Chapter 4: Excavating A New Dimension of Consciousness
Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared
Deep at night in the dense jungle, Michelle and Annie’s formation remained the same with one in front and one behind Kubei.
But in Kubei’s mind, the robotic voice kept repeating the same words.
Those words were from the spell that Annie used.
"If you really want to learn magic, you might as well ask them both to teach you rather than asking me to repeat this." The System complained to Kubei with frustration after repeating the incantation for countless times.
"That can only happen if they’re willing to teach me and not beat me to a point where I lose too much blood."
Kubei was not giving up even though he has not mastered the incantation,
"Don’t stop, continue on."
After discovering the utility of the System, he has been researching this incantation for half an hour.
At the same time, Michelle has also led them forward for half an hour. According to her, the location of the treasure chest was already close by. They should be able to arrive after another hour of walking.
Kubei was happy. In fact, he was really happy.
The journey from the underground base to the treasure chest was like hell. He has had to drag his weak body while being chased – and occasionally whipped – by Annie from the back. If this journey were any longer, he might end up dying half way!
At the same time, he has to bear the stress of death, because if Michelle were to find out anything, he might be killed.
Under these twin pressures, he would rather they arrive at the destination earlier.
"Seeing that you’re this weak, I don’t think you’re capable of learning magic, so please spare me this time!" The System was beginning to collapse after repeating the incantation for a few hundred times.
"No, I’m treating it as a song left on loop."
Kubei wasn’t planning on sparing it.
Before this, the System was so quick to broadcast useless information – how could Kubei spare it this time? This is what you call karma.
Regarding the spell, he could not seem to find any way to learn it currently. But the only clue he has is this incantation, so of course he will not treat it lightly. The Chinese proverbs are right: When a book is read a hundred times over, the meaning will come to you naturally, and incantations are probably the same.
If once or twice would not work, then he will listen to it up to thousands and millions of times!
He knows that oftentimes the dumbest method might be the most efficient.
"Truthfully, rather than relying on spells, you should just think of a way to escape instead." The System began advising him, "Magic can be learnt slowly later on, if you die now, even if you learn the spell, it’ll be useless."
Kubei thought for a while and nodded,"Yeah…...you’re right."
After hearing this, the System felt like it was going to cry. Its robotic voice quivered like that of a stranded traveller who found an oasis in a desert.
Finally, it can stop repeating the incantation!
After that, Kubei said,
"Well, do you have other means of escaping?"
The System crumbled once more.
Kubei heard what seemed to be like circuits breaking apart.
Even if it was unwilling, the System started the loop again.
Once, twice, thrice…...Kubei got rid of all his other thoughts, and fully focused on the incantations. In this process, the world became blurry and distant. In his world, the only thing left seemed to be the incantation.
That majestic, incomprehensible and mysterious incantation.
Slowly, he gathered all his senses and felt like he was out of his body and entered a mystical state.
His pupils stopped moving and the color faded like that of a blind person. His breathing and blood circulation also gradually slowed down. The sharp stones penetrated the skin of his feet but he felt nothing.
Annie didn’t observe his strange state. In her view, Kubei’s body was only becoming weaker than it already was.
Kubei’s body continued to advance and he still felt nothing.
But he was aware in his mind.
Kubei suddenly realized that he was in an odd dimension.
"Where…...is this?"
It was an endless void with absolute silence.
It was pitch black.
This place was like ice that froze his soul, making it hard to think. He could not feel any vibrations, warmth, or even his heartbeat and blood flow...
He even could not feel the passage of time.
A sense of danger came over him. It was like he fell into a sinking swamp, and some sort of sticky black substance was slowly drowning him.
It would not be good if this continues.
He started struggling, but his body was like a mouse pulled from the USB port, and there was no response however he moved. He tried calling the system, but there was no reply. In a short while following the endless chill, his brain, like a fan with the electricity cut off, stopped spinning and started collecting dust and spider webs.
The swamp swallowed even the fingernails of remaining finger he raised on the surface.
His thinking stopped, and he lost all consciousness.
...
It continued for a long time, or maybe it was a while.
