Chapter 117
Chapter 117. A Taste of the Sky Island
A sharp sting ran through his eyes, followed by pain. Instinctively, he knew. The Eye of Replication was dangerous.
When he opened the status window, an entirely new category had been added.
【Racial Traits】
[Six Demon Eyes of the Deep King Tribe]
[Members of the Deep King Tribe can grow simply by eating, sleeping, and breathing. Depending on age, experience, and environment, they awaken the Six Demon Eyes in sequence.]
[Sea-Sync Demon Eye – The ability to control seawater according to one’s will. It uses magic, but the consumption is low.]
[Eye of Replication – The ability to reproduce a magic composition that the user has seen for a short period of time. However, since it does not grant the user the underlying principles, using it without understanding the theory places part of the user’s soul as collateral. In addition, after time passes, it can no longer be reproduced.]
[???] Locked ×4
[Unawakened Penalty: Only one Demon Eye can be used per day.]
‘What kind of penalty is that?’
The moment he tried to operate both Demon Eyes at the same time, a pain like his head splitting apart surged over him.
He became so dizzy that he could barely see and immediately stopped using the Demon Eyes. There seemed to be some kind of condition, though he did not know exactly what it was.
Since using the Eye of Replication earlier, Yul could feel that part of his soul had been placed in “collateral.”
‘If I had to describe it, it feels like my maximum magic capacity has decreased.’
As if demanding payment for copying a magic structure at will, the mortgaged fragment of his soul remained tightly bound and refused to loosen.
‘But if I leave it alone, it’ll probably be released.’
As long as he didn’t overuse it, it seemed like an ability he could continue using in the future.
Yul stopped flying and returned to his original form through Polymorph.
Then he took out the spare brown robe he had received from the sages earlier and draped it over his body. One of the watching sages folded his arms and spoke with an interested tone.
“It’s big.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, no, I mean your true body.”
“I’m a bit on the larger side.”
Hmm, both the true body and the split body are big, very big.
“Are the repairs finished?”
“Yes. Look.”
Yul checked the chain and confirmed that the crack had been completely sealed. The material they called the Material of Myriad Phenomena had looked like nothing more than ordinary black powder, but it had even filled in that bubble-like distortion of time.
“That’s a clean repair. So, we just go down now?”
“Yes. However, it seems we need to stop by Dragon Land. Since we’ve come all this way up, we should inspect the upper part of the chain as well.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t go there?”
“Not deep inside. The entrance area is accessible.”
“Really? Should I come along too?”
“Well, we’d certainly appreciate it.”
The enormous climber was gradually rising higher into the sky. As it ascended, the air grew thinner and the cold more intense, so Yumankai placed her hand on the chain climber.
“I’ll activate the climber’s barrier magic.”
“Alright.”
A completely sealed interior space was formed. Air was being generated inside, and a barrier unfolded that perfectly blocked the outside temperature and pressure.
Yul activated the Eye of Replication and examined the climber’s barrier magic.
‘A triple-layered magic structure is being activated simultaneously…’
Replicating it would not be difficult, but since he did not fully understand the principles behind it, he gave up. There was no real need to copy it anyway.
“What material is the chain made from? Some kind of a magic metal?”
“No. It’s made of ‘thought.’”
“…?”
“The Archmage of Truth was someone who could use magic purely through thought. And he believed thought itself was the only aspiration capable of reaching truth, so he developed only that.”
“Thought manifesting as matter? At least according to what I know, that doesn’t exist. It must be a unique magic.”
“Yes.”
Human thought had become a material capable of supporting something like an orbital elevator, like carbon nanotubes or graphene.
A mage capable of creating and maintaining something like this?
There was no one like that in the outside world.
‘The sages of the Island of the Brown Sage individually possess absurd magic skills. And yet they live in seclusion.’
If this force were ever to step outside the island, countless balances would collapse.
But since they had chosen isolationism, perhaps that would never happen.
If they ever went out into the world, great chaos would follow.
‘For now, I’ll just observe. Even if they might abandon isolationism in the future, there’s no need to treat them as a threat already.’
The chain, which had been slanted diagonally, gradually became vertical as they approached the Sky Island. Now there was no blue around them—only darkness beyond the horizon.
“By the way, Yumankai, why did the dragons run away? They looked like they were going to kill me.”
“There are probably two reasons.”
“Two?”
“First, we finished the repairs. The chain is also treated as part of the island, so they attack when someone applies ‘alteration’ to it, but if that action stops, they no longer show hostility. That’s from experience.”
Apparently, they had once been attacked by dragons while repairing the chain when there was a problem with it.
“Also, it might be because Lord Yul used a lightning Breath.”
“Why would that matter?”
“Breath is a dragon’s ‘qualification.’ Some dragons are considered true adult dragons the moment they become able to use Breath. It’s a technique with immense symbolic significance to them.”
“There are plenty of creatures that spit things from their mouths.”
“But the magic structure of Breath is completely different.”
“That’s true.”
“It might have stimulated something in them. Perhaps they regarded Lord Yul as a distant relative of dragons.”
At Yumankai’s words, Yul responded as if that was going too far.
“If I’m a dragon’s relative, they won’t attack me?”
“Their love for their own kind is remarkable. Since their numbers are so small, dragons never fight each other.”
“Hm. Still, I don’t think that’s it.”
While they chatted, the chain climber reached the end.
And for the first time, Yul was able to visit the Sky Island.
