[Anyone here get a ticket from a place called Magic Eden, Mabungies?]
[ㅇㅇ]
(ticket photo)
I saw this sitting there this morning, and when I checked with the Cartel, they said if you have this, you’ll be automatically transferred in a week.
Anyone want to take the request together before then?
[Recommend 2][Not Recommend 0]
[Comments]
-TamingMaster: Did the ticket just suddenly appear? You didn’t order anything?
ㄴㅇㅇ: Yeah. It was in front of my house.
ㄴTamingMaster: Must be some new bizarre phenomenon. Most of those are dangerous, so be careful. I don’t have a ticket, so I can’t go with you.
-SweetGrandpa: The way it looks is very,,,,,, sinister!
ㄴㅇㅇ: Gramps, you got a ticket?
ㄴSweetGrandpa: No!
ㄴㅇㅇ: (wizard dumbfounded emote)
He had posted just in case, but no one else had appeared claiming to have received a ticket. Ian let out a deep sigh, set down his phone, and shook the ticket.
Now that the ticket had already arrived, the ship had practically sailed. Like it or not, it was certain he would be dragged off to the theme park.
He had one week of leeway. If possible, he wanted to go there himself before then.
No matter how much he knew about the transfer in advance, going of his own volition was far better than being dragged there. If the space he was transferred into turned out to be the very center of the theme park, there would be no way to handle it.
It would be better to take the proper route through the main gate.
He absolutely hated moving passively.
There were moments when variables were necessary, but there was no need to act irregularly from the moment of entry. Entering through the ticket was, at least, the only way he could act proactively.
“……”
He had no idea what the theme park would look like. But it certainly wouldn’t be a space beneficial to humans. There would probably be bizarre, outlandish rides lined up everywhere.
On top of that, if the beings there weren’t derived from ghost stories, the methods of dealing with them were sure to be quite troublesome.
So he needed time to prepare.
‘The revolver’s here, so I should try a little more alchemy.’
Ian shifted his gaze to the table.
The gun, ammunition, and gun holster he had ordered from the Cartel were scattered across it. Ian sprang up from the bed and picked up the revolver.
The grip… wasn’t bad. It was an appropriate size, neither too big nor too small. Hooking his finger on the trigger and pulling it also moved smoothly, without the slightest discomfort. The barrel was short, making it easy to carry.
Click.
He opened the cylinder and loaded bullets one by one into the empty chambers. The time it took to close the cylinder again and aim was roughly twelve seconds.
“It does take a while.”
There were six bullets in the chambers in total. The same as the average capacity of a revolver. Since rapid fire was impossible, there would be no wasting bullets, but even so, once the cylinder was emptied, it took quite a bit of time to load the next rounds.
It would probably take even longer in actual combat. The moment adrenaline started pumping from the excitement of battle, he wouldn’t be able to calmly reload like this.
In the end, repeated practice was necessary. He might not be able to fan the hammer like Albert, but he thought it would be best to at least raise his reloading speed.
Thinking that, Ian removed the bullets he had loaded.
He put the empty revolver into the gun holster and stored it in the drawer. He placed the bullets beside it as well, then took out the alchemy materials and lined them up on the desk.
Flutter!
When he spread his hand, the grimoire appeared. Ian took a sip of water and slowly read through it.
He boldly skipped anything that could only be made in a workshop. He passed over anything difficult to use in battle or with materials that were excessively complicated. Among what remained, he checked only the items he could make right away.
“[Sound-Eating Flame], [Reverse Aim], and [Piercing Mirror]. Roughly those three, I guess.”
All of them used anomalies as materials, but that didn’t mean the recipes were complicated. There was no need to make them in a workshop either.
The Sound-Eating Flame was, as its name implied, a flame that blocked out nearby noise. It could be made with just an ignition device, an anomaly’s blood, and ether.
With this, he should be able to suppress the sound when firing.
It was quite an excellent item that would also help with stealthy movement or assassination. It was a shame that, as a consumable, each one could only be used for about ten minutes, but even so, it was worth making.
Reverse Aim was a tool that sensed someone’s hostility or murderous intent toward its owner and informed the owner exactly where that person was. All that was needed was an artificial object in the shape of a bird, an anomaly’s flesh, and the owner’s blood.
Lastly, despite its tool-like name, the Piercing Mirror was closer to a weapon. Using a shard of broken glass as its core material, it caused the part it stabbed to collapse like glass fragments. As an additional effect, it could also reflect the true form of a target that was mimicking something else.
“……Its true form, huh.”
Ian, who had been reading the effects of the Piercing Mirror, glanced at the grimoire. Feeling his gaze, the grimoire trembled slightly.
The sight made it look like a woman afraid of having her bare face seen, so Ian burst into a small laugh and stroked its cover.
“Should I not look?”
[Wuuung.]
The grimoire vibrated briefly, as if in affirmation.
