Ghost Island (2)
The cruise ship docked at the pier on Goreshi Island. Allen disembarked carrying various documents and analysis files, while Ifrin shouldered a magitech machine of unknown origin weighing dozens of kilos.
"Ughhhh... fuuuuck..."
Hauling that mystery machine on her back made Ifrin hate the world.
But there was no choice. Devices sensitive to mana couldn't be aided by magic.
"I heard another team arrived on the island separately."
Muttering that, Ihelm plucked a leaf from a nearby tree and gazed at Ifrin while waving it gently.
"Hey, leaf. You're here too."
"...Don't talk to me. I'm dying here?"
Ihelm nodded and chewed the leaf with a crunch. He even plucked another one to share with his own disciple.
It put Ifrin in a foul mood for no reason.
"Why are you even chewing that?"
"Hmm, you don't know? Trees are the plants that purify mana best. Ones that have absorbed enough mana are called demonic wood. Depending on the variety, just chewing them clears your head. Of course, on the continent, they chop them down before they fully grow to make weapons and staves and whatnot..."
Ihelm pointed at Deculein, who was walking ahead with his cane.
"That guy's staff is made from demonic wood too. It's valuable stuff, so pick a good one on the way back. You can't keep casting magic bare-handed forever, right?"
At those words, Ifrin briefly imagined herself wielding a stylish staff with a flourish, deploying and manifesting spells.
"Hmm..."
It didn't sound half bad. But Ihelm snickered.
"Pfft. Simpleton."
"What'd you say?"
Anyway, they soon arrived at their destination: a castle called Ghost Castle.
The imperial support team was waiting at the entrance.
"Greetings. Professor Deculein, Lord Ihelm, it's an honor to meet you. I'm Hesrock."
The man who introduced himself as Hesrock, the team leader, extended a hand. Deculein merely stared without taking it. Ihelm smirked faintly and shook it instead.
"Pleasure. No issues on your end?"
"None, sir. All survey and exploration results are inside the castle. Allow me to guide you."
"...Hm. So you've set up base camp in the castle itself?"
Ihelm asked with a slightly uneasy expression. Hesrock nodded nonchalantly.
"Yes. It's actually safer inside. Mana storms whip up out there without warning."
"Fair enough... It's the Ghost Island from the textbooks, after all. Let's go."
The group followed Hesrock into the castle.
Thud—
The moment they took a single step inside, the air changed.
"Kinda creepy in here..."
Allen muttered. Indeed, the interior air was unnaturally chilly.
Ifrin and Allen huddled close to Deculein's back, advancing hesitantly.
"This is your lodging."
After traversing a long corridor, they reached a reception room on the first floor.
Ifrin looked around.
It was an open hall with multiple beds. No doors or partition walls.
In other words, no "enclosed spaces" existed.
Ihelm asked,
"We all bunk together?"
"Yes, communal quarters. Nightmares are frequent, so we wake each other. Rule is groups of three. You arrived just right for that."
It wasn't intentional, but both Deculein's group and Ihelm's were exactly three each.
Hesrock continued,
"Please stay on the first and second floors if possible, and don't close any doors. I'll explain in detail tomorrow morning, but this castle itself is a magical space, so..."
Ifrin glanced at Deculein. His face was full of displeasure at the communal setup.
"Also, an adventurer team is here in the castle."
"Adventurers?"
Ihelm furrowed his brow. Hesrock nodded.
"Yes."
"Which one?"
"Red Garnet Adventure Team."
Everyone's eyes widened. Their fame was known across the continent.
Ihelm asked again,
"Ganesha came?"
"Yes. The imperial family hired them. There are more enemies on this island than you might think."
Hesrock warned once more,
"So stick to the first and second floors—ideally the first. Groups of three, communal quarters."
The moment he finished, Deculein spoke.
"I shall go to the second floor."
"Pardon?"
Hesrock blinked in surprise. Deculein repeated,
"I shall stay alone."
Communal living was tantamount to a death sentence for him.
......
Meanwhile, someone watching them from another part of the castle smiled faintly.
"The professor's here too~"
Professor Deculein. Who would've thought they'd meet again in a place like this.
Was this the fate ordained by the god of coincidence...?
Ganesha sighed deeply and turned back to the kids.
"Lia. How's Karos?"
