novelraw Chapter 233: Open World (3)
Chapter 233: Open World (3)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Jinwoo was nervous.
He hadn't been nervous when fighting that mighty Higher Entity of Erosion. He had prepared everything thoroughly and was confident he could win.
Now the situation was different.
This was his first time attempting dimensional travel without going through the Soul Moon. On top of that, the Dimensional Transit Ship was headed toward an unknown space where he couldn't predict a single thing.
A smile rose to Jinwoo's lips.
He liked this tension.
The excitement of heading toward a new world was nestled within that nervousness.
The Dimensional Transit Ship broke through the dimensional wall surrounding Arsilan and emerged outside. The moment it did, the dimension containing Arsilan seemed to shrink in an instant.
And it actually did.
It became a small sphere roughly the same size as the Dimensional Transit Ship.
Arsilan, shining brilliantly.
Its beautiful light became a sun illuminating the darkness, casting its glow upon countless Bubble Dimensions.
It almost looked like a lighthouse.
"Oh, what a killer view."
"It's kinda different from sci-fi movies, huh?"
"I thought it'd be like a wormhole...."
The crew members were in awe.
Countless Bubble Dimensions floated around them, and the spaces between were filled with something like a dense, viscous fluid. It was a massive energy that kept the dimensions from colliding with one another.
Was it gravity?
Mana? Sacred Power?
It was an unknown energy that belonged to none of those categories, something even Jinwoo couldn't identify.
The Dimensional Transit Ship was equipped with a Miniature Magic Tower.
The tentacles sent information about the viscous fluid to the Miniature Magic Tower. The Miniature Magic Tower analyzed the information rapidly. According to the analysis, it seemed usable as fuel for the Dimensional Transit Ship.
'The Larva did the same thing.'
It had been determined that Erosion entities could also draw energy from this space to sustain dimensional travel. However, they didn't appear to be able to fully digest it.
The tentacles attached to the Dimensional Transit Ship pushed through the viscous fluid, gliding smoothly between the dimensions.
[Searching for target destination.]
A voice was heard.
It was the self-awareness imbued into the Dimensional Transit Ship. It could essentially be considered a high-performance AI. It had been created using the most advanced version possible by applying the divine authorities Jinwoo had obtained, so it would provide excellent support to the crew.
The Wall of the Abyss was impossibly thick.
Crossing it in a single trip was difficult. While the dense viscous fluid supplied energy, the pressure was tremendous and put enormous strain on the Dimensional Transit Ship. Jinwoo planned to build a supply base midway and connect it to Arsilan.
'It doesn't have to be a Soul Moon, but....'
He hadn't tried it yet, but if he could create a Soul Gate in a dimension along the way, he could drastically shorten the travel distance.
The reason he hadn't tried until now was that only one could be placed in each dimension. Arsilan had the Soul Moon and Earth had the Soul Gate, so creating new ones in either had been impossible from the start.
"Hah! This booze hits different."
"Wanna play some games?"
"Oh, that works out here?"
"Downloaded them in advance."
The crew members weren't tense at all. It felt more like they were on a school field trip aboard a tour bus. And the supervising teacher was Jinwoo.
[Displaying target destination.]
[A faint response has been detected from the designated dimension.]
Bubble Dimensions contained nothing at all.
They were places where even space itself was dying, so there might be no way out once inside. However, dimensions where energy still existed could serve as waypoints.
Among the countless Bubble Dimensions forming the Wall of the Abyss, a dimension emitting a faint light was detected. The dimension designated as a waypoint appeared on the Information Window. The Dimensional Transit Ship increased speed and headed toward it.
The dwarf approached Jinwoo.
His name was Gongd. It was short for "Engineering Dwarf." [TL: In Korean, "Gongd" abbreviates "공돌이 드워프" (gongdori dwarf), where "gongdori" is slang for an engineering student/engineer.]
He had been an engineer in his past life, and since he enjoyed making things, he had chosen to be a dwarf. His skills were so exceptional that he was revered as a god among the dwarves.
He was also actively collaborating with HandGenius, a Hero who possessed unrivaled crafting skills. Most of HandGenius's recent works had been made together with Gongd.
Every time the two met, they would talk all night about Magitech Engineering, to the point that rumors spread about WingGenius disliking Gongd because of it.
"Captain."
"Huh?"
"Would it be alright if I asked a personal question?"
Jinwoo nodded.
Reincarnated Heroes were fellow Earthlings, and they knew all of Jinwoo's secrets. Even if they asked personal questions, there was nothing to hide.
