Chapter 74 - Smelting (2)

"This is rather surprising."

Those were Noel's first words as soon as they entered the Reverse Realm.

"The Reverse Realm is practically hell, isn't it? And yet, it's so..."

"Prettier than you expected?"

Aiden smiled, filling in the words Noel couldn't find.

Objects of every imaginable color lay scattered over the features of the real world, as though someone had layered all manner of filters over a photograph.

In keeping with that mysterious atmosphere, Noel and Aiden were floating aimlessly through it, as if the laws of gravity did not apply.

The Reverse Realm was a place where human emotions and spiritual energy took material form, so all sorts of surreal phenomena were commonplace. This was one of them.

Drifting through something like an abstract painting by a master surrealist was an experience that, even at its worst, could hardly be called anything but dreamlike.

The currents of energy roaming in every direction only heightened that atmosphere.

Spirits. Thought forms.

In this world, a human spirit was a vessel contained within the flesh. Once that vessel of flesh ceased to function, the spirit would drift through the Reverse Realm like this.

Only a few souls, immensely powerful and burdened with equally immense lingering attachments, remained in the physical realm, like Meyer or the Lord Protector.

With that in mind...

"You shouldn't touch those casually. They're all someone's soul."

At his words, Noel flinched and pulled back the hand she had been reaching toward a white wisp floating nearby.

It wasn't particularly dangerous, but one should always show respect for the dead.

All they needed to do was accomplish what they'd come for and leave.

Aiden unfastened a belt from the rectangular rocket they'd ridden in on and picked up his sack again.

He didn't detach the rocket from himself entirely, apparently intending only to turn it around and fire it up again.

"Dame Noel. Get this ready."

"Is there something we're supposed to do with it?"

"Catch as much as you can. It won't be all that dangerous, anyway."

"... Pardon? Catch what?"

What was this about danger, and what was she supposed to catch?

Noel tilted her head in confusion, but rather than answer, Aiden simply pointed upward.

Her gaze followed his finger, and she replied in a blank voice.

"... Is there something up there? All I see is the sky."

Indeed, it was nothing but a pitch-black night sky.

The only unusual feature was a dot darting rapidly back and forth in its center, but that seemed like just another peculiarity of the Reverse Realm, no different from the surrounding scenery. It was hard to find anything strange about it.

But Aiden pointed straight at that dot and sighed.

"Dame Noel."

"Yes?"

"That's a pupil."

"... What?"

Leaving Noel to her bafflement, Aiden shook his sack open wide.

"Hurry, Dame Noel. We won't have much time."

Noel was about to ask what that meant, too, but abruptly closed her mouth.

Presumably because she'd just seen the sky change color for an instant before returning to normal.

Most likely, some creature had just closed its eye and opened it again.

In other words, she had finally realized that what looked like the sky was a creature's eye.

And that the pupil, which looked like an enormous dot, was staring straight at them.

Then, with an earsplitting roar, the "sky" receded.

A creature resembling an enormous fish opened its mouth wide and began descending toward them.

Had it been smaller, it might have looked edible. But when Noel realized that the teeth visible inside its mouth were each nearly the size of a building, the blood drained from her face.

"What, in the world, is that...?!"

Even Noel had momentarily lost her composure and screamed, but no one could really blame her.

Aiden knew exactly what it was, what its habits were, and how it behaved, and even he had nearly lost his mind at the sight.

'... This is why the Reverse Realm is hell.'

A place where all manner of surreal things could happen was also a place where living catastrophes like that could roam about as though it were perfectly normal.

There was a reason so many sources pleaded with people not to even think about entering...

"This is the important part, Dame Noel."

Aiden immediately activated the propulsion unit they were strapped to and continued.

"Catch as much of what's falling as you can."

"F-falling? What's falling?!"

"That."

He pointed to the white clumps spilling from inside the giant fish's open mouth.

Any creature living in the Reverse Realm needed energy to sustain itself. Given the nature of its environment, that energy bore the pure characteristics of the Reverse Realm in their most potent form. It was an energy source unique to this realm, condensed over and over.

That was what those clumps were. Ectoplasm.

The material Aiden had earmarked for making his weapons.

"... I truly don't understand. What is it about you that lets you stay calm even in a situation like this, Aiden...?"

"..."

To be honest, Aiden wondered that himself to some extent.

Lately, even he was beginning to fear just how rapidly he was losing his mind.

Still, being able to keep his cool in situations like this was a noteworthy advantage. Aiden spread his sack open and calmly caught the ectoplasm falling from the fish's mouth, even as he hurtled toward the ground strapped to the propulsion unit.

