Chapter 365: Eighty-Fourth Floor, Sea of Lava (6)

This wasn’t my first encounter with the name Kalain during a trial. Though infrequent, I had heard or seen it mentioned a few times while ascending the tower. I had even come face-to-face with him in the past.

That said, it still caught me off guard.

“Kalain?” His name had escaped my lips before I could process what I was saying

“Yes, Kalain. That’s the name of the sub. Is there a problem?”

Perhaps my reaction had been a little too sharp. Sokin looked slightly uneasy and studied my expression.

I quickly composed myself. It was just the unexpected mention of Kalain that had unsettled me. I eased my expression first.

After all, there was a chance it was nothing more than a coincidence.

“No, it’s nothing. The name simply sounds familiar, but I can’t quite recall from where. Is there any particular origin behind it?”

“Pardon?” Sokin’s eyes widened as he looked at me, confusion written clearly across his face.

It felt as if he were silently asking me what in the hell I was talking about.

Remtal’s reaction was no different. Something about the atmosphere shifted, becoming more uneasy and uncertain. This name seemed to be of vital importance, one I shouldn’t have been unfamiliar with.

As the silence stretched on, Sokin glanced at Remtal, who stepped forward with practiced ease.

“

Haha,

you have quite the sense of humor, Adventurer.”

He smiled genially, effortlessly smoothing over the awkward moment. Thank goodness I had claimed to be a mage yesterday.

I followed his lead and let out a light laugh. “My joke didn’t land, did it? I apologize.”

Feigning playfulness, I bowed my head slightly.

Sokin quickly waved his hand in an exaggerated gesture. “

Oh

, no, not at all. It’s my fault for not realizing it. It has to be my age. I’ve grown a bit too serious over the years.”

“And since you’re from the West, I suppose our sense of humor may differ,” Remtal added with a good-natured chuckle.

He then quickly steered the conversation in a different direction before it could linger, “Well then, let’s head this way. It’ll take some time to finish up here, and since Sokin is busy, I’ll explain the submersible to you in the meantime.”

He gestured toward me naturally without missing a beat. I nodded and turned to follow him.

I didn’t forget to offer a polite farewell as we left, “Then, I’ll be off for now.”

“Yes! Please take a good look. It’s our masterpiece!”

Thankfully, it seemed like I had managed to navigate the moment without much issue.

I looked at Remtal’s back as we walked. He was proving to be more reliable than I had expected.

Once we had put some distance between us and Sokin, Remtal leaned in, and as if sharing a secret, whispered, “So it’s true then. Mages really do train in seclusion from a young age, away from the world, never meeting others.”

I offered him a sheepish smile. “Yes, that’s right. I suppose I’m still quite out of touch with the world.”

“Even so, not knowing about Kalain? That was a bit extreme. Especially since you seemed to know about the Great Explosion.”

Did I? Ah, right.

Yesterday, I had feigned familiarity during our conversation to avoid seeming suspicious. In the end, I had admitted I didn’t know much and asked him to explain anyway.

Remtal narrowed his eyes slightly. “Wait, don’t tell me...”

Hmm.

I paused for a moment, then decided it would be better to be honest. He had been nothing but kind.

“

Haha

, yes. Truth be told, I didn’t know back then either.”

“I see.”

There was a hint of disappointment on his face, as if he had been let down.

I quickly added, “I may be a fairly well-known adventurer in the West, but I only recently left my master’s side. When I first came out into the world, I was conned more than once. Slept on the streets a few times when I had no money.”

His expression softened as sympathy replaced surprise. “Goodness. I did think you seemed quite young. It’s my first time meeting a mage in person, after all.”

There was even a trace of concern in his eyes.

Looking back, my story had quite a few inconsistencies, especially when taken with what I had said yesterday. I had just admitted to not knowing, and yet he hadn’t questioned it.

All because I am a mage.

Whether it was the tower’s doing or a reflection of the reverence Remtal held for mages, I couldn’t say. Either way, his goodwill wasn’t something I could take for granted. If I had known it would go this smoothly, I would have claimed to be a mage from the very beginning.

