The Magic History Museum
Instead, I’ll give you the cute executives.
For Shaty, magic was life itself.
Even when her arrogance had once pierced the heavens, even when she had opened her eyes after seeing Meiel and realizing how blind her pride had made her, that single truth had never changed.
She had been introduced to magic from the moment she was born. She had taken an interest in it, possessed talent for it, and possessed the perseverance to work hard at it.
That was why magic was Shaty’s entire life, and there was one place she had always longed to visit because of it.
A place any mage who had even dipped a toe into magic would dream of seeing.
A place where the primordial magic still lived and breathed, continuing unbroken from the beginning of time.
And the place that housed a book containing every scrap of that history without omission.
The Undersea Kingdom.
Reaching the land where mages’ dreams resided had been Shaty’s greatest wish, the very place she believed would polish her path as a mage.
But since she had entered the academy, graduation came first. Shaty had folded that dream in half and tucked it away in her heart.
It was only natural to prioritize studies as a student, and the mountain of things she still had to learn from her professor, Meiel, was already overwhelming.
Yet that dream she had only half-hidden found her through an unexpected opportunity.
The opportunity was none other than the academy’s field trip.
When she heard the Undersea Kingdom had been chosen as the destination, she could not describe how ecstatic she felt.
She had been so overjoyed that she even acted cute toward her father—something she never did—and bought a gift for her sister as an apology, despite their poor relationship.
Of course, once the excitement cooled, those actions became black history she wished she could tear apart along with her blanket, but Shaty carried her calmed excitement in her chest and headed for the Undersea Kingdom.
There, that excitement reignited twice over.
The first time was when she obtained a new staff at the weapons shop Kraken, one priced so high she would never have dared consider it before.
And the second time was—
“Welcome to the Magic History Museum.”
“W-wowwww……!!!”
Right now. The very moment they arrived at the Magic History Museum.
The Magic History Museum stood roughly eight hundred meters west of the weapons shop Kraken.
Normally they would have used teleportation magic to reach it instantly, but this was the Undersea Kingdom, a place where simply walking around offered endless sights and lessons.
Judging that walking would be far more educational, I led the students through the streets toward the museum.
Along the way we had a few incidents—Morgan had to drag students away from persistent street vendors, and Isolde, frustrated after missing every shot at a dart game, hurled the dartboard itself—but after roughly thirty minutes we finally arrived.
“There it is.”
“That must be the ticket booth……”
After a mere thirty minutes that had felt far more eventful than it should have, we stood before the museum.
Leading the students who stared in awe at its distant silhouette, I walked toward the ticket booth Mu pointed out.
“Welcome. How may I help you?”
When I approached, a merfolk woman in neat attire bowed politely and asked.
Meeting her service-industry smile, I gestured to the group behind me—Mu, Morgan, Isolde, and the students—and said,
“Ten students and six adults, please.”
“Understood. Student tickets are one silver each, adult tickets are one silver and three bronze. The total comes to one gold, seven silver, and eight bronze.”
In Korean currency that was roughly ten thousand won per student and thirteen thousand per adult—prices that felt normal even for a game world.
I had used temple checks earlier for the massive sums at Kraken, but this small amount I could easily cover from my own pocket.
Clink—
“Here you go.”
I placed exactly one gold, seven silver, and eight bronze into the woman’s hand. She accepted the payment and handed me sixteen paper-like bracelets.
“Wear these to enter. They are enchanted with reinforcement, waterproofing, and resistance magic so they won’t tear. Please be careful not to lose them while inside, and remove them when you leave to dispose of them in the trash.”
“Understood.”
“I hope you have a wonderful visit.”
I answered calmly, but inside I was quite surprised as I looked down at the bracelets in my hand.
To think each single paper bracelet carried three different enchantments. And being told to throw them away afterward truly drove home that this was the magic city of the Undersea Kingdom.
It was nothing short of magical extravagance.
Honestly impressed by the paper bracelets, I returned to the waiting students and distributed one to each of them.
“These are your entry tickets. Make sure you don’t lose them while inside. Everyone, put one on. Meiel, hand them out.”
“Ung……”
When I passed the bracelets to Meiel, her mana lifted them and floated one to each person.
Everyone caught their bracelet and slipped it onto their wrist. I did the same.
Though they were paper, I had expected them to feel rough, yet they clung surprisingly softly to my arm.
While I was enjoying the sensation, Morgan, who had quietly put hers on, approached me with careful steps.
She walked toward me as though she simply had something ordinary to say.
But Morgan never approached me over trivial matters, so this could only mean something important.
And my guess proved correct.
“New ones have attached themselves. Different from the surveillance soldiers you mentioned earlier—these feel quite strong. What should we do?”
“New ones?”
Morgan reported that new demons had replaced the dead surveillance soldiers.
When I asked with a serious expression, she nodded and glanced behind her.
