Chapter 136 – Cube (Two)
Chapter 136 – Cube (Two)
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone was at a loss for words.
The pedals spinning at a ferocious speed, as if motorized, were enough to evoke an instant sense of dread.
Was it just his imagination?
From the violent rotation, it felt as if he could sense the hatred and resentment the pedals had accumulated from being trampled by countless feet since coming into this world.
“Uh, uh… We need to stop this first….”
Philip shoved a tree branch he had picked up between the pedals, but…
Crrrrack!
He could only stare blankly at the branch, now reduced to a stump, in an instant.
For some reason,
even if he had shoved something like an iron pipe in there, the result likely wouldn’t have been any different.
Swish.
Ray removed his hand from the frame he was holding.
‘I infused too much Mana.’
In the same feeling of filling a person’s Vessel with emotion to the brim, he had repeated ‘just a little more’ to himself and failed to control the amount.
Griririririririk────!
The pedals would naturally stop once the Mana was depleted to a certain level.
The problem, however, was…
“…….”
the fierce black smoke billowing from the pedals.
Ray’s gaze slowly followed the smoke upward.
Wondering if it might be possible, he concentrated his mind.
But the black smoke paid no heed to the boy’s command, rising languidly toward the clouds.
It was only natural.
The black smoke was not Mana itself, but a byproduct of Mana.
‘Is there a way to eliminate the black smoke? Or perhaps… remove the Black Cloud itself.’
Then the sky would clear, making it easier to find the Rainbow that was supposedly hanging somewhere, wouldn’t it?
Just as the boy’s thoughts were about to stretch further and further…
Griririririririk────!
The sound of the pedals snapped him back to reality.
“J-Jeffrey! It’s Jeffrey!”
“Uh… Is the name of this wonderful iron frame currently spewing vehement hatred toward the world ‘Jeffrey’?”
Ray offered a solution to the three people panicking before Jeffrey’s wrath.
“It will stop if you leave it alone.”
Then he turned his head and surveyed Nero Bell Square, which he had designated as the primary destination within Sector 37.
A massive, splendid fountain.
Sturdy benches placed here and there.
The sound of musical instruments and passersby filled with positive emotions.
As expected for a location situated in the heart of the sector, it was incredibly bustling and presented a typical scene.
…That is to say,
if one excluded the single building that was commandeering all attention at the center of the square.
It was a cube-shaped building made of smooth black marble.
Its height and width were each about 3 meters.
With no entrance or windows whatsoever, it gave off an impression closer to an artificial structure than a building.
‘They said it’s called the Cube.’
Ray thought.
It was like a giant had painstakingly carved a die without any markings.
That was Ignis’s branch, said to exist only in sectors above a certain number.
“Jeffrey! Calm down! I understand how you feel, but this isn’t solving anything!”
“We probably need to extract and reduce the infused Mana, but you, you’re thrashing about so much we can’t even get close.”
Letting the conversation from beside him flow in one ear and out the other, Ray pulled something out from his pocket.
Rustle.
John and Skyle’s Black Cards.
A circuit-like golden pattern was embedded in the corner; the shapes of the two cards were similar yet different.
Like human fingerprints.
It was a mark indicating who the currently registered owner of the card was.
Curiosa had said it like this.
「As long as you have the card, you can enter the interior.」
「However, withdrawing money has slightly stricter conditions. You need to know the password, and you must be in a state registered as the card’s owner.」
Listening to her, Ray asked.
「It’s peculiar that the branches are only in the most bustling places of the sector. I thought money would be accessed in a more secretive and clandestine manner.」
「That’s─」
Curiosa said with a smirk.
「─so that many people can see. Who the card’s owner is. How much money they’re withdrawing.」
Ray immediately grasped the meaning of her words.
「So they’ve intentionally made it easy for money to be stolen.」
「Right. Whoever created Ignis has quite the nasty taste.」
She also said it was dangerous to take the card out carelessly outside.
The registration pattern could be easily altered through a technician.
