Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 230 A Melancholy Long Tune

When Geb opened his eyes again, he found himself awake halfway up a steep mountain. Looking at the sheer cliff, the goblin instinctively took a step back, and a rock beneath his feet tumbled down the cliff.

Crash, slap, slap slap slap.

Gebu gasped—not that he was scared, but it was really cold up in the mountain.

The goblin looked at the white breath coming out of its mouth and realized that it had entered a meditation world.

Or rather, the ethereal plane.

Gebu recalled the last time he meditated in the ruins of the ancient god in Chifang, he bumped into the elf monster uncle.

This proves that the meditative world does not exist independently; it is connected to the broader etheric plane.

Where am I?

The etheric plane does not follow the physical laws of the material plane, but it is not entirely without rules.

Geb began to observe his surroundings, trying to feel the flow of ether.

The basic meditation method states that as one's mastery of magic improves, the perception of ether becomes clearer, and the meditator's world becomes more concrete.

The mountain before me, the endless plains stretching below, and the rivers that divide the land—all so lifelike.

He was born. If Gebu hadn't remembered the scene when he arrived, he almost wouldn't have been able to tell which world he was in.

Is it because my perception of magic has become stronger?

No, something's wrong here.

Gebu pricked up his ears, and from the top of the mountain came a long, faint melody, ethereal and distant, yet carrying a primal power that shook the soul.

The sound was somewhat familiar. It was like the mournful song heard beside the giant.

Is this the ghost of the giants calling upon their own kind?

Do ghosts really exist in this world?

According to the knowledge Geb gained from the Book of Sand, the so-called Aetheric Plane is not a realm like the Underworld. He had never heard of the souls of the dead calling out to their deceased loved ones within the Aetheric Plane.

However, nothing is set in stone. What is recorded in the book may not be the truth.

Gebu came to this place in order to find clues about the giant's past. Gebu thought that if he could make the giant remember his name and rekindle his longing for his family, he might give up his obsession, willingly relinquish the Lava Blood, and reunite with his people.

However, Gebu hadn't thought about the specifics of how to do it.

That singing is the clue, isn't it? Anyway, we need to go up and check it out.

Gebu climbed step by step over the loose stones, using all four feet to climb towards the top of the mountain.

Upon reaching the summit, Gebu discovered an astonishingly large campsite nestled atop the snow-capped mountain. The campsite was built within a massive, sunken basin at the summit, shaped like a giant meteorite crater.

In the center of the basin, there are giant rocks tens of meters high, layer upon layer, of varying heights and shapes, which, when viewed from a distance, resemble ancient Titans walking on the earth in mythology.

On the towering, jagged rocks, the giants sat in twos and threes, hundreds of meters apart, singing to each other. Their songs pierced the thin air at the mountaintop, making the clouds on the horizon tremble and resonate with them.

Their massive forms appear tiny against the backdrop of the boulders. The scene is so natural, as if those giants were part of the mountain, the rock, and the sky themselves.

Is this the home of the giants?

Gebu didn't recognize where he was, but judging from the shape of the mountains on the other side of the basin, this should be the end of the Giant Mountain Range. Going down from there should lead to the East Sea.

This is Giant's Hill. It used to be...

Gebu looked at the basin below the hill, then at his own two short legs, and looked troubled.

"Looking at a mountain makes one's horse run itself to death." It looks so close at the foot of the mountain, but if you were to travel on foot, it would take half a day to reach it.

worn out.

Wait a moment.

Why would I need to use my legs?!

The goblin wizard then realized that he was in a meditation world, where magic flowed freely and wizards could do things that were impossible in the real world.

For example:

Gebu summoned his giant toad pet: "Gigant! Mega! Mega! Mega!"

Looking at the dead-eyed toad with tank-like eyes, Gebu pressed F to enter—ah, wrong channel.

The toad curled its tongue and swallowed the goblin into its mouth. Then Geb poked the big-eyed goblin's mouth open, peeking out its head and pointing a finger forward.

