Chapter 23
[Any magic bros here who got a ticket from a place called Magic Eden?]
[Yeah]
(Ticket photo)
I checked this morning and this was waiting for me. I asked the Cartel to confirm, and they said if you have it, you'll automatically translocate in a week.
Anyone want to team up on a request before then?
[Upvotes 2][Downvotes 0]
[Comments]
-TamingMaster: Did the ticket just appear out of nowhere? You didn't order it?
ㄴAnon: Yeah. It was sitting right in front of my house.
ㄴTamingMaster: Sounds like some new strange phenomenon. Stuff like that is usually dangerous, so be careful. I don't have a ticket, so I can't go with you.
-SweetGrandpa: It looks very... wicked!
ㄴAnon: Grandpa, you got a ticket?
ㄴSweetGrandpa: No!
ㄴAnon: (wizard-flabbergasted meme)
In the hope that maybe someone would show up, Ian posted the thread, but no one who had received a ticket had appeared yet. Ian let out a long sigh, set down his phone, and shook the ticket.
Once the ticket had already arrived, the ship had sailed. Whether he liked it or not, being dragged to the theme park was a done deal.
He had a week. If possible, he wanted to go there himself before then.
Even if he knew about the translocation in advance, going there of his own accord was far better than being dragged there. If he were translocated straight to the very center of the theme park, he wouldn't have any way to respond.
It would be better to take the proper route through the front gate.
He hated being passive.
There were times when variables were necessary, but there was no need to act out of line from the very start. Entering through the ticket was, at least, the most proactive way to do it.
“…….”
He didn't know what the theme park would look like. Still, there was no doubt it wouldn't be a human-friendly place. There'd probably be bizarre, outlandish rides all over the place.
And if it wasn't an existence derived from an urban legend, dealing with it would undoubtedly be quite tricky.
So he needed time to prepare.
‘Since the revolver is here, I should try alchemy a little more.’
Ian moved his gaze to the table.
The gun, ammunition, and holster he'd ordered from the Cartel were scattered across the table. Ian sprang up from the bed and took the revolver in hand.
The grip was... not bad. A decent size, neither too big nor too small. Hooking his finger on the trigger and pulling it moved smoothly, without any discomfort. The short barrel also made it easy to carry.
Clack.
He opened the cylinder and loaded the empty chambers one bullet at a time. Then he closed the cylinder again and took about 12 seconds to aim.
“That takes a while.”
There were a total of six cartridges. The same as an average revolver's capacity. Since it couldn't be fired in rapid succession, there'd be no wasted bullets, but even so, once the cylinder was emptied, loading the next rounds took quite a while.
In actual combat, it would probably take even longer. When adrenaline was pumping in the heat of battle, he wouldn't be able to calmly reload like this.
In the end, repeated practice was necessary. He might not be able to fan the hammer like Albert, but at the very least, it would be good to improve his reload speed.
Thinking that, Ian removed the bullets he'd loaded.
He put the empty revolver into the holster and stored it in the drawer. He set the bullets beside it, then took out the alchemy materials and laid them out on the desk.
Swish!
When he spread his hand, the grimoire appeared. Ian took a sip of water and slowly read through the grimoire.
He ruthlessly skipped anything that could only be made in the workshop. Anything hard to use in battle or with seriously complicated materials got passed over without hesitation, too. From what remained, he checked only the things he could make right away.
“[Sound-Eating Flame], [Reverse Aim], and [Piercing Mirror]. Roughly this much, I guess.”
They're all based on aberrations, but that doesn't mean the recipes are complicated. No workshop needed either.
Sound-Eating Flame is, literally, a flame that blocks out the surrounding noise. It could be made with a lighter, aberration blood, and ether.
With this, he'd be able to deaden the noise when firing.
It was a pretty good item, too, one that would help with stealth movement or assassination. It was a consumable, so each one only lasted about ten minutes, which was a shame, but even so, it was well worth making.
Reverse Aim is a tool that detects someone's malice or killing intent toward its owner and tells exactly where that person is. The required materials were a bird-shaped artifact, aberration flesh, and the owner's blood.
Lastly, Piercing Mirror, despite its tool-like name, was closer to a weapon. Using shattered glass as its core material, it causes the pierced area to crumble away like glass shards. As an added effect, it can also reveal the true form of a disguised target by reflecting it in the mirror.
“……the true form.”
As Ian read over the effect of Piercing Mirror, he glanced sideways at the grimoire. The grimoire sensed his gaze and gave a slight shiver.
That made it look just like a woman afraid her bare face would be exposed, and Ian let out a snort of laughter as he stroked the cover.
