Otherworld TRPG Game Master - Chapter 299



Chapter 299 – S5. The Resonance of Stellaria ~The Dawn that Stirs, Again~ -2

The past.

Once, while shopping for a change of pace at a department store, Woo Chae-rin saw a hamster trapped behind a small glass wall. The tiny rodent was diligently running on a small wheel.

“…….”

Woo Chae-rin crouched down, pressing her beanie down at an awkward angle as she locked eyes with it.

The wheel was uncomfortably small for the hamster’s size. But there were no other devices available. All it could do was run on the inconvenient wheel.

She felt the same.

The wheel of society she had worked hard to enter was far too narrow for her.

Returning to the present.

“Chae-rin, please organize the Excel files.”

“Ah, yes… but, about the personal research I mentioned last time…”

“You should focus on your work at the institute before bringing that up, right? You didn’t come here to do personal research.”

“Ah, yes…”

It didn’t seem like the words of the least productive person in the institute to the one who churned out the most work. Yet, even with that thought, she couldn’t retort. She had learned through experience.

Even if she barged in and claimed, “I’ve done dozens of times more work than you,” it would only be brushed off with some twisted logic about whether the new recruit intended to do less work.

There was no intellect or logic in rejection.

She had thought everything in the world could be solved logically, but when it came to people, that wasn’t the case. In this institute, which ran more on feelings than efficiency, opportunities did not come to Woo Chae-rin, who had fallen out of favor with the mainstream crowd.

Should I really live like this?

I suppose I must. There are no other alternatives, and I don’t want to give up everything I’ve worked for just to pursue a new challenge. That would be statistically an unstable decision.

If I endure and build up my experience, then maybe I can make something of myself later. Right now, Woo Chae-rin is just a researcher with nothing to show for herself except for her awards from school days.

If this is the state of affairs even in a place that has gathered all the bright talents in South Korea, then other research institutes must be the same.

“I don’t want to…”

Someone…

What if someone suddenly appeared and recognized my talent, offering me a fortune? Like bumping into a wealthy oil tycoon from the Middle East on the street, leading to a job at a foreign research institute.

Or winning the lottery from a scratch-off ticket just for fun, becoming a millionaire overnight. Or someone who has read my paper showing up and offering me a special position, something like that.

Yeah, it’s all just delusion.

There’s no way such things could happen in reality…

“I like your paper. There’s a head position open in the research group I’m forming, ‘Stellaria.’ Would you be willing to take it?”

“…Huh?”

…There’s no way, right?

The wealthy foreigner who suddenly visited the institute offered Woo Chae-rin the head position. In a normal organization, that wouldn’t be a position offered to someone under thirty.

The astonished expressions of the surrounding researchers testified to the shock of the moment. Isn’t this too good to be true?

So, I tried to be suspicious at first. But for some reason, it felt oddly familiar. The bouquet of flowers somehow made me happy.

Gordius followed up.

“If you accept now, I’ll give you a lot of jewels.”

“…That doesn’t seem to be the issue?”

“Or would you prefer cash over jewels?”

“Um, have we… met somewhere before?”

At Woo Chae-rin’s words, Gordius’s expression darkened. He suppressed the flicker of emotion and spoke as calmly as he could.

“It must be our first meeting.”

“…”

“If you need time to think—”

“I’ll do it.”

After a long moment of contemplation, Woo Chae-rin accepted Gordius’s offer.

What moved her heart was none other than the glistening tears that seemed to well up in the corners of his eyes.

…Was my paper really that good?

Gordius introduced the research facility he had hastily constructed with a significant investment from Woo Chae-rin. The young scientist’s eyes widened in astonishment at the colossal structure that seemed straight out of a movie.

“This is ‘Stellaria.’ And over here is Joseph, our investor.”

“…Hello, Joseph. You’ve really spent a lot on this facility, haven’t you?”

“That’s because this thug of a wizard forced me to— Ugh!”

“Now, now, let’s not interrupt, sir. This way.”

Joseph, the investor, seemed to want to say something, but he was easily subdued by a middle school girl who appeared from behind and dragged him away.

“…Who is that girl?”

“Pilot, Kim Yoon-seo.”

“Pilot? Is this a facility for making… airplanes or something?”

“No, it’s for giant robots.”

