Episode 860 Rapid Progress (6)
The Adventurer’s Guild headquarters was built between the Central and Eastern Continents, specifically on the sea located between the Great Forest and the southern tip of the Eastern Continent.The island, surrounded by the ocean on all sides, was a natural fortress in itself.
“…….”
Tearel sat at the edge of the cliff as always and stared endlessly at the sea.
The crashing waves continued to break against the cliffs, and the rays of the sun high in the sky reflected on the water’s surface.Occasionally, marine life leaped into the air to create a spectacular sight, but to Thearel, it was nothing more than a boring spectacle he had seen thousands, even tens of thousands of times.
It was then.
“……!”
Tearel’s unique senses reacted.The sea was trembling.To others, she might see nothing but angry waves, but her perspective was different. Something was stirring. Something was making the sea turbulent.
I had felt similar emotions a few times… but this was only the third time in my entire life that it stirred me this deeply.
The first time, I couldn’t respond properly because I hadn’t become a transcendent being yet.The second time, I missed my chance because it was right after I awakened as a transcendent being.
Then, what should I do if that moment comes again?
Tearel had already reached a conclusion. She resolved to act as she had prepared, whenever that may be. She sprang to her feet.
Mado
Whoosh… … .
The cold, deep magical power of the Black Sea controlled the currents of the surrounding waters. With all the waves subsided, the sea became as calm as a lake.The creatures beneath the surface all looked toward Thearel in unison.
Are you leaving?
Salber Wendisir, the Head of the Adventurer’s Guild, approaches and asks.
Tearel nodded.
“If not now, when will another opportunity come?”“Even someone like you might not be able to withstand the environment of the deep sea. No one in humanity has ever reached there. And you yourself have never tested yourself that far.”“Phew, ha, phew.”
The sound of a deep breath echoed softly in the silent world. Having prepared himself mentally, Thearel smiled quietly.
That’s why I’m going.
Even if his movements are quiet compared to other transcendents, Tearel is also a transcendent. No one can defeat him.
“All right.”
Instead of trying to dissuade him once more, Salbert offered words of encouragement.
“Have a safe trip.””Yeah.””Take care of yourself.”
Tearel threw herself off the coastal cliff.Tap.With the sound of a single drop of water splashing, Tearel entered the sea and manipulated the currents. Down, further down… the water surrounding her rapidly deepened.
The light of the sky fades away, andthe darkness of the underworld draws near.
Tearel headed into the deep sea alone.
* * *
… … Since time immemorial, the sea has reigned as a symbol of terror.
A vast region, wider than a continent and immeasurable in its depth, referred to as Great Nature alongside the great forest.
The marine ecosystem within it is inextricably linked to human history. This is because the products originating from the sea were like a blessing to humanity.
However, conversely, the ocean has also presented humanity with just as much despair and the unknown.
Just as mysterious records remain in history, such as unidentified alien species that annihilated the human fleet, a sea city that vanished one day, and an island that sank completely.
Where does what is swallowed by the sea go?What lies in the deepest part of the sea?
Over the long years, cases of disappearances at sea accumulated and grew into myths and ghost stories that fueled human fear.
There is a monster!The God of the Sea is angry!Watch out for the signs!
People of old personified the sea. When a storm raged, they believed the sea was angry and would offer sacrifices or pray.They earnestly hoped that the waves would not carry away themselves, their neighbors, and their families.
It wasn’t entirely in vain.
Because if it brought them peace of mind, it was worth it. It is a desperate struggle for survival in its own way.
That, too, is the limit of insignificant intelligence.
The host shook his head as he walked ahead down the magnificent hallway.
Thus, sentient beings on land have a tendency to attempt to understand phenomena that they cannot accept with reason through groundless emotion. Rationalizing personal tragedies by attributing various causes to natural situations at sea, and believing in indigenous beliefs where divine power does not manifest, can be seen as examples of this.
“…….”
{Why did Shelbron show subtle hostility toward you, whom he met for the first time today? The reason is simple. An ideology dismissing the continent’s intelligent life as uncivilized is widespread among the inhabitants of Arcadium, and Shelbron strictly adheres to that ideology.}
Verden recalled the barnacle man he had met as soon as he arrived here. Shelbron’s tone and behavior were certainly arrogant and condescending.
“I didn’t get the impression that he was highly intelligent for someone with such views.”
[admit.]
