In Another World with Absolute Awareness

Looking out the window, I found myself thinking about the magic I had just learned about. The walls of the old building nearby could not block my senses, nor could the closed pages prevent my mind’s eye from peering into its pages.

It didn’t take long for me to become aware of the traps hidden in those books.

The curses weren’t the only problem Taylor had to face.

Even Daimyuon would have to consider for a little while before unlocking their curses and freeing them of any traps.

Otherwise, the knowledge that those books would provide... would be flawed.

Still, it would be a while before Taylor would become cognizant of reality.

His excitement had been born from an obsession finally fulfilled.

In that dusty old building, I saw a mage drowning in curses yet indulging in its gifts without fear.

His eyes were fervent with a desire to tread the path he had chosen no matter what.

All for the sake of a dream of magic.

"Hmm..."

I looked elsewhere, allowing my gaze to traverse a vast distance, approaching the center of the Walvaskaz Empire yet with no intention of truly reaching it.

I could feel a small smile tugging on my lips.

"It seems like I’m not the only one watching the show."

I had a nagging suspicion, one that had struck me the moment I sensed another gaze peering across the sprawling Soulless City.

It had given Taylor a glance that lingered a bit too long for comfort.

...But it was a bit too long for Taylor’s sake, not mine.

Holding the <Sword of Light>, I decided to ask the <Wyrm With No Name>.

"What do you think, worm?"

—[ WHO ARE YOU CALLING A WORM, WORM? ]

Chuckling, I waved the <Sword of Light> around.

"Your mana can barely fuel my abilities for ten minutes. What are you, other than a worm? A barking worm with no bite, sealed in a metal stick."

—[ ...I CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU AND YOUR ANCESTORS, YOUR DESCENDANTS, YOUR POSSIBILITIES. CURSE IT ALL. I WILL KILL YOU, YOU BASTAAAAAAAA— ]

I began siphoning the <Wyrm With No Name> of its mana mid-sentence. When that little worm began his rants, there was no stopping it.

So, I quickly went through my suspicions, similarly drawing a reasonable amount of ambient mana to further bolster my search for the truth.

All that mana dyed my eyes and hair a tinge of deep, sapphire blue.

[Absolute Awareness]!

—[AHHHHH YOU UNGRRRRRAAAATEFUL FUUUUUUUUUUU—!]

A scream tore into my mind as hundreds upon hundreds of points’ worth of mana vanished into my Gift. Using the foggy wisps of <Fate> as my starting point, I gazed into all that had bound themselves to Taylor’s existence.

Indirectly or directly, anyone who had a hand in causing this pitiful sight—that of a scholar grasping at barbed straws for the tiniest grain—became apparent in my mind’s eye.

"...Oho?"

The revelation was amusing.

"So, our little protagonist-template mage is just a pawn..."

A pawn for a game that has lasted millennia. A game as big as the world, yet as small as a simple grudge.

Though it would be unwise to check if the <Primordial Dragon Empress> was involved in this game... I was pretty sure she would be in the know.

After all...

"The entirety of the Walvaskaz Empire is the chessboard, yes? Hm, do they even have a concept of chess?"

I used the last bit of the worm’s mana to check.

"Oh! They do? From a... transmigrator earlier than me?"

A rush of excitement coursed through me upon that realization—only the myriad races’ nobles would play chess in their free time, making it a high-class hobby that the humans of Leisha were too lowly to partake of.

Even after hundreds of years, after chess—and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) that came at about the same time period from apparently the same transmigrator—had been brought to this world, it was still very much restricted to the elite.

I was tempted to look into how those earlier transmigrators arrived in this world, but alas, I had to spend my time wisely.

I had to focus.

I couldn’t allow myself to fall into a rabbit hole with my limited mental capacity.

Going back to the chess game at hand and my proximity to Taylor...

I realized that I was in the perfect position to scatter all these carefully laid-out pieces and maybe even flip the board in the future.

"Hehehehehe..."

A laugh seeped out of my mouth, quickly turning into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!"

***

After settling down from his excitement, Aventine’s fantasies dissipated as he brought his head back down to reality.

His desires were as lofty as Taylor’s dreams.

Unfortunately, that meant that he needed a lot more than just his current strength to do anything on such an intricate and vast chessboard. Most importantly, all the players were from long-lived races, and among such long-lived races, they were those who were further blessed with longevity.

Taylor’s entire 17 years of life was worth less than a day in their eyes. Aventine’s own life was the same.

Furthermore, if Aventine was careless in his meddling...

"Yeah, no."

He grumbled to himself as he pondered that reality. His voice echoed throughout a dark, empty hallway.

Aventine walked in pitch-black darkness, moving unhindered as he descended the layers beneath the Soulless City.

Since Taylor had ’unearthed’ those cursed books filled with deadly knowledge, Aventine wanted to do something similar.

Thus, he cast his unimpeded gaze downwards, peering through a physical representation of history that could not be erased.

Like a geologist studying layers of rock and sediment, his senses, vast as they were, no longer moved in rash grandiosity.

This was unlike a few hours ago, when he used the thick <Fate> wisps around Taylor to trace all those involved in the great millennium chess game. This time, he was searching for a needle in a haystack.

No... perhaps it was more accurate to say that he was looking for a few shining molecules in a vast ocean.

"At least... my head won’t explode from the influx of information."

And his mana wouldn’t just randomly vanish from scanning a pebble once touched by a god.

"Ugh..."

Aventine suddenly stumbled.

"Damn silver ring,"

Looking at the tarnished silver ring a few hallways beneath him, Aventine cursed its past. It had once been a piece of the armor worn by an old Nine-Eyed Behemoth.

It had been separated from trillions of its kind during the fateful battle that killed that old monster.

Thus, when that information poured into Aventine’s brain as he tried to look for more <Traits>...

All of the mana in his Mana Storage spontaneously evaporated.

Now, he had to rest before using Manakinesis to pull more mana into his cores.

Only then could he resume his search once more.

"Ah, how fun."

Aventine hummed as he comprehended it fully in this moment.

The vastness of Walvaskaz was more than just in terms of area. It also spanned the great river of time, older than the demons and more ancient than humanity.

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