Then it was like a river that defrosted at spring’s arrival, like something slowly seeped into this space. Kubei started gaining consciousness.
What…...came in?
He started thinking.
He was curious about what came in, but he realized that his five senses were gone and he was unable to feel anything. He was like a dot on an endless surface, and there was nothing he could do.
But he didn’t give up and he continued struggling against the laws that bound him in place.
In the dark, he started feeling the thing that seeped in come closer and closer. The fiercer he struggled, the clearer the thing became.
After it came even closer, Kubei felt something familiar.
Its name was just a thought away, its sound was circling his ears…...Kubei struggled to remember, but it was like he was one screen away from that thing, and the screen wouldn’t break...
What was it...
He was like a spring that was stretched and compressed by some unknown force. As time went by, that force became bigger and stronger.
He was about to crumble.
He felt as if he was going to die any moment.
He was still thinking of that thing’s name. He had a feeling, if he said it out, all the troubles he was facing now would be resolved. Its name was like phlegm stuck to Kubei’s throat, he opened his mouth and used all his might just to try to spit it out.
The veins on his neck popped out and his skin became red.
The screen was slowly shattering.
He felt like he was closer to the answer, and also closer to death.
But death felt closer.
Suddenly, he was like a balloon that had a hole, as his life drained away quickly. A chill slowly emanated from his soul, blocked his heart, and gradually froze his will to fight.
Am I going to die?
But he was just an inch away from the answer, just an inch...
He couldn’t say it out.
He wasn’t willing to die.
He was like a rocket that burned up all its fuel right when it was about to penetrate the atmosphere, but instead spiraled downwards pulled by gravity.
How could he be willing?
He couldn’t say it out...
Since he couldn’t say it, might as well not say it!
He felt like a ball of flame gathered in his throat. He was like an active volcano that saved up its energy in a split second of calm and then exploded at once!
"Fuck…...Fuck you!"
It was like a dot that extended into an endless straight line.
A blinding light suddenly appeared and split the world of darkness into half!
Kubei’s stress vanished right away.
He could feel himself breathe once again. His heartbeat started beating, the frozen blood began flowing again. He could feel the elements from all over surging into his body, filling his soul, helping him feel strong as he had never felt before!
"Hahahahaha!"
The space echoed with his laughter.
In this moment, he could finally remember what the familiar thing was!
It was that incantation.
After he sunk into the deep corners of his consciousness, the System didn’t stop repeating the incantation: Once, twice, a hundred times, a million times. It has been over half an hour since Annie first used that incantation until now. The sheer number of times the incantation has been repeated over that time added strength to its effectiveness.
It was the incantation that broke the darkness, seeped in, approached him as he lost his way, and finally called him up.
At this point, Kubei lifted his head and faced that ball of light.
He opened his mouth and uttered the incantation.
Mutant!
Like a stone thrown onto a calm surface, the light began violently vibrating. Under Kubei’s supervision, the light compressed and condensed, grew in intensity, and condensed into a flowing solid!
After some rumbling, the light shrank into a light ball the size of a fist.
Finally, the light changed, and it became a light blue, triangular-shaped word. It looked like a triangle music instrument, with the thin blue lights folded into an equilateral triangle.
It was a perfect geometrical drawing, but on one of the edges, there was a narrow slit, which means the image has a gap.
As the triangle appeared, a ripple swept over the silent space, and it swarmed over Kubei, making his very soul quiver a little. After that, he felt some sort of humidity spread.
He could not tell why, but he knew that the whole space was different now.
Not just the whole space, but Kubei could clearly feel like he was like a new man. It was like the locks on his body were opened, and he stepped into a whole new world, every cell on his body felt free and easy.
In this moment, the sparkling light blue triangular alphabet emitted something.
"Unbelievable."
At this moment, a robotic voice came from nowhere.
Kubei was shocked, "You’re still here?"
The System sounded as if it was unhappy,
"Of course I’m here. How did you think you woke up? If it weren’t for me repeating the incantation, you would’ve lost yourself in your consciousness and became a walking corpse.
Kubei was surprised, "Ah, thank you very much then."
He didn’t mind that the System was unhappy, but instead he focused on the triangular alphabet.