“It’s enormous.”
The sight of a gigantic island floating in the air was unreal and mesmerizing.
He felt an increasing urge to go up and explore it.
Soon, the climber reached a tall ivory-colored tower, and the magic was dispelled. It was a tower identical to the one installed below.
Standing at the top of the tower and looking down, an astonishing landscape unfolded.
A dense primeval forest spread across the entire island.
Enormous trees rose dozens of meters into the sky, and between them, covered with moss and vines, pure white mist drifted upward.
Far away, a towering mountain range resembled the spine of a dragon, and countless unfamiliar plants and animals lived and breathed there.
And he could feel the air as well.
Dense air spreading throughout the entire forest.
Yumankai gestured toward the vast forest.
“This is the entrance to Dragon Land. Up to this point, it appears to be quite far removed from the region of time distortion.”
“What an incredible forest. It’s… almost overwhelming.”
“Anyone who climbs up here ends up awestruck by this enormous primeval forest that no one has ever seen before. But that also makes it a dangerous place.”
“You said there’s no time distortion here, though?”
“Gigantic dragons roam around. Though they are sub-dragons that failed to become true dragons.”
“Those are dinosaurs.”
Yul looked at the giant reptiles running in herds in the distance.
Furry, raptor-like creatures were racing together as a pack, hunting down a swarm of rodents.
“Dinosaurs…? That’s a good word. Perhaps we should use that term instead.”
Yumankai muttered that to herself, and Yul spoke up.
“Can I take a look around for a bit?”
“Yes. You seem quite excited.”
“Of course I am. It’s a dinosaur world. But are there no dragons?”
“As far as we know, there aren’t any dragons in this area. Perhaps deeper inside. If you want to explore, shall I assign someone to accompany you? There are many dangerous dinosaurs here.”
“No. I’d like to wander around alone.”
“Understood. Please be mindful of your safety. And do not go too deep.”
“How far exactly?”
“We’ve set up a forbidden rope deeper inside the forest. If you cross beyond that rope, you’ll become a castaway of time.”
That must be a rule written in blood. Some earlier scouting party must have crossed that line and ended up lost in time, or emerging as old men.
“Be careful. Ordinary creatures avoid the forbidden rope, but sometimes ‘something’ comes out from inside it.”
“Got it. I’ll avoid dangerous places like that.”
“We’ll be inspecting the upper chain climber.”
Yul began walking deeper into the forest.
‘It really feels like I’ve stepped into Jurassic World.’
Why did the Sky Island even exist? Why was a dinosaur world spread out in a place like this? Why did the dragons guard the Sky Island? And what did it mean that the mere existence of the Sky Island repelled threats from the outside world?
There were far too many things he didn’t understand, but for now, he decided to simply enjoy this moment that felt like stepping into a scene from a movie.
Huge reptiles flying through the sky. Enormous herbivorous dinosaurs wandering around with long necks. Cockroaches the size of a human torso.
“…There are a lot of bugs.”
And the bigger the insects got, the more disgusting they looked.
‘Ughhhhh.’
While avoiding the insects, Yul soon spotted a centipede wrapped tightly around a tree. It looked several meters long, and its sideways bulk was larger than Yul himself.
“…You’ve got to be kidding!”
The monster, which looked like it had about a hundred legs, seemed to notice Yul and raised its antennae, waving them around.
‘Gaaah! That’s disgusting!’
Just then, a massive fur-covered reptile appeared from somewhere. A predator dinosaur that might have been a tyrannosaur or an allosaur.
It looked at both Yul and the centipede.
Then, quite naturally, it lunged at the centipede and began tearing it apart to eat it.
“Crazy.”
Yul was much smaller than the centipede, and since humans probably didn’t exist here very often, it didn’t seem to recognize him as prey.
At that moment, he remembered something about invasive species. When a foreign species enters an ecosystem, predators sometimes choose not to eat it because they don’t know whether it’s edible. Yul seemed to be a similar case.
While the dinosaur was busy devouring the centipede, Yul hurried away.
“This is thrilling.”
It truly felt like he had come to the age of dinosaurs.
Then Yul noticed a rope laid out in front of him.
“Ah, this must be it.”
A thick cord had been twisted and tied between trees.
The forest beyond looked similar to this side, but from here onward, it meant danger.
Yul was about to turn around and head back when he noticed something strange.
“What is that?”
A bipedal dinosaur with completely white skin. It was clearly different from the raptors.
For one thing, it was plumper, and its mouth had something like a beak.
Two long, flashy feathers—like those of a bird-of-paradise—grew from its forehead. The kind that might be attached to the top of Lü Bu’s helmet.
The creature had a backpack on its back and was holding a letter in its mouth.
Pirru?
“What?”
Without hesitation, the creature hopped right over the forbidden rope.
Then it walked up to Yul and gently placed the letter in front of him.
“…Is this for me?”
It moved very slowly, as if it had no hostility at all, and it was a rather cute-looking dinosaur.
Whether it understood Yul’s words or not, it only blinked its eyes.
Yul picked up the letter immediately and unfolded it.
[I am you! Do not come in here under any circumstances!]
“What?”
What??
This plump dinosaur with flashy feathers on its head that couldn’t even understand speech is me?
[If you’re the idiot I know, you’re probably thinking something like: “This plump dinosaur with flashy feathers on its head that couldn’t even understand speech is me?”]
“…This bastard?”