Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Alien Magic - 4
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"No way, this actually works?! This kind of magic...!!"
"Because it's magic."
"Ah, r-right."
Neia, who had been following behind, nodded in bewilderment.
Magic is magic, after all. What kind of nonsense is this guy spouting?
"But what the heck are those people?"
"Who knows? Maybe the original residents of this officetel?"
"Why are they acting like that?"
"Could be a case of collective sleepwalking."
"Sleepwalking?"
"Magic theory says dreams are mirrors reflecting the outer realms. If that otherworldly power is strong enough, it can influence reality through dreams."
A rift had opened in this officetel.
And the source sending those distress signals to Ray was here too.
I figured it was affecting the residents, drawing them out in the form of sleepwalking.
"Can't just leave those people like that. Hold on a sec."
I cast a spell over where they were.
It was a protective enchantment using water elder leaves, laurel, and carp scales.
"Let's go."
"That's it?"
"Unless it's something really tough."
"Impressive... Hey, wait a minute."
Neia raised her staff.
On the opposite side of the hallway from where the people had been, something writhed in the darkness, slithering closer.
"Eek! B-Bro! Mage-nim! Wh-what is that?!"
"A slime."
"Indeed, a slime."
"A slime?! Th-that's an easy opponent, right?! Right?! They're super weak in games!!"
Ray, who had spotted the monster, was on the verge of full panic.
A perfectly normal reaction for a civilian.
"Slimes got their weak reputation mostly from Japanese RPGs."
Unfortunately, the slimes emerging from rifts were a far cry from the cute, kiss-shaped chocolate blobs in those games.
"Doesn't look weak to you?"
Ray's face turned pale blue upon seeing the slime up close.
The amorphous monster filled the hallway, wriggling as it advanced.
How could something that melted and devoured everything it touched be weak?
"Rifts spitting out one of those? Best to just retreat."
"F-for real...?"
"Yeah. Taking one down needs at least a 3-circle mage. And me? I could handle it easy."
So confident?
Maybe I can get my hopes up.
She thrust her staff forward.
And then.
Dust of Diamond
Intense chill spreads, freezing the slime solid.
A piercing chill spread through the surroundings.
The wriggling slime's body stiffened, white crystals forming as it began to freeze over.
"Heh. How's that?"
"Whoa... Seeing it in person is no joke. That's awesome. You a 3-circle?"
"...Still just an apprentice."
"Gotcha. Mental strength? I hear mages run dry on that and can't cast much. How many more of those can you pull off?"
"Three more, and I'm tapped out."
"So four per rift? Hm. I get the picture. Your level. It's so boring I'm dying here."
"Then die!"
I stopped Neia as she lunged for my collar.
"Kidding. I see how game-changing a mage is in a party. But save your mana for now."
"Was gonna anyway. The rest is on you."
"Cool. Alright, let's move."
We passed the frozen slime and continued down the hall.
No immediate threats. Still, the tension was real.
Maybe to break the silence-induced strain, Neia spoke up casually.
"Ray. Tell me about that friend of yours?"
"Huh?"
"The one you were close to but suddenly cut you off."
"Oh... Th-that's..."
She clearly didn't want to talk about it. Did I really need to pry?
"Hey, hey. Why ask that? Ray, if you don't wanna, no biggie."
"No, it's not a problem or anything. Nothing special. We just got close by chance..."
"She's an Awakened too, right? Y'know, a lot of us cut ties with normals."
"Huh? Why?"
"Once you Awaken, it hits you. Hard to explain... Like, 'I'm a different being now.'"
Really?
Not for me.
"You think? Maybe she was always different. She was super classy."
Ray gave a wry smile and shook her head.
Silence again.
This one felt heavier than before.
-Grrr. Grrrrr.
"Arthur? What?"
-Grrk.
Arthur, who had been walking beside me from the shadows, pointed to one spot.
We could see the end.
Flickering lights amplified the ominous vibe.
"That at the end... a door?"
"Looks like it."
We approached.
A door at the officetel's end.
Room 1313.
"Unlucky number."
"This the place?"
"Honeybee doll stopped here, so yeah. Let's ring first."
-Ding-dong!
No answer.
Empty inside?
Or...
"Gotta open it. Everyone back up."
"Ooh... What spell you pulling?"
"Arthur."
-Grrrrk...!!
As if waiting, Arthur swung his shadow sword at the door.
His blade could slice rails, so the door should be no problem.
-Tang!!
"Huh?"
What the?
Arthur's sword bounced right off on contact.
Some magical barrier?
"Well, crap..."
"No choice. Guess I gotta do it myself."
"Got a spell for this?"
"Huh? Nah."
If Arthur can't cut it, magic won't either.
But I had a way.
I pulled out Saint Martha's Staff.
"O Staff, change your form according to the will of your master, me."
⟨ Staff Transformation ⟩
The tip flattened and bent into an L-shape.
