Gacha System: Reborn In The Hardest World
Chapter 54: Interlude: Weltwalker

Chapter 54: Interlude: Weltwalker

["Oliver Lionheart...It’s been decades since I’ve begun walking this world. At this point, I can hardly recall what my own world looked like–no, there’s still faint images in my mind. The brisk winters in that lodge, wrapped in blankets as my nose turned red, keeping warm by the fireplace.

While the fantasy of Gaia hasn’t dulled on me, I start to think back...Earth is feeling equally enigmatic to me now, no, it’s in fact more of a mystery. I hardly got to see it outside of my grandfather’s farm.

If I got the chance, which world would I choose to live in? Gaia or Earth? I’m not sure."]

The youthful man of shaggy, white hair sat there on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the mystical valley. Wondrous trees of old, reaching to the clouds, overshadowing the land with branches that bridged the sky.

A land untouched by mankind; dragons of verdant and oaken scales nested in the colossal trees, like birds.

["The Untouched Continent, Xerxian, a place only a select few adventurers have reached. It’s only accessible by crossing Typhon’s Mark, a passage through the ocean dwelled by ungodly beasts. Even those sparse few who made it here, the pinnacle of their fields, never returned.

That’s why I’m here; my curiosity simply can’t be quelled."]

The surface of the valley tucked-away from the world was like a jungle, claimed by unrestrained nature. As he traversed the land, he looked at the plants that towered over him, seeming to sway with a life of their own. Gawking at one such plant that resembled a colossal venus fly trap, it suddenly lunged at him, snapping its verdant jaws.

"Woah there," Oliver said, flipping out of the way.

Even as it missed, the oversized plant whipped its vine-limbs around, ripping them out of the soil as it bore its full form. It unraveled dozens of its verdant whips, thrashing them through the tall grass, attempting to ensnare the man.

’I see. Even the plant life on this continent has evolved in such a way to ensnare its prey. Look at it go–a creature like this would be a terrible encounter for even a seasoned adventurer,’ he observed.

He watched the berserk plant with his studious, silver irises, all while evading its thrashing limbs with precise movements. Each of the snapping-plant’s limbs blew chunks off the trees it smacked against, cracking like whips that shattered the sound barrier.

Oliver ducked down as one such limb narrowly missed his head, quietly muttering to himself, "Akashic Library: Open."

Through his silver irises, a cosmic complexion glistened as he peered into the archive accessible only through his own consciousness. In that moment between moments, slowed down to a crawl, he perused the ethereal storage–

Of countless weapons spanning from times of long extinct civilization to those of futures unseen, to creatures stored down to their genetic blueprint, he drew from his mind:

’This one will do,’ he decided.

Cyan light as if brought out of a digital world gathered at his hand, giving form to a molten greatsword that exhaled flames from its rough edge. As the carnivorous plant lashed its limbs towards him, he waved the summoned blade, casting forth a wave of heat that rippled in front of him–

The plant-born limbs were blown back, reduced to ash as the grass in the immediate vicinity was left charred. He wielded the sword without much mastery, swinging it towards the wrathful growth as a condensed slash of fire cut forth.

Through the soil, it tore before cleaving right through the head of the hungering plant. In that single motion, it withered away, being reduced to nothing but sustenance for the ground it rooted itself upon.

"Close," he quietly commanded as the mythical weapon relinquished its physical form.

["I am able to create replicas of everything and anything I perceive and understand with my own eyes. It’s stored within the record of my mind, allowing me to call upon it. In a way, it gives form to my curiosity; a tangible library."]

He looked at the withered remnants of the plant, kneeling down as he brought its ashes into his hand before letting it scatter into the soil, "Sorry about that. You can rest now."

Hiking through the treacherous land for long enough, he took a break, sitting atop a fallen log. As he sat there, he looked up at the sounds of bestial calls echoing through the jungle. Up above, he watched a pair of dragons soaring beneath the veil of the ever-reaching trees.

"Akashic Library: Open," he commanded, holding his hand out.

Into his hand, a sandwich packed with sliced meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese manifested alongside a cup of steaming coffee. He listened to the ambience of nature as he ate his lunch, every now and then hearing the calls of the many dragons that inhabited the land.

As he chewed the sandwich, a shift in the wind took his attention away from the meal.

"Ah, man, I can’t even eat in peace, can I?" He sighed, lifting his head as he swallowed the bite of the sandwich.

The trees in front of him crumbled, giving way to a beast clad in bright, scarlet fur. Even hunched over, it surpassed the height of an elephant, slamming its knuckles against the ground.

—A gorilla, or at least, some monstrous species of one that causes the trees to quiver with each slam of its knuckles. It beat its chest like a drum, baring its teeth with a challenging roar.

["Well, at least this continent never has a boring moment."]

In a matter of moments, the giant ape was left laid out on the ground, lowering its head in submission.

Oliver laughed, patting the massive creature’s head, "Hey, no harm, no foul!"

The scarlet-furred behemoth let out a subdued noise, blowing air past its lips. It was the simple truth with beasts—they recognized greater strength.

"I bet you’re just hungry, aren’t you?" Oliver asked the colossal gorilla.

It kept its head low to him, slowly nodded as it puffed out its bottom lip as if embarrassed, "Gruuu..."

"It’s gotta be tough getting enough food in an environment like this. Survival of the fittest, taken to the extreme," Oliver remarked.

He held his hand up as a spiral of light gave way to matter from nothing—

Recalling the scent of cooked meat, the sublime texture that practically melted in one’s mouth, the savory flavor:

A giant drumstick was created, which he extended to the calmed gorilla.

"Tasty, right?" He asked, watching as the red-furred ape happily chewed on the drum of meat.

As he watched it eat and finish the kind offering, the gorilla stood itself back up, nudging its head in the other direction while looking at him.

"You want me to follow you?" Oliver asked, looking up at the titanic beast.

"Ruu," the ape confirmed with a soft grunt.

Through the confines of the dense jungle, he followed the red-furred giant as each of its steps rumbled the soil. To his surprise, as he brushed hanging vines out of his way, it led him to the maw of a cave, leading into a downward slope.

"Ruu," the gorilla pointed before gesturing for him to follow.

"Is this your home or something?" Oliver asked, looking around at the walls of the cave.

Moss had completely taken hold of the tunnel, claiming it in overgrowth that bloomed colorful flowers. As he followed the beast, a wind passed through, coming from further down the cave. It went on for some time, some steps, before he watched the beast of scarlet fur reach the bottom of the downward path, signaling for him to come.

There was light, somehow; torches, perhaps, though that seemed unreasonable.

["I find that there are few times nowadays I find myself truly in awe of something, finding that which I cannot fathom in the moment; a true, mystical existence. In my centuries of life, it is a rarity. Even the sight of magic has grown normal to me, somehow; the displays of impossible power have become little more than the sparks from fireworks at night.

Today, however, I was reignited. All of that passion--renewed."]

At the end of the slope that dipped beneath the world’s crust, he raised his arm at the emergence of what he could only explain as sunlight, yet it surpassed reason. It stretched onwards, farther than his eyes could perceive–

Valleys of luscious grass, forests of trees, rivers that flowed, birds flying in the air. All of it, beneath the world’s surface, yet bathed in sunlight that somehow filled the luscious lands.

["...Beasts larger than life, surpassing anything seen on the surface; waterfalls that run in reverse, birds that flap their wings, sending forth gusts with every movement. From trees older than time, to soil more abundant in life than entire kingdoms. A world within Gaia, tucked away beneath the surface. This is what I’ve been looking for, something truly beyond belief, something unfound."]