Chapter 28

“Yuribel.”

“…?”

“You can fly, right? You’ve been floating around following me these past few days.”

Flap!

The fake Yuribel spread two pairs of wings wide and gave me a nod.

“Then… could you fly into space?”

Nod.

“Even while carrying me?”

Nod.

“To the moon, too?”

Nod.

Oh-ho… so it’s possible. Amazing. Maybe her real specs carried over into this Imagery world?

“Then do it.”

The moment the words left my mouth, the fake Yuribel wrapped her arms around me from behind without hesitation. Shia quickly dashed over and clung tightly to my chest.

“You’re coming too?”

Nod.

“Alright. Then let’s go together. Yuribel—take off.”

FWOOOOSH!

With a blast of wind, my vision flipped. The ground shrank away at terrifying speed, curving and curving again until it rounded into a sphere.

“Whoa! Fast!”

In less than ten seconds, we were already outpacing Earth’s second cosmic velocity (11.2 km/s). The vastness of space opened before my eyes in an instant.

“Holy… that’s insane. Yuribel, stop for a sec! Let me take a look around.”

Flap!

As soon as I said it, the fake Yuribel flared her wings to brake. No clue how wings worked for stopping in a vacuum with no air, but—

‘Eh, if I’m breathing fine in space, might as well not nitpick.’

I slipped free of her arms and gazed down at the deep blue planet below. The words slipped out without me meaning to.

“Beautiful. I can’t believe this kind of world was inside me…”

The planet-shaped Imagery was unmistakably Earth.

Five oceans—Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic. Seven continents—Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe, Oceania…

“…But what’s that? Why’s there a whole new continent sitting between the Pacific and Atlantic? Do you two know? Atlantis? Lemuria? The lost Mu?”

“……”

“……”

“Yeah, figures. Still, this is weird. It’s supposed to be my Imagery, so why are there parts I don’t even know about?”

For a moment, the urge to swoop down and explore that unknown land tugged at me. But I shook my head.

There’d be plenty of time later. Exploration could wait. First, I had to finish my business outside.

“Alright, let’s go. Yuribel.”

Nod.

At my command, the fake angel flared her wings once again and shot upward.

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.
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The trip from Earth to the moon took all of five minutes.

There, standing in the middle of the Sea of Tranquility, was a towering white gate, hundreds of meters tall. Just as I suspected.

Rumble…

The instant my hand touched it, the gate swung open, like it had been waiting for me.

My mana and divine power—no, the fake Shia and fake Yuribel—stood there as if to see me off. I waved at them.

“Alright, I’m going.”

“……”

“……”

They didn’t speak, but their eyes said everything. After what we’d shared in just a single day, I could tell they didn’t want me to leave.

“…What? Sad to see me go?”

“……”

“……”

Honestly, I didn’t know why my Imagery gave shape, personality, even emotion to things like mana and divine power. But one thing was certain: in this strange yet familiar world, they had comforted me and given me strength.

I ruffled their hair roughly and grinned.

“Don’t sulk too much. We’ll see each other again soon. I’ve got a ton of questions about this place, so let’s explore it together one step at a time.”

Yeah. This was my world. A place I could return to whenever I wanted.

A mysterious world, alive with the unknown.

Funny enough, when I’d first arrived in the real otherworld, Kion, I hadn’t felt much. But now… my heart was pounding. Like the thrill of finally booting up a grand RPG I’d saved allowance money for as a kid.

I peeled the clingy fake Shia off my side, handed her to the angel, and hurled myself through the white gate.

“Take care. We’ll see each other again soon.”

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“Oh my… already done? Quick as a rabbit, aren’t you.”

The first thing that greeted me upon returning to reality was the elf mage’s disgusting little jab.

…Honestly, I should just beat her senseless until she’s coughing up blood and begging for mercy.

“…Shut it. How long was I unconscious?”

“About seven seconds. Considering most people take at least three hours to form an Imagery… clearly, you failed.”

…Seven seconds? I spent almost a whole day in there. So time flows differently between Imagery and reality, huh?

“I told you already, failure or not, I still get paid. Thirty-nine thousand eight hundred sels. You can pay right now or transfer it later through the bank. Just keep in mind, starting today, the interest rate is five percent per day. If you try to run, the assassination guild—oh, excuse me, the collection agents we work with—will be sent after you…”

“Enough. I awakened mana.”

She was still rambling about her thug collectors when she saw the blue energy swirling in my palm. Her eyes went wide.

“…Mana? How?”

“Easily.”

“…You’re saying you created an Imagery and identified mana in seven seconds?”

“Maybe?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“…Fascinating. Truly fascinating. Seven seconds? Has there ever been such a case…? May I open up your skull and take a look inside?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’ll even cut the potion cost in half. Nineteen thousand eight hundred sels for just one day with your head in my lab. I promise, no pain, and I’ll put everything back together. If you also agree to let me implant a few devices while I’m at it, I can discount another ten thousand.”

