Chapter 20
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Episode 4 - Weekend [5]
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Maybe I shouldn't have told Professor Ashly anything.
Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.
But what was done was done, and there was no turning back unless I went back to the past; like Lumina, I couldn't reverse the situation.
After a few hours, together with Professor Ashly and Lumina, we transcribed the entire contents of the grimoire.
Then, Professor Ashly made the proposal to Lumina, and Lumina accepted by signing the contract.
And after that, Professor Ashly started reading; her emotions were a complete mess, but they could be summarized as:
Shock, surprise, ecstasy, joy, etc.
There were too many emotions to count; besides, I was also curious about what exactly was written inside the grimoire.
Since it wasn't something that existed in the game.
And why exactly Professor Ashly showed me the grimoire instead of bringing up the topic of magic verses, like it was in the game.
It was completely different; I didn't know what caused this change, but I didn't care.
In fact, I was very curious; a grimoire that only I could see and decipher was something that never existed in the game.
An unknown event.
〖You've given me many surprises, you know, disciple〗
Alice said, and I simply replied:
'Well, everyone has their own abilities, right?'
By the way, I discovered that I could speak with my teacher directly through my mind, without needing to speak out loud.
〖I suppose you're right〗
After a few minutes, a long sigh escaped from Professor Ashly, and she finally said in ecstasy:
"I can't believe it. I really had something so valuable with me all this time."
She turned toward me and suddenly hugged me tightly; bewildered, I tried to say something, but…
"Ha, ha, thank you, Cadet Adel; if it weren't for you, I never would have known that this grimoire was written by the Primogenitor Mage himself."
"..."
'W-wait, did I hear that wrong… did she say Primogenitor Mage?'
〖No, you heard correctly〗
In this world, before humans appeared,
there existed eight individuals who emerged from nothingness.
Normally, when you talk about who the first humans were on Earth, especially in religion, people speak of Adam and Eve.
However, in this world, the first humans were eight individuals.
Four of them were called Good, and four of them were called Evil.
And if you notice, they are a total of eight individuals, and there are also a total of eight specialties.
So, in simple terms, the Primogenitor Mage is the creator of the Mage specialty.
The creator of all magic, the origin of all mages.
He has several names, but the most well-known is Primogenitor Mage.
It is unknown who he is, what he looked like, or where he came from.
Exactly the same applies to the other seven.
The Lord of the Sword, the Elemental Progenitor, and the Lady of the Beast.
These are the most well-known names among the creators of the four specialties classified as Good.
Meanwhile, the four specialties classified as Evil have the following individuals as their creators:
Lord of the Dead, Primordial Witch, Commander of Darkness, and Lich.
They would be the creators of the Necromancer, Witch, Dark Knight, and Dark Mage specialties.
'As the creator of the story, I only mentioned the names of those eight, leading players to understand that those eight are the creators of the eight specialties in the world of Holy Land.'
That is all I know regarding who they are and where they come from.
There is no answer; perhaps the
The Stellar Project is a non-physical entity that stores all the information of this world: every year, month, day, minute, and second of everything that has happened since the beginning of this world.
Of course, something so extraordinary is considered nothing more than a legend, but as the creator of this story.
And together with the words of the other developers, I can affirm that the Stellar Project truly exists.
'The problem is that I have no idea how to access it.'
It was something only Lumina would access in order to obtain answers in the Holy Land DLC.
Lumina's biggest question would be why she can return to the past and what the purpose is, aside from saving the world.
That would be her first question.
In any case, I looked at the grimoire in my hands in disbelief.
"So this really was written by the Firstborn Mage."
"That's right. According to the legends, the Firstborn Mage left his mark on every Grimoire, and they were Grimoires that could only be read by unique and special people chosen by the power of Destiny."
"But that's only a legend, isn't it?"
In response to my doubt-filled question, Professor Ashly said:
"But here we have the proof. It is exactly as the legends describe."
Professor Ashly pointed at a certain character.
Curiously, the character was a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Even if I come from Earth, it would be impossible for me to understand that character.
'But when I saw it for the first time, I was shocked.'
I suspected that the Firstborn Mage was someone from Earth.
But I cannot make sense of any of this.
Because before awakening in this world, everything had only been a game and nothing more.
