Chapter 33 - 033_Sage Daguldor
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033_Sage Daguldor
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The day after the situation report meeting, Rodney headed to Sage Daguldor's residence. Emilia threw a tantrum wanting to go to the Labyrinth immediately, but she understood that the Sage had to be prioritized.
Sage Daguldor's residence was not that large. However, that came with the condition of being compared to other nobles' residences.
Daguldor was the fourth son of a viscount's family, so he did not inherit the house. He was a person who became a count through his own talent, effort, and luck.
The gate of the residence was left open, but there were no guards on duty.
When he knocked the door knocker twice, an old woman appeared.
"My name is Rodney Elias Forbas. I wish to have an audience with Sage Daguldor-sama, could you please arrange it?"
"Yes, yes. I've heard about you. Please come this way."
He had expected a butler to come out, but an old woman with a gentle expression appeared. That generous and refined old woman let not only Rodney but also Yulin and the three territorial soldiers into the residence.
Rodney immediately realized that this old woman was Sage Daguldor's wife.
"Please wait here, everyone."
Normally, leaving aside retainers, soldiers and servants would wait in the residence's garden, but the three soldiers were also shown to the same waiting room as Yulin.
Instructing a maid to serve tea, the old woman guided Rodney.
The old woman stopped in front of a certain room and knocked on the door. A short reply of "Enter" came from inside the room, so the old woman opened the door and urged Rodney in.
"Please excuse me."
That room was as if it were a room for books. Shelves covered almost all of the walls, packed tightly with books. Furthermore, the floor, tables, and desk were overflowing with books.
"I'm sorry it's so messy."
The old woman apologized, feeling ashamed, but the master of the room did not mind at all.
"Since we have a guest, please stop reading."
The old woman took away the book that Sage Daguldor was reading. Sage Daguldor, looking at the old woman with eyes like a child whose toy had been taken away, had a truly pitiful expression.
Although he only saw this exchange, Rodney understood that Sage Daguldor could not hold his own against his wife.
The old woman tidied the books on the table, and Sage Daguldor and Rodney sat facing each other.
"This is my wife, Melissa."
"I'm Melissa. Pleased to meet you."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Okusama."
"No need for such stiff speech. Treat me like you would your grandmother."
"Thank you."
After the greetings, Melissa withdrew.
"Now then, from now on, call me Shishou. Understood?"
"Can you really accept someone like me as your disciple?"
"I said so. Rodney is my disciple."
Saying that, Sage Daguldor narrowed his eyes.
"You opened that book, didn't you, Rodney?"
"Yes. What exactly is that thing? And, O-shishou-sama, why do you know about that book?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"Ah, forgive me... I opened that book."
He spoke honestly about that book. He thought that even if he hid it, Sage Daguldor would know anyway. Moreover, he did not want to make an enemy of Sage Daguldor.
"Since I opened that book, only strange things have been happening. Could you please enlighten me about that book?"
Sage Daguldor nodded generously, then placed his elbows on the table and covered his mouth with both hands.
Rodney, wondering what secret there was, held his breath and waited for an answer.
"That thing is..."
"That thing is...?"
There was a considerable pause. He felt a tension like on a battlefield, and a chill ran down his spine.
"I have absolutely no idea."
"Eh?"
Rodney stood frozen in a daze.
"I don't know what it is either. As far as I know, you are the third person to have used it, Rodney."
Paying no attention to the dazed Rodney, Sage Daguldor continued the conversation.
"I think you understand as well, but that thing is incredible. Especially for those who wish to obtain Source Power, it is something they would give their right arm for."
Rodney composed himself and asked if he could ask a question. Sage Daguldor told him to ask anything.
"You said I am the third person, O-shishou-sama. If the first person is you, then who is the second person?"
It was easy to imagine that the first person was Sage Daguldor. However, he had no idea who the second person was. There was no one else who had achieved such feats as Sage Daguldor.
"Hahaha. You don't know?"
"Yes. I have absolutely no idea."
"Not leaving something unknown as unknown is an important quality as a seeker."
Since when did I become a seeker?
"You'll know it soon. Keep your eyes, ears, and intuition open to everything."
