Huh, that's strange...
This is even more amazing than your room, my lord.
Where did they go? I was certain they were here...
I'm terribly sorry.
I could've sworn I had potions to drink somewhere.
It's fine.
Help yourself.
By the way, isn't that Dazaneg's magic bag?
I believe making one requires a purple flame crystal and a winged dragon skin.
Yes.
I got the items, and I had someone make it for me.
He knows the requirements for the level-45 quest "Get the Magic Bag."
Who is he?
Tomorrow, we'll go in the afternoon, too.
Right...
An hour's rest will restore our HP and MP back to max.
Yes.
But you're only allowed to enter a dungeon once per day...
That's exactly right.
Master Naotsugu!
If you can't follow the rules, you'll have to go back to Akihabara.
But...
Adventurers should follow the rules.
Part of your job is ensuring you get enough rest.
World Fraction
World Fraction.
I'm sorry...
Back there, I called myself a mage,
but I am, more precisely, a magical scientist.
I the magician of Miral Lake,
Regan.
Miral Lake?
Are you saying you're the sage of Miral Lake?
Do you know of him, master?
Yeah.
When this was a game,
I heard the name in several quests and town rumors.
For example, the key item for the "Nine Dungeons of the Heilos" raid,
the Key of Eternal Darkness, was said to have been made by Mirallake the Sage.
I thought the name was just flavor text for the game's item descriptions,
something that only existed as backstory to give the game more depth.
Although, since taking the name from my master, I've never used it.
"Sage of Miral Lake" is a hereditary title?
Yes.
Seems I've run across someone very important.
This may be my chance to learn about this world.
There are many different types of magic,
dealing in a wide range of areas.
I specialize in the study of world-class magic.
World-class? I'm not familiar with it.
A school of thought divides magic according to its scale...
Action-class magic,
Action-class Magic
combat-class magic,
Combat-class Magic
operation-class magic,
Operation-class Magic
tactical-class magic,
Tactical-class Magic
strategy-class magic,
Strategy-class Magic
national defense-class magic,
National Defense-class Magic
continent-class magic,
Continent-class Magic
and...
World-class Magic
world-class magic.
Isn't magic usually divided by type?
Division by scale considers magic from a phenomenological perspective,
or in conjunction with its intended objective.
Action-class Magic
"Action-class" refers to magic capable of replicating a single action.
For example, swinging a sword and fighting a monster...
If you do that with magic, it's "action-class."
Combat-class Magic
Combat-class magic is capable of altering the course of a single battle.
For example,
a spell capable of deciding the fate of a platoon of enemies or allies.
Operation-class magic can decide two or three battles at a time.
Tactical-class Magic
Tactical goes one step further.
Perhaps a spell capable of conquering an enemy castle with a single hit.
Does that mean it could also destroy a dungeon?
There wasn't any magic of that scale in the game.
Strategic-class would be a single spell deciding the outcome of a war.
National defense, a nation.
Continent-class, a continent.
And thus, world-class...
A spell capable of controlling the laws, the fate, or the very existence
of an entire world?
Indeed.
I understand the concept,
but does such magic exist?
To my knowledge, it has been used at least three times.
World Fraction
A spell called "World Fraction."
The Apocalypse, yes?
I invited you here because I hoped
to hear the information you know about this matter.
Then I'd like to ask you, as well.
We know next to nothing about the Apocalypse.
We need information.
I would be happy to tell you anything I know.
Then would you begin by telling us
about the first and second times World Fraction was used?
The story will take some time to tell.
Is that all right?
That's fine.
Then I will begin with the older story.
Formation... Operator... Field monitor...
Patrol teams...
Right?
I remember everything Shiroe taught me about fighting in a party.
But why am I so uneasy?
Am I missing something?
Approximately three hundred and fifty years ago,
the world is said to have been a far more prosperous place than today.
It was a pale shadow of the age of gods, which has passed into legend.
But during that time,
humans, elves, dwarves, and alvs...
These four races lived together.
The alvs, in particular, were magical inventors,
and the vanguard of a vast magical civilization.
However, that power became their undoing.
What do you mean?
As a race, their reproductive capacity was quite slim,
and their nation was small.
They were despised for their monopoly over magical technology,
so the other races used their superior numbers to destroy them.
Then what about me?
I'm a half-alv.
Throughout the world, the alvs were treated as slaves.
Their descendants are the half-alvs.
