Ch. 103 - Charm Alley, The Place That Doesn’t Exist on Any Map
Is It Weird for a Guy to Apply to a Witch School?This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
“These are all failed pieces, aren’t they?” Bai Yu crouched down, casually picking up one of the trinkets from the stall and holding it up. “Selling them at material cost already means a loss. If you’re trying to recover expenses, this isn’t exactly the smartest way to find a sucker.”
“Huh—? Oh. You noticed…” The senior froze for a second, then laughed awkwardly. “Well, can I lower the price more? They’re failed items, sure, but not completely useless. As decorations, they still have some artistic flair, right~?”
“But even as art pieces, their value is pretty low,” Bai Yu pressed calmly. “Give us a fair price, and I might pick a few.”
“…Alright, alright~”
After a brief round of bargaining, the senior finally gave in.
By the time we left, I had two small trinkets in my hands.
They were beautifully constructed, polished metal gleaming softly. I found myself turning them over again and again, oddly reluctant to put them away.
It wasn’t until Bai Yu explained them that I actually understood what I’d bought.
The first was a hollow sphere, inside which another hollow sphere was nested. When shaken, it produced a crisp, chiming sound. Even ignoring its function, the craftsmanship alone would’ve been worth a fortune outside the Academy.
Originally, the inner sphere was meant to levitate freely—but since this was a failed piece, it never achieved suspension. Now it was basically a bell.
Even if it had succeeded, it would’ve been nothing more than a decorative art object. As it was, it had become a toy. When shaken, the residual transcendence energy flickered with light—its last remaining value.
The second item was… a magic prop.
A tool meant for performing magic tricks.
Which, honestly, felt a little backwards.
Using magic to perform magic tricks—wasn’t that missing the point?
And since it was also a failed piece, it couldn’t even do its intended job properly.
All that remained was a chain of interlocked rings. The design was still delicate, and when pulled, they chimed pleasantly. Occasionally, there’d be a burst of ribbons, smoke, or other illusory effects—purely for misdirection.
Under Psi-vision, I could see that these effects were fueled by residual transcendence energy. Once that energy was depleted, everything would stop entirely.
“Hehe~ this is actually pretty fun,” I said, amused. “Didn’t expect the lower limit of alchemy to be this low.”
“That’s how it works,” Bai Yu replied with a smile. “Alchemy is learned step by step. No one masters it overnight. Early-stage alchemists burn resources just to practice. Only later do they produce items with real power.”
“Then… can you do alchemy, Bai Yu?”
“No,” she answered simply. “I’ve never studied it. Everyone chooses their own path. Trying to learn everything just leads to being mediocre at all of it.”
“Oh. I was just curious,” I laughed. “I don’t have the money to go down that road anyway.”
“Fair enough.” Bai Yu glanced ahead. “Let’s head back. Nothing is interesting further in.”
“Up ahead… yeah, I guess so.” I followed her gaze. The street continued much the same. After the initial novelty wore off, boredom settled in.
Truth be told, I wasn’t even that fond of shopping.
I’d only suggested wandering around because…
I wanted to stay with Bai Yu a little longer.
“Hm?” I paused. “Wait. Bai Yu—doesn’t something feel… off up ahead?”
I hadn’t turned off Psi-vision. It gave me a constant perspective on transcendence, and lately I’d been deliberately training myself to adapt to it.
Ever since I’d been completely outmatched by Tan Han last time, my understanding—and control—of Psi-vision had changed dramatically.
And now, it was reacting.
“There’s nothing there,” Bai Yu said quickly. “Let’s go back.”
“Wait.” I narrowed my eyes. “Bai Yu—you’re acting weird.”
Her response was too fast. Too urgent.
“There’s nothing weird,” she said, tightening her grip on my arm. “If you don’t behave, I'm going to punish you, you know.”
Her tone was rushed.
Almost… exposed.
“What is this place?” I asked quietly, not moving despite her pull.
Her reaction had completely ignited my curiosity.
I focused again, pushing Psi-vision further.
At first, I couldn’t tell—but then it hit me.
This street wasn’t empty.
There was another layer.
Like the Witch School overlapping Magicaeopolis…
This area was overlapped by yet another space, covering the entire district.
I could see it, but I couldn’t touch it.
It wasn’t a dreamspace.
It wasn’t an illusion.
I could even see silhouettes moving inside it—
People walking through a place that didn’t exist.
“Yuehan,” Bai Yu said quietly, her voice softening, “Good kids… aren’t supposed to go in there.”
From the look on my face, she already knew.
She knew that I had seen it.
She had tried to pull me away earlier—but failed.
If she’d known I would notice this fast, she should’ve been firmer from the start.
“I’m already an adult,” I protested weakly. “I’m legally grown up and everything. I can go anywhere I want!”
Even as I said that, my attention never left the street.
If there were that many people inside the overlapping space, then there had to be a convenient way in.
I just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“This place… it’s…”
For once, Bai Yu hesitated.
She couldn’t exactly tell me that this was one of the Witch School’s four infamous streets—
Charm Alley.
A place so unofficial that it didn’t even exist on the Academy’s maps.
She’d never intended for me to learn about it this way.
But who could’ve predicted I’d land here of all places?
If she’d pointed in literally any other direction, none of this would’ve happened.
In short—
She regretted it.
Deeply.
Meanwhile, I had already found my opening.
There were many entrances into the overlapping space—but they were cleverly hidden, tucked into corners no one would normally pay attention to.
“Hey—Yuehan!” Bai Yu grabbed my sleeve. “Where are you going? Don’t run off!”
“It’s fine,” I said lightly, pretending nothing was happening. “I’m just looking around.”
I led her toward a corner.
To an unremarkable bend in the street.
Under normal vision, it was nothing.
But under Psi-vision, it was obvious.
This was a node.
A structural anchor point.
What I was looking at wasn’t a wall—it was a lock.
An encrypted one.
And once you understood the logic behind it, it stopped being an obstacle altogether.
It was like a door with a lock no ordinary person could open—
But Psi-vision let me see through it.
As long as I understood the basic principles, brute force wasn’t even necessary.
Of course, this wasn’t something I could open by hand.
It required mental force.
Specifically—
My thread of consciousness.
The moment I extended it, Bai Yu realized what I was doing.
She didn’t come to Charm Alley often. Her knowledge of its entrances was limited to a few specific ones.
This was an entrance she didn’t know about.
She reacted immediately.
But it was already too late. She’d assumed, mistakenly, that I wouldn’t be able to open it.
She’d underestimated one thing. My Supra-level Psi-vision.
This wasn’t a matter of strength. It was a matter of cognition. A dimensional mismatch in understanding transcendence itself. A complete, overwhelming downgrade.
As my mental force pried open the “lock,” the door to this new world swung wide open before me.
And in that instant—
Both Bai Yu and I were enveloped by the opening node.
Pulled inside together.