Episode 429. Commotion?
Still, since I booked the departure flight for the next morning this ti, I was able to do quite a bit of sightseeing and shopping.
***
Monday. Anguish.
Tuesday. Research.
Wednesday. Back to anguish and research.
And the rest of the days in the calendar were inevitably filled with a similar routine.
"Hmm."
So ti had already passed. Today happens to be Sunday. To be precise, it's the start of a new week after returning from the auction event that began on Friday.
As soon as I returned to my cozy ho, I found myself lost in thought. Though I made a grand prelude, the gist of it was simply a fear of the upcoming weekdays, much like any ordinary office worker.
"I have so much to do."
For reference, at this point it's already clear that I'll have to cut my sleep for roughly 30 days straight to push through an intense experintal schedule.
"Of course, overwork among researchers isn't exactly uncommon, but this is just way too much—even by those standards."
How could anyone possibly keep their sanity under these circumstances?
"At this rate, I'll probably catch an alien..."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose once, gave the area around my shoulder blades another press, and then fell away from the calendar I had been glancing at. My words dragged on from the ntal shock, but in any case, going up against the [Feeling-Eating Worm] was expected to be far from smooth in many ways.
"Gisimche... I have to face those travelers of that universe again."
First, before diving into the experints in earnest, let's summarize a few points. As a result of the recent auction, the following outcos were achieved.
[Expected Deposit Amount: Approximately 54.1 billion KRW]
Since the amount earned from selling the Hydra was split into three parts, that roughly cos out to the pre-tax sum ntioned.
"Pre-tax..."
Right. Pre-tax. Having painfully experienced the strictness of the social tax system, I certainly couldn't just forget about it.
"Given the circumstances, I guess that's a pretty high price for a poisonous item."
With such a large sum, of course I wouldn't have to worry about making ends et for the ti being—yet, once again, a familiar concern began to surface.
"Still, it's far from enough to form a full golem army, the trademark of an Archmage."
For fodder troops to use and abuse, I can just turn the endlessly spawning dungeon monsters into organic golems. But if I want to create a weapon that truly satisfies , I'll have to devote a considerable amount of effort to it.
"When I was F-rank I was desperate, so I just tore through anything I could find. Honesty, if you take gate monsters apart one by one, their structures have far too many flaws..."
Ah, I wonder if a [Legendary] might just drop from the sky sowhere...
For a mont, I indulged in an impossible daydream in my mind.
"If only I had a [Legendary], things would be much easier."
To be honest, I did briefly indulge in such thoughts, driven purely by greed.
Those Japanese guys... you could tell at a glance they were terrified of the artifact malfunctioning...
Simply put, a malicious sche.
So if I'm the only one who can operate Ego equipnt and I keep pressuring them with deliberate malfunctions, wouldn't they, out of fear, hurriedly put that item up for sale?
Moreover, I was from that Alphauri planet. In other words, I was born ready to be selfish. Just closing my eyes once would make such a cri entirely possible.
"Let's quit."
As you can tell from returning empty-handed, I didn't dwell on it too much and had already scrapped that plan.
"Whether to do anything with that greatsword is entirely up to the feelings of the Earthlings."
Respecting free will. That's exactly the kind of ethics one must uphold. And, moreover, it's the attitude I want to maintain as a mage going forward.
"But in the sa vein, I won't concern myself even if humans end up waging a magical war among themselves later on."
Your affairs are for you to take care of yourselves. However, any external pressure coming from space will, likewise, be taken care of by the Sorcerer Who Crossed the Galaxy. I finished this resolve, which no one was there to hear, and changed his posture.
"Well then, shall I start so web surfing for the first ti in a while?"
① Create a golem that will serve as a useful weapon for a lifeti.
To be honest, if I wanted to bring down the Gisimche in the world, there were many other things to do alongside this. From today on, I just needed to hunt down whatever materials were necessary, regardless of the field.
② Prepare a dedicated scope (scope) to observe the invaders from that universe.
I've only listed two things to do so far. But for so reason my head is already throbbing.
③ Do whatever it takes to deal with the (pathetic) limitations that co with being human.
Hmm...
"Oh right."
That was when it happened. Just as I was carefully going over my upcoming plans, a sudden flash of realization struck through my mind. Life, after all, always requires so sort of future planning—but more important than that is not postponing today's work until tomorrow.
"It's already midnight."
Lunchti. It happened right after checking the clock. The mont I realized it was ti to eat, I imdiately put everything else aside and began preparing a al.
It's not like I have fixed altis like an ordinary office worker, so why the fuss? Of course, if soone else were watching this scene, they'd probably wonder the sa thing...
"Ah... what should I eat?"
If soone were to voice that suspicion, honestly, I'd have plenty of logical explanations ready. For instance — even though I'm walking around and speaking just fine, this body has actually been fasting for nearly two months recently. Or that I can partially ignore pain stimuli, which makes physiologically more prone to hunger than others, and so on...
***
To restore my body weight, I made sure every al contained a balanced mix of carbs, protein, fat, dietary fiber, and minerals. I also slept — though for far less ti than the native inhabitants of this planet—since my body modification was still incomplete. And the rest of the days was spent on research, research, and more research.
"Huh? What is it?"
It felt empty, but that's how the world had always been.
"What the—how is it Thursday already?"
It felt like I'd only gone through my daily routine once or twice, yet before I knew it, more than half the week had already slipped away.
"Seriously, the days are flying by in the blink of an eye."
