novelTutorial 57th Floor (10)
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"I can't do that."
The sooner I solved a question, the better. I knew that if I couldn't solve the mysteries that filled my mind, I wouldn't be able to rest properly, even if I wanted to.
[Species with short life spans are too reckless and short-tempered. ] the dragon grumbled.
Was there a reason why it wanted to avoid answering questions?
Instead, the remark it made just now was unworthy of the dragon, who used to say, "We shouldn't treat individuals with preconceptions about their species." Amused, I asked Karin about racial preconceptions.
[But isn't it undeniable? We shouldn't be too obsessed with stereotypes and misjudge people, but it's easier to judge people based on their race. We don't need to stop having preconceptions completely. Doesn't that sound reasonable? You have a quick temper since you are less than 100 years old. ] Karin's words made sense.
[That dragon is wrong. From what I see, you're eccentric beyond compare. Who in the world is as crazy as you? To compare you to a normal human being? Now that's racist!] Ahbooboo, who was still in my hands, said indignantly, shaking his core. The past few days, this guy had been talking about me unrestrainedly. In retaliation, I threw him into the inventory.
"I want answers to my questions right now."
The dragon answered me back in a weak, tired voice, [Do as you please. ]
This was a bit unexpected. Did the dragon have something urgent to do right now? Otherwise, there seemed to be no other reason to delay answering me. I asked the question that I had planned to ask first.
The subject of the question was, of course, about the source. I was able to learn a lot from this stage. The Dragon had said, "I chose the stage you needed, " and it was indeed a stage where I was able to get the necessary information.
Among the new facts that I discovered, there were many that I had yet to grasp fully. I didn't understand the superpowers that the 57th-floor superhumans used. I'd only witnessed the creation of a source for a limited time, and I needed more specific information. But what seemed more important was the connection between the original (origin) power and faith.
I knew that the two forces were coupled. The Spirit King had been very keen on the source's power since it was a great help in building up divinity. But, it seems that the power of the source could work as poison as well. It was similar to how the power of the source devoured the SSS-grade superhuman.
What was truly amazing was that the source could be created by the power of ordinary people on a typical planet without any special requirements. In this respect, the power of the source was similar to faith. I wanted to know the difference between them, along with what they had in common.
[You're starting with a tricky question. ] the dragon whined. It grumbled a lot for a dragon.
[Let's start with something easy, like what's common in both of them. ]
Actually, I wanted to hear the difference first, but Karin had already begun to explain. I listened to its explanation rather than arguing with it.
[The common point is that power arises from a large population. And it's usually a power focused on a single entity. You've already seen the source's power thanks to the God of Remorse, and having dealt with faith on the 56th floor. As you may know, the two powers are mostly the same. Some dismiss the source's power and faith as the same; most of the people who think so are those who have never witnessed these powers. ]
In other words, there was a clear difference. It looked like it was hard to identify unless one had encountered it before.
[I doubt you'll understand everything I tell you about the differences between the source's power and faith. Even so, new information is continuously being discovered, so the information we know now could be false. I'll just tell you the basics as much as I can. ]
Karin was also not fully informed of the source, either, which was unexpected.
Even though the world was going through a cataclysmic upheaval, it seemed somewhat strange that an omnipotent god couldn't fully comprehend a subject.
[Faith does nothing for the gods, but it could be emotionally or physically helpful to the believer. Of course, it may vary slightly depending on the type of faith, but that depends on the believers' interest since it needs to be convincing enough for believers to follow such faith. And there's also the fact that faith is produced continuously until the death of a believer. ]
Listening to the dragon, I somehow felt like this was a business or trade talk and not a discussion about the faith of believers. Maybe it was because it had used 'produced' when speaking about believers.
[But the source is different because it consumes everything in a single moment. The power of the source can target intelligent bodies and extract their vitality. ]
The power of the source and faith was similar to a lottery and a pension. One was periodic, while another was immediate.
The dragon listened to me and replied, [It's better to see it as a difference between management and exploitation than that. ]
——-
[The source is unique. The source's most prominent feature is that even if everyone doesn't have high trust or desire in the source's host, the recognition of its existence alone is enough to exploit them. Of course, most people usually have faith in it. ]
Some people revered the 57th-floor superhuman, but not everyone did. Some of the people in the Superhumans Association had displayed feelings closer to jealousy rather than respect. And there must have been some famous people on the planet who were endlessly hostile. But even those people were deprived of their vitality by the source.
[Next, the source is limited to the planet's boundaries. The vitality of the people is not the only factor that influences the force. The level of society and history of the species also affect it. Perhaps that's why no source has emerged from species that migrated to other planets. ]
It was influenced by history and society? Was it really meaningful to absorb people's vitality? I asked the dragon about it.
[No matter what humans do, they'll never achieve the same strength as the source. That's expected. Humans have nothing but useless blood, flesh, and a trace of mana. You don't think that there's an unknown force in a person's soul, right? There is no such thing. ] The dragon said flatly.
Somehow, the dragon's description of humans made me feel strange.
