Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: First Step (4)
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To figure out what kind of seal it was, I placed my hand on it.
Zap—!
"What the fuck, what is this?"
"Edn?! Are you okay?"
For a split second, my fingertip stung.
Fortunately, my finger was unharmed, but at this rate, I wouldn't even be able to investigate the seal.
I told Hepiriya I was fine and looked back at the seal.
"Hmm, then I guess I'll have to start with indirect investigation."
Pushing aside my regret over not being able to probe it directly, I drew up my mana.
I pulled out the mana now coursing through every part of my body.
When I shot it toward the seal at a moderate speed, the seal reacted in a bizarre way.
"What is this? This familiar phenomenon."
Spacetime was distorted.
It was the same phenomenon as the world tree leaf I had tucked in my pocket, unfolding right before my eyes.
I couldn't tell if it was the seal surrounding the grimoire or the grimoire itself.
But if I broke the seal, I'd have to confront this spacetime distortion head-on.
"But why can I see the distortion when I look with mana?"
With the naked eye, there wasn't the slightest hint of it.
I pondered for a moment, but nothing came to mind right away.
For now, let's deal with the seal first.
I began interpreting the seal by pouring mana into it.
The seal was consuming an enormous amount of mana, and the source seemed to be the grimoire itself.
"Using the grimoire to seal the grimoire, huh."
A perfect cyclic structure.
The grimoire's mana activates the seal.
The activated seal gathers mana and sends it back to the grimoire, which draws in more mana again.
This creates a rotation like a tornado, gradually strengthening and amplifying the seal's power.
Spinning endlessly without stop.
I kept up the interpretation while staring at this wondrous seal.
Then, at some point, it started stalling.
One by one, parts refused to interpret, and even the sections I'd already decoded shifted into something entirely different.
In other words, the spell formula was changing in real time.
It was so utterly impossible that I froze for a moment.
An active spell changing on the fly?
This was crazier than trying to rebuild a moving car's engine mid-drive.
Of course, maybe I just lacked the enlightenment or the discerning eye.
But hadn't I built up a mountain of knowledge and papers by now?
If I asked the mages of the Magic Tower if this was possible, they'd all snort in unison.
Even if the world turned upside down, it'd still be nonsense.
"Wow, how the hell do I handle this?"
"Edn? Is there anything I can do to help?"
While I was lost in thought, Hepiriya came over and asked.
Her upturned face bore an expression of genuine desire to assist.
Sure, there was still worry and a hint of displeasure, but she wasn't voicing any objections.
In that case, maybe I should accept her help.
"Hepiriya, could you attack the seal for me?"
"Yes?! Is that safe?"
I waved off her shock.
"Don't worry. I just want to observe its reaction. And tell me how it feels when you strike it."
She hesitated at my words but then moved.
Her halo reappeared, and she gripped a spear of light.
She stepped back a little and began scrutinizing the seal.
My goal here was direct investigation.
Indirect probing had basically failed.
Once interpretation stalled, indirect methods lost all meaning.
So I was borrowing her power for direct contact.
Besides, if my analysis held up, it wouldn't shatter.
Endless cyclic structure.
Near-infinite durability as a result.
As long as the mana source wasn't destroyed, the seal itself would hold.
Some of the surrounding magical devices even seemed to be amplifying it.
"Alright, here I go."
The spear in her grasp flared even brighter.
It looked holy just to behold, and the power radiating from it felt utterly unapproachable.
"Hyaat!"
She assumed a thrusting stance and drove the spear forward with all her strength.
In the blink of an eye, it stabbed into the seal.
Clang!
"Huh?"
Just as I expected.
It struck but didn't penetrate.
Her spear halted at the seal's surface.
No sign of it breaking through—in fact, it looked like the seal was repelling it.
Not actually pushing back, though. Instead, a peculiar phenomenon emerged.
"Spacetime is distorted. It can't get close."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Instead of answering as she withdrew her spear, I dove into thought.
Amplification and reinforcement via cyclic structure. Near-infinite durability unless the mana supply cuts off.
