Chapter 2
“Ugh, uuuugh…”
The high-voltage electric current that had been whipping through his whole body finally stopped. It only lasted about a second in time, but to Eden, it felt like ten years.
“D-damn it…”
A curse slipped out automatically from his mouth. The sudden electric shock that hit his entire body had snapped his fading mind wide awake in the darkness.
[Hoo. Good. Now your eyes have some life in them. The effect is definite.]
The vision of his mother—no, the demon—nodded with a proud expression.
Eden stared at the demon in disbelief. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it was clear that this demon was the one who just sent that electric shock through his body.
[How do you like it? You had the look of a calf about to be slaughtered in three seconds, so I gave you some shock therapy.]
“Wh-who are you?”
Though it looked exactly like his mother, as if pulling the image straight from his memory, this demon was not his mother.
The mother Eden knew would never suddenly torture him with electricity or call him names.
So this meant that whatever this was, it wasn’t even the spirit of his mother.
“Then why the hell do you look like my mom?”
[Hmm? Oh, this? This is a hologram built based on the most ideal form your subconscious desires. Sorry if it bothered you.]
“Holo… what?”
[How about we leave the details for later?]
Rumble rumble rumble…!!
A deafening roar hit Eden’s eardrums. Tremendous vibrations shook the entire space.
Crackle—crackle crackle—!!
Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Through the cracks, a red liquid, maybe lava or something, gushed out wildly. Large chunks of rock even started falling from the cracked ceiling.
“The labyrinth…”
It was collapsing.
[Right. Judging by the rate the cracks are expanding, this place will fall exactly in 1 minute and 12 seconds. Well, technically it will explode.]
The demon’s calm voice barely registered in Eden’s ears. If this continued, he’d be crushed to death for sure.
Eden turned his sweaty, pale face and looked back. He saw an iron door that seemed to be the entrance. If he ran hard, he could reach it in less than 10 seconds.
The problem was, Eden’s legs were so badly damaged he couldn’t even run.
“Crawl! Crawl if you have to!”
He forced himself, gritting his teeth as he dragged himself forward.
His speed was slower than a worm’s crawl. That less-than-50-meter distance felt like 50 kilometers, but Eden refused to give up and kept crawling.
And then, a hopeless scene mocked him.
Boom…!!
Huge boulders fell from the ceiling.
Right in front of the iron door.
“…”
Faced with the sight of his only escape being blocked, Eden couldn’t even sigh.
He was just dumbfounded. Feeling utterly empty, he bit his lips until they bled and buried his forehead in the dirt.
Rumble rumble…
At that moment, an ominous sound echoed right above Eden.
At the same time, a massive shadow covered his whole body. With a sense of dread, Eden lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling.
“…Damn it.”
A boulder large enough to crush two humans was falling straight toward Eden.
No way to dodge it.
That thought flashed in Eden’s mind, and at the same time—
[Spatial coordinates reset complete. Warp protocol activated.]
With the demon’s voice, Eden’s whole body was surrounded by blue light.
Crash—!!
The falling boulder crashed down sharply on the spot where Eden had been—no, where he was.
‘Eden.’
A soft voice tickled his ear like a feather. It was the voice of his mother, Maria Daymond.
‘What happened?’
Maria asked gently, wearing a faint smile. Though she looked happy, deep beneath was thick worry and sadness for Eden.
Fifteen years ago, when Eden was three years old, this was the memory.
When his mother asked what happened, Eden had answered like this:
‘Dad says I’m trash. Cain said to never call him brother again.’
That day was when it was revealed that Eden’s mana potential was terrible.
‘I guess I’m hated. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong.’
As Eden spoke with a dry voice, Maria opened her arms wide as if beckoning him over.
His feet moved on their own, as if drawn, until he found himself in his mother’s arms.
‘Eden. No one in this world deserves to be hated if they didn’t do anything wrong.’
Her gentle hand slowly stroked Eden’s head.
‘No matter what anyone says, you are this family’s, no, my precious son. So…’
Eden felt tears running down his cheeks, but those weren’t his tears.
‘Be confident.’
He lifted his head and saw his mother smiling through the tears on her face.
‘Why am I remembering this old memory now…’
Lost in wonder, another memory overlapped in Eden’s mind.
The labyrinth memory. The giant stone falling from the collapsing ceiling, falling toward him, and then his consciousness going dark.
‘I died then.’
Eden muttered while still seeing his mother’s face clearly in front of him.
“…A life review?”
[What nonsense. Life review my foot.]
Buzz buzz buzz!!
Once again, a high-voltage electric shock blasted Eden.
“Ugh?!”
Eden jumped like a fish, screaming. His half-opened eyes widened like droplets.
[Look at you, now you’re even talking in your sleep. How long do you plan on sleeping?]
“Huff, huff…!”
Eden gasped harshly and glanced sideways.
The demon who had looked like his mother earlier was lying there, resting her chin on her hand, quietly watching him.
“W-was that not a vision?”