Good enough.
"Hey, what're you—"
I wedged the staff's end into the door crack and pried.
"Hyaah!!"
-Crack!!
"...You're insane."
"Whoa... That strength is nuts..."
"See? True physical magic."
"That's just physical..."
The busted lock let the door swing open, revealing the inside.
A normal apartment.
Except for the glowing orb floating in the living room center.
The rift core.
"Yo, what is this...?"
"What's that smell...? Water? No... Something rotting...?"
The stench came from that rift core.
Even I, who'd sniffed every foul odor in magic training, found this one unsettlingly alien.
Up close, a tiny hole in the core's center—source of the smell.
"A hole in a rift core? That's a thing?"
"First for me."
Gotta post this on the gallery.
As I snapped photos, Neia scanning the room yelled.
"Ugh! Slimes!!"
Walls and ceiling writhed.
Camouflaged slimes revealing themselves.
Four in total.
"Neia!!"
"Got it!!"
She unleashed the same spell as before.
Chill enveloped the room, freezing the slimes solid. Arthur drew his sword.
-Grrrrrk!!
His sharp slash cleaved the rift core.
That should end the anomaly here.
Sure enough, the eerie, alien aura blanketing the officetel rapidly faded.
"Thought that girl Ray mentioned was involved, but this place looks abandoned."
No signs of anyone living here.
So Ray's Awakened friend really had nothing to do with it?
Incident solved, but questions lingered.
Quest wrapped for now.
I headed to the Association to report the officetel mess and, just in case, asked about that woman.
"Not supposed to share this kinda info."
"I'll take a tough request later."
"Heh, sure, for a mage-nim like you. The one you mentioned."
"Yeah."
"Third-gen chaebol from Sam-yang Group."
"What?"
For real?
"Yep. And... hmm, how to put this. She went into a rift ages ago and vanished."
Choi Yu-jeong.
Real name before identity wash: Choi Sa-young.
From the Choi family of Korea's top conglomerate, Sam-yang Group. Dad's president of Sam-yang SDS, hunter gear developers.
Awakened, became a hunter, explored rifts, then poof—missing.
"Sam-yang SDS searched hard for her, from what I hear. But as you know..."
"Rift MIA means declared dead."
"Yeah. They tried like hell anyway. No choice—only two kids, and both sisters vanished."
"Both sisters?"
"Shh, secret. But President Choi Seong-cheol raised hell at the Association over it."
Damn. Even a Sam-yang SDS prez wouldn't bully the Hunter Association easy.
Makes sense—both daughters gone? He'd be furious.
"Wanted to know if they were dead or alive, commissioned us. But how do you find rift vanishings?"
"Hm... That commission still open?"
"Pardon? Oh, yeah."
Then I'll take it.
I grabbed the request form.
To solve it, gotta visit their home.
"You sure? Lots tried and failed."
"Eh, it'll work out."
Request in hand.
Time to meet the client.
Yeonhui-dong, huh.
Nice digs.
No reason to hesitate, so I went straight there.
Heard chaebol neighborhoods scream money from the entrance. Didn't expect this level.
"Can't enter without clearance."
"Here on a commission."
Showed the form, guard called to verify, then okay.
Man, this hood is prime.
Those standalone houses? Envy.
My current semi-basement multi-unit cramps my workshop and limits material farming. Such a hassle.
-Grrk...
"You too, huh? Don't worry. Scouting properties already."
A few more quests, and I can buy.
Strolling leisurely, enjoying the view, I reached the mansion. Awakened-looking bodyguards greeted me.
"The mage-nim?"
"Yes."
"This way."
High-class help— even the Awakened are polite.
Pocketed their business cards, entered the mansion, waited. A rough-faced man emerged, looking haggard.
"Pleased to meet you. Choi Seong-cheol."
"Sad circumstances. Yoo Wol-young, mage."
"...You can... really find my daughters?"
"Can't guarantee finding them. But confirming life or death? Yes."
"....."
Choi Seong-cheol's face darkened further.
"How?"
"Can I borrow their personal items? Need a link to track."
He hesitated, then went inside.
Returned with a mage's ring and vambrace.
"Found where my girls vanished."
"Perfect."
Last items they had? Easier to trace.
I opened Secrets of Light and Shadow, laid out sacrifices from home.
"...What's with the doll?"
"If they've passed, it'll house their souls. We can talk one last time."
"....."
"Beginning. In the name of Almighty God, I summon the soul from heaven, hell, purgatory, wherever it lies. Answer here."
"In the name of Almighty God, I summon the soul from heaven, hell, purgatory—wherever it lies—to this place. Answer."
⟨ Soul Summon ⟩
Sacrifices burned away.
No reaction in the soul doll.
But my senses picked up something faint.
"F-failed?!"
"No."
I tossed the doll in my bag.
"They're alive."
And this is just a hunch from that faint sense, but maybe these two...
Are in the outer realms.