Chapter 23: The Alienation of the World

"Actually, the situation is quite simple."

"It's just that the owner of this manor accidentally came across a real Magic Book and passed it around without fully understanding what they were dealing with, causing the number of "Seeds" to reach the threshold."

"As a result, you have seen what eventually happened."

"With the passage of time, the world's transformation process accelerated rapidly."

"And we are at the most unfortunate timing, having stumbled upon it without any knowledge."

...

To be honest, Ronald was completely baffled.

As he approached the villa under the cover of darkness, Nases indeed began to recount the specifics to him.

But the kind of introduction based on the premise that 'both parties know some basic knowledge' was still somewhat elusive for him. It wasn't that the meaning of the words was incomprehensible, but certain specific terms were difficult to ascertain in their true sense.

Like the so-called 'Seeds' or 'the world's transformation.'

He could understand something from the context, but the more detailed specifics were utterly beyond him.

—Those who had passed around the Magic Book became "Seeds."

But what kind of traits did the "Seeds" carry, and what could they achieve?

—Once the number of "Seeds" reached the threshold, the world would begin to transform after a certain amount of time.

But what was the number, and how long was the time?

And what did the transformation of the world itself entail? Was it just manifested by the black mist like around Black Mountain?

There were just too many questions raised by this explanation.

Even if Ronald were smarter, he wouldn't be able to deduce what he needed to know from it.

...

Then Nases noticed.

After hearing what he had to say, Ronald beside him did not continue to ask further questions.

The sharp-minded man immediately understood everything.

Then, the mysterious 'merchant' continued to speak:

"The key to becoming a "Seed" is to know the knowledge related to the mystical side, people like us who are in the 'industry' are natural "Seeds"; those who are completely unaware at first, then accidentally read a real Magic Book, can also become "Seeds"."

"The "Seeds" themselves do not bring any special abilities, the key lies in their numbers."

With that said, Ronald finally understood.

The so-called Seeds are simply people who know knowledge related to mysticism and don't necessarily have any supernatural powers.

Pretending to think things over, Ronald finally spoke up to continue his inquiry:

"So where's the critical number of "Seeds", and what exactly does the transformation of the world look like?"

...

"Ah—"

With a sigh that seemed to say 'just as I thought,' Nases didn't say much else and proceeded to explain straightforwardly:

"The number of "Seeds"... To be more precise, it's the proportion of "Seeds" in the population."

"In a small town, having three to five "Seeds" is not a problem at all; for a supercity like the capital of Gried, Springs, with hundreds of thousands of residents, the number of "Seeds" it can accommodate is in the thousands."

"Once the number reaches a certain level, like if more than ten out of a hundred people in a small town are "Seeds", the world will begin to transform."

"Starting slow and then accelerating, after about two weeks, the land will become fully inundated by what's called a 'Magic Territory', and there will be no chance of recovery."

Ronald immediately picked up on a new term.

"Magic Territory..."

However, before he could fully express his doubts, Nases interjected:

"Alright, I'll explain it to you clearly."

"During the transformation process, the people living in it are unable to perceive what's happening, whether it's fish flying in the sky or tables in homes moving on their own, strange magical creatures appearing out of nowhere, or having your own internal organs for dinner..."

"All kinds of phenomena that far surpass reality will become 'common sense' in the transformed area, as the residents themselves will become and accept this 'common sense', as if it's the natural order of things."

"And to become fully a 'Magic Territory' means that this area has fundamentally completed the transformation process."

...

Having listened to Nases's explanation, Ronald thoughtfully looked around at the surrounding black mist.

"So the Black Mountain is less than an hour away from becoming fully a 'Magic Territory'?"

With a shrug, Nases's expression fell, and he cursed in annoyance:

"So how could it be the right time for us to arrive?"

"If it were a day earlier, we would have just passed through the town like any other without the black mist, as the level of transformation wouldn't have reached the final stage, and I'm sure I would have realized it beforehand."

"If it were a day later, looking at this damned place, I surely wouldn't have brought you here!"

Everything made sense now—

The more people knew about the mystical side, the more dangerous the world itself became.

What's worse, the people within it were unable to perceive it and accepted it as 'common sense', with almost no ability to resist.

Against such a world backdrop, those in the mystical side would naturally guard the dissemination of knowledge very carefully.

Not just for others, but for their own survival, they must handle it with extreme caution.

After taking a moment to think, observing Nases's expression for the first time, Ronald waited for a while before continuing:

"So, by that logic, how should individuals like us "Seeds" proceed when traveling alone, given that's a 100 percent ratio?"

"You don't need to worry about that." Nases did not have the previous tension in response to Ronald's question, "There's also a limit to the overall number of people; so long as it's not a team of hundreds, even if everyone is a "Seed", it will not trigger transformation."

...

Ronald's expression was somewhat speechless.

"So, in a town of a hundred, if there are more than 10 "Seeds", transformation will begin; but if there are fewer than a hundred people, it doesn't matter if everyone is a Seed?"

"That's right!"

Nases nodded vigorously, then slapped Ronald on the shoulder with a look that seemed to say 'you have the same expression as I did when I first found out.'

"The world itself is just that unreasonable, it doesn't follow logic."

"Fine..."

Just as one cannot control the laws of physics, Ronald had to accept such preposterous settings silently.

"Back to the point then."

"In the current situation, how are we to save ourselves?"

"It's simple," Nases said seriously in response to Ronald's question, "There are two methods right now."

"One, the two of us go in directly."

"As long as we kill each individual "Seed" that supports this transformation, the rootless process will naturally come to a halt."

Kill each one...

Thinking about the frightening power of the 'woman' he had encountered earlier, and her attitude of not flinching even after being shot in the face three times, Ronald shook his head decisively.

"Let's hear the second option."

Nases continued:

"Find the Magic Book that gave them the knowledge."

"According to that man, as long as we control or destroy the original-level Magic Book, at least we will be able to escape from here."