“Excuse me?”

Had I misheard?

In front of the bewildered Woo Chae-rin, Gordius began to explain.

“A disaster that will collapse human civilization is approaching in the future. It’s impossible to navigate through that disaster with science alone or magic alone. Only the fusion of the two disciplines can make it possible… and that’s why we need you.”

Is this some kind of cult?

“Um… I think I might be in the wrong place. Where’s the exit?”

“I know it sounds strange. But technology doesn’t lie… right? Once you see it for yourself, your intellect will understand.”

Gordius confidently pressed a switch.

Vrrrrrr!

As a partition rose, the head of a five-meter-tall prototype robot lit up with a glow. Accompanied by the rumbling noise of a magical power engine, the iron giant moved smoothly.

The robot picked up a truck placed nearby for testing and lifted it effortlessly before setting it back down. Woo Chae-rin’s mind was filled with question marks.

Is this CGI technology?

Thud. Woo Chae-rin rushed forward, her lab coat fluttering. The truck was a heavy object, packed tightly with stones inside, and the giant robot was not just CGI or a shell.

It was a machine built with substance. She could feel it.

The thought of these people being lunatics preparing for the end of the world vanished from her mind, replaced by a desire to understand how this was made and whether she could take it apart.

“…How? How is this even possible?”

“With a magical power engine. It’s a masterpiece created through the collaboration of a genius scientist and a wizard. We have the teaching materials ready, so I’ll give you a day to study.”

“A day?”

“We don’t have time. We have fifteen days left. We need to complete the giant robot within that time.”

“But it’s already completed here. The giant robot. Do we need to enhance its performance further?”

As Woo Chae-rin tapped rhythmically on the hollow 5-meter robot, Gordius quietly shook his head. Then he revealed the immediate goal of “Stellaria.”

“100 meters.”

“………?”

“The size of the ‘Colossal Beast’ extermination machine, ‘Meteor,’ is 100 meters.”

“Right now, in just half a month, you want to build a giant robot that’s not even 10 meters, but 100 meters?!”

Is he out of his mind?

—

He wasn’t out of his mind.

“‘Weight Reduction,’ ‘Touch of the Earth.’”

“………”

Gordius was a wizard. A real wizard, like those from movies or fiction.

He demonstrated his magical prowess by reducing the weight of materials and assembling a giant robot with a dirt-arm that consumed neither gravity nor electricity. If only the materials and parts were prepared… a 100-meter giant robot was not just a dream.

It was terrifying. This machine called the ‘Magic Engine’ held infinite possibilities. Its most significant feature was the ability to convert magic power into electrical power and vice versa.

A 100-meter giant robot wrapped in this new force called magic. If the pilot had malicious intent, it could potentially overthrow a nation.

(Woo Chae-rin felt a slight fear, wondering if “Stellaria” was a large-scale terrorist organization.)

Though right now… it was quite the power hog.

The Earth lacked a distribution of magic power in the atmosphere, so they had to convert electrical power into magic power through the magic engine.

“Quite?! We can’t even handle the amount of electricity being consumed, and we’re pulling from China and Japan—”

“Joseph, you still have half of your bank balance left. The budget should be sufficient, so don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry when there’s a thief next to me who’s already eaten up half of my entire fortune?!”

“Uncle Joseph, but it’s a worthwhile investment, right? No regrets?”

“Can’t you see I’m regretting it right now, you little brat?!”

He had adapted to this atmosphere.

Joseph was the financial backbone of “Stellaria,” holding the lowest rank.

Middle school girl Kim Yoon-seo was second in rank, and perhaps because she could handle magic, she moved with a grace almost like a tiger.

“……… Is it going well?”

“Ah, yes. It’s progressing well.”

“I knew you would say that.”

“………”

And that man, who occasionally cast complicated glances, was the top-ranked wizard, Gordius. For some reason, he showed infinite trust in Woo Chae-rin.

The knowledge required for casting giant robots was entirely possessed by Gordius. He poured Joseph’s money into gradually enhancing the quality of the “Meteor,” and in this process, there was nothing that Woo Chae-rin could assist with.

This was because traces of a far more competent researcher were evident.

One might call it a complete superior version. He thought there were few people in the world smarter than himself, yet encountering someone who followed the same path but had higher abilities made him feel a pang of jealousy.