“They’re hiding their presence well, but there are four of them within a hundred meters. The level of concealment exceeds the surveillance soldiers, so it looks like at least a Demon General has come.”
“A Demon General, huh……”
I repeated the words silently.
A demon general meant someone level eighty or higher. Each one was as powerful as a knight order commander—like Arin’s father, Haran.
Of course, they would be no match for executives like Morgan or Isolde, but for the students they would be overwhelming.
“One general and three elite soldiers, I think. Should I go kill them?”
While I was thinking, Morgan’s eyes gleamed wickedly as she flexed her fingers, ready to strike at any moment.
Even then she kept her hand away from her sword so the watching general wouldn’t notice. Seeing that, I slowly shook my head.
“No. For now we just enter the museum. They’re not attacking immediately, so they must be waiting for something. If that’s the case, it’s fine to lure them until whatever they’re waiting for arrives.”
“Hmm? Wouldn’t killing them right now and disposing of the bodies throw Idea into confusion?”
“If we move too hastily and it turns out they’re waiting for exactly that, we’ll be the ones in trouble. As long as they make the first move, we can guarantee victory. So even if it means taking a small risk, we have to step into the trap they’ve set.”
I didn’t know what trap the demon general and elite soldiers were preparing, but with our current forces we could probably handle it easily.
Besides, if Idea had any sense, she wouldn’t send her forces into a place where all my avatars were gathered—avatars she couldn’t even beat one-on-one.
Therefore, even if it meant accepting some unforeseen risk, drawing them in deeper was to our advantage.
No matter what tricks they tried, we had the power to overcome them. We could afford to see every card they played before responding.
The more of their hand we saw, the more certain our victory became.
“Besides, the people we need to protect aren’t just the students here. It’s everyone in the Undersea Kingdom. So unless absolutely necessary, we should take the damage ourselves while stopping every enemy move.”
“In other words…… instead of moving carelessly and risking damage to the entire kingdom, you’re saying you’ll take the hit yourself?”
“Exactly.”
Rather than letting unrelated academy members or innocent civilians get caught in the crossfire, it was better for us—the ones clearly targeted by Idea’s side—to absorb everything.
In short, as Morgan put it, we would stand at the front and take all the focused fire. That way, unrelated people would suffer zero damage.
Which meant we had a very high chance of finishing this quest cleanly and perfectly.
And the reason I could make that judgment was, of course, my confidence in my own strength.
Morgan, who understood this, gave a wry smile and shrugged.
“That’s such an unpleasant way of thinking, typical of the strong. If I were the enemy, my will would completely break.”
“Then that would be even better. Anyway, we’re entering the museum now, so stay with Isolde and keep a close watch on the students.”
“Yeah~ Got it.”
At my order, Morgan dragged out her reply and returned to Isolde’s side.
After watching her lips move as she explained the situation to Isolde as well, I looked over the students who had all put on their bracelets.
Shaty and Pina, both magic users, still had sparkling eyes, while the warrior-class students mostly looked indifferent.
After all, children who would never use magic in their lives naturally had little interest in it.
I took in all their expressions, then stepped forward first and began walking toward the museum entrance.
“All right, let’s go inside. Everyone, follow me.”
“““Yes!!!”””
Leading the students who answered with short but firm replies, I slowly stepped into the museum entrance that looked like the maw of a demon.
Whatever trap you have, bring it on. I’ll crush it head-on, fair and square.
And it took less than an hour for that thought to be shattered.
After passing slowly through a dark tunnel, bright lights and a calm staff member’s voice welcomed us.
“Welcome to the Magic History Museum.”
Perhaps because it was a museum meant for quiet viewing, the staff member’s soft voice still reached our ears clearly.
When the voice faded, small gasps of wonder rose from the children around me.
Among them, Arin wore a bored expression as she looked around.
“It’s pretty big……”
As expected of the renowned Magic History Museum of the Undersea Kingdom, the interior was enormous, comparable to Kraken.
But that was all.
Arin’s only impression was that the excitement and anticipation she had felt at Kraken were nowhere to be found—not even a quarter of it.
“Well, that’s only natural……”
After all, as a swordsman, Arin had no reason to be interested in magic.
The only times she used mana were for physical enhancement and sword aura. Magic, which fundamentally required innate talent, was far removed from her.
If this had been a real battle or sparring match where she might face mages, she might have felt some interest, but this was a museum.
A place a billion light-years away from the blood and sweat of combat.
That was why Arin’s interest had dropped to nearly zero. When she glanced sideways, she saw Kana and Riana on her left wearing the same disinterested expressions.
Then their eyes met.
Realizing they shared the same reaction, Riana was the first to speak.
“We haven’t even gone in yet, but it doesn’t seem very fun……”
“I agree.”
“Me too……”
Archer, chef, and swordsman—their weapons and fighting styles were completely different, yet because none of them had any connection to magic, their impressions of the museum were surprisingly similar.