It didn't seem like he was being deliberately mysterious, but Rodney was curious. However, from Sage Daguldor's tone, he vaguely guessed who the second person was.
"I also used it when I was young. I didn't use it intentionally; I just opened it and lost consciousness, then remembered a different world. You can acquire Source Power with just one Life Light Stone. You ingested it orally too, right?"
"Yes. Oral ingestion."
Sage Daguldor had the same experience as Rodney. Rodney felt a strange excitement, as if he had met a comrade in arms.
He asked that Sage Daguldor where he obtained that book.
"That thing appears naturally before those who have the aptitude for it. It is not something obtained from Labyrinths or Selvanui, and it is not something you can find by searching for it. That's what I think."
Those words smoothly clicked into place in Rodney's understanding.
That's right, that thing is not owned by anyone; it appears naturally before those who are qualified. I knew that all along, but I didn't think of it that way. But what that qualification is, I don't know. And who gave it to us...?
"There is really very little that is known about that book. Normally, one must use over a hundred Life Light Stones to finally obtain Source Power. But with that, just one stone is enough. It's an overwhelming advantage."
Thanks to that, Rodney obtained as many as 24 types of Source Power.
"That thing is a bridge connecting this world and another world. If you wish, you can achieve greater advancement than me. It gives you knowledge of that magnitude."
"Do you also have memories of that world, O-shishou-sama?"
"I do. But the world in your memories and mine may not be the same."
"!?"
"There is not just one world. Not two or three. I believe that an infinite number of worlds exist."
He felt that was the truth. A surge of excitement ran through his entire body, making his spine shiver.
"Worlds slightly different from this world we live in, worlds slightly different from that world, worlds that are slightly different in that way are layered like the leaves of a book."
From his past life memories, the word 'parallel world' came to mind.
"Rodney, what was your world like?"
Rodney talked about the other world in his memories. It was a world with no special powers like Source Power, no Labyrinths or Selvanui, but with a developed mechanical civilization.
A world where skyscrapers reaching the heavens lined the streets, and where cars and trains that ran without horses, and airplanes that flew in the sky, existed as a matter of course.
"Your world seems quite different from mine. Mine was..."
In Sage Daguldor's world, there was no Source Power, but a special power called magic dominated the world. It was not Selvanui, but beings called monsters posed a threat to humans.
To use magic, magical power was necessary. It seemed to be a world where the rank of a mage was determined by how much magical power they had.
"That's a very interesting story."
"I am very interested in these machines. Building skyscrapers without magic is extraordinary."
Sage Daguldor's story was very interesting. He understood that there were even worlds different from his own memories, and that a variety of worlds existed.
"Moreover, you learned about 'devouring' much earlier than I did. It may be a stroke of luck, but don't you think there is meaning in that?"
"Meaning...? Do you think there is meaning to it, O-shishou-sama?"
"Yes. It was nearly ten years after I obtained that power that I learned about devouring."
"Ten years... During that time, could you not obtain Source Power, O-shishou-sama?"
"That's right. Thanks to that, I trained my body. I trained and trained and trained. Fortunately, I had talent with the sword, so even if I couldn't distinguish myself, I could survive."
So even O-shishou-sama, who is now called a Sage, had such a period of obscurity. Compared to that, I might have been lucky. Because I realized about oral ingestion so quickly.
Rodney repeated questions about the book and Source Power.
Among these, there was a story clearly different from his own.
"Wait. O-shishou-sama, even when you ingest a Life Light Stone, you only obtain the original Source Power of that Life Light Stone?"
"What are you saying? The Source Power obtained from Life Light Stones is the same as for normal people. ...Don't tell me, you are different, Rodney!?"
Sage Daguldor stood up as if he was about to knock over his chair and leaned forward. Just then, Melissa entered carrying tea.
"My, my, what is the matter, dear? You're startling Rodney-san."
"Melissa, this is no time for that! Rodney gets different Source Power from devouring Life Light Stones than we do!"
"Oh, my. Is that so."
Melissa, without being shaken at all, brewed tea and placed it in front of the two.
"Thank you very much, Okusama."
"Oh, no more of that stiff way of speaking, Rodney-san."
"Ah, uh... Well, I'm not quite sure how to act, so forgive me."
