The Sorcerer King Of Destruction And The Golem Of The Barbarian Queen Chapter 5

“Well then… What exactly should I be doing now?”

The morning light shone through the greenery, warmly illuminating my surroundings .
I muttered in my lame pajamas as I bit into a dark wine-colored fruit that resembled an apple .
Although it looked like an apple, it was surprisingly sour and juicy . Its flesh looked like it about to burst and the fruit itself looked also very fulfilling .
After a bite, the exposed cross-section shone with a vibrant red color .
As for taste…I would have to say it was close to that of a cranberry juice I had once drunk . However, the fruit left a sweet aftertaste . How refined .
Well, it’s not like I particularly hate sour foods .
Rather, now that I’ve eaten this fruit, I’ve become quite relaxed .

Last night bathed in the moonlight (there were two full moons in the sky, after all, creating more than enough light to move around at night), I gathered the fruits nearby and decided to sample them . Previously, I had a.s.sumed that this area was a man-made garden of sorts, but to think that the fruit trees scattered around the basin were all the edible variety .
Although saying that, they were all strange fruits from “another world” . Being honest here, just eating one was already quite the adventure .
Among the several varieties I’ve sampled, the only one to my liking was this cranberry apple (alias) . The others were…not exactly my type .
Even now in the morning, I haven’t thrown up yet . I wasn’t seeing any weird hallucinations and there were no numbing sensations in my limbs .
I was in an extremely good condition . Great! Looks like none of them were poisonous .

I had eaten plenty of those cranberry apples to the point where my stomach swelled . Then, I fell asleep at one of the trees’ roots .
I had thought about returning to the illuminated inside of the cave with the Grand Rock Door, but it wasn’t very appealing to spend the night together with the disgusting skeleton of Luvel Zairein .
I could have also stayed in that tunnel the b.a.s.t.a.r.d called ‘The Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ to avoid the morning dew, but that place was certainly out of the question . I would have my personality destroyed, possessed, and killed by that dangerous spell [Soul Transcription] .
Nonetheless, roughly a whole day had pa.s.sed since I’d been summoned here . According to the stone book, the condition required to activate [Soul Transcription] appeared to be the instability of the soul after summoning, so it was possible that it was safe to pa.s.s through that tunnel now . But as you would expect at this stage, I wasn’t planning on staking my life on such a dangerous gamble .

Right, and that was exactly the problem .
I intended to try to conduct a thorough investigation today, but I predict that most likely, this ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ is the only way to exit this basin . However, the tunnel had [Soul Transcription] engraved in it, just waiting to destroy my memories and personality and turn me into the crazed Sorcerer King of Destruction . How long would I have to wait until it was safe for me to go through the tunnel? …As long as this question remains unanswered, I believe it’s best to treat that method of leaving as a last resort .
Well, then . So, the issue at hand now was to find the alternatives for me to leave here .

“I guess I’ll have to find out a way to get over the cliff surrounding this place . Maybe…”
The height of the auburn cliff appeared to be over 10 meters tall . It was practically a straight drop down all around, and I couldn’t spot any place that could serve as a foothold .
It’s completely a wall . It would be impossible to climb it normally .
The feeling I had when I first stood in front of the Grand Rock Door came back to mind .
“……I wonder if there’s a seal like the one on the door and book that I would destroy, causing the cliff to crumble . ”
Honestly speaking, I felt like there probably was .
I recalled the reaction I got when I destroyed the solid monolithic gate yesterday .
With that feeling, I believe I should have enough power to do such a feat effortlessly .
I have a feeling that if I go all out, I could easily blow 10 or even 20 of these cliffs like nothing .

However, I have no idea what’s a good way of doing that…

Would [Open Sesame] work on a cliff?
The Mentos Geyser phenomenon from yesterday popped back in my head .
Just trying to remove such a tiny restraint turned into that .
It was like that with the Grand Rock Door as well .
I was only trying to open it, but the gate burned red hot and distorted into a sloppy mess . And in the end, it swelled, turned black, and burst out into five pieces .
Now that I think about that, that was definitely overkill, no matter how you look at it…

So, should I try to use the spell on the cliff?
Honestly, just by looking at the aftermath of the Mentos Geyser phenomenon, I feel like I would be caught up in the collapse and instantly die .

……Yup . Let’s not do that .
As I chewed on my second cranberry apple, I started heading towards the southern side of the basin .
Yup, it’s sour .
But, you know, it ain’t bad .

“Come to think of it, if I had been reborn as the Sorcerer King of Destruction with a dangerous personality due to [Soul Transcription], would I have also known how to properly use my power…?”
The stone book did say that [Soul Transcription] would destroy my current personality and rewrite it with a new one created from Luvel Zairein’s own memories . If that was true, then he would definitely be different from me: a Sorcerer King whose current objective was basic survival . It won’t be far off to say that he would have a wealth of knowledge about how to master his strength . I’m honestly a little envious .

But there was a reason why I was thinking about such an inevitable fact .
I had walked all the way to the ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ which contains the bitter memory of how I was about to be [Soul Transcription]’ed .
You know, I’m not in any rush to go through the tunnel and all .
I only came here to do a thorough check of the area around the ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends . ’
Yesterday I had stubbed my pinky toe and quickly turned around .
I had already established that the other side of the basin appeared to only contain the cavern sealed by the Grand Rock Door and that it housed Luvel Zairein’s corpse . As such, if I wanted to do any investigating, this side would be left . The possibility that another exit or new information laid on this side wasn’t zero .

