Chapter 254
Side Story - Earth in Those Days (2)
When the Transfer Gates to eight worlds were opened under the Cradle's initiative, Earth was both horrified and elated by the existence of new worlds.
To think they could venture beyond Earth, where every last corner had already been claimed, and explore uncharted territory. Wasn't that the kind of story found only in fairy tales?
It was beyond comparison to the Mars terraforming project that had been under research for decades.
Even if that were achieved, the sheer time and resources required just to travel back and forth, let alone pioneer the planet, would be staggering.
By contrast, the Transfer Gates were an incomparably simpler and more stable means of travel.
All one had to do was step into an unidentified cluster of white light and, just like that, cross over to another world.
In other words, for residents living near a Transfer Gate, the other world was a closer neighbor than the foreign country next door or the city down the road.
Of course, civilians weren't actually allowed to come and go as they pleased.
If one had to find a drawback, it was that the creation and closure of these gates were entirely at the Cradle's discretion.......
Since it was already common knowledge that the Cradle was beyond anyone's control, the people of Earth turned a blind eye and chose to focus only on the interests they could claim for themselves.
Ever since Meisa had taken a nuclear missile head-on and emerged unscathed before confiscating all of China's nuclear weapons, the people of Earth had accepted that the Cradle's wizards were godlike beings no one could dare oppose.
"Sector A-3 has been assigned to the European Union."
"Hmm......."
"I really hope we get a good result."
"Let's have faith. It's essentially a lottery at this point."
Much like how Spain and Portugal had drawn lines across the Americas with the Treaty of Tordesillas during the Age of Exploration, they carved up zones of influence in the new worlds amongst themselves.
Of course, enacting the same cruel imperialist policies as that era was out of the question.
Humanity in the 21st century had not matured enough to refrain from such things for moral reasons, but it had grown smart enough to understand that such exploitation wasn't nearly as advantageous as one might think.
The Cradle's warning, or more precisely Turan's warning, that mistreating weaker worlds would have consequences, also played no small part.
And so the first Expedition Teams, armed with heavy weapons and protective suits, crossed through the Transfer Gates.
"Whoooooa!"
"Shoot, hurry!"
The other worlds were nothing short of fantastical.
Starting from places not vastly different from Earth, to worlds where everything was submerged in breathable liquid, to trees that moved on their own and suddenly strangled people.
The expedition members gunned down house-sized giants and wolves as they set up base camps.
The creatures of these other worlds were so resilient that even unleashing a barrage of firepower with heavy weapons weighing dozens of kilograms, lifted with the aid of powered exoskeletons, wasn't enough to take them down easily.
The one saving grace was that since all these worlds were inhabited, breathing posed no major issue and no mysterious diseases were going around.
Most pathogens from the other worlds already existed on Earth in treatable forms, and even if they spread to this side, they were the kind that wouldn't cause serious problems.
After fighting through all manner of hostile environments and monsters around the Transfer Gates for who knows how long, the first to make contact with other-world inhabitants was the Australian Expedition Team.
"Over there, a village!"
"Approach carefully. We don't know what kind of powers the natives here might possess."
The chances were slim, but if they wielded power as terrifyingly immense as the Cradle's wizards, hostility was absolutely out of the question.
The miracle of an overwhelmingly powerful being choosing to act with restraint was not likely to happen twice.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the villagers they contacted were weak beings whose strength was no different from that of ordinary medieval humans.
They were extremely wary of the expedition members in their protective suits, assuming they were some new breed of monster, but when offered food and communicated with through gestures, they gradually showed goodwill.
Strictly speaking, their change of heart came after they witnessed a monster that had been lurking nearby get riddled with bullets in an instant.
Demonstrating an overwhelming difference in force was the surest way to make negotiations easier.
"Does anyone here understand our language?"
"◇■-"
"Looks like we can't communicate."
"Hmm, but it doesn't seem like complete gibberish either. How do I put it... it sounds like something I've heard in passing somewhere."
After recording their conversations from the initial contact and returning home, the Australians soon discovered that the villagers' language was a somewhat modified Turkic language.
Once they hired a translator capable of basic communication, dialogue happened in no time.