A triangle is the most basic shape in geometry, and this alphabet wasn’t that complicated, the only special part was that it wasn’t joined at one edge. It looked like a simple shape, but Kubei felt that it contained unbelievable power.
If he wasn’t wrong, this alphabet came from Annie’s incantation. That magic could summon a waterball, so this alphabet must be related to water.
Water...
Kubei was slightly confused. After all that happened, now he has this glowing alphabet, but he wasn’t sure what was going on now.
Where was it? How did I come here? What purpose did this alphabet serve? He had so many questions that needed answers.
"Where is this?"
He asked this question first.
"This is a space within your consciousness." The space knew what Kubei was thinking and explained, "A normal person would have his consciousness shut away from them, and they wouldn’t be aware of it, and if they enter it, they probably won’t be able to escape.
Kubei thought of what happened, and could not help but feel afraid.
He was almost trapped inside, unable to escape.
"But, probably because of that incantation, you’re not longer an ordinary human." The System continued, "After what happened, you opened up your consciousness, so there are more possibilities. In simple terms, you’ve managed to pass the first trial to become a mage.
I see.
He didn’t feel excited or touched as he imagined but he only felt calmness. He became more curious than before after fumbling around and managing to become a mage.
This was what a mage was like?
From a certain point of view, he was self-taught. No one told him how a mage came to be, and he didn’t know the significance of opening up his consciousness. He was curious and filled with expectations: What have I achieved? And what kind of powers do I have?
And that alphabet, what meaning did it hold?
The questions kept coming, and he wanted answers.
Regarding mages, he knew too little.
"You shouldn’t be too happy." The System reminded him, "Becoming a mage can’t change the situation you’re in now, you’re still a hostage."
Hearing this, Kubei was jolted back to awareness.
He stopped rejoicing, and immediately thought of Michelle and Annie, his kidnap and threat of death. He wanted to continue exploring his consciousness and the mystery of the triangle, but at this moment, he had to know what had happened in the world outside.
He has been here for so long, what happened in the world outside?
He had to leave magic aside for now.
Following his thoughts, he came back to reality.
The dark night, the mysterious jungle, a slight pain came various parts of his body. Michelle was in front of him, and Annie was behind, nothing seemed to have changed.
Kubei was surprised.
He felt like he spent a long time in his consciousness, but in reality, not much time has passed.
Unbelievable.
"There were still changes. When you opened up your consciousness, some things have happened."
The System reminded him.
"What happened?
Kubei observed his surroundings, and he realized they have come to a halt. Michelle was facing Annie, the atmosphere was serious and they seemed to be discussing something.
"No, he’s making us fall behind too much, we have to abandon him."
Annie was panicking.
"We can’t give up! The treasure chest has something very important that I must have."
Michelle couldn’t be shaken.
"But we don’t have enough time..."
The argument continued. But Kubei didn’t understand what was going on, so he asked the System,
"What actually happened?"
The System replied, "It’s obvious, the troops are near. Your presence has slowed them by a lot, and because of this they couldn’t lose the troops, therefore, they’re discussing on whether to give up."
Hearing this, Kubei panicked.
Are the Lithur family troops finally going to catch up?
This was a defining moment.
In this few minutes, his life was at stake.
"You should take this opportunity." The System said, "As the troops come nearer, they probably have no time to care about other things. When they’re arguing, their attention is diverted, and the probability of you escaping is high."
It was the truth.
Kubei nodded, and asked the System again, "Well, do you have any idea on where to start?"
Based on previous experiences, he was just asking for fun, and didn’t hope to get anything useful out of it.
But, the System was different this time,
"Please wait."
The sound of files transferring in the System rang through Kubei’s mind, and it seemed to have the sound of a fan spinning, with a chain of robotic sounds. The System seemed to be downloading some huge file, and every part of it was working on it.
Found something?
Kubei awaited with anticipation.
Could it be…...that the System has found a solution?
Right at this moment, a huge screen appeared in front of his eyes. The blue borders, the white panel, the whole thing was afloat and translucent, and it seemed really sophisticated, giving off a sci-fi feel.
On the board, three digits could be clearly seen:
404