"...He's fine, for now."
Lia was nursing Karos, who was burning with fever.
Five days since arriving on the island. The fever that struck on the third day showed no signs of breaking.
Ganesha asked worriedly,
"Should we just head back?"
"No."
Lia shook her head firmly.
"If we run just because it's scary here, that's the end."
In truth, she knew. Karos—this blue-haired child—was an extremely dangerous "named" one.
Back then, she'd even considered killing him herself, before he grew stronger, more dangerous.
But time had built affection, leading to a gentler plan.
Karos was dangerous, yes—but precisely because of that, he could be a huge asset for future quests. If she guided him right, this child could survive happily, become a great help to the world...
"... Karos will overcome it."
But if he couldn't. If he ran away out of fear or hardship.
There'd be no happy ending.
She'd have to kill this small, young child with her own hands.
"Yeah. You do that. Lia, you're more grown-up than me somehow."
Ganesha stroked Lia's hair. She was so admirable and reliable.
"But things just got complicated. The Altar goons are here too."
Lia whipped her head up.
"The Altar?"
"Yeah. A real pain."
A militant group centered on Karla, known as the "Authority," and her brother Jakal.
Whether they were Altar allies or subordinates, it didn't matter—they were formidable foes.
"If even Ganesha calls them a pain..."
"Don't worry. They're weaker than me."
Ganesha grinned to reassure her, then pointed at peacefully sleeping Leo.
"Now, let's wake Leo. Nightmares incoming soon."
"Are you quite sure about this?"
I ascended to the second floor. Those wisely ignoring horror movie rule number one—"no solo actions"—were sensible enough. But for me, it was impossible given my nature.
"It is fine."
"Very well. Leave the door open, just in case."
Hesrock bowed and descended the stairs.
I surveyed the interior alone. Rather than eerie or chilly, my first thought was filthy.
I combined Telekinesis and Cleanse to scrub every corner spotless.
"......"
Then I closed my eyes.
To reiterate, my new trait Encryption functions like an inventory.
Store specific objects in my mind as mana codes, then decrypt and "materialize" them when needed.
Swooooosh...
Mana coalesced like particles, reconstructing the objects. Desk, drawer, bed, chair, books, fountain pen, blanket, pillow—furniture from Yukline Manor gradually took form.
"Hm."
The result: a clean, modern room.
"Excellent."
I sat in the chair and gazed out the window. Lightning-laced storm winds raged.
Rumble—!
A beastly roar. Spiral winds. I stared at the violent scene, when suddenly...
A not-unpleasant thought struck me.
Training.
I headed straight outside, standing amid the storm-whipped winds and torrential downpour.
Yet my body stayed dry. Not a drop touched me—Telekinesis blocked it all.
Whoosh—!
Deafening rain battered my ears. Amid it, I began "Memorize." I hyper-activated the Telekinesis circuits etched into my body.
Hummm...
Veins glowed purple, igniting mana to carve new circuits into the incantation.
Goal: Intermediate Telekinesis.
A mere milestone for other mages—but not for me.
The output gap between beginner and intermediate was hundreds-fold at minimum. Memorize, using the whole body, evolved into an entirely different league with each step up.
Crunch—
I felt mana burrow into my muscles. Excruciating pain like every fiber tearing—but bearable.
Scorching heat rose from my throat. The smell of burning flesh stung my nose. Like being burned alive.
I bit my tongue until blood flowed. Veins burst, skin bruised purple. Mana veered from paths, shattering bones—but my Iron Man body repaired amid the ruin.
Thus, tormenting myself near-torture, at some point...
......
The rain stopped.
Not even a drip.
Pain persisted, but the world was silent.
I opened my eyes and looked up.
"......"
Falling rain reversed, shooting skyward to the clouds.
Defying nature's laws outright. As I admired the impossible sky, a single system alert appeared on my retina.
Intermediate Telekinesis
"......Not bad."
Satisfactory enough.
Ifrin unpacked into the drawer—thunk!—set papers on the desk—thud!—and flopped onto the bed—poof!.
"......"
She stared blankly at the ceiling. Sleep tugged at her, but nightmares loomed. Sure, plenty of people to wake her...
Yet a voice lingered.
—There's no professor in my world... Please make sure he's around in yours for a long time.
