Natsuki Minamiya scanned the circle of students before speaking slowly, "Gather around. Don't spread out so much."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached every student's ears clearly. Hearing her command, everyone hurriedly gathered and stood in their usual morning assembly formation.
Ren Isana and his group stood at the very front. Once everyone was in position, Natsuki Minamiya suddenly raised her small parasol under the curious gazes of the crowd. A purple Magic Circle materialized out of thin air beneath their feet.
Ren instinctively looked down and activated [Spatial Perception]. In an instant, the entire pattern of the Magic Circle appeared in his mind, and a flood of knowledge began to surge forth.
Although he couldn't use it right now, this was spatial magic! If he didn't record it with [Jianjigu] now, when would he? The massive purple Magic Circle directly enveloped the entire class, along with Natsuki Minamiya and the other teachers.
Mid-cast, Natsuki Minamiya suddenly furrowed her brows. She sensed her surroundings, feeling a bit perplexed. *Who is watching this place?* As a spatial mage, her perception of space was naturally incredibly sharp.
Thus, she immediately noticed someone observing the area. However, upon realizing the observer harbored no ill intent, she didn't dwell on it and activated the Magic Circle without another word.
The group vanished from the spot, teleported away. Ren's classmates felt the world spin wildly around them, as if they had been thrown into a washing machine. By the time their vision cleared and they could see their new surroundings, someone immediately threw up.
The sudden shift in space was too much for many to handle. Ren, on the other hand, felt no discomfort whatsoever. Even the students who managed to hold back their lunch looked visibly nauseous.
Only a few students looked around with keen interest. *We just instantly changed locations? This is way too convenient. And wait, is this the entrance to the Dungeon?*
Everyone had been here before, so the area wasn't unfamiliar. However, it was completely deserted right now, seemingly under martial law. The only people inside were the newly teleported group.
Natsuki Minamiya glanced at the students puking their guts out without much surprise. People experiencing teleportation for the first time were basically all like this. In fact, it was the ones who felt no discomfort at all who were truly surprising.
Generally speaking, such individuals possessed spatial talent. This was one of the screening criteria for spatial mages: if you could endure spatial teleportation without throwing up, it proved you had an aptitude for spatial magic.
Natsuki Minamiya looked at the completely unfazed Ren before speaking up, "Hurry up and finish puking, then get ready to move out. Those of you who are fine, come here first. I'm going to cast a spell on you."
Hearing her words, Ren glanced at Asuna, Megumi Kato, and Yukino Yukinoshita, all of whom looked a bit pale. "Let's go. You'll probably get used to it after a few more times."
The fact that the three girls hadn't thrown up was already quite impressive. Right now, they just looked a little green around the gills, but they would recover shortly. It was nothing serious.
At Ren's words, the three nodded and followed him over to Natsuki Minamiya. The petite teacher gave Ren a look and said, "It seems you have spatial talent. If you're interested in spatial magic, you can come find me."
With that, she released a Magic Circle that struck directly at the center of Ren's forehead. The purple Magic Circle flashed briefly before vanishing.
"This Magic Circle will instantly teleport you back here the moment your life is threatened. However, you only get one chance. If you fail to make it back, consider yourself out of luck," Natsuki Minamiya stated, mercilessly laying out the cruel reality.
Hearing this, a trace of speechlessness flashed through Ren's eyes. The moment the spell landed on him, he already understood how it worked. The Magic Circle Natsuki Minamiya gave him shared a faint, almost imperceptible connection with the ground beneath their feet.
In other words, this entire area was likely a massive Array. The Magic Circle on Ren's forehead acted as a safety tether. When encountering danger, he would be instantly yanked back.
If you were killed before the safety tether could pull you back, then you truly were out of luck. Your death would mean the tether had been severed, and not even your corpse would return!
Having received the mark, Ren quietly stepped aside and carefully analyzed the intricacies of the Magic Circle. Aside from being a safety tether, this thing also seemed to function as a key.
A key for teleportation. Without this Magic Circle, you couldn't be teleported at all. After all, in a place like this, if one wasn't careful, they might accidentally teleport all sorts of random junk, right?
*This was probably set up to prevent stowaways, huh? It has quite a few functions. Besides that, it looks like this thing can be manually activated?* After a bit of study, Ren easily grasped the method to trigger it.
