Chapter 1460

<Chapter 1460> 1460. Dark Moon

“Bel Tiaer….”

I mull over the name, digging through my memories. Nothing comes up. It’s not even a game I’ve heard of from the original.

‘Could it just be that this character looks like one I created?’

“You don’t need to take my name too seriously. I’m not even active in Neo London, you know.”

“…Are you by any chance from Hamburg Innovation?”

Hamburg Innovation

It’s a city-state on par with Divine France and Neo London. However, its territory and population are smaller compared to other city-states. But the mechanized technology Hamburg Innovation possesses is undoubtedly the best in the world.

There’s a saying: “If you want your body turned into a machine, go to Hamburg Innovation.”

“Wow, sharp! How did you guess? It should be impossible to figure out just by appearance alone.”

“I guessed based on those mechanical eyes. Something like that would be hard to get anywhere but Hamburg Innovation.”

Truthfully, the starting point for the character I created, ‘Jjapaguri,’ was Hamburg Innovation, so I was just testing the waters.

Her face, figure, voice, personality—everything matches the character I set up. Even her origin is the same. She had to be the ‘Jjapaguri’ I created.

It’s amazing.

Seeing my character, whom I only ever watched through a monitor, standing before me was incredibly strange. And despite never having met, she felt oddly familiar.

But I didn’t let it show. I turned away. She’s the character I created. So what if she’s here? I couldn’t just say, “Since I made you, you belong to me now.” In this world, she lives her own life.

I tossed a coin toward the fountain.

“Hold on. You haven’t told me your name yet, have you?”

“…Eugene Meyer.”

“Eugene Meyer. Hmm. I’ll remember that. Nice name.”

“Didn’t you input it or something?”

“My brain isn’t fully mechanized. Just my arms, legs, and eyes. Oh, should I include my heart? Nah… Huh, why am I telling all this to someone I just met?”

“…”

The sixth coin plopped into the fountain.

“Why are you here anyway? Work?”

“It’s personal. I picked up some troubling information. I can’t tell you the details. Understand?”

“Yeah.”

It’s probably related to her personal backstory.

In the original game, the player character’s story varies depending on their origin and occupation. Her story must be…

‘She’ll handle it herself.’

We’re not related in any way. Reaffirming that once more, I threw the final seventh coin. In the game, throwing seven coins into a fountain temporarily boosts your luck. But nothing popped up before my eyes this time.

“Making good money, huh? If you’re gonna waste coins in a fountain, could you give me some instead?”

“I’m not wasting money. I’m buying luck.”

“70 credits, huh? That’s enough for a decent meal at a restaurant.”

“With luck, maybe I’ll earn more than that.”

“Hah, I don’t believe in that stuff… Are you a fortune-teller or something?”

“Wow, trust came out of nowhere. 70 credits… Should I try it too? Though does it have to be exactly 70 credits?”

“If it’s a 1-credit coin or a 10-credit coin…”


“Alright, seven should be enough.”

“Huh? That’s music to my ears.”

She tossed a single credit coin toward the fountain. I walked past her and headed out of town. The sun was slowly setting, and the Dark Moon began its ascent.

The village was eerily silent, like a ghost town. Everyone must’ve gone inside, locked their doors, and laid in bed, wishing the day would hurry up and end.

[LEVITATION]

I cast the spell.

My body floated upward as I soared toward the fourth-largest mountain to the south. Flying wasn’t exactly comfortable, though—dark carapace eagles, electrified by the Dark Moon’s influence, went absolutely berserk and charged at me like mad.

[ELECTRIC WEB]

I swatted the incoming bastards away with my electric whip. The crisped dark carapace eagles plummeted to the ground, becoming food for other animals and monsters.

Had I taken out about thirty of them?

I reached my destination.

I glanced around to gauge my position.

“I saw a cliff before descending. That’s where I need to go.”

KUUNG!

My heart stopped cold with a loud thud.

A sudden heart attack.

Gritting my teeth, I forced my heart to beat using mana.

“Damn it… This already? Heart failure symptoms on the first day?”

I glared at the Dark Moon floating in the sky.

In different areas, various abnormal status effects occur when the Dark Moon appears. In Neo-London’s outskirts, they include heart attacks, random diseases, and paralysis. Sure, the effects fade after a short while, but the unpredictability of when and where they’ll strike is the real issue.

After about five minutes, my frozen heart started beating again. I no longer had to force it with mana, which was a relief.

The cliff came into view.

Looking down revealed a sheer vertical drop. The bottom was shrouded in darkness, its depth unfathomable.

“Good thing I don’t need to climb down.”

As I approached the cliff, the flow of mana suddenly went haywire, spiraling out of control. Even someone as skilled as me would struggle to cast spells in this state—why I hadn’t flown directly toward the cliff earlier.

“Guess I’m in the right spot. Alright then…”

I scanned the area and easily spotted the faint blue flower blooming at the edge of the cliff.

This world has plants that only bloom under the Dark Moon. One such plant is the Blue Distortion right in front of me.

It possesses the ability to distort mana and must be harvested while in bloom; otherwise, it’s just an ordinary weed.

