Aozaki Aoko Case File [201]

Credits: Resid Kuliyev

The spell that Aoko retrieved from the depths of the Arcane Fragment exists in her mind in the form of knowledge. To successfully use it, she must repeatedly study and research it, only being able to cast the spell once she fully understands its principles.

Since she has already entered the relaxed phase of writing her graduation thesis (which is indeed quite relaxed for Aoko), she now has plenty of free time to dedicate to studying spells and arcane. Ever since she acquired the spell for interdimensional teleportation, she has been delving into its deeper principles.

If Aoko were living in a crystal sphere system like that of the Realm of Heavens, casting this spell would transport her to a place such as an elemental plane or the Nine Hells. The exact destination would depend on whether the archmage using the spell had coordinate information for the relevant plane.

She isn't sure whether the Type-Moon universe has crystal spheres, but even if it does, the scale would be so vast that it would be nearly impossible for Aoko to reach the edge of the universe. At her current level of development with the Fifth Magic, she isn't capable of such feats. However, simply traversing a crystal sphere is something she can manage. This can be done using teleportation spells, dimensional doors, or phase gates. A crystal sphere is merely a shell-like boundary separating the material plane from the Sea of Fervent Elements.

Aoko scoured every book she could find related to other planes, but none of them mentioned terms like Hell or elemental planes. Instead, the books referred to places already known to magi, such as the Outside of the World, the Inner Sea of the Stars, and Imaginary Space.

The concept of the Outside of the World is somewhat similar to the Astral Plane in the knowledge of Arcane Fragment. Many powerful beings exist there in the form of spiritual entities or information clusters, which include the notions of the Throne of Heroes and divine realms.

Aside from these, the Swirl of the Root also exists on the Outside. Even though it is technically part of the Outside, the beings residing there dare not approach it lightly. Everyone knows—except for reckless magi—that venturing into the Root means never coming back.

As for Aoko herself, her safest interdimensional teleportation destination would be the Inner Sea of the Stars. Since Arcueid can freely enter and exit the Inner Sea, she could take Aoko there to see it firsthand, allowing her to record the coordinate information. Aoko could then attempt the teleportation spell herself to test its effects.

Thus, on a sunny afternoon, Aoko prepared herself and had Arcueid take her on a trip to the Inner Sea of the Stars. They landed in an endless field of flowers, with a sky that seemed to have been softened by some kind of colorful filter. The temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, making Aoko feel very comfortable.

According to Arcueid, the Inner Sea of the Stars exists in a dimensionally displaced state. It is, in fact, the reverse side of the Human Order. In other words, this eternal paradise is essentially an isolated island parasitizing the Human Order. It is a planet-crafted bounded field created by the planet to avoid associations with the human world.

Arcueid guided Aoko through this world overflowing with True Ether from the Age of Gods, introducing her to its mountains, rivers, and various wondrous creatures from the Age of Gods. Along the way, they encountered a few fairies that tried to trick Aoko, but she beat them soundly, sending them fleeing in disgrace.

However, this place wasn't entirely an ideal utopia. As their exploration expanded further, Aoko began to notice elements more grounded in reality, such as barren lands. This indicated that, although the Inner Sea of the Stars was abundant in True Ether, there were still distinctions in resource availability, and conflicts persisted among the fantastical species.

The location they visited in the Inner Sea of the Stars wasn't Avalon, nor did Aoko encounter a certain white-haired scam artist or the tower where he was imprisoned. So she asked Arcueid about it.

"The Inner Sea of the Stars shares the same coordinates as the surface world," Arcueid explained after some thought. "The place I brought you to is actually near the surface world's European continent, quite far from England's island where Avalon is located. Do you want to go take a look?"

After thinking it over, Aoko declined. She didn't have any questions for that incubus, and her purpose in coming to the Inner Sea of the Stars was purely experimental. She had no burning desire to stay here for the sake of True Ether or fantastical creatures. As a down-to-earth person, she was more interested in places inhabited by humans.

Aoko meticulously recorded the coordinates of the Inner Sea of the Stars using her spell. With Arcueid's permission, she also brought back some local specialties for Touko and Alice before being escorted back to the surface world and the Kuonji mansion by Arcueid.

This trip to the Inner Sea of the Stars greatly aided Aoko in her research on interdimensional teleportation. It didn't take long afterward for her to figure out how to fully utilize the spell, and she planned to attempt traveling to and from the Inner Sea of the Stars on her own in the near future.

From her study of interdimensional teleportation and her accumulated knowledge of other teleportation spells—like Misty Step, Teleportation, and Dimension Door—Aoko concluded that at least in her world, time and space are essentially the same thing. The difference lies in how one observes them, leading to different conclusions.

Under normal circumstances, humans cannot move through space without also moving through time. Teleportation spells, however, provide mages with an extraordinary means of vertical movement along the timeline—allowing spatial movement without significant temporal displacement.

After rigorous calculations, Aoko concluded that after spending a period of time in the Inner Sea of the Stars, the amount of time elapsed in her world upon her return would likely be negligible.

The Fifth Magic can already manipulate time to some extent. Even if temporal misalignment occurred during her interdimensional travel, she wasn't too worried. Worst case, she could burn some of the universe's lifespan to return to the exact moment she left. If Goetia could do it, so could she.

For her solo journey to the Inner Sea of the Stars, Aoko prepared a vintage-style leather travel backpack—something resembling what adventurers in fantasy worlds might carry. Its internal space had been expanded with an imaginary number magecraft, giving it far greater capacity than its appearance suggested.

She packed it with plenty of food, water, spellcasting materials, books, tools, and several brand-new Kuonji mansion sculptures she had ordered from Touko for use with the Magnificent Mansion spell.

Her spellbook was secured to her belt with two chains, while a few frequently used spell scrolls were attached to her back waist, allowing her to quickly access them without flipping through the book. Although Aoko herself was nearly impervious to injury, she still attached a few healing potions to the left-hand side of her belt as a precaution.

"...You kind of look like a character from a video game," Touko remarked, adjusting her glasses. "I think you're just missing a staff."

"That's easy to fix!" Arcueid snapped her fingers, conjuring a wooden staff resembling Gandalf's from The Lord of the Rings and handing it to Aoko. "Now you look the part!"

Aoko was a little speechless, but she liked the staff Arcueid had imagined into existence. Made from the branches of a tree from the Age of Gods, its magical conductivity and durability were extraordinarily impressive—a true treasure.

"…Come back soon," Alice said suddenly, just before Aoko began casting her spell. "Don't make me wait too long."

Aoko nodded seriously, then began her preparations. She first applied an environmental adaptation buff and then activated the interdimensional teleportation spell.

With a distortion of space, the wielder of the Fourth Magic disappeared of those gathered at the Kuonji mansion.