## Chapter 7 – 07. Entrance
#07. Entrance
With reverence for those who explore the mysteries, people call them wizards.
They, who transmute mana flowing in nature into magical power to manifest mysterious phenomena, have always been respected in every era.
Historically, there was a wizard who brought rain clouds when the worst drought swept across the continent, causing countless deaths, and a wizard who annihilated a horde of monsters with a single spell at the critical moment when a country was about to be destroyed by magical beasts.
The pinnacle of wizards, called archmages, have left great footprints in history, regardless of the era.
And among the wizards who wield phenomena beyond human comprehension, there were three wizards praised as the best and strongest of the current era.
Valentina Sasha Danilova, the master of the White Magic Tower erected on the frozen land.
Mac Damon, the master of the Black Magic Tower of the United States, the strongest nation in mankind.
Rupert Blake Winchester, Duke of the Blue Magic Tower of England, the nation of wizards called the origin of mysteries.
They were famous as the only three archmages on Earth with eight rings. So much so that there were more people who knew the names of the archmages by heart than the name of their own country’s president.
And standing before my eyes now was another archmage who had reached the supreme realm of 8 circles, standing shoulder to shoulder with such archmages.
“Hyunwoo?”
“…”
Such a person was even more excited than I was, and was vigorously fondling my chest.
I knew she wouldn’t harm me now, but the mindset of a commoner who was always worried about making a living didn’t just disappear, so I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“You’re… amazing.”
After a moment of confusion and surprise, I realized how amazing it was to be standing face to face with an 8-circle archmage, and suddenly Iris started to look different.
It was like finding out that your very pretty and rich girlfriend was actually a professor who was attracting attention in academia. Of course, the shock was dozens of times greater.
Receiving shock after shock, my brain seemed to ache slightly.
But because these were all a series of very unrealistic events, I seemed to be adapting relatively quickly.
“Oh, no…”
Iris blushed, not knowing what to do with herself after hearing a compliment that wasn’t really a compliment.
200 years ago, she was tired of hearing praise for her achievements, and as a result, she came to regard such praise as flattery that automatically came out when people saw her, the queen.
But the compliment he gave her was different.
“8-circle archmage…”
His dazed muttering and sudden awareness of her feelings gave her the belief that he was genuinely admiring and amazed.
She couldn’t help but feel proud.
“Hehe…”
A silly smile was a bonus.
While Iris was lost in her own world, smiling, Kang Hyunwoo was deep in thought.
8 circles. An archmage, of which there are only three in the entire world, even on Earth.
Iris, who had reached such a level, couldn’t do anything about the barrier for 200 years. Could he really be of any help?
He had boldly offered to help, but he was becoming less and less confident.
‘There’s a limit to what I can bring from Earth.’
As a poor college student, not a wealthy asset holder, there was a clear limit to what he could do.
No matter how he looked at it, he seemed to have thought too easily.
‘Did I offer to help too hastily…?’
What could be more unsightly and disappointing than someone who seemed like they could do it at first, but now says they can’t?
Without realizing it, his back was damp with cold sweat.
“Hyunwoo…? Are you okay?”
At that moment, he met Iris’s eyes, which were filled with worry.
He felt like he had come to his senses.
Yes, if a man has drawn his sword, he must cut something, even if it’s just a radish. If he gives up and despairs before even starting, he is the very epitome of a pathetic man.
Slap!
“H, Hyunwoo??”
A tingling pain rose from both cheeks.
“Iris, let’s start.”
“Yes, yes…? What do you mean…?”
With a determined look in his eyes that was 180 degrees different from before, Kang Hyunwoo said.
“We need to break out.”
***
There was a movie I watched when I was young.
The theme was about a prison break, and I know it was based on a true story.
Roughly, it was about three inmates who successfully escaped from a super awesome prison and were not arrested for decades. In fact, they have not been caught to this day, so there was talk that if the escapees were still alive, they would be in their 90s.
‘Criminals did it, so there’s no reason why I can’t.’
Even though I’m a model citizen who can’t live a day without the law and have no experience in prison breaks, I’m sure that if Iris, an 8-circle archmage, and my excellent sidekick skills meet, there’s nothing we can’t do.
“So, the only entrance is that giant stone door?”
“Yes… As far as I know, that’s the only one.”
This place is really easy to understand.
There are no other prisoners, no guards, and no CCTVs.
For the past 200 years, what has separated Iris from freedom is only that giant stone door. If we can open that, we can go sightseeing in a fantasy world full of mystery and adventure right away, but before that, we have to solve the barrier set up by a god-like being.
“Iris, to put it bluntly, what do we need to open that door?”
After a moment of thought, Iris opened her mouth with difficulty.
“…A holy relic? If we had a holy relic specialized in breaking barriers, we could open it right away.”
“…Anything else?”
“Well…?”
A holy relic, really?
This was no different from a father reluctantly glancing at his emergency fund account after his daughter asked him to buy her a car, then glancing at his daughter again, and finally, unable to resist his fatherly love, looking for a suitable used car, when his daughter proudly showed him a BXW Mini Cooper on her phone screen, saying she wanted that car.
