Elias’s shout had a remarkable effect.
Even if they didn't speak the same language, that provocative tone clearly crossed the species barrier and reached the other side with precision.
"Screee—!!!"
The white carapace husk let out a piercingly sharp screech.
Next, in Elias’s vision, the massive, cold-glinting blade arrived as expected with a whistle of wind.
To express its indignation toward this tiny human, the orange-and-white Autobot even added extra force to its step, slamming its massive foot onto the ground.
The landing was precise.
Right in the middle of that "RTX 5090 graphics card" radiating holy golden light.
Elias’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets; at this moment, his heart hurt more than if he’d been slashed himself.
That’s an RTX 5090!
How many men’s dreams are in that?
That’s a cybernetic limb capable of running 4K at 185Hz!
"You wasteful beast! Watch your step!"
However, the laws of physics didn't care about sentiment.
Crack.
A crisp, heartbreaking sound of shattering rang out.
Elias watched helplessly as that glowing graphics card instantly turned to dust under the massive metal foot.
But at the moment the card shattered, a sudden change occurred.
The originally soft, holy golden light suddenly turned violent.
A complex, shimmering rune emerged from the shattered stone slab—the graphics card fragments.
Then.
Boom—!!!
A massive, overbearing surge of energy erupted from the center of that rune.
No fire, no smoke.
Only pure, extreme repulsive force.
It was as if God himself felt it was too crowded here and casually pressed the "clear" button.
Snap.
The world before Elias’s eyes shattered instantly.
The Autobot, the stained glass, the bushes with human faces—in this moment, everything was like a broken mirror, falling to the ground with a clatter.
Like a blacked-out drunkard being punched hard by someone, forced to reboot physically.
Clarity.
Unprecedented clarity.
Then came the feeling of weightlessness.
"Dammit..."
Even though he was some distance from the blast point, Elias was still sent flying by the massive shockwave, crashing onto the beach several meters away.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and his mouth was filled with sand and the taste of blood.
But he was lucky.
The carapace husk at the center of the explosion was in far worse shape.
Because its foot had stepped squarely on the rune, the repulsive force erupted almost directly against its lower body.
That iron-hard gray-white shell was as fragile as paper before the power of the rune.
Its massive body was blown clean in half.
The lower half, along with those disgusting insect legs, turned into flying minced meat and shell fragments, impossible to piece back together.
Its relatively intact upper half flew in a beautiful arc, landing right at the base of the white lighthouse.
The dust settled.
The sound of the waves reclaimed his ears.
Elias lay on the beach, struggling to lift his head, staring at the twitching remains of the monster in the distance; his brain stalled for two seconds.
"What... what the hell was that?!" he asked weakly.
While the explosion saved his life, his already battered body was now even worse off, every bone in his body protesting.
"A Warding Glyph, kid."
Edmond’s voice rang in his mind, sounding exceptionally excited, even a bit smug.
"An ancient, violent, but very effective defensive spell."
"Aren't you going to thank me?"
"Thank... thank your balls..."
Elias rolled his eyes, his tense nerves suddenly relaxing, and darkness rushed in like a tide.
"Phew~"
His head lolled to the side, and he passed out cold.
"Kid?"
"Hey? Asleep already?"
"...Young people, always needing so much sleep."
...
Who knows how much time passed.
When Elias regained consciousness, the first thing he felt was heat.
A vicious, parching heat that felt like it was roasting him dry.
The midday sun was mercilessly scorching his skin, and the sand beneath him was as hot as a griddle.
"Hiss—"
He groaned, trying to roll over, but the movement pulled at his wounds, the pain nearly making him black out again.
"Oh, you're awake?!"
That annoying voice came online right on time.
"Congratulations, the surgery was a success. You're a girl now!"
Elias: "..."
He whole body ached, and his head was ringing; he couldn't be bothered to trade barbs with this indecent ghost.
But as a rigorous modern male, just to be safe, he laboriously reached into his pants pocket, pretending to adjust his trajectory.
Good, it's still there.
"Boring."
"I can't even be bothered to curse you, you disrespectful old bastard."
Grimacing, Elias scrambled up from the ground, patting the sand off himself.
He squinted toward the lighthouse.
The upper half of the carapace husk still lay beneath the tower, starting to emit a nauseating stench under the blazing sun, with flies buzzing all around.
"Dead?"
"Stone dead."
Elias nodded.
"First, tell me exactly what kind of mess I've stumbled into."
"Hey, you kid, you curse me and then ask questions with such confidence? I feel like you have zero respect for your seniors."
Edmond started putting on airs.
Elias didn't take the bait, instead dragging his heavy feet, step by step, toward the lighthouse.
Pushing open the iron door, a wave of cool air hit him, making him feel slightly better.
Familiar with the way, he went to the basement entrance, pushed open the dusty trapdoor, and climbed down the stairs.
The basement still smelled of decay.
Edmond’s corpse was still slumped on the floor in the same position it had fallen yesterday, looking pathetic and ridiculous.
Elias walked over, knelt down, and without hesitation, reached out and grabbed the dried corpse’s wrist.
