Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth (WN)

Stores that dealt with magic and its arts were commonly called Magic Shops. It was like calling a hardware store a weapon shop.

“Welcome~”

Maria and I walked from the tavern to the magic store and entered together.

The word ‘Magic Shop’ made me think of a house inhabited by witches in a fairy tale, but in fact, it was nothing like that. The closest thing the shop resembled was a bookstore. The bookshelves were arranged in such a way that they didn’t disturb customers’ movements, and the walls were lined with more books.

I talked to the woman sitting at the counter. The clerk was a tall elf with prominent, long ears.

“Excuse me. We’re here to buy magic stones to learn magic.”

“Magic stones? Of course. Well, our stock is actually getting low these days… Hm, here’s the catalog. Please choose from here.”

The clerk then pulled out an old catalog from under the counter. I skimmed through it casually and found there were a lot of magic spells listed in it. However, there were sticky notes everywhere stating ‘Out of Stock’.

“These ‘Out of Stock’ notes…”

“Exactly what they say. All four countries are running low on stock these days. We never had much, to begin with, but now the tournament and various other events are coming up. Frankly speaking, none of the good ones are left. Even if you make a reservation now, you probably won’t receive it until the tournament is done. This business has scarce materials and slow production, you see.”

There was something called a Battle Arena in this world. As an extension of it, supposedly, there was an event called the War Dance Tournament to determine the top individuals who made their living through combat in such an arena. Apparently, it was around the time for those who would participate in that tournament to procure the magic they would use.

Disheartened by the bad timing, I looked through the catalog. Even at a quick glance, there seemed to be thousands of magic spells, 

“I see. Let me take a better look.”

Offensive magic, recovery magic, attribute magic, and auxiliary magic—from basic magic spells that I was familiar with to daily magic and even ceremonial magic, there was a lot of variety.

For the moment, I wanted to buy Maria one of those magic spells for support use. However, the ones that looked useful were all out of stock.

Speaking of which, Maria was looking around the store with a marveled look on her face.

“You give it a look, Maria. If you find one that you fancy, I’ll buy it for you.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

I called Maria, who was wandering about, and asked her to help me choose the magic she’d learn. It was then that the clerk panicked and stopped us.

“P-please wait a minute. Are you, by any chance, going to make the little girl learn magic?”

Apparently, buying magic for a child the size of Maria was quite unusual. I was tall enough to avoid being treated like a little kid, but with Maria’s height, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Uh, is there a problem if she learns it?”

“No, well, she might be a little bit too young… You might want to check if she has the foundation to use magic or not first…”

I’d guess she didn’t want to teach magic to children if she could help it—I could tell that she was trying to have us back down in a roundabout way.

The clerk pulled out various items from under the counter such as crystal balls and papers containing incantations.

“Are those going to help?”

“Yes. If you put your hand on the crystal ball, it will tell you the quality and amount of your blood. With that reading, I can measure the type and the capacity of magic that can be learned.”

I observed the magic devices closely, thinking such tools in this world were sure convenient. Perhaps a world with developed magic such as this one would require those kinds of devices to be developed.

Then I considered the ‘type and capacity of the magic’ that she had mentioned. Perhaps that meant that there was a limit to the magic someone could learn. That was disappointing. I had hoped that I could completely learn all of the magic in the catalog with enough money like I was going for some sort of Achievement.

“Well, Ojou-chan. Would you touch this for me?”

The clerk offered Maria a magic device.

“Ah, yes.”

Maria then held up her hand. As she did, a red haze began to form in the crystal ball.

“Eh? Ooh, a-amazing… that’s middle-class magic power, and it has two attributes: fire and void.”

Maria was categorized as middle class, it seemed. What about Dia or me, then? I immediately became afraid of touching that crystal ball.

The clerk, perhaps excited to find an uncut gem, began to praise Maria in rapid succession.

“You’re amazing, Ojou-chan! I have been in this business a long time, but it’s hard to find someone with this much magic power at such a young age!”

“Th-thank you…”

Embarrassed, Maria hid her face behind the catalog, perhaps because she wasn’t used to being praised.

“Well, it’s Onii-san next.”

The clerk then offered me the crystal ball. I hesitated for a moment, but I decided to put my hand over the crystal ball. 

The change was immediate. The entire crystal ball became more transparent—it had always been transparent, but the slightest trace of impurity or cloudiness had disappeared, making it completely transparent.

“—H-huh? What does this mean? I’ve never seen this happening, the color too. What does this color mean?”

The clerk then took out a thick book that was nearby. She seemed to look up what was happening in that book. I had a general idea of what was going on, so I stopped her.

