Chapter 907: The Hearing (3)
“It forcibly shifts coordinates by creating a directional bias in will-thought through mana overload…”
Lennok had executed a coordinate shift with the Phoenix Hall at its center on the top floor of the tower. Jenny, finally understanding what kind of system Lennok intended to build inside the tower, let out a sigh.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you’ve basically created a system that lets you move freely inside the tower, right?”
“To be precise, it connects different coordinate points to shorten the sense of distance to an extreme,” Lennok replied.
“Lightning Connector. Connecting Sequence. I haven’t settled on a name yet, so you can call it whatever you want.”
To be able to freely use coordinate shifts comparable to spatial jumps in terms of speed, limited only to the tower’s domain. That was the purpose behind Lennok taking the time to modify the Phoenix Hall’s output and overhaul the system.
“The recoil should lessen once you get used to it. I did it without explaining just now to give you a feel for it.”
“…If we move like that one more time, I think my heart will drop out.”
As Jenny steadied her trembling legs to stand, Lennok asked, “So, what business do the Deep Web administrators have with me?”
The Deep Web, an unlicensed community created within the cyberspace of the City Government’s central network. A lawless network with no rules or restrictions aside from its members-only operation. It was no exaggeration to say that most who operated in Vulcan’s shadows got their information there. But it was also a contradictory space where false information and dummy data, akin to viruses, were piled up in even greater numbers. Lennok himself had occasionally accessed the Deep Web to get useful information, but this was the first he’d heard of the administrators who ran the network. Of course, since it was a members-only community, it wasn’t strange for it to have administrators. But why would these figures, who had never been mentioned before, suddenly want to meet him? Jenny, having finally regained her composure, tidied her disheveled hair and said, “A huge bet was placed on the Deep Web over what happened this time.”
“A bet… Ah, I see.”
Lennok began to ask, but then he immediately understood and nodded. The battle between Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon in the outer city districts. Had another betting pool opened on the Deep Web over the outcome? Considering there were people who wanted to wager on everything in the world, it wasn’t surprising.
“Is this a money problem?”
“I heard the betting this time was one of the top ten largest in the history of the Deep Web.”
Jenny said, brushing herself off and straightening her clothes.
“But I don’t think that’s the issue. The administrators don’t get involved in the betting. Rumor has it they got burned badly over it once before…”
“You’re telling me they contacted me because of a bet on what I did, but it’s not about money?”
Lennok chuckled.
“That doesn’t sound very credible.”
“I know. That’s why I’m thinking…”
Jenny said, her expression turning slightly serious, “I think it might be a pretext to meet you in person.”
“Meet me in person?”
“There was a rumor that most of the Deep Web administrators are cybernetic lifeforms who have uploaded their consciousness to the network.”
“…”
“They probably think you can come into the Deep Web’s network.”
At Jenny’s sharp guess, Lennok momentarily fell silent. As soon as he heard her words, he too felt he knew what the Deep Web administrators wanted. They likely weren’t aware of Davi’s existence or abilities. Davi was a cyber-spirit who utilized the advantages of anonymity within the Deep Web so well that even Lennok was amazed. A very special lineage of spirit that had originated from a strong AI and grown from there. If they had known such a being was wreaking havoc within the Deep Web, their reaction wouldn’t have been this mild. Which meant they must have noticed signs that Lennok could intervene in cyberspace through some other means…. Having reached that conclusion, Lennok nodded.
“I understand. I’ll look into this matter myself.”
“I know a few skilled hackers in this field… if worse comes to worst, we could also put in a request with Mirror Diver.”
Mirror Diver. The name of an organization formed by hackers who manipulated networks in Vulcan’s underworld. Lennok had heard the name a few times since coming to Vulcan, but he had almost never had direct contact with them. Partly because with Davi by his side, he had rarely needed a skilled hacker…
“The Deep Web is a community built on the spare capacity of the City Government’s central network. It’s hard to believe Mirror Diver wasn’t involved in its maintenance.”
“You think they might be in league with the administrators?”
