Meanwhile, in the Heart of the Magic City:-
Serie sat cross-legged on her ornate throne, wrapped in the heavy silence of her sanctum.
To her students, this room was a holy place, a chamber they dared not enter without invitation. To Serie, it was simply where she waited. Days bled into years, years into centuries. Time was a vast, still ocean, and she was merely drifting on its surface.
Today should have been another day of quiet boredom.
But then, her golden eyes flickered toward a corner of the room.
The air shimmered. A tear in reality appeared, a golden rift that widened into a circular portal. A moment later, a girl with violet-blue hair stepped through, her movements silent and precise.
Serie didn't rise. She simply leaned her chin on her hand, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Back so soon?" she asked, her tone casual, as if speaking to an old friend who had just popped out for tea. "How did it go? Did you find the person you were looking for?"
"Affirmative. Objective complete," Stell replied.
"Hoh." Serie sat up slightly, the boredom vanishing from her eyes. "And? Did you find any new magic along the way?"
This was the real question. This was the price of their contract.
The Great Library of the Magic City held nearly every spell recorded in human history. Serie herself was a living archive. For her to be interested, the magic had to be unique.
Stell didn't answer with words. She raised her right hand.
The diamond-shaped crystal embedded in her chest began to pulse. A soft, golden light streamed from her eyes, projecting a beam into her open palm. Data coalesced into matter. Light wove itself into paper, ink, and worn leather.
In seconds, a thin, ancient-looking grimoire materialized, hovering just above her hand.
It was the book on "Monster Creation" she had recovered from the dragon's hoard. She had incinerated the original to keep it out of the hands of fools like the bandit mage, but giving it to the Prime Mage of humanity was a different matter. Serie was the only one who could be trusted with such dangerous knowledge.
With a flick of her wrist, Stell sent the book floating across the room. Serie caught it, her eyes already scanning the cover with hungry curiosity.
Just then, the portal rippled again.
Takson stepped through, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. He froze.
Walls of books stretched up into the shadows, lining every inch of the massive room. The air itself smelled of old paper and raw mana. It was a cathedral of knowledge.
"Is this... the City of Magic?" he whispered, awestruck.
"Negative," Stell corrected him. "This is Serie's sanctum. The central node of the city."
"So that elf over there..." Takson's gaze fell on the small, golden-haired figure on the throne. "...that's Serie?"
Stell nodded once.
"This is your apprentice?" Serie asked, not looking up from the pages she was already flipping through.
"Affirmative."
Serie glanced at Takson. It was a heavy, weighing look, one that stripped him down to his core potential.
"Hmm. He has talent," she murmured, her voice indifferent. "A pity he chose the path of a warrior."
She turned her attention back to the book, dismissing him entirely. To Serie, anyone who couldn't wield magic was simply not interesting.
Takson didn't mind. He stood tall, his hand resting on the hilt of his axe. He had chosen his path, and he had no regrets. He had the magic of the Goddess, and he had his teacher. That was enough.
"Teacher," he said, turning to Stell. "What do we do now?"
Serie was completely lost in the book. The ancient elf's eyes darted across the pages, her mind absorbing the magical theories Stell had compiled. Takson watched her for a moment, realizing she had likely forgotten they were even there. She probably wouldn't look up again until she finished the entire volume.
Stell knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. The grimoire she had created contained not just the "Monster Creation" spell, but every single piece of magical data she had collected on the journey to the Elven Village. It was a dense read.
"Answer: Labyrinth conquest," Stell announced suddenly.
"Eh? Is it test day already?" Takson asked, his shoulders slumping. He instinctively assumed "labyrinth" meant "exam." But by his count, it hadn't been thirty days yet.
"Negative. It is not a formal test. However, you may treat it as one."
"Alright then."
Without a word of goodbye to the engrossed Serie, Stell opened a golden portal. The transaction was complete. There was no need for pleasantries.
….
We stepped out into a dense forest valley. I had scanned this area during my first visit to the region.
I remembered this place from the stories of my previous life. Deep within this dungeon resided a specific, unique monster: the Spiegel, or the Water Mirror Demon.
It possessed a terrifying ability. It could read the memories of anyone who entered its domain and create perfect copies of them. These clones possessed the same strength, the same skills, and the same combat instincts as the originals. They lacked only a mind of their own.
I had a hypothesis I wanted to test.
Could this creature of magic copy an Ex-Machina? Could it replicate my mechanical body, my internal weaponry, and my connection to the Dimensional Engine?
The only way to find out was to walk in.
"Reminder: Takson, prepare yourself."
"Understood!"
….
Tap... tap... tap...
Our footsteps echoed loudly in the wide, stone corridor. The air was stale and cold.
Stell took the lead. The moment we entered, her scanners had mapped the layout of the upper floors.
"It's quiet," Takson whispered, gripping his axe. "There aren't any monsters here."
He was right. The halls were empty. Usually, a dungeon like this would be crawling with lesser beasts.
"Warning: Takson, watch your footing. This structure contains a high density of mechanical traps."
"I know, Teacher! Don't worry, I'll be extra care, "
Click.
The sound was small, sharp, and unmistakably coming from under Takson's boot.
He froze.
"..."
"..."
He looked up. Stell had stopped walking. She turned slowly, her golden, inorganic eyes fixing him with a stare that could freeze water.
"Ahaha..." Takson laughed nervously, sweat beading on his forehead. "Would you believe me if I said I did that on purpose?"
"..."
A deep, grinding noise rumbled from inside the walls.
In less than a second, a section of the ceiling above Takson slid open. A massive, rusted guillotine blade, heavy enough to slice a horse in half, plummeted down.
CRASH.
Then, a sound like shattering glass.
The giant blade didn't hit flesh. It struck a semi-transparent golden barrier that had materialized inches above Takson's head. The force of the impact shattered the heavy iron blade into a hundred pieces of scrap metal.
As the dust settled, the golden shield faded away.
"One," Stell said.
"Huh?"
"Warning: I helped you this time. That is the only free pass you will get. I will not intervene again."
Her voice was flat, but the threat was clear.
"Addendum: If you make a fatal error and 'die' again, you will be ejected from the labyrinth. I will complete the objective alone."
"Y-yes! Understood!" Takson stood up straight, his face pale.
He knew she wasn't joking. Even though she could revive him, she viewed carelessness as a cardinal sin.
The warning worked. Takson's demeanor changed instantly. The goofy apprentice vanished, replaced by the warrior.
A labyrinth without monsters was, in some ways, more dangerous than one filled with them. Traps were silent killers.
Unlike Stell, who could simply scan the walls and see the mechanisms, Takson had to rely on his human senses. But years of hellish training had honed those senses to a razor's edge.
He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing. He could hear the faint hum of air currents through hidden holes. He could feel the slight difference in vibration when he stepped on a hollow stone.
He moved forward, stepping carefully, avoiding tripwires and pressure plates that would have been invisible to an untrained eye.
Stell watched him from behind, her internal processors running a continuous evaluation. Acceptable.
Takson was a skilled warrior. In terms of raw combat ability, he ranked in the upper tier of this world's fighters. Combined with his Goddess magic, he could likely hold his own against a Great Demon.
His mistake earlier hadn't been a lack of skill. It was complacency. Because I was with him, he had let his guard down. He had assumed he was safe.
It was a dangerous habit. One he intended to break.
….
If you want to read 20+ chapters ahead and unpublished fanfics you can check out my patreon or just take a visit.
[P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N]
http://patreon.com/Kazuma_trash
&
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y