Prologue Story

As I was inspecting the orb closely with such thoughts, I suddenly flinched.

Come to think of it, this orb was part of that flower.

Even though it was called an orb, seeing that it was in the middle of the flower, it was probably the stamen.

But now, that stamen was sitting all alone in my hand…

‘…Wait, hold on. Is this part of the flower? Did I damage this plant without permission?’

No way! How could I have done such a thing! No, seriously, this was unconscious… Ahhh…

However, thinking about it, that had nothing to do with the current situation.

I held my head in confusion, then quickly regained my senses and looked around.

So, why exactly did this happen? The only thing I could think of was… a magic power surge?

But why did a magic power surge suddenly occur?

If something like this had happened before, there’s no way the Glass Botanical Garden would be so popular.

Then, trembling, I glanced back down at the orb in my hand.

Could this, perhaps, have something to do with it?

It’s only natural to think so, given it contains some mysterious magic power…

‘Maybe the arrangement of the plants had some kind of purpose, and by me pulling this orb out, the balance got ruined…’

No, no, that couldn’t be.

I shook my head.

Even if it was unconscious, if someone like me did it, there could easily have been one or two others who might’ve done the same.

If that were the case, the garden would’ve been closed a long time ago.

So many kids, clueless about plants, reaching out to touch them.

I briefly recalled the situation when the incident occurred.

I held the orb in my hand, and light surged up from the floor.

I remembered the shape of the light spreading as if it was flowing along lines already drawn on the ground.

I think that’s what happened.

I clenched the orb tightly, my body trembling.

“What should I do…”

I murmured anxiously, biting my lip.

Even though I learned magic earlier than others, I was still only five years old.

Just five years old.

I didn’t have any magic that could get me out of a place like this.

I had only recently managed to learn clairvoyance, and teleportation was still absolutely beyond me.

The best I could do right now was to conjure up a small illusion the size of my palm or write a very short magic setting.

Above all, my magic power was insufficient.

Insufficient, no matter how hard I tried.

The only barrier magic I could use was the simplest one, which wrapped around the body, and even that only covered my arms at best.

What good is that… It’s driving me crazy.

I stood there, fidgeting restlessly.

And on top of that, I’d been feeling something strange for a while now.

Maybe it was just the anxiety from being trapped in such a place, but I felt like someone had been watching me.

I was growing more anxious by the minute.

So I decided to take a look around.

I walked on the uneven ground.

I passed by an iron pillar and stepped over a living iron flower.

I was gripped by the fear that it might start moving again, so I made sure to hold onto an iron spear or wall as I walked slowly.

Unfortunately, my fear was correct.

Whoosh─.

“What the…!”

The orb in my hand suddenly burst with metallic light, and the magic spread around me.

Just like the scene I had witnessed before, the magic formed lines that extend outward from the orb.

Before I could grasp what was happening, I instinctively clung to the nearby iron pillar, gripping it tightly.

At that moment, the earthquake began again.

The iron swayed like waves.

Those waves violently crashed into the surroundings.

Once again, the iron pillars rose and disappeared repeatedly.

I clung to one of the pillars, barely enduring the fierce waves.

I strengthened my stamina and strength with magic, barely managing to hold on.

The tremors eventually ceased.

Once the shaking stopped, I collapsed, panting heavily.

“So hard…”

Of course it was. I was just a kid.

Even if a five-year-old had a lot of magic, I was still just a novice magician who had barely created any magic!

After all, the vessel that held my magic power was probably tiny!

Unable to contain my rising frustration, I threw the orb in my hand to the ground.

“It was this…! It’s all because of this…!”

I stomped on the orb with a foot reinforced with magic.

I didn’t know why this was happening.

I didn’t even know why this was the cause.

But one thing was certain—this whole mess was because of this jewel.

I felt a wave of self-loathing.

Why did I grab this thing?

If I hadn’t picked it up, none of this would’ve happened.

If I had just passed by without noticing, if I hadn’t reached out my hand…

‘Would that really have made a difference?’

A thought crossed my mind.

I stopped stomping on the orb.

Despite all the rage I had poured into kicking it, the jewel wasn’t even cracked, not even a chip fell off.

I barely managed to calm my heart, filled with anger and self-reproach.

‘I need to get a grip.’

I grabbed my forehead, frowning deeply.

Yeah, I had forgotten, but I needed to stay calm in situations like this.

I had to cool my head and carefully look around.

I had to pay attention to everything if I was going to escape.

For starters, I didn’t even know what purpose this orb served.

The only thing I knew for sure was that it was a magical medium.

If I recklessly destroyed something like that, who knows what would happen.

This time, I wouldn’t get away with just this much.

I forced myself to stay calm, taking a cool look around.

First, I needed to find an exit.

But despite searching all over, I hadn’t seen any kind of exit so far.

What should I do if I can’t find an exit in such a strange space?

Well, I could create one.

Any way would do.

The easiest way was to smash through a wall.

I frowned deeply.

“But this is steel.”

It was impossible.

With my magic, I couldn’t even break a brick.

Despair welled up as I bit my lip.

But I shook my head and took a deep breath.

I needed to get a hold of myself.

It’ll be fine.

By now, they must have realized I’m missing outside.

Maybe they’ve already contacted my parents.

Then, surely… It’ll be fine.

But I shook my head again, refusing to let my thoughts become too optimistic.

No, but if another magic surge like the last one happens, it’ll be dangerous.

I couldn’t just sit back and wait.

The situation was too dire for that.

I fought back the tears that were threatening to fall.

Someone will save me.

Even so, I couldn’t just wait passively.

I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing; I had to do everything I could.

