Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

The past few days had all gone like this, and Nia had gotten used to it.

But today was different.

"It's finished."

"Hm? What's finished?"

Drawn by Xiu Er's voice, Nia turned to look at her.

But Xiu Er did not answer her question. She simply walked straight to the entryway.

"Are you leaving?"

Nia watched her walk all the way out the door.

Honestly, when Xiu Er had first arrived a few days ago, she had only said she was staying temporarily for a few days.

So Nia did not find it strange that she was suddenly leaving now.

With the Codex of the Whispers, she had long since seen the prophecy that followed. She had already known that Xiu Er would leave.

Just before closing the front door, Xiu Er turned back.

Her golden, inorganic eyes rested faintly on Nia.

"Farewell."

Those two short words left her mouth and reached Nia's ears clearly.

"...Mm. Have a safe journey."

After closing the door to Nia's home, Xiu Er looked out at the scenery beyond the corridor.

The entire city lay within her sight.

Her camera-like pupils suddenly contracted.

Click.

This time, she did not use a disguise when she went out.

"Dimensional Device, activate."

"Host activation command detected. Dimensional Device activating..."

"Checking remaining energy... Remaining energy: 100%."

"Usage authorization granted!"

"Open Dimensional Channel?"

"Confirmed."

"Confirmation command detected. Dimensional Device activated. Opening Dimensional Channel..."

The golden diamond-shaped crystal located at the center of Xiu Er's chest began to glow with golden light.

Golden light shot out from the crystal and shone upon the air before her.

Then, a circular Teleportation Gate formed from golden energy appeared before her eyes.

Xiu Er stepped inside. Once her body had completely entered, the Golden Gate rapidly shrank until it vanished.

Thus, after three months, Xiu Er of the Ex-Machina officially left this world. From then on, there would no longer be any trace of her here. (That did not include some future time-traveling trip to fleece Origami.)

Within the Dimensional Channel made entirely of gold.

Xiu Er looked around. The familiar environment made her feel as at ease as when she had first arrived.

She had collected all of the Angels of the Spirits.

The goal she had set for herself back then had also been successfully completed.

Looking at the Spirit Series Armaments in the Weapon Vault now, Xiu Er felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

Thinking back on it.

There had been no Armaments related to Pseudo-Codex: Dragon's Roar or True Codex: Star Slayer among them.

Knowing the plot, she naturally understood the point in the timeline those two Armaments represented.

The absence of Dragon's Roar meant that the point in time when she time-traveled had not yet reached the moment when the Ex-Machina fought the dragons.

So, she must have traveled to an even earlier point in time.

Furthermore, she had severed her connection with the Ex-Machina and become an isolated individual. A lone Mecha-Kai was much less dangerous to other races.

Fortunately, she had encountered the system and gained a plan capable of changing herself.

"Anchor placed. Recording data. Fixation successful."

"Please choose the next world, host."

"Alright."

Xiu Er had already made her next choice.

I choose you!

"Target confirmed. Beginning execution."

"Supplying energy to Dimensional Channel... Energy supply complete."

"Stabilizing channel... Stabilization successful."

"Beginning impact against Dimensional Wall."

The entire golden space began to tremble. Several seconds later, the shaking disappeared.

Immediately afterward, an invisible shockwave swept toward her from ahead.

Bzzzz—

The shockwave passed over Xiu Er's entire body. This time, she did not choose to use protection.

Just as the system had said, her body data showed that the shockwave posed no danger whatsoever.

The system had not lied to her.

"Impact successful. Dimensional Wall successfully crossed. Welcome to the new world!"

The system's notification sounded, and only then could Xiu Er confirm that she had indeed arrived in a new world.

"Link confirmed. Please prepare yourself, host. The gate is about to open. Have a safe journey!"

Looking at the Golden Gate before her as it opened once again just like before.

Filled with anticipation, Xiu Er raised her foot and stepped into the Golden Gate...

Volume Two: Machinery and Magic

First Episode: The Second Crossing

Walking out of the golden teleportation passage.

Xiu Er had finally officially arrived in the new world.

All she could see were dense woods, making it impossible for Xiu Er to determine where she was.

She flew straight into the sky, crossing over the forest and looking down at the woods below. The air offered the best view.

Mm.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but forest—green, and more green.

I can't identify anything at all.

Thinking that, Xiu Er raised one hand.

"—Codex Opening—Pseudo-Codex—Codex of the Whispers—"

The device above her head began to unfold. The expanded section was the attachment containing the Codex of the Whispers.

She wanted to check the current time and location.

Unfortunately...

Xiu Er rarely felt surprise.

There's no information at all?

She carefully examined the virtual projection only she could see, an image displayed directly before her eyes.

"Unable to query current world... Analyzing world..."

Did she need to wait for the Codex of the Whispers to analyze this world?

Well, this was a new world after all. That result seemed fairly reasonable.

For now, the all-purpose search engine was unavailable. And this obviously medieval-style world naturally would not have any technological products for Xiu Er to hack into.

After coming from a high-tech modern society to this fantastical medieval world without even machines, she was not used to it for the moment.

There was no helping it.

"Deploying Bio Detector. Detector activated. Beginning scan..."

Xiu Er did not move. She merely floated quietly in the air, waiting for the Detector's scan results.

But she was not idle, either.

Since she had already activated one Detector, activating a few more would not hurt, right?

"Deploying Energy Detector..."

"Deploying Terrain Detector..."

"Deploying..."

There were results.

After conducting a carpet scan of the area, Xiu Er finally discovered a village. The Bio Detector showed quite a few living humans within it.

The village was hidden in the woods ten kilometers away. With no cooking smoke and tall trees blocking it from view, Xiu Er had not discovered it during her initial cursory observation.

Using the Terrain Detector together with the Plant Detector, she created a map of the surrounding ten kilometers.

But whether there was a map or not did not matter. Now that she had scanned its precise location, Xiu Er could fly directly in that direction.

"—Codex Opening—Pseudo-Codex—Fake Demoness—"

On the way, Xiu Er disguised herself once more. After making sure the mechanical features of her body were concealed, she landed outside the village entrance.

She chose to land somewhere without anyone around.

Although she did not know the current time, Xiu Er still knew the basics of this world.

That was, this world possessed all the standard fantasy otherworld elements: Magic Beasts, Demons, Elves, Dwarves—everything.

Unlike in other works, Demons in this world were merely humanoid, man-eating beasts. They were considered absolute "evil."

Because of that, every race was hostile toward Demons.

And Demons were natural-born magicians.

To avoid being misunderstood, Xiu Er chose to land outside the village and walk in with the appearance of an ordinary person.

The village was not large, but fortunately, it had a tavern where travelers could rest.

Xiu Er had come here to gather some information. With the Codex of the Whispers still unusable, this was the only method available to her.