Chapter 120: The Abyss Below (1/2)

The outside was dark, without a single light.

It was darker than the night, with only a deep shadow filling the space.

I reached out gently toward the large window that took up one side of the room.

Instead of a window, I brushed against a protective barrier.

With it, I felt a subtle sensation at my fingertips— the cold touch of water.

The seawater, gently flowing beyond the barrier, moistened my hand.

I pulled my hand back from the barrier and looked down at it.

Wanting to taste that slight trace of seawater, I lightly put my fingertip in my mouth.

A salty taste lingered in my mouth.

This deep flavor— ‘was this the taste of the sea?’

“Ah, now you’re even tasting seawater?”

Mira smiled, amused.

She was half-sitting on the huge bed, moving her fingers gently.

The professor, who was relaxing comfortably beneath her hand, clicked her tongue at me as she glanced over.

“I don’t understand why you’re so excited. Just stay still; you’re distracting me.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. The sea here looks so different from the one I saw outside. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

I bowed my head toward the professor, scratching the back of my head lightly.

I had tried to hold back, but I was so fascinated by this sea that I couldn’t stop moving.

It was unavoidable.

After all, everything here was new to me— the creatures drifting in the sea, and the sea itself.

The professor tilted her head slightly and then clapped her hands together.

“Ah, right. You said you’re from an island. Then, you must have seen the outside sea before.”

The professor lightly gestured toward me.

I stepped aside for a moment, and she reached out her hand toward the window.

A surge of magic emanated from her fingertips, capturing the outside sea just a little.

She brought it inside.

Unlike the dark outside, the sea that entered the room emitted a refreshing blue light.

The professor hardened it into a bead, rolling it gently on her hand.

She clicked her tongue and tossed it lightly toward me.

I carefully caught it and examined it.

Inside the bead, the seawater swirled in a steady, green-blue flow.

“I heard it used to be like this here. But that bastard, the Chancellor, changed it all. I don’t know why he did that. This sea is so boring.”

She grumbled.

I blinked in surprise.

‘So, the Chancellor was responsible for creating this kind of sea?’ His power exceeded my expectations.

I absentmindedly fiddled with the bead.

Soon, I would meet the Chancellor.

I had no idea what he would look like, or what kind of personality he had.

With a hint of worry, I turned to the professor.

“What kind of person is the Chancellor? From what you said, it sounds like you two are quite close.”

At my words, the professor suddenly shot me a sharp look.

There was a hint of irritation in her eyes.

“Me, close to that bastard? Don’t say such ridiculous things. Don’t put me in the same category as that old fool.”

“Sorry.”

It seemed I had made a mistake.

I quickly lowered my head.

She nodded slightly and continued speaking.

“Well, you’ll need to know about him soon enough. He’s just the oldest guy around here. There are professors here who’ve lived for tens of thousands of years, but I doubt anyone’s been around longer than him.”

I didn’t really know how old she was.

She sighed lightly as she spoke and looked at me, resting her chin in her hand.

“He’s just a strange guy— a bit too lighthearted. He’s annoying, but you don’t need to worry. He’s the one who set the standards for this university.”

‘Standards?’ I immediately understood what she meant.

It referred to survival and property rights.

These were the only rules that made the wizards in this university respect each other, even a little.

Without them, this university wouldn’t be much different from the outside world.

Of course, even with those rules, not all the wizards had become tame.

They still found ways to bypass the rules and do what they wanted.

But those rules were definitely the foundation that kept the university stable.

And those rules had been established a long time ago.

It meant the Chancellor had been in that position for a very long time.

“He’s too troublesome to explain. You should go see him yourself.”

The professor frowned lightly.

Mira gently patted her back, and the professor relaxed, sinking deeper into the bed.

“Thank you for explaining.”

I said, then turned my attention back to the window.

***

After hearing the professor’s words, I felt a bit more at ease.

And, as she said, I could just go see for myself.

It was darker outside than before.

The deep, dark abyss, with no light at all, seemed even more oppressive.

As I watched the strangely flowing, intense magic currents, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my mind was gradually becoming more relaxed.

A turtle moved through the flow, letting out a joyful, “meow,” as if it were delighted.

I felt its elevated spirit and gently rested inside its body.

Along with that, I felt the sensations of its body as well.

It struggled with its four legs, and the water rippled like a wave.

Amid that struggle, it simply sank endlessly.

I realized I would have to add the ability to swim to the turtle someday.

It wasn’t structured for swimming as it was now.

Its four legs, like pillars, were inefficient in the featureless sea.

Of course, there was no need to swim right now.

The turtle tilted its body and followed the magic flow.

As it did, it began to sink faster.

In the sensations of the sinking turtle, I felt the lingering trace of magic, guided by the professor.

It wasn’t taking us deeper into the sea, but down— into the unknown depths of the abyss.

