The ship anchored at the Goreth Island dock. Shortly after that, Allen began carrying various documents and files off while Epherene ferried machines off the ship.
Epherene, tasked with carrying unknown machinery several dozen kilometers, felt an intense hatred toward the world, but it couldn't be helped.
It was impossible to use devices that were sensitive to mana.
"I heard there was another team that arrived on the island."
Ihelm pulled a leaf off a nearby tree as he mumbled. He looked at Epherene as he shook it gently.
"Hey, Leaf. You're here?"
"…Don't talk to me. It's hard."
Ihelm nodded, popping the leaf in his mouth. Then, he pulled more off and distributed them to his disciples.
"Why are you chewing that?"
"Hmm, you don't know?Trees are the plants that best purify mana. A tree that has accepted enough mana is called a Devil's tree. It depends on the type, but most of them purify your head just by chewing their leaves. Of course, on the continent, they are quickly cut down to make weapons and staffs…."
Ihelm pointed at Deculein's cane.
"That guy's cane is also made from Devil's trees. It's valuable, so pick a good one later and take it with you. You can't use your magic bare-handed forever, can you?"
Epherene imagined it for a moment, thinking of using magic while swinging a cool cane.It didn't sound bad. Ihelm smirked as she daydreamed.
"Phhh. What a simple kid."
Anyway, they arrived at their destination: Ghost Castle. The support team from the Imperial family was already waiting at the entrance.
"Hello Professor Deculein, Lord Ihelm. It's an honor to meet you. I'm Hesrock."
Hesrock reached out his hand. Deculein stood there, refusing to accept his hand until Ihelm, wearing a light smile, shook it instead.
"Nice to meet you. Is everything alright?"
"Yes, it's fine. We're keeping the results of various investigations and explorations inside the castle. I'll take you there."
"…Hmm. Did you set this castle as a base camp?"
Ihelm asked the question bitterly, but Hesrock nodded without a care in the world.
"Yes, it's more dangerous outside, thanks to the mana storms."
"Well… it is registered as a ghost island in our textbooks. Let's go."
They followed Hesrock into the castle.The air changed as they crossed the threshold.
"It's a bit dreary…"
Allen mumbled. Just like he said, the air inside was strangely chilly. Epherene and Allen stuck a bit closer to Deculein's back and hesitantly walked forward.
"This will be your accommodations."
He showed them to a living room on the first floor at the end of the hallway. Epherene looked around, noting the several beds placed in the open hall. Additionally, there were no doors or partitioning walls. In other words, there was no closed or private space. Ihelm spoke up.
"Are we all staying together?"
"Yes, it's a joint residence. Since we will suffer frequent nightmares, we can wake each other up. The rule is groups of three. You're here just in time, too."
It wasn't intended, but coincidentally, there were three people in Deculein's group and three in Ihelm's.
"As much as possible, do not leave the first and second floors, and do not close the doors. I'll give you a more detailed explanation tomorrow morning, but this castle itself is a magical space…."
Epherene glanced at Deculein. His expression was one of near-agony with dissatisfaction about the joint sleeping quarters.
"Also, there are people from the Adventurer's Guild in the castle."
"The Red Garnet Adventurers."
That elicited a response as everyone's eyes widened slightly. Indeed, the majesty of the Red Garnet Guild was famous throughout the entire continent. Ihelm asked again.
"Is Ganesha here?"
"Yes, the Imperial Family hired them. There are more enemies on this island than you think."
Hesrock warned them once more.
"So, do not leave the first and second floors, and try to stay only on the first floor if possible. The rules are groups of three, joint-quarters."
As soon as the rules were laid down, Deculein spoke up.
"I'll head up to the second floor."
Hesrock blinked a few times.
"I'll stay by myself."
Shared living? It was a punishment equivalent to death for him.Meanwhile, someone was watching them with a smile from a different space in the castle.
"That Professor is here, too~."
'Professor Deculein, I didn't expect to see you again in a place like this. Is this a blessing from the god of coincidences…'Ganesha, sighing, looked back to the children.
"Lia, how's Carlos?"
"…Yes. He's okay, for now."
Lia was nursing Carlos, who was burning with a fever. It had been five days since they came to the island. On the fourth day, Carlos suffered a relapse and still showed no signs of getting better.