It felt as if this was what it would be like if his future self were to stake everything on research.

Since Gordius had chosen him, the pressure to prove his worth gradually increased.

So, what was she doing?

“We need to prepare for the ‘Three Phases.’”

A wide-area self-destruct mechanism called the “Great Monster,” which she had neither seen nor heard of, was said to be cast at the moment of death. If it wasn’t erased, humanity’s victory would mean nothing.

The giant robot wasn’t the important part. That would be completed within a fortnight as long as Gordius existed.

What mattered was the theory to erase the rampage patterns.

A day passed, then two… Time flowed mercilessly. The day of humanity’s destruction, as predicted by the wizard Gordius, was steadily approaching.

And Woo Chae-rin began to understand a little more about it. Gordius was not a madman; he was sharp, unusually generous towards her, and had a magnificent back.

A sense of mission sparkled in his eyes, and his testimony was consistent, leading Woo Chae-rin to believe in the emergence of the “Great Monster.” To deny reality as mere fantasy was, in itself, a form of magic, wasn’t it?

What blossomed afterward was a sense of duty.

Only those who knew of the world’s crisis were the “Stellaria.” Those who knew nothing simply let their peaceful days slip by, and just yesterday, a festival was held in Seoul.

If one were to think that all this civilization and peace could be erased…

“…Yoon-seo? Could you bring me a fatigue recovery potion? Three…”

“Three bottles?”

“Three boxes.”

There was no time to rest.

Study, think, devise formulas, and experiment. Another day passed, downing stimulants, studying, and debating. They raced forward like a runaway train.

And on a dark night, just a week before the emergence of the “Great Monster.”

“…Goldie, Goldie!”

Crash!

Woo Chae-rin dashed down the hallway with a piece of paper in hand. She knew. She had figured it out.

Lost in the thrill of intellectual discovery, Woo Chae-rin collided with someone around the corner of the dimly lit hallway. Thud.

“Ah…!”

“Ugh…!”

Fortunately, the other person caught her, so she wasn’t hurt. Woo Chae-rin touched someone’s chest as she got up, trying to run again.

“Are you okay? No, I’ll apologize later. I’m a bit busy right now… Goldie?”

“⋯⋯Chaerin?”

As I adjusted my glasses, I realized that the person I had collided with was the one she had been searching for. Gordius, too, seemed to be in a hurry, his clothes in disarray.

And… he held a piece of paper in his hand.

In the darkness, their eyes met. A fateful current flowed between them. Perhaps, they were both thinking the same thing. That instinct stirred within.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

With a hint of tension and anticipation.

“Chaerin, it seems we have something we want to say to each other.”

“⋯⋯Shall we say it at the same time on the count of three?”

“⋯⋯Sounds good.”

One, two.

At the end of the count, the magician and the scientist simultaneously spoke the answer.

Three.

“The conversion of magical power and electrical power in the ‘Magic Engine.’ We will amplify its characteristics and decompose the final spell of the ‘Great Beast’ into electrical energy.”

“The electrical-magic conversion function of the ‘Magic Engine.’ By maximizing that, we can completely change the ‘Great Beast’s’ desperate patterns into lightning.”

“I’ve drafted the blueprints centered around magic⋯⋯.”

“If we center it around science, the design will be stable without variables⋯⋯.”

From noble mtl dot com

What was that?

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Blame.

Woo Chaerin and Gordius, without waiting for the other to go first, snatched each other’s papers and began to explore.

And about ten minutes later.

“I’m telling you, this is the right approach for magic! If you approach it like a machine, the efficiency will plummet. It seems you’ve been careless with your magic studies; if you’ve forgotten the formula on page 233 of the textbook I gave you, let me remind you. The coefficient p depends on the state──”

“Gordy, if you have a brain, please use it! You keep thinking of magic as the core, but the current power infrastructure is solid. Why are you so eager to use magical power that isn’t even available right now? Just use what’s there; it’s much cleaner, isn’t it?!”

The magician and the scientist grappled with each other.

After three hours of marathon meetings, the design for the special equipment, ‘Meteor Fall,’ which would conclude the battle against the Great Beast, was finally completed.

