Episode 1006 Arcadium (1)
People generally cannot live alone.
Humans strive for efficient survival by interacting with others, and instinctively feel secure by being with many people.There is a sense of comfort that can be obtained from one’s own kind, even from complete strangers.
Between a small village in a dark forest and a bustling city, a stranger would consider the latter to be much safer.
A city is the culmination of a settlement centered on various human elements such as politics, economy, and culture.
The city walls, barely a few paces thick, completely change the human perspective. It is as if those who enter the city do not have to worry about being chased and eaten by non-humans or aliens.
The city does not collapse.
Neither ignorant city dwellers nor even adventurers who had experienced all kinds of treacherous terrain lived with the destruction of the city in mind.That was certainly the case.
“Gasp.”
Gelton Rodney, having just woken up, gasped and stared at the ceiling. Breathing heavily, he barely managed to let go of the blanket. Herubbed his face and sat up.His entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just had a terrible nightmare. In fact, he had barely survived a reality that was like a nightmarish nightmare.
It’s still… … dawn.
Gelton tried to force himself to forget the scene he had seen in his dream and roughly gauged the time by the light outside the window. He got out of bed. Heslowly walked down the stairs and headed toward the yard where a cool breeze was blowing.
Zantra, a city belonging to the Free State of Formene.
It had already been dozens of days since he was rescued from the ruins that had been destroyed in an instant by some dwarf. Severely wounded, Gelton did not regain consciousness until nearly three weeks later.It was a stroke of luck.Otherwise, his entire body would have been torn apart just like the patrons in the tavern. He could not forget those raw fragments of his body.
“…….”
Gelton sat on a bench in the neatly organized schoolyard.
This is Gargant’s Academy.
After Zantra was destroyed in the latter part of the Magic Festival, most of its survivors were transported to Gargant thanks to the rescue team’s efforts. Various districts, including the Academy, gladly welcomed them.
Those who did not die along the way were treated in Gargant. Some had already been discharged, but Gelton had not yet been able to.
I stared blankly at the dawn sky.
Unlike Gelton, who woke up tormented by nightmares, a diligent woman who started her day at dawn on her own took a walk around the Academy grounds with the Scripture of Light.
“Hello, Mr. Gelton. You’re up early.”“……Ah, Ms. Charlotte.”
Charlotte wore the robes of the Church of Luas. Although she was not yet a formal cleric due to her late start in education, the clergy, impressed by her efforts, specially granted permission to present her with the robes.
“The sun hasn’t even risen yet…… Are you studying doctrine?”“I find that reading the scriptures this early in the morning helps me remember them better. It also clears my head…… Actually, the official clergy exam is just a few days away, so I need to take in every single line I can……!”
The two actually knew each other.
In the city of Asern in the Kingdom of Estiria, at the tavern of Ferne… … .
Around the time Gelton, who had come to ask Verden for teachings, fell into depression due to the overwhelming magical gap after talking with Verden and was spending his days drinking,Charlotte, who had been rescued from Roafra, was temporarily working as a cleaner and server at a tavern before moving to the Esperensa family estate.
Of course, we only knew each other by face; we didn’t have a proper conversation back then. At that time, she couldn’t speak because her vocal cords hadn’t fully recovered.
“You will definitely pass.”“It would be really great if things turned out just as you said, Mr. Gelton. Becoming a clergyman is my dream.”
Charlotte sat on the same bench as Gelton and held up the scriptures. Although she had only recently become a saint, she looked exactly like a clergyman.
Gelton asked a somewhat wizard-like question, asking if he could reduce relief work and be given time to study by the clergy.
Charlotte answered with a puzzled look. Because she intends to become a clergyman to help people. She was not bound by the title of clergyman at all, but was focusing on the significance of her existence as a clergyman.
“Um, I apologize. I misspoke.”“Haha, no misspoke at all. More importantly… how is your new arm?”
In the direction Charlotte pointed was Gelton’s other left arm. One of Gelton’s arms had disappeared due to the Zantra explosion. A golem body took its place.
Kiiing.
As the magic circuit was activated, the prosthetic arm resting on the thigh moved. Those who wield magic can operate a golem prosthetic body even without a magic stone.
“It moves just like… my own arm. No, functionally it is even better than my original arm. My colleagues are also full of praise.”
At Zantra’s tavern, where he met a strange dwarf, there were not only Gelton but also members of Manha, the Mithril-grade adventurer party he belonged to.
A prosthetic leg for Skald, the warrior whose left leg was blown off. Aprosthetic finger and eye for Rubina, the archer whose eight fingers were torn off and one eye was ruptured.Prosthetic arms for Kedian, the cleric without both arms.
Vermin, a warrior whose body was pierced by tavern debris, fortunately suffered no physical injuries, but he was the last to open his eyes because the wound was so deep.
