Just as the countdown timer reached zero, a bus arrived at the station, boasting an iridescent shine that changed color depending on the angle from which it was viewed. At the entrance, there was a small scanner where Eleonora and Erik swiped their crystal cards, causing the doors to open and allowing them to board.
Upon entering the bus, Erik was intrigued by the fact that the interior was larger than the exterior suggested. It featured beautiful leather seats decorated with various runes, which appeared adjustable due to the slight differences observable in the seats of different passengers.
The master and disciple pair sat at the back of the bus, where Eleonora showed Erik the button on the side that allowed him to adjust his seat. He only had to press it lightly, and the seat automatically adjusted to his body, providing great comfort and ease.
"Eleonora, I've been curious for a while but always forget to ask: why do some things work with buttons and similar mechanisms instead of using mana?" Erik asked with slight curiosity as he settled into his chair. Eleonora responded with a small smile.
"Well, that's because someone might have trouble activating devices that way. So, we simply use a button or something similar, so anyone can use it. Plus, it's much easier and cheaper to do it like this, which is quite common in public places."
"I see. I'll keep that in mind when I make artifacts." Erik commented understandingly as his notebook appeared in his hand. Eleonora cheerfully added.
"Fufu, that's something we do when making artifacts for general use. When it's something more personalized, we use different systems like activating it with mana and mental commands or voice commands, as it's easier and more efficient for the user, although it increases the cost and difficulty."
"Yes, I noticed when I was creating a couple of artifacts. Mental commands are somewhat complex, and it's easy to confuse them if not done properly." Erik shared his experiences working on artifacts as he finished jotting down notes, to which Eleonora nodded in understanding.
"Certainly. If it's not something very specific, it's easy for the artifact to get confused, especially if it's something abstract. That's why it's very common for mana users to 'whisper' the commands to form a clear idea when using extremely complex artifacts with thousands or hundreds of thousands of commands, since there are generally many that are very similar."
While they chatted pleasantly about artifacts, Erik looked out the window at the passing street. Suddenly, he noticed the landscape changing, suggesting that the bus was rising into the air, which filled him with doubts. Although it was common for magical artifacts to ignore physics and overlook inertia and such, he also saw, not far away, a couple of young people using the window as a screen while watching what seemed to be a miniseries.
"Actually, we're flying, fufu," Eleonora responded to the question written on Erik's face with a small giggle.
"Ohhh," Erik nodded with a dumbfounded expression, which made Eleonora laugh again as she once more hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
About 30 minutes later, after a quiet and peaceful journey, Erik saw through the window a new bus station where they were slowly landing. At the same time, a synthetic voice announced the stop, prompting several passengers to start getting up from their seats.
"We've arrived," Eleonora announced enthusiastically. Erik nodded as he stood up, then intimately took his master's hand and got off the bus.
After walking a bit, Erik found himself in front of an imposing wall featuring a gigantic ring as a "door," which was “guarded” by what seemed to be two gigantic stone golems with intricate runes engraved all over their bodies. They held enormous halberds, which functioned as a kind of barrier they moved to let visitors pass.
With evident enthusiasm, Eleonora led Erik to what appeared to be a ticket booth near the two golems. An employee asked for their cards, so she quickly took out her card from her bag and asked Erik for his, then handed them to the employee, who used a black crystal tablet to register something.
Shortly after, the employee returned the cards to Eleonora, who smiled happily as she put her card back in her bag and handed Erik his. They then walked in front of the golems, who raised their halberds, allowing them to enter the place. The green-eyed boy looked around curiously but quickly realized what kind of place it was.
Inside, the first thing Erik saw were attractions that defied both gravity and logic. Roller coasters twisting through the air without rails could be seen wherever he looked. There were also all kinds of carousels, featuring mythical creatures instead of simple horses: dragons, griffins, and unicorns that came to life thanks to the runes carved into them.
"Welcome to LorePark, one of the best amusement parks on the university planet." Eleonora announced enthusiastically, imitating a cheerleader, which made Erik laugh. Somewhat infected by his master's energy, he cheerfully commented.
"Everything here looks incredible."
"Fufufu, since we're here, first we have to ride the roller coaster. Let's go!"
