousand years if you have very high Astral Affinity and your body's fitted entirely with top-of-the-line cybernetic parts. So if we're hoping that damned Emperor will die of old age, we've got a long wait ahead of us.”

So that was how it worked.

“Well, that's only for the Emperor and those pigs at the top. Ordinary people don't even make it to a hundred. And if you install more cybernetic parts than your body can handle, your life gets a whole lot shorter.”

I glanced at Patriot.

Patterns like circuitry were etched here and there on her body, and one arm was entirely metal.

Apparently noticing my gaze, she ran a hand through her short hair and smiled.

“More than half my body's mechanical too. I haven't had anything done to my head or brain yet, though. Except for my eyes.”

“Hmm.”

“How long do you think I've got left?”

“I don't know, eighty years?”

Patriot held up three fingers in response to my offhand guess.

“...Thirty?”

“Three years. I've had to replace parts after a few near-fatal injuries, and it's taken a heavy toll on my body. My older brother probably has even less time left than I do.”

“Your brother's the Deputy Commander?”

“Yeah. Good eye. We do look a little alike, don't we?”

She said it as though it were nothing, then gazed into space and murmured.

“If I could just snuff out the life of that devil, the Emperor, before all my systems shut down for good, I'd have no regrets.”

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