Meaning, practically speaking, if you just knew the password, you could seize and use someone else’s card.
「I think Ignis intentionally made the pattern flimsy. To make alteration easy.」
She said there were many such speculations.
That they might be aiming for situations where the card is permanently lost by deliberately inducing conflict.
「That makes sense. After all, money that ultimately can’t be retrieved becomes Ignis’s property.」
Nevertheless, many people deposited their money with Ignis.
「Thanks to the card payment system built throughout the 30-numbered sectors. You can pay by card in most stores. There’s no need to carry heavy money around.」
Because of the overwhelming convenience, the number of users was never small.
“…….”
Ray replayed the conclusion of the conversation.
Ultimately, it meant that to use Ignis, you needed not only a lot of money but also the power to protect it.
In other words,
the power to lightly fend off those glinting gazes scattered throughout the square over there.
‘I can see seven for now.’
One reading a newspaper on a bench.
Three repeatedly circling the square.
One watching a musical performance.
Two sitting at a table drinking coffee.
The seven, who at a glance looked like ordinary passersby, were continuously glancing toward the Cube.
Ray was certain they were the ones targeting the cards.
Because a black Mana was uniformly undulating within their Vessels.
The associated emotion was.
‘Malice.’
The intent to harm others.
Just as the method of coloring black Mana wasn’t singular, the associated emotions differed slightly each time.
But the general tenor was similar.
And Ray had found two words in the dictionary that could collectively refer to those emotions with common attributes.
Malice, and fear.
‘Those people aren’t particularly displaying fear.’
Furthermore, the black Mana was exhibiting a phenomenon of sharply pointing its edge toward the Cube at the center of the square.
Not in the form of a tightly packed ball, but rather.
So it was malice, not fear.
‘No Rings are visible.’
While riding the rickshaw, he had seen a few Wizards on the street.
Three 1st Circle.
One 2nd Circle.
But there were none among the seven men.
And even considering the entire square.
‘Seeing them exchange glances, they’re all in the same group for now.’
Is the number of personnel just that?
Could there be more groups they belong to?
Given their somewhat systematic appearance, the latter possibility seemed high.
According to the vagabonds, four major forces were said to be dividing the underworld of Sector 37.
Were they members of those groups?
Many thoughts and judgments busily went back and forth in the boy’s head.
That to avoid unnecessarily drawing attention, the number of times entering the Cube must be minimized.
That since they first needed to find a broker to alter the cards, there was no immediate need to enter the Cube.
…But that curiosity and the desire for investigation were throwing a tantrum inside his Vessel.
After weighing and examining many variables, the boy opened his mouth.
“Philip, Veronica. Could you go ahead and secure lodging? With the rickshaw driver.”
The answer came from another direction.
Griririririririririk────!
Jeffrey’s rampage was concluded when Ray retrieved the Mana, lowering the elemental concentration inside the frame.
The rickshaw driver, Jang, wore a face that seemed deeply shocked to discover this side of his old friend.
“Then… we’ll be off.”
“Driver. You’ve put the gloves on the bicycle handles, not on your hands.”
“Yes, we’ll be off.”
“You’ve put them on completely the wrong way.”
The rickshaw carrying Philip and Veronica disappeared down the street.
Ray immediately sprang into action.
First, he entered a clothing store near the square, chose the most plain and nondescript clothes he could find, and headed for the fitting room.
Rustle. Rustle.
After changing quickly, he looked at the mirror inside the fitting room.
“…….”
A boy with white hair and pupils was looking back at him.
Whoong—
Along with the blooming Mana, his hair and pupils dyed black.
Black hair, black eyes.
A common type seen on the streets.
It wasn’t that he had actually dyed them.
It was a simple illusion-type Magic that could deceive the eyes of ordinary people.
Thud—
And when he additionally put on the round glasses he had borrowed from Philip, in the mirror was…
“Perfect.”
To anyone looking, it was Ray standing there.
The high prescription made his eyes a bit dizzy, but it was manageable.
