Prologue Story

The children noisily stood up from their seats, following the teacher’s instructions.

One by one, they got off the bus and lined up.

Once again, Yumi and I were paired together.

As soon as I got off the bus, following the teacher’s instructions, I let out a voice filled with awe.

“Wow.”

It wasn’t just me; everyone else reacted the same way.

What greeted us as we got off was a rather large building.

The building was mostly white, and the large glass windows inserted between each floor stood out.

There was also a round building made entirely of glass.

Here and there, I could see leaves emitting a strange magical aura.

But that wasn’t what made me gasp in awe.

It was the flowers around the garden of the botanical garden.

Transparent flowers made entirely of glass filled the surrounding flowerbeds.

It was so fitting that the place was called the “Glass Botanical Garden.”

Moreover, every time sunlight hit them, they shimmered in various colors, making them look incredibly beautiful.

It was no wonder the children gasped in admiration.

The teacher smiled as she watched the children rush toward the flowers, exclaiming how beautiful they were.

“Fufu. Pretty flowers, aren’t they? By the way, all these flowers are alive. They’re special plants, magically bred, and unique to this Glass Botanical Garden.”

I wondered if it was okay to touch the flowers so freely, glancing at the teacher.

But since she didn’t say anything, I guessed it must be fine.

A bit late, I approached the flowers.

With a heart full of excitement, I reached out to one of them.

The transparent petals lightly brushed against the tips of my fingers.

The soft sensation that I felt on my fingertips made me shudder slightly.

It was a feeling of pure delight.

When I lowered my head and brought my face closer to the flower, I could smell the plant’s natural fragrance.

I opened my vision.

I could see the flow of magic that only living things had.

I gently stroked the petal, just as one might caress a cute animal.

Then, small, glowing particles, like pollen, fell from the flower.

Wow, I almost jumped in excitement at the sight.

“Alright. Has everyone had a chance to touch them? Let’s get going now. Everyone, line up at the front!”

The teacher gathered the children, who had scattered about.

I reluctantly let go of the flower and held Yumi’s hand, taking my place at the back of the line.

Before we set off, the teacher connected all of us with a magical ‘line.’

It was a safety line to prevent anyone from getting lost.

If something happened, it would allow the teacher to teleport us directly to where she was.

It was a unique spell of the teacher’s, useful for locating or grabbing people, though it couldn’t be used to transport us anywhere else.

Once the teacher ensured we wouldn’t get lost, she led us forward.

“Alright, shall we enter the botanical garden?”

“Wow!”

We took turns, entering the botanical garden in line.

Unlike other places, this garden had many sections where various types of plants were displayed like exhibits in a museum.

There were many plants that could grow even in places without soil.

Because of this, the teacher had to work hard to keep the children quiet.

While holding Yumi’s hand and maintaining my place in line, I looked around in amazement at the strange sights.

There were plants growing in the air, with their roots hanging in the atmosphere.

The roots were fascinating.

I thought they were just flower decorations attached to the walls, but they were actually plants.

It felt like magic was glittering and spreading everywhere.

If you looked closely, the magic in the plants was slightly different from that of humans.

The color of the magic here was incredibly beautiful, almost overwhelmingly so.

Occasionally, there were plants with a strangely distorted color, but since they were so pretty and fascinating, I didn’t dwell on it.

We passed through various rooms.

Some had flowers that could talk, while others were rooms entirely made from enormous flowers.

“Next, we’re heading to the place with ‘iron plants.’ There are many fascinating plants here. Some of them even bear iron tools like fruits from their trees.”

“Teacher, teacher, like spoons?”

“Or hairpins?”

“Beads?”

“Beads aren’t made of iron!”

“There are iron beads!”

Iron, huh. I tilted my head in thought.

Come to think of it, I had an affinity for metal magic.

Iron… I wondered what kind of magic could be created with it.

Out of the basic magic I’d learned, there weren’t many related to iron.

Even if there were, they were attack spells, which I hadn’t learned yet.

For example, causing iron to rise from the ground, shaping it into something like a spear and launching it.

Most were of that type, so even if I could create magic, I couldn’t imagine what kind of magic it would be…

Honestly, I didn’t have a clue.

I thought it would probably all be attack magic.

I had never really thought about magic related to metal.

I followed the teacher into the Iron Room.

Contrary to my expectation that it would be filled with dull gray, the room was full of brightly colored plants.

‘Huh?’

Although the flowers clearly had a metallic appearance.

It felt like looking at flowers made of gold or silver.

Rather than feeling alive, they seemed more like decorations.

I looked around, admiring the surroundings.

One thing for sure: the scene in the room was breathtaking.

The line of children naturally broke apart.

With a curious expression, I touched the silver needle-like leaves.

Since they were metallic, I thought they’d be sharp or hard, but they were neither.

The leaves and petals bent more easily than I expected.

I was so surprised I stopped touching them for a moment.

On the other hand, some parts were as hard as they appeared.

With their varying colors, I found it hard to stifle a laugh.

There were really iron-like beads hanging from some trees.

What’s more, the teacher said they were edible.

‘What…?’

I looked around the room in a daze.

I glanced at the fruit and felt a slight appetite.

It didn’t look particularly appetizing, but since it was edible, I wanted to try it.

“Alright, everyone, let’s move to the next room!”

