Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 4

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 4 - Birth (4)

Of course, I didn’t understand a single thing she had just said to me.

As I stared at her with question marks in my eyes, the librarian began to explain in a quieter voice.

“Magic refers to the act of overlaying one’s imaginary world upon the real world. That personal world is called the inner world and is born the moment you go through Soul Fever.”

“So that is somehow connected to my situation.”

“That’s right. For any wizard, the first inner world is pretty ordinary. How vast could the world of a mere ten-year-old be, right? It barely differs from reality, so we call that level the Reality Realm. The ultimate goal of a wizard’s cultivation and development of their inner world is to reach the Heavenly Realm. Those who reach it are no longer bound by the laws of the real world and can wield their magic freely and unrestricted. This is what the world commonly calls the Archmage’s Realm.”

As I listened closely to this completely new information about magic, the librarian continued, her voice dropping slightly lower.

“But sometimes, extremely rarely, if a wizard uses forbidden methods or receives bad instructions while cultivating their inner world, their world collapses and sinks. That process is called falling into the Abyss Realm.”

“...That doesn’t sound like anything good.”

“It indeed isn’t. Ironically, the Abyss Realm, so feared and shunned by everyone, resembles that coveted Heavenly Realm. Those who fall there are no longer bound by any laws, are capable of employing bizarre, never-before-seen magic, and impose rules even archmages cannot understand upon the world.”

“Then what’s the bad part?”

“They are rejected by the very world they have created.”

“...”

“That is the only difference between the Heavenly Realm and the Abyss Realm, yet it makes all the difference. A wizard lives within the world they themselves created, so to be rejected by that world is to be doomed to endlessly suffer and die miserably.”

“Hmm...”

I thought for a moment before asking.

“I’m not quite sure how bad my situation is just from hearing that. Do you have an example?”

“132 years ago, a promising fire elementalist named Rovan Kuranoff turned to dark magic and summoned a demon, then drank its essence to cultivate his inner world. That was when his inner world plunged into the Abyss Realm, a world filled with an unendingly burning forest. The first to notice was an Academy student who realized Rovan’s body always emanated an acrid smell. When he was captured and unmasked, he was found covered head to toe in blisters from severe burns. He killed three Knights while being escorted, escaped, and two months later was found floating in a pond, his whole body resembling charcoal. Ironically, the cause of death wasn’t burning, but drowning. He had thrown himself into the pond, unable to bear the pain any longer, but his inner world refused to forgive even his corpse, so it was burned to ashes.”

I immediately felt horror creeping up in me.

“I don’t think I’m that bad…”

“No mage has ever been born directly into the Abyss Realm. It’s hard to arrive at the truth, but most likely the only reason you’re still sane and healthy is because your mind is still immature. Once you adapt to your world and become a wizard who lives more in the Abyss Realm than the real world, you will probably meet a similar end. Your inner world is the Abyssal Sea, so you’ll learn firsthand what happens to a human body when it’s subjected to the ocean’s deepest depths.”

I was a lot more surprised by the encyclopedic knowledge of this librarian than this sudden death sentence.

“So basically, since my inner world is the Abyssal Sea, I’ll either drown or be devoured by those deep-sea fish… or get crushed by the water pressure, which is the likeliest."

“Exactly.”

“No matter whether I study magic or not?”

“Yes. Likening your state to an egg submerged underwater seems most fitting to me. It cannot hatch, and even if it does, only death awaits. If it refuses to hatch, the result won’t be any different.”

“...”

This situation was truly hopeless. I scratched my head, then bowed my head to thank the librarian.

“Even if it’s horrifying… thank you for telling me my fate.”

“...I’m sorry. Perhaps it would have been better if you didn’t know.”

“I asked, so it’s fine. Better this than dying without even understanding why.”

I picked up a book again.

“Still, at least now I know what I have to do.”

“There’s no need to make extreme choices yet. At least try not to leave any regrets—”

“...No, I’m not going to kill myself. Don’t worry.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“Whether it’s the deep-sea fish, drowning, or being crushed by pressure, I’m at least going to try to survive.”

I had absolutely no intention of just dying.

If this was the price of being born into this new world—

I would overcome it, no matter what it took.

“For now, I don’t have a way to deal with drowning yet, so I’ll set that aside. As for water pressure, maybe I could wear some kind of suit? And those deep-sea fish… what even are those? I’ve never heard of these kinds of things before.”

Dercia, who had been staring at me blankly, finally spoke up.

“Forgive me for my rudeness, but may I be honest?”

“Yes?”

“There is no way to survive the Abyss Realm. You will meet the worst death imaginable, so I recommend doing what you want first, then leaving this world. It’ll be far less painful that way.”