This meant that, if necessary, Ren could actively channel his Magic Power into the spell to teleport himself back. *What an interesting little toy!*
Ren began to study it more deeply. With the help of his terrifying [Jianjigu] talent, he quickly figured out the principles behind the Magic Circle. He even followed the metaphorical breadcrumbs to directly sense the massive Array Magic buried beneath the venue.
If anything were to happen to this Dimensional Rift, the Array Magic below would activate instantly, completely sealing off this space. Furthermore, the entire Array was connected to the ley lines.
Sensing all of this, Ren couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. *What a massive undertaking.* At the same time, it filled him with a sense of security. *I bet every Dimensional Rift has an Array like this.*
From what Ren knew, the Dimensional Rifts that appeared in certain cities were eventually cordoned off and built into massive stadium-like structures. The purpose was likely to transform them into Array Magic sites.
At the same time, this Array Magic possessed numerous other functions. A vast amount of knowledge continuously flooded into Ren's mind. The more he deduced, the more shocked he became.
All he could say was that it was a monumental project—the kind ordinary people couldn't even dream of dabbling in. After marveling at it for a moment, Ren stopped his in-depth research. This thing was clearly beyond what he could fully interact with at his current level.
However, he had still gained a significant amount of knowledge regarding Array Magic this time around. He could now be considered a qualified Array Master. *Definitely a profitable haul!*
Ren's classmates gradually recovered and went to Natsuki Minamiya one by one to receive their Magic Circles. Once everyone was marked, she continued, "Brace yourselves for the next part. Even if you want to puke, hold it in! Wait until we get to the other side to throw up!"
At these words, many students' faces instantly paled. *Good grief, again?! And it sounds like this time will be even worse? Can't you let us prepare a bit more?*
"Actually, if you brought any Blue Potions, you can drink a pouch. It will help alleviate the symptoms," Yor Forger chimed in, offering the helpful advice that Natsuki Minamiya had omitted.
Hearing this, many students hurriedly pulled out their potions and frantically chugged them down. Even Asuna and the others did the same. Only Ren and the few who felt no discomfort refrained from drinking.
Natsuki Minamiya didn't stop them. Meanwhile, Shizuka Hiratsuka was standing off to the side, watching the spectacle like it was a comedy show. She seemed highly entertained by everyone's first teleportation experience.
After all, she had gone through the exact same ordeal back in the day. Now that it was someone else's turn, how could she not enjoy the show? Otherwise, wouldn't her past suffering have been for nothing?
Natsuki Minamiya waited until everyone finished their potions before making her move. She activated her magic once more, communing with the massive Magic Circle hidden beneath the earth.
In Ren's perception, as Natsuki Minamiya released her magic, the steadily running Array Magic was instantly fully activated. Complex Magic Circles began to surface on the walls of the building, and the marks on everyone's foreheads flickered in unison.
As the entire Array Magic roared to life, a pillar of purple light shot into the sky. Immediately after, Ren and the others vanished from the spot one by one, leaving the interior of the building to slowly return to its former tranquility.
At this moment, the group felt the world spinning wildly. A wave of dizziness—dozens of times more violent than the initial teleportation—washed over them. Many students' faces instantly turned a ghastly shade.
Furthermore, this sensation was continuous. Many tightly shut their eyes, using this method to mitigate the overwhelming vertigo.
In the entire class, only Ren still had his eyes open. In his field of vision, the group was standing on a purple Magic Circle, plummeting madly downward. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but an endless void.
Ren looked around with a curious gaze before his eyes landed on Natsuki Minamiya and the other teachers. At this moment, all three teachers were staring at him in astonishment.
None of them could have ever imagined that Ren would be completely unfazed. Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yor Forger were relying entirely on their formidable strength to resist the dizziness.
But Ren? He didn't possess that level of raw power. Even Shizuka Hiratsuka, whose strength was slightly lower among the teachers, felt her head growing heavy and was experiencing some discomfort.
Yet this freak of nature, Ren, was looking around as if he were on a leisurely stroll. It was simply absurd.
Natsuki Minamiya, on the other hand, was looking at Ren with eyes that practically sparkled. *This kid is a heaven-sent spatial mage!* She had thought Ren merely had slightly above-average talent, but she never expected it to be this exceptional.
Even she had felt a bit of discomfort during her first world-crossing teleportation and hadn't dared to look around like Ren was doing. Right now, this guy was far superior to how she had been back then.
The corners of Natsuki Minamiya's mouth curled up slightly. *This trip to the other world is going to be interesting.* Perhaps she could let him try learning her magic. If he actually succeeded, they would have a brand-new spatial mage on their hands.
