WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 141 - Connection (2)

The raw material of the World-Sealing Elixir was soil.

Honestly, I had expected something far more grotesque, like the tears of people tortured to death, so this was hard to accept.

Mere white soil had the power to stop an entire world?

"That...can’t be all of it."

If it were truly just ordinary soil, Dercia would have been able to replicate it ages ago. There had to be something special about it.

First, I wove together nearby tree roots to make a small doorway, opened my workshop there, and shoveled in as much soil as I could manage.

"...Huh?"

But I couldn’t gather much.

After digging down about 1 meter, I started seeing black soil mixed in.

I tasted it, and it was just as awful, but there was no sign of the World-Sealing Elixir’s effect. I wondered if Scarlet Abyss had already used most of it up. Then, I saw the black soil turning white right before my eyes.

This place was turning ordinary soil into the raw material for the World-Sealing Elixir.

There was only one thing here that was different from anywhere else.

That tree.

"..."

I went outside, gathered ordinary soil, and scattered it in a line from the entrance all the way to the tree.

After lighting a flame and observing for about 5 minutes, I clearly saw the soil closest to the tree losing its color first.

"...What the hell is this?”

Suspicion turned into certainty.

Feeling dumbfounded, I touched the oak tree. This single tree was transforming the surrounding soil into the raw materials for the World-Sealing Elixir.

I packed the workshop tightly with soil, then plucked a leaf and rubbed it into the dirt.

This time, nothing happened. So was it only the tree?

To confirm I snapped off a branch—

"Please."

"!"

The sudden, solemn plea sent chills down my spine, and I stumbled back several steps.

It wasn’t the tree that spoke. The skeleton hugging it like a lover was clicking its broken jaw, producing sound.

.....No, that couldn’t be.

A skeleton had no vocal organs to produce sound. When I activated my Tide Sense, I saw an extremely fine current of water swirling inside its throat.

"Unbelievable."

I muttered, half in shock, half in admiration.

The skeleton was manipulating differences in pressure at an almost artistic level, perfectly imitating vocal cords.

It definitely was an Abyssal Sea Fallen. I had no idea how it was still functioning in that state, let alone using its world’s power, but it was.

"Please. Do not do that.”

"A recording…?”

The skeleton didn’t seem alive. It seemed to be designed to trigger predetermined responses when the tree was touched.

That was somehow even more unsettling. Just what could it be? I tightened my grip on the broken branch as I tried to grasp the situation.

Then, the lines changed.

"Whatever it is you sought when you came here, those rumors were false. There is nothing here.”

"There is only a single tree. Please, take pity on this wretched corpse and leave. I beg of you.”

"Let’s see which one’s faster."

"..."

I formed a blade of wind and placed it near the tree, before me.

My life was already forfeit anyway. If I cut it down and took even a fragment back to Dercia, it would be nothing but profit for me.

But the skeleton had a hostage it absolutely had to protect. One that could neither flee nor resist.

Surrender was the only possible outcome.

"This world has been polluted."

The skeleton began pleading in a resigned voice (likely another pre-recorded line), but there was still some desperation mixed in it.

"If his world had covered the land in lava, we would have sensed the heat and stench and stopped it.”

"If his world had buried the land in snow and ice, we would have sensed the cold and darkness and stopped it…”

"...What are you even saying?”

The persuasion sounded more like riddles.

I frowned, unable to get what he was trying to say.

"But as the world was slowly drowned in his lingering presence, we noticed nothing.”

"There was nothing we could do. In an age without wizards, how could we have known the world was filling with mana?”

The First Mage. He popped up again.

As my brow furrowed, the skeleton continued, sounding like it was lamenting.

"Everything was already over. Before we could engage in battle, before we could do anything, the world had become like this.”

"Every grain of sand in the vast desert became his. The world had been reduced to his personal possession.”

"—Except for this single tree."

My gaze returned to the oak.

"As long as this tree lives…As long as my world protects it, this will remain the only means of resistance.”

"If you suffer from his curse, eat the surrounding soil. It will prevent harm to the tree and ease your symptoms.”

"But I beg you, do not kill the tree.”

"It is the final hope left behind by our world. Please, please, I beg you…”

"..."

With that, the skeleton fell silent. As I stared at it, I organized the explanation in my mind.

It seemed that while the First Mage had flooded the world with mana, the skeleton had been protecting this one tree.

I didn’t know how an untainted tree could seal a world, or by what mechanism it functioned, but that was for Dercia to uncover.

"No, but seriously. What the hell is that First Mage bastard anyway…?”

Putting everything I had learned so far together…

It literally meant that this thing had spread mana across the world, creating wizards themselves…

And that still made no sense. That scale was beyond what an individual should be capable of.

I understood why Scarlet Abyss wanted to overthrow him. But that didn’t make the thing sound even remotely sane. It definitely seemed to exist, though…

After staring back and forth between the tree and the skeleton for a while, I let out a sigh and turned away.

For now, I’d send this soil. If we needed anything more, I could still cut it off then.