I walked over the soft gra.s.s between the trees as I headed towards the cliff .
Location-wise, I should be quite near the place I found myself right after I was summoned yesterday .
If I were to stray off a little to my right, I would be able to see that sinister magic array .
According to Luvel Zairein’s description, that magic array was the one you would use to summon the Sorcerer King .

Now on my third cranberry apple, I looked with distant eyes at the distance left that I needed to travel until I reach the cliff .
My steps were slothful as I wasn’t really paying attention .
“……Uowacchi!?”
Something caught my foot, causing me to stumble a little .
I let out a strange voice . Oh, how embarra.s.sing .

I checked the area where I stumbled . At first glance, it appeared to just be a gra.s.sy surface…
But why I stepped on it with my bare feet, I could feel a difference in elevation of several centimeters .
No, rather than just a difference, this was clearly a ditch .

A shallow groove dug a few centimeters deep .
This reminded me of the burgundy line I discovered yesterday that connected the two magic arrays .
That line was also created from a shallow ditch in the ground .

After I squatted down, I pushed my hand through the gra.s.s .
Got it . The ditch wasn’t painted burgundy, but the design was the same .
However, I would have to say that this one was quite narrow in comparison . Maybe around 10 centimeters, perhaps?
And its depth was also shallower .
I believe the burgundy one had a width of at least 30 cm .

A straight-forward ditch heading in the direction of my right .
If I had to choose a more concrete direction, it was most likely also connected to that Sorcerer King Summoning magic array .
I see . I hadn’t seen the burgundy line in the beginning because it was covered by the overgrown weeds . So, this one being as bare as it was had the high possibility of being overlooked .
Rather, I feel like the only reason why I found this was out of luck .

I didn’t feel the need to check if the right-side of this ditch was actually connected to the summoning magic array in the field .
In that case, should I instead be confirming where exactly the left side continues to? That was my current predicament .

I stuffed the rest of the cranberry apple into my mouth .
Afterward, I spat out the large seed .
Yup, it’s sour . But the aftertaste was strangely refres.h.i.+ng .
I’m probably gonna get hooked on this flavor .

“……Alright . Let’s go exploring . ”

——————

Following the line on the ground, I traveled about 100 meters .
When I thought I about to approach the cliff surrounding the basin, that appeared .

Cutting straight to the point, there wasn’t any third sinister magic array or skeletoned remains of anyone .
The endpoint of the line was a towering, pure white, stone pillar .
Its white was as beautiful as snow . Absolutely breathtaking .

The height of the pillar was less than 3 meters, and the thickness of its diameter was roughly 1 meter .
Its beauty felt out of place here, and it gave off a mysterious, almost transparent feeling .
But, that was all .
No characters or engravings were carved onto its surface .
Although the pillar was connected to the line at its base, there weren’t any magic arrays drawn on the ground like all the other times .
Frankly speaking, this pillar probably didn’t seem to have anything more useful to offer .
However…

What was important here was the thing I saw beside the pillar: a house .

That’s right . A house .
There was a small, one-story house .
From its appearance, the architecture appeared to be a simple home created with clay walls .
However, looking at the ivy covering the building, I suspect that these walls have begun to rot . There was also a healthy amount of gra.s.s growing on top of the roof .
This house was buried by an overgrowth of greenery .
I probably would have missed it even if I was walking nearby .
Its appearance gave off the feeling that it had been left abandoned for quite some time .

I was curious about this before, but when was the last time a living person was here in the basin?

Although nothing I had found was being currently maintained, I could clearly see signs that there were various places the designer was fixed on: a beautiful lawn hidden underneath the overgrowth, various edible fruit trees, etc .
And above all else, the corpse of the summoner I had discovered had already turned into a skeleton .
I didn’t think too deeply about it at that time . I had just thought that the repercussion for summoning was having your soul sucked out and your corpse immediately turned into bones .
… . However, it didn’t appear to be that case now .
Now that it had come to this, I feel like it was more likely that after Zairein had activated the spell and died, there was some time lag until I was actually summoned and brought here .
Furthermore, I don’t think the lag was a simple 1 or 2 year kind of thing…

Well then, the issue now was this green-covered house and its dilapidated state .
Naturally, there was no sign of life .
Wait? But…how can I put it? Something felt off .
Like the atmosphere of the house didn’t feel completely dead .
It may simply be because of the light s.h.i.+ning through the gaps in the trees, but the air of decay wasn’t really coming off from the area .
Still, just like the other areas, there wasn’t a single sign of life anywhere .

Anyways… There’s nothing else left but to step inside .
If this was a house, then there should be some useful things left behind .
I feel like if I left the basin right now with nothing else besides my lame pajamas, it would be bad in a dumb way . Whether this was another world or my original world, my outfit would be that of a suspicious person .
Besides, the roof of this building hadn’t crumbled yet . Depending on the state of the inside, I could stay indoors tonight .

I walked through the trees and headed towards the house .
The tall trees stopped right before the house, opening up my field of vision .
There, I realized that a modest spring had been created from a hole drilled into a rock at the edge of the building .

No, it really was modest . The size of it was probably around that of my own home’s sink .
The water was wonderfully clear . Spring water! Which meant that this was a fountain .
I scooped some in my hand and took a sip .

Cool and refres.h.i.+ng . Delicious .

There were some fallen leaves piled on the water’s surface, but it didn’t look like they would interfere with anything .
Frankly speaking, I was quite glad that I found a source of drinkable water .
As I still had the juicy aftertaste of the glorious cranberry apple in my mouth, I wasn’t really desperate to find one, though there was no doubt that I would need to find one eventually .
This is a good omen .
Now if I could find a soft bed inside this house, there would be nothing left that needs to be said .

