I must have been still for a while. Oldman Uwe looked me in the eyes and began to speak. “You do not remember?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
“Hm, well then…”
Wait, he was just gonna let it slide? I guessed the lapse shocked me more than it did him.
While those thoughts went through my mind, he looked at me and spoke so calmly he almost sounded sarcastic. “I myself cannot determine whether you were unaware from the start, have forgotten it due to some outside force, or if it has simply slipped your mind.”
I mean, I guess I might just have forgotten, but what was with that attitude?
“If you have simply forgotten, there is nothing I myself can do until you remember.”
I was at my wit’s end, but I supposed hermits and sages in fantasies were always like this. I had already lost interest, but he was completely apathetic to my struggle to pay attention. I really wished he wasn’t such a faithful rendition of the archetype.
If this was how things were going to be, I’d force the information I wanted out of him. My sleepy brain had fallen into mere insults, but I slapped myself awake.
“What do you mean by an ‘outside force’?”
“Did you never think this world was odd?”
“I think that depends on your frame of reference.” I turned the question back on him.
He took a moment to think before speaking. “Indeed. Then let us start from the end. Why do you think defeating monsters makes you stronger?”
Why? Because in games, slaying monsters gets you experience points, and once you get enough of those, your level increases. But how would the actual setting of the game explain that?
“The turn of phrase is of little import, but let us call it ‘protomagic.’ The flora, fauna, and even minerals of the natural world contain a certain amount of protomagic, and it is believed that through absorbing that, we become stronger.”
“It’s even in minerals?”
“Yes, but it is easier for some to absorb the protomagic in minerals than others. Perhaps you will understand better if I mention that there are some monsters that have an easier time absorbing protomagic through minerals than by other means.”
I get it. They say Iron Toads grow bigger by eating iron too, not just humans. I understood that much.
“It is also protomagic that allows us to cast powerful magic we were once unable to use and the reason one can gain the power to cut through the skin of beasts which were once impenetrable.”
“So, you absorb it when you slay enemies?”
“It is one of the ways of doing so.”
So, humans absorb this protomagic and grow stronger. Wait, but doesn’t that mean…? “Is it the same for those of the knight brigade?”
“Of course.”
So it wasn’t just their equipment that allowed them to take on a Demon Commander in the capital. It was through fighting and winning against the Demon army during the Demon Stampede and the battles at the Hildea Plains and Finoy that brought them to the level to challenge a Demon Commander. If they still only had the strength they had during the Demon Stampede, they could have proved powerless against the attack the Four Fiends were bound to launch.
Just as that thought occurred to me, Oldman Uwe’s next line brought my thinking down a completely different path. “But on the other hand, it can also degrade the mind under specific circumstances.”
Huh? What did he mean? “The mind?”
“Being sound of mind is a phrase with many meanings. A good memory, quick understanding, and prudent judgment all fall under the phrase.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Monsters who have been heavily impacted by protomagic will charge humans without fear. I am sure you have experienced so much yourself.”
I had indeed, both at Fort Werisa and at the worksite of the new aqueduct. I had put together all my strategies on the pretext that monsters would attack humans without fear. Wait a second. “Then do humans also forget about danger and caution when they absorb too much protomagic?”
“Adventurers just barely strong enough to defeat a foe will use their minds to find every advantage. Those who are too strong instead rely on power alone. Though it is easy to forget this fact.”
That was true, but how the heck was this world so accurate to games? It even reflected how players whose characters were high level just fire off big magic attacks to try to finish the fight faster.
No, this being a video game didn’t matter right now. I summarized what Oldman Uwe had told me. “Then you’re saying that the influence of protomagic has grown stronger since the days of the ancient kingdom, and from that influence, humans have gradually stopped thinking about the things they need to?”
“Was that in your other memories?”
“No.” It was just my guess based on the assumption that the ancient kingdom had advanced technology in things like astronomy and architecture. Once I explained that, Oldman Uwe began to look like he had improved his opinion of me.
“Oho, I see you are a man worth exchanging ideas with. Let us liken a human to a sheet of cloth. When it absorbs protomagic through usual means, it is dyed. There is nothing better than a beautiful result.”
“Sure.”
“But, if it is dyed in contaminated water, the cloth may instead be ruined.”
The parts dyed with dirty water become unusable. That could mean one thing. “Then there are two types of protomagic?”
“I believe there may be protomagic that originates from the Demon Lord, but that is but a hypothesis at this point.”
Hearing this, I began to think. Didn’t that make it sound like there was no protomagic that came from the Demon Lord during the days of the ancient kingdom? Just what the hell was the Demon Lord? The mystery was only growing deeper.
“It is possible that your lapse in memory is caused by such protomagic.”
“If that’s the case, will it ever heal?”
“I do not know.”
Hold on a second, Oldman. I get there were few cases similar to mine, and this wasn’t something to be telling others lightly, but without any evidence or tests you could use on me, that info could take on a life of its own. My supposed poisoning by Demon Lord protomagic could become an excuse to eliminate me.
Of course, I couldn’t run a half-assed experiment either. It would look like I was trying to create dangerous monsters. Follow that path, and I’d be branded a mad scientist.
“However, it affects individuals differently. Even should an epidemic kill some, others will fall ill but eventually regain the strength to stand, and others will weather the plague entirely unaffected.”
“So, some people would have retained their ability to think?” Still, that led to a scenario in which, as a whole, people would only be able to think things through at a simple level. The more people turned away from studying anything they found difficult, the more primitive technology would become. What was this “protomagic,” a virus that destroys brain cells?
“Are His Highness and His Majesty aware?”
“I have told them of my hypothesis that some protomagic originates from the Demon Lord.”
So, they did know. Though this was, of course, not the sort of thing you could just carelessly announce to the world.
“I am indeed quite certain that those of the ancient kingdom faced such a threat. At the end of their days, after the Demon Lord attacked, they conducted experiments to transfer their knowledge and memories to the future.”
“To transfer it?” Was that even possible? Wait, he did say they only “experimented.” “So then,” I said, “they failed?”
“There are no records of their success. However, I believed it was possible you obtained a Record Stone that succeeded in transferring those memories.”
Oh, I see. Wait, huh? “A Record Stone?”
“It is the name I have tentatively assigned the stone-shaped objects that transfer knowledge and memories.”
Huh? Hold on. That means… “Are the cores of Demon Commanders…?”
“It is possible. I regret that I believed them to not exist.”
“Then does that mean the Demon Lord is using ancient kingdom technology?”
“It is impossible to determine whether it is based on the same techniques.”
True. We couldn’t say for sure without studying them. But that still meant the Demon Lord who destroyed the ancient kingdom might be using their technology, right? It was possible that through their knowledge and technology, he was able to utilize both these Demon Commanders and the memories of their vessels.
Wait, I felt like there was a contradiction in there somewhere, but right now, I couldn’t think. I was reaching my brain’s limits.
“This is all just theory, huh?”
“Indeed. Ah, this is perfect.” Ignoring my discomfort, he began writing something on a piece of paper, which he then thrust, still open, into my hands.
“What is this?
“I would like you to deliver this to His Majesty. As you appear to be the perfect candidate, I wish to entrust you with investigating the ancient kingdom at the capital.”
He wanted me to do what now?