Chapter 344

Rei Kanzaki shifted laterally to the right for some distance.

Yet even after moving, the left half of his body still did not reappear. To the naked eye, his entire left side was simply... gone.

"The left half... is in the Void Plane?"

"...Now that’s interesting."

"Luluwi... what’s inside your sea of consciousness is far richer than I imagined."

A trace of astonishment crept into Rei Kanzaki’s thoughts.

Just how much was hidden within this inner world?

He didn’t act rashly. Instead, he carefully reviewed everything that had happened so far.

The murmured whispers he had heard earlier contained a great deal of information.

Between the Real Plane and the Void Plane... there existed a third domain.

Since this was only a simulation, most things here couldn’t truly harm him.

But Rei Kanzaki wanted to understand what exactly existed within this sea of consciousness.

If he didn’t figure it out now—

Then how should he treat Luluwi?

Imprison her?

Seal her away?

If everything remained unclear, then to him, Luluwi was nothing more than an unknown threat.

He had no idea how much destruction she might cause.

Ignoring her wasn’t an option.

But if he intervened... how should he proceed?

Should he kill her?

His bond with Luluwi wasn’t as deep as what he shared with Kumironi or Izuna.

But to kill her based on nothing more than a suspicion—that she might be dangerous—

That would be far too extreme.

"...I need to understand this first."

A staff materialized in his right hand.

He raised it with a single motion.

[Fifth-Tier Origin Magic — Dual Rotation of the Real and the Void]

This was the Origin Magic Izparut had taught him—the one he had learned while Loren and Anzheng were speaking.

The present world was the Real Plane.

It was the material world where people lived.

But beyond it existed another domain—

The Void Plane.

Because he had learned this Origin Magic, Rei Kanzaki was aware of the Void Plane’s existence.

It was not nothingness.

It was an abstract world—one he could not yet perceive directly. Even Izparut himself could not fully see it.

But that didn’t prevent his Origin Magic from shifting magic between "real" and "void" states.

Whoosh—

Rei Kanzaki’s body was restored.

It worked.

His body itself was constructed through magical manifestation—so he could convert it into its "void-phase."

According to Izparut’s theory—

Every spell possessed both a real and a void aspect.

Different spells corresponded to different void forms.

However...

Void-phase magic could not produce any effect in the real world.

Which left Rei Kanzaki with a lingering sense of absurdity.

An Origin Magic that had no practical use in reality?

What exactly had Izparut been researching?

After regaining control of his left half—

Rei Kanzaki noticed something strange.

His left eye was seeing something entirely different.

The left side of his body still existed within that vanished half of the sea—

But what his left eye saw...

Was a vast, azure ocean.

This—

This looked like a normal sea of consciousness.

And at the boundary between left and right—

He saw a thin, golden fissure.

The sensation was bizarre.

As though a narrow crack had been carved directly between the left and right halves of his body.

Rei Kanzaki stepped toward it without hesitation.

The fissure was impossibly thin—no thicker than a strand of hair.

Yet—

He passed through it.

When his awareness returned—

He found himself floating within a mass of gray, mist-like substance, resembling drifting souls.

"...Kid. What did you just do?"

Ansu’s voice echoed in his mind.

Rei Kanzaki steadied himself amid the drifting haze.

"Ansu? Why are you here?"

"Heh. I should be asking you that."

"One second, I was watching you cozying up with that girl in the room—getting all intimate, even knocking her senseless."

"And the next second... you show up here."

"So I’ll ask again—what did you do?"

Rei Kanzaki replied calmly, "I’m not sure you’ll fully understand, but in simple terms—I saw a fissure between the Real and the Void. I passed through it... and ended up here."

...What kind of nonsense are you spouting?

The boundary between Real and Void?

That’s something you can access at your level?

And a fissure?

"...Wait." Ansu’s tone suddenly turned serious.

"You’re saying there’s a fissure between Real and Void?"

"Yes."

Ansu let out a low chuckle.

"...Now that’s interesting."

"You might have just fallen into the Deep Ground."

"The Deep Ground?"

Rei Kanzaki asked, even though he already had a rough idea of what Ansu meant. He wanted to draw out more information.

"It’s—"

Whoosh—

Before Ansu could finish—

Rei Kanzaki’s vision cleared, as though a veil had been lifted.

"Passengers traveling to Qingdao, please note: your Shandong Airlines flight HO1279 is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate 88."