"We call the place we live Nashi, and we worship gods who preside over six colors."
"Which country does this village belong to?"
"The Kingdom of Ashkiyen."
The village's elderly chief said he had studied in a city during his youth and was a literate man, which allowed the Expedition Team to learn a considerable amount of information through him.
As a result, they discovered that this was a world even more underdeveloped than the medieval fantasy settings typically represented by works like 'The Lord of the Rings'.
If one had to compare, it was closer to an ancient Roman era where magic and mythology ran rampant.
"What a dump."
"Can't help it. It's not these people's fault that their civilization didn't advance."
The problem, however, was what they could actually gain from this place.
Among those pioneering other worlds, some had already unearthed massive quantities of natural resources.
But it wasn't long before an enormous gift came to those who had been feeling disappointed.
"Y-you can use magic?"
"That's right. It may not seem like much to people like you who possess the blessing of fire, but this much, at least......."
As the old man muttered an incantation, a gust of wind rose from his hand and swept through the room.
It was hardly impressive, but it was an unmistakably unnatural phenomenon.
The old man revealed that he was merely a 1st Circle wizard of the lowest level, and that the royal court housed high-ranking wizards who wielded formidable power and warriors with transcendent combat abilities.
"Could we possibly learn magic? We'll pay whatever it takes!"
"That's not difficult at all. However, it requires various forms of training, and if you lack the aptitude, it'll all be for nothing."
"We'll take that risk."
After immediately consulting their government, the expedition members all became the old man's pupils and began training in magic.
They brought in heavy equipment to drill a well, built clean new houses, and erected concrete walls, and in return, the chief instructed his students with tremendous dedication.
"The principle of magic is twisting the fabric of the world through the power of the soul, mana, to produce phenomena. First, in order to sense it......."
Everything from theoretical instruction to meditation, to consuming medicines made from peculiar flora and fauna growing near the village, was attempted.
On top of that, they had to study everything from mathematics to art, but fortunately, since a significant number of the expedition members were not soldiers but intellectuals from various fields, they were able to keep up reasonably well.
After several months of this, it was finally revealed that two of the trainees possessed aptitude as wizards.
"Wow."
"I'm actually using magic!"
Grace, a young woman belonging to the Expedition Team, let out an exclamation as she gazed at the magic arrow that had sprung from her hand.
When she compressed wind into the projectile and fired it forward, the ground cratered visibly.
"Earth's first wizard. Congratulations, Grace."
"Don't forget about me."
"Of course not. When this gets back to Earth, it's going to be pandemonium......."
Until then, magic had been known as the exclusive domain of the otherworldly visitors from the Cradle.
At last, the people of Earth could set foot into the realm of the arcane as well.
"How exactly do you use it?"
"Think of it like there's a bowl of water somewhere inside your head, or your mind. You shake it, draw it out, and it becomes the power you can use. If you control it like a thread and form patterns......."
"The chief already explained all of that."
"But it's true, isn't it?"
After several attempts to spread their newfound understanding, they came to realize that this magical ability was strictly determined by innate talent.
Their amazement over acquiring magic was short-lived.
In the course of communicating and trading with several other villages, they made contact, through a former mercenary, with the technique of using mana to enhance the body.
The sight of a middle-aged man over fifty years old leaping to twice his own height and cleaving a log in half with a single sword strike was nothing short of shocking.
"This warrior's training method can be learned even by those without magical talent. Of course, it requires its own kind of aptitude as well."
True to his word, several expedition members who had failed to acquire magic succeeded in becoming warriors who manipulated mana in this way.
While they couldn't breathe fire or fly, the prospect of gaining superhero-like strength drew no small number of enthusiasts.
Naturally, when this news reached Earth, people went absolutely wild trying to get to the other worlds.
"I want to be a wizard too!"
"The government needs to make supernatural abilities public!"
According to what was known, the awakening of these magical abilities was only possible in other worlds.
Then again, if that weren't the case, someone on Earth should have spontaneously awakened supernatural abilities long ago.
Considering how many people had spent how many years searching for mystical powers.
Following Grace, Nashi's first wizard, the Expedition Teams pioneering multiple dimensional gates began producing ability users one after another.
