Chapter 136: Mysterious Magic Circle

Even as the waves carried them along, Mochi headed toward the island.

Until a short while ago, there had been sandy shores around the island, with greenery spreading toward the center. Now, the sandy shore had completely disappeared.

Even the thick trees were partially submerged in seawater, and the entire landscape of the island had been transformed.

So this is what happens when large monsters fight each other... The island’s terrain changed in an instant. Just how powerful are they?

Even so, it was unsettling that no matter how far Qiu Nuoya looked around, he could not see either of the enormous monsters that had just been engaged in what could only be called a monster war.

Long was nowhere to be seen either.

Where did they go?

Qiu Nuoya continued drifting with Mochi for about fifteen minutes before they finally reached what appeared to have once been a slightly elevated hill.

Qiu Nuoya and Warren climbed out of Mochi and stood on the hill.

The area had become something like an open plaza, and in the center, they could see something resembling a crest.

"Huh? Is this..."

"It’s some kind of magic circle."

It was definitely a magic circle imbued with some sort of magic.

However, Qiu Nuoya was not knowledgeable enough about magic circles yet to determine exactly what kind it was.

"Do you think Viktor drew it?"

"I don’t think so. If Viktor had drawn it, there should be a tree motif somewhere in it."

That was right. The magic circles Viktor created always contained a motif of a great tree somewhere within them. It was the same pattern as the protective mark engraved on Qiu Nuoya’s back.

Apparently, the pattern was similar to a fingerprint. By examining it, one could determine who had cast the magic.

This magic circle did not contain Viktor’s distinctive pattern, so it was unlikely that he had created it.

Still, why is there a magic circle in a place like this?

Qiu Nuoya had assumed that no one had ever set foot on this floor before, but perhaps that was not actually the case.

Without really thinking about it, Qiu Nuoya reached out his hands and touched the magic circle.

The moment he did, the entire circle suddenly burst into brilliant light and before Qiu Nuoya could react, his body was flung straight into the air.

"Whoa!"

The moment Qiu Nuoya touched the strange magic circle, its light enveloped him. His body was forcibly teleported somewhere. He he was suddenly thrown into the air without warning and landed hard on his backside.

"Ouch..." Qiu Nuoya looked around, while rubbing his aching lower back. He found himself inside someone’s living quarters, roughly the size of a 20 square meters room. The reason he immediately thought of it as a living space was simple. There was a bed, a kitchen, and a mountain of books piled up in one corner.

There was even a small clawfoot bathtub tucked away in another corner.

It was clear that someone lived here.

There were no windows at all. The room was a completely enclosed space with walls on all four sides. From the outside, it would not have been strange to mistake it for a prison cell.

Strangely, though, the room did not feel oppressive.

Despite being a completely sealed space with no way for natural light to enter, the room was softly illuminated. Some kind of magic had probably been placed throughout the room to provide the light.

Still, this was inside the dungeon.

More importantly, this was the forty eighth floor, a place that most adventurers should never have been able to reach. Anyone living here could not possibly be an ordinary person.

Qiu Nuoya cautiously looked around the room. Apparently, he had been transported here alone since Warren was nowhere to be seen.

"Could it be that I somehow caused a huge problem...?"

The magic circle they had found must have been a teleportation circle leading to this room. But that presented a problem. Qiu Nuoya had made it here, but he had no idea how to get back.

Qiu Nuoya once again looked around the room from corner to corner. Unless he found some clue that could help him escape this sealed room, there was no way out. He absolutely did not want to starve to death in a place where no one could ever find him.

Still, if that magic circle had indeed been a teleportation circle leading here, it was strange that Warren had not followed him.

Qiu Nuoya was certain that if Warren had seen him touch the magic circle and disappear, he would have chased after him without a second thought. He was sure Warren would have done the same even if Viktor had been the one who disappeared. Yet Warren had not followed him.

That meant something must have prevented him from doing so.

The most suspicious thing was, of course, that magic circle.

Qiu Nuoya had been studying magic, but he had not yet gotten around to studying magic circles themselves.

Magic circles were a form of advanced magic that activated spells by engraving their formulas directly into a specific location. That was precisely why one needed to master a wide variety of spell formulas before being able to construct a magic circle.

Even so, magic circles had many different applications.

For example, a magic circle incorporating a fire magic stone could be installed in a stove to easily produce a flame. Likewise, combining a water magic stone with a magic circle could be used to purify water in a water supply system.

Magic circles like these, which were deeply integrated into everyday life, could be found almost everywhere, and apparently their formulas were not particularly difficult.

However, among them, teleportation circles that distorted space and transported people were special. Only highly skilled magicians could create them.

That made Viktor, who could casually draw a teleportation circle like that, even more exceptional.

He really was an incredible person.