Hermit Wizard

Chapter 16

Taking a Risk to be Safer (3)

When I returned home, I talked to Parvache about the strange phenomena I witnessed, but he couldn’t come up with the right answer about it. He looked relatively calm in contrast to me, who was making a fuss. Compared to the case where hundreds of channels were suddenly opened in one dimension, humans whose magical circuits were regenerated wasn’t shocking news at all.

That was possible, and he seemed to believe in that theory. However, when looking at the incident’s timing, we both agreed that it was clearly related to the random Channel opening yesterday.

“The battery replacement has been completed.”

I spoke sarcastically, but Parvache responded casually.

[Turn on the news.]

“…It’s all breaking news for the past two days anyway, no matter what channel you’re on…”

[Isn’t it an ? Turn somewhere else.]

‘Yes, I am your servant.’

I turned the channel while grumbling inside. Wasn’t I the only wizard in the world? Then what am I doing? I’m sitting cooped up in my house with my talking robot and magic teacher, Parvache. ‘I’m the only wizard’ was now an old story. A way to interact with the inhabitants of another dimension had been opened. People whose original Mana circuits degenerated were now resonating. The obstacles that magic didn’t spread in this world had been resolved.

Yes, the faster humanity learned magic, the higher the odds against a hostile race. Even if I don’t have to step out, they will cope well—what a good thing. Then, a sharp siren sound began to blare outside the window.

-Whoo-wee-whoo-whee!

“Huh?”

It’s a sound I heard only on civil defense training days, but it was much louder than usual. At the same time, a disaster text flew into my cell phone. I had it once, and I thought I’m well prepared.

-[Emergency Disaster Message] An abnormal situation occurred near Mapo Bridge at 12:54. Seoul citizens, please refrain from going out.

***

Before long, live broadcast videos of Mapo Bridge began to fill every channel. Changes were seen on the Mapo Bridge Channel, which had been quiet for a day. The shape changed to a circle like yesterday, and the blue cross-section shook as if boiling violently.

[The second wave is coming.]

Shortly after Parvache finished speaking, a giant began to walk out of the Channel. This time, it wasn’t alone—two more stepped out in a row behind it. And the moment the third giant pushed its huge head into this world.

-Boom! Bang bang!

The cannons fired one after another from the tanks that surrounded the Channel.

“Ngggooooo!”

The screams of giants resonated. The first two giants were shot, their flesh and blood bursting apart were captured on the camera. Judging from the sound’s vibration, it seemed that they let out their sonar attacks. Still, fortunately, there were no soldiers nearby. It looked like they had evacuated early after seeing signs of the Channel moving. After yesterday’s experience, the military desperately learned the Ashpim Giant’s dangers. It seemed that they had ordered an immediate attack if something similar came out.

-Boom!

The last giant’s huge, elongated forehead, which only pushed its head out of the Channel, was also hit, resulting in a big hole. It was a brainless soundbox; the giant wouldn’t have died if it were pierced. It screamed and quickly pulled its head back into the Channel, and only the first two were left in this world.

-Boom! Bang bang!

As the cannons set fired in a row, the remaining two giants stumbled, fell, and eventually stopped moving. It was an overwhelming victory less than five minutes after the giants appeared. The news anchor spoke excitedly.

-Dear Viewers! As you can see, the giant creatures attacked by the Republic of Korea were neutralized. Judging from the fact that they stopped moving completely, they seem to be dead!

“Ohh! Good, good.”

Clap clap!

Amazed, I clapped my hands, but Parvache spoke in a tingling voice.

[Why are you so loud?]

“Hey, let’s give them a big hand. They’re doing great. They shoot the giants as soon as they get out. They beat the giants even before they come to my barrier. Of course, I’ll clap for them! Way to go, soldier! Keep working! Work hard!”

[What’s so great? …It was only active soldiers doing their duty properly.]

A robot spoke with sarcasm to me as if it were military personnel.

“…You know so much about this world.”

I didn’t think it mattered if the Earth records weren’t listed on Akashic Records forever. It should have had a lot of knowledge. Even after two giants fell to the floor and were completely out of action, the tanks remained in place. However, some strange tanks stood out among them. Most tanks were fixed facing the Channel, but some rotated at an angle as if they were trying to intercept the air differently. It’s as if they were on the lookout for aerial defenses.

Now that I see it, it seemed that a few tanks that carried surface-to-air missiles were mixed and deployed in the first place. No matter how tall a monster was, wasn’t that too high and too far? How did I know about this? This was also because of Parvache. When it couldn’t get the world’s knowledge through Akashic Records, it had no choice but to acquire knowledge through encyclopedias, the internet, and TV. And when Parvache was still unable to move, I had to hand over a book, turn a mouse wheel, or flip through the channels all day.

Parvache paid a lot of attention to the armed forces’ system in this world without magic, and I, who looked over its shoulder, now knew what weapons were. The anchor soon answered my question. It seems that these tanks were not arranged only to guard the Channel.

-Yes, even though both giants are neutralized, the military forces near Mapo Bridge seem to remain vigilant. If you look at the screen, you can also see many aerial defense weapons. Like yesterday, it appears that they are simultaneously carrying out an operation in preparation for the appearance of flying creatures with black wings.