But just now, spacetime warped, keeping the spear at bay.
As if the distance between spear and seal had stretched to near infinity.
Hmm. Need to take another look.
I approached the seal again and infused mana.
Once more, its structure took shape in my mind.
Still riddled with uninterpretable parts.
Try decoding them, and it'd shift again.
This time, I changed my approach.
Not dissecting the magic itself, but tracking the mana flow intently.
The cyclic structure made it whirl like a vortex, amplifying ceaselessly.
My mana trailed along until it vanished into the seal at some point.
"Hepiriya, hit it one more time."
"Got it."
She attacked the seal again on cue.
I felt the mana flow shift in an instant.
The moment her spear touched, mana converged at that single point!
The gathered mana triggered spacetime distortion to block the spear.
Confirming this, I realized I could turn it against itself.
If I manipulated the seal's mana flow to converge at one spot.
Distortion would follow, and that could unravel the seal from within.
In simple terms: destabilize the stable and shatter it.
But it wouldn't be easy.
The seal had built-in stabilization magic, after all.
Without it, Hepiriya's attack should've crumbled it already.
"But how do I guide it?"
I had the plan, but no power to pull it off.
Scratching my head, I recalled the world tree leaf.
"Come to think of it, doesn't this thing suck in mana?"
It distorts spacetime and shunts mana somewhere.
Maybe I could use it to steer the seal's mana flow where I wanted.
I infused mana into the leaf I pulled out.
Mana coursed through the leaf, pooled in the center, and distortion bloomed.
In that instant, mana got sucked toward the center and vanished.
I still had no clue where it went, but this would do.
Certainty washed over me.
Slowly, I pressed the leaf against the seal.
At first, it didn't absorb any mana.
Probably because I wasn't infusing it directly.
Makes sense—it doesn't pull in ambient mana.
But I had a plan.
Infuse the leaf with mana while channeling into the seal too.
Using myself as the bridge to link them.
"Oh, it's working."
The leaf began drawing the seal's mana bit by bit.
The intake grew, strengthening the distortion in turn.
Though it was the leaf's distortion ramping up, not the seal's.
Not quite the plan, but the outcome was close enough.
The seal started to waver.
Watching this, I turned to Hepiriya, who peered anxiously from behind, and made a request.
"When I break the seal, destroy all the surrounding magical devices."
"The magical devices?"
"Yeah. Please."
No sooner had I finished than the seal began shaking violently.
Not just vibrating—visibly rippling too.
Hepiriya quietly gripped her spear and focused.
I pressed the leaf firm to keep it from slipping, bracing for what came next.
The seal's interior was likely warped spacetime.
No telling what breaking it would unleash.
I had to observe closely.
Unless I wanted to risk the worst: death.
"...Now!"
Boom!
The seal shattered!
A beautiful sight, like glass exploding into glittering shards.
But no time to relax.
Hepiriya flung her spear in a hurry; it split into multiples, smashing every magical device.
That was the moment.
"Shit, fuck!"
"E-Edn!"
Centered on the grimoire, spacetime erupted inward like an explosion.
A spacetime storm roared to life, swallowing us whole!
"Urk!"
Standing was a struggle.
I wanted to drop to my knees right then, but instinct screamed against it.
I shielded my face with both arms and pressed forward.
The storm felt ready to shred me apart any second.
Yet, bizarrely, death didn't loom.
No. I wouldn't die.
The world tree leaf in my hand glowed, shielding me.
It warped the storm aside with its own distortion.
Relying on that, I staggered toward the grimoire.
Stumbling, legs burning with forced effort, I finally reached it.
"Damn you, grimoire!"
Slap!
The instant my hand shot out and seized the grimoire, the storm vanished.
The raging gale until a heartbeat ago fell eerily silent, as if it had never been.
It happened so abruptly I wondered if the grimoire had ensnared me.
But only briefly. As I blankly scanned my surroundings, someone spoke up.
A figure appeared in my vision, waving with a smile.
"Hi? First time meeting?"
A stunning woman stood before me.
Wearing the exact same outfit as Hepiriya.
So, who are you?