Pushing aside those thoughts, I returned to the question I had originally intended to ask. “So then, where does the name Kalain come from?”

“

Ah

, if the name felt familiar to you, Mage, then you’ve heard the legend of the Great Explosion.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. That ancient tale simply can’t be told without mentioning Lord Kalain.”

Given the way he referred to him as “Lord Kalain,” the name hadn’t likely come up by chance.

Moreover, the way Remtal spoke, full of quiet reverence, only deepened my curiosity.

What exactly did Kalain do?

I waited silently for him to continue.

“Legend tells that the Great Explosion didn’t end in complete devastation. If it did, we wouldn’t be here now, right?”

“Then?”

“At the height of the disaster, just as the world began collapsing, Lord Kalain appeared like a comet. He saved our ancestors.”

“Kalain saved them?”

“Yes. According to the legend, Lord Kalain appeared just as the Chusain Volcano erupted. It was when lava swallowed the ground and ash darkened the sky.” His gaze grew distant as if he were lost in the story, eyes shining with a subtle awe.

The way he believed in something so extraordinary—like the existence of mages—suggested he deeply immersed himself in myths and legends.

That worked to my advantage, of course. I was gaining something valuable.

“He parted the Sea of Lava to lead the people to safety. He cleared away the ash that covered the heavens so that sunlight could shine again. Though he vanished afterward, we call it the Miracle of Kalain.”

At a glance, it reminded me of the story of Moses. Then again, most heroic tales shared similar arcs, although this wasn’t the kind of story I had expected.

To be honest, when I first heard Kalain’s name, I wondered if he had slain one of the gods of this world. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Even for a challenger, defeating a god at this stage would be absurd. Especially since the tower wouldn’t choose a weak god on the eighty-fourth floor.

Of course, there is no way to know what floor Kalain was on when he arrived here.

If Remtal’s account was accurate, then Kalain had appeared after the Great Explosion. It seemed likely there had been a battle between gods, and Kalain had been summoned immediately afterward to save people from the lava as part of a trial.

This reminds me of a comic I read once. Something like Survive the Volcano?

As I drifted in thought, I felt Remtal watching me.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t responded yet. “Apologies. I was just thinking. I feel like I may have heard it as a child. It does sound familiar.”

“I knew it! No one living on the continent would be unaware of him. You probably forgot since you were so young.”

“Yes, that’s probably why. Anyway, thank you for telling me now, and earlier as well.”

At that, Remtal waved his hand lightly. “

Oh

, not at all. It looks like the submersible is just about ready. Would you like to take a look inside?”

“Sure. I’ve been curious about it.”

As we headed toward the submersible, I suddenly remembered something I had meant to ask him earlier. Kalain’s name had shaken me enough to make me forget entirely.

“By the way, while the submersible is submerged in lava... is there any kind of mechanism that allows someone to exit it?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I mean, while it’s inside the lava, is there a way for someone inside the submersible to get out?”

“

Ah-ha!

” Remtal nodded, evidently understanding what I meant.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“If you’re referring to the ejection system, of course, we have one! Since the trench is likely blocked, we will need to detonate a bomb to clear it. We’ve even placed the explosive shell inside the metal sphere so that it melts and goes off after a set amount of time.”

It seemed he had misunderstood my question.

“Can a person fit inside it?”

“A person? Well, technically yes, if you’re inside the metal sphere. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“I was planning to ride it myself, if it comes to that.”

“What? You— M-Mage. No, Adventurer?”

“Yes.”

“Inside the metal sphere?”

“That’s right.”

“A-and into the lava?”

“Yes.”

His confusion only deepened, and with each successive question, his tone grew more incredulous.

“W-why would you even consider that?” he expressed, half-panicked, half-disbelieving.

I had only known Remtal for a day, but I was starting to think that using the status of a mage could be a magical catch-all phrase, at least where he was concerned.

“Because I’m a mage.”

