Episode 1. wizard reading patterns (1)
Was it around the age of five?
From then on, the world started to look a little special.
I saw a complex pattern consisting of dozens or thousands of lines. I could remember it at once.
I am a mage who reads mana patterns.
* * *
Monsters first appeared on Earth at the end of the 21st century. It was a time when global warming and epidemics groaned.
Humanity fell into a panic and nations collapsed one by one.
At that time, people called superhumans appeared. It was a class with special abilities to fight monsters.
Thanks to Choin’s performance, the monsters were gradually eliminated.
It took a long time.
But the problem still remained.
The constant toxic rain made it difficult to live on the ground.
BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) are now stories of the distant past. The humans who survived the monsters named what happened after the monsters invaded After Attack, AA.
People pioneered underground cities to escape toxic substances. The ‘rare stones’ such as mana stones and floating stones that appeared along with the monsters were of great help in rebuilding civilization.
AA 548.
Mana stones replace energy sources,
The age of magic where everyone longs for superhumans.
The children of Charlie’s base, nestled in old European land, gathered at the school.
It was funeral time.
“Okay, today’s class ends here. There is a rain forecast, so refrain from entering the ground. more!”
“Ugh!”
“Aagh!”
The children who heard the rain forecast poured out exclamations of regret. The faces of the children who had not been exposed to sunlight were pale. Even the smiles of the children, tired of the long underground life, looked gloomy.
The children often climbed to the ground and played, ignoring warnings. There were days when even such children did not go up to the ground.
It was a rainy day like today.
As soon as the teacher left the classroom, Dante kicked off his desk and got up.
Skinny body like normal children. Crispy brown hair and lifeless skin. However, he was a boy with sparkling eyes.
Dante easily jumped over a couple of desks and chairs and landed next to his friend.
“Hamel! Yayayaya!”
“why.”
“A game of basketball outside?”
A noble boy called Hamel frowned.
“what. Are you crazy? It’s raining. Don’t do that, let’s go over to my house and play a game.”
Dante responded as if he did not like Hamel’s proposal.
“Home again? Why do you like your house so much?”
“Do I have to say that with my mouth? It’s wide, it’s high, it’s a good view, there’s a lot of games.”
Hamel spat out something unlucky. If I had to evaluate it, I had nothing to lose, so should I say he’s a less fortunate guy?
After thinking for a moment, Dante playfully strangled Hamel with his elbow.
“okay. Then let’s play today.”
“If you decide to play a game and ask to see a documentary again, you lose.”
“I got it. Let’s go quickly.”
The two children left the cramped school with no windows side by side.
The city was always busy.
Spaces where humans could settle were limited. So it is a building in a narrow space and the road is packed.
People called this underground city the chicken coop.
The 24-hour purification system runs, but it was not enough. The air was always thick and stuffy. Many people suffer from respiratory diseases. Masks were mandatory, not optional.
Children reflexively kept their distance whenever they encountered someone who was coughing.
The subway station was nearby.
Beep beep beep beep beep
Because a rain warning was issued, an alarm sounded from each speaker. An unpleasant sound that rings at regular intervals.
Dante grumbled, covering both ears with his palms as if he didn’t want to hear.
“No, do you really have to be alert like this? I’m going to get a real neurosis. That alarm bell.”
Looking at Dante like that, Hamel clicked his tongue and talked.
“hey. Why are you so dissatisfied with the world? I’m warning you because it’s dangerous. You have to listen carefully to live long.”
Toxic rainwater shortens lifespan just by brushing against the skin. The same goes for toxins mixed in the air.
However, it is less toxic than rainwater, so children often went out on the ground and enjoyed sunbathing. Even if it’s only an hour or two a week.
Dante never thought of wanting to live long. Wouldn’t it be better to just live a rough life and die?
“okay. you want to live long I want to live as long as you.”
Hamel did not particularly object to Dante’s words.
Hamel’s family is upper-class, and Dante is a commoner. If you were a commoner like Dante, you would think similarly.
What should I do if I live a long time?
no subway.
Unlike the stuffy air, the overall facility was clean. because of strong laws.
The third district of the Charlie District alone had a population of 100,000. There are about a hundred districts of similar size.
100,000 people live in tiny underground spaces. Unclean environments cause contagious diseases, and diseases spread much faster in confined spaces. So each city valued cleanliness.
[This station is Howard Castle, Howard Castle Station. The door to get off is to the right. ]
As the two boys approached the subway door, some people gave them envious glances.
Dante patted Hamel on the side and whispered quietly.
“Look. I envy you all.”
Howard Castle.
It was one of only five above-ground apartments in the third district of Charlie Base.
Most of the buildings are tucked away underground.
Why did people build underground cities?
Simple.
Monster invasions, toxic rains, polluted air and soil. Because the best place to avoid them was underground.
In order to build a building on the ground, it must be safe from monster invasions and must not corrode in toxic rainwater. In short, it means that it is expensive because you have to hit the protection magic and mana stones.
Howard Castle was also an expensive apartment. A place where only a select group of people can enter, where you can see the outside scenery through the window.
Hamel was a child living in such a place.
The apartment was connected to the subway station.
Hamel’s house is on the 17th floor.
As soon as Dante entered the house, he ran to the window. The scenery outside caught my eye.