It was at that moment. A notification rang from the phone he had left on the bed.
-StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: I got one of these tickets too. It was stuck right on my front door.
When he checked, it was a comment notification. Ian set the grimoire down for a moment and accessed the community.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Is this for real?
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Would it be fake? I’ll post proof, so check it.
[Title: Newbie, look at this.]
[StrawberryYogurtSmoothie]
(photo of a ticket with the name Magic Eden clearly stamped on it)
If you’ve seen it, leave a comment.
“……It really was real.”
Since this was someone who posted nothing but strange comments and posts every day, he had naturally assumed it was another lie.
The proof post StrawberryYogurtSmoothie uploaded showed a ticket that looked exactly like Ian’s.
He immediately left a comment.
-ㅇㅇ: Confirmed. You didn’t steal that pic, right?
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: As if. I have nothing to gain from stealing something like this.
ㄴㅇㅇ: You’d get attention.
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: I don’t need that crap. Anyway, what do you mean we’ll be transferred in a week? Mine doesn’t say anything like that.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Check the request on the Cartel app.
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Got it for now.
Smoothie left a reply and disappeared.
A short while later, just as Ian was lining up the alchemy materials, a new notification rang. He stopped what he was doing and picked up his phone.
-StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Ah, fuck, why is this real? Judging by how there’s nothing written on the ticket, something terrible is definitely going to happen the moment we’re transferred.
ㄴㅇㅇ: That’s what I think too. So I’m just going to accept the request and go in before then. Want to go together?
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: ……Wait a moment. I’ll think about it a bit.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Sure. I’m planning to go alone even if you refuse anyway.
After leaving that reply, Ian began focusing on alchemy again.
The first thing he made was the [Sound-Eating Flame]. He placed a lighter on top of the magic circle, then squeezed the anomaly’s flesh in his hand, pouring out thick blood.
The lighter, stained dark red, shone atop the magic circle.
Holding the grimoire in one hand, Ian calmly recited the incantation.
“Know that silence is another blessing. I personally bestow stillness upon you, so receive it in silence.”
The moment the incantation ended, the viscous blood flowed into the lighter and replaced the fuel. Ian flicked the completed lighter on once, confirmed that the surrounding noise vanished completely, and nodded.
It had succeeded.
He put the lighter into the inner pocket of his coat and proceeded to make the other two items one after another.
By the time he finished, it was already evening. Ian pinned a bird-shaped badge he had bought at a nearby souvenir shop to the very bottom of his coat, wrapped a shard of broken mirror in bandages, and slipped it into his bag.
With this, his preparations were complete. All that remained was to cast a simple spell.
Leaving the wound he had made while creating Reverse Aim as it was, Ian used the dripping blood to draw a magic circle on the inside of his coat. He wasn’t particularly talented at drawing, but for some reason, the magic circle was drawn with incredible precision.
“Done.”
At last, a perfect circle was engraved deep inside the coat. Ian placed his hand on top of the magic circle and murmured quietly.
“This is no veil for mere vermin to peer through; gaze not upon the great one beyond the mist.”
Wuuung.
At the same time he recited the spell, the magic circle brightened for an instant, then faded again.
The spell that removed him from the sight of unintelligent beings had activated properly.
With this, Mysteries without even the bare minimum of reason would no longer be able to see Ian with the naked eye. Though there weren’t that many beings whose reason had been removed, it was practically the same as becoming free from anomalies forcibly controlled by someone else, such as zombies or dolls.
It was a spell that only removed him from sight, but if he couldn’t be seen in the first place, finding him would not be easy.
Ian patted the coat with his palm, hung it back on the clothes hanger, then checked his phone.
When he accessed the community, the number 1 was clearly marked on the private message icon.
He lay down on the bed and clicked the icon.
[StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: I’ll do the request with you. Send me the place and date.]
After checking the message, Ian burst into a small laugh.
*
[ㅇㅇ: First, accept the request through the Cartel, then let’s meet at the address written on the ticket in three days. You decide the time. Sound good?]
[Me: Three days later. Got it. Then let’s meet by 3 p.m.]
[ㅇㅇ: Sure. Oh, do you need verification from the Godmother? I’m planning to ask about your info anyway.]
[Me: Do whatever you want. I already know you’re not a bad person from seeing how you talk with the other fixed-nicks.]
[ㅇㅇ: Okay. Then see you in three days.]
[Me: Got it. Oh, I’m asking just in case, but are you a woman?]
[ㅇㅇ: ;; I’m a man.]
Click.
After checking the reply, she turned off her phone screen. Beyond the blackened screen, her face, distorted with tension, was clearly reflected.
“……Hueeeh.”
Fixed-nick, StrawberryYogurtSmoothie.
As if embarrassed, she wriggled her body and buried herself under the blankets.
It was three days before she would go to the theme park with Ian.