A Challenge And A Discovery

World Era June 2, 1917.

The New Continent, also called the Colonial Continent, was at the same time a place whose official name was the Ablos Continent.

Of course, compared to the continent where the empires of the Old Continent were located, it was a bit smaller in scale, but it was a clear fact that it was still a considerably large continent.

It could be said that this continent had been explored countless times up to now. There had been tribes and countries where the natives had settled, but now, under the name of colonies, it could be said that they were being ruled by the countries of the Old Continent.

At present, this continent was suffering greatly. After the Great War, those who had stirred up a longing for independence were greatly enraged after being betrayed with the declaration that independence was impossible, and they were rising in rebellion here and there.

However, all of them could not help but be gradually suppressed by the Polia Kingdom army. In front of numerous tanks, fighter aircraft, and an advanced military, they had no choice but to collapse helplessly.

As time passed, the momentum of the rebellion could not help but cool rapidly. There were those who sought a moment of reversal, but most knew that it was impossible in the current state.

At this noisy time, there were those who entered this continent for a purpose unrelated to all that and proceeded with work for another purpose, and they were none other than one of the ruin exploration teams.

The expedition leader named Alren had traveled all kinds of places, but he had realized long ago that if things stayed like this, there would be no competitiveness, because he only ever ran into exploration teams with the same purpose. So what he did was propose exploring the central part of this colonial continent.

Inside this continent, there existed unusual terrain: in the center of the continent, a huge mountain range existed in a form close to a circle. In fact, it could be said that historically no one had ever explored the center of this mountain range.

This was because a dizzying cliff lay outside the great mountain range. It was not a cliff that simply stood like it had been cut away. Stone walls layered as if in multiple strata were scattered at random. Since the past, there had been many who had tried to climb this place.

Some had tried all kinds of efforts to find a path and found one, only to learn that none existed, and at times they even tried to climb directly by linking ropes. Of course, those people ultimately had no choice but to die as the place where the rope was fastened broke and they fell.

Later, when airships were developed, thinking that exploring the mountain range would now be possible, they tried to airlift airships up and climb. However, strong winds blowing in resulted in the airships crashing as well.

Even after several more attempts, the conclusion could not help but be that it was impossible to look into the inside of the great mountain range with airships. As time passed, the Great War broke out, and at this point, just after it had ended, there was someone who sought to explore this place: a man named Alren, the leader of a ruin exploration team.

He was leading an exploration team belonging to the Polia Kingdom. The reason he received permission to explore this great mountain range like this was also because the Polia Kingdom had been able to suppress the rebels near the great mountain range.

Anyway, he bought airplanes with the invested money. He knew that while airships had attempted the challenge until now, airplanes had never been tried even once, and he proceeded for the purpose of attempting it.

Currently, at a simple runway located 20 km from the great mountain range, three airplanes were stationed there. All of them were ‘Ed,’ first-generation aircraft of the Polia Kingdom that had been disarmed and sold to civilians.

Since it was developed in 1899, it could not be said that its performance was very good, but it was also the best airplane that could be obtained in the civilian sector. Moreover, it could be said to be an airframe that had been modified by installing a radio and also modifying and boosting the engine’s performance.

Expedition leader Alren and two colleagues were preparing to depart, dividing up and riding the three aircraft. In this situation, Alren could not help but feel anew.

‘….It really has been a lot of hardship.’

The fact that they could ride airplanes like this was, in effect, because the state had supported them greatly. It had enabled them to learn piloting skills, and it had even enabled them to make modifications. From that fact, he was filled with the will to succeed no matter what.

‘There is far too much money invested. I have to find something, anything.’

While he burned with resolve like that, he also had worries. Could they truly head over that enormous mountain range? That was the worry that arose. He had confidence, but its notorious reputation had been so famous. In reality, it was a mountain range that had led countless people to their deaths. He could not help but be tense.

‘Let’s succeed no matter what.’

Having resolved so, Alren immediately gave hand signals, showing the meaning that they should depart. His colleagues nodded as well. Since they had practiced for a long time, even starting the engine and moving the airframes felt natural.