With such thoughts in my head, I circled around to the back of the house . Found it . The entranceway .
But there wasn’t a door here . This was way too open . What was this place? The countryside!?
Well… It probably was in the countryside .

And just like that, I easily infiltrated the inside .
The inside was relatively bright .
Come to think of it, the windows here were gla.s.s-paned .
I wonder how advanced was this world .
Wait… . was this really gla.s.s? I feel like the transparency of it was subtly low .

The interior of the house gave off the rough impression of a private home in the countryside in some foreign country .
It was furnished with the bare minimum .
Nevertheless, I spotted several pieces of furniture that I couldn’t grasp their purpose, once again giving off the feeling that this was indeed another world .
There didn’t seem to be any gra.s.s growing inside . What a relief .
Considering the dilapidated state of the outer walls of the building, the interior was miraculous well-preserved . But, it was also clearly visible that this place had been neglected for quite some time . The damage in some places reflected this .
Well, the place was still enough to serve as a rest spot . I could clean it up afterward .

It seemed that there was another room further in, and it had a door .
Even though the entranceway didn’t have a door, it looks like there was a fine door inside the house .
I have nothing to say about that…
Perhaps it’s what they call ‘cultural difference . ’

I placed my hand on the door .
I felt some resistance for a second, but the door easily opened .

“This is…”

A library .
No, there’s a writing desk inside . A study, perhaps?
By one of the walls was a bookshelf containing a plethora of written material .
Let’s take a look at some of these t.i.tles .

Magic Encyclopedia ・ a.n.a.lysis of Spells of the Time Attribute ・ Research of Advanced Summoning Formulas…

Ooh, look to be specialized books on magic .
On the other hand, there were other eye-catching t.i.tles…

Forbidden Spells of the Dead ・ Blood Sacrifice ・ Summoning Evil Ent.i.ties…

A large quant.i.ty of these t.i.tles with no-good sounding words in them caught my eye .
I’ve vaguely come to a conclusion .
Yup . This was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s Luvel Zairein’s study . Probably .
Come to think about it, that guy had gone to great lengths to set up this large-scale stage and even staked his life for his summoning spell . Just the preparations alone must have required a substantial amount of time . I should have realized sooner that a base of some sorts had to be created inside the basin .

There were ma.s.ses of papers that appeared to be blueprints of magic arrays scattered all about the desk .
I took a quick look at them . Hmm…I really don’t understand them .

Next, I grabbed several books off from the bookshelf and flipped through them .
The preservation of these books was amazing .
…No, I feel like their condition felt too good .
Why you ask? I mean, compared to everything else, the inside of this study was much too good .
It was almost as if only time had stopped here……

However, such a thing didn’t truly matter to me now .
Instead, I had discovered a much larger issue .

“I, I can’t read……”

I can’t read this book .
I could partially read it, but a majority of the letters looked like lines of scribbles .
It was exactly like when I was reading that stone book .

Devastated, I fell to my knees .
I can’t read……
I know that it was an advanced technical book, but to think I couldn’t read it…!
Moreover, the fact that my level of intelligence wouldn’t allow me to read this made me feel the same as a gorilla or a Neanderthal .

Overwhelming…sense of defeat…! Overwhelming…illiteracy…! Overwhelming…gorilla…!

I sat down on the floor, completely beaten down .
Several books fell to the floor, and some of the opened up when they did, revealing their contents .
I casually dropped my gaze and suddenly noticed .

Huh? Somehow I could easily read this book only .
I picked up the book and checked the t.i.tle .

Introduction to Magic I

——————

Roughly one hour later .
With Introduction to Magic I in hand, I went out to the garden .

The result of my search of the library was all 12 volumes of Introduction to Magic .
The author was listed as Magician Luvel Zairein / Magician Emerly Heilem .
Since there were two names there, this must have been a collaboration of sorts .
Well, that didn’t mean much . Mixed in with the thick books for research purposes in Zairein’s bookshelf was a section of his own books . It wasn’t just this introductory series either . I saw quite a bit of advanced t.i.tles on magic as well, befitting of his level . Of course, I couldn’t read those either .
In short, the contents of this book, Introduction to Magic I, was considerably light, making it stand out from the others .
Well, it would have been a common sight to see in a university professor’s research lab .
Or rather, going by what I glanced through his writing collection, I would have to say that Zairein was most likely a professor at some university . Furthermore, looking at the extent of his history, it appeared that he held the grandiose t.i.tle of ‘Imperial Grandmaster of Magic . ’ This b.a.s.t.a.r.d must have lived his complete life in splendor as an honorable elite .

I tried to read Introduction to Magic I just before .
Surprisingly, I read it with ease .
Rather, I think it was because this book was aimed towards elementary school children .
A complicated feeling……
I had been calling the phenomena magic or miraculous mystery power, but this power’s official name was apparently “sorcery . ” Therefore, in accordance to this world’s standards, I shall be addressing it as such .

Now then, I had entered the garden to test the contents of this book .
Rather, I can’t start any sorcery until I first determine the contents .