“…Lady, are you insane?”

Master Falun had been bad enough, but this woman was on another level. Maybe it was because she was a study mage, maybe because she was an elf—either way, she was crazy.

She shrugged at my expression.

“…Well, if you refuse, so be it. Regardless, congratulations on stepping into magic. Now, how will you be paying?”

“Paying, huh…”

The memory of that potion’s taste came back to me, fueling my rage. It wasn’t even a taste—it was suffering, an assault on the mind itself. Not a medicine, but a weapon meant to break people. No price could justify it.

…I wouldn’t let this end with me alone.

“…We’ll talk about payment in a minute. First, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“That potion you gave me… was it the real thing?”

She nodded calmly.

“Yes. A legitimate potion.”

“…And you’re telling me people actually drank that garbage in hopes of becoming mages?”

“Yes. Three hundred years ago, mage aspirants used it as a last resort when they had no other options.”

“…Wait. Three hundred years ago?”

“Correct. It was last used 307 years ago, so around then.”

“…And now?”

“No one uses it. One in five died from shock. Who in their right mind would? Naturally, it fell out of use.”

She’d just fed me something with a twenty-percent death rate?

“You said it was a normal potion.”

“It was. Discontinued, not banned. The updated white paper from five years ago still lists it as ‘effective, but with severe side effects, so rarely used.’”

“In other words, you dumped some unsellable antique stock on an unsuspecting fool at full price.”

“…Well, you could put it that way.”

She tilted her head innocently, shameless as ever.

…Yep. Classic medieval fantasy world. Scam whoever you can.

As I let out a hollow laugh, she suddenly held out a letter of introduction written by Master Falun.

“I don’t see why you’re glaring at me. This letter only said to do everything possible to help you become a proper mage. You didn’t add any conditions either. So I used the best method I knew and charged the fair price. And you succeeded. What exactly is the problem?”

Honestly, I kind of respected the way she admitted it so boldly, without excuses.

“…Fine. I’ll accept that.”

She seemed surprised by how easily I gave in.

“Good. Then, once again—how will you be paying?”

“I’ll pay with this.”

I reached into the Hero’s Backpack and pulled out one of the countless feathers Yuribel had shed.

Originally, I’d planned to sell them one by one to various towers at a premium. Never thought I’d have to use one so soon.

“…What is that? A feather? Judging by the size, from some monster?”

“Monster feather? How insulting. This is one of only two Archangel feathers in existence.”

“…An Archangel feather?”

“Have you heard the reports? About an angel descending in Sinan of the Salt Kingdom? Surely the Magic Towers keep up with such news.”

“…I heard. In fact, a few were dispatched to verify it. But what does that have to do with—”

“This feather came from that Archangel.”

She stared at the feather, then chuckled in disbelief.

“That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard.”

“If you don’t believe me, call Master Falun. The towers are all linked, aren’t they?”

“Nonsense…”

“……”

“Ridiculous…”

“……”

“…Unbelievable…”

She kept staring at the feather until, finally, she stood abruptly and hurried out of the lab.

Five minutes later, click—the door opened, and she sat back down. Her face was flushed with excitement.

“Well?”

“…He swore on his mana that it’s genuine. Even said I could record it. He wouldn’t lie about that.”

Wow. Falun really went all-in.

For reference, swearing on your mana was like swearing on your parents’ honor. There was no punishment for breaking it, but the shame would eat you alive. Knights had a similar version—swearing on their honor.

“…Fine. I can’t be certain yet, but I’ll accept this feather as payment for the potion.”

Ha. She was obviously trying to haggle, but her trembling hands gave her away.

I pulled the feather back just as she reached for it.

“I think you’re mistaken. I said I’d pay. I didn’t say it was a trade.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean, give me my change.”

She grit her teeth and glared daggers at me.

“…What are you trying to pull, demanding so much for a single feather?”

“Really? Then I’ll just pay with money.”

Clink!

I dumped forty thousand sels—freshly exchanged—onto the table in front of her.

Then, like I was ready to leave, I hoisted Shia onto my shoulder. She watched, wide-eyed, clearly entertained by the showdown.

“W-wait!”

The elf mage grabbed my arm, panicked. Her eyes were practically rolling back.

“…Wh-what do you want? If it’s money… I can pay 2.5 million… no, 3.5 million sels!”

Heh. Just as I thought. A study mage obsessed with mysteries would never stay calm in front of a treasure like this. She’d claw her own throat out if she couldn’t have it.

“Interesting. That’s about what Master Falun paid me for a feather.”

“Then—”

“Multiply it by three.”

“…What did you say?”

“Pay me triple.”