At that moment, the bead the professor gave me started to crack.

It was a gift from her, and yet, it saddened me to see it break.

I tried to stabilize it, but it gradually lost its shape and began to slip away, as if it were ignoring my magic.

The intense magic within it repelled my spell.

With a regretful sigh, I sent it flowing out the window.

That magic was as pure and powerful as what I had felt in the tower.

I remembered something the professor had told me before.

She mentioned that there were creatures in the sea living in this university.

When I saw the map of the university, I realized she had been telling the truth.

A city existed even in the sea.

But up until now, I had never imagined how that was possible.

The sea I knew had always been strange.

But seeing this magic now, it made sense.

It was as powerful as the magic that gathered in the mountains.

Of course, not many people reached the deep sea.

As I watched something undulate outside, I held my breath.

A massive creature passed by the turtle’s body.

I could see its figure through the window.

It was a giant snake— a powerful magical beast I had never seen before.

The air around it was filled with the presence of similar beasts.

If it weren’t for the professor, they would have attacked by now.

“Irien, where are we going?”

Mira, who had been touching the professor’s body, spoke softly.

The professor yawned for a moment, then raised a finger, pointing below.

“We’re going underground.”

“Underground?”

Mira tilted her head slightly.

The professor slipped away from Mira’s hand and stretched.

She then leaned back against Mira again, with a very natural movement.

“You’ll see when we get there. We’re almost there.”

‘So we were close to arriving?’ I quietly stared out the window.

It was still dark, and we had already been submerged for hours.

Even though the professor had accelerated the flow of magic, the end was nowhere in sight.

I couldn’t even grasp how deep we had gone.

***

After who knows how much more time passed, the professor began to move her magic.

The magic that extended toward the window gradually started to gather into one.

It then gave off a strong light.

This was more a light born from the gathered magic itself than from a spell.

The professor threw that light into the sea.

The light flowed through the sea’s magic, spreading outward.

As it did, the dark abyss could no longer resist the light and slowly receded.

The surroundings began to become clearer in this process.

The professor moved her magic and slowly stopped the turtle.

Its body was held in place by the magic, ceasing its descent.

The turtle began to casually scan the surroundings.

“Head that way.”

The professor pointed lightly with her chin.

In the direction she pointed was a massive cave.

It was so large that even the turtle we were riding felt like a tiny fish in comparison.

I had never imagined such a passage existed beneath the huge continent that made up the university.

I blinked as I looked at the vast and grand cave.

It looked strangely familiar.

The turtle slowly moved its feet, heading toward the tunnel.

As it did, the magic gathered beneath its feet, supporting its steps.

The closer we got, the more my mouth dropped open in awe.

The cave was covered in a specific pattern.

Along with it, a steady flow of magic also moved. Its shape and movement felt incredibly familiar.

It was something I had imagined and dreamed of for so long.

I stopped the turtle beneath the ceiling of the cave and reached out to touch the wall.

My hand grasped the dirt and debris there.

I gasped softly.

Although it was buried in dirt, I could tell what it was.

It was the foundation structure of the creature I was riding.

I slowly cracked the rock and touched what was beyond it.

A faint flow of magic from within it climbed up my hand.

“This is…”

I couldn’t believe it myself.

I looked at the professor.

She chuckled softly at my reaction.

“I didn’t expect you to figure it out so quickly. How do you like it?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

Mira tilted her head, looking at me in confusion. She hadn’t realized what it was yet.

“Oh my, what is this?”

“Shell. It’s the foundation of the continent.”

The professor spoke.

Mira blinked at her words, then glanced at the cave.

She looked over the turtle and the walls before clapping her hands lightly.

“No wonder, Evron was so surprised.”

So it wasn’t just my imagination.

The professor confirmed it.

My heart raced.

And the tree inside it was the same.

I couldn’t contain my excitement.

‘How could I?’ This was the turtle’s shell.

My turtle let out a bleating cry.

It seemed that it, too, had realized that this was similar to its own.

The fact that this was the turtle’s shell meant that the enormous cave before us was a hole in its shell.

I reached out and grabbed the shell even tighter.

Wondering if it might still be alive, I felt along the shell, but its magical power was only faint.

It was clear it had died long ago.

‘How did such a massive turtle come to die’, I wondered, licking my lips in mild regret.

“Is this what the university is built on, the turtle’s shell?” I asked the professor.

She nodded as she looked at me.

“Yes, that’s right. A land filled with magic can’t just appear out of nowhere,” she said.

“You mean the land?”

“Maybe you still don’t get it. For the land to hold magic, you have to stack countless dead things. This university is no different. It was built on top of this giant turtle.”

The professor spoke while tapping the floor with her foot.

The magic flowing from the ground was transferred to the turtle.

It bleated again.

It was a signal to move.

As the turtle tried to move once more, I briefly stopped it and pulled a knife from my pocket.