Why Did You Summon Me?

Baiyi made to leave, but to his horror, the Archmage dragged him to his living room. It was nothing like the normal living room it was once; now, the room looked like the mission command room of a military base. Baiyi’s small table and couches had been turned into metal mission control consoles and operation panels that were silver. Many holographic screens hovered above these consoles, displaying data and stats of elements in the other world.

The living room was filled with futuristic equipment, and for a second, Baiyi thought Isythre had changed its “world setting!” Emulating future tech using magic was a strange workaround, and Baiyi planned to comment on this; however, the Archmage, who seemed rather impatient, slammed a controller into Baiyi’s hands, interrupting the Fifth Walker’s thoughts.

The controller was pretty average-looking; it resembled something to steer toy cars. Only two joysticks were on this controller: one stick was used to move forward or backward, while the other stick was used to strafe left or right. This simple controller paled in comparison to the previous controller, which had a full set of buttons and could be disassembled to smaller, functional parts. The controller was used at the start exploration of this otherworld.

Baiyi flicked a joystick, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. He could see, from a third-person view, a scout marionette that resembled a dragonfly. A few yards away, some ships were coming over.

“Sit aside and watch quietly, okay? You are about to enjoy the most immersive experience,” said the Archmage, who then snapped his fingers for his own seat.

Suddenly, the ground opened partially, and something that resembled the piloting pad of a giant mecha slowly rose. The pod came with a 40-inch, 180-degree-surround screen; a soft couch with adjustable angles and length; various control devices, such a car steering wheel, aircraft control system, and other systems; and, finally, three strange buttons with unknown functions appeared on the left armrest.

“Unfortunately, this cockpit has not been completely developed. According to our design, pressing the red button would bring me a bottle of coke; the blue button gives me a bag of chips, and the cat button gives me a cat — a live one — because only then would the package be complete,” the Archmage explained. With a tinge of sorrow in his voice, the Archmage continued, “But, we’re currently faced with some technical complications. We haven’t finalized our Coke formula, and we haven’t found the perfect cat that meets my rigorous ‘kawaii kriteria’…”

Baiyi looked at his controller, and then at the luxurious cockpit in silence.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What’s with that face? You’re want to nag because I spent my savings on a big, beautiful, dreamlike entertainment cockpit?” The Archmage asked with a tone of defiance.

“Nothing like that. I just wondered if you still have the battle gear I made for you,” Baiyi replied.

“Oh! Oh-ho-cough! Why, of course! I stored it away carefully because I know that it is very, very precious…” The red-faced Archmage coughed and sputtered, trying to explain, and almost instantly, the old man changed the subject: “Now, now. It’s about time we return to the matter at hand. Today, you see, is the day I return to the battlefield in six thousand years! It’s also the day the construction of my beautiful cockpit got completed. We must celebrate this momentous moment!”

The Archmage jumped into the cockpit and mashed some buttons. The holographic screen turned blue, and lines of data quickly appeared on it. Baiyi, on the other hand, messed around with the joysticks on his controller, watching on the screen as the three-metal tall golden marionette’s eye lit up and the marionette begin to move.

Although Baiyi was watching the dragonfly marionette move on the screen, he could still feel some power surging from it. Its thick cannons were an indicator of its capability, and its heavy-duty tank armor was fierce-looking; anyone that saw it would wonder if it could be pierced through.

“Hold up. Shouldn’t I be in charge of authorizing the usage of Da Xue’s precious resources, like this battle-ready marionette?” Baiyi asked.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my protégé. This big boy is our latest, all-territorial reconnaissance marionette codenamed ‘The-O’! This war was literally made for it to shine! Here is the paperwork; it might interest you,” said the Archmage, instantly giving Baiyi documents he had obviously prepared beforehand. Baiyi read a document and realized that the protocols he had set were followed to a tee. There was simply nothing he could complain about.

The Scholar Walker, who wore a blouse, skirt, black socks, and heels fit for a white-collar professional, suddenly walked into the room. She filled Baiyi in on the Voidwalkers’ activities in the otherworld.

Baiyi had delegated full control of the expedition into the otherworld to the Archmage. What ensued afterward were events one would expect from a tale of a backwater world encountering a highly-advanced civilization. After forcing two enemy ships into submission, no one else from the otherworld dared to oppose the Voidwalkers. Defeated, the people of the otherworld led the Voidwalkers to a city called “Dock”.

This city was controlled by the guild that owned the SS Meryl. This guild was more of a merchant guild than a mercenary guild, so Dock was a centralized cosmopolitan city engaged in trading and business. Dock was one of this otherworld’s most populous cities, and it had been nicknamed “Treasure Bay”.

