**#184. The Ancient City (2)**
—
**BOOOOM──!**
A blue spear pierced through the tower.
Amidst the deafening roar, people could see a massive hole blown open in the structure.
Demper muttered in a dazed voice.
“D-Did we get it? Uh, mm…? Miss, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, no… I just feel like that’s something you *shouldn’t* say—”
Just then, Ray’s voice rang out.
“It’s still alive.”
“H-Huh? Kid, that spell you threw—are you saying it’s alive after *that*?”
“It didn’t hit. It dodged—barely.”
As if to prove Ray’s words, something sharp shot out of the tower.
Falling in an arc at their feet, it was a black orb the size of a fist.
**BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP—!**
Everyone covered their ears as a shrill alarm blared from the orb.
Ray reached out his hand, and the orb—its sound cut off—was hurled far away with enhanced, magically reinforced strength.
“W-What the hell was that…”
Over Jang’s startled voice came Ray’s urgent command, sensing what was about to happen.
“Jang, Demper, Veronica—get inside the bus.”
As Demper checked the radar, he instinctively let out a curse.
“Shit…!”
Countless red dots on the radar’s edge were swarming toward them like ants.
**Hisss—**
The non-combatants were evacuated and the door shut, after which a broad, white protective barrier formed around the bus.
Ray turned to Grine, who was still beside him, and asked,
“How much can you fight?”
“I won’t be useless.”
Nodding, Ray drew up mana from his circle and fixed his gaze forward.
Behind them were the bus and the crater; ahead stretched buildings in geometric forms.
Footsteps echoed between the structures.
**Clack. Clack.**
At first, the sounds came intermittently, one or two pairs.
**Clack! Clack! Clack!**
But soon, they multiplied, surging forward like a tidal wave.
**Clack!**
And then—the first figure emerged between the buildings and was reflected in Ray’s white eyes.
*A wooden puppet?*
The boy recalled something he’d seen before.
With jointed limbs and a blank, expressionless face, it looked exactly like a wooden puppet.
Except it wasn’t made of wood—its body was silver metal that mirrored the surrounding landscape.
It was also massive, comparable to a grown man.
**BOOM─!**
Ray’s fireball struck the puppet.
It staggered for a moment but quickly regained its footing. The flames died down almost instantly.
**Crackle!**
He tried freezing it, but the body radiated such intense heat that the ice melted immediately.
**Zap!**
Electricity barely stalled its movement.
“Looks like elemental magic isn’t working at all.”
Ray nodded and stopped using magic for the time being.
The number of puppets had grown to nearly a hundred.
This wasn’t going to be a short fight.
He couldn’t afford to waste mana recklessly without knowing the enemy’s traits.
The advancing puppets came to a halt against the protective shield.
They raised their hands, as if examining the object before them, and touched the surface of the barrier.
“They’re not attacking the shield. They definitely perceive it though.”
Just then, complex mana patterns began flowing through the puppets’ bodies.
And in the next moment—
**Clack! Clack!**
Like passing through a thin film of water, the puppets pierced through the shield.
They marched forward, transforming their hands into long, sharp blades.
*They’re going for close combat.*
These were beings immune to elemental magic, that could also nullify barriers.
And now—swords?
A realization struck Ray with certainty.
*They were likely built specifically to counter magic users.*
Beside him, Grine murmured in annoyance.
“That’s rather disrespectful. Lady Veronica worked hard on that barrier.”
Ray looked at her. Her composure, free from fear, prompted a question.
“Grine, you’re not scared?”
“Of course I am. It’s terrifying—how ruthlessly they trample over someone’s effort.”
“No, I mean… this is a situation where you could die.”
“Oh, you meant death.”
Even as the enemy closed in, Grine remained unbothered, like it was someone else’s problem.
And she answered as if it were obvious.
“Elves don’t fear death.”
“Why not?”
“Do you remember what I said yesterday?”
“What part?”
“That elves aren’t greedy.”
Ray, reminded of the jerky stealing incident, felt a flicker of irritation, but he waited.
“To be precise, we have no greed as individuals. But as a group, we’re incredibly greedy. You could call it our racial purpose.”
“You mean… finding a new land to plant the World Tree?”
“Exactly. For that goal, offering up my own life isn’t a big deal. It’s a common belief.”
Grine smiled gently.
“If I die, I’ll return to nature, and someone else will fulfill the goal anyway. It’s a sense of belonging, or collective spirit. Does that explain why elves are so indifferent to death?”
“……”
Ray gave a small nod to show he understood, though he was deeply shocked.
To prioritize group life over your own?
It was unimaginable by his standards.
But then he realized something.
The ever-present green mana in Grine’s core—besides curiosity, it was tied to another emotion.
*Belonging.*
It was something he’d felt before.
When he sat in a circle with the underpass kids in Sector 50, sharing the day’s earnings.
When he fought surrounded by Nisoha’s gang members in Sector 46.
When he had meals with Veronica, Ayla, and Ain in Sector 37.
