Entering a Company From Another World! – Chapter 649

“Is this… a castle wall?”

Valse-san said we had arrived at our destination, but unfortunately, the visibility was entirely black with chaos, leaving me unable to see anything. As I reached out to feel for what was around me, my fingertips, which had been pushing through a viscous liquid like tar, met a hard surface.

Touching the hard surface, I leaned my body against it, ensuring I didn’t move away. Upon contact with a barrier, a stone wall, like one built with bricks, appeared in the chaos where all matter should have melted and been unable to maintain its existence.

“In a place like this?”

“Ah, probably. That’s likely why the instructor is still alive.”

I called it a castle wall because although we had moved quite a bit from where I first found it, the wall simply didn’t end.

The castle wall, with its neat arrangement and few handholds, was difficult to navigate. The situation, where losing contact would mean losing sight of it, created a sense of tension.

Furthermore, if it were ordinary bricks, I could embed my grip into them. However, an ordinary brick couldn’t exist in this chaos. The strength of the castle wall, capable of withstanding my grip, increased the difficulty of finding an entrance.

“I thought you’d have some secret trick to counter chaos, being a Chaos Magic user, but I didn’t expect you’d be surviving in this way.”

“Is he your master?”

“Even masters don’t teach their disciples everything. In fact, my masters are like living embodiments of secrets they happily hoard.”

Although I called it a castle wall, there was no sign of an entrance. It was obvious that it was sealed to prevent chaos from entering, but what was the meaning of having no architectural structure that resembled an entrance? It’s likely hidden, or perhaps destroyed.

“That’s why it’s no wonder you didn’t know about this kind of spell.”

“Then you won’t know the spell to enter, will you?”

“That’s true. But knowing that instructor, there must be a hint somewhere. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he told us to enter with zero hints.”

Where would Instructor Fushio create an entrance? While answering Eshlee’s question, my mind was convinced that, based on Instructor Fushio’s personality, thought process, and past experiences, there was definitely an entrance somewhere.

There’s no royal road. It must be an unorthodox approach. However, if I overthink it, I’ll be outsmarted. He’s a truly troublesome personality.

“Can we force our way in?”

“It’s not impossible, but this is a wall built by the instructor. There’s no way it’s of ordinary strength. At worst, our magic power would run out first, so that’s a last resort.”

“What about teleporting inside?”

“Due to the chaos, the coordinate information is vague, and teleportation magic into a building whose internal structure is unknown is an act of suicide.”

“In other words, we can only painstakingly search for an entrance.”

“That’s right.”

To search for the structure of a castle by feel, how cruelly is he making us work? I don’t think the instructor is aware of this. He might even be anticipating how long it will take us to enter by sensing us searching by feel, and he’s enjoying it.

“Tell me if you notice anything. I need even the slightest bit of information.”

“Even if you ask, with such unchanging scenery, wouldn’t any difference stand out?”

Even in times like these, I searched around the shelter where the instructor, who would likely turn hardships into experience, might be hiding, but there were no clues. I never expected to be troubled more by an ally than by an enemy.

As Eshlee said, how long have we been searching the unchanging castle wall?

“Found it.”

“Huh? This is it?”

“Ah, it’s the instructor’s family crest.”

I finally found what I was looking for. Among various possibilities, this was the most likely one. On the castle wall, there was a single, tiny family crest, so small that you’d miss it unless you were actively searching for it. It was the kind of size you’d overlook if your attention wavered even slightly.

The family crest, likely made of magic power, was inscribed on the castle wall. I placed my hand on it and conjured and flowed magic, which is difficult to generate in chaos.

“The entrance is…”

“Bingo, but knowing the instructor…”

At that, a magic circle unfolded, a barrier was deployed to prevent chaos from entering, and the castle wall opened, creating what appeared to be an entrance. Eshlee was relieved that we could now enter, but unlike her, I didn’t believe the instructor would allow entry into his defenses so simply. I cautiously looked around, suspicious.

“As expected, it’s here.”

“What is that?”

“An offensive barrier. It’s a mechanism designed to blow us away with this barrier and send us back into the chaos just as we’re letting our guard down after finding the entrance. Looking closely, there are several other elaborate spells hidden behind blatant traps.”

“So, this isn’t the correct entrance?”

“No, this is undoubtedly the correct entrance.”

I noticed that spells, likely handmade by the instructor, were laid out all around the entrance. The space was not just dim, but dyed in pitch-black darkness; our magic lights barely illuminated the contours within. The chaos countermeasures were thoroughly in place, as any chaos that entered would have these spells decompose in an instant. The instructor’s intention was to make us think there was a different entrance elsewhere, given that traps were laid out. If we were to turn back and look for another one, we’d be stuck searching for an entrance that would never be found.

“But why? If traps are laid out, we can’t proceed.”

“If the instructor didn’t want us to proceed down this path, he wouldn’t have set up traps that could be found with such casual observation. Although they are cleverly hidden, there’s a certain pattern. Moreover, even if this path is the correct one, he would set up extremely malicious traps to make us think it’s incorrect after we’ve progressed a certain distance.”