When the marionette reached Dock, it immediately showed off the firepower and destructive capabilities of its components, rousing the admiration of the locals. The marionette quickly became a celebrity in Dock. The Voidwalkers used this newfound high-rank status to interfere in the internal affairs of the guild that owned Dock, and they quickly gained the authority to enter any territory they wised to. The friendly locals were welcoming; not one of them opposed the marionette’s authority.

The otherworld’s only traitor was the young rider Lear, who had long since surrendered to the marionette. He proved quite useful to the Voidwalkers in uncovering more of the otherworld’s history. This world’s more advanced civilization seemed to have inhabited an area underneath the land below. This place was said to be a bountiful, tranquil, and pacifistic world — a land whose cornucopian resources supported the formation of a spectacular civilization of magical technology.

“I’ve never seen a magical crystal with such high levels of purity before. Are you telling me that crystals like that can be found everywhere on land?” Baiyi asked, holding up an ethereal blue crystal.

“What an example of Nature’s magnificence,” the Scholar Walker said as she brushed her bangs to the side, revealing her graceful, swan-like neck. “Nevertheless, such generosity would morph into gratuity when it is discovered one discovers that this world’s crust is thin, camouflaging an abundance of these crystalline compounds. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these crystals are the bedrock of this world! Hence, the fate of that ‘spectacular civilization’ should no longer remain a mystery. I believe that you now understand the logical ramification of this instability.”

Baiyi nodded. The highly-concentrated crystal was harmless in small quantities, but when high-energy elements are lumped together, the slightest activity might trigger an explosion. Building a civilization atop these dangerous crystals was no different from sitting in a minefield.

“So, this is why the people of this world are not sorcerers and, instead, choose to use magic through tools and equipment. That must have been how the people chose to survive in this environment. Casting a spell in this place was akin to the tank of kerosene,” said Baiyi.

“There are many plausible explanations as to why the cataclysmic annihilation of before happened, and we’re simply to ill-informed to pinpoint the right one. All we can theorize is that a series of explosions unearthed many mana reserves like this. The mana at ground level has reached a lethal saturation point that could cause harm to the human body. Besides that, chaotic mana storms ravage the land to this day, and one of our marionettes was destroyed in one,” said the Scholar Walker. “If the predecessors did not have the foresight to focus on aerial cities and vessels, there would be no life in this world today.”

“So, are those reserves still around?”

“Certainly, because the cataclysmic event had occurred on shallow ground. If the entire mana reserve exploded, not even the stratosphere could offer sanctuary; the world would have been forcibly ruptured. We can conclude that deep within the earth lies an untouched and immeasurable cornucopia of mana energy,” the Scholar Walker replied. “On another note, that event had brought about relative stability to this world. The reserve hidden within the earth appeared to be comparably anodyne.

“Our main hurdle is that, as the environment on ground level has been so utterly decimated, it is currently uninhabitable for humans. However, given enough time, nature might promote the birth of other, fitter organisms. The Soul Armature Practitioner is the lead researcher in this particular domain; you are welcome to pay him a visit for further inquiries,” said the Scholar Walker.

“Some other time. What’s next?” Baiyi said.

“We devoted ourselves to the inquiry of their magical-technological applications, such as the propulsion system, water recycling, et cetera. These edifying studies subsequently contribute to the invention and optimization of various gadgetries, including your mana-powered smartphone,” The Scholar beamed before producing a pile of papers from under her pencil skirt. “There is so much more to this trove of otherworldly knowledge that it inspires one’s alacrity. Do they inspire you enough to participate, Sir Hope?”

“Er, you should probably recruit some brainier students for such a momentous task,” Baiyi replied, waving his hand in dismissal. Turning his attention to the screen, he pointed at the marionette — which currently controlled by the Archmage — standing in the middle of a worshipping crowd. “Can anyone explain what the hell caused this?”

This time, it was the Old Geezer himself who answered. “Well! It all started when you destroyed two of their pirate ships. Their goons come to you for vengeance, but it ended with two of their newer ships destroyed while three of their other ships owned. And then I thought, ‘Huh, this is such a great pretext for a War of Conquest, don’t you think? Especially since our biggest problem right now is the human population, right? Our new world needs someone to live in!’… Okay, I agree that these bunch of bumpkins are an uneducated, crass company, but they’ll make excellent coolies for our new world, won’t you agree?”

Baiyi was immediately stunned. ‘Holy s**t! Did this guy just unknowingly suggest implementing the very callous and inhumane slavery system?’