Chapter 274 New Ways to Use it
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Has the intruder incident been settled?
A few days have passed since then.
The mountain of paperwork has finally shrunk, and with some time on my hands, I’m heading to the underground passage to the square in another dimension to do an experiment with Gioniium that I’ve been putting off.
Since it’s an experiment with Crimson, I’m not too keen on doing it alone, so my companions are Mei, Niya-san, and Momoka…
”I knew there was another dimension because it triggered my magic sense, but it’s like a horizontal ant nest, isn’t it?”
This time, the experiment has 4 companions, including Estesia-san.
The reason for the selection is that Mei is a fellow researcher, Momoka has a different Origin called Azure from my Crimson, Estesia-san has exceptional sensory abilities, and Niya-san is participating as a supervisor.
Incidentally, Diana and Lewya are usually the first to volunteer for this kind of thing, but since it’s daytime now and they have work, they’re not joining this time.
”This is an ‘Origin’… It’s fascinating how you can place a new space over the base space. It’s no wonder that interdimensional magic could become a lost magic with something like this. Can we even call it magic if it’s activated by a different force from magic power?”
”Isn’t that force different, though? Magic power itself might be a diluted version of Origin.”
”Are we even understanding it right? Is it like making water from sake, or extracting water from sake to make sake?”
”Hm, indeed, there are still questions about that. Neil said Origin is the source of magic power, but whether you thicken magic power to make Origin or remove impurities from magic power to make Origin, the story changes a lot, doesn’t it?”
Before this experiment, I shared info about Origin and Crimson even with Estesia-san, who didn’t know anything about them, and it must’ve been super interesting because she kept asking questions while Mei jumped in with answers, and they went back and forth debating a bunch.
Even Zora and I usually argued when it came to me, but maybe they actually get along okay if I’m not in the middle.
”Alright, we’re here.”
While listening to their argument, we made it to the stairs leading to our destination.
We climbed up, pressed a wooden plaque with a weird space magic symbol against the dirt ceiling, poured Origin onto it, and a portal opened.
”This space is different from others──the time flows differently, so we have to hold hands when we go in.”
”Got it.”
As I explained to Estesia-san, who was new to this, we held hands and stepped into the strange space of the plaza.
The plaza inside this space looked just like the frontier settlement plaza before, except for one thing──no one was there at all.
”What’s this…? Hey, is this really an ‘otherworld’?”
”What’s wrong?”
I asked Estesia-san, who looked uneasy, looking around nervously, and she squeezed my sleeve with a worried face.
”Something’s off here. It’s nothing like the other spaces──there’s no boundary.”
”Boundary?”
”Yeah. Your other space had a border between the base world and the other world. But this place doesn’t have that… Where does this place even end?”
”I don’t think it ends anywhere. I tried to check how far it’s recreated before, but the farther I went from the plaza, the more I felt like I was fading away.”
”Fading away?”
”Yeah, like the lifeline that connects me to this world snaps more and more as I step forward. I felt my shape blur and melt into this space. Whatever it is, I instinctively knew going further would be bad.”
”So outside the plaza looks real but nothing’s really there?”
”Probably.”
That risk is way too big; we can’t really test it out.
I wonder how far this space goes, but if my curiosity makes me disappear, that wouldn’t even be a funny story.
”You probably have a lot of questions about this space, but for today, let’s focus on the Gioniium experiment. Momoka, hand me the Gioniium.”
”Okay, here it is.”
Momoka pulls out the Gioniium from the burlap sack she’s carrying and hands it to me.
Niya-san glances at it with a worried expression.
”Are we really jumping straight into an experiment with the Origin?”
”We’ve done enough experiments with magic; it’ll be fine. I’ve got safety covered.”
Saying this, I place the Gioniium in the center of the plaza and carve a line into the ground with the tip of my sword, connecting it to the Gioniium.
Once I make a 20-meter straight line, I use the Origin to build a sturdy earthen wall, then connect the line around the wall.
”I see, you’re planning to keep the line running while hiding behind the wall to observe.”
”Exactly, this way if it explodes, we’ll be safe. Let’s get started, everyone hide behind the wall.”
Once I see everyone is behind the earthen wall, I channel the Origin into the line I carved in the ground.
I can’t check what’s happening with the wall in the way, but I feel it’s about time, so I release my grip and peek my head halfway out from behind the wall to take a look.
”How is it?”
”The color has changed, so it looks like you managed to infuse it with Crimson…”
”But I can’t tell much more from this distance. Still, I can’t just approach Gioniium infused with the Origin──hey!”
At Mei’s panicked voice, I turn my gaze to the side, and there’s Estesia-san, stepping out from behind the wall, getting closer to the Gioniium.
”Estesia-san!? That’s dangerous!”
”We can’t move forward unless someone checks, right? Besides, if my instincts are right, it should be safe.”
Brimming with mysterious confidence, Estesia-san approaches the Gioniium without hesitation, bending down to pick up the Crimson-stained Gioniium and observing it closely.
”As I thought…”
”What’s it like!?”
She’s 20 meters away, so I shout to see if she can hear me, and Estesia-san looks back and forth between the Gioniium in her hand and us before she waves her right hand holding the Gioniium around wildly──!?
”Hmph!”
”Whoa!?”
Can you believe it?
Estesia-san chucks the Gioniium with all her might, and I scramble to hide behind a wall.
Squish!
After the sound of the Gioniium hitting the dirt wall and shattering, we peek out cautiously and see Estesia-san walking over with a slightly dumbfounded look.
”You don’t have to be so scared, you know.”
”Of course I’m scared! What were you planning to do if it exploded!?”
”But it didn’t explode, did it?”
”Oh, calm down, Neil. Estesia isn’t that foolish; she must have had some kind of assurance it wouldn’t blow up on you?”
”Obviously, or I wouldn’t have done something like this.”
”Even if you were sure, I wish you hadn’t done it anyway!”
Please, I really need you to stop doing this to my heart.
”Phew… So, what did you notice?”
”Take a look at this Gioniium.”
”……! This is”
”Did you notice? There’s no way it can spew power in this state.”
Mei seems to have noticed something by looking at the shattered pieces of Gioniium, but only Estesia-san and Mei seem to understand what’s going on here, while Niya-san, Momoka, and I are left clueless.
”What the hell is going on?”
”Yeah, Neil might get it right away if we explain, but let’s prepare some Gioniium charged with magic for the others too”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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