Each time, a small piece of that emotion stirred within him.
He’d looked up its definition in the dictionary—labeled it as “bond” and “familiarity.”
And now, through Grine’s words, he could revisit the meaning of “belonging.”
*Curiosity wasn’t the answer.*
The boy thought back to those moments surrounded by people—and the emotions he felt.
Familiarity, solidarity, duty…
A swirl of emotions bloomed and fused together.
And when that imperfect, yet vivid, shape of belonging took form—
**WUUUNG!**
The green mana within the gem resonated.
This was nothing like when he fell into the crater.
Before, it felt like he was controlling green mana through force.
Now—it felt like the elemental spirits within had accepted him as one of their own.
And then—
**Shhhhk──!**
The battle began as the puppets charged forward.
The two chameleons perched on Grine’s shoulders swelled and materialized on the ground.
**BOOM!**
With heavy thuds, the summoned spirits, now like tanks, rampaged through the enemy.
They slammed with their bodies, struck with tails, and whipped with tongues—flinging puppets off the cliff.
Watching this, Ray spoke to Laqria, who was recovering from the sandworm battle inside the yellow gem.
*You awake?*
No response.
She must’ve been asleep.
**CHANG!**
Ray formed a stone sword from gray mana and deflected the incoming blades.
Among the swarming, lifeless puppets, the boy danced—alive and fierce.
He’d never learned formal swordsmanship, nor faced this many enemies before.
But countless past battles had trained him well.
**CLANG!**
Blood stirred.
**CHING! CLANG!**
His pulse roared.
**CHAAANG!**
And he began to recognize the enemy’s patterns.
With a sudden opening, he stomped the ground.
**BOOM!**
The green mana surged from his foot into the earth.
In the next instant—
**CRACKKK—!**
Thousands of vines burst from the ground, binding the puppets like snakes.
With every slash of Ray’s sword, puppet heads rolled across the floor.
But it didn’t last.
Soon, the heads floated back up and reattached like magnets.
From the bus came Demper’s shout.
“That’s it! The core! You have to target the core inside the body—otherwise they’ll keep regenerating!”
Ray had just realized the same.
The puppets were powered by mana drawn from the air, like golems.
And the mana-absorbing core was—
*In the chest—precisely where the heart would be.*
But with so many enemies, he couldn’t aim for the core one by one.
Before he could get halfway, they’d break free from the vines, and he’d run out of mana.
It had to end in one strike.
With that decision, Ray stopped and dropped his stone sword.
Then, he placed both fists near his left waist, one above the other.
As if gripping a hilt floating in mid-air.
“What are you…?”
Grine began to ask—but then understood.
Gray crystals bloomed in the air, forming a long blade.
A blade easily over ten meters in length.
**Clack! Clack!**
The vines were losing their grip, the puppets beginning to fall.
But Ray didn’t budge.
He stayed focused on the task at hand.
**CRUNCH! CRACKLE!**
The fused gray crystals compressed tightly, forming a blade as thin as paper—but infinitely sharp and durable.
The sword was complete.
Just as the puppets broke free and charged—
“Grine—desummon your spirits and get down.”
With a brief command, he swung the blade.
──────.
The cutting force was so extreme, there was no sensation of slicing.
The gray greatsword drew a massive arc across the battlefield—and for a moment, it seemed like nothing happened.
Then—
**THUD! THUMP! THUD! THUMP!**
Hundreds of puppet torsos, sliced cleanly, tumbled down.
Some still had intact cores—but all were too damaged to move.
Finishing off the remnants was easy.
Only after confirming the area was secure did Ray open the bus doors.
Veronica rushed out and checked his eyes, nose, mouth, throat, arms, and legs.
“Wow! This time you’re not even hurt!”
Demper looked around and laughed awkwardly.
“At this rate… we might not have needed that spirit’s help with the sandworm yesterday.”
Ray, who had just wiped out the enemy in a single blow, felt similarly dumbfounded.
It was his first time going all out after reaching the 3rd Circle.
*The quality of mana stored in the circle has skyrocketed. It’s so much easier to control, too.*
If this is just the 3rd Circle—
How powerful must the 4th Circle be?
*Amazing… Curiosa.*
When they meet again, he’d definitely have to give her something more difficult—and more fun—to do.
Once the bus was repaired, they resumed their journey toward the center of the ruins.
“Ray, it’s really quiet now.”
“Looks like that fight drew all the Keepers in the area. Demper—how’s the radar?”
“Seems like you’re right. No red dots at all.”
Thanks to that, they arrived at the base of the tower in no time.
As they disembarked and stood before the massive iron doors, a booming, magically amplified voice rang out.
[I am the king of this place. You have trespassed on my territory, and if you do not leave immediately, you will be punished, so If you value your lives, leave quickly while I have mercy on you].
Veronica raised an eyebrow.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re welcome to visit, so come on in.”
Ray tugged on the doorknob happily.
—