—

In the city center, an enormous construction site had suddenly sprung up. Surrounded by walls that obscured the view inside, people speculated that a large department store was set to be built there.

In reality, it was the launch site for the giant robot ‘Meteor.’ Thanks to a magical camouflage that blocked external observation, they had fortunately not been discovered.

The cockpit of the *Meteor* was open, and on its shoulders, Gordius and Kim Yoon-seo sat side by side, gazing into the void.

From that space, the *Great Monster* emerges, breaking through, spilling forth from the cracks.

Tiri-rik. The communication from the control room reached them through the in-ear devices. Woo Chae-rin monitored the appearance point of the *Great Monster* on the large screen and spoke to Gordius.

– …It will come, right?

“It will come.”

– Goldy, what if… it doesn’t? What if your prophetic magic is wrong, and this giant robot is just a massive bluff?

Gordius calmly faced the wind brushing against his cheek.

“Then that would be fortunate. Why, are you worried about losing your job? With all that money spent, you shouldn’t have to worry about making a living anymore.”

– That money has all been reinvested into the *Meteor*. They say the fate of the world is at stake; how can we hoard that money?

“Future Joseph seems to be doing just fine.”

Crackle. Joseph’s voice burst through the communication, filled with irritation.

– I… I didn’t know, you idiot! How was I supposed to know a monster immune to nuclear weapons would appear? Anyway, if that *Great Monster* doesn’t show up, you better be prepared. Got it?!

“Joseph’s fortune has already become a giant robot, so what do you plan to do about it?”

– Hey!

“Just kidding. I’ll make some gemstone synthesis for you, so don’t worry, Joseph. Thanks to your investment, humanity has been able to survive.”

– Joseph has left now. He says he’s embarrassed.

The communication was taken over again by Woo Chae-rin.

“Chae-rin?”

– Yes, Goldy?

“When it’s all over, perhaps we could have a meal together…?”

– Puhuh…

“Don’t laugh. I’ll be filing for damages.”

As Woo Chae-rin struggled to suppress an unexpected laugh at Gordius’s awkward invitation,

────Kuwung.

A thunderous sound resonated, shaking the soul. It was faster than expected.

– It’s been moved up by about three hours. Goldy, is this a dangerous variable?

“It’s not. Probably… it seems the magic engine is using its power, which is why the *Great Monster* is being summoned a bit faster. There’s no problem.”

Everything is ready.

────Jjeojak, jjeojeok!

The streets, bathed in the evening glow, were empty. By this point, evacuation had already been completed. No matter how rampaging the monster might be, there would be no casualties.

Cracks in the air were vividly visible. With each thunderous roar, the fissures burst forth, expanding in size.

At the same time, a dense concentration of magical energy was spewing out in all directions, as if trying to stain this world.

────Kugugugugugugugu!

Gordius and Kim Yoon-seo boarded the *Meteor*. The magic engine throbbed, and the massive structure, nearly 100 meters tall, began to move slowly.

“Let’s go, *Stellaria*.”

– System all green. I’m counting on you, Goldie, Yoon-seo.

“Uncle Joseph, are you watching closely? I’ll show you how I protect the Earth!”

– Yeah, kid. But why are you being so affectionate with me…?

It begins.

—

The *Great Beast* was wriggling its way out through the gap.

That was an arm.

An arm adorned with sharp protrusions reminiscent of a beast’s claws reached toward the middle of a building that stood beside the crack. It seemed to exert pressure on the building as if it found it cumbersome.

Creeeak──!

In an instant, the building was crushed. The concrete surface shattered like soft stones, and the rebar inside bent with astonishing ease. And thus, the building, severed at the waist, collapsed.

Kugugugugu…

Yet, there were no screams from the people.

The *Great Beast* twisted its neck in confusion. Why was that? The pain and terror that should have been present were absent. Instead… what was felt was the opposite.

An unpleasant smell wafted from a spot concealed by a construction site tarp. The scent of resolve and hope.

With a rustle, the tarp was lifted──

A giant robot finally revealed itself to the world. Silver armor, a colossal figure comparable to the *Great Beast*, and the thunderous noise of a massive magic engine resonating throughout the surroundings.

Its name was.

The *Great Beast Annihilation Weapon*, *Meteor*.

A giant that exists to crush the monster that threatens to topple human civilization──!