He is an intellectual who doesn’t even qualify as a VIP. Failing to objectively recognize one’s own intellectual level is the nature of the foolish. Expecting anything from him is wrong in itself. He cannot even discern how to treat the guest of honor. In fact, most intelligent beings, with the exception of a very few, are like that.
The host discussed intellect without stopping for a while. His unwavering eloquence and depth of knowledge gave off a sense of insight, just as he had called himself the leader of the Arcadium.
Verden asked.
Then what are your thoughts?
To me, there is no difference between intelligent beings on land and intelligent beings in the sea. Their innate intellectual abilities are not even worth discussing. Even quite extraordinary beings are at a level where they cannot engage in deep conversation.
The host turned his head halfway and cast his gaze over his shoulder.
{In that sense, you are qualified to converse with me on equal terms.}
Beta, perched on Verden’s right shoulder, tilted his body.
[Are there others besides us?]
{Notable examples include ‘you’, Oldarc, the Primordial Dragon, the World Tree, the Parasitic Archdemon, and the Current Dragon. There are other beings with superior intelligence as well. Including you all, the number of beings that meet my standards since the beginning of time exceeds ten. You may be proud.}
The foundation of magic is, after all, the ‘brain’.
Therefore, it is relatively common for wizards to despise or look down on those who are less educated or less intelligent than themselves. This is becausethe satisfaction of a sense of superiority is akin to an instinct.Even in the Bohemian Magic Tower, it was not uncommon to see wizards with such ideologies engaging in various discriminatory remarks and actions.
It was a personal experience for Verden, whose rank in the hierarchy was 1st at the time.
The host is even worse than that.
To think that they recognize only a dozen or so beings as intelligent beings, even including the primeval era. It is a level of discrimination based on intellect that has crossed the line and reached an entirely different dimension. Evenamong the various beings Verden had encountered so far, this was truly an anomaly.
Alpha asked a question while still unable to take his eyes off the host’s octopus head.
[How was His Majesty the Demon King?]
The host retraced the meeting with the primordial wizard that had taken place in the past.
Oldarc was the epitome of absurdity. She was unrivaled, and beyond description. Could such a human being possibly exist in this world? That was the thought that crossed my mind. Among all sentient beings, Oldarc’s innate nature was the best.
“The greatest talent…….”
Verden recalled the first Demon King he had witnessed through the administrator’s memories. The moment he crushed three ancient gods without a single scratch flashed through his mind.Since such a story had come up, he couldn’t help but ask more questions.
“How were the Gray Dragon and ‘you’?”
{The Gray Dragon was born with the world and was endowed with immortality. A resurrection achieved through continuous evolution. Truly the cradle of dragons. No one can match the experience accumulated by the Gray Dragon.}
The host swept the tentacles.
{On the other hand… … ‘You’ were mediocre.}
Verden and his party were inwardly astonished. Tocall you mediocre?Considering the status of ‘you’ they had encountered so far, it was an absurd assessment.
{‘You’ were not born with overwhelming talent like Oldarc, nor did you possess an immortal body and soul like the Gray Dragon. You were merely one of many powerful individuals. In fact, if ranked, you were clearly at the bottom. However, existence is fundamentally something that is perfected through both innate and acquired qualities.}
The host slowed his pace little by little.
{At that time, ‘you’ had something that Oldark and the Gray Dragon lacked. It was a ‘sense of duty.’}
“sense of duty……?”
{‘You’ were always pure. As if molded from pure white. That is why you could do anything and become anything. The ultimate will. Through that, ‘you’ ascended to become the most fearsome being in the world.}
A sticky laugh was heard.
{Are you surprised? Of course you are. To you, ‘you’ must be the enemy and evil. The proponents and the rejecters. Thus, fate has given birth to a new dichotomy. However, in the war of fate from the beginning, good and evil did not matter. In that war, no one was good, and no one was evil.}
The host stopped.
{Who is right?}
“…….”
{‘You’ were simply right. By the privilege of the victor. However, by allowing Oldark’s counterattack, ‘you’ ended up letting victory slip right before your eyes. And after a long time, the inevitable truce is drawing to a close. Yet, that time has been brought far too soon. All because of you, Asher.}
The host slowly turned his back and looked down at Verden.
{To borrow Oldark’s words, it is the singularity of the world.}
“Singularity?”
