MAGICIAN POV

“Are you satisfied?”

“Aww, is Kitty worried about the little ol’ me?”

And she’s back to sulking. We’re currently walking side by side in an empty alley, my arm around her shoulder. Despite the awkwardness caused by our height difference, she persists. Such a good girl. Hang in there; the bus stop is five minutes away.

My left leg went lame the moment I used it to block Aika’s FANG. I knew what I was getting myself into the moment I challenged her, but to think the difference between us was wider than the gulf.

I am satisfied. I am very satisfied with the outcome of our duel if it can even be called that, even though it’s just me receiving a one-sided beatdown.

It’s not as if I have suddenly awakened my masochistic tendencies, but Kitty had an epiphany after witnessing me berate people during my winning streaks.

“It’s necessary to get beaten up now and then so I don’t fall harder later on,” she says. She reminded me that I had grown too cocky, believing that everything is at the tip of my fingertips. So naturally, I picked the biggest medicine to chew on by joining a random group and picking fights with a top-ranked guild.

Can you blame me for being so arrogant, though? Me, a Technomancer? Uncle Jimmy would start becoming religious the moment he heard that flying laser sharks existed.

Once hailed as the second coming of the calculation God by the cybersecurity department of a prestigious company, I now find myself granted key access to the world itself as a Technomancer.

One day, after burning the midnight oil countless times and working overtime on God knows how many iterations of software patches, my mind finally snapped, and I fainted from overwork. Three days later, I woke up to a brand-new sensation that I had never experienced before.

I awakened to the capability to access both hardware and software at range and visualize their system inside my mind, but that’s not all. I became aware of the phantom organ within me. A core and its flowing lifeblood of energy, a prana. They are simply the resources I can utilize to make the "magic" happen.

With my ego soaring through the roof, it felt as if the world itself was urging me to turn it into my playground. Who was I to deny such a delectable gift?

So naturally, like many people with questionable morals, I began hacking and cracking into everything I could get my hands on. Security systems be damned when I can just sit in a nearby café and take my time hacking their systems inside my mindscape without any repercussions.

From profiting off a predatory bank to transforming my loud, annoying neighbor’s apartment into a scene straight out of a horror movie. Ah, the memory of his screaming face as he tumbled headfirst into the toilet still echoes in my head to this day.

But then it’s only a matter of time before I delve into places where I shouldn’t be poking my nose.

It began as a rumor that I stumbled upon in the deep web. Not out of boredom, of course, but out of genuine curiosity, I decided to delve deeper into the matter.

Lo and behold, I opened up a whole can of worms, and not just any worms, mind you. It’s like uncovering a nest of leviathans swimming in a fishy can. Various megacorps have been keeping it hush-hush regarding their intentions in search of a myth.

Arcanum [Mystery].

A powerful device of unknown origin, rumored to grant its user the capability to shape landscapes with a flick of the wrist. Its origin is blurry at best, mostly discussed by sweaty doomsayers theorizing on dark web forums in their free time.

One of the most popular theories suggests that the origin of Arcanum creation stems from the Reverse Side, a realm depicted in legends and storybooks. My head pictured a magical Lala land where various dwarven blacksmiths with floor-length beards craft and temper artifacts capable of shooting beams and lasers.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the majority of ancient artifacts are Core Gears bearing a striking similarity to the Core wheels of a SpeedGear.

So, in essence, it is a calamity-bringer-wheeled shoe.

I cracked hard that night. Whatever those mega-corporation folks are smoking up there, it’s something a plebeian like me would never lay hands on. Perhaps that’s why they dwell in those towering skyscrapers—to stay high all the time.

Well, perhaps this so-called Arcanum Core Gear doesn’t have to be slapped onto shoes. In the first place, Arcanum is just that: a materialized form of power that can be crafted into whatever the user desires, whether it be swords, guns, or any other object they can imagine. If they are hellbent on crafting it into Core Gears, there are other ways to utilize them beyond simply making wheeled shoes run faster.

Heavy machinery also employs Core Gears, so maybe they could be used to construct a giant robot like Gondam or something.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Little did I know that the moment I set foot in this rabbit hole, I had already made up my mind and intended to see it through. My fingers couldn’t stop tapping on the next page.

Nobility.

Reverse Side.

CounterForce.

Affinity.

Arcanum.

Tower of Emperium.

6 Kings.

1 Emperor.

The more I read, the more I feel like the world as I know it is just one giant bubble. It’s like peeking through a tiny hole in the floor below your bed, only to find a whole civilization lying underneath you this whole time.

Luckily, covering my tracks was made easy with my newfound ability as a Technomancer. However, if I want to pursue this further, maintaining a low profile 24/7 is a necessity.

So that day, I decided to disappear. Away from my known relatives and friends, not that I had any of them to begin with.

I erased any record of my previous identity and adopted a new one. The moment I embraced myself as a Technomancer, there was no turning back, nor did I intend to. I had gotten a taste of what the world had to offer, and I had no intention of letting it go anytime soon.

If one day I were to fall from the sky for flying too close to the sun, so be it. I need to see what lies beyond the limit. It’s as simple as that.

“It came.”

I was broken out of my thoughts when Kitty stopped supporting me and stood in front of me. I was still limping with my lame leg, but I held on, favoring the good one. Instead of feeling dread, I was feeling ecstatic about what was about to come.

