111. Academy Labyrinth 3

After that, Shiro and the others steadily defeated the monsters, and decided to head back around the time they finished the third floor.

They’d passed through the cave, grassland, and forest floors, but higher levels proved too harsh. They’d settle on repeating training in the first three floors.

Shiro’s group arrived at the area containing the teleportation chamber.

Typically, teleportation rooms are circular. Corridors surround them, and beyond those, vacant rooms are arranged. These are known as safe zones—no monsters spawn here, and no one can enter or exit from the outside. With sufficient space and quantity, they often serve as camping grounds for parties spending long stretches in the dungeon.

Shiro’s group was resting in one of these vacant rooms when—

“…Wait a second. If we analyze the labyrinth’s teleportation system, could we figure out how teleportation magic works?”

Shiro suddenly thought.

After obtaining divine magic, he’d eagerly tried to use teleportation magic, only to find it didn’t work.

The coordinate overwrite used in his spatial mobility skill was, in reality, limited to a true transfer distance of no more than 0.5 meters. That is, the skill that made him move at high speed was actually just rapidly repeating short-range teleportations in 0.5-meter increments—not actually leaping across space all at once.

Since realizing it didn’t work, Shiro had been pondering the mechanics of teleportation, but had found no clues.

Shiro went to the transfer room and examined the floor’s magic array.

“This array transfers from here to the entrance’s magic array. And as a safety mechanism, it checks the destination’s status, coordinates with other teleportation arrays…”

Muttering to himself, Shiro studied the array.

"Shiro, can you read this magic array?" Shestia asked.

"Yeah, basically. Magical arrays have proper syntax—read them in order, and they make sense."

"Hey, teach me next time?"

"Ah, good."

"I want to know too!" Kotone chimes in, her interest piqued.

"Yeah, I suppose. Maybe I'll give a lecture next time," Shiro pondered.

"Yeah, here it is. About the destination coordinates—this... oh, right! I need to specify them via API? And are the coordinates relative?!" Shiro shouted.

"Shiro, direct calls to the spatial teleportation API require an advanced magical spirit. Come to think of it, the one installed on you is still just a basic magical spirit, isn’t it?"

And Mitoka pointed it out.

"……no way? Now that you mention it, that's right. I'd been conjuring magic entirely through mental visualization, so I'd completely forgotten about that… So, does spirit magic also double as a direct API call entry point? Wait, but I was able to use sealing techniques just fine, wasn't I?" Shiro asked.

"Probably a misclassification in API groupings and permission assignments," Mitoka analyzed. "The functionality of the spirit used for installation seems inconsistent across tiers."

"Right. Well, that’s the goddess’s job, then. I’ll ask her next time I get the chance. So, upgrading the spirit? Can you do that, Mitoka?"

Yes, Shiro. But it's impossible right now. Let's think about the preparations—how about tonight?

"Got it," Shiro replied.

Shiro returned to where everyone else was.

"Shiro, you figure out how the transfer works?" Makoto asks.

"Yeah, I've got the gist, but I can't use it right now," Shiro said.

"Ah, come on. Teleportation's like, a dream spell, right? Thought I'd get to experience it, but it's on hold," Makoto said.

"Wait, Makoto, you into teleportation or something?" Masaki asked.

"Huh? Nah, I mean... walking’s a pain," Makoto said.

"...That's your reason?" Masaki deadpanned.

"Hey, it's not like Japan, right? This world's huge. No cars, and horse carriages are awful to ride. So, being able to jump somewhere instantly? That'd be handy," Makoto explained.

"Fair enough. From an SF angle, it's romantic. But I still don't get the mechanics," Masaki said.

"Haha. The mechanics? Actually, they're surprisingly simple. It's just that the permissions and restrictions on using the spell are tight," Shiro said.

"Really? So, is it like bending space or punching a hole through it?" Masaki asked.

"Haha. Remember this—what you're seeing right now, the three-dimensional world? It's all an illusion. There's no such thing as space. So teleportation? It's just rewriting the coordinates of existence."

"Wait, really?"

"Basically, yeah," Shiro said, smiling.

"Alright, for now, let's call it a day. Anyone got a problem with calling it quits?" Shiro asked the group.

"Fine by me," Aria said.

And so, Shiro and the others exited the dungeon that evening, wrapping up their training for the day.

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