Chapter 78
"You can close it?"
The unbelievable statement made me blurt out a question without thinking.
But Seir whispered again with her usual gentleness.
[Yes. Is it not simple?]
I already knew Seir had the authority of space—that much was clear from Blink.
But wasn't there quite a difference between Blink, a movement technique, and closing shortcuts?
However, Seir didn't seem to think so.
[You just need to modify La Traviata a bit.]
Ah... still haven't given up on that, I see.
Come to think of it, she gave Smite another strange name too.
What was it again?
La Vida Breve?
I remember Seir insisting on using that name, claiming it was a masterpiece with both ironic and double meanings, translating to "short life”.
Though it ended up being an empty plea, outvoted 2-to-1.
Maintaining her naming conventions as always, Seir explained the basic mechanism for closing shortcuts.
Blink, or as Seir named it, La Traviata.
This short-range spatial movement magic specified coordinates based on my sensory system.
True spatial magic users would secure coordinates through mana formulas, but I relied on the magic framework Seir had engraved in my brainstem.
Simply put, while other mages did everything from measuring ingredients to cooking from scratch, I was just heating up ready-made meals.
Structured magic was like a recipe created by mages.
That was why Blink depended entirely on my senses, and until I achieved spatial expansion through Axis, I could only move to places I could visually perceive.
Though now I compensated for that limitation by amplifying mana detection through Axis to broaden my spatial awareness, I still wondered if that was enough to close shortcuts.
Moreover, I questioned why she hadn't mentioned anything when we first discovered the shortcuts if this was possible.
[That is because what I can perceive is matched to my pact-bearer’s level.]
So, due to the limitation of not being able to go far beyond what I could see and recognize, it took time to understand exactly what the shortcuts were?
Did I only grasp the shortcuts' characteristics after seeing Viola cover them with her aura and observing the barrier structure Hernan was trying to deploy, rather than just seeing them with my naked eyes?
[Exactly that. You catch on quick, my pact-bearer.]
Is that... a compliment?
I felt like I was being told I had poor physical abilities but decent mental ones.
[These shortcuts are a kind of coordinate connection.]
"Coordinate connection?"
Hernan paused his barrier creation and turned toward me, apparently hearing my mumble.
"Have you studied this? It's not well known. Interested in barrier techniques?"
"Ah, no, that's not it."
While I waved off Hernan's interest, Seir continued speaking.
[It is different from Gates. Gates are literally spatial crossings, hence the randomness in transfer points. But these have fixed values for specific coordinates.]
So it's similar to Blink, you mean.
[Please call it La Traviata.]
Seir might actually be an opera Devil.
Yes, La Traviata.
[Heheh. That is better. Returning to the point, these shortcuts can be neutralized by shifting their coordinates. The framework supporting the path will collapse, closing it immediately.]
...Is that possible?
Let's say we can shift the coordinates. How would we apply that to the shortcut?
[Like this.]
Though Seir only spoke with her voice, I somehow felt like I saw their phantom figure pointing at Hernan's barrier in progress.
Now I understand why they only now mentioned being able to close shortcuts.
Because Viola and Hernan had shown how they interfered with shortcuts using their own power.
"Roman? Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
"You seemed spaced out."
"Ah, it's nothing."
"Then what is it?"
"That..."
I pointed at the shortcut, making sure only Rei and Leaf could see.
"I think I can close it."
"What?"
"R-Rei. Your voice, your voice!"
Sorry, but your voice is even louder, Leaf.
Though Leaf's exaggerated reaction drew attention to us, I brushed it off as casual chatter and pulled them both to a corner.
Viola's gaze was particularly sharp—surely she hadn't heard.
Though creating a mana field to distort voices was now automatic for me, a monster like a Pioneer might ignore even that.
I really should learn barrier techniques.
Though barrier magic was considered basic magic, it was difficult enough to be treated as its own class.
Among my classmates, only Holson was known for his barrier skills.
"So. What are you going to do?"
"That's the question."
"Um... how about secretly closing it after everything's done? It feels wrong to leave it when we can close it."
That's true, but...
"They'll notice. Maybe not that loudmouth, but Viola definitely will."
I thought the same.
I'd been carefully hiding my spatial magic, and Arthur had loyally kept quiet about it even to his master. Suddenly announcing, "Hey, I can use spatial magic!" seemed wrong.
"Just leave it. What's the difference between closing it and bringing down the ceiling with a barrier anyway?"
Thinking rationally, that made sense.
But hearts weren't governed by reason alone.
It felt wrong not to use an ability I had.
I wasn't looking for praise or acclaim.
But I was still a mage, in my own way.