“Yes, it does seem that way. Of all things, why did it have to be the Abyss Realm, I seriously have no luck.”

“It’s difficult to accept, but it’s the truth. So, you have to think about how you can spend your remaining time meaningfully…”

She tilted her head slightly, then asked.

“You do understand this, right?”

“That whatever I do is meaningless, and the only thing waiting for me is a horribly painful death? Yes, I understand that.”

“Then is your goal to exert meaningless effort?”

“No. It’s just unfair, you know? I’m ten years old and already talking about stuff like dying. Instead of giving up and living out my remaining time happily, I’d rather struggle desperately my whole life and die miserably trying.”

By any means necessary.

Absolutely.

The librarian stared at me, looking slightly surprised, then quietly took out another book and began reading.

“Do you plan on visiting this library again?”

“Hmm, probably.”

“I’m sometimes here around this hour, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I’ll answer.”

“Huh...”

I bowed my head, feeling delighted.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. May I have your name?”

“M-my name…”

Right. She thought I was a noble.

I racked my brain for a suitable family name and added:

“My name is Jern Rusfeld. It’ll be a short time, but please take care of me.”

For some reason she gave me a strange look, but she surely didn’t have every noble family name memorized, right?

* * *

“Jern… I’m going to die from the heat…”

“I think I know now what a shrimp feels like being roasted in a steamer…”

The scorching heat had made even those tireless kids as docile as pet cats.

Mother Nature, huh? I gave a halfhearted reply while reading the magic theory book I had borrowed.

“You’re hot because you’re moving. If you stay still, you won’t be.”

“I’m not moving, and I’m still hot! Aren’t you hot, Jern?”

Linmel’s melting voice made me blink in puzzlement. Sure, it was humid, but was it really that bad?

Looking around at the other children, they were drenched in sweat, and those that seemed unable to stand it anymore had left for the well. There was already a fight breaking out among them as they waited for their turn. Even though Linmel had already splashed herself once, she kept chanting that it was hot or whatever.

Honestly—I wasn’t like that at all.

No, I hadn’t even shed a single drop of sweat.

This was definitely unnatural. Could it be because of my inner world…

“...Ah.”

It had to be related.

If a person were to enter the deep sea, they’d be crushed to death.

If they somehow gained the ability to withstand the pressure, then they would definitely suffocate.

If they also solved the breathing problem, then they would have to survive those deep-sea creatures. A human who couldn’t swim would be extremely easy prey.

And if they somehow, against all odds, managed to get past even that…

They’d die of hypothermia.

The deep sea simply wasn’t a place suited for human life.

...But I decided to think positively. Out of all the things that could kill me, this was the only one helping me right now.

Thanks to it, I felt pleasant in this sweltering heat. As I focused on my book again, Linmel suddenly clung to the back of my neck.

“Wh-what?”

“Whoa! What’s this? Jern, you’re actually cool! Your skin feels like ice!”

“...”

It’s not that bad. My mind was still in the process of adapting to the Abyss Realm, so my penalties were almost negligible.

The ocean currents only gently nudged me, the creatures living in the abyssal sea barely even noticed me, and I could breathe just fine. My body temperature probably hadn’t dropped to a dangerous level yet.

It probably was just two or three degrees cooler.

“Stay with me today! Don’t go off somewhere!”

I did my best to ignore Linmel’s pestering and continued reading Introduction to Magic Theory.

Reading it wouldn’t make much of a difference. I couldn’t learn magic the normal way.

The level of my understanding and the realm I was in were far too different. It was like a child sitting inside a spaceship built by an advanced civilization.

If the magic I could wield was what made the spaceship move, then I couldn't do anything. Trying to steer it would just end in disaster.

But I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. Trying to understand the engineering formulas powering the ship by reading the multiplication table might seem foolish to others, but it was still better than simply staring blankly and accepting my wretched fate.

And, to be honest, it wasn’t like I accomplished nothing.

I was gradually getting used to it.

“Move aside for a sec; there’s going to be a breeze soon. That’ll help you.”

“Huh?”

I touched the current with my finger.

I still didn’t know exactly how it worked, but I was starting to figure out how to apply force farther away and in different ways.

Unlike before, when I could only direct it at a single point, now I could make it flow across wider areas.

The current turned into a breeze. Well, it’s all due to my own shortcomings, I guess.

“Wow… How did you know? That’s amazing!”

Linmel’s eyes sparkled as she stepped back, arms spread wide to catch the breeze.

Even the other orphans, who had been groaning because of the heat, ran outside excitedly.

Right now it was only wind, but if I became more accustomed to it, maybe I could even make others who were outside of the sea feel what I feel.