Chapter: 167. The Frozen Gear (2)
The hot wind blasting from the librarian’s booster exhaust wraps around me.
Usually, if I feel warm wind, I would feel good, but right now, I feel extremely dirty.
Wet clothes, the salty stench invading my nose. The roughness created by the drying seawater. The smell of metal and oil wafting from the smoke.
At least, it’s fortunate that thick fumes aren’t spewing out.
In such harsh conditions, I quietly perched on the librarian’s shoulder and glared irritably at the exhaust that sprawled beside me.
“Can’t you just evaporate the moisture?”
It irritates me that I’m complaining, it irritates me that there’s leftover salt, it irritates me that I’m just sitting here; it’s just all so annoying!
To my words, the librarian chuckled lightly and replied, “You know, my reality manipulation doesn’t apply to living beings.”
Well, that condition of ‘living beings’.
“My clothes aren’t living beings either, so can’t you just target the clothes and evaporate the moisture?”
It’d be nice if the leftover salt could go away too.
Thinking about it again, I would like it even more if the salt could be blown away with it.
Reaching inside my clothes to scratch is only so effective.
To me, desperately scratching my body, the librarian sighed, “…You don’t really know my ability, do you?”
Naturally, I calmly responded despite my friend feeling dejected.
“Haah… I submitted a report with detailed conditions because it said it was necessary for the operational plan…”
As for the bundle of papers, I did receive that.
I used it to roast potatoes with Cheonha Ilgyeom.
Hmm, I guess it’s better not to mention that.
At least, it seems like Infinite Architect and Macbeth understood, so it doesn’t matter.
“It’s best to explain along the way since we don’t know what might happen. This will be a summarized version due to time constraints, is that okay?”
Whatever’s fine or not, I won’t understand 90% of what you say, so that might actually be better.
“Yeah. And don’t mix any strange jargon into it.”
I’m really not ready for anything like manifestations of unconscious rebellion or summary of ideaplan.
“Alright… Well, before I start explaining…”
The librarian raised her finger dramatically as if she were the teacher of the class.
Don’t drop it again.
“How much do you know so far?”
“Your ability?”
Let’s see…
“The reality manipulation system can manipulate or transform the position of inanimate objects, and depending on the output, creation through replication of surrounding matter is also possible. The cost of use is…”
Gulp.
My mouth dried up, and I swallowed.
“…re-experiencing the past, and erosion acceleration.”
That would recreate the most painful experience.
As if it were real.
When used briefly, it merely brings up embarrassing memories from earlier.
But at the maximum output, like the last war, it means I would find myself standing in Boston.
“You seem to know roughly. I was worried you might not know at all.”
I carefully mentioned that, thinking I might trigger a trauma, but the librarian giggled and waved her finger, seemingly unconcerned.
“Okay, then let’s get into details. The statement ‘only inanimate objects can be the target’ is a bit misleading. To be precise, things with a certain size or sentient beings are not targets.”
Isn’t that essentially the same?
“What kind of distinction is that?”
Insects, microbes, bacteria, viruses, and so forth are things I can manipulate without concern. If I had to worry about those, I would surely only be able to use my abilities in a very limited place, especially considering there are trillions of living beings around us right now.
As it turns out.
I hadn’t given it much thought until now, but it was quite an interesting topic once spoken about.
“To briefly elaborate, my ability is more like a small-scale otherworld erosion rather than reality manipulation. That’s why it’s hard to influence when there’s someone else’s will nearby.”
Wow, that’s crystal clear! It would be so great if you explained things like this normally.
Anyway, I understood the gist of it.
“So what you’re saying is? Right now, the clothes I’m wearing are out of your influence because they’re within the range of my will.”
“Yes, it’s a bit different, but to put it simply, that’s correct. So then, moving along…”
Ignoring the librarian who was about to mention the cost, I twisted my body, still stinging with leftover salt.
Raising my hand to the sky and thrashing side to side, finally, one of my outerwear pieces shed off.
“And when my penalty of recalling past experiences ends, the brief moment when I return to reality, it takes a while to regain my senses… Do you follow?”
That’s awkward.
With only basic white tights left, I had stripped down completely.
Hanging my clothes on the hammer, I thrust it toward the librarian.
“Okay, I’m undressed. Dry this for me.”
Regardless of my inner feelings, when it comes to being a woman, I obviously can’t just strip anywhere.
I mean, come on, I have some common sense!
“Hey, I wouldn’t just strip anywhere; just dry this, already.”
Saying that, I kept waving the hammer directly in front of the librarian’s eyes, boarding my request on urgency.
…And with that, picking up from earlier, my power being similar in principle to otherworld erosion has been made clear, right?
“Yeah.”
“And the magical girl’s clothes are made of mana, meaning they consist of the otherworld’s power. So, they’re subjects my power can hardly apply to.”
Hmm. It feels like the world is trying to stop me from drying my clothes by any means necessary.
Why do I have to face such harsh conditions again?
As I momentarily indulged in that sense of sorrow, I gazed up at the deep blue Arctic sky.
The cold wind brushed past my salt-ridden body pleasantly, and the tranquil ocean scent calmed my mind, instigating a good feeling and a brilliant idea popped into my head.
“So what about the sea water and salt stuck to my clothes? That shouldn’t matter. Just blow it away.”
Even I think that’s a perfect idea.
If it can’t be applied to my clothes, then I’ll just target the things that can be impacted!
…I mentioned it earlier, didn’t I? The range of will is an issue. Also, the magical girl’s clothing is the same.
