[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 369: Unidentified Zone (4)

A thought-form is an existence created by copying and pasting personality and abilities.

It isn’t something like a fragment of a soul, but rather a collection of emotions and wishes created for a specific ‘purpose.’

“Oh, you know that? Well, it’d be stranger if you didn’t.”

The thought-form nodded.

“The thought-form you served as your master would have been the one the original body left behind last, the closest to the original. Once it fulfilled its purpose of creating a successor, it would have disappeared, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“In my case, it’s simple. I let pass those who are qualified to close the rift on the 44th floor. That’s all there is to it.”

Oscar let out a small sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief. Then it means there’s plenty of time.”

But having plenty of time didn’t mean it would be easy.

Open-book exams are usually the hardest, after all.

Having no time limit likely meant that it would be just as difficult to pass.

“So then, what is it? What do I need to learn in order to grow?”

“Hm. I can say right away it’s not just one or two things.”

Perhaps tired of walking, the thought-form sat down on a suitable rock in the forest and continued.

“As you’ve probably already noticed, a thought-form like me was created at about the level of an 8th-tier mid-rank.”

“Yes, I could tell.”

Naturally, it was far stronger than himself, who was in the late stage of 7th tier.

Above all, it would handle spatial magic far more precisely than he ever could.

“Do we need long explanations? First, let me see your skills.”

“Very well.”

“……”

“……”

An odd silence flowed.

He had spoken as if they would clash at any moment, yet he didn’t move an inch while sitting.

Scratching his head, Oscar asked,

“Um… aren’t you going to get up?”

“Hmm?”

The thought-form instead widened its eyes at the question, then burst into hearty laughter.

“Did you perhaps take ‘let me see your skills’ to mean a duel?”

“Was it not?”

“No, you heard correctly. However…”

The thought-form slightly reclined where it sat, bracing itself on the rock with both hands, and even closed its eyes.

“Observing your skill is something I can do perfectly fine even like this.”

“No, are you really sure that’s okay?”

“Hm. You worry more than you look. In that case…”

In an instant, every sound in the forest vanished.

The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Even the footsteps of wild animals searching for prey.

All of it disappeared, and a heavy air pressed down on his shoulders.

“Now, does this make it feel worthwhile?”

“…Yes, now I understand.”

That now was not the time for him to be worrying about his opponent.

Letting out a hollow laugh, Oscar raised his mana.

“Come at me when you’re ready.”

“Yes.”

Oscar observed his opponent for a moment.

As his gaze shifted to the hands resting on the rock, he recalled an unchanging principle he had learned from Master Ado.

‘All spatial magic begins from threads.’

In other words, if one couldn’t pull the threads of space, spatial magic could not be manifested.

Though he acknowledged the opponent’s strength, honestly, this was going too far.

‘The fastest way for me to subdue him right now is…’

Blinking.

He quickly simulated the unfolding situation in his mind.

‘Instantly move behind the thought-form. With my left hand, grab the opponent’s left wrist, and pin the right hand down with my right knee. Then grab the nape of the neck with my remaining right hand—that’s it.’

The time it would take was barely over a second—the time needed to pull the thread for the blink.

“……”

“……”

The silence of the forest broke in an instant.

Oscar did not hesitate as he grabbed and pulled the thread of space.

Thud, press!

Just as planned, at the same time as the blink, he restrained both of the opponent’s hands.

‘With this, I’ve blocked the use of spatial magic.’

And the moment he swiftly extended his right hand to grab the opponent’s neck—

‘Huh?’

Gravity vanished, and the world within his vision flipped upside down.

Then, with a thud!, a sharp pain surged through his waist.

“……?”

After staring at the inverted world for a while, realization dawned on him belatedly.

That he had been slammed into the ground.

“Ghk.”

Oscar got up, looking at the thought-form sitting upside down in the inverted world.

It still had its eyes closed, its hands braced on the rock.

“How did that happen?”

“This is the first lesson I will teach you.”

The thought-form slowly opened its eyes halfway and spoke.

“Pulling the thread without using your hands.”

“…Is that even possible?”

“Sit.”

Oscar promptly sat down on the ground.

Seeing this, the thought-form leaned forward and explained.

“It may not be visible to others, but as you know, all things in heaven and earth have threads attached to them. We can manipulate space by pushing and pulling those.”

“That’s correct.”

“Do you know of another concept somewhat similar to that?”

“…Mana?”

“Exactly.”

There is no place in the world where mana does not exist.

Even the air in this forest is filled with mana, and even trees possess mana.

“However, most people in the world cannot see or feel this mana.”

“That’s because it’s a sense related to a kind of talent.”

“Correct. You’ve probably heard this before, but spatial magic too is not an academic discipline, but a sense.”

“Yes, my master said the same.”

“Most mages, during their apprentice days, chant spells or spend a long time concentrating to draw magic circles in the air just to use a single spell. But once they reach a certain level, they no longer do so. Why do you think that is?”

“Because they become familiar with it.”

It’s like a skilled musician playing a piece with their eyes closed, without even looking at the sheet music.

