Chapter 241
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Into the Chalkboard
It was like dipping a foot into water.
But that didn't mean his leg immediately emerged from the other side of the mirror.
The space he had thought was a thin surface was incredibly vast, and within it, Loan's body stretched out, his form elongating into a line.
He recalled the sensation he'd grown accustomed to when teleporting from Sion to Rhodos.
Where the soul reaches, the body is bound to follow.
The principle was the same.
Loan slid out of the mirror and came face to face with the Tower Master of Phenomena, who happened to be passing by.
“Whoa!”
Elmaer, startled as if he'd seen a ghost, stumbled backward and fell.
When he realized it was Loan, his face grew even paler.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes repeatedly, trying to determine if Loan was real.
“Greetings, Tower Master of Phenomena.”
“Loan? Is it really you?”
“Yes. I apologize for startling you unintentionally.”
Elmaer scrambled to his feet, patting Loan down before shifting his gaze back to the mirror.
The guardian, who had been in Loan's form for some time, was now pressed flat against the mirror in the form of a barbarian.
With a look of disbelief, the guardian spoke.
“This… Is it true? Did you really step outside the mirror?”
He tried to extend his foot as Loan had, but it was no use. He even pounded the mirror with his fist, but nothing changed.
Loan spoke to the mirror.
“Next time I visit, we can look for a way together, Guardian.”
His words implied that he could enter the mirror whenever he chose.
Elmaer, as well as the mages of Phenomena who had gathered in surprise at Loan's appearance, could only stare in astonishment.
Elmaer asked.
“How did you get here? And the mirror, how did you…?”
There was too much to explain. And it was difficult, too.
It seemed Elmaer had been diligently practicing the mana cultivation Loan had taught him, as his mana circulation had achieved a respectable level.
But that didn't necessarily heighten his overall comprehension.
So as not to offend Elmaer and the other mages of Phenomena, Loan politely evaded the question.
“Please understand that my thoughts on the matter aren't fully formed yet, so it's difficult to explain. When the time comes, I hope to have an opportunity to visit the Tower and speak about what I've realized. It would be even better if you could arrange it, Tower Master.”
Elmaer looked bewildered by the sudden request, but a smile soon spread across his face.
It was an offer he couldn't refuse, one he welcomed with open arms.
“Of course, I will. Yes. Don't you worry about that in the slightest.”
Loan offered a slight nod of thanks before asking.
“You all seem busy despite the late hour. I heard the Tower has been opened to the public. How are things?”
Some of the mages who had been watching Loan with interest departed with disappointed expressions, seemingly pulled away by urgent tasks.
He didn't see Uli, whom he recognized, either.
Elmaer's explanation followed.
“The aftermath of the destruction of Amberg in the east and Marktl in the south has spread throughout all of Versa…”
The damage itself wasn't massive, but sporadic attacks on small provincial towns have caused people to abandon their homes out of fear, a common occurrence now.
“That's why we opened the Tower and have been sending mages out to provide support. The Tower Masters of Sensation and Notion are currently commanding the efforts outside. Are you perhaps here to lend a hand?”
He wanted to, but he couldn't.
Strictly speaking, he had just been in the middle of a conversation with the Governor-General when he'd suddenly arrived here.
He couldn't stay for long, and it was uncertain if he even could.
Loan planned to return after gathering a few more clues about the 'eyes' and the 'dream'.
So, he apologized politely once more.
“My apologies. I was discussing something with the Tower Master of Manifestation back at the Union, and I came to the Tower of Perception hoping to find some books that might provide a clue.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Elmaer nodded in understanding, but then his eyes widened as he stared at Loan again.
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it sounded. It meant Loan had teleported from the Union just to look at a book.
Sensing that Elmaer was about to pepper him with more questions, Loan gestured toward the Tower of Perception, as if asking for permission to go.
Immediately, a mage burst through the door and ran off to announce Loan's visit.
A short while later, at the Tower of Perception.
“Runner Loan of the Union's Faith Division—who passed the trials of the five Great Towers, presented a new direction for the Towers to follow, protected the Towers amidst calamity by manifesting a grand-scale defensive magic using the guardians, single-handedly grasped the true meaning of Schwerin-style enchanting, and founded Circle Magic, which conceptualized into a single image the principle that the law of all things is circulation and that it is natural to use magical power by relying on the power of that circulation—has visited the Tower by achieving teleportation through a mirror.”
The lengthy introduction came from the mage acting as a doorkeeper, but his expression was so earnest that Loan couldn't bring himself to interrupt this time either.
However, unlike before, there was no one lined up on both sides to welcome him with applause.
It was a sudden visit, and with the Tower open during a state of war, the mages of Perception were also focused on providing civilian support.
Still, there were quite a few who continued their research and analysis in their personal spaces.
A dozen or so mages, hearing the doorkeeper's introduction late, hurried toward the entrance.
The Tower Master of Perception was among them.
“Loan…”
In truth, the situation might have called for an even longer explanation than before, but Anke, the Tower Master of Perception, surmised he had come on urgent business and immediately asked his purpose.
“I don't know what brings you here, but is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes. I'd like to read books related to the Spirit Realm. Ancient texts from the Age of Gods would be even better.”
“The Spirit Realm? Ah, then did you perhaps travel to the Spirit Realm through the mirror…?”
Elmaer, the Tower Master of Phenomena, who was standing awkwardly behind Loan, tried to interject but was stopped by Anke.
“I'm not sure if we have anything that will be of help.”