And the contents referred to “discerning attributes . ”

This world’s magic…no, “sorcery,” right?
This world’s sorcery apparently had several of these ‘attributes . ’ Like fire and water . And, depending on the person, each attribute’s “rate of converting spell power” was inherently different . The higher the rate of converting power of that attribute, the stronger the spell can be used with the least amount of power required . Conversely, if the conversion rate was low, you could use only wimpy spells no matter how much spell power you poured in . In other words, the difference in talent was determined at birth .
However, since the issue here relied on the aggregate amount of spell power you hold, your entire talent wasn’t strictly reliant on this conversion rate .
After all, the attribute of spells you could use was determined by your affinity with them .
For example if we were to limit this to only fire spells, there are various types of people who exist: those who can use super-ultra fire spells, those who can only use wimpy fire spells, those who can’t use any fire spells, and those who can use super-ultra fire spells but will soon exhaust their spell power .
Therefore, I first had to “discern my attribute . ” Only then could I test my rate of converting magical power with high-level spells from the attribute I am attuned to . That appeared to be the process of learning basic spells .
However, it did appear that there were people who had no apt.i.tude with magic .
Though saying that, it was also true that I had used ‘sorcery-like’ spells several times already . So, I don’t think I have to worry about whether or not I have the apt.i.tude .
But, then again… I wonder what kind of attribute were those spells I used .
Grotesque attribute?
Besides, I was someone from another world and the apparently Sorcerer King of Destruction . I mean, a Sorcerer King of Destruction isn’t exactly an occupation that would use normal spells…right?

I began to feel slightly uneasy, but let’s go .
I’ve finally found an interesting book that might be useful for my survival .

First is, yes . Let’s test to see if I have an apt.i.tude for fire spells .
I’m sure it’ll definitely be useful . I wouldn’t have to light a fire .
It looks super powerful . Just the name “fire spells” is already cool .
Really gives off the protagonist feeling .
Since ancient times, if you said “protagonist,” you would think they had fire affinity .

I used a tree branch to carefully draw in the ground a spell circle as shown in the introductory book .
Ah, that’s right . I’ve been saying “magic array, magic array,” and stuff, but according to this world’s standards, this should be called a “spell circle . ”
So confusing . Seriously, why… Just saying this ahead of time . Well, whatever…
First, draw the circle, then uhh, draw a line here…
This magic array—I mean spell circle—would allow even an amateur to use simple spells by supplementing a large amount of spell power to be used . Humph . I’ve read the explanation, but I still can’t fully wrap my head around it .
Do you think it’s similar to training wheels on a bike?
The design was comparatively simple, so I was sure I didn’t make a mistake while copying it from the book .
As introductory books go, it said that it was alright if the design came out a little rough .

Okay, now to concentrate my mind…
Imagine creating a spark…
I chanted the spell .

“[Ignition]!”

Nothing happened .
Huh? ……That’s strange .
I carefully redrew the spell circle . Alright . This should be good now .
I once again concentrated my mind and chanted .

“[Ignition]!!”

…………
Nothing happened .

“[Ignition]!!!”

“[ Igni tion ]!!!!!!”

…………
Hmph . It appears I have no affinity for fire spells .
What a sober way to get this news…

Alright . Next, next . On to the next .
Let’s try out ice spells .
It would be refres.h.i.+ng during summertime . A cool attribute fit for me .
Okay, concentrate…
Imagine freezing the water in the air…

“[Frost]!”

…………
Nothing…happened .

“[Frost]!!”

“[ Fro st ]!!!!!!’

“[ Fro ・ st ]!!!!!!!!!”

Nothing……happened…… .
A sneaking suspicion that the drawing method of the spell circle was wrong came bubbling back up in my mind .
With Introduction to Magic I in hand, I carefully, carefully, redrew the spell circle…

——————

Before I had realized it, the sun had begun to set .
I was completely exhausted, standing in front of the spell circles strewed in the garden .

I had redrawn them over and over again .
Lightning Attribute・Wind Attribute・Fire Attribute (←I couldn’t finish reading), etc . I had tried these activating spells of each and every one of these attributes in order .
Each time nothing happened, I redrew the spell circle . That was why an extensive amount of time was spent .
I’ve already half become a master of spell circles, after all, that time .
I could probably draw it with my eyes closed .
After all of this, a new suspicion grew inside of me .

Could it be that it wasn’t that I had no talent for this, but this was the fault of the author of this introductory book, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d Luvel Zairein?

A possible story! His biography was full of dazzling achievements, acting as some grand professor in his books . However, we’re talking about Old Man Bones here–an incompetent man who destroyed himself for the sake of summoning the Sorcerer King of Destruction . It wouldn’t be strange if this book was a useless dummy .
Hmph . Definitely not strange . Yup, I just decided that…right now .

With that declaration, I’ll just get the last attribute tested and go grab some fruit to eat . Probably because I was so engrossed in drawing spell circles, I forgot to get anything to eat for lunch .

I quickly flipped through the introductory book .
“All that’s left to test is…… . Earth Attribute . ”
Earth, huh . Well, it’s a pretty bland attribute .
Even if I couldn’t use it, my spirit had already received damage .
In the first place, it wasn’t my own lack of talent . It was all the sh•tty Zairein’s fault anyway .
There’s no way I have no talent…… No way… . no talent……

Since it was annoying to redraw another one, I stood on top of one that I had already used .
I looked over the introductory book in my hand .
Uhhh . Let’s see…Imagine solidifying grains of sand on the ground to the size of a finger .

“……[Create Pebble]”

One second .

Together with a dreadful, thunderous roar, the ground in front of me trembled and rose with a shockwave .

While still letting out that thunderous sound, the ground looked like it was bubbling upwards .
From underneath the protruding ground, the surrounding trees were being uprooted by the pressure .
The huge trees fell one after another like dominoes being knocked down .

—The scene was exactly like the end of the world .

“Uh…Uooooooohhhh!?”
Unable to comprehend what was happening, I screamed in terror .
The risen earth disintegrated, diffused, and swirled like a tornado in the air . The turbulent revolutions began to converge and quickly condensed . The core grew in volume while making an eerie burbling sound .
I saw from the corner of my eye that all the shaking had caused a portion of the house’s roof to collapse .