Satisfied with his own disguise skills, the black-haired boy gave a small nod and left the fitting room.
“Could you hold onto these changed clothes for a little while?”
“Ah, uh…? Yes? O-of course.”
The store owner, flustered by Ray’s changed appearance, nonetheless accepted the clothes.
Drrrrr—
Ray exited without delay.
Pulling up the hood attached to his top, he strode purposefully toward the Cube.
Tap— tap— tap—
Among the many people coming and going in the square, no one paid any special attention to the boy with an ordinary appearance that could be seen anywhere on the streets.
That is, except for the few harboring impure intentions.
Tap— tap—
Without stopping his steps, Ray watched the movements of the seven men out of the corner of his eye.
He saw the emotions of thick excitement and agitation sloshing in their Vessels.
‘They’ve recognized that I’m heading precisely for the Cube.’
His movement trajectory was clearly different from that of the ordinary residents who passed by the Cube nonchalantly.
The frequency of the seven pairs of eyes glancing increased as he got closer to the Cube.
Tap— tap— thud.
When he stopped in front of the Cube, they now stared blatantly at him, not even considering looking elsewhere.
…The black Mana was surging roughly, as if they had found prey.
Ray deliberately took his time in his actions, observing the Cube.
“…….”
Smooth black marble.
On it, white lines appearing as natural patterns stretched out in all directions like lightning.
Where the lines clustered, it vaguely looked like clouds at a glance.
How to put it.
The impression that it was a structure impossible to create with the current level of technology was strong.
‘The enemies don’t seem to plan to rush in immediately.’
Even though he spent a considerable amount of time observing, the seven men showed no particular external reaction.
It wasn’t certain yet.
Whether he was truly a user of Ignis.
And it wouldn’t be easy to start trouble in a crowded square.
However, in contrast to their somewhat calm exterior, the enemies’ emotions were showing violent fluctuations.
From expectation, excitement, greed.
To bewilderment, suspicion, doubt.
To meet the audience’s expectations, Ray pulled out a Black Card from his pocket and held it up.
──!
……!
Surprise, excitement, conviction.
The emotions of the men, who had been about to turn their heads toward disappointment, hastily made a U-turn.
Swish.
He put the card back into his pocket.
……?
…….
Doubt, suspicion, confusion.
The men’s emotions faltered.
Swish!
This time, he pulled out two Black Cards.
────!
…………!
Extreme excitement and shock.
Their emotions surged to twice what they were before.
Swish.
He put them back in.
………?
……….
Confusion, bewilderment, tension.
Their emotions faltered to twice what they were before.
Ray showed off his skill of quickly putting the cards in and out of his pocket, observing the men’s violent emotional changes for quite a while.
─That, that fucking bastard…!
─He’s definitely messing with us, right?
Finally, as one of the enemies, whose anger had exploded, was about to get up and charge over, Ray pressed the card against the Cube’s wall surface.
Then.
Whoong!
Ray’s form distorted and he was instantly sucked into the Cube.
Among the passersby.
Nothing remained in the spot where the boy had been standing.
The sensation of being sucked somewhere and tumbling was a familiar feeling.
‘Spatial movement.’
But from the complete absence of throbbing pain or nausea, he could tell.
That the current movement was occurring through a pre-established, sturdy spatial passage.
It was similar to entering Curiosa’s Cabin without any aftereffects.
However, whether it was crossing a much greater distance, the movement showed no sign of ending yet.
‘*Isn’t this movement into the interior of the Cube that was just in front of me?’
Curiosa hadn’t told him anything about the Cube’s interior.
She had only thrown out a meaningful remark that he would understand once he experienced it.
Then at a certain moment.
The sensation of his body shaking stopped.
Simultaneously, the light that had enveloped his vision began to recede.
A voice came from ahead.
[Soul recognition complete. Welcome on your 2nd visit. User No. 1. Your current location is Business Office No. 23.]
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Bruh did he reincarnate?