Purrung— The moment the engine started, bwoong— the engine sound rose strongly. The airframe began to head forward slowly. With Alren in the lead, the other two airplanes also began to move behind him. He could see colleagues positioned around. At the same time, he could also see the soldiers who had accommodated them.

This was something that even the Polia Kingdom showed great interest in, so soldiers had been dispatched like that to watch the situation. With the feeling that he absolutely must not fail, he began to raise speed as-is.

Bung—! Along with the strongly spinning propeller, the airframe began to gain speed and advance forward. As it advanced along the runway made by compacting the ground, he felt the airframe slowly lift. It was Alren’s airplane flying vigorously.

‘It worked.’

With the thought that even the start was good, as soon as he rose to a certain height in the sky, he turned back to check whether the two colleagues were following well. In his view, he could see two airplanes sticking close behind. Alren, with a brightened face as if thinking they had all succeeded, spoke through the radio as if this was only the beginning.

“Everyone, can you hear well?”

[Yes, I can hear well, Captain.]

[Me too.]

“From now on it begins, so everyone, keep your heads on straight. You have heard in advance and know it, but from the entrance into that mountain range, the wind is no joke.”

[I know. We have to keep our heads on straight.]

[Let’s definitely succeed. We have to succeed and become rich.]

“Yeah, let’s all succeed. And put on your oxygen masks quickly.”

As he said that, Alren put on the oxygen mask made of rubber that he had installed separately. It was prepared because he knew that basically the higher you went, the more oxygen was lacking. As he put it on, he pulled the control yoke and gradually raised the airframe higher into the sky.

The closer the enormous mountain range came, the more the airframe ascended. That distance of 20 km was closing quickly, and as it drew nearer, the airframe began to shake little by little.

‘As expected, it’s no joke.’

Though he knew it in his mind, the fact that the shaking of the airframe was no ordinary matter made fear and tension rise at the same time. His hands gripping the control yoke were already drenched in sweat. Sweat was also streaming down his back.

In this situation, he tried to keep the airframe centered. Clunk clunk, it was shaking violently. For some reason, he felt as if his hips were being jostled. He thought that if he made even a small mistake, he could crash as-is.

Deep down, he also had the thought, surely the wings won’t break, right?

They were using the airframe of Ed, a first-generation aircraft, but they had made sufficiently many modifications. Not only had they maximized the engine’s performance to climb to high altitude, they had also reinforced the two wings, and they had firmly fixed the joints so they could endure strong winds.

While thinking, please don’t let the worst situation of the wings breaking and crashing come, the wind that made the airframe itself violently rock made Alren think it was a big problem. This wind strength was beyond what he had expected.

‘I couldn’t even guess it would be to this extent..’

He had seen records that, in the past, at the moment an airship floated high and flew toward this mountain range, it crashed helplessly in strong winds. But he had thought that was a crash due to the lightness that came from the limitation of airships. But now that he experienced it, it was no joke.

[Save….]

At the voice coming through the radio in that instant, his eyes widened. The fact that the radio was heard meant that they had taken the oxygen mask off their mouth, and saying “save me” meant they were crashing. From that fact, he could tell that one of his colleagues had suffered the worst outcome of a crash.

‘Damn it..’

Since he could not take off his oxygen mask right away, Alren could not help but curse inwardly. In fact, it was something he had already expected. He thought that someone among them would die, and they had proceeded with the work while promising to all return alive together.

‘Surely it’s not that I’m the only one left alive?’

He also had anxiety that he might be alone. They had prepared three airframes to maximize the probability of success, and they had taken off, but he thought that perhaps that anxiety might become reality. Even in this moment, the airframe was shaking strongly.

In the strong wind, the airframe shot upward, then plunged downward as if diving, and then rose again, repeating the situation. Near his ears, he could even hear a dedeudeudeu— sound from the wing area. At the fact that the wings might break like this, it felt like his heart dropped with a lurch.

‘Should I turn back even now?’

Wouldn’t it be better to turn back to live, right now? That thought dominated his mind. But soon, thinking that this was not it, he immediately steadied his mind and moved the airframe, not so much resisting the wind as yielding to it.

