The scene shattered and Caleric could see the unknown mysterious place collapse.
He woke up. He was sitting on his bed thinking about what he had just seen. It was morning already, the sunshine was seeping in from the small window, falling on his desk.
It is a relief that my body isn't dead. This also means there are chances of me going back to my world. I will try to find out as much information as possible about transmigration. Right now, I have to learn about rituals because transmigration feels like something that would be achieved through a ritual.
After thinking about last night's encounter, Caleric decided to get up and get ready. He took a bath before wearing his usual clothes, which comprised a shirt, trousers, and an oversized tailcoat.
It didn't take long before he was ready. He went downstairs, and it was at that time that Cally was leaving the house. Cally saw him but did not say anything as she left, closing the door behind her.
She looked very sad.
Caleric didn't have any plans for the day. He wanted to go out and explore, but the thought of moving in a few days made him feel a little stuck. He had been a shut-in for two years, but he didn't want to stay at home because there was nothing for him to do except read books.
The forms of entertainment in this world were not very advanced. Even though this world was only a few decades behind Earth in science and technology, there still wasn't much one could do to kill time.
The most popular form of entertainment was books, specifically novels. Both fiction and non-fiction were popular. The printing press had long been invented in this world. In fact, according to Caleric's memories, he was able to figure out that advanced printing presses had arrived in this world before they did on Earth, these presses that were used for mass-producing books were more technical because they utilized manacules.
The technological revolution that had occurred in the past hundred years had completely changed the world. Around twenty years ago, when the massive project of the Northern Continent Subway was completed, there were so many new inventions that something new seemed to appear every single day.
Apart from books, the other popular forms of entertainment included theatre for plays, while hunting and fishing were activities people usually engaged in. Caleric, who had been corrupted by the internet over the years, could not be pleased by any of this.
After pondering over whether he should go out or not, he decided it would be a good idea to visit Feren Central Library. He could probably find more books related to manalogy. In reality, it was only an excuse he had come up with to convince himself to go out.
After making his plans, Caleric did not waste any time and headed straight out. He found his way back to the main street, the Upper Street, and walked upwards. The library was within walking distance from his home.
...
32 Hillroad Street
A girl wearing a yellow dress and a big straw hat on her head was running, as if in a hurry or trying to run away from someone or something.
The girl had not eaten in the past three days. Having no money and no place to live, Mara Veyren could only survive by relying on petty theft. She had just stolen a big loaf of bread from a shop by cleverly distracting everyone and had made a run for her life.
Unfortunately for her, having eaten nothing in the past three days had made her considerably weak. As her vision blurred, she collapsed on the road. It was an empty street. Mara had successfully lost the people chasing her, however, the poor soul was on the verge of death.
...
Cally was on her way to Mr. Vincent's workshop when she turned left onto 32 Hillroad Street. The thought of having to move out soon was disturbing her. Getting separated from her home and also from the workshop was something she couldn't imagine.
As Cally was lost in her thoughts, not paying attention to her surroundings, she felt something soft under her feet. She quickly stepped aside, thinking she had mistakenly stepped on a stray animal.
When she looked down at the ground, expecting a cat or a dog, she was surprised to find a girl in a yellow dress lying as if dead. Her straw hat had rolled away and was lying a little farther off.
Cally glanced at the girl, then checked her pulse.
She is still alive.
After confirming that the girl was not dead, Cally decided to take her to the workshop, which was only a few steps away. She picked the girl up on her back. The girl was not heavy, but Cally wasn't very strong either. As she walked two steps ahead, she fell flat on her face.
The girl, still lying on her back, showed no signs of waking up. Cally somehow managed to stand up. Realizing that she would probably be unable to carry the girl properly on her back, she decided to keep her there but let her feet drag in order to maintain balance.
Slowly but eventually, Cally reached the workshop. Mr. Vincent's workshop completely stood out amongst the surroundings. Where the nearby buildings were dull and old, Mr. Vincent's workshop was painted in the brightest colors—red, pink, and green.
The entire front of his workshop was made of a large wall of glass. Although the neighborhood wasn't very good and at times stray boys would throw rocks at it for fun, it wasn't regular glass. It was one of Mr. Vincent's inventions, which he called Unbreakable Glass. It was so strong that even hammering it wouldn't break it.
As Cally made her way inside the workshop, she saw smoke rising from the back room. The door opened and a man walked out, his face covered with a white powder-like substance.
"Mr. Vincent?" Cally was startled for a moment before she realized who the man was.
"I was experimenting with that white rock. You were right, it does have manacule traces. So I was wondering if it was reactive in any way. Apparently, it can react, and that too vigorously, causing a lot of smoke," Mr. Vincent explained as he wiped his face with a towel.
Soon they heard sounds coming from the room. Cally had dropped the girl she was carrying on her shoulders onto the couch as she ran inside. The room was now full of smoke. Mr. Vincent followed her in.
"Oh no..." As the words escaped Mr. Vincent's lips, both of them were met with a big blast. Smoke flowing outward, covering their faces in a white powdery substance.
"Quick, throw that out of the window!" he shouted.
Cally was standing closer to the table where the white rock was kept. She lunged forward, gripping the rock as she twisted mid-air and threw it out of the open window, where it fell straight into the Western Canal.
As the smoke slowly dissipated, both Cally and Mr. Vincent walked over to the window to look outside. The surface of the canal over a large area was covered in white foam, and white smoke was rising from it.
"That thing reacts with water and forms an explosion of smoke, but it does not react with the water present in the air. However, when it comes in contact with the smoke, the reaction proceeds? Cally, where did you get this thing from?" Mr. Vincent was quick to figure out the properties of the unknown material.
"I went to the mines the other day, didn't I tell you? I saw piles of rocks being taken out when I noticed that thing. It looked like an original rock, but there were traces of manacules," Cally recalled.
"Crazy things exist in this world. A rock that works like a smoke bomb—what else is the world hiding in its depths?" Mr. Vincent said in a curious tone.
"Well, did you at least find out why the rock had manacule traces? Aren't manacules inert by nature? Why would they condense into rocks?"
"No results. I didn't expect to lose the entire rock sample. Had I known this would happen, I wouldn't have carelessly left the rock on the table and would have sealed it inside an airtight container," Mr. Vincent told her.
"Well, it's alright I guess..." Cally paused for a second, then she turned around. "Am I forgetting something?"
As she tried to recall what had slipped from her mind, a loud thud caught their attention. It came from the lobby room. It was then that Cally recalled she had carried a nearly dead person on her back.