"What is it?"
"FS Games is leading the way in Earth's technology, so are you planning to build a fusion power plant too?"
"If there's a need for one, I'm thinking about it."
He had already made preparations so it could be built immediately. The government was expressing strong expectations and subtly pressuring him about it. FS Games and the research labs didn't actually need that much power, but they pretended to consume a lot of electricity as a cover.
Maintaining virtual reality devours an enormous amount of power!
The more users there were and the larger the scale grew, the more it would consume.
What if someone tried to control or regulate that?
Thinking it was FS Games' weakness, several nations had started applying pressure.
"Well, creating a miniature sun with magic isn't that difficult."
"Man! That was my dream in my past life."
"If I end up building one, I'll at least engrave your name on it."
"Really? Th-then could I come watch?"
"That much should be fine."
Gongd was overjoyed.
"Haha! With you around, Captain, the people of Earth are truly blessed."
"No, it's the other way around."
It was thanks to the Heroes that Jinwoo had been able to come this far.
Gongd stared at him with a surprised expression, then broke into a grin.
The Heroes who had been listening to the conversation came over.
"Then what about spaceships?"
"If you put your mind to it, Captain, you could terraform Mars too."
"Just bringing an airship over would be enough to blow people's minds."
"How about announcing it at a tech presentation? You could drop a line like, 'Infinite energy is in my hands!' or something...."
"Oh man! That's insane. All hail the Creator God!"
The crew members wanted to see Earthlings losing their minds, overwhelmed by the sheer superiority of the technology. That wasn't a bad idea either.
While they laughed and chatted, they arrived in front of the target dimension.
"Oh? That must be the one."
"That one does look different from the rest."
"It looks so faint, like it could vanish any second."
There were countless Bubble Dimensions around them, but the crew immediately recognized which one was their destination. It was the only one with a faint light leaking from it.
[Initiating dimensional entry procedure.]
FSSHHHH!
The Dimensional Transit Ship reached the wall encasing the dimension. Several tentacles transformed into drill shapes and plunged into the wall. With intense vibrations, a rift was carved open in the dimension, and blue light spilled out.
[Dimensional wall dismantlement complete.]
[Proceeding with entry. Strong vibrations expected; please brace yourselves.]
KRAKOOM!
The sound of the Dimensional Transit Ship's surface armor being scraped rang out. It forced its way into the dimensional rift as if shoving its head through. The surrounding space warped as though they had entered a wormhole, and then they safely arrived inside.
[Damage rate 0.2%. Self-repair complete.]
[All systems are operating normally.]
Jinwoo gazed at the scenery outside.
The moment they entered, the world seemed to expand and grow enormous. Jinwoo and the crew paused for a moment to take in the view.
"There's not a single star."
"It feels completely empty?"
"It's kind of like... the deep sea."
The end.
This dimension was meeting its death.
Space itself was disappearing, shrinking rapidly. Before long, it looked like it would become another Bubble Dimension. Nothing remained to prove how prosperous it had once been, or how vast it had been.
When Jinwoo gestured, the Dimensional Transit Ship's tentacles squirmed and split apart. They functioned like antennae, beginning to scan this world.
[Unknown life form detected.]
"Approach it."
The Dimensional Transit Ship moved toward the life form. Since it had been built for dimensional travel, it wasn't particularly fast. He could have used spatial teleportation, but for now he intended to conserve Mana.
"Huh?"
"I see something!"
"That's...."
Wreckage came into view.
Traces of war. It must have been a fierce battle, because the area was littered with the remains of something. Among that wreckage, a massive creature cradling light within itself was visible.
"Whoa...."
"Now this is fantasy! Or, wait, is it?"
"This has gotta be a first even for you, right Captain?"
Jinwoo nodded.
It was an enormous whale. Its skin was made of crystal, and its fins looked like the flares of a sun. It radiated a warm light as if it were a star itself, but its belly and back had been deeply gouged, and a liquid resembling the Milky Way was flowing out from within.
"It seems like it might be a native being of this dimension. Was it attacked by Erosion?"
[Analysis complete. No traces of Erosion detected.]
If Erosion had invaded this place, traces of its energy should have remained. Surprised by the unexpected result, Jinwoo tilted his head. The whale lifted its eyelids, but its massive eyes were already distant.
"Let's try approaching it directly."
"That space whale?"
"Hell yeah! Grab the tools!"
The Dimensional Transit Ship split open and a door opened.
There was no air in this space, but the crew members were largely unaffected. As elite Reincarnated Heroes, they were strong enough to hold their breath for days and be perfectly fine.
