Hermit Wizard

The Curtain Rises (3)

I waited for a while and opened the container door again. Expecting the rotten smell, I covered my nose.

-Kheeeeeek!

Three Waterbirds came out of the door, exuding satisfaction.

Just because its physiology was like a wild animal didn’t mean that its intelligence was also at the animal level. Waterbirds of Decay had enough intelligence to understand the terms of the contract and demand the price. They hovered around me and asked to return.

In response, I opened the Channel on my chest and returned the Waterbirds to their original dimension.

“Hmm…”

I looked around inside the container where the remains were scattered and thought. If the decay persisted, it would be dangerous since the container was filled with gas.

“The Sigh of Melcos!”

Rotting meat fluids and decomposed tissues that were left throughout the container froze in an instant.

“Have those guys already been absorbed into the Mapo Bridge Channel?”

Parvache listened to me and replied.

[… I don’t know how many souls get sucked into the Channel. Even after being sucked in, there is no basis for concluding that the Truth-Seeker will eat the souls. There could be other uses. It might be aiming at increasing the total amount of souls in that dimension.]

There was nothing for sure.

I closed the door again after checking the inside that became a freezer container. Then, I made it small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

“It will be bothersome to clean.”

It wasn’t easy to stretch and shrink objects that size at will. Although that container might seem plain at first glance, it was a pretty expensive artifact. I couldn’t throw it away after using it once. I’d wash it well and use it again.

The container that was going to be used to transport the Guardians of the Great Convention’s bodies and to decay and dissolve three cattle alive fit into my backpack.

“Today’s work ends here. Let’s go home.”

I pulled out the artifact made of Maek’s Copper and rummaged through the dreams stored in it. There were many kids in the apartment complex in the new city where I moved. It wasn’t uncommon for little children to dream of flying in the sky.

The residents of this neighborhood, where I had newly built a nest, might have begun to realize that they hadn’t been able to dream well these days. Actually, they couldn’t remember that they had a dream.

That got me thinking if we should use it that day.

While I was extracting the dreams in the Maek’s Copper, Parvache spoke.

[There should be a response this time.]

“If there isn’t any, we’ll be in big trouble.”

If the Guardians of the Great Convention had no response even after such an uproar, there were preliminary plans for the situation. But that wasn’t the scenario I wanted. They had to take the bait here slowly to make my move easier. It would make my stage appearance neat and tidy.

“We’ve laid enough double track for Kim Kyung-hwan. Even though he’s far ahead of others, now that he has successfully finished his debut stage this time, we should move on to the next one.”

All the leading actors gathered, and the script was written. The curtain would rise on the next stage in the scene where the audience gathered in Hun-neung with the aim of Kim Kyung-hwan.

[Fortunately, it ended well without an accident.]

“Yeah. No matter how much I communicated with my mind, I couldn’t control every drop or two of the decay liquid. Fortunately, Kim Kyung-hwan didn’t get hurt, and it ended well.”

I’d worked so hard, so I’d be in trouble if he got hurt or died.

[I didn’t know he would move so easily like that.]

Yes, Kim Kyung-hwan was really satisfied today. That guy was a good actor—a great actor who didn’t even realize that he was moving according to the script.

[He even had no fear. As soon as the cows saw the Waterbirds, they were terrified. But even if he got your help, how can he step out in front of them without knowing that his life was worth it?]

“Well, he must be crazy?”

[Hmmm…]

“Honestly, it’s strange that Kim Kyung-hwan believes in ‘Eraser’ so much that he has no doubts. Objectively speaking, he’s from an unknown alien race that appears in his dream. He indeed taught Kim Kyung-hwan magic, but still…”

[I’m glad he’s a simple-minded guy. I can’t believe he follows so well just by stimulating the desire we saw in his dream.]

“Do people end up believing what they want to believe? Still, if I were him, I would have doubted it once.”

Yes, if it were me, I’d be suspicious, especially when an alien race appeared out of nowhere in my dreams and turned me into the most talented wizard on Earth, only to make me do their bidding.

Kim Kyung-hwan was different from me.

“It’s probably because he has so much desire. Sweet words sway him, and he can’t see the reality.”

I, who didn’t believe anyone that much, was built with a way of thinking that started with suspicion. Why hadn’t I ever doubted? I looked sideways at Parvache as I realized the dream.

The timing was so exquisite in the first place.

One night a Channel opened on my chest. Unfortunately, before the night was over, the magic that I unconsciously unleashed was the summoning magic. The one caught in that magic was the one who reached the extreme of magic, the one who knew how to get out of the Truth-Seeker’s reach, and the one who had access to the Akashic Records. The spirit without flesh.

It said that I had tremendous magical talent, and I faithfully followed it to do whatever was instructed. In this regard, I was no different from Kim Kyung-hwan.

I was eight years old at that time, so I had no choice but to believe. However, ten years had passed since then. Until the Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest touched the bottom of my consciousness, I never had doubts.

[Anyway, the subject was amazingly chosen.]

“You’re right. How common in the world would be a promising Transcendental Wizard in the future?”

While responding, I recalled what Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker had said to Parvache.

-Do you belong with him? Since you’re a family and a mental body, you must have looked into the heart of this guy. What is this human’s name?

Parvache was bound by a contract of authority with me. He had access to my heart because I had already allowed it. There had also been times when it took control of my body for a while in my consciousness. Most of them were taken to protect me when I lost my mind and was left defenseless.