Perhaps it’s that the body and senses remember?

Magic is the same.

It becomes so familiar that such processes are no longer necessary.

‘In fact, only academy students still do that.’

If one belonged to a mage tower, one could assume they had already graduated from such basic levels.

Of course, there were exceptions like himself or Veronica, who had fast computational abilities from the start or could cast without incantation.

“The threads of space are the same. If that sense itself becomes yours, then those threads can be pulled or pushed as your mind wills. There is no need to use both hands.”

“I see……”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

He had never thought of it that way.

“Then why didn’t Master Ado teach me something like that?”

“There is an order to all things. Try thinking of it from the opposite perspective.”

“Ah… I understand.”

If an apprentice mage from the academy came to him asking how to use magic without incantation or magic circles, he would never teach them that method.

It was something that would naturally come with time as they continued to use magic.

If anything, focusing only on that from the beginning would lead to neglecting the basics.

For the first time in a while, Oscar’s eyes burned with academic fervor.

“Good. Then what kind of training should I do now?”

The thought-form stared at Oscar for a moment, then shrugged.

“Easy, Normal, Hard, Hell. Choose.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m talking about the training intensity.”

“Isn’t training supposed to increase gradually?”

“Ha ha, you know that doesn’t apply to sensory matters like this.”

“Ugh.”

Naturally, the higher the intensity, the harder the training would be.

But in return, the depth of achievement would come faster.

Oscar asked,

“If I choose Hell difficulty, I won’t die or anything, right?”

“In the rift of the 44th floor, perhaps that might happen, but you won’t die here.”

“Then I’ll at least try a taste of Hell difficulty.”

“Very well. But…”

Click!

In an instant, powerful threads of mana tightly bound both his arms and his body.

“It will hurt enough to make you wish for death.”

“W-wait, I take it back. You didn’t say that at the start—”

But before he could finish speaking, a massive spatial slash fell from the air.

Slash!

A dizzying pain, as though a blade that cut space itself was digging into the crown of his head—

“Aaaaargh!”

Before clearing the first spatial rift, for the first time, he was expelled outside.

* * *

“Oh, you’re back.”

The thought-form was waiting on the rock in the forest.

Seeing Oscar’s dissatisfied eyes, it let out a low chuckle.

“Why that expression? I did exactly as you asked.”

“…You never said it would hurt. I’ve died once before, and this was even more painful than that.”

“If you want, I can switch to easier training.”

“Ugh.”

Sitting on the rock opposite, Oscar asked,

“In other spatial rifts, everything resets when you leave and come back. But it seems your memory is preserved.”

“Well, this place is of a different nature from other rifts. I can’t very well repeat the same explanation every time someone enters.”

“True.”

“So, do you want me to lower the training intensity? I won’t stop you.”

“No.”

Oscar shook his head.

“Let’s keep it as it is. The time ratio here is 1:1 with the outside.”

If it were a double-layered subspace with a time ratio of even 1:10, he might have lowered the intensity, but there was no room to relax just because it was difficult.

Even if things were quiet now, there was no knowing when that bastard Emperor might do something again.

“Good. Then let’s begin.”

“W-wait a moment!”

“What is it?”

“Do you perhaps have any tips or hints?”

“Hm. I’m not sure about that. I just did it and it worked.”

“……”

Was this how all those ordinary people who asked him about magic had felt?

A belated sense of apology welled up toward them as Oscar sighed in resignation.

“Please go easy on me.”

“Farewell.”

With that brief exchange, the second expulsion occurred.

Of course, this time as well, he gained nothing in particular.

* * *

“I don’t think this is quite right.”

Those were the first words he spoke upon meeting it after his 12th pseudo-death.

At that, the thought-form asked,

“Why do you think so?”

“No, compared to the beginning, there’s absolutely no improvement at all. How does it make sense to pull the threads of space when both hands are bound?”

“Heh heh, as I keep saying, this is not an academic discipline but a sense. When you grab something, do you repeatedly think about how to move your hand? You simply reach out. What’s important is the mind and the will.”

“The mind and the will…?”

Hearing that, something he had heard before came to mind.

—My mind itself is a weapon sharper than any blade. The sword exists everywhere.

It was precisely the mind-sword that the old Heavenly Sword master had insisted upon so strongly.

Naturally, as a mage, it was a difficult realm for him to understand.

Even when he had reached 9th tier in his previous life, he hadn’t been able to wield something like a mind-sword.

‘What did that old man say? That to wield the mind-sword, one must commune with the sword, so one must not see the sword as a sword.’

When he had asked then what a sword was if not a sword, the old man had answered: the mind.

At the time, he had dismissed it as nonsense, asking if the man had gone senile—but now, somehow, he was starting to get the feeling.

‘Because spatial magic is not an academic discipline, but a sense.’

As the thought-form said, what he needed now was the mind and the will.

Oscar closed his eyes.

The countless threads of space all around him, felt together with his mana.

For the first time in his life, instead of treating them merely as tools for spatial magic, Oscar conveyed his mind toward them.

‘Hey, are you asleep?’

If you’re not, please save me.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]