“What? Already?”

“Aww, so soon?”

It was no wonder the kids looked disappointed.

I felt the same way.

But even with disappointed faces, the children followed the teacher, who was already walking ahead.

I brushed my fingers against the leaves as I followed the line.

Before long, the row of flowers ended, and the exit came into view.

At that moment, something caught my eye.

‘What’s that…?’

It was a flower… emitting a white light.

Thump!

An iron flower.

At the center of its petals, a transparent jewel-like orb glowed as if it were the flower’s stamen.

I was drawn in by the mysterious light radiating from the orb between the petals.

It exuded a peculiar magic.

The magic was so foreign, it seemed to distort the surroundings.

It was an instinct.

For some reason, as soon as I saw that beautiful object, I felt a chill.

The magic was beautiful, but it felt incredibly dangerous to me, so──

‘If it stays there…’

I instinctively, or perhaps unconsciously, reached out toward the orb.

As I stood on tiptoe, my hand slipped out of Yumi’s.

Slowly, my hand approached the orb.

Time seemed to slow down.

I could hear the warning bell ringing in the corner of my dazed mind.

My body tensed up on its own.

The petals brushed against my hand, and the orb touched my fingertips.

At that moment, the orb dropped softly onto my hand.

I felt as though its light grew even brighter.

──And that’s when it happened.

“Huh, huh…?”

Suddenly, light began to emanate from the ground, and the surroundings started to distort.

Boom.

“Kyaa!”

I covered my ears and bent down, startled, looking around.

The entire room was shaking.

The iron began to warp, like waves or melting fabric.

It was as if an illusion was dissolving, or the iron was melting from heat.

I stared in shock at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

What I thought was an earthquake turned into waves that swept across the room.

There was no way anyone could stand properly in such a place.

Unable to withstand the undulating iron, I collapsed to the ground.

I instinctively grabbed the floor with my magic, as there was nothing to hold onto with my short limbs.

I clenched my hands tightly out of instinct.

While lying there, I looked ahead and gasped in horror, backing away.

“Kyaa!”

A sharp iron pillar suddenly shot up in front of me.

It was rising with enough force to pierce through anything in its way.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Iron spears and walls rapidly shot out in all directions, both upward and sideways.

They were so menacing and fast that I was convinced I might die if I got stabbed.

Watching the iron pillars slowly rise toward me, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes.

‘Ugh…!’

At that moment, the tremors stopped as if it had all been a lie.

Everything became silent.

Feeling the vibrations stop, I cautiously opened my eyes.

Everything had truly come to a halt.

The movement of the iron, which had been surging just moments ago, had stopped.

Although iron spears and walls had sprouted all over the place, they now just stood still.

I sat up in a daze and looked around.

“What on earth…?”

Finally, I snapped back to my senses.

Panicked, I scanned my surroundings.

The exit, which had been right in front of me moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.

All I could see were iron spears, the strangely twisted floor, and walls.

The entire area around me was surrounded by iron, like waves poised to crash down.

Would I have been crushed by the iron if it had stopped a little later?

Just the thought sent a chill down my spine.

As a result, I couldn’t see anything beyond the immediate vicinity.

I stepped out of the hollow I was in to look around.

Beyond the waves of iron, sharp iron pillars jutted out in a barren landscape.

As I surveyed the surroundings, I eventually opened my mouth, my voice filled with fear.

“Teacher…?”

The exit was nowhere in sight.

Neither the teacher nor my friends were visible.

The sky, the ground—everything was a metallic shade of silver.

Just moments ago, the place was full of beautiful flowers and trees…

I clenched my trembling fists.

In truth, the original structures and plants were still there, only the forms had changed.

It was just that the iron spikes shooting up from the ground were creating a bleak atmosphere.

My voice echoed emptily.

But there was no response.

I stared blankly at my hand.

Even the magic line that had connected me to the teacher was gone.

I could see the flow of magic clearly, even without the teacher’s markings, but now it was nowhere to be seen.

Even the warmth I had felt in my hand just moments ago…

“Yumi…?”

As I muttered absentmindedly, I soon realized.

In this harsh room, I was now completely alone.

No way…!

With an anxious expression, I frantically looked around once more.

But as expected, there was no exit, and no one else in sight.

Only the iron sculptures and plants filled the chaotic space around me.

Even the plants that had looked so beautiful just moments ago now seemed intimidating, frightening, and terrifying to me.

I slowly began to walk.

“Isn’t anyone here…?”

My voice echoed back, unanswered.

With a pale expression, I brought my clenched hand to my chest.

Am I really alone?

Alone in a place like this? No way.

I quickened my pace as fear and anxiety tightened in my chest.

I tried to organize the scattered thoughts in my mind.

‘Why did this suddenly happen?’

It all seemed to have happened in an instant.

Like I was possessed, I reached out to the strange orb nestled in the flower, and then the surroundings began to shake.

…Ah, right.

That’s how it was.

I had definitely grabbed the orb nestled between the flowers.

In my panic, I hadn’t even realized I was holding something.

I opened my left hand, which had been clenched tightly.

A bead, imbued with strong magic, rolled around in my palm.

It was, without a doubt, strange magic.

Maybe it was part of the plant too, but somehow, the magic felt distinctly different from the other plants I had seen.