Once they were outside, Ignis transformed into his true form. The crew climbed onto Ignis's back, and Ignis surged forward rapidly, expelling Mana.
[It's pretty big, huh?]
[Wow, about the size of Alusion?]
Jinwoo had cast a communication spell on everyone. Thanks to that, they could converse even without air.
Jinwoo stood atop the whale's head.
When he placed his hand on the whale's head and poured Mana into it, the whale responded.
It conveyed the anguish and fury of having lost its homeland.
Those emotions were powerful enough to affect the surrounding area. Jinwoo infused images into his Mana and transmitted them.
Radiant Arsilan.
The entities of Erosion.
Heroes brimming with light.
Their language systems had nothing in common whatsoever, but images, at least, could be understood.
GRRRRRR!
The whale moved its massive fins and released its energy. Images flooded into Jinwoo.
'So you were the sun.'
The whale had once shone brilliantly like a sun.
Enormous planets had orbited around it, and a splendid civilization had flourished. But invaders had appeared, destroying and absorbing everything.
The appearance of those invaders was different from Erosion.
'Hmm....'
Just as Jinwoo fell into thought,
[Check this out!]
[Oh! This is awesome!]
[Gotta take some as souvenirs.]
The crew brought back armor they had found among the wreckage.
The inside of the armor was completely hollow.
It belonged to the invaders of this dimension, an invading army. But they were not Erosion.
The situation was more complicated than expected.
But watching the crew laugh and joke around, those complicated thoughts quickly faded. Whatever came their way, if it was identified as an enemy, they would wipe it all out.
The whale's life seemed about to end.
[Absorption is recommended. It is estimated that the Dimensional Transit Ship can be upgraded.]
As if the whale had read the Dimensional Transit Ship's intent, it barely managed to move its body and drifted in front of the ship.
The whale conveyed its gratitude to Jinwoo for showing it the beautiful image of its homeland. Then it transmitted its blazing fury.
The whale gave its consent, offering everything it had, and met its end.
[Beginning upgrade.]
SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
The tentacles sharpened to points and pierced straight through the whale's body. As they began absorbing the whale's energy, its body split apart and disintegrated.
The mighty skeletal frame that had composed the whale attached itself to the Dimensional Transit Ship. The whale's skull settled onto the ship's body, and its sharp ribs merged with the tentacles, becoming indestructible blades.
The fins that had once released beautiful flares became a nebula, churning thickly with fury.
[Uh...?]
[Um...?]
[Uh, it's getting really huge?]
The Dimensional Transit Ship had grown as large as the whale.
Even the whale's fierce fury seemed to have been used as upgrade material, giving the ship an extremely savage appearance. Skin covered the whale's skull, and tentacles sprouted from it. A dark gas cloud coiled around the Dimensional Transit Ship as if to protect it.
Its presence was overwhelming.
Even the crew, who had been through countless experiences, were intimidated enough to gulp hard.
Is this okay?
[Well..., it should be fine.]
[Isn't good good, you know?]
[The performance got upgraded, so it must be a good thing.]
It should be fine.
It had become even more horrifying in appearance, but it should be fine.
The crew all chose to think positively.
An Information Window appeared before everyone.
[Announcement from the Dimensional Transit Ship. Upgrade complete.]
*Dimensional Blade: Blades sharp enough to cut through dimensions. Attached to the tips of the tentacles and can be extended for use.
*Nebula Beam: A high-density beam can be fired using the whale's skull.
*Nebula Shield: A protective barrier of concentrated powerful energy can be deployed.
*High-Speed Voyage: Near-light-speed travel is possible without using spatial teleportation.
*Will Transmission: Intentions and will can be transmitted to others.
It felt like reading a patch note for an update.
This was a good thing.
The performance had been massively upgraded, so there was nothing lost at all.
Jinwoo invoked his authority as Lord God and tried to create a Soul Gate from the whale's remaining bones.
The whale's bones, which looked as though they were made of crystal, deformed and took the shape of a gate. At the same moment, the space that had been contracting toward its end stopped.
The dimension's demise had halted.
'So this actually works.'
It seemed like it would take time to connect it to Arsilan, but he had been able to create a Soul Gate.
Jinwoo created a large flower resembling the whale and placed it in front of the Soul Gate.
[Soul Gate detected.]
*Dimensional travel can be used to return to this location.
*Connecting to Arsilan is in progress.
This place could serve as an intermediate base.