Heh, I seriously need help.

Speaketh of the devil and arriveth he shalt. A shadow in the form of a tall man appeared out of nowhere. If it weren’t for Kitty’s sensitivity to presences, I wouldn’t have noticed.

The man’s features and clothes were all in shades of dark, and for some reason, his face was blurry and unrecognizable. He wore a long coat over a suit, topped with a bowler hat. His broad shoulders, upper body, and arms were so thick I bet he could bear hug a telephone pole and twist it around like a pretzel.

He just stood there, staring at us, menacingly. Kitty braced herself for a fight to the death, yet I remained motionless. Surprisingly, I felt calm.

“A Dagan came instead of a Spider. Otherwise, my head would already have flown off, not even knowing what killed me. So, I am on the right path, am I not?” My grin grew manic when it made no moves even after I said all that. So, it’s true that they do exist.

A CounterForce.

An observer of sorts who watches and monitors over a cluster, Dagan, in particular, serves as the front and face of CounterForce. They can be likened to a middleman or a guardian that maintains a direction in which the cluster is heading, both directly and indirectly.

If an individual or a group of individuals stray too far, they will simply be bounced back to the original course. Not without repercussions, of course. A Dagan serves as a wall, after all. You don’t bounce off a hard surface without breaking a few bones.

And no, I wouldn’t confuse them with an altruistic hero; in fact, they are the farthest from it. They turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the underbelly, only reacting if things truly go out of hand. I shudder to think of what would have happened if I had been late in saving Kitty, and she turned into an abomination that day.

A spider, on the other hand…

Let’s just say we wouldn’t even know what ended us. It’s already a miracle in itself that Kitty stabilized into a simple broken vessel. Otherwise, one would have visited us long ago and ended our lives.

Now back to this lump of beef muscles.

The Dagan just kept staring at us even after I spoke. Not even a twitch after I told him that I had been expecting him. Such a stoic fellow.

“To what end.”

His voice rumbled deeply as he finally spoke after a tense moment.

He wants to know the reason behind my knowledge hoarding. He’s been keeping an eye on me, likely since I started my Technomancer activity. Now that I’ve finally taken decisive action by contacting a survivor of that mission, he’s decided to intervene directly.

“To an Era.”

There is no point in lying. I stared right into his face and said those words. Yes, I planned to bring back the reverse Side into this cluster and stir the pot inviting Chaos.

The surrounding atmosphere began to darken, the pressure intensifying until it affected my breathing. I watched as the ground around him cracked in a spiderweb pattern.

I invoked THORN to boost my physical durability, but it took all my strength just to remain standing while Kitty was on her knees, unable to breathe or utter a word. Hang in there; I have a feeling it will be over soon.

We are stuck rooted to our place as if a giant hand is pressing down on us from above.

So, this is CounterForce.

Haha, I couldn’t even gauge his limits with my calculation working at full capacity.

This level of bloodlust should be illegal. It felt like staring into an endless abyss, only for a single, mountain-sized eye to glare back at you.

I should be crying my heart out from sheer terror right now, yet the only thing I cared about at the time was that I had finally stepped into the realm of the unknown. The starting line of my heart’s desire.

However, as quickly as it appeared, the pressure dissipated. The man turned his back after briefly glancing at Kitty and disappeared by melding into the shadows. I exhaled, relieved, and promised myself to count my lucky stars later.

He decided to spare us. My guess is that there is another reason, one that confirms my fear of this “World” and the excitement it will bring.

“Hack, Cough. *Urp*.” Kitty covered her mouth.

“There, there, it must have been scary. Just let it out.” I brushed her hair to the side and stroked her back, allowing her to vomit on the ground while crying.

“H-he… reeks… so much d-death…”

“Shh, it’s alright.” I eased her tremble as I hugged her and patted her head. It’s going to be more dangerous from here on out. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought her along-

“N-NO! You promised!” She gripped my shirt tightly, afraid as if the moment she let go I would disappear.

“That day when you saved me from that place, you promised to let me stay with you!”

“Yes, I did, but I had my reason to save you. I am not a good person.”

“I DON’T CARE! Please, I have nothing else......please….”

Goodness, what had I done to deserve such a pure-hearted companion? The world has not been kind to this catkin. Reflecting on what she endured in that wretched place they called a laboratory makes me sick to my very stomach.

In a fit of rage, I burned everything to the ground after I saved her. I know she isn’t the first, let alone the last, but I acted according to my whim anyway.

Real-world heroism sure is different from what I read in the book. You save the princess and live happily ever after, no?

Wrong, there are consequences to your actions and the aftermath to look forward to. Now here I am holding the fruit of my actions in my arms.

“*Sniff*, …. promised…. you....... Promise…”

I held her head closer to my chest as her breathing slowed. I prayed for the nightmares to go away. This girl had suffered enough as it was.

Sigh, I guess it’s time to man up and take responsibility. I’ve kept her in the dark long enough.

Given her intelligence, she likely inferred my intentions. Yet, she didn’t press me to reveal my entire plan; instead, she patiently waited for me to confide in her. The heck kind of man would I be if I didn’t reciprocate her trust?

As I held her tighter, I made a solemn vow to myself: I would grow stronger, stronger even than those Arcanum users.

Stronger than those kings, I promised silently to myself.