When everything had finally settled, the core grew to the size of a boulder with a diameter of several tens of meters and surrounded by the ravaged beyond belief land .

I wasn’t sure exactly how long this took .
But, my internal clock told me that I had just experienced several minutes of pure horror .
I know I may sound pathetic, but my legs had almost given out .

……It appears that I had an affinity towards the Earth Attribute .

. “Well then… What exactly should I be doing now?”.

The morning light shone through the greenery, warmly illuminating my surroundings I muttered in my lame pajamas as I bit into a dark wine-colored fruit that resembled an apple Although it looked like an apple, it was surprisingly sour and juicy . Its flesh looked like it about to burst and the fruit itself looked also very fulfilling After a bite, the exposed cross-section shone with a vibrant red color As for taste…I would have to say it was close to that of a cranberry juice I had once drunk . However, the fruit left a sweet aftertaste . How refined Well, it’s not like I particularly hate sour foods Rather, now that I’ve eaten this fruit, I’ve become quite relaxed

Last night bathed in the moonlight (there were two full moons in the sky, after all, creating more than enough light to move around at night), I gathered the fruits nearby and decided to sample them . Previously, I had a.s.sumed that this area was a man-made garden of sorts, but to think that the fruit trees scattered around the basin were all the edible variety Although saying that, they were all strange fruits from “another world” . Being honest here, just eating one was already quite the adventure Among the several varieties I’ve sampled, the only one to my liking was this cranberry apple (alias) . The others were…not exactly my type Even now in the morning, I haven’t thrown up yet . I wasn’t seeing any weird hallucinations and there were no numbing sensations in my limbs I was in an extremely good condition . Great! Looks like none of them were poisonous

I had eaten plenty of those cranberry apples to the point where my stomach swelled . Then, I fell asleep at one of the trees’ roots I had thought about returning to the illuminated inside of the cave with the Grand Rock Door, but it wasn’t very appealing to spend the night together with the disgusting skeleton of Luvel Zairein I could have also stayed in that tunnel the b.a.s.t.a.r.d called ‘The Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ to avoid the morning dew, but that place was certainly out of the question . I would have my personality destroyed, possessed, and killed by that dangerous spell [Soul Transcription] Nonetheless, roughly a whole day had pa.s.sed since I’d been summoned here . According to the stone book, the condition required to activate [Soul Transcription] appeared to be the instability of the soul after summoning, so it was possible that it was safe to pa.s.s through that tunnel now . But as you would expect at this stage, I wasn’t planning on staking my life on such a dangerous gamble

Right, and that was exactly the problem I intended to try to conduct a thorough investigation today, but I predict that most likely, this ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ is the only way to exit this basin . However, the tunnel had [Soul Transcription] engraved in it, just waiting to destroy my memories and personality and turn me into the crazed Sorcerer King of Destruction . How long would I have to wait until it was safe for me to go through the tunnel? …As long as this question remains unanswered, I believe it’s best to treat that method of leaving as a last resort Well, then . So, the issue at hand now was to find the alternatives for me to leave here

“I guess I’ll have to find out a way to get over the cliff surrounding this place . Maybe…”. The height of the auburn cliff appeared to be over 10 meters tall . It was practically a straight drop down all around, and I couldn’t spot any place that could serve as a foothold It’s completely a wall . It would be impossible to climb it normally The feeling I had when I first stood in front of the Grand Rock Door came back to mind “……I wonder if there’s a seal like the one on the door and book that I would destroy, causing the cliff to crumble . ”. Honestly speaking, I felt like there probably was I recalled the reaction I got when I destroyed the solid monolithic gate yesterday With that feeling, I believe I should have enough power to do such a feat effortlessly I have a feeling that if I go all out, I could easily blow 10 or even 20 of these cliffs like nothing

However, I have no idea what’s a good way of doing that….

Would [Open Sesame] work on a cliff?. The Mentos Geyser phenomenon from yesterday popped back in my head Just trying to remove such a tiny restraint turned into that It was like that with the Grand Rock Door as well I was only trying to open it, but the gate burned red hot and distorted into a sloppy mess . And in the end, it swelled, turned black, and burst out into five pieces Now that I think about that, that was definitely overkill, no matter how you look at it….

So, should I try to use the spell on the cliff?. Honestly, just by looking at the aftermath of the Mentos Geyser phenomenon, I feel like I would be caught up in the collapse and instantly die

……Yup . Let’s not do that As I chewed on my second cranberry apple, I started heading towards the southern side of the basin Yup, it’s sour But, you know, it ain’t bad

“Come to think of it, if I had been reborn as the Sorcerer King of Destruction with a dangerous personality due to [Soul Transcription], would I have also known how to properly use my power…?”. The stone book did say that [Soul Transcription] would destroy my current personality and rewrite it with a new one created from Luvel Zairein’s own memories . If that was true, then he would definitely be different from me: a Sorcerer King whose current objective was basic survival . It won’t be far off to say that he would have a wealth of knowledge about how to master his strength . I’m honestly a little envious

But there was a reason why I was thinking about such an inevitable fact I had walked all the way to the ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends’ which contains the bitter memory of how I was about to be [Soul Transcription]’ed You know, I’m not in any rush to go through the tunnel and all I only came here to do a thorough check of the area around the ‘Cave of Beginnings and Ends . ’. Yesterday I had stubbed my pinky toe and quickly turned around I had already established that the other side of the basin appeared to only contain the cavern sealed by the Grand Rock Door and that it housed Luvel Zairein’s corpse . As such, if I wanted to do any investigating, this side would be left . The possibility that another exit or new information laid on this side wasn’t zero