Thanks to that, Noel followed his lead, opening her sack to catch the falling white clumps with a look of near-total resignation.

For a little while, the bizarre spectacle continued: two people catching things in sacks as a creature larger than a mountain came to devour them.

For a few seconds, at least.

"So what's your grand plan?! It's right on top of us!"

"Oh, there's no need for a plan or anything."

"... What?!"

He felt bad for Noel, who was staring at him as if to ask what the hell he meant, but it was true.

Hadn't he told her it wasn't very dangerous from the moment they'd first entered?

"I calculated when the passage opens and closes before coming in. All we need to do is leave."

As he spoke, a passage formed again directly beneath their downward trajectory.

Aiden and Noel promptly slipped out through it.

CLANG! CLANG!

Out of fuel, the rectangular rocket's engine flames died, and the two of them tumbled limply along the ground, still strapped to it.

"..."

"Hmm."

Leaving Noel in her silence, Aiden opened his sack and inspected its contents.

He also picked up the dazed Noel's sack and checked inside.

-Item Info

[ Ectoplasm ] [ Extremely Rare ]

[ A material containing the pure power of the Reverse Realm. Unlike power sources in the physical realm, it is semipermanent and restores itself thanks to its shape-memory properties. ]\n

★ Equipment crafted from this material automatically recovers durability!

★ Increases output when using supernatural power.

★ Highly compatible with 'Star Iron.' Crafting with both materials produces a special synergy!

If Star Iron was essentially a vessel that held supernatural power without any loss, ectoplasm was something like a lubricant for people like Aiden, who inevitably put their equipment through harsh use by channeling several supernatural powers into it.

Even Star Iron would eventually suffer damage from his repeated use of supernatural powers, but combining it with this would produce equipment he could use almost indefinitely.

'And that's not all...'

The real point to focus on, however, was the mention of a special synergy when it was combined with Star Iron.

If he recalled the game's mechanics correctly, it attached a special skill to the equipment itself, something like a Unique Ability exclusive to that piece of gear.

Which direction should he take? He could keep increasing his supernatural power's output to boost his offensive strength, as he'd done so far. Or he could add some other utility that would let him turn a battle around in a single stroke—

"... Aiden."

"... Yes?"

"... You'd better look forward to our return to the capital's headquarters."

"..."

Apparently, he had one very large mountain to cross before he could focus on looking forward to any of that.

Aiden nodded at the murderous look on Noel's face.

Still, getting scolded was one thing. He needed to make sure he brought all of this back safely. He tied the mouth of the sack shut.

"... Huh?"

Then something inside caught his eye.

"Is there something else?!"

"... No."

... Seeing Noel's alarm made him feel that perhaps he shouldn't go out of his way to tell her about it.

"It's nothing."

Noel tilted her head, puzzled by his reaction.

▣

... In fact, something very far from nothing had gotten mixed in.

To be precise, it was something he absolutely could not tell Noel about, of all people.

Back in his quarters at the military headquarters in the capital, Aiden cautiously studied the yellow clump mixed into his sack.

Ectoplasm was pure white, but this piece alone was a vivid yellow. That made it very easy to spot.

Even at a glance, it stood out as extraordinary, as if it must have some special effect.

That impression wasn't entirely wrong. Examining it with Ganesha's Appraisal skill produced the following text.

-Item Info

[ Special Ectoplasm ] [ ??? ]

[ A form of ectoplasm particularly capable of special interactions with spirits. A spirit powerful enough to manifest in the physical realm would be ideal. ]

For something presented as a special effect, it was rather underwhelming in several ways.

Without even specifying what those special interactions were, it was hard to get excited about it right away.

But...

'... This stuff.'

The problem was that Aiden already had the pieces of a combination that immediately suggested a use for it.

-Skill Info

◈ Remnant: Lord Protector – Resolve

A skill containing the target's inner image. It can produce an exceptionally powerful effect once.

※ 'Unique Trait: Origin' is required to view the skill information!

... He had certainly acquired a skill like that before.

To use it, he had to unlock his Unique Ability, Origin, and to unlock Origin, he had to open Personal Quests.

That brought something else to mind.

-Tip!

▶ The target's Personal Quest can be easily advanced through situations involving 'Teresa Adelaite'!

▶ Make good use of the connections between characters! Direct contact with 'Teresa Adelaite' can provide even greater help!

"..."

Aiden silently stared at the names written in the system window.

"... A spirit, huh."

This just might be the key to cracking Chapter 3 wide open.