Chapter 1252 – 1252. Dark Moon
Pop.
I pulled the cork off the bottle and downed the drug.
Thump!
My heart pounded violently.
The mana inside my body leaked out, and my astral, the so-called spirit of a mage, was forcibly opened. The mana that escaped my body felt like a second sense. Even without sensory organs, I had the illusion of feeling touch, smell, and sight.
It didn’t stop there.
The sensation of mana became even more sensitive. After becoming increasingly sensitive, it became something beyond sensation.
It was as if the world was breaking, mixing, creating, and breaking again.
Fifty mana rods were forcibly activated, and my astral expanded and contracted repeatedly. It felt like the world was falling into a black hole and squirming. And at some point, the sensation of my physical body disappeared.
Normally, one’s ego would be swept away in such a situation. The astral is the spirit, and that spirit is melting and being stirred like a dead slime, so it would be strange to maintain one’s ego. The problem was that this strange thing was happening to me.
Inside the astral, which was repeating contraction and expansion, rotation and reverse rotation, only my spirit remained unshaken and intact.
Taking Playload was a gamble of a lifetime for me, and it seemed I had won the gamble.
Playload.
The most dangerous awakening drug in this world, it has three nicknames.
Common people call Playload the last pleasure. This is because if ordinary people take the undiluted solution, they will die 100% of the time.
The second nickname is the source of inspiration. The people who seek Playload the most are artists. It is said that if you take Playload, inspiration will come. This rumor has spread among artists.
And the last, third nickname is 5% hope.
It is the hope of mages who are blocked by a wall. There is a 5% chance of breaking through the wall. That rumor is circulating among mages. Whether it’s actually 5% is unknown. But the rumor that you can break through the wall if you use this absurd awakening drug well was true. I am proving it now.
“…Kuhhhh….”
Was that my voice?
My senses are so messed up that I’m not sure. All I can see now is a world that has been broken down to dust. The world begins to be rebuilt as if someone is assembling it.
I don’t know if I’m sitting on the floor or hanging upside down from the ceiling. I have no physical sensation. How did I move my fingers? How did I breathe? What was sexual desire?
I erased all the questions that came to mind and focused on my astral.
The jumbled astral is still repeating contraction and expansion. It was a normal reaction. What I had to do was organize the astral. I had to organize it so that useless things wouldn’t take root. If there was too much useless information, my brain would be like it was put in a microwave.
Crack!
How much time had passed? Cracks began to appear in the astral that had been repeating contraction and expansion. I quietly looked at the cracked part. The thin crack grew larger and then shattered with a clang.
My ego was intact, so the astral didn’t collapse. The astral slowly repaired the broken part.
I peered beyond the broken part.
I saw the culmination of a huge formula. I couldn’t understand it in my current state, but it was as big as the sun.
As soon as I saw it, I instinctively knew what it was. The source of magic, the Overmind.
I wanted to understand it more, but the astral’s repair was complete. And the astral regained its stability. I had crossed the wall.
“……”
I opened my eyes.
I saw a cold, gray floor. I was sitting with my head buried. And I smelled a foul odor. I had thrown up. I saw blood that hadn’t mixed with the vomit. It was a nosebleed. My nose was still bleeding profusely.
“…What a mess.”
I got up. My body was trembling. My astral had reached level 5, but my body was still at level 4, so they were not balanced. The side effects of the imbalance were manifesting through my body.
“Congratulations. You’ve reached level 5. I never thought you were level 4… Your thoroughness is amazing, but now, your talent for breaking through the 5% chance and reaching level 5 is even more amazing. How do you feel?”
“I feel like throwing up.”
I closed my eyes and observed my body. Fifty mana rods. It was the same as when I was level 4. Normally, when you reach level 5, you should have at least 80 mana rods.
In other words, my state was not normal.
‘But my astral has reached level 5. My output will be lower than other level 5 mages… but I can cover that with casting speed through the moment, and I can use difficult level 5 magic without conditions.’