“Should I look away?”
[Mm-hmm.]
The grimoire gave a short vibration, as if in affirmation.
That was when the notification rang from the phone left on the bed.
-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: I got one of those tickets too. It was plastered right on my front door.
It turned out to be a comment notification. Ian set the grimoire aside for a moment and accessed the community.
ㄴAnon: Is this actually real?
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Of course it's real. I'll write a verification post, so check it.
[Title: Look, newbies.]
[Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie]
(A ticket photo with the words Magic Eden clearly printed on it)
If you saw it, leave a comment.
“……It really was real.”
Because it was someone who always posted weird comments and posts every day, he'd naturally assumed this too was a lie.
The proof post Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie had uploaded had a ticket photo identical to the one Ian possessed.
He immediately left a comment.
-Anon: Checked it. It's not stolen, is it?
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Of course not. I don't get anything out of stealing something like this.
ㄴAnon: You'd get attention, though.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: I don't need that crap. Anyway, what do you mean the translocation happens in a week? Mine doesn't say anything like that.
ㄴAnon: Check the request on the Cartel app.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Got it, for now.
Smoothie left a reply and then vanished.
A little later, just as Ian was lining up the alchemy materials, a new notification rang out. He stopped what he was doing and picked up his phone.
-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Damn it, why is this real? If there's nothing written on the ticket, then something really bad is definitely going to happen when the translocation starts.
ㄴAnon: Same as I see it. That's why I'm just going to take the request and go in before then. Want to come with?
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: ……Wait a minute. Let me think it over.
ㄴAnon: Sure. Anyway, even if you refuse, I was planning to go alone.
Ian left that reply and went back to focusing on alchemy.
The first thing he made was [Sound-Eating Flame]. He placed a lighter on the magic circle and wrung the aberration's flesh with his hand, squeezing out thick blood.
The lighter, stained a dark red, glowed on the magic circle.
Ian held the grimoire in one hand and calmly recited the spell.
“Know that silence is yet another blessing. I myself grant you stillness, so receive it and revere it in silence.”
The moment the chant ended, the thick blood flowed into the lighter, replacing the oil. Ian flicked the finished lighter once and, after confirming that the surrounding noise had vanished completely, nodded.
Success.
He put the lighter into his coat pocket and made the other two items in turn.
By then it was evening. Ian fastened a bird-shaped badge he'd bought from a nearby souvenir shop to the very bottom of his coat, and wrapped the broken mirror shard in bandages before slipping it into his bag.
With that, the preparations were finished. All that remained was a simple spell.
Ian left the wound he had made while creating Reverse Aim untouched, and used the dripping blood to draw a magic circle on the inside of his coat. He wasn't much of an artist, but for some reason the magic circle came out incredibly precise.
“Done.”
Soon, a perfect circle was engraved deep inside the coat. Ian placed his hand on the magic circle and murmured softly.
“It is no veil a mere creature may pierce; do not gaze upon the Great One beyond the mist.”
Hum.
The moment he recited the spell, the magic circle flashed brightly for an instant before fading again.
The spell that let him slip beyond the sight of mindless beings had been properly activated.
With this, at the very least, those creatures devoid of reason wouldn't be able to see Ian with the naked eye. There weren't that many beings stripped of reason, but it was practically the same as being free from aberrations like zombies or dolls forcibly controlled by someone else.
It was only a spell that made him invisible to sight, but if they couldn't see him to begin with, finding him wouldn't be easy.
Ian patted the coat with his palm, hung it back on the hanger, and checked his phone.
When he logged into the community, a clear 1 was lit up on the private message icon.
He lay down on the bed and clicked the icon.
[Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: I'm in for the request too. Send me the location and date.]
After checking the message, Ian let out a small laugh.
*
[Anon: For now, let's take the request from the Cartel first, and meet at the address written on the ticket in three days. You set the time. Okay?]
[Me: Three days from now. Got it. Then let's meet at 3:00 PM.]
[Anon: Sure. Oh, do you need verification from the Godmother? I'm planning to ask around about your info first, anyway.]
[Me: Do whatever you want. I already know you're not a bad person from seeing you talk with other regulars.]
[Anon: Okay. Then see you in three days.]
[Me: Got it. Oh, just asking, are you a girl?]
[Anon: ;; I'm a guy.]
Click.
After checking the reply, he turned off the phone screen. On the blacked-out display, his face, twisted with tension, was reflected clearly.
“……Eek.”
A regular user named Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie.
She wriggled bashfully and burrowed into the bed.
It was three days before Ian went to the theme park with her.