In Kei’s old world, Dungeons also existed.
However, the state of Dungeon exploration there was not entirely the same as here.
Thanks to the existence of magic, exploration teams always had a final option for escape. When encountering a Boss that was too strong, if the team had a capable mage, that person could open a magic circle and teleport all members out of the Dungeon.
That was the method that Kei had created.
Back then, his spatial transfer magic circle was praised by countless exploration teams. As long as they had it, adventurers no longer needed to fight desperately to the last person when the situation became hopeless.
But this era had no mages, and mana did not exist either.
Kei sat in front of the ring, frowning in thought.
"If I want to use a magic circle, first I need mana to activate it. But hunters don’t know how to channel mana, and they don’t have mana in their bodies either."
He looked down at the rank F spatial ring placed on the table.
"The closest thing to mana right now is energy."
A hunter’s energy is stored in the lower abdomen. It can enhance the body, activate skills, and help them fight monsters. However, for hunters, energy is just an instinctive power. No one knows how to control it the way a mage would.
If he simply carved an ordinary magic circle onto the ring, it would not work. Kei had to find a way to make the ring handle the hardest part itself.
The ring needed to recognize its owner’s energy, convert it into a form compatible with the magic circle, and then automatically activate the teleport when enough energy was supplied. And the energy used to activate the magic circle would be the ring’s own energy.
In other words, hunters only needed to channel energy into the ring, and the ring would be completely destroyed after fulfilling its purpose.
The entire spellcasting process would be completed by the ring on their behalf.
"Are you really going to carve something called a magic circle onto the ring?"
Sora stood nearby, looking at the tools Kei had laid out across the table.
"Yeah."
Kei nodded.
"But I’m not carving it on the outside. The space inside the ring is the most suitable place."
Sora blinked.
"Why is that?"
"The space inside isn’t directly affected by the outside environment. If I carve the magic circle there, the stability will be higher. Moreover..."
Kei paused, looking at the ring with a serious expression.
"That space itself is what needs to be teleported."
Sora didn’t fully understand the explanation, but she realized this was definitely not simple.
Kei closed his eyes, restoring the spatial structure inside the ring with mana. A tiny cubic room immediately appeared in his mind.
The rank F space was only about one cubic meter, but carving a magic circle onto each stacked layer of space within it was an entirely different matter.
A magic circle cannot exist on just a single plane.
It had to be divided into countless layers, linked together by invisible guiding lines. Every single stroke had to be absolutely precise. With just the slightest error, the space inside the ring could collapse instantly.
Kei picked up the carving tool.
The tip touched empty space.
A thin line of light immediately appeared.
"Mana -1."
The mana count in Kei’s mind decreased.
But he would not stop.
The carving tip continued moving between the invisible layers of space. Every time it came down, a portion of the magic circle was completed. Ancient symbols connected to one another, slowly forming a complex structure that even ordinary mages would find hard to imagine.
"Mana -1."
"Mana -1."
"Mana -1."
Kei’s forehead was soon covered in sweat.
He was trying to reduce the amount of mana used to the lowest possible level. Mana was only used to maintain the stability of the space and to support the most difficult carving points.
If he used mana carelessly,all the magical power you have accumulated will be exhausted before the magic circle is completed. But if you don’t use magic power, just one wrong move and everything will fall apart.
This is an extremely difficult technique.
Even the rank SS mages from Kei’s old world would burst into tears if forced to do this job with such a small amount of magic power.
Kei used to be a rank SSS mage. He could once draw large-scale magic circles with just a flick of his wrist.
Now, he has to hold his breath to carve each tiny stroke into the space of an F-rank ring.
The gap is enough to drive one nearly insane, but Kei cannot fail; he doesn’t want to fail this early at crafting such a low-rank item.
Behind him, Sora holds a towel and carefully wipes the sweat from Kei’s forehead.
"Keep it up, Kei."
"Yeah."
"But if you’re too tired, stop and rest for a bit."
"I know."
"Don’t push yourself too hard. If it fails... we can just try again."
Sora’s voice carried a hint of worry. She was afraid Kei would be heartbroken if the magic circle was destroyed after hours of effort.
Kei paused slightly.
Redo it?
If it were just an ordinary ring, it could certainly be redone, but the magical energy he had accumulated over many days would vanish. For the current Kei, every bit of magical energy was extremely precious.
He couldn’t waste it.
"I won’t fail."
Kei said very softly.
Sora looked at his back, then smiled.
"I believe in you."
Those words gently fell into the quiet room. Kei didn’t turn around, but the hand holding the carving tool had steadied.
Time passed slowly.
One hour, then two. The sunlight outside the window gradually shifted, from a pale yellow to a reddish orange.
Kei remained seated at the table, barely moving. The magical energy in his body steadily decreased.
180 points.
150 points.
120 points.
Finally, when the last stroke was completed, the magical energy count had dropped to only 98 points.
Kei stopped his hand.
Inside the ring, all the spatial teleportation magic circles lit up at once. Silver light spread out in rings, threading through overlapping layers of space. The ancient symbols automatically rotated, connecting into a complete structure.