The One Who Gazed into the Abyss (4)

The descent I had expected to be swallowed in pitch-black darkness was surprisingly lit by a soft, shimmering glow clinging to the walls. The walls, etched with unknown hieroglyphs, emitted a faint light as if the characters themselves were magic.

—Cain. Mana. Felt.

"Ah, really? I can't feel a thing."

—Well... because you have no mana...

"Hmm..."

What an inconvenient body. What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a frustrating world. Not having ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana means you can't even sense it. No wonder people talk about being born with a wooden spoon, a golden spoon, or a diamond spoon. In this world, plenty of people rise from nothing, but there are just as many like Panzy or Shub who inherit monstrous talent from their ancestors.

The runes carved into the walls were all identical in shape and glowed with uniform brightness. I was genuinely impressed that a single mage had distributed such an enormous amount of mana so evenly—brightness normally fluctuates with the strength of the mana.

The spiral staircase wound downward for roughly thirty minutes before I finally reached the bottom. A small door, just large enough for one person, stood there with the same tiny hieroglyphs densely packed along its frame. It was made of a pure white metal that didn't belong to this world, its otherworldly feel only heightened by the elaborate golden reliefs engraved across its surface. The lingering traces of the creator's mana drifted around it like fireflies.

Given ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how advanced magic is in this world, I wondered if even hidden facilities like this were built entirely with magic.

As I approached, a metallic sphere the size of a human eyeball emerged from the center of the white door and began circling me. It hummed softly as it flew around without any visible source of power. It was fascinating. So this was what magic engineering looked like up close—after only seeing bulky robot-like things, the compact version felt genuinely impressive.

"Verifying qualifications."

"Qualifications? What qualifications?"

"Qualifications confirmed. Running identity verification."

"Can't communicate, huh? Well, something this small probably doesn't have that kind of intelligence..."

"Communication is possible. I simply choose not to engage in unnecessary dialogue."

I flinched. The sphere bobbed up and down as if sulking, then snapped at me.

When I curiously reached out, it darted away with a loud hum, as though offended.

"Do not treat me like a zoo monkey. I am a proper magic engineering construct."

"What's a magic engineering construct?"

"Just as you claim personhood, we constructs have the right to claim our own dignity."

"..."

What kind of nonsense was that? I scratched my ear, then gave a half-hearted nod, clearly uninterested. The sphere flew around irritably, but it had already lost my attention. I ignore anything that looks like a hassle. I've got enough problems staring me in the face already.

Now viewing the sphere as nothing more than scrap metal, I asked flatly, "So? You done checking?"

"Identity confirmed. Cain. You may enter."

The sphere flew back to the door. Light scanned it several times, followed by the sound of something heavy unlocking. The door hadn't been opened in a long time; dust billowed out in thick clouds, forcing Silph to use her power.

"Thanks to you, I didn't even have to cough. Appreciate it."

—Protecting the contractor's lungs is also my duty.

I gave the silly spirit a thumbs-up and stepped inside.

The space beyond was a meticulously organized archive that smelled of paper. Though underground and dim, the soft glowing lights scattered throughout gave the library an almost mystical atmosphere. I'd expected a forbidden section to feel ominous, but this was strangely refined.

"This area is accessible only to those specially chosen."

"Shit—!"

The same sphere from the door had appeared beside me again. I jumped in surprise, and it hovered awkwardly before speaking.

"...I am Homrunball, assigned as your guide."

"Homrunball?"

"Yes. My master said I resembled something similar..."

The name sounded oddly sweet. Whoever named it had a bizarre sense of humor, but the thing did kind of look like a snack ball. Homrunball zipped around me, chattering about the archive.

"This library contains fragments of knowledge brought by those who crossed over from the Otherworld. Since its construction in the language of the Other World, no qualified individual has appeared until now. It has been rather lonely... Ahem. In any case, I hope you find what you seek."

"Knowledge from the Otherworld... Then I don't need it."

