Episode 218 – Tower of Babel
Babel.
Many people think of Babel itself as a tower, but the reality is different.
Babel is a place name in ancient Babylonia and the name of the city where the Tower of Babel, the tower that people often think of when they think of Babel, was built.
In ancient times, all human languages were unified, but God, who was angry at humans who tried to reach heaven by building the Tower of Babel, mixed up the human languages and scattered all the people there.
As a result, the Tower of Babel remained in place without being completed.
‘… That was originally common sense in the world.’
It’s different in this world.
Although it was slightly damaged due to the evil god’s anger, all kinds of labyrinths and monsters were created inside.
The creators were cursed to speak different languages and were scattered far apart.
They did not give up and gathered again to continue construction.
The Tower of Babel was finally completed.
The problem is that no one has reached the top of the Tower of Babel immediately after its completion due to the labyrinths and monsters created by evil spirits.
‘It’s scheduled to happen now.’
We will conquer the Tower of Babel. Climb to the top floor and witness the truth contained there.
I have accumulated enough strength and experience to do so.
“… Good. “Let’s go in.”
“Huh… ! “I’m shaking!”
In the distance, you can see the Tower of Babel.
I thought it was a metaphor for reaching the sky, but the tower really did touch the sky.
It almost looked like a pillar connecting the ceiling called heaven and the floor called earth.
It is so thick that it occupies more than half of the city of Babel.
It was amazing.
It must still be difficult, but ancient beings built such towers one by one.
‘It’s a world with magic, but….’
It’s close to the realm of the impossible. It seems that the words written in the myth about receiving the goddess’ protection were true.
‘It doesn’t read.’
Although I am originally illiterate in magic, I can still read the type of magic to some extent through magic power patterns.
Is this offensive magic or defensive magic?
If it is offensive magic, what are its properties, and if it is defensive magic, is it close to a barrier or close to a shield?
Although it is impossible to completely interpret it, it is possible to that extent.
But I couldn’t read that thing in front of me at all.
Deep ancient magical power spread around the Tower of Babel.
Although an immeasurably long time must have passed, the magical power so strong that it took my breath away was embroidered in an incomprehensible pattern.
‘For some reason, when I look at comics or games, whenever the word “Korea” Is included, it looks dirty.’
Common sense tells us that as humanity continues to develop, ancient magic, which is nothing more than a distant past, cannot be stronger.
But now I can understand. This wasn’t something to make a fuss about, as it was common sense and all.
Magic is language.
The language of magic that allows you to read magic power and control it.
And language changes over time. So much so that it is difficult for later generations to keep up.
Just looking at the letters from the Joseon Dynasty, there are several symbols that modern people cannot read.
The way of speaking and writing is also different.
If so, what was the language like in the very distant past?
It takes a long time to interpret just one line of an ancient language. It was that kind of field.
If that were simply the case, it would have been difficult to even read that ancient magic.
Wasn’t the language reversed due to the actions of evil spirits? Of course, all the magic changed as well.
Therefore, it is different from modern magic.
To use an analogy, it feels like ancient hieroglyphs?
Even people who have delved into that field have a hard time interpreting it, but it is impossible for me, a complete stranger to the field, to interpret it.
Because of this, it was right to see that even dismissing it as ancient magic was absurd.
That wasn’t magic, it was closer to an extraordinary ability or miracle that we couldn’t understand.
I can only assume that it is a maintenance spell to prevent the Tower of Babel from collapsing as it surrounds it, or a barrier spell to protect against attacks from the outside.
“… ….”
As if we had made a promise, we kept our mouths shut and walked towards the Tower of Babel.
There was nothing in Babel.
There was not a single rat in sight, let alone a person or a store selling something.
It’s just buildings from the past built in rows.
The strange pressure emanating from the Tower of Babel seemed to push away all life.
We crossed the middle of the dead city like that.
“… “It’s really quiet.”
“It’s somehow eerie….”