"What are you doing?"
Edmond’s voice instantly became wary.
"Don't do anything crazy! Even if it's a corpse, it's my corpse! If you have some weird fetish, I'm calling the police!"
Expressionless, Elias slid a pale gold bracelet—made of some unknown material and covered in ancient patterns—off the dried corpse’s wrist.
The thing was cold to the touch and covered in dense, unintelligible patterns.
He weighed the bracelet in his hand and then made a throwing motion.
"Come on, quit the nonsense."
"Either you talk, or I throw it."
"Throw it where?"
"Into the sea, into a cesspool, or I'll find a blacksmith to melt it down into a chamber pot."
Elias’s tone was calm, his eyes sincere. "You know I'd do it."
"..."
Edmond fell silent.
He didn't doubt this madman’s follow-through for a second.
"My mistake, my mistake. I apologize."
The old ghost was flexible, backing down instantly.
"What do you want to hear? What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything! Just put that damn bracelet away first!"
Elias snorted and put the bracelet in his pocket.
"Where should I start?"
Edmond seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Start with the stone slab."
Elias found a chair that hadn't fallen apart yet and sat down.
"Oh, the stone slab!"
Edmond’s voice returned to its lecturing tone.
"That stone slab contained a stored spell called a Warding Glyph."
"There’s magic in this world?"
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"Spells! What is this 'magic' you speak of?"
Edmond seemed unfamiliar with the term.
"...Go on."
Elias decided not to argue terminology with the old fossil.
"Fifty years ago, when I first arrived on the island, just to be safe, I spent a fortune to buy several of these stone slabs engraved with Warding Glyphs."
Edmond recalled.
"The night before I died, I sensed something was wrong. To prevent carapace husks or anything else from coming onto the island, I placed them at various points around the beach as traps."
"Later, I died, and those things were forgotten."
"Who knew that after fifty years, they’d still be here?"
Edmond analyzed, a hint of relief in his voice.
"I suspect it’s because that area has no cover, so creatures like carapace husks wouldn't choose to come ashore there and face the lighthouse beam directly."
"That stone slab just happened to be a fish that slipped through the net."
"I didn't expect it to actually help you."
"That’s fate for you," Elias remarked.
"So, it’s basically a landmine?"
"Crude, but accurate."
Elias patted the shoulder of Edmond’s dried corpse.
"Then what about spirit vision potion and transcendents?"
"You said you’d tell me about that too, so don't try to back out."
"Oh! A transcendent? That’s me!"
Edmond answered matter-of-factly.
Elias took a deep breath, feeling his fist itch again.
"Are we doing a comedy routine here?"
"What’s a comedy routine?"
"I..."
Elias suddenly felt it was pointless.
"So you're a transcendent?" he asked instead.
"Indeed, I am a follower of the Moon Lord."
Edmond’s voice became more serious, carrying a hint of reverence.
"Moon Lord? The Three-Phase Moon?"
Elias quickly searched the original owner’s memories.
In this world’s mythology, the Three-Phase Moon seemed to be a deity representing protection and spirituality.
"Ah, exactly. Not bad, kid. You actually remembered me saying that transcendents are usually followers of gods."
Edmond praised him.
"So if I want to become a transcendent, do I have to believe in a god too?"
Elias frowned.
This was a hurdle for him.
As a modern youth who had received nine years of compulsory education and bathed in the light of science, having him sincerely believe in some unknown god was quite difficult.
"That’s right," Edmond answered bluntly.
"In this world, all transcendent power originates from the gods."
"If a mortal wants to touch that power, they must establish a connection through faith."
"Based on your tone, are you perhaps one of the Faithless?"
There was a hint of amusement in Edmond’s voice.
"Faithless... that makes me sound like some liar."
Elias curled his lip.
"Not necessarily a liar, but you certainly talk a lot of nonsense," Edmond commented fairly.
Elias ignored him and said to himself:
"Who said I'm one of the Faithless?"
He stood up and solemnly patted his chest.
"I have my own beliefs too."
"I believe in the hammer and sickle."
"What’s that?"
Edmond was clearly confused.
He frantically searched his theological database.
"Hammer... sickle... do you mean the God of Alchemy and Craftsmen?"
"Or some folk agricultural deity?"
"Uh, you could interpret it that way..."
Elias shrugged, not offering much explanation.
Explaining the proletariat to this old priest would probably be harder than making him understand what a graphics card was.
"In short, transcendence is about surpassing all that is ordinary."
Edmond gave up questioning the strange sect and returned to the main topic.
"In this world, whether human or otherwise, we are essentially 'blind' prisoners trapped in mortal flesh."
"We cannot see the true spirit world, nor can we touch the underlying logic of the universe."
"And to break through this barrier, one needs to 'open their eyes'."
At this point, Edmond paused, as if giving Elias time to digest.
"And that is why one must drink the spirit vision potion!"
"To stimulate one’s 'Rational Circuit' and connect to the Origin Web."
"Only then can one become a transcendent."
Rate on N.U.