No, a Mini Cooper would be better. This was like a private jet worth trillions.
“To replace a holy relic, we need a lot of things. They’re all hard to find, and even if we do find them, it’ll be another problem to break the barrier with my current condition.”
“Another problem?”
“Yes, to put it simply, a barrier is a prison that is not restricted by form. It’s a prison that allows a caster to impose desired restrictions on a desired person and confine them in a desired space.”
“…Isn’t that too OP?”
I was interested in magic, but I was actually ignorant of barriers, with little basic knowledge.
The reason was simple: barrier magic was a niche within a niche on Earth. Like an unfamiliar minor genre even among otaku who like subculture.
“Magic is really fair. Power comes with restrictions. It gives a very high return for the level achieved through long years of talent and effort, but in order for someone who has not reached that level to use powerful power, many restrictions follow.”
Iris picked up a small stone from the ground.
“To use barrier magic, you need three things in total.”
She placed the small stone she had just picked up on a stone like a ruin, the center of which she drew a circle as if scraping it out.
“The first is the core that will be the center of the barrier.”
This time, she picked up another stone and drew a circle around the center of the stone as if scraping it out.
“The second is the spell itself, which will become the barrier itself, including the restrictions to be imposed inside the barrier and the walls to support the barrier’s outer layer.”
Thud-
She placed a fairly neat-looking stone inside the circle.
“Finally, a sacrifice to help someone who has not reached the level to use a powerful barrier.”
“So, barrier magic allows you to temporarily reach a level you haven’t reached with a core and a sacrifice?”
“That’s right.”
Iris smiled faintly at the answer I had inferred with my not-so-well-functioning brain.
“Here, the sacrifice is not limited to objects. Just as it is possible to replace it with a huge amount of magic power, the same is true here. The World Tree’s enormous magic power is the sacrifice that maintains this barrier.”
“Then what are the core and the spell of the barrier?”
“I don’t really know…”
Iris continued with a bitter expression.
“I’ve researched it in my own way, but… all I’ve found out is the spell on the outside of the barrier, on the wall.”
Iris pointed to the boundary of the circle surrounding the stones.
“Originally, it’s easier and simpler to find out the spell inside the barrier than outside. As I explained earlier, a barrier is ultimately a magic to confine and restrict others. Just as you can immediately tell if the gravity inside is stronger than outside without anyone telling you.”
“Um… then why can’t we know now?”
“This is just a hypothesis, but maybe it’s because the restrictions inside the barrier aren’t directed at us.”
Magic targets all things in the world.
Just as magic doesn’t only affect living things, including humans. If something inside here is being restricted, the situation becomes much more complicated.
“Originally, if this place was a prison, the restrictions would have appeared in the form of suppressing the prisoners… but I don’t know what this place was used for in the past.”
This hollow space right below the World Tree was as vast as connecting two or three soccer fields and as tall as the 63 Building.
Even speaking a little louder would cause an echo.
However, despite being ridiculously large, there was nothing that could be called lighting. All there was was a wide lake in the center and the remains of ruins that were collapsing everywhere.
What was this place made for? This hollow space couldn’t have been created naturally, and even if it was a naturally occurring hollow space, what about the traces of ruins left everywhere?
“Do you really have no idea?”
“No… All I’ve found out is that the letters left in the ruins are ancient Elvish. However, the ancient Elvish language was used about 5000 years ago…”
5000 years ago, really?
Even Sumer, known as the earliest civilization of mankind to date, dates back to around 4500 BC. Not only are there no records of Sumer, but the records of ancient civilizations that appeared after that are mostly unclear.
It would be stranger if there were proper records of a place created at least 5000 years ago.
‘…But elves live a very long time, don’t they?’
Something was strange, but I just brushed it off. Even if elves live a long time, 5000 years is a bit much.
“First of all, to explain the spell on the outside of the barrier in a nutshell, it’s ‘blockade’.”
“Blockade?”
“It means blocking everything from going out and coming in. It’s a really simple spell, but it’s that powerful. Even if I use all my magic power, it’s impossible to break the stone door. When Resilia imprisoned me, I was able to enter thanks to the royal family’s insignia, but…”
Without the royal family’s insignia now, the only way to open that stone door was to use a holy relic of the same level.
‘…This is a big problem.’
I subtly turned my head so Iris wouldn’t notice.
[Would you like to return?]
The phrase that had been appearing on my phone screen since earlier. It seems that returning to Earth is definitely my freedom.
But returning to Earth in this state was also a problem.
Iris doesn’t know what’s on Earth. Of course, I explained that there would be almost anything, but she said that if I told her all the materials I used here, I might go bankrupt.
She was right. Since they were materials to replace holy relics, they wouldn’t be cheap.
“Um, Hyunwoo?”
“Yes?”
I quickly shoved my phone into my pocket at the slightly trembling voice.
“Um, Hyunwoo, if it’s okay with you, would you like to learn magic from me…?”
“…?”
