Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Hayar
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Descending the long staircase, we arrived at a stone chamber divided into layers that spiraled downward in a perfect circle. If you let your gaze follow the stairs, you could see several doorless rooms openly exposed beyond the encircling corridors.
With my limited insight, I couldn't tell what any of the rooms were for. The ones where people were doing paperwork were at least understandable, but those sitting before massive boulders with their eyes closed... I couldn't even guess what they were doing.
If there had been traces of mana on the boulders, I might have thought they were crafting special spells or magic tools, but that wasn't the case either.
'Some kind of ritual with religious meaning?'
I was slowly observing the countless mages in the rooms beyond when Renila suddenly dashed forward, turned her back to the railing, and shouted at me.
"What do you think! Pretty amazing, right?"
"Yeah. It's amazing."
It really was. Even setting aside anything magical, the intricately designed stone chamber felt incredibly cozy, and the scorching desert heat couldn't even intrude.
'Strange writing...'
Though it wasn't visible from inside the chamber, I could see beyond it with Arcana. Translucent glowing letters revealed bizarre laws. Magic embedded in writing.
Similar to the structure of a Warden Stick, but slightly different. A force that couldn't normally be created. A medium was needed to hold the magic in place. Grinding a golem core into powder might make it possible.
"Miss, it's very late. Let's postpone the rest of our conversation until tomorrow, and for today..."
"Ah, got it. If I stay up late, Dad will scold me, right?"
"Yes..."
Renila glanced back with a slight turn, bickering with Vasek again. She was such a spoiled girl. From their conversations, she seemed to hold a high status, but now wasn't the right time to ask.
"I'll show you to your rooms!"
Vasek, who had raised his hand to call someone, furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Renila had glared at him once.
Satisfied with that, Renila grinned and dashed ahead, beckoning me and Durel to follow.
As we passed through the long corridor and descended the stairs, Renila received light nods of greeting from the other mages we passed.
"Everyone's greeting you, Renila."
"Yeah. It's because of my dad."
"Is your dad an important person?"
Renila just nodded at my question. She had no intention of hiding her status, but she didn't seem keen on explaining her full circumstances either. I smoothly changed the subject.
"Tomorrow. Can I watch you cast your magic, Renila?"
"My magic? It's no big deal to show you! Normally I wouldn't show just anyone...!"
I let Renila's words flow in one ear and out the other as I shifted my gaze, tracking the stares flying at us from all directions. Beyond the railing of the wide circular corridor, countless mages were poking their heads out, watching me and Durel.
Most were looks of curiosity. But mixed in were some strangely unpleasant gazes.
'Not everyone is welcoming us, it seems.'
Renila stopped in front of a large door. Unlike the rooms above, which lacked doors, this one had one, suggesting it was for rest.
Besides this room, wooden doors were attached to the bright stone walls at regular intervals.
"This is the biggest room in Branch Fifteen. It's kept spotless, so you can use it right away. If there's anything uncomfortable or if you need something, just grab anyone here and tell them."
With that, Renila took a step back. Her gaze, dripping with reluctance, lingered on me and Durel before slowly pulling away.
"Well then, rest well?"
"Yeah. You too, Renila."
"See you tomorrow!"
After Renila left, Durel and I entered the assigned room. It was quite spacious and clean, with basic furniture like beds, a table, and chairs, but nothing special beyond that.
It really was just a room for rest, prepared for guests.
"This place is impeccably clean. Not a speck of dust. I like it very much."
His mood lifted by the wide, clean room, Durel smiled loosely and immediately set down his luggage, sitting on one of the corner beds.
There were four beds in the room total, so I picked a suitable one and lay down.
Waking from sleep, I sat up on the bed. Cut off from the outside, I couldn't tell if it was night or day. But with my fatigue completely gone, it was probably around dawn.
Thinking that, I rose from the bed.
Krroooh—
Durel was still deep in sleep. He'd started growing taller lately. I didn't want to wake him from such a sound slumber.
