Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

The three entered the Gate together, but once inside, Bibo found himself alone in a dry, arid environment.

"Thalor? Eris?" After a moment of hesitation, Bibo tried to call out to the two, but no response reached him, only the faint whistle of a parched wind.

"Well, as one would expect from a Gate inside a Gate. They are mysterious but full of rewards!"

Bibo began to explore the place. The barren earth, the cracks in the rocky ground, the gray sky, heavy with an unnatural stillness.

Everything in this place seemed static, unmoving like a painting frozen in time.

"How strange…" the boy murmured as he looked around. "This is not how I imagined it… where are the challenges, the treasures, the rewards?"

Bibo continued walking when something caught his eye a faint glint among the rubble.

"Oh? So I am not the first to have reached this place… one of those four came here before me… maybe the reward, the prize to be received in this place, belongs to him-"

Bibo, who until a moment ago was energetic and full of expectations, suddenly collapsed to the ground, on his knees his hands gripping the cracked earth.

He stared at the destroyed figures of the golems on the ground, his gaze lost in the void.

"No, I cannot accept this!" he said suddenly, standing up from the ground, his right hand clenched into a fist while his blue eyes shone with boldness, like twin flames in the dim light. "That guy must fight me for whatever inheritance he has received!"

With this thought in mind, Bibo began to run quickly around the place, searching for the location of the other participant who had come here before him, his footsteps kicking up clouds of dust.

Of course, it was Lian.

---

"Eh?" a high-pitched voice echoed in the area. "A bed?"

The armor covering his body trapped the heat of the place inside, making Eris sweat, but he did not seem to mind, his focus unwavering despite the discomfort.

The only thing his eyes caught the moment he entered this place was the bed in the distance standing incongruously amidst the scorched landscape.

After a moment, he looked around. "So I am alone," he murmured as he headed toward the bed in the distance, his heavy steps crunching against the brittle ground.

As he approached, Eris could see several bloodstains on the ground, dark and glistening, like ominous warnings. Several geysers erupted with magma and smoke, but the heat did not seem to damage the bed in any way, as if protected by an unseen force.

"Oh? A person?"

After getting close enough, Eris saw a figure lying on the bed, motionless. The only reason Eris did not think she was dead was because of the slow, steady breathing that rhythmically raised her chest like a delicate tide.

The girl looked very small. She had thick, long hair, almost as long as she was tall, in a delicate blue color, contrasting with her simple but elegant black dress, decorated with delicate bronze-colored embroidery.

Next to the bed lay several headless monsters, making the already strange scene even more surreal.

Eris did not approach the bed too closely. He was not foolish. Whatever had killed those monsters had done so because they had gotten too close their severed heads a grim testament to its power.

What is a little girl like this doing in a place like this?! Eris thought, his mind racing with questions.

But before he could even open his mouth, the figure on the bed opened her eyes.

Well, opening her eyes was an exaggeration. They were only slightly open, just enough to see the world, like slits of starlight in the gloom.

At that moment, a yawn filled her face, while her arms and legs stretched reflexively.

After a few seconds, a soft and delicate, yet somehow listless voice came from her lips. "Big sister, are you not hot?"

Big sister? How did she identify me so quickly? Eris stiffened for a moment, only to return to normal a second later his heart steadying with resolve. "I am not a girl, I am a boy. My name is Eris Sunblade, and I was sent by the kingdom to help you and the others escape this place."

Eris assumed a soldier's stance, taking a deep breath as he finished the sentence. He had never spoken such a long sentence before.

"Ohh," she nodded slightly with her head. "I am Aelya Emberfall!"

So cute… Eris thought suddenly, seeing the little girl nod her head, before she put away the bed and placed her bare feet on the ground, her movements graceful despite the harsh terrain.

Eris wanted to tell her to be careful, but the little girl did not flinch at all. The heat of this place did not affect her in the slightest, as if she were born of the flames themselves.

"Alright then, stay by my side, I will protect you!" said the Knight as he looked at the large volcano in the distance, its peak wreathed in ominous smoke.

Aelya merely let out a soft "hm" before following the heavily armored Knight, her steps light as a breeze.

The two set off toward the volcano in the distance, their silhouettes framed against the fiery glow.

---

"What a wonderful place!" Thalor's words echoed across the small island where he stood. He was alone, surrounded by the sea its waves whispering secrets of forgotten ages.

However, unlike Seline, his view was not limited. He could see a giant island in the distance, looming like a titan against the horizon.

"Interesting… is that where I need to go?" he wondered to himself as he sensed a monster approaching his position, its presence a ripple in the mana around him.

"So weak… Aqua," he murmured before making a casual gesture with his hands, causing the fish to explode in a mess of blood.

Other fish-shaped monsters, each different from the last, rushed toward Thalor with ferocity, but one by one, they all died in an explosion of flesh and blood, the sea frothing with their remains.

With another gesture of his hand, the water began to flow toward his position, carrying the Mana Cores of the monsters, glowing faintly like captured stars.

Without giving them another glance, Thalor stored them in his spatial ring with a practiced flick of his wrist.

"Alright, I would say we can head toward the island."

With a fluid motion of his hand, a sword appeared before Thalor. Unlike a common sword, this one was not used for combat—or rather, not only for combats.

Its main purpose was to serve as a mount, or rather, as a support to cross difficult terrain with ease, a marvel of magical craftsmanship.

After all, it was also known as a flying sword.

Thalor leaped onto the floating sword with precise grace; after all, it was not the first time he had used it, his balance as steady as a seasoned rider.

"Let us go!" With a quick thought, the sword began to move, increasing its speed steadily. The boy's clothes and short hair were not disturbed by the wind, thanks to the anti-wind barrier the sword had as an effect, shimmering faintly around him like a protective cocoon.