"Should we head back?"
Lia shook her head firmly."It's the end if we run away because we're scared."
She knew it.
Carlos, this blue-haired child, was an extremely dangerous Named.
That was why she had thought of killing him in the past. Before this kid grew up before he became more dangerous.
However, as time went on, she grew more attached to him and a gentler plan formed.Carlos was dangerous – no, he was a talent who could help with future quests.
So, if he were guided properly, this child would be able to live happily and prove to be a great help to the world.
"…Carlos will be able to overcome this."
But if he couldn't overcome it, or if they ran away because they were scared and it was difficult… that happy ending would disappear. She would have no choice but to kill this little child with her own hands.
"Yeah. That's right, Lia is even more mature than I am."
Ganesha stroked Lia's head. This precocious child was too precious and trustworthy.
"But, things are going to get complicated. The Altar's men are here, too."
Lia's head jerked up.
"Yup. A bunch of troublesome guys."
Carla, known to the public as the Master, and an armed group with her brother, Jackal, as the center. She still didn't know if they were cooperating with the Altar or if they were assigned to the Altar, but one thing was for sure. They were strong.
"If Ganesha finds them troublesome, then…."
"Don't worry. They're weaker than me."
Ganesha smiled, reassuring Lia. Then she pointed to Leo, who fell asleep without a worry in the world.
"Let's wake Leo up now. He's going to suffer a nightmare soon."
"Will you be okay?"
I came up to the 2nd floor. The first rule in horror movies as those who acted independently was foolish, but it was impossible."Yes. Just in case, please leave the door open."
Hesrock nodded and went back down the stairs.
I looked around inside by myself, thinking it was dirty rather than chilly or spooky.
Everyone's corner was cleaned by combining [Psychokinesis] and [Cleanse].
Then, I closed my eyes. My new characteristic [Cryptograph] worked as an inventory.
When a particular object was stored in my head as mana code, it could be later materialized after decryption.
Mana was restructured as an object as its particles reassembled themselves.
Desk, drawer, bed, chair, book, fountain pen, blanket, pillow- the furniture from the Yukline mansion slowly materialized around me.As a result, a neat and modern room was completed.
I sat in the chair and looked out the window.
There was a rainstorm raging outside, lightning flashing repeatedly.
The thunder sounded like a wild animal's screeching, and a gust of wind formed a spiral shape.
I continued to stare out at the violent scene.
Then, suddenly-Hm, training wasn't a bad idea.
I left the castle immediately, standing in the middle of the stormy winds and torrential rain.
Yet, my body remained dry. Not even a drop of rain touched me, completely blocked out by [Psychokinesis].
The loud sound of rain reverberated in my ears.
Under the rain, I started to Memorize.
The circuits of Psychokinesis were fully activated.
My veins turned purple as my mana developed new circuits.
The goal was [Intermediate Psychokinesis].
Hundreds of repetitions were the difference between beginner and intermediate. Memorize, which used my entire body, progressed to a different level of magic every time my level rose.
I felt the magic digging deep into my muscles, wracking me with agonizing but still tolerable pain.
A fever started rising from the base of my neck, and I could smell my flesh burning.
Blood flowed freely from my lip, where my teeth punctured it. My veins burst, and my whole body took on a vaguely purple pallor.
The mana, continuing to circulate through my blood vessels, shattered my bones along its path, but Iron Man continued to cycle the damage with healing.At some point, while I was overtaxing my body-The rain stopped. The agony remained, but the world was quiet.
I opened my eyes, looking up.All the raindrops that were falling now were slowly rising back up to touch the clouds. It was a phenomenon that defied the laws of nature.
As I appreciated the mystical sight, a system alarm appeared.[Memorize Completed: Intermediate Psychokinesis]This much was enough.
Epherene unpacked her bag into the provided drawer, put her thesis paper on top of the desk, then laid down in her bed.
If you expressed the whole process in sound, it would be clack
—! boom—! pow—.
She stared blankly up at the ceiling.
She felt sleepy, but she was afraid of having another nightmare. Of course, there were a lot of people who could wake her up, but… again and again, a certain voice popped up.
—There is no Professor in my world…
I'm asking you to keep the Professor in your world alive for a long time.
The words of her future self that she had forgotten. She didn't know when or where Deculein died. But, it wasn't in the distant future.