“Big. Are you okay?”
When it comes to scenery, the only things worth seeing are the sky and the sun. There was nothing green in the barren land.
Still, looking at the scenery from such a high place, I felt like my heart was exploding.
It was one of the reasons Dante visited Hamel’s house.
“uh? it’s raining.”
Rain forecasts for this era were fairly accurate. It’s a matter of survival.
[ Detect Mana Pattern ]
‘nice. After all, seeing it on a rainy day is the best.’
Dante raised Mana with his eyes.
When I used mana pattern detection magic, I felt my eyes tickling while being moist.
Maybe it’s because of mana?
Soon, a picture was carved using the desolate land as a canvas.
Indigo, light green, cyan, green.
Usually toxic substances have a green pattern. This verdant rainwater has wiped out plants on Earth.
Ironically, however, the days when toxic raindrops fell like today were the days when the world looked the greenest to Dante.
‘superman. Could it be me too?’
The boy looked out the window and smiled lightly.
in between.
Hamel, who said he would play the game, eventually chose a DVD that Dante liked and inserted it into the player.
It was a documentary called ‘Tanya Tudor’.
“hey! come quickly start.”
The moment Dante was about to fly up with a ‘boom’ and join the sofa. Both children’s phones rang at the same time.
The children identified the caller and looked at each other. My eyes are shaking with anxiety.
Hamel asked.
“who is this?”
“Mister Association Lawyer. you?”
“The Superman Association team leader.”
Dante’s parents were miners digging for rare stones, and Hamel’s parents were superhumans.
The two boys had a hunch.
Something big might have happened.
“I’ll go to my room and get it.”
Hamel ran into the room clutching his phone.
Dante checked the screen again.
[Caller: Uncle Ray]
Ray Schultz.
He was a good man as a lawyer for the Miners Association to which his parents belonged. I’ve also met Dante a few times.
‘please… … .’
I have no religion, but I prayed.
to make nothing happen
thump.
thump.
“hello?”
– Dante, it’s me. Uncle Ray.
“Yes, uncle, how are you? What are you doing? Give me a call directly.”
– That’s it. There was an accident at C108.
It felt like my hair was standing on end.
C108 was an alien planet that Dante and Hamel’s parents were dispatched to.
Dante caught his breath and asked calmly.
“Are you buying? Are your parents hurt?”
– I’m watching the news first. Don’t go and talk about the details. See you at home in an hour. Understand?
The call ended before Dante could answer.
I heard multiple rings throughout the call. The office seemed to be turned upside down.
While Dante is dumbfounded.
Hamel came out into the living room and picked up the remote control.
Tidik.
[ Breaking news. A new monster was discovered on the C-class planet C108, which was undergoing a pioneering business.
1,000 mercenaries and 5,000 miners were killed during the mission.
With all the field personnel urgently evacuated, experts predicted that it would be difficult to recover the body. Reporter Raymond gives you the details. ]
Dante struggled to open his mouth.
“You just said that all the field personnel had withdrawn. So, is there any chance that he might be alive?”
“… … .”
Hamel did not answer.
Dante turned his head to look at Hamel.
bloodless face,
blurry pupils,
half-open lips.
Dante grabbed Hamel’s shoulders and shook them lightly.
“hey. Get your mind right. What about the association? How did it go?”
This is the Miners’ Association, and the other is the Superman’s Association. The one with more detailed and accurate information must be the Superman Association. So I pushed my friend.
It was a situation that Dante could not help.
“hey!”
Hamel, who barely came to his senses at Dante’s shouting, asked back.
“Yes? what. what?”
“How did it go? What did the Association say?”
Hamel answered clearly in a calm voice.
“He passed away. Both of you.”
“if… … .”
“The ground personnel are all dead. It seems that only the aerial reconnaissance team and the personnel waiting on the airship were evacuated. Hey, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to watch the documentary later.”
Of course it should.
Is the documentary a problem now?
From noble mtl dot com
Dante got on the subway alone.
It was a strange feeling that was hard to explain.
TV always focused on winning. They said that they could go up to the ground soon and that a world without monsters would come, but in reality it was not.
Countless superhumans and miners die every year on alien planets. So, as usual, the families prepared for parting.
So was Dante.
But you realize it only when it becomes a reality. Preparing for a breakup was useless.
I was just dazed.
It wasn’t until about an hour after I got home that Ray Schultz came to visit me.
“Come on in.”
“okay.”
“I saw the news. Is it real?”
To be honest, I still haven’t realized it.
Are you really dead? thought to do. It was a daily routine for the two of them to leave the house.
After a month or half a year, I think he will come back smiling and hug me.
however… … .
“It is true. Pierre and L. Both died instantly at the scene. I’m sorry, Dante.”
Ray carefully explained the circumstances of the incident.
The gist was as seen on the news. An unexpected new monster appeared, and the personnel who could not cope with it were annihilated.
It was an uncommon and boring story.
Most of the people who died while being dispatched die for similar reasons. Because of the new monster that couldn’t be attacked.
“how. Would you like to stay with me today?”
“no. are you okay.”
“I get it. Take this.”
Ray took a small box out of his briefcase and set it aside.
“Looks like a will. I will check and contact you.”