novelraw Chapter 187: Content Hunting (2)
Chapter 187: Content Hunting (2)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Arsilan had certainly grown much larger than before, and had become an even better place to live than during its golden age, when it was known as the Golden Arsilan.
The citizens of the Sillion Empire, combining both Heroes and Arsilanians, numbered about 200 million. Even compared to countries on Earth, it ranked eighth in population, an immense nation.
However, large portions of Arsilan were still devoured by Erosion. And the higher beings of Erosion had deeply rooted themselves in Arsilan even now.
The only nation that existed in Arsilan was the Sillion Empire. In the past, the many kingdoms and city-states had completely vanished without a trace.
Jinwoo pressed forward, enduring the spatial pressure.
Even Jinwoo found it difficult to predict what lay beyond Arsilan’s boundaries. From outside in space, its form was barely discernible. The influence of the higher beings of Erosion was so powerful that it ignored the laws of Arsilan and even the universe itself.
‘These are ones I’ve never fought before.’
Back when he was trapped within the Magic Barrier, he had fought the Lord of Erosion and the Lord of Greed. Although the Lord of Greed belonged to the higher beings of Erosion, it was incomplete and had flaws. That was why it desired to ascend and become a fully complete god.
But the true higher beings of Erosion, referred to as ‘Exalted Ones’, possessed aspects even he, the Archmage, could not comprehend. He had once glimpsed one from afar long ago, and merely sensing its presence had overwhelmed him with an endless sense of powerlessness.
All the more reason Jinwoo was now looking forward to it.
Now he believed he could face them. He would be able to use that mighty being as content and trample it.
Swoosh!
Jinwoo easily overcame the pressure that rushed in to grind him down and walked out beyond the boundary.
‘Hmm?’
A scene unlike what he had expected unfolded before him.
Beyond Arsilan's border, it was cut off like a cliff. To be precise, it looked as though the planet itself had been gouged out by something, leaving a gaping hole, and even the atmosphere had vanished, exposing the vastness of space.
“......”
Destruction.
He could now truly feel that the destruction of Arsilan had come right to its doorstep.
After a brief silence, Jinwoo leaped straight down the cliff. He saw the cooled mantle, and at the very bottom, he saw the core of Arsilan.
The fragments that once made up Arsilan were floating like islands, and a massive worm still gnawing away at Arsilan was in view. Like eating an apple, it was slowly devouring the core.
It was so massive it felt like witnessing Jörmungandr from Norse mythology.
‘It’s not a higher being of Erosion.’
It didn’t seem to be one of that level, but it held quite formidable authority. As it gnawed on Arsilan’s insides, it was sending a vast force to somewhere beyond.
Jinwoo approached to get a clearer look.
Grggrggrrk!
The worm was consuming Arsilan’s core and creating something within its massive body. It filtered out impurities and compressed only pure Magic Power. In the process, it accelerated time by more than tenfold. Its movements seemed slow, but due to the accelerated time, it had managed to devour a century’s worth of the core.
‘This fucking bastard....’
He had glimpsed it while forging the Holy Sword on the moon. But he hadn’t thought it had actually been eating Arsilan. He had merely assumed the space had been eroded and thus rendered invisible.
Had just another ten years passed like this, the core would’ve completely died. If that happened, the flow of Magic Power circulating through Arsilan would disappear, and the entire planet would likely wither away.
Jinwoo first recorded a video. He intended to document it before dealing with it.
‘It’s sending it over there.’
Jinwoo raised his head and looked into the distance.
He sensed a space, the size of Arsilan’s moon, hidden within the flow of accelerated spacetime.
'For now....'
Jinwoo reached out his hand and synchronized with the Magic Tower, gathering Magic Power.
The space wavered, and a massive meteor appeared.
It was one of his favored grand spells. The worm, which had been gnawing at the core, turned its head and trembled upon seeing the suddenly appearing meteor.
‘Die.’
Accelerating, the meteor plunged toward the worm at incredible speed. The worm opened its enormous mouth to swallow the meteor, but it was futile. The meteor spun, unleashing compressed Magic Power like blades.
Kwaaaa!
As soon as the meteor entered the worm's mouth, it split the creature cleanly from mouth to tail. The worm, which had been trembling, came to a complete halt, and the energy it had held inside condensed and then exploded. The Magic Power and fragments of Arsilan that it had devoured burst out and scattered all around.
At the center of the explosion, a sphere shimmering with a strange color appeared. It was a large orb containing condensed Authority, about the size of a small asteroid with a diameter of 1 kilometer.
