Chapter 288: 286. Atlantis

Atlantis. A mythic kingdom. An allegory of hubris turned legend when it sank under the ocean in the span of a day and a night. Its literary interpretations were many.

The one existing within the 100th Plateau of Systema was the height of its legend. It was an ocean of pristine water, bearing a color so radiant it looked like a sea of gems. Scattered throughout its surface, island-sized cities floated around, connected together by streams of congealed water that were used as natural self-hovering bridges.

Below these cities, far underwater, submarine mirror versions of it were built. They were called the deep marine lights; masterpieces of magic engineering. Most were fortresses made to research and defend from the countless maritime lives inhabiting the Plateau. A lot of them were used as residential areas and others were private regions owned by organizations, individuals, or groups.

Amongst those cities, one stood bigger than any other. Much like Black Steel, it was the main hub of the Plateau, and it was baptized ‘New Athens’. This capital covered thousands of miles worth of distance and was built in a pyramidal configuration.

The floor height was at its lowest while closest to the ocean bounds while if you explored further into the center, new layers of streets and houses would appear until you reached the very top that was nearly high enough to touch the clouds.

Hundreds of water bridges could be seen ‘flowing’ in and out of layers, transporting submarine vehicles within them or supporting the more classic means such as boats. One could also see many small species of fish swimming through them and canals also descending into domestic areas.

❮ ◈ ❯

Welcome to Atlantis!

You have reached the 100th Plateau; the metaphysical stability of your surroundings has now increased. Any material will now feel sturdier or heavier as per the procedure put in practice by the System in order to keep environmental damage in check.

We recommend newcomer Hosts to carefully experience this change and adapt to it. 

Survive well.

❮ ◈ ❯

“Well… this is certainly something,” Rakna commented, briefly glossing over the system window, before focusing on the view of New Athens’ port, which extended for the whole circumference of the city. 

The docks welcomed hundreds of ships, ranging from the simplest of wooden ones to the most futuristic-looking he had ever seen. Of course, there were many who appeared more magical than merely technological.

“The air is so pure,” Evelyn said with a smile as the smell of the seawater reached her nose.

“Hm,” Rakna acquiesced as he bent his neck to look at the city rising into the sky. The fact that he was on the very edges of the city made the sight that much more impressive. He glanced at a small group of flying fish passing by before inspecting his direct surroundings.

They had been transported in the middle of an empty area seemingly made to welcome those that came from lower Plateaus. “New Athens, huh?” He snickered and his group turned toward him in confusion, pausing their own sight-seeing.

“What’s funny about it?” Allan asked.

“Well, I don’t know if it was meant to be satire, irony, or even a joke… But, to be short, Atlantis was originally a fictional place written in one of Plato’s works back on Earth. It was meant to be some sort of allegory to highlight the vanity of nations. In that ‘dialogue’, Atlantis is a naval power that besieges ‘Ancient Athens’, which essentially embodies Plato’s ideal state. It’s based on the actual city of Athens, capital of Greece and one of the oldest and most powerful cities in the world.”

“Atlantis is ultimately repelled by Ancient Athens and their siege fails,” Rakna said and viewed the city again. “Atlantis then falls out of favor with the gods and sinks under the ocean. So, that goes without saying that a name like ‘New Athens’ for the main city of Atlantis is quite hilarious.”

Higure blinked. “I have to say, devourer, your trivial knowledge never ceases to impress me.”

“…at least call it ‘trivia’,” he deadpanned. “You make it sound as if my knowledge is worthless.”

“Well, it is worthless, pragmatically wise,” Nyx remarked with a playful tone.

“You all really like to gang up against me lately,” Rakna groused half-heartedly and they chuckled.

“Um, guys,” Allan spoke up with a hesitant tone. “If you’re done chatting, can we please actually do something about that?” He said blankly whilst pointing at Tyran and Pronos with his thumb. 

The two behemoths had been transported while in their full size and it was without surprise that they had quickly caught the attention of an ever-increasing crowd.

“…let them be,” Rakna said with a weirdly conceding tone as he watched them take pictures of his two pets. “I don’t have the energy… I’ll have to check the news tomorrow,” he added with a silent groan and the others couldn’t help but sweatdrop at his rare show of anguish. “Anyway, wait here for me, I’m going to check something,” he abruptly said and headed toward the edge of the port.

“Huh? Where are you going?” Allan inquired and the answer came in the form of his friend jumping off the island-city. He heard the water splash down the edge and blinked. “…eh?”

At the same time, Rakna felt his body automatically adapt to the water. Of course, he did not need an oxygen filter thanks to Void Breathing, but it was something he could have done if he wanted to.

