Level 4 Human in a Ruined World-Chapter 608

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 608: A New Path (4)

“Yes. I came to see you, Teacher! And I came prepared to risk my life!”

As Yeongwoo strode forward without hesitation toward the silhouette beyond the darkness, everyone in the bridge stared blankly.

It was because they felt that something had gone seriously wrong.

Of course, it didn’t seem wrong in a bad way yet.

It was simply that events were unfolding in a way completely different from anyone’s expectations.

『Th… this doesn’t make sense.』

Moro looked around at the gathered celestial bodies with a perplexed expression.

She had even stepped down from her throne early on to avoid provoking the Black Hole’s temper.

After all, the Black Hole’s power was so immense that, if it truly wished to, it could crush even the sun—which had once been the center of a planetary system—with a single finger.

And yet, what was actually happening was……

『Is this… part of the main scenario’s progression?』

Moro murmured in a dreamlike tone, to which Earth replied with a tense expression still firmly in place.

『But the opponent is a Black Hole. We must not let our guard down. There’s no telling when it might act unpredictably.』

With that, Earth had already started moving, extending its steps to follow Yeongwoo, who had grown distant.

Moro immediately asked,

『Where do you think you’re going?』

『Jeong Yeongwoo still lacks an understanding of celestial bodies. If we leave him alone to talk with a Black Hole……』

『True. Who knows what kind of trouble that boy might cause. You make a valid point.』

But Yeongwoo himself was already running toward the “Unpredictability” beyond with a thought bordering on certainty.

‘If the Black Hole really is that powerful, then it wouldn’t see us as a threat. To its eyes, I—and all the celestial bodies here—would be nothing more than insignificant creatures.’

Then what could possibly be frightening to a being worthy of being called the strongest celestial body?

‘That would be… loneliness, wouldn’t it? A Black Hole is a star no one visits—one that no one even dares to approach.’

And considering that a Black Hole is a star that has already experienced death once, the length of time it has spent alone would be beyond estimation.

In other words, rather than having gone mad because of death, it was far more likely that it had gone mad from an unbearably long solitude.

‘Truly evil beings that go mad don’t tell you that you’ve taken the wrong path and should turn back. They just kill you.’

You didn’t even have to look far—just think of Mara.

But this Black Hole—at least, 49793 here—was different.

Up to this point, no malice could be felt from this star.

Tap!

When Yeongwoo finally crossed the long darkness and reached close proximity to his counterpart, 49793 lifted its head, having turned its back on the visitors.

Swish.

Then, very slowly, it turned around.

● You have no fear, do you? Take one more step closer and……

But by then, Yeongwoo had already passed through the hazy barrier surrounding 49793.

● N-No……!

49793 cried out almost like a scream, waving its hand.

Yeongwoo halted his forceful stride and looked at the other.

“W-Why? What’s wrong?”

What Yeongwoo finally laid eyes upon was a giant crow cloaked in a pitch-black robe.

Roughly three meters tall.

However, its eyes were hidden behind glasses fitted with black lenses, giving it an oddly comical impression despite its imposing build.

● You… you have already……

49793 raised a hand shaped like a bird’s talons and pointed at Yeongwoo’s feet.

When Yeongwoo looked down, he saw something like a wavering ash-gray mist near his heel.

“What is this?”

● You have already entered my ‘domain.’ Soon, you will be buried in eternity and vanish.

49793 muttered in a bitter tone.

But Yeongwoo couldn’t agree with those words at all.

“Well, I don’t feel that way at all.”

● What…?

“The reason I risked my life to come see you—do you know what it is?”

As he said this and stepped backward, the ash-gray boundary briefly dissolved, then immediately re-formed.

● ……!

He was freely entering and leaving the Black Hole’s domain.

Next, Yeongwoo took out the mythic map Great Exploration, and the orb—normally pitch black—now emitted a brilliant, radiant glow.

Piaaah!

‘Just as I thought—it’s reacting to the Black Hole.’

As Yeongwoo had expected, Great Exploration was also the key that allowed approach to Black Holes.

● What… is that?

49793 bent forward, curiosity evident as it noticed Great Exploration.

“You don’t know this? I thought you certainly would.”

Great Exploration was a mythic map, but at the same time, it was also a map of the passageways of Black Holes.

Since Black Holes were the ones guarding the entrances to those passageways, Yeongwoo had assumed they would naturally know of this item’s existence.

But 49793—

● It gives off a strange feeling, but I’ve never seen it before.