Jinwoo connected with the Magic Tower and analyzed the orb.
[Transcendent Grade] Authority of Time
An Authority that allows control over time.
Traces show it was carefully extracted. Can manipulate the flow of time up to tenfold.
It was a transcendent-grade Authority, immeasurable by normal rank systems.
‘Oh....’
Jinwoo couldn’t help but be amazed.
The ability to control time was a realm beyond even Ella, Helby, and himself. Only a higher being of Erosion, one of the so-called Exalted Ones, could freely wield such an Authority.
‘At any rate, it's Arsilan’s now.’
A price had to be paid for devouring Arsilan.
If he could control time, he would be able to create a much richer Arsilan Saga. Up until now, all scenes involving time manipulation had merely been illusions caused by illusion magic.
If he shared this power with the Heroes, could he create a skill worthy of a third awakening ultimate move? Through time acceleration, the power of magic and skills could be massively boosted.
‘The Heroes will love this.’
Nodding, Jinwoo moved the asteroid imbued with the Authority of Time to the Magic Tower at Arsilan’s boundary.
Gulp!
Jinwoo has obtained the Authority of Time!
Immediately afterward, he cast protective magic over the exposed core of Arsilan and then looked around at the surrounding landscape.
As the time acceleration ceased, a space far in the distance revealed itself. Within the wavering space, a blue expanse of land appeared.
'Hm, it is quite magnificent.'
Numerous fragments floated, forming a ring, and the pure essence of Magic Power spewed out by the worm shimmered like light, as if connected to that distant space. Although it was evidence of Arsilan’s destruction, it was a breathtaking scene.
Jinwoo took several photos and sent both the video and images to the Magic Tower. With a snap of his fingers, a Magic Circle appeared before him, and Tiris’s image materialized. It wasn’t her in person, but a projection using illusion magic.
[This is serious.]
[Still, we’re lucky it’s just this much. Though the outer core took some damage, it won’t have a major impact on Arsilan.]
Because there was no air, they communicated through Magic Power transmission.
Tiris linked the protective shields installed at the Magic Tower and the core. As highly pure Magic Power flowed in, recovery began slowly.
[Still, looking at it positively, it's not entirely a bad thing. We'll be able to research Arsilan's origin.]
[We might even be able to connect Arsilan’s core directly to the Magic Tower.]
[Yes, it will take time, but it’s certainly possible. And the Authority of Time will be of great help.]
A hundred years ago, they had attempted to build a Magic Barrier by linking it with the core, but failed. Digging deep enough to reach the core was extremely difficult, and it was also fatally damaging to Arsilan’s environment.
If the core and the Magic Tower were perfectly linked, it would be possible to control everything in Arsilan from the Magic Tower.
There had been times when Jinwoo thought perhaps they could reclaim vast lands and enjoy a period of peace.
[We can’t stop now.]
[Yes, we have to keep fighting until Erosion is completely eradicated.]
Jinwoo stood for a moment beside Tiris, gazing out over Arsilan. He felt they had come incredibly far, and though he thought nothing could surprise him anymore, life kept proving otherwise.
[You got the video and pictures, right?]
[I received the video, but the photos haven’t arrived.]
[Hmm?]
He was sure he had sent them. It was odd.
Upon checking, Jinwoo realized that when the asteroid imbued with the Authority of Time was moved to Arsilan, the Magic Power transmission got scrambled. The photos had been misrouted.
They ended up on FS Games’ main server.
FS Games contacted Jinwoo.
Arsilan Worlds was exploding!
The Arsilan Worlds operations team had posted an announcement about an event scheduled for next week, but somehow, a photo they had never seen before was mixed into the post. The team quickly realized it and deleted it, but it was already too late.
[We’ll need to recheck the security system. A vulnerability in Magic Power communication was exposed due to time interference.]
Fortunately, the video file was large and hadn’t leaked anywhere else.
Jinwoo sighed and checked Arsilan Worlds.
The forums were completely flooded with posts about the leak. The announcement containing the leaked photo was deleted in less than five seconds, but the image had already spread. The fact that it was deleted so quickly only made it more of a sensation.
Title: (Spoiler Warning) Wow! What’s with this scale?
Saw the leaked photo from the event post, and the scale is insane.
(Photo attached: Destroyed Arsilan)
It doesn't look like the concept art, seems like development is complete.
Even the inside of Arsilan is all torn apart.
Zooming in closely, it looks like something was eating it.
It was really on the verge of destruction.
We were celebrating reclaiming some land, but it’s nothing. This really is a planet-destruction level dark fantasy.
