Ch 2: An Explanation
'so you are like a super powerful being who will make sure I won't die right?'
[No, you are so shit your only hope is that you miraculously learn magic]
'So just teach me then'
[That's not how that works]
[To know Grandor's "magic," as your world would call it, you have to understand some things about Grandor itself. Throughout one's lifetime, everyone gradually accumulates mana. It's a genuine rule of thumb that the older a person is, the larger their mana pool—and therefore the stronger they are. In fact, many people can still become mages in old age because their larger mana pool compensates for any lack of natural talent.]
'So, there is hope for me yet?'
[No, even if you killed a hundred mana beasts right now, you would experience a "level up" since your body simply can't hold all that mana.]
[Everyone born on Grandor learns to accumulate mana in the womb. Artificial beings cannot accumulate mana because it isn't ingrained at birth. While your body might physically be capable of storing mana, your "mind" has never experienced it, so…]
'It's hopeless, huh, doc?'
[Yes, it is. However, in theory—since artifacts exist (artificial creations imbued with mana)—you could hold mana too.]
'So I just have to become an artifact to learn magic?'
[Artifacts are created when ancient mages imbue objects with mana using mana stones. However, using mana stones as a catalyst corrupts one's mana—either slowly killing a person over time or rupturing every cell in the body in a burst of agony.]
'Are you suggesting that I use mana stones that, as you just said, will kill me?'
[Since you technically do not have mana—your mind doesn't know how to accumulate or hold it—the mana stone might not affect you immediately. But if it does, it will kill you brutally. If you're lucky, you'll pass out from the pain before your organs start melting.]
'So either I wait in this little mud hut on my lumpy bed and die, or I find mana stones and challenge the neo gods—all while living in this frail old body?'
[Bingo. Of course, that assumes you even find a mana stone and that it doesn't kill you right away.]
'But if I do find a mana stone, you said it's a catalyst for imbuing things with mana, so wouldn't a third party be needed to perform the imbuing?'
[No. The mana stone acts as a battery that absorbs mana from the surroundings. A third party is only needed for artifacts, because artifacts are inanimate objects. You, being an organic being, will simply have mana flow from the environment into the stone inside you—forcing your cells to hold mana.]
'So by continuously consuming mana stones, I can use magic?'
[In theory, yes; realistically, no. Your body is well over one hundred years old—I'd be amazed if the shock of it didn't kill you instantly.]
'But what are the chances of success?'
[It doesn't matter what the chances are—if you don't succeed, you'll die anyway.]
'I just want to know if maybe I should find a god to pray to.'
[Actually, most people who anger the neo gods find themselves in a no‐way‐out situation. You have a way out—albeit one that will likely end in your death—but at least there is a chance of success. That's more mercy than most mortals get.]
'You're such a big "glass-half-full" kind of guy, aren't you?'
[It doesn't hurt to be optimistic about not dying.]
'Okay, let's begin. Where do I start?'
[Grab that spade first—we need to see if we can find any abominations.]
'You mean monsters, right?'
[No. Monsters are mana-accumulating beasts that don't need a mana stone to get stronger. We need to find an abomination against nature—something that defies the neo gods' very will. Oftentimes, these are nigh-unkillable eldritch horrors that could wipe out the continent if united.]
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KILL THAT WITH A SPADE!!!!" I shouted, the pain in my aching joints momentarily forgotten as anger flared.
[Relax. Thankfully, abominations aren't immune to the ravages of time—most, if not all, are dead. You only need to find their corpses, which are usually contained within the ancient people's primordial cages, or as the people of Grandor call them, "dungeons."]
'How did they manage to trap the abominations?'
[They didn't trap them in the conventional sense. When the abominations hibernated, they built these primordial cages around themselves. While the abominations could break out at any time, they choose not to—what the ancients constructed serves as an ideal environment for them to grow stronger in peace.]
[The ancients figured they could delay their fate if the abominations hibernated longer to accumulate more strength. Their strategy worked so well that, while the abominations focused on enlarging their mana stones during sleep, their bodies withered away.]
[Adventurers call these places "dungeons" because the ancients set traps to keep fools like you from wandering in and accidentally awakening them. Over time, hordes of mana beasts and monsters were drawn to the intense concentration of mana, causing them to flock there in droves.]