I walked over the soft gra.s.s between the trees as I headed towards the cliff Location-wise, I should be quite near the place I found myself right after I was summoned yesterday If I were to stray off a little to my right, I would be able to see that sinister magic array According to Luvel Zairein’s description, that magic array was the one you would use to summon the Sorcerer King

Now on my third cranberry apple, I looked with distant eyes at the distance left that I needed to travel until I reach the cliff My steps were slothful as I wasn’t really paying attention “……Uowacchi!?”. Something caught my foot, causing me to stumble a little I let out a strange voice . Oh, how embarra.s.sing

I checked the area where I stumbled . At first glance, it appeared to just be a gra.s.sy surface…. But why I stepped on it with my bare feet, I could feel a difference in elevation of several centimeters No, rather than just a difference, this was clearly a ditch

A shallow groove dug a few centimeters deep This reminded me of the burgundy line I discovered yesterday that connected the two magic arrays That line was also created from a shallow ditch in the ground

After I squatted down, I pushed my hand through the gra.s.s Got it . The ditch wasn’t painted burgundy, but the design was the same However, I would have to say that this one was quite narrow in comparison . Maybe around 10 centimeters, perhaps?. And its depth was also shallower I believe the burgundy one had a width of at least 30 cm

A straight-forward ditch heading in the direction of my right If I had to choose a more concrete direction, it was most likely also connected to that Sorcerer King Summoning magic array I see . I hadn’t seen the burgundy line in the beginning because it was covered by the overgrown weeds . So, this one being as bare as it was had the high possibility of being overlooked Rather, I feel like the only reason why I found this was out of luck

I didn’t feel the need to check if the right-side of this ditch was actually connected to the summoning magic array in the field In that case, should I instead be confirming where exactly the left side continues to? That was my current predicament

I stuffed the rest of the cranberry apple into my mouth Afterward, I spat out the large seed Yup, it’s sour . But the aftertaste was strangely refres.h.i.+ng I’m probably gonna get hooked on this flavor

“……Alright . Let’s go exploring . ”.

 .

——————.

 .

Following the line on the ground, I traveled about 100 meters When I thought I about to approach the cliff surrounding the basin, that appeared

Cutting straight to the point, there wasn’t any third sinister magic array or skeletoned remains of anyone The endpoint of the line was a towering, pure white, stone pillar Its white was as beautiful as snow . Absolutely breathtaking

The height of the pillar was less than 3 meters, and the thickness of its diameter was roughly 1 meter Its beauty felt out of place here, and it gave off a mysterious, almost transparent feeling But, that was all No characters or engravings were carved onto its surface Although the pillar was connected to the line at its base, there weren’t any magic arrays drawn on the ground like all the other times Frankly speaking, this pillar probably didn’t seem to have anything more useful to offer However….

What was important here was the thing I saw beside the pillar: a house

That’s right . A house There was a small, one-story house From its appearance, the architecture appeared to be a simple home created with clay walls However, looking at the ivy covering the building, I suspect that these walls have begun to rot . There was also a healthy amount of gra.s.s growing on top of the roof This house was buried by an overgrowth of greenery I probably would have missed it even if I was walking nearby Its appearance gave off the feeling that it had been left abandoned for quite some time

I was curious about this before, but when was the last time a living person was here in the basin?.

Although nothing I had found was being currently maintained, I could clearly see signs that there were various places the designer was fixed on: a beautiful lawn hidden underneath the overgrowth, various edible fruit trees, etc And above all else, the corpse of the summoner I had discovered had already turned into a skeleton I didn’t think too deeply about it at that time . I had just thought that the repercussion for summoning was having your soul sucked out and your corpse immediately turned into bones … . However, it didn’t appear to be that case now Now that it had come to this, I feel like it was more likely that after Zairein had activated the spell and died, there was some time lag until I was actually summoned and brought here Furthermore, I don’t think the lag was a simple 1 or 2 year kind of thing….

Well then, the issue now was this green-covered house and its dilapidated state Naturally, there was no sign of life Wait? But…how can I put it? Something felt off Like the atmosphere of the house didn’t feel completely dead It may simply be because of the light s.h.i.+ning through the gaps in the trees, but the air of decay wasn’t really coming off from the area Still, just like the other areas, there wasn’t a single sign of life anywhere

Anyways… There’s nothing else left but to step inside If this was a house, then there should be some useful things left behind I feel like if I left the basin right now with nothing else besides my lame pajamas, it would be bad in a dumb way . Whether this was another world or my original world, my outfit would be that of a suspicious person Besides, the roof of this building hadn’t crumbled yet . Depending on the state of the inside, I could stay indoors tonight

I walked through the trees and headed towards the house The tall trees stopped right before the house, opening up my field of vision There, I realized that a modest spring had been created from a hole drilled into a rock at the edge of the building No, it really was modest . The size of it was probably around that of my own home’s sink The water was wonderfully clear . Spring water! Which meant that this was a fountain I scooped some in my hand and took a sip

Cool and refres.h.i.+ng . Delicious

There were some fallen leaves piled on the water’s surface, but it didn’t look like they would interfere with anything Frankly speaking, I was quite glad that I found a source of drinkable water As I still had the juicy aftertaste of the glorious cranberry apple in my mouth, I wasn’t really desperate to find one, though there was no doubt that I would need to find one eventually This is a good omen Now if I could find a soft bed inside this house, there would be nothing left that needs to be said