Anke shifted her gaze to the massive wall of bookshelves, looking toward the highest point before raising her hands to eye level.
As her fingers moved as if selecting books from a shelf, several volumes slid out and began to float gently down.
This time, there was no telekinetic chant. It was truly stable mana control. Unlike before, when she had drawn on magical power to cast a single spell, her breathing was now steady.
It seemed she had grasped the finer points after Loan's special lesson and was now applying them.
Loan felt a sense of pride as he examined the books floating in the air.
[The Oracular Soul], [Harmony and Chaos of the Mortal, Spirit, and Demon Realms], [A Semantic Interpretation of the Spirit Realm]… Most of them were books he had never seen before.
Anke said.
“What is it you're curious about? It doesn't seem like you have much time. If necessary, I can recite the abstracts of the books for you.”
The difficulty of the content wasn't a major concern, but every one of the books was thick.
“Ah… An introductory text that summarizes what the Spirit Realm is like, and any books containing information about 'eyes' and 'dreams' would be great.”
“Eyes and dreams? Are you perhaps referring to the beings in the Spirit Realm?”
“You know of them?”
“I don't know about the 'dreams,' but you'll have a hard time finding anything about the 'eyes' in books related to the Spirit Realm.”
“Then where…?”
“What I learned about the 'eyes' came from a book about ancient elves. I only recently learned of the 'eyes' of the Spirit Realm while discussing the topic with the Guardian of Perception.”
“Ah, is that so? Then I'd like to request that book as well, please.”
Anke then brought over another book. Its title was [The Theresa Chronicles].
“It's a chronicle of the multi-racial union-state founded on the site where the World Tree fell, following the Age of the World Tree and the Beasts. The first chairman of this state was an elf, and among the records of that family, there was this passage.”
Anke then quickly flipped through the pages, opened the book to a specific section for Loan, and began to read it aloud.
“...was of mixed elf and human blood. Furthermore, it seems the progenitor's human mother was a witch who possessed divine authority, a trait that was passed down to later generations as a special ability. Of particular note is a talent that blossomed in a descendant of the family around the time the union-state dissolved. She possessed eyes of different colors, and their abilities were likewise distinct. They were named the 'Eye that Sees the Present' and the 'Eye that Sees the Past'...”
Anke closed the book and added an explanation.
“Since it's a chronicle, the text stops there, but the oral tradition continued…”
She began to unroll a long scroll from one side of the bookshelf, one that looked to have been recorded by the mages of Perception themselves.
The paper billowed in the air.
A specific section of it stopped before Loan's eyes and began to glow.
The contents read as follows.
One eye observed the days past, and one eye read the entire world.
But the place the two eyes faced was not the Mortal Realm, but the Spirit Realm.
Though her life was long, in the end, she was but a mortal.
To use a power that transcends authority is a poison that eats away at oneself.
Moreover, how can eyes that cannot be opened at the same time be called eyes at all?
One can only say she was born with the fate of extracting them herself.
After reading all the fragmented lines, Loan was lost in thought for a moment.
It was a faintly poignant story, one that brought something to mind.
“So, were the two eyes extracted?”
“If what I know is correct, yes.”
“Is it possible that the descendant of that ancient elf is the Governor-General of the Union?”
At the sudden question, Anke glanced at Elmaer.
Elmaer raised an eyebrow and shrugged, as if to say it was no secret.
Anke's gaze fell on Loan's necklace, and then the scabbard at his waist.
“I thought you would have known. That enchanted necklace. And the brooch on your scabbard. That crest is the symbol of the ancient elves. It is also the crest of the Union's Governor-General.”
Loan was somewhat confused.
Until now, Loan had believed that crest was related to his parents. Specifically, his mother.
Of course, that was merely his own speculation.
Loan returned to the question that had been on his mind.
“Are you saying those eyes are the same as the 'eyes' in the Spirit Realm?
“The Guardian of Perception speculates that they are.”
“Then… may I speak with the guardian directly?”
At Loan's question, Anke stepped aside slightly, as if wondering why he even needed to ask.
Loan thanked the two Tower Masters and headed straight for the Tower's central pillar. The massive chalkboard was, for once, clean.
Normally, it would be covered in magical research and analysis, but now it displayed the status of battles taking place across Versa.
Loan walked over to an empty section of the chalkboard.
A reflection of perception, the guardian's mana within the chalkboard moved to follow Loan.
Loan greeted the guardian.
-Greetings.
Instantly, the chalkboard began to hum, and the Tower and its bookshelves resonated with it.
Feeling a sense of curiosity about whether this too was possible, and wondering what the place where the Guardian of Perception resided was like, Loan pressed his palm against the chalkboard where he could feel the guardian's presence.
A mirror and a chalkboard might seem to be of completely different natures at first glance.
That was why, before Loan's arrival, Anke and the other mages of Perception had said that, unlike the mirror, it was impossible to converse with the chalkboard.
But Loan had made it possible through mind-speech.
It was no different now.
Because the essence of an object does not lie solely in its external appearance.
The same was true for the chalkboard. It shouldn't be seen as a mere slate or wall for writing and erasing.
The Tower of Perception itself is a place for researching and studying magic.
Those who pursue magic.
To impart 'teachings' to those who yearn for what lies beyond everyday common sense and notions.
The mages and the guardian engrave and erase their reflections and spirits upon the chalkboard. Therefore.
‘The essence of the chalkboard is spirit. In other words, 'learning'.’
The moment Loan thought of the countless incantations, formulas, and magic circles that had been written and erased here.
He became a streak of light and seeped into the chalkboard.