“If that’s the case… this explanation might take a while……”

Yeongwoo fiddled awkwardly with Great Exploration.

Where should he even begin explaining that the other possessed the function of a passage, and that they had come to use that function?

“Hmm.”

As Yeongwoo made a troubled sound, Earth—who had rushed up from behind—stopped right in front of the ash-gray boundary and flattened itself face-down on the ground.

『I-I greet the Black Star……!』

Black Star.

That was the epithet commonly used for Black Holes in the universe.

At the sight of another celestial body after such a long time, 49793 opened its beak wide.

● You… are a planet?

『Yes. |l||I-Earth is my designation.』

Earth even revealed its unique code as it offered its greeting.

It knew all too well that the other was an absolute powerhouse.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

49793 looked down at Earth with a noticeably gentler voice.

● You are a planet, and that one is a planetary resident. Then for what reason have you come here?

Then it slightly lifted its head and looked toward the rest of the group gathered in the distant bridge.

There were Moro, the Sun itself, Parina the aspiring star, and even the former members of the solar system.

For a Black Hole that had been ostracized from stellar society and existed alone for an unimaginably long time, it was a difficult sight to comprehend.

An entire planetary system had come to visit it.

And they had sent a mere planetary resident as their representative.

『We have come because we have an urgent request, Black Star.』

Earth slowly lifted its forehead from the ground.

● A request?

『Yes. This is something that only the Black Star can do.』

At Earth’s words, 49793 tilted its head, then slowly curled its thin index finger.

Ttuk.

Earth’s body suddenly lifted into the air.

Hwaaaat!

『Eek?!』

● You… you’re not just an ordinary planet after all.

Like a human picking up an insect, 49793 casually lifted Earth and examined it from side to side.

‘…Insane.’

Only then did Yeongwoo truly grasp what “Unpredictability” meant.

In some ways, it truly was irrational.

Fearing that Earth might be crushed by accident, Yeongwoo quickly intervened.

“Teacher! As you can see, that one isn’t just a planet. It’s a planetary ship.”

● A planetary ship?

“Uh… a planet that has left its natural orbit. It took a great deal of effort… but for now, you could say it’s a planet that has surpassed its limits.”

● A planet that has surpassed its limits.

49793 let out a low chuckle.

Then it set Earth back down and muttered,

● Then are you a resident who has surpassed his limits? From what I can see, you’ve gone even farther.

As it said this, 49793 pointed—not at Earth outside the ash-gray boundary, but at Yeongwoo, who had boldly stepped inside it.

In terms of audacity, the planetary resident far surpassed the planet itself.

In other words, the Black Hole had begun to take a liking to Yeongwoo, who appeared the bravest among them all.

Realizing this immediately, Yeongwoo stepped forward once more and said,

“I’ve heard many terrifying rumors about you, Teacher. So I thought that if I were to meet someone like that in person, I should at least be prepared to risk my life.”

● Hah. Most of this vast universe is filled with cowards.

Seemingly pleased with Yeongwoo’s words, 49793 laughed heartily.

Then it bent down again to look at him.

● So, do you also have a request for me? The same as that one?

“Yes. There is something that only you can do.”

● And what would that be?

“Please open the passage.”

As Yeongwoo spoke, he located 49793’s position on Great Exploration and pressed it.

From that point, a silvery-white line began to extend.

Piaaah!

● …This is.

Recognizing instantly that the black dot on the map represented itself, 49793 failed to hide its shock.

And when that dot connected to another Black Hole on the opposite side of the map, it let out a sound close to awe.

● Have you given form to the universe?

If Great Exploration was a mythic map to Yeongwoo, and a Black Hole map to Mantero’s eyes, then to a Black Hole itself, this map was a shaped universe.

Being able to see the locations of Black Holes scattered throughout space—and the distances between them—meant being able to estimate the overall size of the universe itself.

● That one… no matter how I look at it, that’s Giunek.

“Giunek? Is that another teacher’s name?”

● Yes. My companion above me. He has a name.

“Companion… above?”

Did that mean there was also a companion below?

As Yeongwoo pondered this internally, 49793 raised a finger and pointed upward.

Pop.

● Giunek. Wake up.

From the tip of 49793’s finger, white cracks spread outward, soon transforming into a vortex that tore open a massive passage.

A corridor of light, stretching endlessly upward.

“S-Surely this isn’t—”

At the far end of the passage, the same kind of deep darkness pooled as here, and soon a thoroughly unpleasant voice descended from it.

● You nameless, wretched thing. Your mouth reeks of filth. What is it that you are harboring?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]