With such thoughts in my head, I circled around to the back of the house . Found it . The entranceway But there wasn’t a door here . This was way too open . What was this place? The countryside!?. Well… It probably was in the countryside

And just like that, I easily infiltrated the inside The inside was relatively bright Come to think of it, the windows here were gla.s.s-paned I wonder how advanced was this world Wait… . was this really gla.s.s? I feel like the transparency of it was subtly low

The interior of the house gave off the rough impression of a private home in the countryside in some foreign country It was furnished with the bare minimum Nevertheless, I spotted several pieces of furniture that I couldn’t grasp their purpose, once again giving off the feeling that this was indeed another world There didn’t seem to be any gra.s.s growing inside . What a relief Considering the dilapidated state of the outer walls of the building, the interior was miraculous well-preserved . But, it was also clearly visible that this place had been neglected for quite some time . The damage in some places reflected this Well, the place was still enough to serve as a rest spot . I could clean it up afterward

It seemed that there was another room further in, and it had a door Even though the entranceway didn’t have a door, it looks like there was a fine door inside the house I have nothing to say about that…. Perhaps it’s what they call ‘cultural difference . ’.

I placed my hand on the door I felt some resistance for a second, but the door easily opened

“This is…”.

A library No, there’s a writing desk inside . A study, perhaps?. By one of the walls was a bookshelf containing a plethora of written material Let’s take a look at some of these t.i.tles

Magic Encyclopedia ・ a.n.a.lysis of Spells of the Time Attribute ・ Research of Advanced Summoning Formulas….

Ooh, look to be specialized books on magic On the other hand, there were other eye-catching t.i.tles….

Forbidden Spells of the Dead ・ Blood Sacrifice ・ Summoning Evil Ent.i.ties….

A large quant.i.ty of these t.i.tles with no-good sounding words in them caught my eye I’ve vaguely come to a conclusion Yup . This was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s Luvel Zairein’s study . Probably Come to think about it, that guy had gone to great lengths to set up this large-scale stage and even staked his life for his summoning spell . Just the preparations alone must have required a substantial amount of time . I should have realized sooner that a base of some sorts had to be created inside the basin

There were ma.s.ses of papers that appeared to be blueprints of magic arrays scattered all about the desk I took a quick look at them . Hmm…I really don’t understand them

Next, I grabbed several books off from the bookshelf and flipped through them The preservation of these books was amazing …No, I feel like their condition felt too good Why you ask? I mean, compared to everything else, the inside of this study was much too good It was almost as if only time had stopped here…….

However, such a thing didn’t truly matter to me now Instead, I had discovered a much larger issue

“I, I can’t read……”.

I can’t read this book I could partially read it, but a majority of the letters looked like lines of scribbles It was exactly like when I was reading that stone book

Devastated, I fell to my knees I can’t read……. I know that it was an advanced technical book, but to think I couldn’t read it…!. Moreover, the fact that my level of intelligence wouldn’t allow me to read this made me feel the same as a gorilla or a Neanderthal

Overwhelming…sense of defeat…! Overwhelming…illiteracy…! Overwhelming…gorilla…!.

I sat down on the floor, completely beaten down Several books fell to the floor, and some of the opened up when they did, revealing their contents I casually dropped my gaze and suddenly noticed

Huh? Somehow I could easily read this book only I picked up the book and checked the t.i.tle

Introduction to Magic I.

——————.

Roughly one hour later With Introduction to Magic I in hand, I went out to the garden

The result of my search of the library was all 12 volumes of Introduction to Magic The author was listed as Magician Luvel Zairein / Magician Emerly Heilem Since there were two names there, this must have been a collaboration of sorts Well, that didn’t mean much . Mixed in with the thick books for research purposes in Zairein’s bookshelf was a section of his own books . It wasn’t just this introductory series either . I saw quite a bit of advanced t.i.tles on magic as well, befitting of his level . Of course, I couldn’t read those either In short, the contents of this book, Introduction to Magic I, was considerably light, making it stand out from the others Well, it would have been a common sight to see in a university professor’s research lab Or rather, going by what I glanced through his writing collection, I would have to say that Zairein was most likely a professor at some university . Furthermore, looking at the extent of his history, it appeared that he held the grandiose t.i.tle of ‘Imperial Grandmaster of Magic . ’ This b.a.s.t.a.r.d must have lived his complete life in splendor as an honorable elite

I tried to read Introduction to Magic I just before Surprisingly, I read it with ease Rather, I think it was because this book was aimed towards elementary school children A complicated feeling……. I had been calling the phenomena magic or miraculous mystery power, but this power’s official name was apparently “sorcery . ” Therefore, in accordance to this world’s standards, I shall be addressing it as such

Now then, I had entered the garden to test the contents of this book Rather, I can’t start any sorcery until I first determine the contents

And the contents referred to “discerning attributes . ”.

This world’s magic…no, “sorcery,” right?. This world’s sorcery apparently had several of these ‘attributes . ’ Like fire and water . And, depending on the person, each attribute’s “rate of converting spell power” was inherently different . The higher the rate of converting power of that attribute, the stronger the spell can be used with the least amount of power required . Conversely, if the conversion rate was low, you could use only wimpy spells no matter how much spell power you poured in . In other words, the difference in talent was determined at birth However, since the issue here relied on the aggregate amount of spell power you hold, your entire talent wasn’t strictly reliant on this conversion rate After all, the attribute of spells you could use was determined by your affinity with them For example if we were to limit this to only fire spells, there are various types of people who exist: those who can use super-ultra fire spells, those who can only use wimpy fire spells, those who can’t use any fire spells, and those who can use super-ultra fire spells but will soon exhaust their spell power Therefore, I first had to “discern my attribute . ” Only then could I test my rate of converting magical power with high-level spells from the attribute I am attuned to . That appeared to be the process of learning basic spells However, it did appear that there were people who had no apt.i.tude with magic Though saying that, it was also true that I had used ‘sorcery-like’ spells several times already . So, I don’t think I have to worry about whether or not I have the apt.i.tude But, then again… I wonder what kind of attribute were those spells I used Grotesque attribute?. Besides, I was someone from another world and the apparently Sorcerer King of Destruction . I mean, a Sorcerer King of Destruction isn’t exactly an occupation that would use normal spells…right?.

