Chapter 123: Anomalies (2)
“Eh…Eh, eh, eh!”
Amon, with his robes wrapped around him, coughed loudly.
The desert is prone to extreme weather.
Now that the unnecessarily hot sun had faded and night had fallen, as Sheddie played in the cold sand.
Aizel had cleaned up all the otherworldly creatures we met during the day.
‘Did Aizel have a grudge against them?’
Reaching out from under my robes, she swept them away as if they were a nuisance, partly because they weren’t up to our standards.
The humanoid aliens never showed themselves.
In fact, if she were to reveal her full power, she would be able to single-handedly defeat the humanoid alien species…but neither I nor Aizel had revealed our full power.
‘So there are monsters in the Academy,’ Ismir said, noting that humanoids would be perfect for your ‘joint battle’.
I already know they spoke English, and I really wanted to meet them, but there was a reason they were rarer than the beasts.
“Well, shit… I’ll never get used to the desert.”
Amon snorted.
“…At least it’s warm in the tents, so we’ll put up with it while we stand guard.”
I said, gesturing roughly to the magical tent on the other side.
Inside, the women would be sleeping, except for Amon and me.
Suddenly, Amon looks at me longingly and I wonder what’s wrong with him.
“…Zetto, you have nothing but positive things to say. Do you think I can become as strong as you if I live with that mindset?”
“…If you could just be a little less needy… Maybe you could be stronger?”
“I’m kidding. You can’t get stronger with your mind. It’s impossible. A man always speaks with his body.”
Amon balled his fists, checking his muscles.
“Amon you’re a mage, right?”
“Yeah, but we Caligus have long been trained in the art of manipulating mana through strength, though it doesn’t make sense to someone like you, who can twist mana and not feel a thing.”
“Haha, I’m curious about your manipulation of mana through strength training.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a family secret, so I can’t tell you.”
“I’m kidding. I’m actually not that curious.”
“”……””
There was a moment of silence, and then Amon and I burst out laughing.
I realize that Amon’s gotten a lot nicer than I thought he would, which means I could easily try to lead him on a certain route in the future.
It wouldn’t hurt to sow the seeds at this point.
“Amon, if you ever have a problem, you can always come to me.”
“Is that a joke?”
Amon asks, and I throw up my hands and smile.
“No, it’s not. I’m just saying that as a ‘friend’ because you have a strong tendency to do things on your own.”
“Well… I see. You have a lot to teach me, so that wouldn’t be a bad option, though I doubt it’ll ever happen.”
No, it will always happen.
I turned my head away from him and held back the urge to spit out, ‘Demons are coming for you.’
Meanwhile, Sierra was floating in the sky, the moon dazzling the golden grains of sand in her eyes.
She seemed to be watching Ismir all day but I haven’t spoken to her yet.
I’m sure she has a lot to tell her.
How she’s been, what happened to her eye, if everything’s been okay.
Is she eating well?
Is she feeling frustrated that she can’t even say a simple hello?
Or is she grateful to be able to catch up with an old acquaintance.
Not knowing what Ismir and Sierra’s relationship was like, I couldn’t tell.
‘Were they close enough to touch breasts…?’
If it was like that, I think they were close.
[Even so…]
Sierra, who was staring at the moon, muttered to herself.
I wonder if I can hear her feelings about Ismir now…Judging by her first words, I wonder if they have a history.
I glance up to give Sierra my full attention, and she continues.
[…How is it possible that a person hasn’t changed at all, or at least not in decades, except for the loss of an eye? A person becomes an adult only when he grows older and his thoughts grow… Nothing has changed except the drinking and smoking. I’m even more confused because nothing has changed…]
Sierra gazed at the moon, her mind wandering.
…Maybe it’s best to let her have some time to herself.
“Sand. Sand. Lots of it.”
I listened to Sierra’s not-so-subtle whine and watched as Sheddie pawed at the sand.
I was standing guard, but I didn’t need to pay attention. It was enough to use the waves from time to time.
It was at this moment that something strange touched the waves.
‘An otherworldly species.’
But there was something very different about them, unlike any other species I had ever encountered.
“…Amon, wake up the people.”
“What are you talking about?”
Amon, who was standing next to me, frowned.
“It’s the alien species, I’m guessing ‘humanoid’. I’ll go first and stall for time, and you bring everyone else.”
With those words, I pumped mana into my legs and sprinted up the steep dune.
Behind me, I heard Amon call out, “Wait…! Zetto! …Damn it, I don’t know!” followed by the sound of him running toward the tent.
Sierra looks down from the sky in the direction of the otherworldly species at my sudden movement.
She seems to have spotted it too, comes up beside me, running hard, and says to me.
[Why are you going alone? I thought that was one of the dangerous humanoid aliens.]
Sierra was right, it was an assertive move.
It may not be too late to wake up those in the tents and deal with them.
But…
“…there’s something I’d like to check out.”
What exactly they’re after.
I need to figure out what’s causing the ‘anomaly’ beforehand.
After all, I wasn’t about to risk my life against a humanoid alien species.
I was approaching the creature at a fast pace when I stood on top of a huge sand dune.
I could see him now.
When he spotted me, he halted with his legs, kicking up a huge cloud of sand and dust behind him.
Keeping my eyes peeled, I descended the dune and stepped in front of him.
The humanoid alien species is finally here.
…It was a hodgepodge of things, but it was a statuesque, well-crafted mass of metal, clanking and majestic.
He wore a tattered cloth over his shoulders like a cloak.
Is it mimicking humans?
Is he trying to be human?
With its cloak and armor fluttering in the air, it looked like a knight.
“…Ha.”
Standing in front of him, I let out a wry laugh.
He hadn’t made a move since he spotted me.
Neither had I, but he hadn’t attacked me in any way.
This was very odd, considering their habits to attack humans indiscriminately.
I couldn’t figure it out, but I had a bad feeling about it, and I chuckled to myself.
I wondered why I couldn’t be wrong.
‘Where is the king…?’
Their purpose is to find their king.
I don’t know if it’s because my presence can help them find the king, or if it’s because I am the king.
Either way, it’s not a good thing.
‘King of the Killing Machines,’ I can’t think of a more misleading title.
His eyes flashed, and red light poured from them.
It wasn’t an attack; he was slowly scanning me from top to bottom.
‘Scanning…?’
The creature began to make sounds as it scanned my body.
I couldn’t see anything that could be called a mouth, but it was definitely making a sound.
It wasn’t one of those unintelligible noises I heard in the game.
His voice was a low, low, mechanical voice and the language was…English.
[What the hell is he mumbling?]
Sierra questioned as she crossed her arms and listened to him.
…The sad thing is, I was thinking the same thing as her.
English wasn’t the only language I could understand.
Simple English was fine, but he was spouting off some very complex English words.
I was able to pick up a few easy words, but it didn’t help me understand his “intentions”.
Soon, after a long string of English, he suddenly shuts up and goes quiet.
“……”
There’s a moment of silence.
I didn’t attack, and he didn’t attack.
This brief silence between alien and human is one for the history books.
Then, as if the power had gone out, the red glow from its eyeballs disappeared.
With no idea what to expect, I put my hand on Sierra and waited.
Ping!
It wasn’t long before he flashed the red light again then started talking again, aloud but this time, I could understand what he was saying.
Because…
“Language scan complete. System restart confirmed. Data download for ‘Korean’ complete.”
…It started speaking Korean.