He truly has a wicked personality. I proceeded slowly, stopping at the very edge of where the traps would activate, and began the painstaking work of disarming them.

“As expected, it’s set up so someone from the Demon Lord’s Army could disarm it. But honestly, instructor, please spare me the ancient script. Ordinary soldiers would definitely not be able to disarm this.”

While observing the spells, I noticed that they were designed to be difficult to disarm normally. Mixed within modern magical script were several modifications in ancient script. Ancient script has the drawbacks of increased character count and complex construction, but once built, it is difficult to disarm and offers improved performance. In fact, most of the magic spells Instructor Fushio uses are composed of ancient script. The way he deploys them at high speed, overwhelming us with area-of-effect attacks, makes fighting that undead truly a matter of life and death.

“You understand it?”

“Ah, it was hammered into me along with the pain.”

That life-or-death training was also evident during my studies. One wrong answer meant an immediate magical attack. In modern Japan, this would undoubtedly be considered corporal punishment and a problem, but in another world, it doesn’t matter. I never studied with such concentration even during my college entrance exams. I never thought I’d experience the extreme concentration of a human facing a life-or-death crisis while studying. The results of that study are proving useful here.

Diligently disarming the traps, I followed the instructions hidden within the ancient script, disarming them one by one. The ancient script of the Magician Continent couldn’t be deciphered by the likes of Isal. The instructor also threw in some jokes here and there to confuse things, making deciphering even more time-consuming. I inwardly complained about how he wasn’t kind to his own people, and narrowed my eyes, carefully intervening without overlooking any intricate spells.

“Pain? Surely, you’re not…”

“I don’t have such perverted inclinations. Also, if you want me to concentrate, please be quiet. The moment this spell fails, it’ll explode, sending us back to the chaos. What’s more, the disarmed traps will reset, causing a time delay.”

“I’ll be quiet.”

“That’s good.”

Not having to focus on maintaining a barrier allowed me to concentrate on my hands. I desperately recalled what the instructor had taught me, deducing the correct solution. With a configuration where one mistake would trigger a chain reaction of traps, my nerves were frayed as I disarmed them one by one. There was no time for a break. Some of the traps were timer-based, and those that activated after a certain time from the deactivation of one trap didn’t allow for leisurely work, disrupting concentration. It felt like defusing bombs consecutively. If there was nothing beyond this, I would definitely shout and resort to physical destruction.

“Haa, that’s it. It’s over.”

I wondered how many hours I had concentrated on disarmament, and finally, I was able to release the tension from my shoulders. The place we emerged into resembled the castle’s underground. I finally entered the castle after disarming the last trap set at the entrance. I was relieved that the fear of being thrown into the Sea of Chaos was gone.

“…Let’s go.”

“Go? From this armor? But isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s more dangerous to stay in this.”

However, I wasn’t completely at ease.

“We have an escort.”

“Is that… an undead!?”

It’s not like there would be no guards in the castle. A monstrous creature appeared, making clacking sounds and echoing with light footsteps.

“Honestly, how vigilant can he be?”

“No, no, no, what is that!?”

Even Eshlee, who should have plenty of combat experience, was panicking at the sight of this monster. I slowly began to remove my anti-chaos suit.

“Haa, the air is delicious.”

There was still time before the opponent attacked. After all, “Is this your true form, instructor?”

Even though its appearance didn’t seem friendly at all, I recognized the quality of its magic. No, there was no mistaking it. Skull armor. It had eight monstrous arms, a draconic skull, a serpentine tail, and bat-like wings. Should I call it a Skull Chimera? Inside the overwhelming, bone-like armor that felt like a crushing pressure, the person I was looking for was likely inside.

“Kaka! I never imagined you would be the one to greet me.”

“You seem well.”

“Do I look well?”

“At least, you have enough strength to not say you’re not well, right?”

“Ho ho, you’ve honed your skills enough to speak such words to me.”

And my prediction was spot on. With a light clattering sound, the bone armor opened.

“It’s been a while, Jiro. Your magic has improved considerably.”

“It’s been a while, instructor. First, a toast to your survival.”

I saw the instructor, whose left torso was largely missing. My eyes widened for a moment at the wound, but the magic power was circulating properly.

“You think I can drink with this body?”

“You don’t need to?”

“No, I haven’t had any indulgences for a long time while being in this space. I miss it terribly. You’ve prepared something good, haven’t you?”

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring anything that extravagant. Instead, once we get out of here, we’ll have a grand feast with Instructor Kio, so we’ll have vintage wine then.”

“That sounds delightful.”

The smile that appeared on his face, full of joy, was indeed Instructor Fushio’s. He seemed to be seriously injured, but his imposing presence remained undiminished. With a mischievous smile, I secretly took out the bottle of wine I had brought, shook it, and the instructor smiled contentedly. And then, “What’s the situation?” Eshlee emerged from her suit, bewildered by our conversation.

Today’s word:
The reunion was more ordinary than I expected.

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