But perhaps Aria, walking ahead, already knew how they felt. She looked back at them and spoke.
“Just in case you’re wondering, the Magic History Museum doesn’t only contain things related to magic, so don’t assume it’ll be boring. I won’t give examples because that would ruin the surprise, but stop looking like you’re already dead inside.”
“Ugh……”
“I guess everything showed on our faces……”
“This is a little embarrassing.”
At Aria’s words, Arin, Riana, and Kana scratched their heads awkwardly.
Aria turned forward again and whispered something to Meiel while watching Shaty and Pina, who had already run far ahead in excitement.
Meiel nodded once, then swung her staff. In an instant, Shaty and Pina vanished and reappeared beside Arin, Kana, and Riana.
It seemed she had used teleportation magic, something they had experienced a few times before.
The moment Shaty and Pina landed, Aria pressed her temples as if she had a headache and spoke to them.
“Shaty, Pina. You two are so excited you’re acting on your own. If you do it one more time, I’ll have you removed from the museum.”
“What?! N-not that……!”
“Isn’t removing us from the museum too much?!”
“Then just don’t act on your own.”
At the word “removed,” Shaty and Pina shot up and protested. Aria answered coldly and turned away again.
Even so, the next moment she had to rub her forehead when Meiel floated up beside her ear and whispered something.
After calling Yujia, Kama, Isolde, and Morgan from the back and heading toward a slightly separated area, Arin quietly whispered with Kana and Riana.
“Professor Aria seems to be having quite a hard time.”
“Yeah. It’s a side of her we don’t usually see.”
“She really does seem to run into all sorts of problems……”
Unlike the all-powerful figure who handled everything effortlessly at the academy, here she looked like she had a few screws loose.
It made sense when she was in charge of ten students on a field trip, but to Arin it seemed like Aria was worrying about something far more important and difficult than just managing the students.
Something much more significant than the students themselves.
Arin knew Aria would never show such an expression over something this minor, and she had always seen her solve even truly difficult problems without breaking a sweat. That was why Arin couldn’t help but think this way.
Of course, she didn’t voice the thought. After all, it was only her personal speculation.
‘Besides, even if it were true, I doubt she’d tell me even if I asked……’
Shaking off the pointless thoughts, Arin joined the conversation that had drifted into casual chatter and chatted pleasantly with Shaty and Pina, who had joined in.
Soon after, Aria returned from her brief absence.
“Everyone, form two neat lines again. We’ll be touring the museum interior according to the course, so stay together and follow me.”
At Aria’s words, the children answered in unison. The previously scattered students began lining up.
Kana moved forward with Riana, Shaty stood beside Arin, and the rest of the students formed neat rows behind them.
Once five clean lines were formed, Aria, standing at the very front, turned and began walking forward.
“Good. Let’s go. We’ll start from the first floor and take our time.”
At Aria’s words, Arin glanced around.
Unlike earlier when she had felt no interest, several eye-catching things now caught her attention.
Though few in number, there were enchanted swords like the ones at Kraken, experience zones where people seemed to be touching caterpillar-like creatures, and even devices that supposedly allowed swordsmen to use magic.
“Ooh……”
Maybe this visit would be more fun than she had thought. Besides, Shaty, who was knowledgeable about magic, was right beside her.
Though she had felt almost no interest until moments ago, Arin thought that with Shaty’s help she might actually enjoy touring the museum.
“Magic, magic really is the best…… Hehehe……”
“……”
Then again, maybe not.
Roughly thirty minutes after Aria’s group entered the museum, outside the Magic History Museum.
In a secluded corner of the museum where no one’s eyes reached, twelve demons had gathered.
Considering the number of demons who had come to the Undersea Kingdom, it meant every executive except Idea had assembled.
Among the demons gathered in this remote spot, only two were speaking.
“Tidrop, Lady Idea has given the signal. Let’s begin.”
“Don’t give me orders, Hafras. I might listen to Lady Idea, but you’re not in a position to command me.”
“Is that so? If it sounded that way, I apologize.”
A minor argument followed Hafras’s words, but thanks to his quick and practiced apology the quarrel ended instantly.
Tidrop clicked her tongue lightly and gathered demonic energy in her hand, compressing it together with her mana.
The dense blue demonic energy, matching her blue hair, was compressed further and further.
Her goal was simply to activate her own magic to fulfill Idea’s command.
Kwaaaang……!
“She’s started.”
“Good. Then let’s unfold it.”
At the distant explosion coming from the direction of the Record Library, Tidrop released the demonic mana she had gathered.
Slowly, very slowly, a sinister purple curtain of light began to spread across the museum, devouring everything in its path.
Severance Barrier
The moment Tidrop’s barrier was deployed, the gathered demons simultaneously leaped into the museum as if they had never been there to begin with.
All to carry out their orders.