“Ah, it’s alright. You don’t need to—”

“No, no, I’ll find it soon. This transparency indicates ‘Dimension Attribute’, it seems. It’s a really, really minor attribute. Since it was transparent, I couldn’t tell your magic capacity… I’m sorry…”

The clerk bowed her head, looking apologetic.

But I already knew enough. Based on my ‘Status’, I wouldn’t be short of magic. Rather, it would be more reasonable to say that I had more magic power than what could be measured by that crystal ball. After all, Maria’s magic power was categorized as middle-class, and my MAG was several times greater than hers. 

“I don’t mind. Just knowing what my attribute is will suffice.”

“Hmm. I wish we had a measuring tool other than a crystal ball, but there isn’t one in this shop. I’m sorry. For the time being, I’ll give you the catalog for dimension attribute magic, okay? There should be a catalog for minor attribute magic right around here…”

Saying so, the clerk took out a thin catalog and handed it to me. 

A quick glance later and I found ‘Star,’ ‘Sun,’ ‘Moon,’ ‘Light,’ ‘Darkness,’ and so on and so forth. There were especially few dimensional attribute magics among the catalog for minor attributes—there were only two kinds. Even if I bought both, I would have money left over.

“Dimension Magic, «Connection». Dimension Magic, «Foam». Just the two of them…”

“Th-they’re pretty few… Ah, but we do have them in stock. Or should I say, there are far too few people who have the dimension attribute; these just won’t sell.”

“Then please give me both of them.” 

“Eh? Are you sure? We still don’t know your magic capacity, you know?”

“Well, if they turn out to be useless now, maybe I’ll be able to learn them later. Right?

“How easy. Onii-san, are you rich, perhaps?”

“It’s easy enough for me to buy these two magic spells.”

“How enviable… Well then, I’ll go in the back and grab them in a jiffy. Please wait.”

The clerk got up from her seat and retreated to the back of the shop. I decided we should focus on Maria’s magic in the meantime.

“How is it, Maria? Do you find anything interesting?”

“None of these are good. All practical fire-attribute offensive magic is sold out. However, there are some good void-attribute ones left—perhaps because of its few users.”

“Huh.”

I looked at the catalog Maria was looking at. She was right—all the fire attribute spells were out of stock. There wasn’t even the basic «Flame Arrow» . I looked at the ice-attribute list while at it, and it was pretty much the same. That being said, I was more focused on dimension magic, so I’d do just fine without any ice-attribute magic.

“Why don’t we choose this «Firefly» spell?”

“Eh, this one?”

I picked it at random when my gaze fell on it. It was written that the magic, obviously named after firefly insects, could blind people with fire; there was also a warning that it had no attack power due to its weak heat.

“I never wanted you to be our attacker, Maria. I want you to assist from the back.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant… Ah, «Impulse» is recommended for void-attribute magic. It’s quite a decent offensive magic.”

Maria then pointed to «Impulse» from the void-attribute column. It was described as a short-range vibration magic. It was written that it could blow away an enemy several meters away if hit at a close range. 

“Let’s buy these two then. Their prices are reasonable. Maybe I’ll also throw in one of the ice-attribute ones for myself.”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

* * *

* * *

“Haah. You’re really quick to indulge.”

Maria glared at me, looking fed up.

“I gained this money by putting my life on the line. Not using it up is a waste.”

“Normally, people put it in their savings, you know…”

Maria was directly opposing my opinion. I, however, made my movements precisely because I didn’t want to linger in this world too long. The idea of savings didn’t really strike me as necessary.

“I’m sorry for the wait. Here are your magic stones, Onii-san.”

While I was quarreling with Maria, the clerk came back.

“Thank you very much. Also, we’ve settled the magic we’ll get for her. Please give us fire-attribute magic «Firefly» and void-attribute magic «Impulse». Oh, and please give me one ice-attribute magic «Little Snow» too.”

“«Firefly», «Impulse», «Little Snow», is that right? They’re all meager spells, so I can prepare them right away. However, «Little Snow» does not fit with either of your attributes, so you can’t learn it, you know?”

“Ah, don’t mind it. Just a rich boy lightening his wallet.”

The result of the crystal ball test didn’t show any aptitude for the ice attribute. However, it was already proven that I could use ‘Freezing Magic’, so I had to try it.

“Lightening your wallet, huh? Well, I am happy I can sell my goods, though.”

“Let me pay for them first.”

“Aah, yes.”

The total cost was less than two gold coins. «Impulse» was a little expensive, but the other spells were of specialized uses, so they were cheap.

As usual, I pretended to take two gold coins out of the bag behind me while I actually took them out of my ‘Item List’.