After cheerfully commenting, Eleonora dragged Erik toward a small line in front of an imposing rail-less roller coaster with a holographic sign that said in large letters [The Arcane Dragon] in galactic language. After swiping their crystal cards through a scanner, several employees helped them sit in their seats in a beautiful wagon shaped like an incredibly detailed dragon's head, to the point where each scale seemed real.
Forged from enchanted metal that shone with an iridescent luster, the wagon seemed to change color depending on the angle from which it was viewed, just like the bus. Intricately engraved runes adorned each scale, appearing as beautiful decorative reliefs.
Unlike the conventional roller coaster wagons Erik was used to, this one had no safety bars of any kind. Instead, a series of runes activated when he took his seat, creating an invisible but tangible force field around him, which adjusted to the shape of his body, making it difficult to notice unless he actively tried.
"Get ready to feel 'The Dragon,' Erik." Eleonora said mischievously, leaving Erik confused as he turned to look at her with doubts written all over his face.
Shortly after the wagon started, Erik understood what his master meant by 'The Dragon.' The roller coaster “flew” without rails, performing impossible acrobatics. Erik was absolutely certain that if he were a normal human, he would have died performing them, which inevitably brought to mind the story of that roller coaster designed for painless death.
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When the ride ended, Eleonora laughed happily at Erik, whose legs were trembling from the absurd journey—something he had never experienced before. After all, he had never suffered from fear of heights, and in his past life, he had tried various roller coasters without feeling anything special apart from a bit of excitement.
But that 'Arcane Dragon' was definitely on another level. He felt close to death on several occasions, taking impossible turns at absurd speeds. Moreover, for the first time in a long while, Erik felt the now unusual for him, G-forces as inertia whipped through his entire body.
"Fufufufu, it seems the dragon was too much for my little Erik," Eleonora teased mischievously while hugging him affectionately.
"..." Erik, for his part, shot a venomous glance at Eleonora but refrained from saying anything, simply taking a deep breath to regain his composure.
"Fufufufu, don't be like that. Now let's do something more relaxed."
After commenting amused, Eleonora, full of smiles, guided Erik to a new attraction, which he recognized at a glance, bringing a smile to his face. In front of him was a racetrack made of some material similar to asphalt, with countless runes engraved all over the road.
A little further ahead were different types of futuristic karts with various runes engraved on them. Above the entrance hung a beautiful holographic sign that read [Arcane Route], accompanied by a short video that brought a strange expression to Erik's face.
What he saw in the video could only be described as a photorealistic representation of a famous kart racing game featuring a small, mustachioed plumber in a red suit. This couldn't help but change the expression on the green-eyed boy's face to an ironic one.
Although Erik hadn't been much into video games in his past life, he knew that game well, having played it several times in his youth. Seeing the video gave him a terrible feeling about what was about to happen.
After swiping their crystal cards through a scanner, several employees helped Erik and Eleonora into a couple of karts. Along with other visitors, they were led to the starting line, where a huge holographic sign displayed a countdown.
Erik settled comfortably into his seat, which was very similar to the one on the bus and adjusted automatically to his body. A force field similar to the one he felt on the roller coaster enveloped him, keeping him firm and secure. Gripping the steering wheel with both hands, he gently touched the pedals with his feet, studying his vehicle. But he was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when Eleonora cheekily commented.
"See you at the finish line, snail!"
As Eleonora's voice faded, a loud beep sounded, and all the other participants sped off, leaving Erik alone at the starting line, blinking wordlessly while the surrounding employees tried hard to suppress their laughter.
After sighing tiredly, Erik's gaze suddenly sharpened, becoming keen and focused as his kart's engine roared powerfully, surprising those who had been watching the earlier comedy.
Not long after, Erik shot off at full speed in his kart, taking super-tight turns almost without braking at blinding speeds, leaving behind incredulous expressions on the faces of employees and visitors watching the race.
With incredible ease, Erik began overtaking racers until he noticed a large group of runes carved into the ground ahead, glowing in different colors and separated into small rectangular sections. Guessing their purpose, Erik drove over one of these sections.
After passing over the illuminated section, the runes on the road dimmed, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him, displaying an icon representing a kart covered by some kind of shield.