"Pardon?"

"I can't read."

"...Ah. Statistics show that illiteracy rates in this world are higher among the poor..."

"No. I mean I can't read the Otherworld script."

"..."

Homrunball muttered something about how it used to speak so well before falling silent for a while. It hadn't even been insulted, yet the construct was surprisingly petty. I decided to voice my concern before getting to the point.

"If I can't read, how am I supposed to learn anything? Besides, these are all Word Magic books, right?"

"Hmm... So in addition to being unable to sense mana, your intelligence is too low to even perceive the language of the Other World. I see."

"..."

The way it poked at me was annoying. When I stayed quiet, Homrunball hummed happily, as if it had struck a nerve, and continued.

"No need to worry! Even for an ignorant fool—pardon, even for the unlearned—my master prepared an item that grants basic comprehension of the Otherworld language."

"That bastard did?"

"If that... bastard refers to my master, then... yes."

Homrunball bobbed up and down in reluctant confirmation. The fact that it didn't protest my insult suggested its master had made plenty of enemies. Judging by the door's patterns and the magic engineering constructs, this was definitely the headmaster's work. But the timeline felt off. A human body only lasts about a hundred years; even the greatest archmages are said to live two or three centuries at most. The headmaster might be ancient, but the Otherworld first appeared over two thousand three hundred years ago. It had to be the headmaster's creation, yet something about the timing felt wrong.

"Would you like to see the item? It has been placed at the center of the archive."

"Yeah, let's go."

Of course, Kasa's condition was far more urgent, so I set my questions about the headmaster aside for now.

Following Homrunball's guidance, I walked through the archive corridors. The softly glowing lights and drifting mana traces created a dreamlike atmosphere. Even someone like me, who usually complained about art museums, found myself looking around in genuine admiration.

Half-ignoring Homrunball's unnecessary history lesson, I soon stood before a small altar-like structure at the archive's center. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Resting on it was a single white bracelet. I reached out, picked it up, and read the status window that appeared.

Clean and simple. I slipped the bracelet onto my right wrist and opened my status window for the first time in a while.

Leveling up was neither fast nor slow. Compared to powerhouses like Eve or Panzy, I was a bit behind. Still, this game has no level cap. If I could show a decent performance against Panzy, even a loss might earn me enough points to aim for Class C or B next year. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I needed to keep improving.

"Do you have any texts about spirits?"

"Spirits. Understood. Please wait a moment. Beginning search."

Homrunball floated in midair, trembling, then spun around me again once the search finished.

"Search complete. If you wait here, the librarian will bring the books."

"...You know which books?"

"Many texts exist here, but only two volumes on spirits remain. One is here. The other is..."

"With your master, right?"

"...Correct."

I was grateful to the headmaster for the favor, but one look at him screamed "crazy bastard." After seeing Alex, I couldn't help but be instinctively wary.

After a short wait, the sound of wheels echoed from the darkness. A female-shaped magic engineering construct in a pristine maid uniform approached and handed me a book.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Bella, the librarian of the forbidden archive. Here is the Fundamentals of Spirit Arts you requested."

"Fundamentals of Spirit Arts..."

I accepted the book while eyeing the construct. A librarian in a maid outfit?

"Does your master... like maid uniforms?"

"No. This is simply my preference. There are hundreds prepared in the wardrobe."

"..."

Maybe all these constructs had gone a little mad following their master. The magic weapons from the entrance exam might be the same. It was starting to feel a little unsettling.

To avoid getting further involved, I opened the book immediately and searched for information on spirit bottles.

"...Spirits may evolve into higher ranks depending on their communion with the contractor... Verification methods vary... As this book covers only the fundamentals of spirit arts, it explains how to commune with spirits... Details on the evolution process and symptoms are recorded in Elements and Spirits Existing in Nature. The price of Elements and Spirits Existing in Nature is..."

Are you kidding me?

"They do bundle sales even in the Otherworld? This is straight-up fraud!"