[Water]
[Telekinesis]
I used two spells at the same time. I created water in the air and used telekinesis to wash my messy face. After washing my mouth, the foul odor disappeared and I felt refreshed.
“…But why did I take off my mask?”
“It’s a courtesy to you. I have witnessed your extraordinary talent. I hope to maintain a good relationship with you in the future.”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Louis Billstein. I was a special agent of the Highst Empire, and now I work for Billstein Corporation.”
“……”
I wasn’t particularly surprised. It was the identity I had expected.
“What is your name?”
“Are you kidding? You should know my name.”
“That’s not your name, it’s a number. Do you not have a name? If you don’t mind, would you allow me the honor of giving you a name?”
“Don’t say such creepy things. My name is… Eugene. My name is Eugene.”
Louis nodded with a disappointed look.
“I thought the name Adolf would suit you well… It’s a shame. Of course, the name Eugene also suits you well.”
“……”
I closed my eyes. I needed to observe my body. After checking my condition for a while, Louis spoke to me as if he was bored.
“Your body doesn’t seem normal. Are you okay?”
“The imbalance between the astral and the body is the cause. I just need to take time to adjust.”
“Hmm. That’s a relief. But have you made any allies?”
“Allies?”
“I’m talking about Eugene’s colleagues. The more people you recruit, the easier the plan will be.”
I sighed without realizing it.
“…No. I’ll do it alone.”
“Hmm. That’s good. You’ll do well with your current abilities.”
The faces of my colleagues, including 212, came to mind.
If this mission succeeds, I will become a wanted criminal with a bounty higher than a terrorist. I will be chased by the Freecell Kingdom for the rest of my life. Even if I defect to another country, it was obvious that pursuers would follow.
I didn’t want to shatter their dreams. I didn’t want to give them a life of being chased forever.
‘Kill Instructor Venus and eliminate the Battle Mage Project. If the plan succeeds, they will be free. …I will bear the cost.’
I got up from my seat.
“Did you bring everything I asked for?”
“Yes. It’s in this bag. But why do you need this?”
“It has its uses. I’ll be out for a while. You stay here. You can go back if you want.”
“I’ll wait. The scenery here is quite something, so I won’t be bored.”
I left Louis behind and headed to the 11th abandoned mine.
I didn’t come to this northern village for no reason. There was something I needed to get here.
‘Originally, in the game, you had to complete eight pre-quests to get it… but reality isn’t a game. I can ignore the quests.’
I walked deeper into the abandoned mine, hitting the walls with my fist.
‘…Found it.’
[Air Boom]
Bang!
The wall collapsed, revealing a hidden passage. It was a passage that looked clean, unlike the abandoned mine. However, it was full of dust, as if it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time.
At the end of the passage, there was the first door. It was a door without a handle. I reached into the bag and took out one of the items Louis had prepared.
It was a reddish-brown copper coin. I held the coin up to the door.
Rumble.
It flashed momentarily, and the door opened.
When I went inside, I found a space that felt lived-in. I opened a drawer in the corner and took out a red potion and put it in my mouth. I had been feeling unwell since earlier, but the potion made me feel much better. I threw the empty potion bottle on the floor and went inside.
Another door without a handle appeared. This time, I took out a topaz fragment and held it up to the door.
Rumble.
The door opened.
The door opens when you hold the right ore or gem up to it. It’s easy for those who know the strategy, but it’s a nuisance for those who don’t know anything.
After that, I used ores and gems to open the doors and go inside repeatedly. The deeper I went, the more cluttered it was. I took as many potions and materials as I could. And I opened the last, eighth door using platinum and went inside.
I strode to the table at the end of the room.
‘There it is!’
The corners of my mouth turned up as I found a thick book on the table.
This was the workshop of the level 7 alchemist, McDore. The thick book was filled with his knowledge of alchemy.
‘In this world, alchemy is treated as magic. As a mage, I can also learn alchemy. The alchemy formulas are said to be ridiculously complicated… but they’re not beyond my understanding.’