[The source only goes for intelligent bodies that contribute to civilization, or for a planet where it can find many potential bodies. Typically, refugees or migrants cannot rebuild a civilization and don't advance, so the source doesn't favor them. Maybe the essence of the source's power comes from absorbing not their intelligence, but the planet they're building, the vitality of their world. ]
* * * * * *
I suggested the dragon rest for a while, and I needed time to organize my thoughts.
"Kea-ek!"
I summoned the frog in the lake and laid on its back. Doing this made me feel like I was floating on a pool noodle in a wave pool. Actually, it felt better than that. The occasional low gurgles the frog made, calmed my mind and body.
When the gurgles stopped, I raised my hand and scratched the back of the frog's neck. Pleasured, the frog croaked deeply. I could tell the frog was in an excellent mood, and I also felt at ease knowing that.
[Are you still thinking?] The dragon's voice came from the crystal ball that was flying near me.
Not at all. I was just zoning out.
[If you are exhausted, take a day off and continue tomorrow. ]
That didn't seem necessary. The dragon's narrated facts were more or less organized in my head.
The explanation of how gods and apostles treated the source puzzled me. Previously, I thought the source was a trophy of hunting. It was like killing a monster and saying, "I'm going to use it since it'll be of great help." But looking at it now, it wasn't that much of a trophy.
The source was no better than poison. Of course, the tutorial was fostering apostles to kill the source and get its by-products, but it was strange that gods and apostles didn't have any second thoughts about absorbing the power from the source.
[What's strange about it? The gods also want the source. Power has no face or name. Of course, when a source is born, the affected world will suffer a near-destruction blow, but usually, it doesn't happen. ]
So, the gods typically didn't interfere with the source, which was surprising given the stigma against them. I still had to get over the many stereotypes.
—-
[Many beings are doing everything they can to create the source artificially. Some results of the experiments have been decent but not perfect. If you emotionally reject the source in the midst of this, you will fall behind. ]
This was absurd, and so was the experiment to create the source. How many people had been sacrificed in the course of this experiment?
[Isn't there a tutorial stage with such a world as its background?]
"You mean the island of AoAeo?"
[AoAeo?]
"The 18th-floor stage."
Even after clearing the 18th-floor, I didn't know why the island had faced such a catastrophe. I didn't even have time to find out why. But upon hearing that there was an experiment, the island of AoAeo came to mind. The dragon replied to me as if remembering what that stage had been.
[That's right. The18th floor stage. I had never heard of the name of the island until now. ]
It wasn't a memory I wanted to look back on. I was thinking about how to change the subject of the conversation when the dragon itself started to say something else.
[It happened in the presence of a god who has achieved both faith and the source's power. ]
"At the same time?"
The dragon gave me more details. There was a god who had attained both the source's power and faith on his own. I pondered for a while, thinking back on the gods I knew. Among them, there was one god that caught my attention.
"God of Adventure?"
The dragon did not answer for a moment. The ideal hero that the God of Adventure wanted was very similar to the SSS-grade superhuman before he got turned into a source. If the superhuman hadn't been swallowed up by desire and had enough qualifications to become a deity, wasn't there a chance for it to acquire divinity? I'm sure the superhuman had been admired by many people, so gaining faith wouldn't be tough.
[That's something I can't afford to tell you. ] The dragon answered late, but I had been able to infer the answer from its silence. Surely this dragon was easier to deal with than Kirikiri.
[The God of Adventure is disappointed. ]
[Are you done with your questions? Then go in and take a rest and start asking tomorrow morning. ] it said. It seemed impatient.
Was there something urgent? I noticed something strange in the dragon's words.
"Go in and rest? I'm going to put up a tent in front of the lake and sleep."
The dragon jumped at my words.
[I've furnished the cave so well. What are you talking about? Why do you think I brought that little furniture?]
"I don't know... because your house used to be dirty and messy?"
[No! And how many times have I told you that this cave is not my home!] the dragon roared. This dragon was so obsessed with strange things.
"Alright, alright. You mean that cave isn't your house, but it's designed for me as a guest?"
[Yes, yes!] the dragon answered proudly. I thought it wanted me to admire something great in the cave. Then, I should go into the cave as it wished and see what fantastic thing was hidden.
[Look at what's on the left side of the bed you saw earlier. I'm sure it's something you've never seen before. ]
"Let me ask you one more thing before that." I cut off the excited dragon's words.
[Huh?]
I couldn't miss the most critical question.
"What's happening on Earth?"
According to the explanation I heard today, the Earth had suitable conditions for a source to be born. It has a long history and a high level of civilization, but its territory had not yet expanded. At the same time, it didn't seem to have a deity to induce a sense of strength and will in the world.
However, the threat facing the Earth was not the birth of a source. Monsters believed to be the source were rushing through the gate at a rapid pace. However, this had nothing to do with the dragon's explanation that I had heard so far.
This time, I argued with the dragon, who hadn't answered immediately. I didn't mean to let this question pass.
"Answer the question. What's happening on Earth?"
Tutorial 57th Floor (10) End Finished
| ← Ch. 292 | Ch. 294 → |