“You’re really quick to throw money away.”

Maria looked at me like she couldn’t believe it. I wished that she’d stop giving me that look every time we were talking about money.

“Thank you for your patronage. Oh wow, you really are rich. Well then, I’ll go get your magic stones right away, Ojou-chan.”

I handed her two gold coins, and she handed me a silver coin in change and two magic stones for dimensional magic. 

The magic stones for dimensional magic had quite a mysterious color. The stones themselves were the same as the magic stones I could find in the Labyrinth, but the workmanship on the stones was very different—even the insides were engraved with a magic formula that completed the strange beauty of the stones. 

“So beautiful. Swallowing them feels like a waste.”

“There are people who put them on their bodies, you know? I heard these can be turned into accessories.”

Maria shared her knowledge with me. She then said that some people used divine magic stones as wedding rings to pray for good health. While I was listening to her talk, the clerk brought Maria’s magic stones.

“Here are yours, Ojou-chan. I will also give you an official certificate for magic, okay? If anything goes wrong, please come back again. You’re such a rich patron, I have to give you proper after-sale service.”

“Thank you. By the way, can we swallow them here?”

“Of course. Should I bring you water?”

“Please do. This is our first time, so it’d be great to have an expert nearby.”

“Here you go.”

The clerk, looking pretty familiar with the procedure, brought each of us a glass of water from the back of the store.

After which, Maria and I downed the magic stones with the water we were given. I took three, including the ice-attribute one, while Maria took two.

Although I wasn’t comfortable with the act of swallowing stones, after seeing Maria, a girl younger than I, swallow them without a single complaint, I felt like I shouldn’t be one-upped.

“Congratulations, Ojou-chan! Now you can use magic too. But please don’t do it in the shop. Ah, as for you, Onii-san, we still don’t know if you can use yours or not.”

“I understand that… What do you think, Maria? Can you use them?”

“How am I supposed to tell? This is my first time using magic.”

Maria stared at her palm and didn't seem to know what had changed within her.

“Miss Clerk, we’ll go outside and test them.”

“Well, I’ve got no other customers, so let me follow and take a look.”

The clerk was considerate and willing to look at our newfound magic. We were led outside to the shop’s yard. There was a straw doll target set up, telling me that it was a common practice for customers to try shooting magic at it.

“Now, Ojou-chan, please try to imagine it… The magic power that is traveling all around your body is now gathering in your palm, and as the heat of that magic surges, flames spill from your hand. And then chant it, «Firefly»!”

“—«Firefly»!”

Fire rose from Maria’s hand. The clerk was used to it. She had probably taught magic to many different people. Maria was in good hands with her.

‘I should test my own magic.’

“Amazing, Ojou-chan! Wow, you’re a bundle of talents. Now let us test for the next magic. Please imagine a colorless magic power gathering. This colorless magic power is now trembling on your palm, trying to jump out. You suppress this trembling, suppress it, and suppress it more, and then chant it, «Impulse»!”

“—«Impulse»!”

As I caught the straw doll blown away in the corner of my eye, I continued with my work.

【Magic】

Freezing Magic:

• Freeze: 1.04

• Ice: 1.06

Dimension Magic:

• Dimension: 1.42

• Connection: 1.00

• Foam: 1.00

Inherent Magic:

• Dimension Multiplied: 1.02

• Dimension Gladiator: 1.04

I checked the magic available to me through the ‘Display’.

Despite the increase of «Connection» and «Foam», «Little Snow» wasn’t added.

The aptitude diagnosis conducted in the shop certainly didn’t show an element of ice-attribute. Was I only capable of learning Dimensional Magic? If so, then I couldn’t understand why both «Freeze» and «Ice» were available to me.

Another reason could be that I didn’t have enough of that capacity thing, but I couldn’t say for sure. The diagnosis taken in the Magic Shop was vague at best, so I had no choice but to try various things on my own terms.

I would figure out the unknowns later, but for the moment, I prioritized grasping the details of the magic I had acquired.

【Connection】

Consumes 100 MP

• High class Dimensional Magic. Connects dimensions according to the user’s ability.

【Foam】

Consumes 1 MP

• Basic Dimensional Magic. Bestows Time-Space concepts.

The details weren’t much different from what I had read in the catalog. 

Naturally, I had high expectations for «Connection». If what was written was true, I thought that I should be able to return to my original world with it.

While I was checking my magic, Maria, who had finished practicing hers, approached me.

“Master! I can use magic too!”

“…don’t call me that outside. Also, be silent. I want to try my magic.”

Maria looked overjoyed and excited. However, if I could return to my previous world through the use of «Connection», it would be me who would be more overjoyed and excited, so I left her be and casted my spell.