But now I am questioning whether this world had already existed from the very beginning in another reality.
'There are too many questions.'
"I suppose it's true. It really is a strange character."
Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I expressed my opinion.
In any case, there was nothing I could discover from a single character alone.
Even so, it would be better to keep it in my memory in case I ever find another Grimoire from the Firstborn Mage.
I might discover something if I manage to decipher the character.
"Oh, right. Since both of you accepted my proposal, I have a gift to give you, along with some benefits you will receive for being my assistants."
Professor Ashly stood up from her seat and went straight to the display case.
Several hours had already passed, so it was most likely noon by now.
After a few seconds, Professor Ashly returned and handed something to me and Lumina as well. Then she said:
"These are Advanced-Grade elixirs. They can increase mana and all physical abilities by 25%. It's a gift for accepting my proposal and a token of gratitude."
As I said, Professor Ashly has a cheerful and playful personality, but she is also very kind.
"Thank you, Professor Ashly."
"... Thank you."
Professor Ashly smiled, then picked up the papers where she had transcribed the entire grimoire of the Firstborn Mage.
After that, she went to her office, leaving me alone with Lumina.
Amid the silence, both of us were seated at the same table.
'Mhm… this is definitely an awkward atmosphere.'
I rested my hand on the table, then leaned my cheek against it.
In the middle of that, I couldn't help but think about something I had ignored until now.
'Why isn't Lumina paying that much attention to observing me? I'm supposed to be an anomaly that never existed before.'
That was my suspicion, because Lumina was not reacting the same way she did with the players.
She seemed far too calm compared to how she was in the game.
And when I say too calm, I mean she was genuinely very calm.
Of course, there had already been two or three times when she stared at me intently, but that was all.
'I've been observing her with my senses, but she hasn't done anything particularly unusual like she did with the players.'
Maybe there is an answer, but…
'No, I highly doubt I already existed in her previous regression.'
I thought that perhaps I had already existed in her previous regression.
But if that were the case, then I shouldn't exist.
'I don't fully understand regression or anything related to time, since it's an extremely complex mystery, but…'
What returns to the past are, naturally, Lumina's soul and memories.
In that case, if I had already existed, then I should not exist in this regression.
Since I do not belong to this world, my soul would obviously be tied to my body on Earth, and the laws of time in this world have different meanings.
'In simple terms, if I had already existed, I would not exist at this moment, because I should be tied to Earth, unless whoever brought me to this world changed the rules of time.'
Anyway, for now, I concluded that there had never been another "me" in Lumina's previous regression.
And that my current "self" is the only one that actually exists.
'Well, maybe I did exist, but the power of time and space is simply an enigma, a subject I cannot properly understand.'
It's not like I'm some scientist or anything like that, I'm just someone who's good at creating stories and graphic designs.
Anyway, while I was thinking, Lumina was fidgeting with her fingers.
She turned toward me, her eyes fixed directly on my bandages as if she were looking into my eyes.
Then she asked.
"Why do you always wear bandages over your eyes?"
"...."
'That's your question, protagonist.'
Anyway, I answered her question.
"Because I'm used to it, and it feels uncomfortable not wearing the bandages."
Of course, this is an excuse; the real answer would be two things.
'First, because it's a Mythical-rank item; second, it has to do with the Unique trait Eyes of the End.'
When I checked the characteristics of the Unique trait Eyes of the End, I discovered that if I removed the bandages for about five seconds—
The power of my eyes would activate, and there are three unknown penalties once I stop using the Eyes of the End.
Lumina's expression did not change, then she asked another question.
"You wouldn't mind showing me your eyes?"
"..."
'What is she even trying to achieve just by seeing my eyes?'
As Adel's creator, I am aware of what Adel's eyes look like.
But that is not what matters right now.
'Why does she want to see my eyes? It's not like they're special or anything, well, technically they are special, but that's not what I mean.'
In response to her question, I answered with another question.
"Why do you want to see my eyes? They would probably look pale gray or completely white like any other blind person's."
However, her expression did not change. Then she turned her head and said.
"I understand."
Her voice sounded somewhat strange. How should I put it? It was something similar to disappointment or something like that.
While neither of us continued speaking, Professor Ashly returned.
"I'm back now, so let's change the subject and talk about the Verses."