With an untraceable will imbued, it repels my power. It doesn’t seem alive or anything, though.”
The librarian, seemingly unable to say more, finally lowered her energetic demeanor and quietly spoke.
Having heard that, I felt a little disappointment and considered pressing for further explanation, but I decided against it.
After all, the librarian wasn’t intentionally withholding, and she’d already explained the reasons simply enough for me to understand.
Currently, with this delightful breeze surrounding me, I wanted to experience the cold Arctic air.
Raising the hammer, dressed as a flag, I spread out my body in silence, feeling the clothes dry while savoring the icy wind.
The island is drawing nearer.
I don’t know if it’s the end of the librarian’s journey, but the island is…
“We’ve arrived.”
The moment the librarian spoke those words.
Clunk!
I leapt forward, bouncing off the librarian’s shoulder.
Having completed the lengthy ocean voyage, I sought to stand on my own two feet.
For a moment floating in mid-air, I hoped to feel the soft touch of the ground as I landed on the island, but…
Clunk!
There was a strange metallic sound as I landed.
“Ugh.”
A peculiar sensation hit my heel, coursing up from my foot to my head, as though I just kicked something hard.
There’s no way this could be a normal situation.
What is this?
Reeling from the sudden impact, I moved my foot slowly.
Clunk!
Again, the metallic sound echoed back.
On what seemed to be a sandy beach, the metallic sound returned.
To discern the bizarre difference, I shuffled around to shake off the sand.
No, I tried to scatter it.
Yet no matter how much I shook, the ‘sand’ didn’t budge at all.
What is this?!
To check the identity of this strange sandy beach, I bent over and touched it with my hands.
It does not move.
Squatting down, I observed the sandy beach closely.
Only then could I grasp the cause of this bizarre phenomenon.
What lay before me was an enormous chunk of metal.
On the surface, it looked just like sand, but if you looked carefully, it was as if the grains were welded together all over.
The shape and color are indistinguishable from ordinary sand; it was merely an illusion.
Could it be that this entire sandy beach is made of metal?
Shocked, I stood up and scanned the surroundings.
It’s not a very large island, so the whole sandy beach comes into view at a glance, yet to think of it as one solid chunk of iron seems foolish.
Kugugu…
As I panicked, the sound of the booster echoed behind me.
Thud. Clunk-ing!
Then came the sound of enormous metal containers landing on the metallic surface.
“What the heck is this, librarian?”
There was no need to confirm whom it was. I threw the question at my friend.
-Of course, it’s evident. It’s a mechanical phenomenon.
A mechanical phenomenon, huh.
I looked up to see the forest beyond the sandy beach.
No matter how I looked at it, the trees and plants appeared utterly ordinary.
In fact, those trees and plants sway gently in the wind, making it impossible to think of them as machines.
However, wasn’t the sandy beach indistinguishable too?
Until I touched and observed it closely, I recognized it only as a sandy beach.
Hence, I decided to verify the identity of the forest by moving forward.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
The sound of my solid boots colliding against the metallic sandy beach echoed dozens of times, and finally, I reached the forest.
Bending down, I touched the grass.
It’s cold.
That was the first sensation I felt through the grass.
Feeling the coolness, I twisted the thin grass with my hand, and instead of tearing, it began to bend.
Like wire or a metal plate, the green grass started to twist.
Slowly withdrawing my hand, the grass remained in the bent shape, showcasing its metallic nature.
I swung my fist weakly toward a nearby tree.
Clunk.
The sensation felt like I was hitting a telephone pole; the impact raced up my hand.
What the heck.
I’m not unfamiliar with this phenomenon.
I had learned that the librarian’s adversaries turn everything into machines, so I expected this.
But I didn’t anticipate it to be as grotesque as this.
It appeared that everything was the same at a glance.
Yet the moment you touch it, you realize it’s entirely different.
The cold metallic temperature.
The hardness that seemed to reject all.
The unsettling dissonance that tells me it’s nothing like I know.
“Librarian?”
I posed a question to the librarian, who had approached me without my notice.
“Can I tear this tree apart?”
I wanted to ascertain visually.
This living being. This plant. How twisted is it?
…It probably won’t be a very interesting sight.”
…So it means I can?
Upon hearing that, I slowly moved my hand.
It should be coated with bark, but it’s a metal plate.
I threw a punch at it, forcing my way in to create a hole, tearing through the not-so-thin layer of metal.
Rip. Rip.
Click. Click.
Creak. Creak.
The sound of machinery echoed.
The sound of sparks arising from severed wires.
As the outer shell that had been muffling noise was torn away, the bizarre gears released a series of rattling sounds.
Conduits transporting unidentifiable liquids wobbled up and down.
At a glance, it seemed like machinery.
Yet I instinctively felt disgust.
The components evoked no images of beautifully designed machines.
What I felt there was.
A machine jerkily fabricated, resembling life.
Wires spun useless circles with no destination, gears spun aimlessly in meaningless places, and metallic pipes splattered perplexing oils lifted from below onto the odd gears.
They brought no results whatsoever.
And yet, they mindlessly repeated their purposeless actions.
Like they were alive.
That strangeness birthed an intense aversion within me.
Whether it was because of that aversion, I posed a question to the librarian I would never normally have asked.
“Librarian. Is your inside… like this too?”
Having realized the question was highly rude and one I shouldn’t have said only after it slipped out of my mouth.
“No. I made sure to fix myself because I hated looking at that.”
Despite even such impertinent queries.
My friend answered with a smile.
I couldn’t see her expression but…
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