Several Content ideas came to mind, but he set them aside for now. Gathering information was the priority.
[Now that we've secured a failsafe, let's cross beyond the Wall of the Abyss.]
He said this as he looked toward the crew.
The crew members were exercising their Hero instincts, rummaging through the drifting wreckage. Since they had been issued Subspaces with far more room than their Inventories, they had plenty of space even when stuffing things in recklessly.
'Well, it does have research value....'
Since the items appeared to belong to the invading army, he didn't stop them. When Jinwoo gestured, the tentacles moved and stowed all the wreckage inside the ship. The Dimensional Transit Ship exited the dimension and began crossing beyond the Wall of the Abyss.
"Oh, this is nice."
"Pretty sturdy."
"Good Mana conductivity too."
The crew members who tried on the armor were quite satisfied. It had the feel of sleek, form-fitting plate armor, and draping a cloak over it gave it a rather refined look. The colors were a bit too flashy and looked tacky, but painting it black brought the whole look to life.
"Definitely not Erosion-made."
"Ooh, new Content incoming!"
"Now that's Arsilan Saga for you!"
"Just what we've found so far is gonna drive the Heroes crazy, don't you think?"
The crew was quite excited.
Exiting the Wall of the Abyss wasn't difficult. They simply had to follow the same path the Larva had taken. The now faster Dimensional Transit Ship pushed forward relentlessly without pause.
Before long, they emerged from the Wall of the Abyss, composed of countless Bubble Dimensions.
[The Wall of the Abyss has been traversed. Scanning surroundings. Scan complete.]
[Visualizing and displaying in map form.]
An Information Window appeared.
A dimensional map was constructed based on the information the Larva had sent, combined with the data collected by the upgraded Dimensional Transit Ship.
Jinwoo couldn't help but be greatly surprised.
At the center was a massive dimension, and connected to it like corridors were numerous other dimensions. And it looked as though they were gradually being absorbed into the large one.
The place the Larva had been heading toward was not that massive dimension itself but a space near it. It was obscured and hazy, making it impossible to detect clearly, but the presence of something there was certain.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Huh?"
A signal tone sounded from the armor one of the crew members was wearing.
[Tracing the signal.]
The Dimensional Transit Ship backtraced the signal using information obtained from the whale. It was a signal coming from a small dimension connected to the massive one. It also happened to be the closest location to their current position.
Since they had crossed beyond the Wall of the Abyss, they needed a dimension to connect to their intermediate base. It also seemed like a perfect opportunity to gather information.
"Shall we go?"
At Jinwoo's words, everyone nodded eagerly, unable to contain their excitement and anticipation.
When they pierced through into the dimension the signal was coming from, a beautiful sight unfolded before them. Many stars hung in the sky, and the energy of life rippled abundantly.
The Dimensional Transit Ship used spatial teleportation and high-speed travel, rapidly closing in on the source of the signal.
A blue planet came into view.
The Dimensional Transit Ship extended its tentacles and projected the planet's situation onto the Information Window.
"Is it being invaded?"
"It's practically a massacre."
"The gap in technology is massive."
Beings that looked no different from humans were visible. If not for the red jewels embedded in their foreheads, they could have easily been mistaken for humans.
Those wearing armor identical to what the crew had collected were slaughtering them one-sidedly, as if cleaning house. The invading army was covered head to toe in armor, making it difficult to discern their actual forms.
"So those are the whale's enemies."
Stopping the massacre was the priority.
That's what Heroes would do.
First, intervene and put an end to the massacre, then figure out the plan going forward.
[Approaching via spatial teleportation to transmit your will. This is a first contact with an unknown civilization. Is there anything you wish to convey? I will transmit your will.]
Jinwoo nodded and spoke.
"We are not enemies; rest assured. We have come from another dimension. We wish to obtain information."
He stated his intentions as simply and politely as possible.
The Dimensional Transit Ship performed a spatial teleportation and appeared instantly in the sky above the burning city within the planet.
Both the invading army and the planet's natives froze in place.
Some trembled and clutched their heads, while others collapsed to the ground and wet themselves. The invaders had it far worse.
The Dimensional Transit Ship began transmitting the content of Jinwoo's words as will. Given its excellent performance, it should convey Jinwoo's intentions faithfully.
[Fear not.]
Hm?
The will the Dimensional Transit Ship was transmitting could also be heard by Jinwoo and the crew.
[Supreme beings have crossed the Abyss's mire and descended upon thee. Open thy minds and offer thy knowledge.]
Is that right?
This time, it didn't seem right.
*****
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