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No, instead, his body transformed to allow him to swim more easily. Faint pores appeared across his body and opened up to act as miniature thrusters. He only needed to think and his body would move as if he was flying in the air instead of swimming underwater. This was again an example of how rule-breaking his physiology had become.

Once he was deep enough, Rakna let Eye of Symphony do the calculations and took the occasion to look at the bottom of New Athens. His vision was not hampered in the slightest so he could see every single detail.

The island’s structure essentially resembled an iceberg. What was at the surface was but a small portion of what was sunk, which in itself was the reason why it could float in the first place. 

It seemed that the submerged section was made of some sort of precious material gleaming silver through the water. He approached it and tentatively tried to reach for it. When his finger touched the material, it instantly was pushed back and a small magic circle of mind-numbing complexity was revealed for a brief instant.

‘Of course… there’s no way it wouldn’t be magically reinforced. Or rather, this whole thing seems to be magic personified. It feels like a solid naturally formed block of mana that was then repurposed with a magic formation,’ Rakna thought then looked down. His pupils became crosses and his sight reached the very bottom of the ocean where he could see a ‘city’ even bigger than New Athens.

‘It seems that the underwater conurbations are far more populated,’ he concluded.

[| Reporting; Calculations Completed. Based On Sensorial Feedback, This Water Has a Density of More Than 1200 kg/m³. Scans Similarly Reveal Stronger Energetic Resistance. Reactions Such as Electric Conduction Require Higher Outputs. |]

Rakna mused as his Eye gave its report before backing away from the silver substance. ‘So, that’s what it is, huh? Metaphysical stability… or perhaps calling it the strength of molecular bonds could also work. But it’s ‘metaphysical’ because it applies to magic as well… I see.’

[You are correct, as always,] Ceres commented with slight amusement. At this point, she was all but unaccustomed to seeing him deduce answers instead of demanding them from her.

The therian internally smiled and as he was about to return to the surface, he sensed something approaching from behind. He looked over his shoulder and spotted a shark-like creature racing in his direction with bloodthirsty intent.

‘Hm… of course, most Wilden in this Plateau must be just like this,’ he thought calmly and leveled a mild glare toward the beast. For a split moment, a mask blinked into existence on half of his face before disappearing just as fast.

However, that had been more than enough. The Mask of Phobos had done its job and the shark had been mentally hit by the full brunt of Rakna’s full strength, instantly fainting.

Rakna snorted at how easy it was to deal with enemies of that level and then channeled his mana for something else, ‘[Call of Hounds.]’ In the blink of an eye, a pack of water-elemental wolves was summoned around him. They blended in with the water, their red eyes shining.

The therian eyed all of them. “{Spread out and scout the Plateau. Pay attention to the deep marine lights,}” he ordered them telepathically and the wolves bowed their heads before shooting off like live torpedoes. Each of them was over level one hundred and water elementals; they could easily sneak through or fight off most hostilities they faced.

‘It would be hard to sense water within water, after all,’ Rakna thought in amusement and started heading upward. Right before he resurfaced, he used Star Flash to launch himself out.

He flew over the railings of New Athens and landed back in the transfer zone. He huffed and both his body and Allegro promptly began to heat up. The water on him evaporated into steam and the modification he used to move underwater faded away at the same time.

It was during that process that he noticed someone standing not far from him. It wasn’t any of his companions; they were behind that person in fact.

“May I ask if you are Rakna Xiorra?” He spoke up. It was a tall and burly man wearing a blue and silver uniform. There were decorations on his shoulders and an insignia hung from his chest.

“Yes, and you are? Army? No… law-enforcer?” Rakna said as he combed his hair back into place, a cloud of steam still rising around him, and his eyes briefly shone gold. “Level 400? That’s decent. What do you want with me?”

The man blinked in both awe and shock. Someone that just arrived in Atlantis had simultaneously seen through his level and called it ‘decent’ to top it off. “It seems… Your Majesty does not deserve the criticism you received over your appointment to the Council,” he said respectfully.

“Criticism?” Rakna cocked his head. “What? Jealous keyboard warriors?” He jested but his joke fell flat when Ceres responded.

[Yes.]

‘…huh?’

[Social media have been in a war for quite some time now. It’s a battlefield between those who say you are perfectly capable of being a Council member due to being a Legendary Emperor and those who say you do not deserve it due to being too weak and merely pampered by Obsidian. Millions of people are involved in this.]

‘…I didn’t know it was that bad…’

[Would you like me to create an account in your na--?]”

‘Denied.’

AhraManyu

Shield your mind from social media, my children…

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