Ah, So, I was the main culprit. Those air defense weapons seemed to have been deployed just like yesterday in case cows, no, the Waterbirds of Decay were flying. In fact, what happened yesterday in Korea, regardless of the size of the damage, caught the world’s attention because the Waterbirds flew in from the sky rather than the Channel.

The fact that the Waterbirds appeared as an unidentified entity was also a problem, and the whereabouts of where they had disappeared seems to be a big issue. All the people were trembling with extreme anxiety without notice that they appeared on the roof of an average apartment in Mok-dong and returned to their original dimensions. It was because they didn’t know whether those mysterious creatures that quickly melted a giant over 10 meters tall would reappear and attack.

“It’s all useless worries.”

I clicked my tongue while looking at the footage of the Waterbirds. The army was holding the giants so well. Why would I send the Waterbirds again? However, from the people’s perspective, there was no way to know that they were under my control.

“You don’t have to prepare everything like that. They aren’t harmful.”

As I muttered, the data screen was turned over, and there was a scene where dozens of Waterbirds were spraying a white liquid over the Han River bridge all at once yesterday. The anchor’s comment followed the screen in the background.

-The fluid that those flying creatures sprayed into the giant yesterday rapidly decomposes biological tissue. The government estimated that the mass death of fish and shellfish in the lower Han River, Ganghwa Island, and the coast of Incheon Port, which has continued for the second day, is due to this toxic liquid that fell over the Han River yesterday.

-Accordingly, the government announced through an urgent announcement that the use of Han River water for the Arisu factory and any other purpose would be prohibited.

-Some analysis showed that the damage caused by black-winged creatures is more significant than that of giant creatures if environmental damage, excluding human damage and property damage such as farms, is considered. The more severe problem is that it is not even clear whether the contaminated river and seawater can ever be restored…

“…”

[…]

Since I sprayed enough to decay the body of a 10-meter tall giant, it seemed that a lot of it fell into the Han River. The spray was spouting like water, but of all things, it was on the bridge. To be honest, I didn’t expect this to happen. I didn’t think the power to decompose organic material would be maintained even after mixing with water.

Looking at the screen’s data, it seems that the dilution in the river and seawater wasn’t enough to melt the flesh and bones of living things like the Ashpim Giant. However, it was still enough to kill small creatures such as fish and marine flora. I spoke as I thought that I should test the limitations of the amount of decay that the Waterbird produced.

“…I didn’t care because the decay liquid would disappear spontaneously if it didn’t react with living things.”

[Even though it’s diluted, the power doesn’t disappear completely, the decaying continues because it’s mixed with the river water, and it keeps spreading.]

“If I leave it as it is, it won’t disappear, will it?”

[It’s not just fish in the water. If it reacts with something like green algae and keeps it decomposed, it will keep spreading…]

At this rate, I will destroy not only a race but also the Earth’s ecosystem.

“I’ll have to deal with that…”

[Do you really have to?]

Parvache reacted sensitively.

“Of course, I should do it in a way that my identity will not expose. I’m not saying that I’m going to go to the Han River and cleanse it right away, so don’t become so serious.”

[Well, then…]

Neglecting the Channels of other countries was different from ignoring the environmental disasters I had committed. In a situation where the decomposing power was unknown, it was impossible to know how far the damage would escalate. To be more selfish, I can’t sleep when the rivers and seas near me were polluted.

[What are you going to do?]

“Isn’t it the fastest way to spray the artifacts enchanted with purification magic in the rivers and the sea?”

[Rivers were no problem, but how do you bring artifacts to the sea? You won’t go out of the barrier, and even if you summoned anything, you wouldn’t be able to control it that far.]

“If neither the one I summoned nor I can do it, I should get the help of someone who can do it. Let’s see…ah, thank God, that person is in Seoul.”

Parvache nodded as if it knew what I was talking about. After I finished speaking, I climbed the stairs leading to my house’s third floor. Due to my apartment’s structure, the ceiling’s height was only about 2.5 meters. However, the stairs I climbed keep going up to a floor that couldn’t actually exist inside my house.

The length of the stairs was a scale that couldn’t be found in an 80-meter square house. In the first place, the interior structure of each household in this apartment was single-story. There couldn’t be a three-story duplex in one house. Arriving on the third floor, I opened the inside warehouse door and started searching inside.

“Let’s see…aha! Luckily, we have some stock of low-grade elixir. Actually, the appointed day is next week, but I can go to see my client tomorrow. Oh shit, going out for three days in a row. It is a new record after the barrier was completed. Why is that damn Channel in Seoul? Why is it so hard for me?”

Parvache answered in my head from the first floor.

[Anyway, your life is twisted because of the Channel in your chest. Compared to the hardships you do because of the Channel attached to your body, it’s like nothing.]

“…Thank you very much for reminding me.”

I took a green glass bottle out of the warehouse and came back down to the first floor.

[But can you not see your client today? Why tomorrow?]

I shrugged and said.

“I am a man who knows manners.”