A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Snow Globe (3)

Home Woo and Genuine Jin—Kim Woo-Jin. I spoke my true name to the giant. It had been so long since I’d last said it aloud that it felt almost foreign to my ears.

The giant smiled, looking down at me in silence. His stillness wasn’t threatening; instead, it carried a warmth.

"Human, this place is neither a prison nor a cradle. It is a grave," the giant spoke, addressing the unvoiced question lingering in my thoughts. "A grave prepared for me."

I remembered reading about the giant's design ages ago, probably while going over the game’s storyline.

A species that had traversed continents and seas, reaching the farthest corners of the world. A sage beyond human understanding, one who knew all and saw everything. To him, humans were nothing more than ants.

And yet, he had not crushed me, thanks to his wisdom and kindness.

"Human... Your presence reveals that there are realms beyond this world still shrouded in mystery to me."

“... Is that so?”

"Yes," the giant said, his voice echoing through the depths of my soul. "Your entrapment here is the result of my failure to properly conceal this grave."

I held my silence.

"The way out lies here, and I can open it at any time. Yet, even then, I know you would not leave alone."

There was no need for me to answer his inquiries. The giant had already read my thoughts and given me the answers I sought. Still, one odd word in his explanation caught my attention.

“By failure, are you saying it was intentional rather than a mistake?”

The giant smiled once more and said, "Indeed, I have long foreseen that such a meeting would come to pass. When one has lived for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, encounters like this become inevitable."

“... How fascinating.”

The giant’s wisdom went far beyond human understanding; he had mastered this world. Maybe he had seen my arrival coming, grasping that I was someone from Earth now woven into this game's world.

"The time for answers has not yet come. Every human endeavor unravels the moment it reaches its end—just as we giants, too, bowed to the relentless march of time..."

In short, I had to forge my own path. I nodded; nothing about this was new. Ever since becoming Deculein, that was simply how things were.

“This cliff spans thousands of feet, with currents that shift unpredictably. As the boundary of a world I have shaped, it will be nearly impossible for any human to withstand. Climbing back up will prove as arduous as the descent,” the giant declared.

Crack—!

I dismissed his warning and drove the Wood Steel into the icy wall, carving out footholds to grip as I climbed.

I turned to the giant and said, "I will return, and I’ll bring my companions with me."

The giant's lips curled into a faint smile as he closed his eyes.

***

Meanwhile, Gindalf guided Epherene toward an odd-looking, cylindrical winged vessel—a small aircraft.

“Step inside,” Gindalf said.

"... Inside here?" Epherene asked, her voice tinged with hesitation.

“That’s right. Take the back seat.”

Epherene hesitated but climbed into the back seat, muttering, "This doesn't feel very safe..."

Vroom~

As soon as she secured the helmet, the aircraft surged into the sky.

“Wait—ahhh!”

The aircraft shot through the Floating Island's orbit, the intense air pressure making her lips tremble.

“Oooooh— Aaaaah—”

“Hahaha. Enjoying the ride, are you?” Gindalf said with a chuckle.

“Gaaaaah—!”

“Quite the thrill, isn’t it?”

“Wooooooah—!”

... At last, they reached one of the smaller islands surrounding the Floating Island, known as the Inn.

“We’ve arrived! How was it? Quite the experience, wouldn’t you say?” Gindalf said, with a warm chuckle.

"... That was the worst, no cap," Epherene grumbled.

“Hmm, no cap, you say? What an odd phrase. These youngsters do have a way with words these days.”

“No cap, it means it wasn’t fun at all... Ugh, my mouth feels weird,” Epherene muttered, shaking her head as she pressed her fingers to her chapped lips, wincing at the sting left from the aircraft’s vibration.

“Well, that’s to be expected for a first-timer,” Gindalf remarked as he pushed open the door to the Inn.

Jingle—!

Gindalf stepped inside, the bell above the door ringing softly. Epherene lingered outside, her eyes scanning the scenery around her.

“... Wow,” Epherene murmured.

The dock stretched out, lined with dozens of small aircraft poised for takeoff. Beyond its edge lay a vast emptiness, not a cliff, but an endless, yawning abyss.

“Quickly, get inside. It won't be safe if the wind starts to blow,” Gindalf called out.

"Oh, okay!" Epherene said quickly, rushing inside the Inn. “Oh?”

Though its exterior was grand, the inside was unexpectedly plain and quiet. Rows of tables filled the area, and the menu featured an array of enticing dishes.

“Epherene, this way,” Gindalf called out, raising a hand from his seat.

Beside him, the pink-haired woman winked and greeted, “Ah, there ya ah.”

“... Mage Rogerio?” Epherene’s eyes widened.