Manha became a test subject for the artificial body project organized by Eon.There was no need to even think about whose grace it was.
“……If it weren’t for Lord Verden, I wouldn’t have been able to see my comrades again. For sure.”“I told you, it’s Lord Verden!”
Charlotte slammed the scripture down and clasped her hands together tightly.A sincere, pure joy.Although Gelton had been cared for by her while staying in the Academy’s sickbed, they had rarely exchanged conversations outside of daily life.
Gelton spoke, recalling the image of Charlotte working quietly at the informant Ferne’s tavern.
“Ms. Charlotte, have you also ever received a favor from Verden?”“I was living with my younger brother a long time ago when we were kidnapped by criminals from Roafra who were involved in illegal slavery.”“……!”“That is when I met Lord Verden.”
Charlotte and Aiden were reduced to the main commodities of Ruiing Costa, one of the powerful figures in the underworld. Although they were not subjected to sexual violence—with the intention of selling them for a high price because they were clean—they were horrific days.She even had her vocal cords severed while still alive in front of her younger brother.
Then one day, they were loaded into a box. Were they finally being sold? They were scared. They were taken outside. A strange and incredibly handsome wizard stood before them.It seemed that Ruiying Costa was giving the siblings as a gift to recruit the wizard.
───Please help me… … !
Aiden squeezed out a voice asking for help as if it were his last hope.
───W-What on earth are you doing?! Lord Costa showed me kindness, so why!!
Luying Costa and his gang were annihilated on the spot. Luying Costa was the first to die instantly. Even though the executives of Vintert, who ruled Roafra, had come to find him, the sorcerer did not yield in the slightest.
───Asher, your killing of Costa must be related to those slaves. But think about it carefully. Saving those two in exchange for becoming an enemy of Wintert, or leaving them behind to safely leave Roafra. Isn’t it obvious which is the loss and which is the gain?
The wizard replied immediately to this.
I won’t refuse.
Charlotte and Aiden, hiding under the desk, wept endlessly. The wizard held their hands warmly in the cold underground city.
Even now that the scar on her neck has disappeared, Charlotte cannot forget that warmth. Until she dies, no, she will never forget it even after death.Bright yellow divine power bloomed within the hand she carefully opened.
“The reason I want to become a cleric is…… because I want to repay Lord Verden.”
Charlotte, possessing neither the strength of a warrior nor the talent of a mage, chose the path of a cleric. She sought to gain power for the sake of Verden.If Charlotte saves one person, it is equivalent to Verden saving one person.
At that moment, the dawn, declaring the end of the day, shone on the two.
It was dazzling.
The divine power briefly turned blue, but since it happened in an instant, neither Charlotte nor Gelton noticed it at all.Under the dawn, the only thing the two could see was the divine power of light.
‘salvation…….’
Gelton was lost in the moment he had finally mastered the fire attribute after being taught the theory of multiple continuity.If one person saves one, and that one person saves two others… he dared to fathom how great an impact a single person could have on the world.
It was then.
The main gate of the Academy opened. One of the external caretakers brought in a stack of newspapers.As this was a place where talented individuals from all over the world gathered to pursue their studies, the caretaker was by no means a nobody.Especially in times like these.
It looks like a new International newspaper has been published. I’ll go get it for a moment.
Charlotte, who took walks while reading scriptures at dawn, would often move the delivered newspapers to the academy professor’s office.
Gelton also stood up.
I’ll lend a hand, too.
The two crossed the campus.
She picked up a newspaper placed on the top shelf, checked the headline of the main article, and showed it to Gelton with a surprised look.
“An emergency summit is being held soon in Prohas… and they say they are recruiting troops.”
On the very front page of the newspaper, there was an illustration of Yurion Hiros, the Oath-Wielder and King of Highlandia, pointing at the newspaper readers.
The Transcendents Want You
The title and content stated that the Alliance of Transcendents was seeking volunteers for the Allied Forces. I have some idea what the Alliance of Transcendents is.Literally, an alliance of transcendents. Naturally, Verden was also part of it.
“We seek anyone, regardless of nationality or background, to join the continent’s largest coalition. However, the moment you join the Transcendent Alliance, orders from your previous organizations and groups take secondary priority, and you must prioritize the orders of the Transcendent Alliance.……”
Gelton immediately sped through the international newspaper he had been handed. He tensed up. His golem prosthetic arm crumpled the corner of the newspaper.
The end of the Allied recruitment notice concluded with this sentence.
“……The will of one person, you, twists destiny.”
A strong determination was in Gelton Rodney’s eyes.
He has arms, legs, magical power, and magic. An adventurer from the Zentir Magic Tower. He is ready to embark on a perilous adventure at any moment.
What’s a nightmare?