In any event, the alv kingdom was destroyed.
And then, the six bent princesses, the Luquenje, were born.
Luquenje
Six bent princess?
Luquenje?
The six bent princesses.
The six didn't know each other, and they certainly weren't acting in concert.
Nonetheless, each of these six alv women
swore revenge independently, yet simultaneously.
Some seduced those in power.
Some led the remaining alvs.
And the world was plunged into chaos once more.
But in the end, all six were left on the verge of defeat.
And it was then that the first World Fraction was used.
By the alvs?
Indeed.
But the technologies and principles used remain deeply shrouded in mystery.
And the spell brought about the birth of
the demi-humans.
Until three hundred years ago, there were no demi-humans.
As to how they were created...
Repeated war had decreased the population,
leaving the planet overrun with souls.
These souls were used, it seems, in the creation of the demi-humans.
The wars with the demi-humans pushed humanity to the brink,
and the world entered a dark age.
Humanity defeated the Luquenje,
but there is no doubt their revenge succeeded.
To counter the demi-humans,
humanity used alv secrets to create new races...
The cat people, the wolf fangs, the fox tails, and the robed ones.
Wolf Fangs Cat People
Fox Tails Wolf Fangs
Robed Ones Fox Tails Wolf Fangs
Robed Ones Fox Tails
It seems the precursors were created then, as well.
The precursors are
among the most powerful non-player characters, with strength rivaling that of adventurers.
Within the game's story, they're regarded as legendary heroes.
We can discuss the precursors another time.
For now, I will simply say it is the souls,
Spirit Theory
an issue of Spirit Theory, that interests us.
Spirit Theory?
Even so, humanity was incapable of halting its slide toward the abyss.
No matter how many demi-humans one defeated, they simply reincarnated.
Which meant there was no way to defeat them.
Is he talking about respawns?
I thought that was part of the game.
If players in the game wipe out all monsters within a zone,
there'd be nothing left for other players.
Thus, after a certain amount of time, monsters always reappear
in a process called respawning.
Sixty years after the first World Fraction,
humanity had fallen nearly completely to the endless wars with demi-humans.
And then, a divine summoning spell was used,
and messengers of God appeared.
This was two hundred and forty years ago.
The second World Fraction.
The appearance of the adventurers.
Two hundred and forty years...
Come to think of it, why did you talk to me?
What do you mean?
There are other Round Table representatives...
You are an archmage, you know.
I thought you might have a better idea as to what's happening.
An archmage?
Is that true, my lord?
I don't know...
Your name first appeared in our history books ninety-eight years ago.
The time you've been active alone is proof that you're an archmage.
Ninety-eight years?
You're that old, my lord?
No, that's imposs—
Wait...
In the Elder Tale game,
time advanced at twelve times the rate of the real world.
In other words, one day in the game equals two real world hours.
Ninety-eight years ago, in this world,
would be eight years and several months in ours.
That's when I started playing Elder Tale.
Two hundred and forty years ago, when adventurers first appeared in this world,
would be twenty years in our world.
That would align
with the start of the open beta for the Elder Tale game.
Surprisingly few lords want troops.
Yes.
Most of them want technology sharing, or trade agreements.
They knew all about the steam engine.
We know they had spies in Akihabara.
Knowing about it doesn't mean they'd be able to easily make one.
Shiroe's right. It's nothing to worry over now.
That's true, but...
My lord?
Are you thinking about yesterday?
Yeah.
What is this "Spirit Theory" you mentioned?
The mystical energy that animates humans and demi-humans is called the "spirit."
Spirit
Spirit consists of two distinct energies, psyche and anima.
Psyche
Psyche is the energy that animates the mind.
It affects things such as magic, as well.
Psyche = Magic Points
It is also called MP, magic points.
Anima
Anima is the energy that animates the body.
Anima = Hit Points
HP... Hit points.
It is also the energy known as "ki."
When someone is defeated in battle, they can no longer move,
but the mind remains healthy.
However, the anima and psyche are split,
and the psyche is trapped in darkness.
This is because the information that flows to the mind
from the body, which senses light, has been cut off.
Then the dispersal of the body, the anima, begins...
This process is called anima-dispersal.
Anima-Dispersal
Resurrection magic is used on corpses in this state.
The anima that has dispersed into the air is gathered and reconstructed.
The information required for the reconstruction is derived by calculating backwards
from the information left in the corpse.
