The Bookstore Mage

Lucien glanced at the silver blade in his hand and hesitated for a second before decisively opening a wound on his left palm. His face grimaced in pain, yet he didn't move as he allowed the blood to fall freely to the ground.

"Awey wa neɣ, tledyeḍ tawwurt-nni!" He spoke the incantation and felt his mana steer as it moved towards his blood. Still, it was not enough.

"Awey wa neɣ, tledyeḍ tawwurt-nni!"

"Awey wa neɣ, tledyeḍ tawwurt-nni!"

Lucien repeated the chant twice, his mana surged stronger each time. His blood that splattered on the ground began to boil and then miraculously moved to form a strange pattern on the ground.

The pattern looked akin to a star inside of a circle. As Lucien was busy studying the strange symbol, the surrounding mana suddenly surged towards it with shocking ferocity.

The scarlet star formed from his blood began to glow and change colors. Slowly but surely, it was turning black, and then golden. It kept altering between the two colors.

Seeing that, Lucien nodded in satisfaction. The first stage of the ritual was completed successfully. Next, he grabbed the remnant soul and stared at it for a few seconds before he mumbled:

"It's your turn, little guy. Please help me out." Saying that he gently placed the remnant soul on top of the star pattern, the surrounding mana was slowly becoming too strong.

Thankfully, however, Tamellalt seemed to have already foreseen this, she used a strange spell to cover the space around Lucien, as she effectively blocked the sudden surge of mana from ruining the bookstore.

The second Lucien placed the remnant soul sphere. He quickly resumed the chant:

"Awey wa neɣ, tledyeḍ tawwurt-nni!"

His eyes were closed as the brightness of the surrounding mana was too strong for his eyes. Still, even then he could sense its presence. Lucien followed the grimoire's instructions, he gently guided his mana to stabilize the surroundings.

He could only hold off the surge of elements for a little while, but that was all the time the remnant soul needed. With Lucien protecting it for a second, a strange scene occurred.

The star pattern began to glow even brighter as it slowly fused with the remnant soul. The small sphere turned from corporal to hazy in a matter of seconds before it disappeared completely.

Once it was gone, Lucien was unable to hold off the surrounding mana any longer. Drops of sweat dripped down the side of his face but he didn't care. He recalled his mana inside his body and allowed the surrounding particles to flood the glowing star pattern shape.

Lucien forced his eyes open and watched the scene with bated breath. The glowing mana particles frantically rushed towards the star causing it to grow brighter and brighter.

Still, it was not as simple as it appeared. The star-shaped pattern appeared to only accept certain mana particles, the rest were pushed aside. A low humming sound escaped from it causing Lucien to frown.

It was finally the moment of truth. His breath got stuck in his throat as he watched the pattern glow brighter and brighter before finally, it disappeared. A blinding flash appeared right after forcing him to cover his eyes with his hands. A grunt escaped his lips.

After a few seconds, Lucien felt that it was okay to finally open his eyes. Hesitantly, removed his hands and glanced in the direction of the strange star pattern.

His eyes widened in shock at the scene that greeted him. A half-black, half-white door stood before him. It had no handle, and it appeared to be made from some strange material.

Lucien found himself strangely drawn to it. After a few seconds of indecisiveness, he slowly stood up and took hesitant steps toward it. As if sensing his presence, the door glowed brightly for a second before it creaked open.

Taking a deep breath, Lucien paused and cast Tadawsa on himself. From now on, it was uncharted territory. So it was best to be careful. After casting th healing spell he turned to glance at the door.

He nervously gulped down and extended his hand to push it further. The second he made contact, however, a sudden shock jolted his body as he felt a foreign mana rush through his hand.

Lucien panicked for a second but quickly recalled what Tamellalt had told him.

'This should be the door getting bonded to me.'

The world before him turned bright, before abruptly turning dark. Lucien felt a sense of disorientation for a few seconds and then... Nothing.

A grunt escaped his mouth as his eyes creaked open. His mind was still dizzy as he wondered if he failed. The scenery that appeared before him argued otherwise.

Lucien's body froze as he glanced at the giant mountain range he found himself on top of. The howling winds caused his clothes to flutter. The glare of the sun made him sweat, and the smell... The smell further proved that everything was real.

"I-I made it?" He mumbled, still in shock.

It was one thing casting a spell that was supposedly a portal to another realm, but it was another actually succeeding. A hearty laugh escaped his lips as Lucien raised his fists to the sky and cried out:

"I made it!!"

His voice echoed through the mountain range, but Lucien was too excited to care. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he quickly cast Tadawsa again.

Although he did not feel any interference to his mana, it was still better to be safe than sorry. After making sure that everything was okay and that he was at no imminent risk of death, Lucien carefully scanned his surroundings.

He got teleported to a plateau-shaped mountain peak, surrounded by an impressive mountain range. Clouds covered the world below, so he could only guess how high up he was. Surprisingly, it was not cold up here, nor did he feel short of breath.

"Interesting," he mumbled as he walked around the peak. If anything, it looked man-made. Unlike the other peaks that surrounded it, the mountain he was on top of appeared as if someone or something purposefully carved it to look this way.

"But there's nothing here?"

Confused, Lucien glanced around and even peeked from the edge, but still found nothing.

"What do I do now?"

Before coming here, he had a lot of scenarios in his mind. A monster forest where he'd have to fight his way out using his quick wits and strong spells. Another world's city, where magic was more prominent. Perhaps he was going to meet some elves, maybe dragons? Humans even.

Still, anything but...this.

After a few seconds, his initial excitement quickly died down after he made sure that there was really, nothing here.

"Ah, f*ck me."