{The only variable no one had anticipated. Is it a backlash from the world wanting to break free from the shackles of fate, or is it free will beyond even fate’s control? Or is it merely the product of chance?}
He said firmly.
{Such causes are not important. Do not seek the cause of the birth of existence, Asher. That is the exclusive property of ignorant intellects. You are a recorder. Neither the past nor the future, but only the present represents you.}
Most of the information the host said was unfamiliar to Verden and his party. How to respond was simple. There was no reason to pretend to know everything and get swayed.
“Fate and the Resistor. Which one are you?”
Where exactly is my knowledge biased?
The host swung his arm.
See for yourself.
As one side of the mansion’s wall deformed, a staircase leading outside was formed. The end of the stairs reached the bottom of a low cliff underwater.Immediately afterwards, the darkness receded, and the true form of the deep sea began to be revealed.
Nearly hundreds of bizarre guests were gazing at the edge of the cliff, occasionally cheering. Three intellectuals were shackled there.Luzak, who had just engaged in an intellectual clash with Alpha, was among them.
Existence inevitably survives by devouring other beings. And knowledge depends on existence. Without existence, knowledge would simply be forgotten. Therefore, the concept of knowledge is also steeped in the logic of the survival of the fittest.
The host went down the stairs.
Crackle.
The cliff where the three intellectuals were standing split in half and collapsed. Each of them screamed or groaned as they plummeted to the bottom of the sea.
{Where is knowledge stored? The head? That is a one-dimensional notion of a foolish intellect that does not understand the concept of the soul. Knowledge is stored in the body and the soul. Knowledge dwells in existence itself.}
As Verden and his party went down the stairs, keeping a safe distance from the host… …a desperate sound that had not been felt until now pierced their ears.
───Aaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaah!
───No, no! Please… …! Please get away! Don’t eat it! Don’t eat it, don’t eat it, don’t eat it!
───Phew, phew… … !!!
What on earth is happening at the bottom of the cliff? Soon, their figures came into the view of Verden and his party.
That is… … .
Pitch-black beings of various forms are writhing and entangled in a chaotic quagmire. Their numbers are enough to fill the bottomless pit.What lay beneath the cliff upon cliff was not darkness, but countless living creatures.
Crunch!Crunch!
They repeatedly swept over the three intellectuals like waves, devouring them little by little. Each time this happened, the spark in the intellectuals’ eyes vanished and returned repeatedly.
{This cliff is the boundary of knowledge, and below it is the landfill of knowledge. It is the land of specters who, having excessively coveted knowledge, ultimately lost even their very existence. They feed on the knowledge of sinners, and repeat the cycle of reclaiming their selves to crave knowledge.}
Aaaaaaaah!
The fishman climbing the cliff eventually had his ankle grabbed and fell down. No other intellectuals were in sight. There, only Ruzak crawled up the cliff even as his entire body was being torn apart.
Whoosh!
“Kuhaa……!”
His left arm was torn off, and the knowledge contained within fell with it. Ruzak staggered violently, then regained his composure and climbed the cliff.
{The method for a being who has come to bear the boundaries of knowledge to erase sin is simple. It is simply to survive like that. Hmm, as expected of a VIP, he has the will.}
The other guests and dignitaries cheered enthusiastically.It was like a festival atmosphere.The discordant chants of cheers and screams created a sense of alienation for Verden.
“Ugh.”
Finally, Luzak rested his arms on the cliff, but his strength was nearly exhausted. Specters of knowledge were hanging from his ankles.
One of the distinguished guests approached.It was a beautiful mermaid.
“Luzak, do you want to live?”“Of course. You’re actually asking.”“Then I’ll cut off half of your brain. How about it?”“Hahaha.”
Luzak laughed while desperately clinging to the cliff.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”“Hmm, I thought that was a good suggestion. Alright. Goodbye.”
As the mermaid twitched her fins, dust rose from the sea and engulfed Luzak. He, who had been tenaciously holding on, finally slipped.
At that moment.
Verden manipulated space to grab Luzak and throw him over the cliff. The Specters of Knowledge, who had been swept up with him, met Verden’s gaze.The Specters of Knowledge immediately threw themselves off the cliff of their own accord.
Verden said.
“Since they called it a banquet of knowledge, I expected something sophisticated, but it is quite different from what I expected.”
Eating and being eaten by one another for the sake of knowledge.
The host spread his arms.
{Where else could there be anything more noble than that.}