Having settled on that plan, I exited the deep pit, where Vile Blood and Sunken Mire, who had been standing guard, lit up the moment they saw me.

"Sir Undercurrent!”

"Undercurrent. You made it back safely! So, did you get anything out of this?”

"See for yourself.”

I opened my workshop and showed them the white soil packed tightly inside.

Vile Blood, who had been staring blankly, suddenly widened his eyes as he noticed the familiar color of the soil.

"...Don’t tell me this is—”

"There’s still plenty. It’s being produced automatically. If you want to call it something, this place is basically a Word-Sealing Elixir mine.”

"Wh-what about guards?”

"No reason to have any. Anyone but me who goes in there dies instantly.”

I shook my head.

You couldn't breathe. You couldn’t see. And the maze was insanely complex.

I only managed because I could map everything with Tide Sense. Without a similar detection ability, even developing oxygen tanks wouldn’t help. One would die long before reaching the center.

A natural fortress created by the death of an Abyssal Sea Fallen. That abyssal pit. From Scarlet Abyss’ perspective, leaving it unattended was far easier than posting guards and attracting suspicion from the Lower Tier.

"C-can I taste some of it?”

"Go ahead.”

Vile Blood lifted a small amount of soil into his mouth amid his tense subordinates.

"Hmm..."

"Leader, how is it?”

"—You idiots.”

Vile Blood turned slowly, his expression serious—

and a smile so wicked that a child would burst into tears just seeing it.

"It’s definitely the raw material. With this much, we could easily make 50.000.”

"O-oooh…!!”

"Well, 50.000 isn’t enough to fully break away, but do you think there might be other mines like this?”

I could understand why Vile Blood was looking so hopeful, but I shook my head.

"No. This is probably the only place in the world where these raw materials can be produced.”

"Tsk, figures…”

He clicked his tongue, but the smile still remained on his lips.

"But still. We’ve definitely found ourselves a shortcut.”

"A shortcut?"

"Even if the Upper Tiers fight among themselves and tear themselves apart in the process, now that we know the World-Sealing Elixirs are made here, we don’t need to fear death anymore. We no longer have to share Scarlet Abyss’ fate.”

That alone seemed to satisfy him and put him in an excellent mood.

"Undercurrent, is there anything you want? I doubt there’s much we can offer someone from the Upper Tier, but if there’s anything you wish for, we’ll do our best. None of this would’ve been possible without you.”

"Ask me in my next life.”

"What? Wahaha! Didn’t know you could joke.”

Watching him laugh lightly, I steeled myself.

I’d found the material for the World-Sealing Elixir and where it’s produced. I also had a rough idea of what these lunatics were trying to accomplish.

All that remained was clearing away the remaining turbidity.

It felt like it was finally time to gamble with my life.

***

Having made up my mind, I immediately acted.

"A, i, u, e, o.”

"..."

"What are you doing? Repeat after me. A, i, u, e, o.”

"...A, i, u, e, o…"

For an entire week…

I was locked in an underground cell, studying language alone with Heavenly Balance.

Considering I had braced myself for a life-or-death gamble, this felt a bit underwhelming.

The studying itself wasn’t that hard, but Heavenly Balance, well… How should I put this…?

She really treated me like a child.

"This word would mean ‘hungry,’ then.”

"Well done. Here’s your reward.”

She popped a candy straight into my mouth as she said that. It was lemon flavored.

Being treated like this while studying made me feel strangely conflicted, but Heavenly Balance insisted it was necessary. Well, I couldn’t say it wasn’t effective.

[...move---??....----north...]

My ears had opened.

"...They really were having conversations with each other.”

The deep-sea creatures I had only ever thought of as incomprehensible monsters were actually speaking with meaning behind their sounds.

"Then put what you’ve learned into practice."

"Yes."

As I felt slightly tense, Heavenly Balance gently patted my head.

"I’ve selected only the most reliable words, so nothing should go wrong."

"Understood."

I took a deep breath.

And opened my mouth near the Water Partition.

[North, something.]

What came out of my mouth wasn’t human language.

It was the language of the deep-sea creatures Heavenly Balance had taught me.

Just a crude stringing together of similar sounds, but—

[...?]

[...???]

They reacted.

Not just reflexively either. I saw every one of them turn their gaze toward the north.

Feeling slightly elated, I nodded.

"It worked. At this rate, we might actually be able to have real conversations someday.”

"Not with all of them, but certainly with some.”

"How can you be so sure?”

"Because I’ve seen another one of the Three Calamities do it.”

Heavenly Balance casually brushed it off as she packed up her books.

"Well done. But your pronunciation is still awkward. Practice with the materials for at least an hour every day. Write down every new word you hear.”

"Ah, thank you. I’ll do that.”

"Hmm…”

I answered obediently, bowing my head deeply.

Heavenly Balance looked down at me for a moment, then fell into thought.

"...It might be about time to entrust you with a task.”

"A task?”

"Yes."

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Have you ever killed someone before?”

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