"Let's go, Big Eyes!"

"Quack."

With a burst of energy, the toad leaped up on its hind legs, and the entire toad flew into the air!

From mid-air, Gebu glimpsed the entirety of Giant Hill.

Here lies a dormant volcanic crater. Beneath the snow line of those mountains, one can vaguely see the dark volcanic soil and scattered obsidian fragments.

The giants seemed oblivious to Gebu and the giant toad, continuing to sing as if nothing was amiss. Gebu manipulated the toad, leaping between the boulders before landing on the highest platform in the stone forest.

Goblin walked up to a giant and touched his toes. His hand passed right through the giant's body, as if the giant didn't exist, or perhaps Goblin didn't exist at all?

The giants had their backs to you, and they were all looking in one direction.

What are you looking at?

Goblin walked to the edge of the rocks and looked in the direction the giants were looking. Goblin realized that these seemingly random boulders actually formed an irregular semicircle, from high to low, like a natural open-air semicircular stepped theater.

At the center of the theater was a flat, round boulder. Its shape resembled a stage, with the vast sky in the distance as its backdrop.

Beneath the vast sky, the Giant Mountains stretch endlessly, their peaks converging at the summit of the World's Ridge, the highest volcano on the entire continent—the Maw of Titan.

This was the most spectacular stage Geb had ever seen—if that half-elf Yvette, who loved drama, had seen it, she probably would have fainted from excitement.

There is a stage, there is an audience, but there are no actors. There is only a silent mime performance without a protagonist.

The stage was empty except for two grooves worn into the rock surface over the years, which looked as if someone had been kneeling there for years, forcibly creating these grooves in the rock.

Geb looked at the giants in the other megalithic stands. Their faces were very blurry, almost indistinguishable. Upon closer inspection, all the giants looked almost identical, with no distinction between men and women, and their clothing was completely unremarkable. It was as if they weren't real people, but rather a part of some vague memory.

However, the songs of these giants were truly real.

"Hiel dha vulsikal ula. sulluvvol juol dails, shill lud vill ilula."

Geb didn't know what the language was, but he could tell that it wasn't the language of the ancients, nor the language of the dwarves, goblins, or any other language still in existence.

The language is pronounced with a deep, reverberant quality, like churning lava or a glacier breaking apart, with boulders falling into a valley and creating a heavy echo.

Is this the language of ancient giants?

Gebu took out the Book of Sand, picked out words that sounded familiar to him in the language, and quickly searched for them.

The language of the ancient giants — because this language has been lost for so long and there are no written records, Geb could not find any documents that could help him translate it.

However, don't be discouraged.

Language is constantly evolving. Since the name "Altom" was passed down from the giants to the dwarves' language, could other words have also infiltrated the dwarf society that lives in the mountains?

Geb began searching for records about the evolution of the dwarven language and found several similar keywords.

Giant's language: vulsikal = Dwarf's language: fausk'en = Ancient Sage's language: derelictus = Kingdom's language: forsaken "the abandoned".

Giants' language: dails; Dwarves' language: tor; Ancient Sages' language: Iacrima; Kingdom's language: tear (tears)

Giant's language ilula = Dwarf's language ilu "d/ilun = Ancient Sage's language solus = Kingdom's language Ione "loneliness"

Is this a tragic song?

Geb pricked up his ears and continued trying to listen to the giants' mournful long songs—but the more he listened, the less sad the melody seemed.

This melancholic tune, combined with the deep resonance of the giants' chests, created a sense of vast and empty space.

In the boundless天地 (heaven and earth), personal joys and sorrows become less important.

Everyone will die, but death is not scary.

Gebu was deeply moved by the song. It took him a while to remember to continue exploring the meaning of the lyrics, so he immediately picked up the Book of Sand and continued his search:

—Protecting—Lost and Found—Hometown—

—Destruction, death—ashes—

"—Life——Joy—"

"The joy of life."

