Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 52: The War of the Worlds

< Chapter 52: The War of the Worlds – 2 >

As he entered the whitewashed, snow-white tower, he saw an anthill.

No other words could describe the sight better than an anthill.

To simply call it a maze would be insufficient, as the passages crossing back and forth between the ceiling and walls were exceedingly unreal.

A colossal tower with countless passages intertwined like a maze, an anthill, or a spider web.

That was the White Magic Tower.

The White Magic Tower Lord, who had invited him to the tower, laughed heartily and led him further inside.

“Have you ever used a Teleport Gate?”

“No.”

“Then I must give you a brief explanation first. It’s not widely known, but all the magic towers on the continent are built based on this ‘Teleport Gate.’ Whether it’s the Empire or the Eastern Kingdom, wherever there’s a magic tower, this principle must be observed.”

“Oh, I thought the Teleport Gate was installed in the magic tower.”

This was new information. Very little was known to the outside about the internal affairs of the magic towers.

At least the Blue Magic Tower was known to interact actively with the outside world.

“Yes. The Teleport Gate is… to put it simply, a relic of the ancient ‘Transcendence.’”

“Transcendence?”

“The goal and ideal of all magicians. Ah, the magicians of the Grey Tower value truth and principles more than transcendence, though.”

Transcendence. He remembered hearing about it from the Chief Mage.

It was said that if someone killed every living person, they would gain the

magical right to control the life and death of everyone. But since there would be no one left to kill, transcendence itself was inherently contradictory.

“A transcendent being ascends to a higher level of existence, free from the constraints of the ‘principles’ that govern this world. In the process, they leave a magical trace at the point of transcendence that ignores all principles─, this trace is called a ‘Singularity’ because it is a point that surpasses the limits of principles.”

“Singularity?”

It was a familiar term.

Though it might not mean the same thing as the singularity in physics he was thinking of.

“Yes. One of the properties of a singularity is that all places where a singularity exists are magically considered the ‘same’ place. That’s why spatial movement from one magic tower to another is possible.”

“I see….”

“Moreover, the ability to construct tall structures like the ‘magic towers,’ surpassing architectural limits, is entirely due to the influence of singularities. The magical influence of ascension to a higher level allows principles to be bent so that physical space can reach ‘higher’ places. It may sound like a play on words, though.”

“Amazing.”

“Haha, yes. It’s amazing. I’ve digressed a bit. We are almost at the place where the Teleport Gate is. Since you probably don’t know how to handle mana, please hold my hand. Due to all the gates being connected, ‘probability adjustment’ is necessary to move to the desired gate.”

As the White Magic Tower Master had said, they arrived at the teleport gate in no time at all.

The teleport gate was a black and dark hole that absorbed the surrounding light. The sight of the surrounding light distorting and being sucked in was itself quite mysterious. It looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

Following the Magic Tower Master’s instructions, he grabbed the Master’s hand. Led by the Master’s hand, he was drawn into the black hole.

Just like that, after passing through a long, dark tunnel that seemed to converge all light and darkness into one, he found himself standing in a strange tower with an open ceiling through which the night sky was visible.

The tower looked as if a section of a column had been cut out and removed.

While he was admiring the peculiar architecture, the Magic Tower Master turned to him with a bright smile.

“Welcome to the pride of our White Magic Tower, the Sky Garden Observatory.”

* * *

The place the White Magic Tower Master introduced as the ‘Sky Garden Observatory’ was filled with strange objects. For example, there was a ‘camera.’

“This is a camera…?”

“Oh, you recognize it? It’s a device known only to a few mages from our White Magic Tower and other magic towers. You must have heard about it from the Grey Chief Mage.”

“Ah, yes.”

“As we are the most advanced in observation technology on the continent, feel free to explore. Would you like to take a look through the telescope? The sky is clear right now. I can teach you how to use it.”

From the way the Magic Tower Master proudly introduced various devices, he sensed a hint of madness.

It was the madness of someone who had devoted their life to a single goal. Just as he had dedicated his life to literature, this White Magic Tower Master had dedicated their life to observation.

Creating a modern camera and Newtonian telescope without a foundation in optical physics must have involved countless trials and errors, a feat unimaginable.

While he was lost in these thoughts, the Magic Tower Master suddenly changed the subject.

“Ah, we were going to talk about life on Mars. Let’s see, the relevant data should be around here somewhere… Ah, here it is. This is a photo of the observed surface of Mars. Since the color can’t be determined from the photo, we’ve added color separately.”

On Mars, as shown by the Magic Tower Master…

There was water. It resembled vast canals crossing the surface of Mars rather than seas.

This fact was somewhat surprising. Reading the information recorded next to the photo, it seemed that this world’s Mars orbited in a similar trajectory to the Mars of his previous life.

Given that there were several similarities between Earth in his previous life and this world, it wasn’t too strange.

What was even more peculiar than the presence of water or the orbital distance was something else.

“Is this… a tree?”

A long line extending from the center of Mars towards space, with a rounded end that looked like a weight. It resembled a tree. If it really was a tree, its diameter would be several kilometers.

“Yes. We assume it is a tree similar to the World Tree described in ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.’ This is why most of the mages from the White Magic Tower are moving to the south to investigate the World Tree.”

“……”

“Additionally, we speculate that this World Tree is a structure created by an entity possessing intelligence and purpose, perhaps something that touches upon ‘Transcendence’. In fact, the field where magic dealing with probabilities has the most extreme impact is in the breeding of livestock or seeds. So, instead of artificial buildings like the magic towers, it might be that they created these ‘trees’ that perform the role of the towers by maximizing the potential of plants to their extreme.”

“I see….”

“However, it is difficult for us to guess the necessity of such an extreme structure. Therefore, we sought the advice of Herodotus, thinking that his magical imagination might point out aspects we haven’t considered.”

“Yes….”

“So, what do you think is the role of this ‘World Tree’?”

“…….”

Indeed, I knew the role of that tree. Anyone who loved science fiction would know. A structure over 30,000 kilometers high, reaching up to the planet’s ‘geostationary orbit’, could only serve one purpose. Of course, at first, I thought the length was merely a coincidence. But if it wasn’t a coincidence and had a ‘purpose’─.

“Orbital Elevator….”

“Hmm?”

“It is a gateway to space, meant to escape the planet’s gravity. To fly to the vacuum of space with a conventional propellant requires an enormous amount of energy….”

“Ah, I think there was something related to Principia. So, the ‘World Tree’ is like a staircase made by some transcendent being to reach space? This seems worth researching.”

“…….”

The Lord of the White Magic Tower nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t accept it. An orbital elevator isn’t just a means to reach space. Rockets alone are sufficient to enter space. The orbital elevator is a stepping stone for a space ‘civilization’.

It is a structure aimed at long-term energy efficiency, created only when the economic benefits of installing the elevator are guaranteed.

This means that the civilization that built this orbital elevator must be both ‘competent’ enough to explore beyond the planet and ‘incompetent’ enough to seek economic feasibility in escaping orbital gravity. Just like the Earth in my previous life….

“I will organize the knowledge related to the orbital elevator and send it to the White Magic Tower.”

“Ah, thank you for your concern.”

* * *

Despite the tar-like uneasy feeling stuck in my chest, I continued to converse with the Lord of the White Magic Tower on various topics. There were many intriguing points in his stories about observing different places around the world. I also got to hear more detailed stories about ‘Transcendence’.

“For example, literature can also be a means of transcendence. If one person has more literary influence than both you, Herodotus, and Homer combined. Of course, that’s impossible, so it’s a meaningless assumption. Haha!”

“…Ah, yes.”