I began to feel slightly uneasy, but let’s go I’ve finally found an interesting book that might be useful for my survival

First is, yes . Let’s test to see if I have an apt.i.tude for fire spells I’m sure it’ll definitely be useful . I wouldn’t have to light a fire It looks super powerful . Just the name “fire spells” is already cool Really gives off the protagonist feeling Since ancient times, if you said “protagonist,” you would think they had fire affinity

I used a tree branch to carefully draw in the ground a spell circle as shown in the introductory book Ah, that’s right . I’ve been saying “magic array, magic array,” and stuff, but according to this world’s standards, this should be called a “spell circle . ”. So confusing . Seriously, why… Just saying this ahead of time . Well, whatever…. First, draw the circle, then uhh, draw a line here…. This magic array—I mean spell circle—would allow even an amateur to use simple spells by supplementing a large amount of spell power to be used . Humph . I’ve read the explanation, but I still can’t fully wrap my head around it Do you think it’s similar to training wheels on a bike?. The design was comparatively simple, so I was sure I didn’t make a mistake while copying it from the book As introductory books go, it said that it was alright if the design came out a little rough

Okay, now to concentrate my mind…. Imagine creating a spark…. I chanted the spell

“[Ignition]!”.

Nothing happened Huh? ……That’s strange I carefully redrew the spell circle . Alright . This should be good now I once again concentrated my mind and chanted

“[Ignition]!!”.

…………. Nothing happened

“[Ignition]!!!”.

“[ Igni tion ]!!!!!!”.

…………. Hmph . It appears I have no affinity for fire spells What a sober way to get this news….

Alright . Next, next . On to the next Let’s try out ice spells It would be refres.h.i.+ng during summertime . A cool attribute fit for me Okay, concentrate…. Imagine freezing the water in the air….

“[Frost]!”.

…………. Nothing…happened

“[Frost]!!”.

“[ Fro st ]!!!!!!’.

“[ Fro ・ st ]!!!!!!!!!”.

Nothing……happened…… A sneaking suspicion that the drawing method of the spell circle was wrong came bubbling back up in my mind With Introduction to Magic I in hand, I carefully, carefully, redrew the spell circle….

 .

——————.

 .

Before I had realized it, the sun had begun to set I was completely exhausted, standing in front of the spell circles strewed in the garden

I had redrawn them over and over again Lightning Attribute・Wind Attribute・Fire Attribute (←I couldn’t finish reading), etc . I had tried these activating spells of each and every one of these attributes in order Each time nothing happened, I redrew the spell circle . That was why an extensive amount of time was spent I’ve already half become a master of spell circles, after all, that time I could probably draw it with my eyes closed After all of this, a new suspicion grew inside of me

Could it be that it wasn’t that I had no talent for this, but this was the fault of the author of this introductory book, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d Luvel Zairein?.

A possible story! His biography was full of dazzling achievements, acting as some grand professor in his books . However, we’re talking about Old Man Bones here–an incompetent man who destroyed himself for the sake of summoning the Sorcerer King of Destruction . It wouldn’t be strange if this book was a useless dummy Hmph . Definitely not strange . Yup, I just decided that…right now

With that declaration, I’ll just get the last attribute tested and go grab some fruit to eat . Probably because I was so engrossed in drawing spell circles, I forgot to get anything to eat for lunch

I quickly flipped through the introductory book “All that’s left to test is…… . Earth Attribute . ”. Earth, huh . Well, it’s a pretty bland attribute Even if I couldn’t use it, my spirit had already received damage In the first place, it wasn’t my own lack of talent . It was all the sh•tty Zairein’s fault anyway There’s no way I have no talent…… No way… . no talent…….

Since it was annoying to redraw another one, I stood on top of one that I had already used I looked over the introductory book in my hand Uhhh . Let’s see…Imagine solidifying grains of sand on the ground to the size of a finger

“……[Create Pebble]”.

One second

Together with a dreadful, thunderous roar, the ground in front of me trembled and rose with a shockwave

While still letting out that thunderous sound, the ground looked like it was bubbling upwards From underneath the protruding ground, the surrounding trees were being uprooted by the pressure The huge trees fell one after another like dominoes being knocked down

—The scene was exactly like the end of the world

“Uh…Uooooooohhhh!?”. Unable to comprehend what was happening, I screamed in terror The risen earth disintegrated, diffused, and swirled like a tornado in the air . The turbulent revolutions began to converge and quickly condensed . The core grew in volume while making an eerie burbling sound I saw from the corner of my eye that all the shaking had caused a portion of the house’s roof to collapse

When everything had finally settled, the core grew to the size of a boulder with a diameter of several tens of meters and surrounded by the ravaged beyond belief land

I wasn’t sure exactly how long this took But, my internal clock told me that I had just experienced several minutes of pure horror I know I may sound pathetic, but my legs had almost given out

……It appears that I had an affinity towards the Earth Attribute