The giants repeated the word over and over, praying and calling out towards the mouth of the Titan, their voices filled with a certain expectation—it was the legendary birthplace of Altom, the embodiment of the Old Gods' destructive will. It had nothing to do with life or joy.

Geb kept repeating the word. The joy of life. He looked at the volcano, trying to understand what these giants were saying.

How are destruction and life connected?

As Gebu gazed at the vast landscape, his eyes grew tired. He looked down at the black soil beneath his feet, which was mixed with fragments of obsidian.

Beneath the fertile volcanic ash, a newly sprouted seedling is budding, its tender leaves trembling slightly. Though fragile, an unstoppable life force is surging within this little creature.

Yes, destruction and rebirth are two sides of the same coin. Beneath the ashes, new seeds are gathering strength.

Is this what the giants are celebrating?

It turns out that the giants' faith in Altom was not merely about worshipping the destructive will of that evil god—the destruction brought about by Altom was also an opportunity to catalyze change in the world and allow new life to flourish.

The god of destruction, and also the god of life.

Geb realized he had grasped something extraordinary, and while he was still pondering it, the giants' bodies began to react.

Their figures faded, disappeared like phantoms—the singing grew thinner and thinner, until finally only a lonely, withered voice called out from afar.

"Don't go!!"

Gebu realized what was happening and quickly mounted the toad, leaping towards the direction of the last sound.

This last giant appeared out of nowhere. Humming a tune, he walked forlornly to the center of the stone stage, knelt down, his body hunched over, looking extremely haggard.

Gebu was afraid that this guy would disappear like the others, so he quickly ran behind him and listened to his song.

The tune this guy was humming had no timbre, and the lyrics were indistinct; it seemed he was just humming randomly based on intuition. Gebu recognized him from his physique as the last giant trapped underground.

"What's your name, Giant?"

The big guy ignored the goblin; he just stared at the distant Titan's Mouth volcano, his eyes filled with melancholy.

Geb realized he couldn't communicate with this guy. He didn't know what this person was—a projection of the giant's spirit? A ghost of the past? Or a phantom made of ether?

Geb suddenly thought of something:

Am I in the meditation world of giants?

Therefore, the phantoms of those giants were not ghosts, but rather remnants of past memories within the old giant's consciousness. He had forgotten the faces of his people, so those giants had no faces.

But you remember your own name, don't you? You remember your family's accent, those words so clearly—

Geb calmed himself down and sat down next to the giant, looking at the Titan's Mouth volcano just like him, trying to understand the feelings of this giant who had lived alone for thousands of years.

Hieldhavulsikalula

The goblin wizard began to sing the giant's long song. His tiny body could not produce the giant's powerful voice, so the wizard sought help from the aether that was moving through the plane, using magic to amplify his voice.

At first, the giant didn't notice Gebu, but after a while, the giant finally spoke, matching Gebu's tone with his aged voice.

In the vast ethereal plane, the songs of goblins and giants echoed, long and poignant.

The long song lasted for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping.

"Giant, what is your name?"

The giant hesitated for a moment, looked at the distant mountain peak, and murmured one or two syllables.

"Go-Communist Party"

"Gögong, is that your name?"

"Gorgon the Last."

The giant turned his face to look at the goblin; his enormous iris, like a dormant volcano, reflected the goblin's image.

Geb instinctively took a breath and held it. The giant in front of him seemed to be more than just a giant.

That enormous body contained a great power that transcended that of ordinary people.

Is it Altom's Lava Blood?

It was still the same god himself—the god of destruction and life, the devourer—the ancient god imprisoned.

Something suddenly flashed in the giant's pupils, and Geb keenly caught the shadow.

Wait!

Am I not the only one in this world of meditation?

Gebu turned around instantly, and a white figure flashed past his eyes and disappeared among the distant boulders.

A white goblin!

Just as Gebu was about to give chase, a loud bang suddenly came from behind him—the Titan's Maw at the top of the world was billowing thick smoke!