Melissa, having calmed down the excited Sage Daguldor, sat down on the chair next to him. It seemed that from now on, Melissa would also join the conversation.
"Forgive me if I'm mistaken. Did you also open the book like I did, Okusama?"
"Hehehe. Yes, I did. We never imagined that someone else involved with that book would appear besides us."
He had expected that Melissa was the second person. If it had been someone else, Sage Daguldor would have made that person his disciple. Even if he hadn't made them a disciple, it was highly likely that person would have left considerable achievements. Yet, there was no such person at all.
Of course, since he didn't know everything about this world, he also thought it was possible that he simply didn't know. However, if Melissa was the second person, he could understand why the second person's achievements were not prominent.
Since Melissa acted together with Sage Daguldor, her contributions were probably also attributed to Sage Daguldor.
It was the same for Yulin and Emilia, who entered the Labyrinth following Rodney. Even if the two discovered or defeated something, it would be counted as Rodney's achievement.
Melissa's world had neither magic nor Source Power. To Rodney, it was a worldview like Europe before the Industrial Revolution. A world where science was hardly developed.
However, Melissa discovered oral ingestion before Sage Daguldor. In Melissa's case, it seemed that because she was so hungry, she was willing to eat anything edible. She was so hungry that Life Light Stones looked like food. That meant she had been living in such harsh conditions.
"Now then, Rodney."
"Yes."
"I can use magic."
"What!?"
"There's nothing strange about it. I used magic in my previous life. It would be stranger to think I couldn't use magic in this world."
"But, from what you said earlier, O-shishou-sama, magic requires something called magical power. Does magical power exist in this world too?"
"There is a power similar to magical power. Perhaps there was a similar power in your world too, Rodney."
"Such a power..."
"Just as I can use magic, it might be interesting for you to try reproducing machines, Rodney."
"To make machines, a lot of knowledge is needed. I think there are more things I cannot reproduce with my knowledge."
If it was at the level of mimeograph printing or steam engines, he could probably make them. He remembered making a toy steam engine when he was a middle school student. However, it was difficult to make things like diodes or integrated chips. It would be good if there was something to replace them, but he didn't think such things existed in this world.
"You're giving up without even trying? I never gave up and reproduced magic. I'm not saying you have to do it alone. It's fine if you just come up with ideas. Leave the making to craftsmen."
Certainly, machines were convenient, but magic was also convenient. However, Rodney could not understand why Sage Daguldor was so fixated on the development of a mechanical civilization.
"Are you bothered by me being persistent?"
"No... not at all."
"Hahaha. You don't have to hide it. I want to ride in one of those things, a car. Doesn't it sound interesting? A car that moves without horses and without using magic. Melissa, don't you want to ride too?"
"Yes, I would like to ride one. Rodney-san, when you make a car, please let me ride in it."
The ride comfort of a car was incomparable to a carriage in this world. He remembered that. But could he really reproduce a car in this world?
Don't give up without trying... huh. Yes, no matter what you do, if you give up from the start, you can't achieve anything.
"Disciple. Have you made up your mind?"
"I'll try, but I can't guarantee it will come true while you're still alive, O-shishou-sama."
"Hahaha. You don't mince words. But rest assured. I will live long. And even if I die, I'll come back as a ghost."
"Please spare me that."
The three laughed together. Then they discussed what was necessary to reproduce the car.
Rodney visited Sage Daguldor's residence for about ten days. Emilia seemed quite dissatisfied, but Rodmel actively encouraged him. Of course, if the other person had not been Sage Daguldor, Rodmel probably wouldn't have encouraged it.
Sage Daguldor had extensive knowledge of Source Power. He helped Rodney organize what he wanted to do and what he had to do, and gave advice on the necessary Source Powers.
As expected of the leading authority on Source Power, Sage Daguldor's knowledge was excellent.
He was also recommended a different Labyrinth instead of the one he had promised to go with Emilia. In that Labyrinth, it seemed one could obtain a rare Source Power called Underwater Adaptation rather than Water Breathing.
Underwater Adaptation was a Source Power with almost the same effect as the Underwater Life that Rodney had, and it was far more useful than Water Breathing.
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