Honestly, every ti this happens, I can't help but think, "Why are days on Earth so short?"
[Ting.]
It was at that mont. The electronic device I had carelessly shoved into my pocket suddenly started ringing. It had been quite a while since I last heard that alarm, but for an extraterrestrial creature like —one who's always valued auditory senses—it was an unmistakable vibration.
"That ans the important day I marked on my digital calendar has finally arrived."
Tak.
I picked up my phone and walked out to the living room on the first floor of the mansion.
The weather was nice today, and I could even hear the distant chatter of crowds from the beach—but that didn't matter.
[ELX]
Honestly, I had completely forgotten about this schedule until just a mont ago. And of all tis, it just had to pop up in the middle of an already chaotic week.
"Aha, Elixir."
That's right. In fact, the note marked with Korean consonants in my phone's calendar was actually a code—referring to that so-called universe cure said to heal every human illness.
'Among all the Gates revealed in the prophecy, this one seed to hold the highest importance.'
Aside from the item of immortality, it was the only event intriguing enough to capture the Archmage's interest. At that thought, I recalled the dungeon item once more.
'A potion so powerful that even a dying old man regained his youth after just a few sips...?'
Of course, that only ant the body had beco sowhat healthier—not that the wrinkles had vanished or the hunched back had straightened, let alone that he had truly beco young again.
"I'm curious."
I found myself intrigued by the item Earthlings called the Elixir. And if the shady underworld guild that shared information on the Prophecy were to appear in that sa dungeon, I might as well take care of them while I'm at it. With those two thoughts in mind, I began to move my legs, one after the other.
'Should I bring the item box with this ti?'
If I'm already planning to go to the Gate, there's no point in dragging my feet.
'Better make sure to bring along that used [Hydra] I couldn't bring myself to sell.'
For reference, this could be seen as a continuation of the research I've been doing so far. So taking so ti for it doesn't feel like a waste. The only concern that cos to mind now is that soone still hasn't renewed their license yet...
'Entering the Gate without any proper qualifications.'
This too would be an illegal matter that would surely get a red mark if it were revealed to Earthlings. But it was fine. In the country I was heading to this ti, a human henchman—soone who had been manipulating the underworld with massive intelligence-gathering and money—was hiding.
'I hardly ever visit that mammal anymore, so now I'm even forgetting its na.'
It looks like I'll have to get that man—Oliver or whatever his na is—to help this ti. Anyway, he's a creature with plenty of sins, so using him doesn't trouble my conscience. With those thoughts, I fiddled with my phone.
'Besides, this ti, thanks to the power of the scroll, I even know the exact 'height' where the dungeon will appear. If I just arrive early, there should be almost no chance of interference...'
A series of actions carried with them the conviction that no ordinary person would be able to access the Elixir Gate, appearing for the first ti in several years.
'It's too much to teleport the entire distance from here to the Northern Mariana Islands. I'll have to catch a plane quickly.'
And after making all sorts of preparations.
About 16 hours later, I found myself in front of the gate in question. And, just as expected, I didn't run into any competitors.
'Seeing it in person... even having heard the gate forecast, it's definitely a structure that's hard to handle.'
For now, I won't go into a long explanation. The "Elixir of Health" dungeon, appearing for the first ti in years, was located subrged underwater. As a point of reference, a similar phenonon occurred with [Sin Classification] in South Korea.
'Judging by the fact that a passage ford this deep, it seems this ti it wasn't even a mistake.'
Co to think of it, this dungeon seems to differ from [Sin Classification] in so ways.
'The surrounding seawater isn't being sucked in.'
Could it be... that the interior is already completely filled with water?
'A completely underwater dungeon?'
Bubbling.
For reference, in order to attempt the gate, I had to imrse my body directly into the waters of the Northern Mariana Islands. A human body feels sowhat awkward underwater, lacking a swim bladder. Still, drawing on mories from a previous life as a marine creature, I sohow managed to continue moving through the sea.
'To see what's going on inside, I'll ultimately have no choice but to enter it myself.'
I wasn't swimming gracefully like a fish. Nor was I relying on diving equipnt like a diver. If I had to describe it, my form was so stiff and rigid that "water ghost" would be the closest expression.
"Let's get started."
I was able to move through the water as if stepping on invisible stars. All of this was possible thanks to abilities befitting an Archmage. So, was it really difficult to clear the B-grade gate that appeared before ? Not at all. The process of acquiring the Elixir that followed was, to be honest, so straightforward that it was boring—too dull to even bother explaining to anyone else.
Jeeeeeeing.
Then, if I were to pick the only part of the events from this weekday that truly stuck in my mory...
"What the?"
At the mont when I had finished the dungeon without encountering a single competitor, I stepped onto land with the help of Oliver—the sworn ally of the knight I had left in the U.S.—and belatedly checked my phone.
"This vibration must be a text ssage notification."
Soone in South Korea had sent an electronic ssage to my number. However, which country it originated from wasn't particularly important.
'What's Seonwoo Yeon doing on a weekday like this? She must still be working.'
I lowered my gaze and checked the ssage sent by an acquaintance. In short, it was a warning that a conflict had broken out between secret agents in South Korea.
I had asked them to let know if anything unusual happened to Jung Haseong or Seo Esther. Looks like this Earth officially kindly rembered that promise.
And the reason their conflict began was none other than the appearance of an [Elixir] monster in our country...
"Huh?"
Wait a mont. No matter how many tis I checked, the content of the ssage still seed strange.
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