Having made up her mind, Natsuki Minamiya decided she was going to properly nurture this guy. His talent was related to learning, right? Then she would see if he could learn spatial magic.
As for whether spatial magic could be taught to others? Logically speaking, the higher-ups had always maintained an open attitude toward this, simply because spatial mages were far too rare.
Especially spatial mages like Natsuki Minamiya, who were practically the only ones of their kind. If they could find more people to learn spatial magic, the higher-ups would be absolutely thrilled.
Because Dimensional Rifts inherently involved space, spatial mages were incredibly important everywhere. As for spatial magic, as long as you had the capacity to learn it, there would always be someone willing to teach you!
This was exactly Natsuki Minamiya's mindset right now. As long as Ren was willing to learn, she would teach him. Her only fear was that Ren might have the aptitude but lack the comprehension to actually master it. After all, spatial magic was notoriously difficult!
After a bout of intense spinning, the group was instantly teleported to a massive plain. The moment they felt solid ground beneath their feet, they immediately dropped to their knees and puked their guts out.
The sounds of dry heaving quickly echoed across the plain. This time, the vast majority of the students threw up, and everyone looked absolutely dreadful.
"Ahhhh! I'm back!" Just as everyone was puking until the sky spun, Hestia let out a piercing shriek of joy. She had just realized that her Divine Power was sealed once again.
This meant she had finally returned to her own world. She screamed in pure excitement. *Hestia has returned! Just you wait, I'm marching back with my forty Familia members!*
Hearing Hestia's cheers, everyone felt a bit speechless. Natsuki Minamiya spoke up at this moment, "Everyone, rest for a bit. Then we'll move out."
With that, Natsuki Minamiya silently walked away. After all, the smell here was simply too overpowering. With a whole group of people vomiting everywhere, she, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and Yor Forger all quietly put some distance between themselves and the students.
Ren also walked away. *Let these guys puke for a while. I'll just observe the surroundings.* They would recover soon enough anyway. After all, everyone had decent physical constitutions; they were built tough.
Seeing Ren walk off, Asuna, Megumi Kato, and Yukino felt a bit speechless. They hurriedly took out bottles of water, rinsed their mouths, and quickly followed him.
Once he was a fair distance away, Ren stopped and surveyed his surroundings. They were in a massive plain, and from here, he could see a towering structure piercing the sky in the distance.
*That direction should be Orario, right?* Ren looked up at the sun to determine their orientation, confirming their current location.
*The eastern region of Orario?* Sorting through the memories in his mind, Ren quickly figured out where they were. Magnolia Hills—a vast expanse of green, rolling hills.
*Isn't this also the direction of the dilapidated church where Hestia originally lived?* However, it probably wasn't right here, as they were still quite a distance from the Babel Tower. *It's probably somewhere up ahead, right? That rundown church.*
It was likely several kilometers away. It seemed to be morning in this world as well, which meant there was no time difference between here and their original world.
Ren took out his phone to check the time, then looked up at the sun's position again, basically confirming this fact.
"What a terrible experience. How are you acting like nothing happened?" Asuna and the other two walked up to Ren, their faces deathly pale. She really couldn't understand why Ren was completely unaffected.
"It's probably because I have a strong sense of spatial awareness. If you're feeling unwell, you can sit down and meditate for a bit. You'll feel better," Ren said, pulling back his thoughts and turning to look at the somewhat miserable trio, immediately offering a suggestion.
Hearing Ren's advice, the three girls didn't hesitate. They sat straight down on the grass, closed their eyes, and entered a meditative state. As they meditated, the dizziness in their heads finally began to subside significantly.
Seeing this, Ren didn't disturb them. Some of the students who had stumbled away from the vomit zone noticed what was happening on Ren's side. Seeing Asuna and the others meditating, they followed suit and began doing the same.
This entire scene was taken in by Natsuki Minamiya and the other teachers. A flash of approval crossed Natsuki Minamiya's eyes. She couldn't help but ask Shizuka Hiratsuka, "Is that guy, Ren Isana, always this absurd?"
She was now full of interest in Ren. Since Shizuka Hiratsuka spent more time teaching him, she wanted to get some insight from her. Although she had asked Rina-sensei about him previously, the information hadn't been comprehensive.
"He really is just that absurd. You'll understand once you start teaching him. That guy... is simply a freak of nature," Shizuka Hiratsuka replied, unable to hold back a quip as she recalled Ren's past performances.