The Axis Stands Unshaken
I examined the staff that Alexandria had brought over, turning it this way and that while the others watched.
The design was simple.
After all, I had specified the order myself.
Black pole, smooth as if it had never been seen, and at its end a perfect circular crystal orb.
The dungeon core had been refined into a flawless form, cleaner than anything the original could have hoped for.
Overall balance was flawless.
Even the lack of visible flaws felt oddly satisfying, though the polish itself was not my work.
“It’s good.”
“Of course it is. I collaborated with the Pergamum Academy on this.”
Pergamum Academy.
Another legendary institution.
Known for its enchantment mastery and close ties to the Alexandria Academy.
Big corporations always team up with big corporations.
While I marveled at yet another joint masterpiece of two titans, Fiona beside me gave a small, disappointed sigh.
“If you’d left it to us, we could have made something even better…”
I couldn’t blame her for the disappointment, but the Pergamum side had its reasons too.
Even with Fiona’s name attached, taking it felt wrong.
“Does it have a name?”
“If not, I’ll name it. Hmm… Black Scepter. That works.”
I brushed aside Arthur’s suggestion of an absurd brown-haired name.
I had already decided on the name the moment I gave the order to Alexandria.
“I’ll call it Axis.”
Axis.
The coordinate axis.
From now on, this staff would be the center line of my Blink.
No name could be more fitting.
Alexandria, who likely understood its power better than anyone, reacted exactly as expected.
“The Axis… I suppose it was crafted for that magic.”
Arthur was quick-witted in this area.
“That’s right.”
With this, my Blink had one more shackle removed.
Blink was limited by weight, distance, and most of all the requirement that I had to see the destination.
The Axis would solve that.
Why else had the game version of Blink always been third-person overview rather than first-person?
If it had been pure FPS like, I would never have been able to Blink behind anyone.
They knew what they were doing.
“Time’s up! Everyone, focus!”
The barrier around us dissolved at the voice of the proctor for today’s test.
Who would have guessed? It was Olson from the fourth hall.
Olson met my gaze, flashed a grin, and pointed ahead with his finger.
Right.
Time to concentrate on the test.
“The final test is straightforward. Explore one of the marked locations and bring back the confirmation mark.”
There were five locations in total.
Marker Tree.
Gateway of Recollection.
First Cliff.
End of the Land Windmill.
White Ash Ruins.
All legendary sites on the first floor of the Abyss, every explorer had heard of them.
Some guilds and academies even ran Abyss tours as a profit-making venture; these were exactly the spots one would expect on such a course.
“It really is simple.”
That was all the proctor said.
Go to one of the given places and claim the confirmation mark.
The test was over.
“Geographically, the Marker Tree is the closest. Everyone will pile there.”
“Maybe? Everything’s basically in the same direction. The End of the Land Windmill is just a giant cliff; that’s why it’s called that.”
“I think most people will head for the White Ash Ruins. It’s so vast inside that if you’re lucky you might find untouched relics.”
With so many people, opinions flew everywhere.
Yet the more you listened, the clearer it became that everyone was already leaning toward one idea.
The group of sixteen all heading together.
“If we all rush off together, what’s the point of the test? Let’s just split up a little.”
More voices started from behind.
I cut them off with a loud “I’m tired of this already.”
Everyone understood the impracticality of sixteen people moving as one, so they gave me reluctant nods instead of arguing.
“Still, the paths will overlap somehow. There are fewer locations than people. Three per spot should work.”
“Let’s draw lots. Fairly.”
As Dustin started to sort out the numbers, Arthur immediately jumped in with the same method.
But that was far from acceptable to everyone else.
“Why draw lots? Obviously we three go together.”
Ray scowled and growled like an angry lion.
She hooked her arm around my waist and Leaf’s in one smooth motion, pulling us back protectively.
“But Arthur has a point.”
“None at all.”
“It’s fine. It’s a wager on fate. Why, don’t you trust yourself?”
“Hah?”
“We already made the lots, didn’t we?”
“Give them here. I’ll smash them all.”
Ray swaggered with the arrogance of a lone hero, blocking every other teammate from joining the draw.
“The lots might still be useful. We can choose the location based on that.”
“Um, I was planning to head straight for the Gateway of Recollection. I hear all archmage-sorcerers must visit it once.”
“Then I’ll take the Marker Tree.”
“I decided to start my journey at the First Cliff. I’m heading there.”
Finally, we were having an actual discussion.
p>People split into groups and the remaining spots were filled by lots.
And the three of us—me, Ray, and Leaf—were assigned…
§
“The End of the Land Windmill really isn’t popular.”
Ray flicked an annoyed pebble at the ground.
“Well, there’s nothing exciting about it.”
The First Cliff, where the legendary First Expedition first set foot in the Abyss.
The Gateway of Recollection, the only known way for those who died in the Abyss to return.
The Marker Tree, where countless predecessors left their maps.
The White Ash Ruins, recently discovered and still promising untouched treasures.
All four had clear value—material or otherwise.
Yet the place we had been assigned had none of that.
Just a tall cliff with a windmill on top.
Stunning scenery, sure, but we weren’t tourists.
And because of that, despite the huge number of people, none of the others chose this spot.
When I looked around, all I saw were natural features.
I had assumed curiosity would drive others after the way my teammates had behaved, but whether that was a blessing or a curse was debatable.
“I-I like it. Being just the three of us… it’s been ages…”
Leaf sounded a little wistful.
Time really does fly.
I agreed with her.
Traveling with Ray and Leaf felt easy.
Two weeks at the training grounds should have been no different from the actual expedition, yet somehow the difference was huge.
Maybe it was just the right chemistry between people.
“It’s kind of boring, Roman. Tell us about the expedition. You said there were interesting things.”
“It was more spectacular than most.”
Probably more spectacular than anything that had ever happened.
I gave them a summarized version of the training.
Almost nothing about Mea, but detailed the fight with Chromatic Finde.
“So you kept the leather?”
“We split it fifty-fifty.”
“Still a little sad. I heard Chromatic Finde’s leather is hard to come by.”
“Exactly.”
“Picking apart every single piece would make the whole thing worthless. Theresa didn’t do nothing, and she contributed.”
I calmed the two who were already mourning the leather more than me and turned the conversation to Ray.
“What about you? You went with Arthur.”
“Ah… that.”
Ray’s mood dropped instantly.
p>As she fell silent, her confident shoulders slowly hunched.
“…It was terrifying.”
“That bad?”
“I barely left the Abyss. Mostly training… it was brutally strong.”
Ray shook her head as if the words alone could ward off the memory.
“They said to kill me, but I couldn’t even land a hit.”
“Ah, talking about Arthur’s master?”
“Yeah.”
Of course.
Arthur’s teacher was the leader of the Frontier Guild, one of the Eight Pioneers at the peak of explorer power.
Even a Senior like Mea had struggled against him, let alone a Master.
“She was a total monster of a woman.”
Still, if it was just teaching, it shouldn’t be called cruel, Ray.
After Ray, it was Leaf’s turn, but she only said she had been ordinary and kept her story short.
We talked and walked on.
We had no fear of getting lost.
Mea’s demon radar was gone, but Ray’s beast radar had filled the gap.
Finally, we reached the End of the Land Windmill.
And what we saw was…
“It’s wrecked?”
Nothing but broken pieces of the windmill.
What the hell?