The Water Magician

Inside the ruins once again.

"Since they are not enemies, and if the daimyo granted permission for them to follow from behind, we shouldn't worry about it."

"I think so too."

The leaders of both parties, Harrison and Yasukin, reached an agreement, and the assault explorer No. 3, Ryo, received permission to follow along.

However, that conversation was not heard by Ryo and the others.

Since he wasn't shooed away, No. 3 was just ready to follow.

There was one more person here besides the two parties and No. 3.

It was Mamadou, the vice-captain of the warrior legion's first squad.

As Mamadou looked up at the ceiling, he noticed what appeared to be a magic circle painted there.

"The ceiling is quite high, but is that a magic circle?"

"It seems so. We don’t have any alchemists in our group, nor does 'Water Flow,' so we don't know the details. The skeleton from earlier suddenly attacked from above. That magic circle might have something to do with it."

Perhaps because both Mamadou and Harimun looked up at the ceiling, No. 3 was drawn to do the same.

And he froze in place.

"Hey, people of the Naitorei Kingdom! Let's go!"

Even though such a call was made, No. 3 remained frozen.

Since the sound didn’t reach the controlling side, it couldn’t be helped.

"Well, it's fine."

With that conclusion, the group began to walk deeper into the ruins.

On Skizblaznil Deck.

"A magic circle, isn't it?"

"Yes. I think it's probably a teleportation magic circle."

"Seriously!? Is such a magic circle possible...? No, I see. There are teleportation traps in the dungeons of the Western Nations. Then, such a magic circle might exist. But can Ryo read it?"

"No, I'm far from fully understanding it. I can only grasp it a little... Yes, I hope to be able to draw teleportation magic circles by myself someday."

Ryo nodded multiple times as he answered.

"However, it's surprisingly complex. If it's this complex... No, I guess it makes sense. It connects one space to another. It can't be a simple magic circle."

"I understand your curiosity, but the adventurers have moved on ahead."

"If we let No. 3 dash forward, we can catch up quickly. Let's leave that behind."

"Hey..."

With Ryo's assertion, Abel let out a sigh.

For Ryo, it was just natural.

Before them was a magic circle related to teleportation.

Of course, he had never researched it in the Central Nations, and there was no evidence of past research.

In the alchemy of the Western Nations, no evidence of research had been found either.

However, Ryo understood that the magic circle in front of him was of the teleportation type.

Why?

It's because he had seen something similar before.

In fact, he had seen it twice.

No, to be precise, it was mentioned in the alchemy books Ryo possessed... in two of them.

One was "Abyss of Alchemy," given to him by Queen Iliriaja of the Archipelago Sea Region.

The other was the Black Notebook inherited from Hasan.

Yes, those two mentioned it.

Yet, Ryo still couldn't understand it.

Truly, the heights of alchemy are high... or perhaps it should be said that the abyss is deep.

"If I could decipher those two books using this magic circle..."

"Ryo?"

"Oh, no, it's just my thoughts."

As Abel called out to him, Ryo hurriedly tried to brush it off.

Upon reflection, he remembered that he hadn't yet told Abel about the Black Notebook he inherited from Hasan.

He could say it at any time, but...

"Isn't it amazing? Hehe," he wanted to show it off...

Such was Ryo's nature.

However, he fully understood the complexity of the magic circle in front of him.

"If I analyzed it for about twenty days without sleeping or eating, perhaps..."

"Yeah, that's probably not a good idea."

Abel responded appropriately to Ryo's muttering.

Of course, Abel was concerned about those who had gone ahead, but more than that, he cared about Ryo's health.

If he were to mimic Ryo's words, "Alchemy doesn't run away," so he should eat properly and get enough sleep.

"Is there no way to transfer that magic circle onto something else? Like the transcription that Copilas does... Yes, like transferring it onto Ryo's ice?"