Ethereal-ranked mage Rogerio was picking her teeth with a toothpick as she fanned herself with a magic thesis and replied, “Yup, that’s right. Been a hot minute, huh? Go on, grab a seat.”

“Oh, okay,” Epherene replied as she took a seat beside Gindalf, her eyes drifting toward the thesis in Rogerio’s hands.

“... Ah, this?” Rogerio said, noticing her look, then shrugged. “It’s all the rage on the Floating Island. Everyone’s got these badges showin’ how many pages they’ve read. If ya ain't keepin’ up, ya can’t even join the conversations.”

“... I see.”

“So, I figured I’d give it a go, but honestly, it ain’t really my kinda thing, ya know?”

“Haha...” Epherene muttered with a bitter nod.

After all, a thesis like that wouldn’t come easily to Rogerio, who specialized in Ductility.

“Haha. And yet, this young one here insists she’s grasped up to a full hundred and thirty pages of that thesis!” Gindalf announced in a booming voice for all to hear.

The Inn fell silent as all eyes briefly turned toward Epherene’s table. A flush of embarrassment washed over her, but soon enough, the room returned to its lively chatter, dismissing Gindalf’s words as simple nonsense.

Rogerio narrowed her eyes and asked, "... That true, or ya just pullin’ my leg?"

Epherene explained, “It’s not a lie. I got my hands on the thesis earlier than most, so—”

“Gettin’ it early don’t mean a Solda like you would get through a hundred and thirty pages. After thirty, each page’s like a big win to read, ya know?”

Beneath the Floating Island, among the addicts, a thesis reading relay was in full swing, viewed by many as a rare opportunity for underdogs to rise. If they heard a low-ranking student in Solda had managed to comprehend up to one hundred and thirty pages of the thesis...

“Haha, but let’s put that conversation aside for now. Epherene, this Inn is quite unique. Take a look around,” Gindalf said, pointing across the room. Epherene’s eyes followed his gesture. “There, you see? That’s Carla and Jackal.”

Epherene's mouth dropped open. Just a few steps away, Carla and Jackal—the ones she had encountered on Ghost Island—sat casually. Jackal was lazily chewing on a twig, yawning, while Carla stirred sugar into her latte.

“And there sits the Jukaken of the Six Serpents.”

Jukaken, one of the leaders of the Six Serpents, was a strikingly handsome man with long hair. He sat conversing with other male mages, each of them possessing an unusual beauty.

“And over there... Haha. Even in a place like this, that fellow managed to slip in.”

“Who is it?” Epherene asked, looking in the direction Gindalf was pointing at.

Rogerio snickered, taking a sip of her coffee, and said, “That’s Gerek. They call him the Multi-Persona. Wicked dangerous, that guy.”

Gerek, a strikingly handsome man, acted strangely, muttering things like, "Big brother's got you... Dad’s got it..." while some unknown elderly woman stood beside him.

“And over there, in the corner, is Ihelm,” Rogerio added, pointing with her thumb to a corner of the Inn.

Epherene quickly looked in that direction.

"... Therefore, we must thoroughly analyze this section. Even if Astal and the addicts refuse to assist, we cannot allow the mages of the Mage Tower to surpass us," Ihelm stated, his hair slicked back as he studied the thesis with his protégés, deliberately seated in the shadows.

Ihelm clearly preferred to keep his research on Deculein's thesis out of sight from others.

“Assign your assistants to verify the calculations. Leave the routine tasks to them.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll reach out to them right away," one of Ihelm’s protégés replied.

Gindalf stroked his beard and said, “Haha. Fascinating, isn’t it? Any mage of high rank can step into this Inn on the Floating Island, even those from the Volcano, which the Mage Tower has yet to officially recognize.”

The Volcano—the official name for the Ashes. Epherene's face grew tense.

“Especially those two—Gleifer and Helgen. Take note of their faces; they’re a couple of loose cannons,” Gindalf continued, gesturing toward the two men covered in tattoos and scars.

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. But why did you bring me here, old man?” Epherene asked.

“Hmm. Do you not feel the heavy pressure in this Inn? The aura of each person here bearing down on you?”

“... Aha~ You are right. Now that you mention it, it has been a little hard to breathe,” Epherene replied, nodding as she suddenly became aware of the heaviness she had felt in the Inn all this time.

Jingle—

“Oh!”

“Hey, it’s been a while. So, you actually made it to Monarch, huh?”

“Hmph.”

Ignoring Sylvia's glare, Idnik continued, "She's writing this novel on her own, herself."

“You are writing a novel?! Let me read it! Please hand it over to me!” Epherene beamed, reaching out with both hands.

“Hmph. How dare a mere knight object to the Empress in such a manner?” Sophien remarked, her lips twisting in disdain as she glared at him.