“Ah, because you’re a mage...” he trailed off as he looked down, then raised his head once more. “No, but even if you are a mage, why enter the lava? Is that even physically possible?”

Apparently, the line wouldn’t work this time.

I explained, “It is possible, and for a fairly simple reason. If the bomb fails to detonate properly, or the blast isn’t strong enough, I’ll need to go in and handle the rest myself.”

If the issue could be resolved with just a bomb, I wouldn’t be here. The trial was clear: identify the problem and solve it.

Remtal fell completely silent, appearing slightly dazed.

I shifted the subject and pointed toward the submersible. “Looks like it’s ready. Let’s have a look inside. I’d also like to check out the ejection system.”

***

The afternoon finally came, and after a satisfying lunch, we boarded the submersible.

It wasn’t particularly important, but the food in this world turned out to suit my taste better than expected. Their spices—unlike anything I had tasted before—were strikingly flavorful. They were perfectly sweet and salty, balanced in such a way that they embodied everything about sweet and savory done right.

I planned to recommend it to Doppy when I saw him in the waiting room. Our tastes were surprisingly similar.

At any rate, the submersible cruised steadily over the surface of the molten sea. Actual submersion would take place in deeper waters, where we assumed the trench to be.

Though calling it an assumption is generous. It is more guesswork than anything else.

They couldn’t pinpoint the exact epicenter of the tremors, only the larger region from which they came, leaving us no choice but to proceed based on intuition alone.

Seven hours into the voyage, I stood on the top of the submersible, watching the Sea of Lava shimmer beneath the evening sky. Part of me was here to search for possible clues, but the rest of me just wanted to escape the cramped discomfort of the interior.

As soon as I had mentioned that I was an adventurer, they had started asking me to share some entertaining stories. Instead, I had fled to the surface.

The navigator was stationed just behind me. He was halfway out of the hatch, his torso exposed as he steered the vessel. With no window at the front of the submersible, he relied entirely on the map and charted our direction manually.

According to Remtal, I would be determining our course, but not yet. I would be called upon after we reached the suspected area.

Unlike the navigator, I stood fully exposed atop the vessel.

At first, they had strongly advised against it.

They mentioned that eight people have already fallen into the lava on previous trips. None of them survived, apparently.

I just brushed it off. For someone like me, falling off was less likely than a monkey slipping from a tree.

Even if I did fall, it wasn’t as if I would die.

Perhaps that was why the navigator kept giving me disapproving glances as he worked. It was understandable, though.

Facing forward, he shouted down toward the lower deck, “Five degrees starboard! Be careful up there!”

The latter part was meant for me, however, as he had turned my way to say that.

I nodded subtly in response, to which he responded with a low grumble.

I could feel the heat pressing in around us. The deeper we ventured, the more intense the heat seemed to grow. I summoned my wind spirit to disperse the hot air surrounding me.

Funny. It is cool inside the ship.

Despite the lava enclosing us from all directions, the interior of the submersible remained remarkably temperate.

The secret lay in the materials used. The metal not only withstood lava but also blocked heat entirely. Moreover, a cold-iron stone had been embedded in the core of the ship. It was a type of ore that emitted a continuous chill, creating the sensation of being in an air-conditioned room.

It really is something else.

I had been curious about the ejection system, too, and learned it was controlled by a pressure-sensitive ore.

I had seen plenty of phenomena that defied conventional science, but this world felt particularly unique. It was teeming with metals imbued with strange and wondrous properties.

In a way, they were magical. If I had held even a passing interest in minerals, I could have brought a few along.

Actually, if I sold some of these on Earth...

I quickly realized what a stupid thought that was. Even if I returned to Earth right now, I wouldn’t need to worry about money.

I would simply have to show up at a power plant and supply a little electricity. Then, I would be rich.

That was when it happened.

Mung-chi stirred. More precisely, the horn of the god inside it began to react.

The mimic opened on its own, and the horn rose into the air. It was glowing with a radiant blue-gold light. It spun in place, completing three slow circles in the air before suddenly pointing downward, straight at the lava below.