“Since we don’t know what they want right now, there’s no need to unnecessarily increase the number of people involved.”
“Got it. I’ll call off the hackers I had on standby, then.”
Jenny said, taking out her phone and tapping on the messenger. Just as Lennok nodded, Jenny looked at the undulating ripples of electricity and asked, “So, how do I use this?”
Jenny was well aware of why Lennok was taking the trouble to show and explain this to her. If he hadn’t intended to teach her this technique in the first place, he wouldn’t have bothered explaining the principles.
“You’re going to teach me how to use this Connector system, right?”
“There are two prerequisites.”
Lennok held up his fingers.
“One is that there must be no obstacles in the path of movement. It’s a given, since it works by compressing coordinates.”
“And the other?”
“The user must know how to draw the basic magic circle of the Ouroboros magic system.”
Lennok explained to the silent Jenny, “This is creation magic I made myself. You can only have the authority to use it if you can use my magic system, even just a little.”
“…”
“That’s why I brought you here.”
Lennok smiled.
“In terms of proficiency with the magic system alone, you are the most outstanding among everyone.”
“Ugh… To be honest, I don’t really remember how to do it anymore.”
Jenny grumbled with a displeased look.
“You just called me here to teach me this so I can teach the others, right?”
“Learn one thing and you know ten.”
“I haven’t even learned the one thing properly yet!”
Unable to hold it in, Jenny shouted with an annoyed expression before finally regaining her composure and closing her eyes.
“Fine. I’ll give it a try, but don’t say anything if I fail. It’s been months since I stopped practicing.”
“I didn’t bring you here to nag.”
Lennok smiled softly.
“If there’s anything you don’t know, I’ll teach you. Don’t worry.”
“…Honestly, if you weren’t so smooth with your words…”
Jenny grumbled at his words but still closed her eyes and focused her mind. She brought her hands together in front of her, then extended her thumbs and index fingers to form a triangle. Simultaneously, a ring of pure white light rose within the triangle formed by her hands and began to rotate.
Kiiiiing…!!
“…”
She hadn’t practiced for months, but she still remembered how to draw the magic circle properly. Indeed, Jenny’s speed at adapting to the Ouroboros magic system was exceptionally fast compared to others. In terms of talent for learning his magic system, she even showed aspects far superior to Evelyn. Was it a power stemming from the name Bajour, which connected Kaiser and Ethan? While it was true he wanted to study Jenny’s origins, he had no intention of pushing it if she herself showed no interest in her past. Kaiser Bajour and Ethan Bajour. And the causal relationship between them and Jenisia Bajour, born of Ethan, had many unclear parts. Considering both Kaiser and Ethan were born with the heaven-defying talent of regressing time, it was surely an intentional result. However, he still didn’t know how Jenny felt about Ethan and Kaiser. Until now, he had moved with the thought that he could uncover their hidden stories separately from Jenny, but perhaps the reason he had hesitated stemmed from the same feelings as Jenny’s. He had come too far, and it had become more comfortable to pretend not to know than to accept that something was changing. Separate from the journey to find answers, he now understood that his personal relationships were like that.
“Hah, hah…!!”
Just from briefly focusing to draw the magic circle, sweat streamed down Jenny’s forehead. Her hair, damp, stuck to her cheeks, making it look even curlier. Brushing her hair back in annoyance, Jenny muttered, “It’s been a while, so I get the feeling, but… I can’t maintain it for long. Is it a problem with concentration?”
“The correlation between body and mind is not so simple,” Lennok said.
“You lose focus because you tire easily, and because you lose focus, your energy consumption accelerates.”
“But you, Van, don’t seem to worry about things like that when you use magic.”
“I…”
At a loss for words, Lennok smiled involuntarily. He couldn’t just tell her it was a matter of a talent not bound by such causal relationships. Jenny, too, realized how strange her comment was and cleared her throat.
“Sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. It’s absurd to compare my achievements to a great wizard’s.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Lennok said, grabbing Jenny’s wrist and correcting her posture. After that, with Lennok’s help and dozens of attempts, Jenny succeeded in manifesting a proper magic circle.