Skillfully, Erik continued overtaking competitors until, at one point, when he was neck and neck with two other karts, columns of fire suddenly erupted from the ground, approaching the cars at great speed.
Time abruptly slowed from Erik's perspective. He saw one of the competitors touch the holographic screen and accelerate sharply, moving away from the pillars of flame at a speed far exceeding the kart's maximum.
Figuring out what had happened, Erik touched the shield icon, and immediately a luminous shield enveloped him, protecting him from the columns of fire that soon reached him.
Curious, Erik turned to see what had happened to the competitor who hadn't activated anything. The racer who was hit by the pillars of fire slowed down, and the runes on the track glowed faintly, causing the kart to lift into the air and exit the track, autonomously driving back to the starting area.
After observing this interesting event, Erik refocused on the race, speeding ahead and continuing to overtake competitors while passing through special illuminated zones, gaining various temporary abilities as a result.
The temporary abilities were quite interesting to Erik. Not only did they include the shield or acceleration he'd seen before, but there were also abilities involving various mana constructs with light affinity, which, upon hitting an enemy kart or the track, produced different effects—very similar to how the game in his memory worked.
Mana constructs were extremely useful and widely used in the galaxy for countless purposes. Light affinity was used to create them because it was the best for the task—not only was it very efficient, reducing the amount of mana needed, but it was also not inherently destructive like fire, nor as complicated or costly to make as earth. It was stronger than wind and didn't have the low temperatures of water.
Creating mana constructs with light affinity was such a developed and widespread science that, to create his own Myst constructs, Erik based them on light-affinity mages. From there came the barriers he now created, the arrows, and similar things.
After two laps around the enormous circuit, Erik finally reached second place, where he spotted his master again. She glanced back and gave him a defiant smile while activating an icon on her holographic screen that made her accelerate abruptly.
Seeing his master's challenge, Erik smiled mischievously and took the next curve without braking, accelerating to the max until he caught up with her. Without giving her time to react, Erik activated an icon of an arrow with an attached clock on his holographic screen, causing a mana construct in that shape to shoot out. Caught by surprise, Eleonora couldn't evade in time, and the arrow hit her kart squarely, stopping it dead for three seconds.
Accelerating to the maximum, Erik passed by his master with a pleasant smile, lifting one hand from the steering wheel to "wave goodbye," sending a flying kiss at the end accompanied by a subtle wink.
After passing Eleonora, Erik's gaze became even sharper, and he began to accelerate fully, taking the curves almost perfectly, determined to maintain his lead until the end without giving his master the slightest chance to catch up.
...
At the exit of the kart track, Erik wore a defeated expression, while a smiling Eleonora kissed his cheek and hugged his right arm. In the end, Erik lost miserably to his master, who managed to beat him by almost a full minute—after all, a master's reflexes are on a completely different level.
"Don't be like that; you only lost a race, fufu." Eleonora commented cheerfully while pressing her beloved disciple's arm against her chest. He refused to speak, a dark expression on his face.
"..."
"Fufufu."
After a playful giggle, Eleonora dragged her beloved disciple to another attraction with a smile on her face. Near dawn, after trying countless attractions in the park, Eleonora took Erik to what he could say, without fear of being wrong, was the most absurdly large Ferris wheel he had ever seen. It seemed made of enchanted metal that shone like stars at night, with runes along its frame forming constellations.
After swiping their crystal cards through a scanner, two employees guided Eleonora and Erik into a private cabin. The cabin was a crystal sphere that, although silver from the outside, was transparent from the inside with impressive clarity. The seats were made of a material that seemed ethereal, like a cloud. Once the seats auto-adjusted for maximum comfort, the crystal ceiling began to display astronomical information and telescopic views of distant planets and stars.
"How did you like the ride?" Eleonora approached Erik and gently leaned on his right shoulder with a soft and happy expression, asking in a gentle and warm tone.
"It was a great experience. Thank you, Eleonora" Erik replied with a small smile, moving his arm to embrace his beautiful master by the waist.
"Fufufu, that's a relief" Eleonora moved closer to Erik and hugged him lovingly as they watched the sunrise together through the transparent crystal.