‘It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.’

Holding back my tears, I chanted that in my mind as I searched for the next way to escape.

I started recalling the magic I could use.

‘What I can do… teleportation is still out of the question. Illusions are so weak that anyone could tell they’re not real… The barrier is hopeless…’

After thinking it over, I mumbled to myself.

“I guess I’ll have to try looking for an exit again.”

But how was I supposed to search this vast and complex room?

After a moment of hesitation, I pulled a notebook and pen out of my bag.

Then, I wrote in my notebook and activated a spell.

‘A light to guide me to the exit (outside) or the wall closest to the exit (outside).’

Will it work?

Can I do it with my magic?

Soon, the letters swirled, gathering into a circle, then floated up from the paper.

The small ball of light was a silver-tinged dark blue, the color of my magic.

The light moved very slowly.

Feeling certain that the spell had worked, I followed the light.

Eventually, it stopped in front of a steel wall, then sank into it and disappeared.

“…Ah.”

I felt another wave of despair.

The spell had worked.

I was sure of that.

But the light had led me to a steel wall with not a single hole in it… which meant there wasn’t an exit anywhere in this room.

Unable to hide my disappointment, I placed my hand on the steel wall.

But the spell had definitely succeeded.

So this wall was probably the one closest to the outside of this iron room.

It must be a thinner section compared to the rest.

I took a few steps back, staring at the wall.

Since the room was in such a chaotic state right now, it was hard to tell if this wall was truly connected to the outside.

Just in case the spell had failed, I checked if this wall was definitely the one dividing the rooms.

The wall continued, then turned sharply at the end.

Ah, yes, it was correct.

This wall was definitely the boundary dividing this room from the others.

It hadn’t risen from the middle during the surge earlier.

I gulped.

In other words, this wall was the only ‘weak point’ in this room.

With trembling hands, I brought my pen back to the notebook.

Written magic was the most reliable method I had right now.

I didn’t know if this wall led to a hallway or somewhere else.

My magic power had already been greatly reduced from just one spell.

But it was the thinnest wall.

This was my only possible way out right now.

With my magic, I couldn’t even break a brick properly.

But if I gathered all my magic into a single point, using my most practiced written magic, maybe…

‘Maybe…’

It was a hopeful thought.

But knowing that, I kept thinking anyway.

I had no choice but to cling to this hope.

I put the notebook in my pocket.

Instead, I took out the magic pen and began drawing lines on the large steel wall with all my heart.

Though it was called ‘written magic,’ the meaning lay in the act of ‘writing.’

If I was simply shaping it, it didn’t necessarily have to be ‘letters.’

It could even be a picture.

I adjusted the pen’s thickness, making it about as thick as a marker.

Then I drew a large circle as far as my arm could reach.

I wasn’t very good at drawing, so the circle came out a bit uneven, but I didn’t care.

I shaded the inside of the circle black to represent a ‘hole.’

I kept drawing, making rough, black lines.

Even though it was just drawing, I felt like I was out of breath.

I aimed at the blackened circle and activated the spell.

‘…Break through!!’

With my will, my magic power was consumed.

But the steel wall barely dented by 1mm, remaining mostly unchanged.

I slumped down in despair.

I covered my face with my hands in frustration.

‘What should I do? I don’t have enough magic left.’

As I bit down hard on my lips, I took a deep breath.

It was to calm myself down.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t see a way out.

This place was completely sealed off.

It was as big as a school gymnasium, perhaps?

Sealed shut with iron, not a single hole to be found.

The air would gradually run out as time passed.

How long could I survive here?

Would someone rescue me before then?

I couldn’t be sure of anything.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.

I raised my head, regaining focus.

Right, I’ve barely learned any magic so far.

There’s still so much I want to do. I can’t stop here.

I sat down and took a more comfortable position.

To do anything, I first needed to quickly replenish my magic power.

To gather magic into my body faster, I decided to meditate.

“…?”

But something was strange.

As I tried to absorb the surrounding magic with my breathing, the reaction felt off.

It was stiff and persistent.

It felt like trying to pull on a hard, black rubber ball—an uncomfortable sensation.

Startled, I opened my eyes and focused on the magic around me.

Now that I looked closely, the magic in the air was entirely different from usual.

Normally, magic flows like wind with the movement of the air.

But now, it was as if it was tightly bound or tangled, like thread twisted together.

To use a metaphor, it was ice.

Magic, which was usually in a liquid state, had become ice, frozen solid.

Even when I tried to draw in the magic, it felt like moving a lump of metal—heavy and sluggish.

It took much more time to melt and assimilate the magic inside my body.

“What is this?”

At this rate, I’d exhaust my stamina before I could even cast another spell.

I stopped trying to absorb magic and wore a blank expression.

“Is the magic around here all frozen?”

It was just like the air—it didn’t move.

This place was an iron cage meant to trap a magician.

I trembled as I slowly brought my hands to my mouth, clenching my fists tightly.

‘Damn it.’

I cursed inwardly as I walked.

It took five steps to reach the wall with my short stride.

My trembling hand reached for the slightly dented part of the steel.

It was the spot where my magic had left a mark.

The thick black line remained, untouched.

This was all I had managed.

“Ugh…!”

My insides churned.

Of course! Who could stay calm in this situation?

Sure, someone outside might come to rescue me.

I kept thinking that.

But what if the room surged again before that, and I got caught in it and died…

Bang!

I slammed my fist against the wall and leaned against it as if collapsing.

A faint, hollow sound came from the steel wall, as if it was a bit empty inside.

That sound barely managed to stop my rising panic.

Right… Just beyond this wall is the exit.

The exit.