Was it because he showed peak concentration? At the moment he continued concentrating to the point that he did not even know how much time had passed, suddenly the surroundings became quiet. With his concentration broken, Alren, coming to his senses, opened his eyes wide and looked around.

‘There’s almost no wind. Did I enter inside the mountain range? Or did I get bounced back out again?’

In a dazed state, as he repeatedly turned his gaze downward, he saw the appearance of a mountain range filled with peaks. From that appearance, he could tell that he had properly entered inside the mountain range. A cheer burst out of him.

Even though he was wearing an oxygen mask so the sound did not properly come out, he did not care. At that moment, with a chijik— sound, his colleague’s voice came through.

[Ca, Captain, are you all right?]

It was Saem, the colleague who had come with him. He hurriedly took off the oxygen mask and shouted as he spoke.

“Saem? You were alive?!”

[I lived, but Atom…]

“I see.. So the voice I heard then was Atom’s..”

As he spoke like that, since he could not breathe well, he hurriedly put the oxygen mask back on. It seemed like they needed to go down. The altitude was too high, so there was not much oxygen. At that time, he could see his colleague’s airframe approaching from the side.

Seeing that, looking closely, Saem also had his oxygen mask back on. He immediately gestured that they should descend. So he lowered the airframe as-is. Before he knew it, the two airplanes began to descend little by little. Alren thought inwardly that it was an unknown world.

They had entered inside the mountain range that no one in history had ever entered.

‘This would be a huge hit even if I publish it as a book.’

Even with the success of one such adventure, one could secure a foundation to live on for a lifetime. He thought that this was why people did such adventures. Of course, the main purpose was to find ancient ruins in a place no one had ever found. He thought they surely existed here.

‘Huh? What is that?’

While descending more and more, he saw something strange enter his view. Since it was something that should not exist inside the mountain range, he could not help but doubt his eyes. Even as he thought, he must have seen it wrong, right? He kept descending, and soon he could tell that he had not seen it wrong.

[Captain! Do you see it down there right now?! That’s a city!]

“I, I see it too. How can a city exist inside the mountain range?”

[How would I know! More importantly, isn’t this a huge discovery?!]

“It’s a discovery, but…”

In his view, there was a fairly large-scale city. It was a place that seemed to fill up what little flatland existed between the mountain peaks, and it extended here and there like blood vessels. Seeing it like this, the scale of the city looked quite large. From that appearance, he could tell that a civilization existed here.

“Let’s go down further.”

[Let’s do that. If we go back, won’t we get a proper reward just by reporting this alone?]

“I’m sure we will.”

As they descended, he could tell that the shape of the city, which came into view more and more closely, astonishingly had a form no different from the outside world. There were fairly tall buildings as well, and there were cars running along the city.

‘What am I really looking at?’

As he thought that, Alren came to his senses and quickly pressed one of the buttons on the instrument panel. If he did that, the camera installed under the airframe would automatically take photographs. Was it the moment he flew while capturing the city’s appearance on camera? Suddenly, he saw beams of light flying in from the city’s direction.

“Hahk! It’s anti-aircraft fire!”

Alren hurriedly moved the airframe to the side, but in contrast, his colleague’s airframe was struck by a barrage of bullets sweeping the area, became engulfed in flames, and began to crash to the ground as-is. He called for Saem at that sight, but there was no answer on the radio.

‘Damn it, I should have anticipated that we’d be attacked.’

Thinking that he had been too immersed in sentiment and had not considered that they would be hostile, he went bwoong—! raising speed, and hurriedly began to escape the city. If it was a civilization at that level, he thought they might even have things like fighter aircraft.

After about ten minutes passed while Alren’s airplane fled, he saw the shapes of airplanes that had taken off. At a glance they looked like biplanes, but in terms of speed, they were showing a considerably fast appearance.

There were twelve such aircraft, and they were flying as if pursuing in the direction Alren had fled. If there was one thing certain from this appearance, it was that a civilization of a significant level was established inside the great mountain range located in the center of the Colonial Continent.