The remarkable thing was that the powers they wielded operated under different systems in each world.
This led Earth's people to hypothesize that the powers they wielded might be an entirely different kind of force from what the Cradle's wizards used.
Above all, the ceiling of achievable power was vastly different.
"Is the 5th Circle the highest one can reach as a wizard?"
"There are stories of 6th Circle wizards existing among other races, but those are closer to legend. It is also said that the gods of antiquity wielded 7th Circle power."
According to the explanation, even the most powerful 5th Circle wizards in the Nashi world could, at best, incinerate a fairly large village with a single spell.
Their bodies were not much different from those of ordinary humans, and an unguarded wizard hit by a bullet would die.
Compared to the Transcendent Beings who had transformed into colossal forms and flattened San Francisco, a city incomparably larger than any medieval settlement, they were laughable.
Warriors, too, regarded reaching a level on par with those 5th Circle wizards as the pinnacle of achievement.
This was no different for those who had acquired supernatural abilities of different systems in other worlds.
Whether they commanded spirits, wielded telekinesis, or received power from gods, the peak of their strength was, at best, that of a middling superhero.
The powerful figures of Earth felt a mix of regret and relief at this fact.
"At least there's no danger of a single Earth-born superhuman dominating the planet."
"Indeed."
What would happen if ability users gained power beyond what conventional military force could suppress?
What if, for instance, they became beings like those Cradle wizards?
No one could even begin to imagine how horrifying such a future would be.
Presumably, it would herald the arrival of the most powerful and absolute dictator this planet had ever seen since its creation.
*
Decades after connecting with the other worlds.
Truly numerous changes had come to Earth.
Among them were the resolution of resource crises through the massive influx of natural resources and the economic revitalization from manufacturing goods and selling them to other worlds, but the most significant change of all was undoubtedly the supernatural abilities now in the hands of Earth's people.
As expected, not every ability user employed their power for righteous purposes alone.
In particular, illegal immigrants who had committed crimes in other worlds and fled to Earth became a major headache.
"Stop him!"
"What the..."
"He's a superhuman!"
The police officers chasing a murder suspect froze in their tracks as the man floated into the air and vaulted clean over a building to escape.
They immediately shouted into the radio.
"The suspect is an ability user! Type unknown, capable of flight!"
[Taeju's nearby, just keep chasing and relay his position.]
"Copy!"
The officers continued pursuing the building-hopping criminal and relaying his position, and before long, they confirmed that a pursuer had caught up.
The officer who appeared out of nowhere looked barely past twenty, and remarkably, he was kicking off building walls and soaring to the height of three or four stories in an instant.
It was physical ability closer to that of a beast than a human.
"Aaargh-!"
When the panicked criminal gestured, a rooftop ventilation unit was ripped free by telekinesis and hurtled toward the officer.
Given its weight and velocity, it was a vicious attack that could have crushed a body in an instant.
But the officer raised his arm, caught the chunk of metal, and used the rebound to launch himself at the criminal.
"Got you!"
The two of them tangled together and plummeted four stories to the ground. A thunderous crash echoed, yet remarkably, neither was seriously injured.
The officer who had subdued the criminal had positioned the man on top of himself, absorbing nearly all of the impact.
Letting out a long breath to shake off the shock, he called out to the other detectives rushing over.
"This bastard can use telekinesis, so you need to put the special cuffs on him. You brought them, right?"
"Of course. Man, our Officer Kim! You're the ace of aces. I thought I was watching a martial arts master."
"Well, I'm basically something like that, aren't I?"
Kim Taeju, Special Police Officer assigned to Suwon Police Station, gave his superior's fuss a lukewarm smile.
The thought that he had at least five more years of this ahead of him drew a sigh out of him all on its own.
Of course, he didn't consider this obligation to be particularly unjust.
After all, the only reason he'd been able to acquire these abilities in the first place was because his aptitude had been identified during a childhood screening, and the government had sponsored his training abroad in another world.
On top of that, he'd been given all manner of elixirs that his family's finances could never have afforded, significantly boosting his skill level.
In any case, once he was discharged, the road ahead would be smooth sailing.