I pulled out a box from my coat and carefully plucked the petals of the Blue Distortion, placing them inside. As its name suggests, this flower can warp mana itself.

“One of the essential materials needed to repair a broken mana road.”

Since it only blooms deep in the mountains during a Dark Moon, it fetches an absurdly high price. Selling it on the black market could make me quite wealthy.

“But one root won’t cut it.”

I gazed toward the cliff.

“The jagged rock formation… It’s over there.”

Hmph.

I exhaled deeply, shaking off the tension as I approached the cliff.

Focusing my mind, I lifted my right foot and extended it toward the cliff. Instead of falling into the abyss, my foot landed on an invisible surface.

“…Lucky break. Guess I didn’t need to complete the prerequisite quest after all.”

I ignored the chilling wind and the ominous black moon looming above, concentrating solely on walking across the cliff.

“7366. 7366. 7366.”

I repeated the numbers in my head, taking careful steps forward. On the seventh step, I stopped. Looking down revealed the pitch-black abyss below. A fall from here would surely mean instant death.

“Three steps to the right.”

Thud-thud-thud.

“Six steps to the left. Six steps to the right.”

The moment my final step landed safely, a door materialized mid-air. Without hesitation, I grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

Inside was a modest three-pyoong space.

A clear blue sky, refreshing air, and damp earth greeted me.

There, growing in clusters, were countless Blue Distortions. At a rough estimate, there had to be at least a hundred.

“Success.”

Smiling faintly, I crouched down and gently plucked a single petal from the Blue Distortion…


I gather them.

“The secret garden of some gardener. A hidden space you can only enter after completing a side quest and when the Dark Moon rises.”

As you can see, coming here lets you obtain large amounts of Blue Distortion. If you come again next time, there won’t be any Blue Distortion left.

Having gathered all the Blue Distortion, I stepped out of the gate. I was still floating in mid-air, but the flow of mana had returned to normal.

This was because I had collected all the Blue Distortion that was disrupting the mana flow.

[Levitation]

I flew through the air and landed on the mountain.

I fell into deep thought.

Should I go back now or take the risk to get something else?

“Let’s go back. Opportunities aren’t only today. First, go back, fully restore your mana reserves, and come again on the next Dark Moon night.”

There was no need to rush. Leaving behind any lingering thoughts, I floated up into the air.

KWAH-AHNG!

An explosion sounded.

I turned my gaze toward the direction of the sound while hovering in the air. The location was the right mountain where there’s an open field. It was the place with the hidden ancient ruins.

“…Telescope.”

I enhanced my vision with magic.

Looking down at the distant scene, Bell Tiaer was fighting against Droids near the village fountain I had seen just hours ago.

Droids.

Robots who bear grudges against humans.

The nobles and citizens of Neo London hate Droids to the level of trauma. This is because Neo London almost fell due to a Droid rebellion in the past. The reason why Neo London resembles the Victorian era culture now could also be attributed to the influence of Droids.

“Bell seems to be at a disadvantage.”

I decided to help her. I had questions for her. According to my predictions, she should have been somewhere else, not here.

While flying toward Bell, I prepared my magical incantations.

Pah-jee-jik.

Mana of lightning surged upward into the sky and coalesced.

The Droid, with its steel body and steel skin, looked up at the sky. Its two red lenses glowed as they locked onto me.

“Magic user detected. Estimated to be Class 5. Priority target changed. Eliminate human.”

The Droid raised its arm toward me. Chik-chik. Its arm transformed into a gun barrel aimed directly at me. Energy gathered at the tip of the barrel, ready to fire, but…

[Thunder Bolt]

A colossal bolt of lightning struck the Droid before it could fire.

The surrounding area lit up as bright as daylight. The Droid collapsed onto the ground, motionless.

“Guess electrical magic really works well on these mechanical bastards.”

I landed on the ground. She wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and stared at me intently.

“Was it unnecessary interference?”

“…No, thank you. Thanks to you, I survived. That Droid guy was completely unaffected by armor-piercing bullets, so I was in quite a bind.”

I glanced behind her.

The land, ravaged by battle, was in disarray, but the mechanical door leading underground remained intact.

“Ah, this ancient ruin I found by chance has nothing to do with those Droid guys, so don’t worry. No matter how much chaos we cause, this door won’t break. Do you know how to get inside? You’re a wizard, right?”

“I do.”

“…Really? I just asked out of curiosity… Alright, then can you help me? Let’s split whatever we find inside in half. Since I found it, I think I deserve at least half, what do you think?”

“Before splitting, we should first check what’s inside.”

“That makes sense too.”

I approached the door.

Standing right in front of the door, I stared intently at the mark engraved on it. It resembled a lotus flower.

“Do you know what this emblem is? I tried looking it up, but couldn’t find anything.”

“It’s the emblem of the Transcendentalists.”

“Transcendentalists? What are they? Are they talking about superhumans?”

“No.”

I looked at the door and said,

“Our ultimate goal is transcendence alone.”

Ziiiiing.

The door opened.