Chapter 72 : What Rose from the Deep Sea
Chapter 72. What Rose from the Deep Sea
The Headmaster of Weimar Wigma, Waldorf Brisbane, stared at the dark creature that had been hauled up, his expression grave.
It had a round shape resembling a heart, and around it extended bizarre tentacles like blood vessels.
From that heart, a pitch-black, tar-like substance was still oozing out.
“How many is this now, Professor Schmidt?”
At the question, a young professor wearing glasses replied. Holding a staff in one hand, he was using magic to lift the monster into the air.
“This is the third time this year. Ah, if we include the one that parasitized Yuk’s Seaborn, Gideon, then it’s four individuals.”
“Is there any information about similar monsters being found anywhere other than our seas?”
“I contacted the Ivory Tower in Frangia, but it seems they don’t know either. The Royal University of Aragon also appears to be unaware.”
The Headmaster widened his eyes and recited a formula. In an instant, the floating creature was compressed in midair.
Black tar(?) splattered through the air, and the creature soon stopped writhing. There was a reason it was handled this way.
If touched directly, it burrowed into the skin and parasitized the host, and if it was blown apart, each small fragment multiplied like planaria.
“A terrifying organism. Are there any records of it parasitizing humans?”
“Yes. One fisherman, the first to discover it, was parasitized. We were curious what would happen if it infested a human, but unfortunately, he was discovered by a Queen’s Knight who was patrolling nearby and was executed immediately.”
“It’s far too dangerous. If it parasitizes humans, it might acquire abilities we don’t know about. Or perhaps it might amount to nothing. Still. Is there anyone suitable among the students of the Department of Communion you oversee? I want to have this investigated.”
“Yes. However, the student is royalty from the minor kingdom of Mull.”
“Ah, the one who always carries a carbuncle with them?”
“Yes. They’re a reliable talent, but it would be too much to send them alone.”
“Hm. Very well. I’ll keep that in mind. What about those with powerful Seaborn?”
“Ah, separately from that, there’s Lucian Beltaine’s Seaborn this time.”
“Ah, that one?”
The Headmaster recalled Yul. A powerful existence he wasn’t even sure he could defeat, even if he revealed all of his true strength.
The moment Professor Schmidt saw Yul, he wanted to recruit Lucian Beltaine.
“Isn’t there a way to bring Lucian Beltaine into the Department of Communion?”
“From what I heard from Quentin, Lucian himself is aiming for a double major in the Department of Navigation.”
“The Hero’s son choosing a path completely unrelated to magic, I see. Why is that?”
“That would be because of a heavenly affliction.”
“A heavenly affliction?”
His magic core was large, but his magic circuits were extremely weak. That alone wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but his magic affinity was also extraordinarily high, making him a walking bomb, so they said.
“If it weren’t for the Krelsite gloves, that boy might already be dead.”
“I see.”
Professor Schmidt thought for a moment, then spoke.
“If only we could bring in that one who appears to be of Unique rank, it would be very reassuring.”
“That, well. Try persuading them on your own. In any case, what have you decided to call that dark creature?”
“We’ve decided to call it 【Sea Horror】.”
“Continue to devote yourselves to researching the Sea Horror, and if the frequency of its appearances increases, report it regularly.”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
* * *
Yul was still staying at the inn. He was spending the afternoon leisurely, sipping coffee.
“Newspapers for sale!”
“Give me one.”
『The Eldiraf Empire, chaos incarnate! The nomads of Ongirat carry out a gnome massacre in the East Diraf region!』
[The valiant Shire Adventurer Party has declared that they will absolutely not overlook this gnome massacre.]
It was said that after the hero assassination incident that had shaken the entire world, the imperial territory had fallen into complete chaos.
『Adventurers begin to distrust one another!』
[After the hero assassination incident, the Fourth Prince’s faction has completely collapsed. This is not a simple incident. With the remnants of the Demon King’s forces—the orc factions—still remaining, adventurers beginning to distrust one another could become the starting point that allows the Demon King’s remnants to prevail.]
『The fall of Andros Rolven.』
[The 『Black Spire』established by the hero’s companion, Andros Rolven. Those necromancy-school mages have claimed Eldion Lake, at the heart of the Empire, as their private territory and begun magical operations. It began with orc corpses, but now they are reportedly creating undead even from the bodies of former imperial citizens or fellow adventurers.]
『The disappearance of the hero’s companion, Yarel Faegan.』
[Some say he vanished to live in seclusion as he did before the war, but the circumstances prior to his disappearance are highly suspicious.]
『Movements detected to revive a pre-imperial nation.』
[For the glory of the Kingdom of Serland, which once occupied a third of the Empire, numerous knights are gathering from all over. They have formed an organization called the Serland Knight State and have forcibly occupied vacant territories.]
『Orcs who betrayed the Demon King and sided with the hero! Claiming their own territory!』
[Blue-skinned orcs who fought the Demon King by serving the hero are now asserting their rights within the Empire amid the chaos.]
‘Wow, the hero’s party completely went off the rails. Corruption, betrayal, disappearance?’
The state of this empire was quite fascinating. Countless adventurers who had gathered under the hero’s charisma were now each struggling to survive on their own.
The more he looked, the more impressive that human named Sone Helbig felt.