Gelton now realized what he had to do.
* * *
O great intellectual, why are you weeping so sorrowfully?
Did you dislike the fish you ate yesterday?Did the threshold of the house where you have lived your entire life rot away?Did the garden you painstakingly tended succumb to a storm and be ruined?Were you frustrated because your friends did not understand you?Were you heartbroken because your children disappointed your expectations?Did you resent your wife for giving birth to children less intelligent than you?Were you anxious as death approached your finite body?Did you resent the world, fearing that knowledge might vanish with your death?
Ah, great intellectual. Do not be afraid.
Do not be afraid; lie down on the table covered with a white tablecloth.There is a way to preserve your diverse knowledge… You want me to keep you from feeling pain? It is fine. The pain is momentary, and your knowledge and learning will remain endless.
The pages your fingers have turned, theearth your toes have stepped upon,the love your genitals have felt,the life dwelling in your heart,the food your mouth has tasted, thesmells your nose has caught,the sounds your ears have heard,the world your eyes have seen,and the memories engraved in your brain… … .
You, placed upon our vessel, will finally attain immortality. Just as the chewy flesh is chewed by my molars, ah! What a delicacy.
Great intellectual, you were not in vain.
We will prove your quality. We will guarantee your taste. We will let those customers know your value as well.
There has never been a banquet of knowledge as abundant as this one.
Oh dear, I’ve already eaten you all.
Oh, host!
When is the next dinner party?
──The ninth distinguished guest at 『Arcadium』.
* * *
The darkness that had been swirling with violent currents vanished in an instant. The deep sea within the deep, far removed from the earth, welcomed Verden and his party.
The surrounding landscape was different from when Verden first came to the seabed through the Gring Arcanum. Back then, it was a secluded place with ancient sea ruins, but now it was right in front of the Host’s mansion.
That’s splendid.
Arkadium’s butlers, lined up on both sides, adorned the path leading into the mansion. The area around the lavishly decorated estate was reminiscent of an Arnach imperial ball.Gaze could be felt from every direction. It felt as if the deep sea itself was watching Verden.
“The honorable fourth guest has arrived at the Arcadium.”“The sixteenth distinguished guest has arrived.”“The nineteenth distinguished guest has arrived.”
These were the names given to Verden, Luzak Paltein, and Tearel, respectively. Alpha and Beta belong to Verden and receive the same treatment.
“Hahaha, what a magnificent scale this is! I am really looking forward to it. The host truly considers you the most important person.”
Tearel frowned.
It gives me the creeps.
[Strange figures. Swarming.]
It is teeming with people.
Not only the butlers but also the distinguished guests and guests stopped to look at them.There were rows of monstrous creatures resembling walruses, with their grayish-white brains clearly visible through the back of their heads—creatures similar to, or even stranger than, Luzak.
“I’ll go in.”
[check.]
Verden led the way toward the mansion without any particular reaction. Following his footsteps, the butlers bowed one by one.
There is still time until the summit, but we don’t know when the Arkadium will end. There is no real rush, but we shouldn’t be too complacent either.
The being made of light encountered on the island of the Hiaremar Inland Sea—if the Host tries to ensnare Verden just as the First Apostle did, Verden will willingly endure an armed conflict.
Is the host a complete enemy?
Verden intended to acquire unfamiliar knowledge here, as well as find out the meaning of the Apostle that modifies the host.
“For hungry contemplation.”“Only things that cannot be left behind are prepared.”“Please savor them slowly.”
Three butlers with large eyeballs instead of heads opened the heavy door. Verden and his party, having received a warm welcome, entered the mansion in the deep sea.
Snap, the sound stopped.
The distinguished guests who had been elegantly conversing just moments ago, the guests picking at finger foods, and the butlers serving wine and food… all froze in their exact positions, as if time had stopped.
“A new guest of honor has arrived, selected for the first time in 14 centuries.”“He is the fourth guest of honor.”“I heard that the host praised him highly, but, hmm…!”
Most of the beings attending the banquet began whispering among themselves in hushed tones without blinking an eye,clearly displaying emotions where joy and fear coexisted, such as envy and awe.
A single-digit number of VIPs licked their lips.
“I am truly looking forward to the game. Hahaha, if things go well, I might get a taste of the guest of honor’s knowledge.”“Most of the time, they ended up having their knowledge stolen that way.”“Isn’t this a different case? Along with the first distinguished guest who rarely attends the Arcadium…”
The ninth distinguished guest rolled his greedy and arrogant eyes toward the gallery on the second floor, which overlooked the first floor.
For the first time since the inception of the Arcadium, two guests of honor are in attendance.
The ‘Third Guest,’ wearing a mask covering their face and holding a wine glass in one hand. The gazes of this mysterious figure and Verden, the fourth guest, intersected.
