239. Otherworld 4: The Hero of Fairy Tales
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(One thing after another... Seriously, give me a break...)
In just one day, I had already been through enough to make me want to die, and on top of that, an overwhelming wave of truths I had never known came crashing down on me. My head was on the verge of bursting.
And now, as if to deliver the final blow, a man appeared before me and Zion—claiming a name identical to that of the figure known as the Fabled Hero or the King of the Gifted.
What Zion had told me about my ability... Honestly, it didn’t sit right with me at all.
But at the same time, there were too many things that made sense for me to deny it outright.
I had always understood my ability as gravity manipulation, yet that alone couldn't explain why I was able to perceive magic.
Then there was my adaptation to the flow of time.
If my ability was what Zion claimed it to be, then that too made sense.
When I converted to an enchantment mage at Golden Dawn, I was able to count time with perfect accuracy without any effort, ensuring that my buffs on allies never faded.
Looking back, there were countless other moments that I had never given much thought to, but now I realized how much they added up.
"You’re awfully quiet. Did I say something weird?"
While Zion and I were left speechless from the sheer absurdity of the situation, August tilted his head in confusion.
"Are you saying that you are the Fairy tale Hero?"
"...Huh. So, in the future, I get saddled with such a grandiose title, huh? That’s... complicated."
August muttered with a wry smile.
(Did he just casually say 'in the future'? Just how much does he know about this situation?)
"You—how much do you understand about what’s going on?"
Perhaps having the same thought as I did, Zion questioned August.
"Hmm... I can tell that this isn’t the World of Principles or the Outside World but rather some separate space-time, but honestly, I don’t know much beyond that."
August answered casually.
His words aligned with Zion’s hypothesis.
But still—what the hell are the World of Principles and the Outside World supposed to be?
"Then, how did you figure out that this place—or rather, we—are from your future?"
I had countless questions, but I decided to ask the one that stood out the most.
"Simple. I’d been trying different methods to access the future. I didn’t have high hopes, but before I knew it, I got thrown into this place. Given that, it only made sense to assume that this place and you guys are from my future, right?"
August answered matter-of-factly.
There didn’t seem to be any hidden meaning behind his words. He was simply stating the facts as they were.
"…You’re even more ridiculous than the stories say."
Zion muttered, somewhere between admiration and exasperation.
“Well, there’s no point in overthinking things about me. It’d just be a waste of time. More importantly—tell me about the future. In exchange, I’ll teach you how to handle [All-Creation].”
August’s eyes sparkled with childlike excitement as he asked about the future.
And the price he offered in return was incredibly tempting.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was exactly what I wanted to know most at this moment.
However, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to tell him about the future.
“—Ah, if you’re worried about a time paradox, don’t be.”
August casually dismissed my concerns as unnecessary.
“Why not? If you learn about the future here and then return to your original time, it would create contradictions, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, I have a few reasons, but the biggest one is that the place we’re returning to is the World of Principles. I’ll explain more about that later. So, what’s it gonna be? Will you take the deal or not? We don’t have much time left.”
He was right—we couldn’t afford to waste time.
Even if his presence had reinforced Zion’s hypothesis, once the rewinding of time ended, we would likely be sent back to where we came from.
And since we had no idea when that time limit would expire, sitting around hesitating wasn’t an option.
If we returned empty-handed, we’d only be slaughtered by them all over again.
In that case, the only choice was to move forward!
“I accept your offer.”
“Alright! Let’s get started. You can tell me about the future while we take breaks. Oh, right—I never asked your names, did I?”
Now that the deal was sealed, August finally asked for our names.
“I’m Orn Doula.”
“I’m Zion Nasturtium.”
“Orn and Zion, got it. Alright, nice to meet you both—officially this time!”
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"Alright, first, tell me about your current situation, Orn. I can teach you how to handle [All-Creation], but abilities like ours should already be somewhat understood by their wielders."
"That’s a fair point. The truth is—"
I then proceeded to explain my situation to August.
Zion chimed in with additional details here and there, which helped keep the conversation smooth.
"I see... That’s quite the troublesome predicament."
After hearing me out, August muttered with a solemn expression.
"Yeah. Now that I’ve taken a step back and looked at my situation objectively, I can’t say I disagree with you."
"But in that case, the solution is simple. All you have to do is correct the perception that’s been altered and restore it to the way it should be. And for that, I’ll first explain exactly what [All-Creation] is."
"...Alright. Please go ahead."
"[All-Creation]—I interpret it as the ability to comprehend all things and weave them into existence."
"The ability to comprehend all things and weave them into existence... So in other words, whatever you understand, you can do? Whether it’s a skill or an ability..."
Hearing my response, August smirked.
"You’re quick on the uptake. That speed of comprehension is part of your ability as well. Because of that, we can master a vast array of things far faster than others. We can gain proficiency in almost anything. But let me be clear—this is only because of our ability. We are not true geniuses. Keep that in mind."
So that’s why I was able to pick up magic and martial arts with just a bit of practice.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Aneri mocked me for being a jack of all trades, master of none.
If not for that, I might have gotten arrogant.
August’s words were probably meant as a cautionary reminder.
"...Yeah. I understand. At the end of the day, I’m just an ordinary person who couldn’t even protect what mattered to me."
"That might sound a little self-deprecating, but for people like us, that kind of mindset might be just right."
August gave me a wry smile.
I am not a god.
I am just a person.
And I can’t ever let myself forget that.
"—Now then, this ability is something you’ll understand much faster by seeing rather than just hearing about it. You seek strength, don’t you? Then from here on out, let’s settle things through battle. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight, too. What’s your weapon of choice, Orn?"
August’s aura shifted into something more combative as he posed the question.
Basically, he was telling me to watch and learn.
That was a method I was more than grateful for.
After all, it’s what I always do.
"This is my weapon," I said as I retrieved Schwarzhase from my storage artifact.
"Oh, a sword? Then I’ll start with a sword as well."
As August laid eyes on Schwarzhase, he conjured a blade of pure black magic and gripped it firmly.
"I’ll be learning a lot from this!"
"Yeah—come at me!"
With those final words, we both closed the distance—our swords clashing in a fierce collision.
——.