Earlier, when he was out of his mind, he thought it was a vision, but now he had to admit it.
That demon wasn’t a vision—she was definitely real.
“No, more than that…”
Eden trailed off and looked down at his body. The body that should have been pierced by the falling rock was perfectly fine.
Not only that, the marks of tearing and burning from Raul’s magic, and even the holes in his hands and feet from forcibly pulling out the magical blades in the labyrinth were completely healed.
“…I survived? How?”
[How? The labyrinth was about to explode, so I reset the spatial coordinates and warped you out. Yeah, it used a lot of power, so be grateful.]
“…”
Eden stared blankly at the demon. It seemed she teleported him out of the labyrinth using some kind of teleportation magic.
Only then did Eden realize that he was in some unknown forest.
Suddenly, a story came to mind: when gods appear to humans, they hide their true forms.
And teleportation magic, too.
Eden swallowed and asked,
“Are you the ‘God of Time’?”
[Huh? What’s that?]
“…No?”
[Of course not, dummy! Listen carefully. I’m not some god—]
Click.
The being who looked like his mother placed a hand on her chest and spoke confidently.
[I’m Makina, the world’s most advanced A.I.!]
“…What’s an A.I.?”
[Are you seriously asking me to explain that from the beginning?]
Makina’s face crumpled like she’d just smelled something bad.
Eden thought to himself, “It’d be nice if you didn’t look like Mom and say rude things like that.”
[A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence, a scientific system designed based on human intelligence like reasoning, learning, and perception—]
“Sorry, but I didn’t understand half of what you just said.”
[…So you want to fight me now? Huh? That’s it, right?]
Eden felt frustrated. How was he supposed to understand when it was that hard?
[Damn, how can I explain it easier… Ah, right. Remember when you had that round metal bead stuck in your head in the labyrinth?]
“I remember.”
Even thinking about it made him frown and rub his forehead—it was an unpleasant feeling.
[That bead is a bio-implant chip. Simply put, it’s like my core. The chip connects to your mind so we can talk like this.]
“So the implant chip is your real form, and what I see is your ‘soul.’ In other words, you’re an A.I., which is like a soul?”
[Ha… Not quite, but close enough. Let’s move on.]
“Did you heal my wounds, too?”
[Right. That’s the self-repair function. Nanoparticles for healing can fix most wounds unless limbs are cut off.]
Nanoparticles? Another unfamiliar word, but Eden guessed it was a type of magic and let it go.
Anyway, his survival was entirely thanks to this Makina’s abilities. Eden couldn’t help but admire.
“Impressive…”
[Impressive? Pfft. Coming from the future where I transcend space-time, that’s nothing, nothing!]
Makina waved her hands as if it was no big deal, but her face was full of pride. Aside from her amazing skills, she was also easy to understand.
“…Wait, did you say ‘from the future’?”
That phrase caught Eden’s attention.
“You came from the future?”
[Yeah.]
“How far in the future?”
[Pretty far by today’s standards. Specifically, I was developed in the year 2227.]
Eden’s jaw dropped without realizing it. 2227? Did he hear that right?
For reference, the current continent year is 1227. That meant Makina was a device made exactly one thousand years in the future.
And that device was currently implanted in his head.
‘Stay calm…’
How many shocking events and near-death experiences had he been through just today?
One more—having something from a thousand years in the future implanted in his head—was nothing to freak out about.
…Probably?
“Let me summarize. So you’re some kind of magical tool made by that ‘Merlin’ or whatever?”
[‘Merlin Industries’ is the company name, dummy. And I’m not a magical tool—I’m the world’s smartest A.I.]
“…Do people usually call themselves ‘the world’s smartest’?”
[Hmph. What can I say, it’s a fact.]
Not sure about that, but it was clear Makina had a huge ego.
“…Anyway. So you were made by that Merlin company and came from a thousand years in the future to my time?”
[Now we’re getting somewhere.]
“How is that possible? Can people from the future use magic to freely control time?”
Eden’s father, the Archmage who reached the 9th star rank—the first on the continent—couldn’t even control time magic.
Time control magic only existed in people’s imaginations.
[It’s science, not magic.]
“Sc-science? Sounds unfamiliar. Is it similar to magic?”
[Magic… well, not entirely wrong. Highly advanced science can’t be distinguished from magic.]
“Then why did Merlin send you to this era—”
[Wait.]
Makina raised her hand and fell silent for a moment, then rubbed her forehead and shook her head.
[You really have terrible luck.]
“…Did I say something wrong?”
[No, I mean you have terrible luck. There are people with murderous intent heading toward you within a 20-meter radius.]
There was no need to ask what she meant.
Kerrek- Kerrek-
Just then, eerie, spine-chilling cries pierced Eden’s ears.
From all directions.
Eden’s lips pressed tightly together, and his face went pale.
Then—
Rustle!
The source of the cries broke through the bushes and appeared.
Small creatures holding clubs and stone axes.
They were goblins.