Stia also seemed to find the aura emanating from the ancient magical power unpleasant, so she strode forward with her frown frowning.
Scarlett clung to Stia’s back like a scared squirrel as she frantically looked around.
Indeed, because it was a city known to be the most prosperous civilization in ancient times, it was endlessly spacious.
To the extent that it feels as if we are not moving forward and are still standing still.
‘… For a moment.’
Suddenly, I thought about that and stopped walking.
Perhaps the ordeal of the Tower of Babel has already begun?
Are we really already trapped in an illusion and just repeating the same steps?
However, when I stop walking, only I stop in place, and the others continue to move forward.
From Noble mtl dot com
That’s right! My expectations were exceeded beautifully!
The city of Babel was just so big.
‘… Was the paranoia too severe?
This is all because I have been burned by illusions so many times since coming to this world.
While training in a fantasy artifact, I was suddenly kidnapped by the Labyrinth of Odin’s Eye.
The reason I found out that the real Han Si-woo had regressed countless times was because I was affected by illusion magic during the academy attack incident.
Not long ago, I was attacked by a guy called Nightmare with illusion magic.
‘There are so many things I have experienced while being tied to illusions.’
You could call it phantom PTSD.
“Siwoo? What’s wrong?”
Dina looked at me strangely as I suddenly stopped and tilted her head.
“It’s nothing. “I just thought this place was really spacious.”
“I see. “It seems like we’ve walked a long way, but it still seems like there’s a long way to go.”
Dina also agreed with my opinion, expressing her usual sentiments.
Yes. Unless you’ve been burned by illusions like me, it’s normal to have that kind of reaction.
That was until Dina’s backstory continued.
“I feel like I’m standing still.”
Actually, that too was an ordinary sentiment.
Isn’t this all just an illusion and just standing still? Those words were enough to make me feel sad after hearing this.
What if this is really an illusion?
What if it’s an illusion carefully designed so that one person doesn’t notice just by stopping?
Complex thoughts continue in my head.
‘But no matter how elaborately the illusion is designed, it cannot deceive the senses of everyone here. If it was really an illusion, someone would have noticed.’
The people here were all beings who had surpassed human senses a long time ago.
Even the weakest of these, Scarlett and Sally, are already far beyond the category of ordinary humans.
To use a metaphor, it could be said that they have the same senses as an animal, but no matter how sensitive an animal is, its senses will not be more sensitive than ours.
‘But.’
The special nature of this place made it impossible to deny that possibility.
This is the ancient city of Babylonia, heading to the Tower of Babel.
An incomprehensible space surrounded by ancient magic that we cannot even begin to understand.
Here, we could have created a fantasy space that none of us could perceive.
Right now, there is no one who can interpret the barrier erected on the Tower of Babel in the distance.
I was able to think of many other families.
Perhaps, I am the only one who has fallen into this fantasy, just like the nightmare did to me.
In other words, the moment you set foot in the city, everyone falls into a different fantasy and can make you think you are with fake colleagues.
If that’s not the case, it’s not that they’re trapped in an illusion at all, but they’re just slightly distorting their perception and making them think they’re walking.
Even if this isn’t a fantasy and it’s just a large city, it doesn’t matter.
I had to maintain this mindset from now on.
This is an unknown space where beings such as the Archmage, the Sword Master, and the Sentai Warrior Party all took on the challenge but were unable to conquer.
Because it is one of the four major forbidden areas, like the ‘Black Forest’ that I visited in the past.
It is not just a meaningless assumption. From now on, I had to adopt this mindset, suspect everything and be wary of everything.
“… ….”
“Come quickly. Siu!”
“Ah, yes. I am coming.”
As I walk towards Dina, who is looking back at me from a little distance away, I recall the image of the sword in my mind.
A legendary weapon that appears to be made of brilliant starlight and has been handed down from generation to generation to the Holy Knights.
Holy Sword, Durandal.
Braces your mind so that you can take it out and wield it at any time.