NOVEL NEXT Chapter 509: The Board of Trapped Worlds
Once the sketch was complete, it was transmitted directly into the Shatterstar system.
Ethan watched as the noodle-like strand in the left hand contracted into its original rod form, then twisted and reshaped itself into a colossal shield, towering fifteen hundred meters high. Its contours were exactly as he had drawn them.
He jabbed at it with the Twilight War Spear.
Pop.
The point pierced straight through.
"What kind of durability does this thing have after solidification?" he muttered.
[Specific data unknown. However, as a defensive armament, it can interface with the mech's protection system, channeling energy for reinforced shielding.]
"Alright then, solidify it," Ethan said with satisfaction. With both spear and shield, he finally had offense and defense in balance.
[New Memory Metal Solidification Program initiated.]
Shatterstar's mechanical voice left no room for hesitation. Sparks crackled from Ethan's left gauntlet, writhing like electric snakes that coiled across the vast surface of the shield.
[Solidification requires current synchronization at fixed frequency. This program is irreversible. Confirm execution?]
"Proceed." Ethan had made his choice—no reason to hesitate now.
Bzzzz…
The current erupted in blinding light, coating the shield in a radiant sheath. Within seconds the glow sank into the metal itself until nothing remained on the surface.
[Solidification complete.]
The process had taken less than a minute. Ethan flexed his arm, feeling the difference immediately; the shield had real weight now.
A quick glance at the optical display confirmed it:
Right hand: 3.4%
Left hand: 4.2%
He raised a brow. The shield weighed even more than the Twilight War Spear. Testing it again, he struck with the spear.
Clang!
The impact sent a spray of sparks flying.
"Not bad. Not bad at all," Ethan murmured. Even without full strength behind the strike, the shield had absorbed force that would have surpassed his usual spear attacks.
Satisfied, he lifted the mech into the air, though he kept low rather than ascending. Shatterstar now bore the image of a war god—shield in one hand, spear in the other.
He angled the spear downward. Crunch. The Twilight War Spear plunged into the ice, and his speed surged forward, carving a deep trench as he flew.
The groove stretched perfectly straight across the frozen expanse. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.
Then, without warning, the trench simply vanished. What remained was only the short starting segment. The rest had disappeared as though erased by some unseen hand, leaving a smooth unbroken sheet of ice.
Ethan frowned. That was impossible.
Dragging the spear again, he drew another line, this time while walking. At the spot where the first line had broken, he stepped across.
"What the hell…" His voice caught. "This is insane."
There should have been two clear, parallel lines trailing behind him. Instead, both were gone.
"Don't tell me this is some kind of ghost wall?"
He tested it again, walking the same path over and over. On the eighteenth crossing, the long trench suddenly reappeared—exactly as he had first carved it.
"Eighteen?" he whispered, startled.
He tested again. Each time, after eighteen crossings, the lines returned. Not just one, but both parallel marks, appearing like ghostly etchings.
His eyes narrowed. Facing due north, he turned east, aligning himself with the point where the phenomenon had triggered.
Flying in that direction, he carved another line with the spear. This time, after two minutes, the trench vanished once again.
"As I thought. Another critical point," Ethan muttered.
He repeated the crossing test. As before, the vanished trench resurfaced on the eighteenth attempt.
Finally, the realization struck him. "This isn't random. It's a damn board… like those Japanese Go board."
Piece by piece, he pieced the mystery together. The vast ice plain was divided into a grid: nineteen lines intersecting vertically and horizontally, forming eighteen squares in each direction. A total of 324 enormous sectors, each bounded by invisible barriers. Crossing one of those boundaries shifted the traveler into a different pocket of space, and the reappearance of his carved lines depended on passing those intersections the right number of times.
It explained everything. The strangers who had suddenly appeared before them earlier must have crossed into a new square, directly materializing in front of him. Perhaps they had fled from something within their sector—most likely the so-called demon that had annihilated the Forgotten City. Or maybe they had left a hidden camp and, by crossing one of these critical points, vanished from his pursuit into another square entirely.
Ethan's stomach tightened. "Three hundred and twenty-four squares. How the hell am I supposed to find them in that?"
Even reuniting with Blackie and the others would be difficult in this labyrinth. Each square was vast, each containing who knew what dangers, and he couldn't possibly scout them all.
"Whichever bastard drew this game… they weren't playing small," he growled.
Rumble.
The sky split open. A bolt of purplish-black lightning, thick as a barrel, came crashing down.
Crack!
It smashed against Shatterstar's head, jolting the mech off-balance.
"Damn it! Can't even curse in this place!" Ethan spat. His frustration echoed in the freezing wind.
The Extreme North Ice Fields truly lived up to their reputation as the Sea of Death's forbidden zone.
"Wait…" Ethan muttered. "Didn't Uncle Jed explore this place once? Could it be he learned the patterns of this… this board?"
It was the only explanation that fit.
Now Ethan was trapped in the middle of a monstrous game. No way forward, no way back. Just a single piece caught on the board.
…
Meanwhile, Blackie, Julian, and Micah continued northward.
The deeper they ventured, the sharper the cold gnawed at them. The wind bit like knives, freezing the air in their lungs.
"Boss, where did he go?" Micah asked, shivering.
Blackie kept silent, his jaw tight. Fire-elemental energy blazed faintly at his back, forming a protective barrier that sheltered the other two. It was the only thing holding off the biting frost.
But in this desolate cold, with no fire energy to draw from, every second drained his strength. He knew he couldn't maintain the barrier for much longer.