I didn't want to waste a newly discovered opportunity for growth.
Though closing a shortcut wouldn't lead to dramatic growth immediately, such accumulated experiences would surely become steps toward reaching a higher level later.
"Hey, hoods."
Viola's call cut through my internal conflict.
We instantly knew.
She heard us.
§
While the temporary team name "Three Hoodies" approached with slow steps and rolling eyes, Viola was deep in thought.
Did I hear wrong?
Twenty-some years as an Explorer.
Viola had obtained her official Explorer license at just 15, became a star at 16 by rescuing stranded companions from the First Floor's apex predator, the Amalgamated Man-Eating Forest, and reached Master rank at 20.
Having reached the pinnacle as a Pioneer before 30, she had never doubted her senses.
Even in the Man-Eating Forest, known for confusing senses and leading people to death, Viola's senses remained razor-sharp.
Even in the depths, where both senses and thought were said to be paralyzed, Viola didn't need the relics and magic others plastered themselves with for mental defense.
She didn't need to.
What Viola called Dark Listening.
An innate ability she'd had since birth.
This special sense was nothing short of miraculous.
Roman's voice distortion was quite clean.
Impressive enough to applaud for a Novice Explorer just starting magic.
In terms of raw mana control, he'd easily surpass Regular rank and place high even among Senior rank.
However, Viola's Dark Listening could detect what even Master Explorers failed to hide.
The content was so absurd that, for the first time ever, Viola wondered if she'd heard correctly.
Time to verify.
Looking down at the three approaching like cattle to slaughter, using her impressive 190cm height, Viola spoke, "Do it."
"What do you mean—?"
"Hey, Crawler."
Cutting off Roman's words, Viola called to Hernan.
"Why call me? I need to concentrate, so don't disturb..."
"That's enough. Stop and come out. I'm going to collapse the ceiling, so take the kids with you."
"Ha! The corrosion's set in properly. The barrier will collapse with the cave-in in this state."
"I know."
After sending everyone out, including Arthur and Deina, Viola looked at Roman as if to say. “Is this better?”
"I heard everything. I can't help it, but you should be careful around Master-rank Explorers and above."
"...Yes."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm not going to repay someone who saved my disciple by making them an enemy."
"You knew?"
"Of course, I knew that much. Those pride-filled brats wouldn't gather around you without reason. Whatever it was, I figured you were the key."
Probably not just Viola, but any involved party with a brain had figured it out.
The Grand Duchy overseeing the training center, the city hall, and the Union all kept quiet—maybe they didn't know anything either.
If they'd known their true identity, they definitely wouldn't have left things alone.
"Though I didn't expect it to be spatial magic."
Who could have imagined that a fresh Novice Explorer would possess one of the three impossibilities?
"Shall we do it then?"
"Yes."
Finding the situation resolving more smoothly than expected, Roman approached the shortcut feeling somewhat anticlimactic.
Lady Seir, please support me.
[Think of applying La Traviata externally, excluding me. And let us use that pre-laid barrier.]
[Put my mana into the barrier. Just like you do with Exhaustion.]
Unable to use barrier techniques directly now, he would hijack Hernan's half-finished barrier.
Using Seir's mana to misalign the coordinates, and Leraje's mana to corrode those corrupted coordinate values.
Then.
KWEEEEEING—PAT!
The shortcut distorted, making the surrounding space shimmer like a heat haze, and then it suddenly vanished.
It closed.
For the first time since the Abyss appeared.
The moment someone intentionally closed a shortcut.
"...Insane."
Watching Roman stare blankly as if not fully comprehending what he'd just done, Viola thought to herself.
If they knew, he'd become a priority target.
The Cult of the End.
Those who had wreaked havoc with their ability to artificially create shortcuts.
If they learned their strongest weapon could be neutralized, their response would be crystal clear.
But stopping there didn't suit Viola's nature.
"Roman, next time let's try tracking these shortcuts in reverse."
§
"Hmm?"
The man frowned at some strange sensation.
An interruption at such a crucial moment.
"What's wrong, Professor?"
In response to his disciple's question, the man waved his hand.
The blade-like wind from his gesture cut across the disciple's mouth.
Unnecessary question.
Punishment for an unauthorized inquiry.
Though it defied common sense, both the man who committed the act and the disciple with the cut lip treated it as perfectly normal.
"...Never mind. So Viola hasn't just been playing around. We'll need to be more careful."
Whatever it was, he could confirm it later.
The matter at hand took priority.
"Use it well. Such materials are hard to come by."
"Yes, Professor."
The disciple resumed their work at the man's words.
Before them laid a corpse.
The corpse of the Explorer known as Grant Dexter.