Stop fooling around and level up.
The next Episode looks seriously brutal.
But how are they going to restore that?
Anonymous1: Just seeing the photo is intense. Seeing it in-game might make people faint.
Anonymous2: That’s a huge spoiler. Is the person in charge getting fired?
└Anonymous3: Or maybe this is all part of the Creator God's plan?
└Anonymous2: The Dimension Gate is stabilized now, so it's about time for strategies to come out. Looks like Episode 4 is in its final stretch. But I doubt this was intentional ㅋㅋㅋ
Anonymous4: Arsilan’s flesh... hehe!
└Anonymous5: What a crazy bastard.
In-depth analysis posts were already starting to appear. Though the reveal happened by accident, it wasn’t all bad, it actually helped refresh the atmosphere. Even this turned into enjoyable content for the Heroes.
‘Well, since it’s come to this, I might as well rework it and include it.’
With a bit more narrative and by making the worm even more grotesque and adding the right direction, it could serve as a strong opening event for the next episode.
[I’ll begin analyzing the information we’ve gained.]
Tiris bowed her head and disappeared.
Jinwoo looked toward the distant space with a cold gaze. Just like he did to the Lord of Despair during Episode 3, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to begin by unleashing a grand spell and delivering a catastrophic blow.
Because everything beyond Arsilan’s boundary was no longer staged content, but real.
Jinwoo made preparations to cast grand magic at any time and then moved toward that distant space.
He was expecting a horrific scene, filled with monsters.
Given how much of Arsilan had been devoured, it would make sense. As he crossed through space, he saw a planet about the size of Arsilan’s moon. It appeared to have been formed using the materials consumed from Arsilan.
‘Looks more normal than I expected?’
There was atmosphere, and he could even see seas. Despite the planet being small, gravity was about the same. A massive glowing object that appeared to be a Magic Stone orbited the planet, providing light.
That Magic Stone, too, had likely been created by consuming parts of Arsilan.
‘Hmm....’
Jinwoo paused the casting of his grand magic and examined the planet. As he traveled through space and passed around to the back of the planet, he saw its far side.
The far side was hollowed out and filled with what looked like currents of Erosion. It was reminiscent of the back side of the artificial moon often featured in conspiracy theories. From that place, he felt a massive presence unlike anything before. It was hard to even tell if unleashing a grand spell could eliminate it.
‘Well, it’s definitely good enough for the next episode.’
It was a scene that would intrigue Heroes whose excitement had been reignited due to the leak incident. It looked like there was a story behind it, and it seemed packed with potential content.
The question was, could it really live up to that?
Jinwoo felt like he was unwrapping a present. He descended straight to the surface. The closer he got to the ground, the more his expression filled with surprise.
Because the sight before him was completely unexpected.
Jinwoo landed atop a high mountain peak and looked down below.
In the distance, a vast city sprawled out before him.
Magitech had developed to such a high level that it had already surpassed the Arsilan of the past. Even Jinwoo, the Archmage himself, was slightly surprised. He could see airships powered by Magic Engines and even cars running along roads. Compared to this, Arsilan’s own magitech looked crude.
‘Is it because of time acceleration?’
He didn’t know the full details, but it seemed the flow of time accelerated more than tenfold had allowed this civilization to be built.
Jinwoo grinned.
After unwrapping the package and opening it up, he found a rather fine gift inside. The fact that it could offer experiences unlike anything they’d seen so far made it more than worthy.
‘The Heroes are going to go crazy over this.’
That city, developed in such a fantasy-like style, looked sufficiently romantic. It was excellent enough that it didn’t even need additional direction or development. It was completely different from the Empire of Evil, which made it all the more appealing.
Jinwoo took several photos of the cityscape, capturing them in a way that looked quite convincing. With a bit of editing, they looked like polished content preview images.
On the mountain peak, Jinwoo set up a transmitter for Magic Power communication and sent the photos to Han Yong-seon as a test.
Jinwoo: This is the setting for the next Episode currently being developed at the Erosion Headquarters. What do you think?
Han Yong-seon: Ooh! That's amazing! I’m really curious about the setting! Is there anything the Salvation Headquarters can help with?
Jinwoo: Since Salvation Headquarters handled most of Episode 4, supporting work will be more than enough for this episode.
Even though the distance was great, communication remained smooth thanks to the Authority of Time.
‘I’ll need to investigate this.’
How had a place like this come to exist?
First, he would thoroughly investigate the area and then think about how best to use it. It might be getting ahead of himself, but Jinwoo was already looking forward to the day he could introduce it to the Heroes.