[If you brave the traps, monsters, and other hazards, you might be rewarded with unimaginable riches. Or, you might wake the abomination, which could wipe the entire continent off the map.]
'But it's perfectly safe now, right?'
[Lesser abominations would have long since died. But the older ones—or as the ancients called them, "the elder gods"—might still be sleeping.]
'So abominations were the first gods of the continent?'
[Yes. The gods of today are a much more refined version of the abominations. Rather than having a mana stone within them, they are pure mana incarnate, giving them the ability to rewrite reality. Many of the neo gods appear human; however, they are as far from human as you can imagine. Always remember that.]
'How do you know all this? Everything you've told me seems like it wouldn't be common knowledge among ordinary folk or even kings.'
[...]
[Back when I was alive—and not just a pathetic servant for an outer lord—I was arguably the greatest ArchMage to have ever existed. I don't know if people still remember me for my achievements, as the neo gods likely rewrote history in their favor.]
[Leon Norman—if I recall correctly, that was my name. It's been so long.]
'What made the neo gods hate you so much?'
[I am the last "living" ancient.]
[The neo gods feared that the ancients might rise up and reclaim the land as their own.]
[So they wiped everything out. Nearly every living thing went extinct. Kingdoms were flattened in seconds, and hundreds of millions were sacrificed, while I escaped to the one place they couldn't reach: an outer lord's domain.]
[In return for serving that outer lord, I was spared. But when you made that declaration, the neo gods knew I was back. If I had to guess, they're already mobilizing to find us.]
'Are you here at the outer lord's request? Was I sent to Grandor by the outer lord?'
[Yes, I'm here to investigate the anomaly of your arrival; however, no—the outer lord didn't send you. How you managed to slip not only through a crack in reality but through time and space into a new body remains unexplainable.]
'So you're just an observer?'
[No. I can intervene—as I did when I granted you handstands and upgraded your flick. You never did say thank you, by the way.]
'So why not just give me an unstoppable skill that could keep the neo gods at bay?'
[...]
[I used all my power to upgrade flick and grant you handstands, so it's impossible for me to help you any further right now.]
'You are a terrible status window.'
[I hope the god of death tortures you in hell. Still, I think you might survive a little longer.]
[The only reason we haven't been targeted yet is because my soul is tied to your mana-less body—a link the neo gods cannot detect.]
'So how did they even know I made a declaration in the first place?'
[Your life force was used to make the declaration in place of mana. A mage, if cornered and out of mana, will use their very life as a catalyst. Of course, that means they will die sooner, but the power it releases is extraordinary.]
[Since life is your birthright, the gods cannot manipulate it to pinpoint your location. They only know that the declaration was made.]
'So the moment I accumulate mana, they'll know where we are?'
[Yes. Though, at the very least, it buys us some time to prepare.]
There is no way I can come out of this scenario alive—that's for certain. However, I was given a glimmer of hope: zero might be my chance at never dying, or at least dragging this fight on until the neo gods lose interest.
I hate this. I thought getting isekai'd would be fun. I never imagined it would turn into an execution after death—perhaps I've already been erased from my previous world, and no one will miss me for long.
How absurd is this? The pros: I have the most experienced teacher in the world lodged in my head. The cons: I'm old beyond belief, and the god of death is my enemy—capable of finding and killing me the moment I muster a fight. I don't even know where I am, and I doubt I'll be able to find a mana stone or survive consuming one.
I grabbed the spade with trembling hands and stepped outside. The cool, damp air hit my face as two suns broke through the dawn on the horizon, illuminating my surroundings in an otherworldly glow. The forest was lush—dense foliage blanketed the ground, and distant cries from what I assumed were mana beasts echoed every few seconds. The scent of earth and decay mingled with the crisp morning air.
[There are two forests in this world that match this environment. One houses the decayed corpse of Shoggoth, the lesser abomination of hate; the other contains the Yellow King, which may still be alive. If we are lucky, we will stumble upon Shoggoth's primordial cage.]
[Both dungeons lie deep within their respective forests. The natural deterrent of hordes of mana beasts has likely kept them hidden for centuries.]
'So, I just head deeper into the forest?'
[The only other option is to stay in the hut and wait to die.]