I was paying attention to two facts now – Parvache, who could see into my heart, and ‘Absolute Trust,’ which was underneath my heart.

Would believing that there was no connection between the two really be rational?

And as my thoughts on Parvache deepened, I could feel another new question grabbing my head and shaking.

“Let’s go back, Parvache.”

Parvache. I silently repeat the name in my mouth.

Soul Warrior Parvache. It was a name from a cartoon I liked when I was young—a fictitious name created by humans.

As a child, I thought that the spirit in my toys was Parvache, and I had been calling it by that name. I didn’t remember the details, but it seemed that Parvache had never even asked for a different name.

Then… what the hell…

What was Parvache’s ‘real name’?

***

The moment a new dimension emerged, the soul was already there in a vortex that enabled circulation and the repetitive basis of life for the mortal. It was a huge system that absorbed, erupted, and repeated the reincarnation of souls, watching the birth and disappearance of life existing in that world.

Often referred to as the ring of reincarnation, it was an early providence that neither Truth-Seeker nor Gods could understand or touch its principles.

When a dimension was created, the absolute total amount of souls given was different. The Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest recalled when it first stepped into this place.

As soon as it crossed the dimension and the sky’s color changed, it identified the ring of reincarnation. And it was forced to shudder with the rising disappointment and despair.

In front of its eyes, it could see the native races that would become the founders of civilization, but there was no room left to look at them in detail at first.

It wasn’t until it thought about it much that the Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker realized that it had already woken up.

‘Why? Why did I wake up already?’

It turned its gaze inside and made its body artificial. It checked the condition, and it was curious, knowing that it needed more sleep.

It soon noticed why. What made the Truth-Seeker’s consciousness, who had not yet awakened, clear again was the energy of some change felt outside.

‘Did the Heart Fish run away from the barrier again? No. It’s not that…’

The Truth-Seeker found the answer.

‘A Channel is closed.’

What was closed was not a Channel created by it, but a Channel that a Truth-Seeker who occupied a higher dimension than this place broke through the dimension barrier and forcibly opened.

The Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker quit since it became annoyed after remembering how long ago the Channel had been created.

It didn’t matter when it opened. It wasn’t important to guess how many souls had been stolen through that Channel so far. The only thing that really mattered was the simple fact that the Channel was closed.

It was evident that Channels that had already been opened would be closed.

‘That dimension has evolved one step further.’

There was a ladder connecting the first and second floors. If the difference in height between the two floors were reasonable, the ladder would be firmly supported. What if the height of the first floor remained the same and only the second floor rose high? The ladder can no longer hold and fall.

That was what happened at that moment.

‘It means the other side’s level has risen to the point it can’t be connected to this side by a Channel anymore.’

The Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest felt a rising emotion. A lot of emotions passed by, but the thickest of them was jealousy.

‘I thought that if I lived in the same time as eternity, all my emotions would wear out and be gone.’

A long time ago, it thought so. However, the Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker now knew. Some feelings got stronger as they exist for a longer time. That was usually the case with negative emotions.

‘Another step closer to the deity, the Truth-Seeker on that side.’

The feelings of jealousy and envy were sticky and fragrant as always. They didn’t disappear once they were in its heart.

Sometimes, the thoughts, emotions, and sensations were mixed and confused throughout the distant years of existence. The Truth-Seeker couldn’t tell whether it was physical pain, an inexcusable thought, or a desirable and dizzying feeling that had been felt before, or if it was all three.

‘When will divinity be allowed to me?’

After all, it threw the question in its mind that had been repeated for so long. It had reached a point where counting the number repetitions had become meaningless.

It focused its mind and felt the ring of reincarnation that supported its dimension. It couldn’t touch its roots, but it could take it away as long as it didn’t interfere with the activity. In the meantime, the soul had grown considerably. Excluding all the useless souls, it was the same even if it counted the souls of the native race.

The Truth-Seeker put down its feelings of wealth for a moment and laughed happily.

It wanted to absorb the increased amount right away, but it hadn’t finished expanding its bowl yet.

‘I need more sleep.’

The ring of reincarnation that it witnessed first upon coming to this dimension was originally too small and shabby.

The number of mortals that could be born on this level was bound to be limited. The only thing that could increase the population indefinitely with reproduction was low-level life without the soul’s concept.

Under these conditions, creatures that satisfied their level would naturally evolve toward low fertility levels. The absolute number of individuals developing to the level of the native race would be small. Thus, the small number would hinder the development of civilization. The rate at which the soul grows slows.

The same was true even if a native race with high fertility was brought from another dimension and released. The Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest had already seen the case of the Ashpim Giant. It would be gradually assimilated under the influence of the rings of reincarnation in that dimension.

As soon as the Truth-Seeker realized that, it stopped thinking of doing anything with the creatures here.

From then on, the mortals in its own dimension weren’t the interest of the Truth-Seeker. No matter what civilization they formed, how they died and killed each other, whether or not alien races from different levels invaded, the Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker cut off all his interest.

He directed all of his interest to collecting poems and songs every now and then to relieve his sense of boredom that had existed for a long time.

So, Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest, “The Song of Chaos,” realized that it had to get into the fight. Through precise control of the dimensional barrier, a long work of increasing the soul of the dimension by defending the outflow and accelerating the inflow of the souls.