And the healer provides any missing energy.
So information from before death cannot be perfectly restored.
You have been resurrected. Smash Race/ Wolf Fang Swashbuckler, Lv. 88 Dread Pack
Status Info You have lost 1,811,933 EXP as a penalty.
That's why, when you are revived, EXP is lost.
You could say that information degradation is unavoidable.
Naturally, if the body, the anima, disperses completely,
resurrection becomes impossible.
At this point, People of the Land die.
But before that point...
Resurrection magic will work on People of the Land, also.
For an adventurer, though,
once anima dispersal is complete,
the body decomposes into particles.
And the psyche, the mind, uses its power
to transport the adventurer to the Cathedral, where they revive.
This system is quite similar to that of the demi-humans.
Of course, this is merely a hypothesis that my teacher and I were researching.
Then, do demi-humans possess memories from before death?
We don't know.
Consciousness Personality Memories Psyche
An individual's personality and consciousness
are stored inside the psyche as information.
Psyche Anima
Memories, however, are also stored within an organ of the body called the brain.
The body, of course, being anima.
So memories exist both within the anima and the psyche?
Is that information damaged when the body is reconstructed?
Yes, most likely.
It's quite possible that memories are damaged or lost during death.
The demi-human psyches were warped by the first World Fraction's curse.
Even if their memories remain,
they may not recognize those memories as their own.
In other words, they may recall them as we would a story.
Does that mean we'll lose our memories, as well?
My lord?
I don't understand any of it.
If we die in this world, don't we simply revive?
The person sitting at the computer, playing the game, is the mind.
Psyche
In other words, the psyche.
Psyche Anima
The character inside the screen is the body, the anima.
Naturally, the player is the one with
memories of what happened during the game.
Anima
But the player's character is the one with the EXP, level, and other data.
Until now, if the character died,
it only meant losing experience in a game.
It wouldn't hurt us in the real world at all.
But it's possible that now, our psyche and anima are united in one place.
In other words...
Our memories and the experience points our characters had have become one.
If we die, we'll lose our memories,
along with our experience points.
I don't know how much we'd lose.
Since we came to this world, many people have died,
but I haven't heard anyone making a big deal about it.
So it may be no more than a little forgetfulness.
But even so...
Even so,
it isn't pleasant to contemplate.
Forgetting about the real world...
Anyway, we won't tell anyone about this for a while.
Got it?
Yeah.
Good morning...
Good morning.
You're up early.
Yeah, I couldn't sleep.
Me, either.
I wonder if it'll go well today.
I'll go take a quick bath!
See you.
Tohya, good morning.
Mm.
Those are...
Dungeon corridors?
He's practicing.
S-Sorry...
Hey, Miss Isuzu.
Splendid morning, isn't it?
You don't need to force yourself.
What are you talking about?!
I was just taking a morning walk, invited by the forest nymphs,
to listen to the birds' harmony...
Yeah.
R-Really?
So what are you doing, Miss Isuzu?
I'm going for a bath.
Oh, I know! Why not come with me, Rundel Haus?
B-Bath?
I'm not interested in peeking at bathing ladies!
Please don't insult me...
No one said anything about taking one together.
You wouldn't want a lady walking through the forest alone, right?
Oh, I see.
That's true...
Yes, your escort, then.
I would be glad to.
So, which way is the spring?
That way, Rundel Haus.
Miss Isuzu, call me Rudy.
My parents call me that.
Delicious!
Another wonderful breakfast today!
Don't you all think so?
It's Nyanta's special recipe!
Rudy, this is good, too.
Hmm? Rudy?
This is salad with mashed pumpkins.
Isuzu/ Adventurer Rundel Haus Code/ Sorcerer
How exquisite.
H-Hey...
I'm sorry.
There's no more soup!
I... I...
No, I mean...
Tohya's thinking the same thing?
You know, well...
No.
It'll just end up like last time.
If I'm too scared to say it, nothing will change.
I have to say it!
Okay, breakfast is done.
Let's get to the dungeon, men.
Today, I'll finally—
Everyone...
Why don't we wait until this afternoon to enter the dungeon?
The real answer isn't written down anywhere.
Not in a textbook, on the internet,
or in the notebook you're always reading.
And no one can teach it to you.
But when you understand it on your own,
what was merely a party becomes a group of true friends.
Attacks
Next time: Attacks.
Always look thirty seconds ahead.