I opened the book on the spot and began to study alchemy. Then, I suddenly came to my senses and took the items I needed from the drawer under the desk.
Three ampoules.
They were doping potions called Overload.
They were doping potions that were frequently used in the game, but in the setting, they had severe side effects, so I wouldn’t be able to use them as often as I did in the game.
I looked at McDore’s alchemy book and walked out of the mine.
‘Amazing. He organized it so well…’
It contained everything from basic alchemy to many secret alchemy techniques.
‘The mission period is three days. That’s more than enough time to memorize it.’
Awoooooooo.
As soon as I came out of the abandoned mine, a cold wind blew, and I heard the sound of wolves howling nearby.
‘Ah, come to think of it, there’s a werewolf near the 5th abandoned mine. I should take care of it while I’m here.’
I walked through the snowy field. Some might describe this scenery as fantastic, but to my soldier’s eyes, it was nothing more than trash.
I stopped walking. Nearly 20 wolves came running and surrounded me.
“Krrr.”
In the center of the wolves, I saw a werewolf smiling triumphantly. It was a bipedal wolf-man, 2 meters tall.
‘According to the original story, werewolves aren’t just simple monsters. They’re the result of a wolf gene going berserk.’
Werewolves were originally humans.
Well, that wasn’t important.
[Electric Field]
I stomped my foot once. Hundreds of blue electric currents shot up from the ground around me. The accumulated snow melted, and 23 wolves were electrocuted.
Even though the electric field had swept through them once, the wolves didn’t die. They shook and got up.
‘Electric Field is a level 4 spell. It shouldn’t be lacking in power… Was it affected by the werewolf?’
I raised my right hand. Telekinesis activated, pulling water and snow from the surroundings into the air. The snow and water clumped together to form 23 swords.
[Steel Alchemy]
I used a level 2 alchemy spell. The water and snow were temporarily converted into steel. 23 excellent steel swords were created in the air.
I lowered my right hand. The 23 steel swords fell on the wolves at the same time. Instant death. They pierced their necks accurately. There were no wolves left alive. The 23 steel swords turned back into snow and water and crumbled.
Now, only the werewolf was left.
[Barrier]
The werewolf’s instantaneous acceleration was not something to be ignored, so I wrapped my body in a barrier.
The werewolf, who I thought would rush at me, hesitated as soon as our eyes met. Then, it turned its back and began to run across the snowy field on all fours.
‘I can’t believe it’s running away. This is unexpected.’
I didn’t panic. This was a snowy field between abandoned mines. Even if it ran away, it wouldn’t be able to get out of my sight.
I used telekinesis to pull the falling snow from the sky and made it into bullet-sized projectiles.
[Material Conversion]
I converted the snow bullets into aluminum bullets.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 6]
Then, in the slowed-down world, I calculated the formula and drew a magic circle around the bullets.
Crack, crackle!
Intense currents of electricity sparked from the drawn blue magic circle.
I adjusted the angle of the magic circle and the bullets and raised my fist. I struck the magic circle with my fist, as if the hammer of a revolver was hitting the primer.
[Railgun]
The fired railgun split the accumulated snow to the sides and hit the werewolf. The accumulated snow scattered in all directions, and a crater was created in the ground.
KWA-A-A-A-ANG!
By the time I heard the sound, the aftereffects of the firing had already engulfed my body. The aftereffects alone tore my level 5 barrier to shreds. Fortunately, thanks to the barrier sacrificing itself, there was no direct impact on my body.
I turned my body after confirming the werewolf’s gruesome corpse from afar.
‘It was weaker than I thought.’
The railgun magic that I had devised myself was not very satisfactory. You can’t be full on the first try, but according to my calculations, the speed at which the bullets were fired should have been 1.5 times faster. I could guess the reason.
‘It’s because I have fewer mana rods than ordinary level 5 mages, so my output is lacking. Increasing the number of mana rods is my top priority.’