Wearing light clothes with just a cloak over them, I quietly opened the door and poked my head out.
Unlike last night when we'd just arrived, the building interior was quite dark now. Aside from a few rooms, most lights were off, shrouded in darkness, with an eerie silence hanging in the air—no conversations to be heard.
Leaving the room, I walked slowly, scanning my surroundings. I'd been too cautious last night to look properly, but with no eyes on me now, I could move freely.
I gently caressed the bright stone walls as I continued onward.
Isolation and reinforcement. Magic continuously manifested between the separated space and the outside. So, where did the power source come from? The starlight etched in my eyes read the flow of mana.
Along the long wall, spiraling downward for a good while.
'Down there.'
The power sustaining the magic. The mana flow extended from below. Something was down there. My eyes, gazing at the mystery, caught the source of the blue-glowing mana.
Naturally, my steps turned downward. Down the stairs, ever deeper.
The place I arrived at was in front of a massive stone wall.
Not an ordinary stone wall. On small platforms split left and right, spheres swirling with mana sat respectively. Different from a golem core. Objects that held mana within themselves.
'Consumables.'
I knew it the moment I saw them. They were consumables. Like some kind of battery. The spheres on either side supplied mana. Strange lines drawn below formed swirling patterns on the stone slab, and mana from the spheres flowed into them.
But something was off. The moment the mana from the spheres reached the circle on the stone slab along the lines, its power amplified.
'Amplification...'
The mystery I faced through Arcana posed a small riddle in my mind. At the same time, my two mana circles began to vibrate in resonance. What if I got closer, touched it with my hand?
Maybe today.
My body advanced unconsciously and caught on a small ledge. Looking down belatedly, a waist-high barrier encircled the area, as if to block approach to the stone slab.
"Don't come any closer."
I turned at the unfamiliar voice. A middle-aged man standing a few steps away approached me slowly. How long had he been there? I'd been so focused on something else that I hadn't sensed his presence.
"This isn't a place just anyone can enter. Didn't the miss tell you?"
"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment..."
This was clearly my fault. I'd wandered around without properly learning the rules. I had nothing to say even if I had ten mouths.
The middle-aged man seemed surprised by my straightforward apology, merely twitching his eyebrows largely without pressing further. A faintly hostile gaze brushed past.
Was there some ulterior motive? As I bowed my head and took a step back, the man spoke.
"I heard you're a mage from outside the Great Desert. Is that right?"
"Yes."
"I've always been curious. How do mages outside the Great Desert wield their magic? If you spar with me, I won't hold your earlier mistake against you. What do you say?"
An offer I couldn't refuse. Had he been quietly watching from the start, aiming for this?
But I was glad. The reason I'd come here was to take in as much magic as possible with my own eyes and make it mine. There was no reason to turn down someone approaching first for a duel.
I nodded to accept, and the man moved to a different location.
We arrived at a wide space on the floor above the very bottom layer. Unlike other areas, half the floor consisted of a single large room.
"This duel is to compare the depth of our magic, not just victory or defeat. Minor wounds are unavoidable, but let's not aim for each other's lives."
"As you wish."
"...Bold one. Then, begin."
Mana began concentrating around the man who signaled the start. The most basic preparation step for mages of this world to cast magic. The greater the power of the spell, the more mana concentrates, and preparation time increases proportionally.
By the time the mana gathered around the man began to take on a translucent watery hue...
My magic was already complete.
From my lightly extended fingertip, wind traced a rotation. Amid the infinitely cycling spin, golden remnants spread like dye, resonating and amplifying the power. The inspiration I'd stored in my mind manifested through magic.
And at that moment.
The belated chill surged in, spewing a harsh explosion as it blanketed everything ahead alongside the wind.
Kwaaaaa—!
A power so immense even I, who cast it, was startled. The spell contained at least double the mana I'd used.
The golden remnants lingering in my right hand drew faint ripples before slowly fading away.