‘A necromancer who used forbidden undead, a selfish elf who only protected his own territory, the Empire’s Fourth Prince who dreamed of reviving the old empire, the Serland knights who rebelled at every opportunity to escape being an imperial vassal, and even some enemy orcs—she gathered all of them into comrades, forged them into an army, and went after the Demon King?’
No, even in a MOBA game, if you gather five people together, they’re usually all trash in different ways, but he got those people to carry the log together?
It was almost regrettable that she was already dead; there was no doubt she was a figure who had carved a mark into human history.
Yul found himself wanting to visit the chaotic Empire at least once.
Though in reality it was impossible, since his Communion level only rose when he was with Lucian.
As he was reading the newspaper intently, he happened to run into a familiar face. It was Professor Quentin Blackmoore.
“As expected, you were staying here.”
“There aren’t many places a human body can live comfortably, after all.”
“What do you think of my work?”
“For something made in such a short time, it was very well done.”
Yul scooped another spoonful of sugar into his coffee and stirred it around.
Producing something of that level in such a short time was nothing short of impressive.
“But it’s just a basic input–output device.”
“Oho—!”
“You can’t modify anything. That’s a basic requirement.”
He felt like he’d said this before. Input, output, and modification—those were basic requirements.
An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) should provide auto-completion even if one doesn't write the code—the runes—directly, and it must perform real-time error checking during writing.
Otherwise, the magic stone would explode.
It also needed to run test executions in advance to check for failure and automatically debug rune characters.
“With that in mind, here you go.”
“Huh? What’s this?”
“An enrollment certificate.”
“What? You’re enrolling me without prior consent?”
“Hehehe. It’s possible. I’ve paid your tuition in full as well. And you may study whatever you like.”
“I, uh, should I just run away somewhere?”
No, I mean, raising Communion levels is important, but still—there are twenty years left, right?
The conditions were good, but getting caught like this wasn’t really his style.
“This is a special admission. You may audit and attend any class, but you are not required to take any. You may also take a leave of absence at any time.”
“Oh?”
Now that changed things.
“Instead, complete just one thing. Create a magic engineering device that integrates the technology you mentioned. If you do that, I’ll count it as graduation.”
“That’s tempting.”
The more he looked, the more fascinating things Wigma Academy had. Being allowed to use them freely in exchange for just one task.
“I was especially curious about the library.”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Weimar Wigma Library possessed superior information compared to any magical institution.
“Hehehe. Indeed. The Ivory Tower? Royal Universities? Compared to the Wigma Grand Library, they’re trivial.”
“But the conditions are too good. Is this really possible?”
“It’s possible because you’re not human, but a Seaborn. There are no regulations for Seaborn enrolling in a university. Hahahaha.”
So this was Professor Quentin’s loophole.
“Well, I’ll accept it.”
Yul took the student ID Professor Quentin handed him and slipped it into his clothes. The conditions were too good to refuse. Full tuition covered, and access to various facilities within the academy.
But it wasn’t free.
‘If I just freeload like this, my conscience will hurt. Should I prepare it in advance and submit it around graduation time?’
The problem was the tools required. First and foremost, he needed an input–output device.
‘How much storage capacity do magic stones have?’
Yul immediately stormed into the library and checked the data storage capacity of magic stones.
‘That’s small.’
It was so small that using a single magic stone was impossible.
Even just building an input–output device required an enormous number of magic stones.
Honestly, Professor Quentin’s input–output device was an inefficient mess, made by throwing money at the problem. Aside from the fact that it was built quickly, it was a bundle of flaws.
That was probably why he told others to try completing it.
‘There should be a more efficient method than Professor Quentin’s approach.’
Rather than using only magic stones, combining other magical items could improve efficiency.
The act of inscribing rune characters onto the surface of a magic stone was a system where “data storage + processing + output” were all combined.
Whether it looked like a gun or armor on the outside, magic engineering items all had magic stones as their core component.
If additional storage devices and connectors linking them were used……
‘The issue is the materials.’
This world was overflowing with all kinds of magical materials. Yul was almost completely ignorant about them.
He’d have to do some research before deciding what materials to use.
『Magical Materials of the Entire World』
『Reactions of Catalysts and Reagents』
『Ivory Tower Sample Catalogue』
Using his student ID, he borrowed several books from the library. The return deadline was one week.
He needed to find the necessary materials within that time.
After returning with an armful of books, he devoured them and learned a few things.
Energy coral.
He’d seen these corals in shallow seas before. When connected to magic stones, they might provide a significant boost to storage capacity.
They were cheap, so they passed.
Aether fiber.
A medium with an extremely fast magic transmission speed. It was somewhat expensive, but there didn’t seem to be any alternatives.
‘Should I look for the remaining materials directly in the deep sea?’
He’d searched through various magical materials, but none of them seemed quite right.
Since becoming part of the Deep King Tribe, he hadn’t descended into the deep sea even once, so maybe it wouldn’t be bad to do so.
Just then, Lucian came running breathlessly and appeared at Yul’s inn.
“Yul, it’s a disaster!”
“What is it?”
Seeing his serious expression, Yul wondered if some enemy had attacked the academy.
“Our club is on the verge of being shut down.”
“……?”
So what.