Maybe, it could be next year…
Epherene shook her head. She didn't have to think about that in a place where she came to work. Whether Deculein died or not, it didn't have anything to do with…
She jumped up and headed to the kitchen, a delicious 'scent siren'-calling her.A soup was boiling in a pot, and–fish was being grilled.
"Oh~, hi. Dinner will be done soon."
"Ahaha… it looks delicious. By the way, how did you get this food supplied?"
Epherene swallowed back saliva and approached the member of the cooking team. West was a male wizard in his mid to late 30s that gave off a gentle impression.
"Fishing and hunting. The ingredients on this island are much better than on the continent. It's a space rich in mana, so the fish are very fresh and delicious. It's one of the good perks of being here. I signed on because I like food, and there's also a big reward."
"Ah~, I see…*slurp*. Oh, I'm drooling. *slurp*."
West opened the refrigerator. At that moment, Epherene was surprised to see there was a room inside the refrigerator. She didn't know where it led, but it was a room covered in dust and spiderwebs.
"It's usually like this. That's why we broke the door."
West closed the refrigerator door. Then, he opened it again after counting out three seconds. It was a normal refrigerator this time.
West took out vegetables for the soup.
"This castle is bigger than the island, so the space gets mixed up."
"Aha… is it because of the holystone mine?"
"This castle itself is the mine."
What did that mean? West pointed to the ceiling."Look over there."
There was an object embedded in the ceiling. Looking closely, it was a small holystone."There are things like that everywhere. Be careful whenever you open and close doors.
There are a lot of people here besides us. Not just ghosts, but real people.
There's a saying that goes 'I will dig through to hell for holystones,' you know?"
Some thieves came from hell in this castle. Epherene suddenly felt nervous.
"Oh. Is that so…?"
Exactly 16 minutes later.
"How, how can this be so delicious…?"
She relaxed after eating the world's second most delicious fish.The next day.
Early in the morning, after everyone finished organizing their luggage, Hesrock called everyone in.
"…First of all, the goal is to stabilize this Ghost Castle. We have to resolve the discontinuity of the space and the ghosts' disruption."
The discontinuity of space meant that the closed spaces of this castle led to random places.
In other words, if a door were closed and reopened, the space beyond that door would be reversed.
"Do you have the results of your investigation?"
"Here it is."
Hesrock took out dozens of documents, and I read the whole thing.
This was a way to increase the efficiency of [Understanding].
If I had enough basic knowledge of this castle, the mana required for [Understanding] the castle would be greatly reduced.
"Then, to put it simply, the living room and the rest of the rooms are not connected?"
Hesrock nodded at Epherene.
"Yes, that's right. When you open the door of a room to go to the living room, you'll be led to a different space."
Epherene put her finger on her chin and exclaimed. Having read all of Hesrock's findings, I stood. Ihelm, sitting crookedly, turned to regard me.
"Professor Deculein? What are you doing?"
"I want to try it for myself."
[Understanding] was only easy when you experienced something directly.
Therefore, courage was needed to put my body into this discontinued space.
"Yes, there's a separate room over there. We made it for research purposes."
Hesrock pointed to a small room in a corner.
I lightly nodded and immediately went to open the door.
A robed woman and an armored warrior holding a sword like he was in the midst of battle stood on the other side.
He stopped and looked at me. I immediately recognized him.
The owner of the Demon Blade with long hair that grew to his waist, holding a cursed sword.
Then next to him, naturally, would be his sister, Authority Carla.
A young voice cut through, and I looked toward its source.
Three kids were running away. Two of them were sprinting, carrying a third with them.
"Oh my! Really!"
Jackal swung his cursed blade, but the children were already gone.
He looked back at me with his eyes wide open.
"I almost had them! You! What are you doing-"
"…It looks like Deculein."
Carla called out my name in a low voice. Then, Jackal pointed his sword at me.
"Deculein? Ahhhh~, you-"I closed the door. Then, I slowly turned around and sat in a chair in the conference room."Okay, let's make a plan."
I remained as calm as possible, but this was an emergency. Of course, I wasn't afraid. It was just that the level of difficulty had grown quite high.
"How do we deal with those two?"
Jackal and Carla. Those two were some of the strongest in this world.