Kiiiiing…!!
“The important thing is to remember the sensation.”
Lennok said, looking at Jenny who had her eyes closed and was dripping with cold sweat.
“For now, prioritize getting used to the feeling of receiving and using the authority while maintaining the magic circle.”
“…”
“As long as you properly grasp the concept of compressing the coordinates of different domains, the magic circle I created will handle the specific spell activation—”
Fwaat!!
In that instant, Jenny’s body vanished from its spot and reappeared at the far end of the opposite hallway.
“Uwaaah…!!”
Jenny, startled by her own success, focused her mind and shifted her coordinates once more. This time, her body appeared in the empty air of the tower.
Chwarak!!
Before Jenny’s body could fall to the ground, Lennok immediately moved her coordinates next to him.
Crash!!
Simultaneously, the magic circle Jenny had manifested shattered, and her body tumbled backward.
“Ouch, hot, hot…!!”
Rubbing her reddened wrist, Jenny, who had fallen, blew on it before collapsing onto her back.
“Ugh, I’m dizzy…”
“For now, practice slowly, starting from the safe first floor. Once you can draw the magic circle stably, it will just be a matter of time.”
Lennok said, checking the time.
“Honestly, it’s not that difficult of a spell.”
“…”
Since the foundation and conditions of the spell were met by the Phoenix Hall and the tower’s domain, the burden on the caster was almost nonexistent. For a magic Lennok had recently created himself, it was a rare mobility spell with incredible efficiency and intuitiveness.
“The time has come, but there’s no word. For now, I should access the Deep Web and start gathering information about the hearing—”
Beep-beep.
As if on cue, Davi lightly shook the phone from within his coat.
“…It seems the preparations are complete.”
Lennok confirmed the message and nodded.
“I’ll check the details after I get back from the hearing.”
Vulcan, the mega-city. District 15 Hearing Hall.
The third administrative district, where a large number of government-affiliated institutions and departments were gathered. In the plaza, usually bustling with citizens and public officials, hundreds of reporters were now encamped. On both sides of the black carpet that stretched from the end of the plaza to the hearing hall, reporters waited, holding thick cameras. The reporters, looking at the empty street beyond, murmured amongst themselves.
“Will he really come?”
“He said he would attend in person, so… probably.”
“You never know. Who’s to say he won’t change his mind at the last second.”
“If he had any sense, he wouldn’t show his face here first.”
“Then he’ll come.”
At one reporter’s declaration, everyone fell silent as if by agreement.
“That wizard isn’t in his right mind.”
“…”
There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know how ruthless the wizard who had announced his attendance at the hearing was, or how he had always acted on his own whims. In the first place, hadn’t this hearing been convened because Adamant Thunder had kidnapped the Lighthouse Keeper in the middle of the city? That’s why the reporters who were here to cover this hearing held a simultaneous sense of anxiety and anticipation.
“He’s someone who has messed up every situation he’s ever appeared in. He’ll come with a plan this time, too.”
“I can’t imagine what he’s planning to do, to announce his attendance at the hearing first…”
“He’s here…!!”
At that moment, a pitch-black sedan appeared on the empty road far in the distance. A quiet drive, without a hint of noise. After skillfully parking the car on the side of the plaza, a tall man stepped out of the driver’s seat. He turned with a polite motion, bowed his waist slightly, and carefully opened the back door of the car.
Click!
The car door opened, and just as the reporters, without exception, raised their cameras to press the shutters in unison.
“…Huh?”
A sound of dumbfounded disbelief escaped the reporters’ lips as if on cue.
The black-haired young man who emerged from the back of the sedan was not standing on his own two feet. He was merely sitting in a small, mobile chair, with a blanket draped over his knees. With the help of the tall man, the young man’s image as he calmly rolled the wheels over the carpet.
“…”
“…A wheelchair?”
“The great wizard… came to the hearing in a wheelchair?”
As the reporters belatedly realized what they were seeing, their expressions were painted with an indescribable bewilderment.