A crowd filled the space—not packed, but steady.

An airport.

The scene before his eyes was both familiar... and distant.

"...Earth?"

"Is this an illusion?"

But Ansu’s voice sounded again in his mind.

"Heh... this is no illusion."

"This... is the Deep Ground."

Rei Kanzaki stood up—

And as he did, a heavy backpack slipped from his shoulder and dropped to the floor.

Thud—

The sound drew a few glances from nearby travelers.

Rei Kanzaki froze.

His body—

Had reverted to the one he had before being transported.

"This is..."

When he spoke, his voice was no longer that of a young boy.

It was the voice of an adult man.

"...Earth... before I was transported?"

The man sitting beside him twitched at his words.

Buddy... how old are you?

Still going through a chuunibyou phase?

Wait—

My abilities.

Rei Kanzaki focused—

He tried to extend his perception across the world.

But—

Nothing.

It was as if he had returned to before Level 3—before he had ever gained perception.

No.

It was worse than that.

He clenched his fist.

His body felt weak.

Fragile.

He hadn’t felt this powerless in a long time.

Rei Kanzaki looked around.

This scene...

It was from just before his "transportation."

The moment before the airport was destroyed?

He couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

But one thing was certain—

Ansu’s presence was still there.

He could hear his voice.

But he could no longer perceive Ansu’s thoughts.

Rei Kanzaki walked into the restroom, entered a stall, and locked the door.

[Firmament Style — Second Form: Rend]

His fist shot forward like a blur—

Bang!

A dull, heavy impact echoed.

A powerful recoil surged back through his arm.

Pain—sharp and unfamiliar—spread through his bones.

But—

The wall before him exploded outward, leaving behind a massive crater.

The entire restroom shook from the impact.

Rei Kanzaki stepped out calmly.

No one would ever imagine the cracked wall had been caused by a single punch.

And no one would suspect a random passenger like him.

He simply walked away.

So—

Combat techniques still worked.

But their power was drastically reduced.

At best... perhaps one ten-thousandth of their original strength.

That single strike, in his peak state, could have split mountains, severed rivers—

Even shattered continents.

Given enough force, it could have cracked the entire Earth apart.

But now—

It had only managed to break a restroom wall.

His combat techniques were reduced to a fraction.

And his body...

Had fallen all the way back to that of an ordinary human.

"The Deep Ground... a world that does not exist."

He muttered Ansu’s earlier thought aloud.

Then—

What about magic?

Could magic still be used?

Could he recreate a class advancement ritual here?

...No.

His storage inventory was gone.

And such rituals required materials from that world.

His spirituality...

At least that remained intact.

His intelligence hadn’t dulled. He hadn’t become sluggish.

"Ansu."

He called out again.

But Ansu did not respond—only chuckled faintly, observing with detached interest.

He could see.

But he had no intention of helping.

Fortunately—

This was only a simulation.

But why was the Deep Ground... Earth?

Or was this merely an illusion formed from his own memories?

Was Luluwi’s contamination connected to the Deep Ground?

As he thought, Rei Kanzaki sprinted toward the airport exit.

Shanghai’s airport was massive.

If events followed the original timeline—

A massive explosion would soon occur, sending him into the Secret Sea.

But now—

He had a chance.

Whether this was illusion or a replay of history—

He wanted to see what exactly destroyed the airport.

And what happened to Earth afterward.

"Whoa—!"

"That guy’s fast!"

[Firmament Style — Eighth Form: Step]

Boom!

Each step carried him over ten meters in a single bound—something no human should be capable of.

To onlookers, he was nothing more than a blur—like a sprinting cheetah.

"Hey—was that even human?!"

"He’s faster than Bolt!"

"Wait—what just flew past us?!"

The bystanders were stunned.

But Rei Kanzaki ignored them completely.

If he could still use combat techniques—

Then everything he had experienced was real.

"Sir, once you leave the airport, you won’t be allowed back in."

"...I know."

The staff member hesitated slightly upon seeing him approach at such speed—

But still fulfilled their duty with a reminder.

Rei Kanzaki exited the airport—

And immediately accelerated even further.

Based on what he remembered—

The destruction radius had been enormous.

He had to keep running.

Get as far away as possible.

But—

His breathing grew ragged almost instantly.

This body...

Was exhausted after just a short sprint.

"...This is way too weak."