I Imagined it. The only wish I ever had: the wish to return to my world.

“—Magic, «Connection»!”

I held up one hand and constructed the image with the intention of pouring all of my MP into it. 

The magic power that interfered with dimensions gushed out from my palm. It engulfed the air all around me and then condensed it in my palm; the condensed air then constructed a wall using orchid-colored magic power.

The wall was an irregularly shaped door made of magic, and it looked as if it were a shimmering, watery surface.

I put my hand on that door. If my image was correct, the door should lead to my original world. 

I pushed the door, trying to open it—

“—it doesn’t open.”

It wouldn’t open.

I was pushing and pulling and did everything I could to the door when the clerk approached me with a marveled look.

“Hoo, this is the first I’ve seen it. So this is dimensional magic. It’s so exciting to see with my own eyes the magic I’ve only seen in books. But it won’t open like that, you know? You have to cast it one more time and make it into a ‘pair’ to work.”

“Eh?”

“Come on. Cast it again.”

The clerk seemed to know more about the magic than I did. I decided it was better to follow her expert advice and casted the magic again.

“—Magic, «Connection»”

I did as I was told and created another door nearby. 

“Okay. Now there should be a connection between this door and that door—if the books are correct, that is.”

In other words, it was a manually installed Anywhere Door. I understood how the magic worked with that.

“I see… okay, Maria, go.”

“Eh, no way. That’s suspicious. It’s scary.”

It’s scary for me too. Even though it was a door of my own making, it took courage to go through the light purple door that was clearly immaterial.

With no other choice, I pushed the door open with my right hand, my wariness at an all-time high. That time, the door opened without resistance.

Then the other door opened, and my right arm came out of it.

Yikes…

“The books are correct! Congratulations, Onii-san.”

“Th-thank you.”

“But please remove after them. They’re a bother.”

“Ah, right.”

I put my hand back where it belonged and let my mind conjure up the image of the doors disappearing. They, consequently, disappeared with no problem.

It didn’t seem to be a means to go home. If it were a game, the magic would be more like a token to set up a warp zone. The only way for me to go home would be if the door was set up in my original world. Of course, if I could do that, then I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble.

I got myself together and thought about having the clerk take a look at my other newfound magic.

“I’m sorry, but can you please teach me about my other magic too?”

“Your other magic… «Foam», is it? Hmm, «Connection» is easy to understand since its illustration is clear, but «Foam» isn’t well documented. All we know is that it is an ‘appendage’ to dimensional attribute magic.”

Unfortunately, I had to completely fumble around to learn about the other one. ‘No choice but to try it, then.’

“Let me cast it for now. —Magic, «Foam».”

Without even thinking much about the image to construct the magic, I released the magic power into the air; what appeared was an orchid-colored bubble.

“A bubble, is it?”

The clerk curiously poked the bubble with her fingertip. It didn’t pop like a soap bubble. Instead, it was lightly bounced away.

“A bubble, alright.”

I also felt it looked just that, but only I knew that there was more to it than what I assumed.

It was something only I, the one who was in control of the bubble, who intuitively understood it, could grasp—that bubble was a deviation.

Obviously, since it wasn’t water-attribute magic, the outline of the bubble couldn’t possibly be made of water. It was a deviation in the dimension that created a round outline. It was a bubble unique to the dimensional attribute magic.

I didn’t know what the phrase ‘appendage to the dimensional attribute’ really meant, but I was certain that the bubble had the dimensional attribute and was under my control.

“What do you think, Onii-san? Do you know anything about this?”

“No, not much… It’s just a bubble. That’s all I can tell…”

If I explained the magic feel of the bubble to the clerk, an expert in the field, she might be able to tell me how to use it effectively. However, I had obtained magic that few people in this world used. I wanted to keep it as secret as possible, so I lied.

“Is that so? That’s a shame.”

“I can’t see any uses for «Foam»… But thank you anyway. This is a first for both me and this girl.”

“I’m just doing my job, think nothing of it.”

I thanked the clerk while she only shook her head. 

And then I called out to Maria, who was having fun poking around my bubble.

“Are you done, Maria?”

“No problem with me. I’ve got the hang of it.”

She was confident. I’d say she was flattered by the clerk’s praise of her talent.

“Excuse us then. Thank you very much. I’m sure we’ll be back again.”

“Yes, good bye, Onii-san. You too, Ojou-chan.”

“Thank you for your help. Goodbye.”

We said goodbyes to each other before Maria and I left the Magic Shop.

The clerk waved at us until she could no longer see us as we left. And thus, Maria and I had learned new magic.