Words from her future self, long forgotten until now.
She didn't know when or where Deculein died. But not some distant natural death. Maybe even next year...
"......Ughhh."
Ifrin shook her head to dispel it. No need for such thoughts on a work trip. It'd just distract her, and even if he died, what did it matter to her... not much...
"Argh!"
She bolted up and headed to the kitchen. Delicious aromas wafted almost immediately.
"......Oh."
Bubbling soup, sizzling fish.
"H-Hi."
"Oh~ Dinner's almost ready."
"Haha... Smells amazing. How'd you get ingredients out here?"
Gulp—Ifrin swallowed and approached the cooking team member.
His name was West. A soft-featured mage in his mid-to-late thirties.
"Fishing and hunting, obviously. Island ingredients are way better than the continent's. Mana-rich space makes the fish super fresh and tasty. That's the silver lining. Good food and astronomical rewards keep us going."
"Ah~ yeahhh... Slurp. Why am I drooling. Slurp."
West opened the fridge. Ifrin flinched. Inside was a room.
A real room, somewhere—cobwebs and dust everywhere.
"What the...?"
"Happens a lot. Why we smashed the doors."
"Huh?"
West closed the fridge door. Three seconds later, he opened it again—normal fridge.
He pulled out veggies for the soup.
"The castle's bigger than the island. Spaces get jumbled."
"Ahh... The mana stone mine?"
"The castle is the mana stone mine."
"...?"
What? As Ifrin's eyes widened, West pointed at the ceiling.
"See that?"
A lump there—a small mana stone. Ifrin gasped.
"Ah~"
"They're everywhere. Be careful opening and closing doors. Others are here besides us. Not just ghosts—real people. You know the saying, 'Miners dig mana stones even from hell'?"
West added: Real hellions from the depths are in this castle—
Ifrin tensed up.
"Ah. Got it..."
──But.
Exactly 16 minutes later.
"H-How can it be this good...?"
The second-tastiest fish in the world lifted her spirits.
The next day. Early morning after unpacking, Hesrock gathered everyone.
"...First, the goal is stabilizing this Ghost Castle. Resolve the spatial discontinuities and ghostly interference."
Spatial discontinuity: Enclosed spaces in the castle linked to random other spaces.
Close a door in one room, open it again—different space beyond.
"Any investigation results?"
"Right here."
Hesrock handed over dozens of documents. I read them all.
This boosted Understanding's efficiency.
With solid baseline knowledge of the castle, mana needed for "Understanding" the castle would plummet exponentially.
"So, basically, rooms don't connect to the living room anymore?"
Hesrock nodded at Ifrin's question.
"Yes. Open your bedroom door aiming for the living room? Leads somewhere else."
"Ahh~"
Ifrin propped her chin, gasping. Having devoured the reports, I stood.
Lounging crookedly, Ihelm asked,
"Professor Deculein? What're you planning?"
"I intend to experience it directly."
Magical spaces like this require direct immersion for easy "Understanding." Thus, courage to throw oneself into the "spatial discontinuity."
"Yes. There's a prepared room over there. For research purposes."
Hesrock pointed to a small corner room. I nodded faintly and opened the door.
Slam—!
"......"
Beyond: a robed woman and a warrior in training garb.
The warrior, mid-battle, poised to swing his sword.
"...Huh? What're you doin'?"
He froze and turned to me.
I recognized him instantly. Long hair to his waist, cursed demon sword Muramasa at a glance.
'Warrior Jakal'.
Then beside him, naturally, his sister 'Authority Karla'.
"Run!"
A young voice shouted. I looked—three kids fleeing.
Two on foot, one piggybacked.
"Dangit! Argh!"
Jakal startled, swung his sword—but the kids were gone.
He glared at me, eyes bulging.
"Darn near had 'em! You! What kinda fool—"
"......Deculein, it seems."
A low voice called my name. Karla's. Jakal flinched, eyes widening, sword tip jabbing at me.
"Deculein? Ahh~ you—"
Bang—!
I shut the door.
Then slowly returned, sat in the meeting room chair.
"Now, let us consider our approach."
I maintained utmost calm, but it was an emergency. Not frightening, merely high difficulty.
"How to deal with those two."
Jakal and Karla.
Top-tier powerhouses in this world.