With combat ability like his, whether he continued police work, went into personal security, or joined an Expedition Team, he'd never have to worry about putting food on the table.
At the very least, even doing manual labor, he was practically a walking piece of heavy equipment.
Of course, the domestic human-resource export ban meant working overseas wasn't an option.
On the drive back with the criminal fully restrained, the detective in his thirties behind the wheel glanced at Taeju through the rearview mirror and spoke.
"Come to think of it, Officer Kim, don't you have a rank assessment next month?"
"Hm? I hadn't heard about it. Is that true?"
"Yes. I was going to use some leave for it."
"A-rank at twenty-two, you're quite the catch. You might end up becoming Korea's first S-rank ability user at this rate."
"I'm still not used to the whole A-rank, S-rank thing. It reminds me of those novels that were popular when I was a kid."
The relatively younger detectives exchanged awkward smiles at the oldest detective's remark.
For them, it had been a given since they were born, so they felt nothing special about it, but for someone who had lived through the sudden emergence of this system, the feeling was bound to be a little different.
After a brief silence, Taeju, who had been keeping his mouth shut, replied to the younger detective's comment.
"That's easier said than done. It's always easy to climb the lower ranks, but getting one step higher at the top is far harder. There aren't even ten S-rank ability users in the entire world."
"Well, that's true of any field. It's easy to go from a 9 to a 5 on the college entrance exam, right? Getting from there to a 3 is the hard part."
"Is the college exam even much of an exam anymore these days?"
Leaving his superiors to ramble on about whatever tangent they'd gone off on, Kim Taeju turned his gaze to the criminal he had arrested.
Telekinesis and flight. Probably an other-world illegal immigrant who had trained in a world with a psychic-type ability system.
Looking at him now, the man was a young man around Taeju's age.
'Dark skin, Caucasian facial structure... from Ashag, maybe?'
"Where are you from?"
"......You can speak our language?"
"A little."
As a child, Taeju had toured all eight worlds connected to Earth over the course of several months, training in various abilities to determine where his strongest aptitude lay.
In the process, he had picked up a working knowledge of the languages used in each world, and thanks to the nature of the ability he had trained in, he could still remember and speak them even after all this time.
"Why come all the way to Earth just to go around killing people? With your level of power, you could've gotten a proper work visa and found employment."
"I'm a runaway slave, so I can't get a visa. That's why I snuck into Earth in secret too."
Having barely made it to Earth, he'd been exploited like a slave at a factory as an illegal immigrant, and in a fit of rage, he'd killed the man responsible and fled. The young man explained in a low voice.
Hearing this, Taeju's face twisted with displeasure.
'A runaway slave, in this day and age.'
Since a significant number of other worlds operated under strict caste systems, problems like this were all too common.
While it was unconscionable in a democratic nation, Earth refrained from actively confronting such human rights violations under the pretense of respecting the sovereignty of other-world nations.
The young alien stared blankly at the forest of skyscrapers stretching beyond the police car window and murmured.
"I envy and hate you people so much. I wish our world had merciful gods like yours."
The people of other worlds believed that Earth's people enjoyed immense power through the authority of science under the protection of merciful gods, and even among Earth's own people, no small number thought the same.
Under the name of the so-called Cradle Religion, a new faith worshipping the Cradle's wizards as gods had flourished worldwide, and this belief had merged with local folk traditions and taken on various forms.
Notable examples included the people of South America who revered Solif as an angel of healing and tattooed his face onto their skin, and the Hindu belief that Turan and Meisa, who had first revealed themselves, were avatars of Vishnu and Kali, while the vanquished white deer -whose name had never been disclosed- was an avatar of the destroyer god Shiva.
"Yeah, merciful, I suppose......."
Taeju himself was not deeply devout, but he was a follower of the Cradle Religion.
It was more that his parents had converted after his supernatural aptitude was discovered in childhood, and he'd been swept along into believing with them.
Watching the dejected young criminal, Taeju let out a soft sigh and brought his hands together.
"Here, follow along."
"What's this?"
"A prayer."
Teaching a prayer to their god, Turan, was the one thing Taeju could do for him.
*****
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