Lost Narrative Poetry

Academy City.

A circular city located in the west of Tokyo, Japan, built by Aleister Crowley over decades of his life, covering an area of ​​about one-third of Tokyo.

The reason why it is named Academy City is that it is a veritable city of schools, a huge collection of educational institutions composed of twenty-three school districts, including dozens of universities and hundreds of elementary schools, junior high schools and In high schools, there are more than a thousand large and small "research institutions" in total.

It has a population of nearly 2.3 million people, 80% of which are students.

This city excludes outsiders. The entire city is blocked from contact with the outside world by tall walls. The sky is always monitored by artificial satellites. Even the replenishment trucks of convenience stores require special passes to enter. .

It is difficult for people without a pass permit to move here. After all, even in this city, even the currency in circulation is equipped with IC chips, which not only have anti-counterfeiting functions.

Xia Ran didn't care and didn't think this matter was too troublesome. After asking Kamijou Touma, he didn't go to a suitable apartment area immediately. Instead, he first took advantage of the darkness and went to some remote alleys. ——

I borrowed some money from some kind-hearted street gangsters and delinquents.

Miracles are not free, and praying for hope will spread the same amount of despair. Just like if someone found money, someone must have lost it.

So while some people gained a certain amount of start-up capital, others also had a few teeth knocked out, spit out countless mouthfuls of blood, and had several ribs broken...

In the alleys late at night, gangsters with all kinds of hair colors, different heights, fatnesses, and thinness, who looked very unconventional, fell to the ground holding their heads or holding their stomachs, and let out painful wails. Some people were moaning softly. Or sob.

These bad gangsters who used to appear in the streets and alleys, always enthusiastically beating up their victims, today in turn suffered the pain they once inflicted on others... They felt aggrieved and sad, aggrieved because they were the only ones who beat others severely. Yes, today he received a severe beating in turn.

Sadly, the other party not only beat them until they vomited blood, but also tried to steal their money!

"Why do you only have this little money? How dare you come out as a delinquent when you are so poor?" Xia Ran took out the banknotes from his wallet, counted them, and threw the empty wallet on the guy's face on the ground with disdain. And a kick.

After looking at the "corpses" scattered in the alley, the magician weighed the money in his hand and estimated that the harvest for tonight was basically enough.

Although it's not much, it's impossible to expect how much money can be squeezed out of these scum. After all, if they were so rich, they wouldn't have fallen to this level. And it's useless for Xia Ran to ask for too much money. There are indeed a lot of good things in this city.

However, that is not something money can easily buy, so don’t worry too much.

Turning around, putting away tonight's harvest, the magician Shi Shiran walked away at a slow and leisurely pace.

In the dark alley behind him, the badly beaten delinquents remained calm at first, with only painful moans and sobs and small wails, and their voices were suppressed and low, as if they were clenching their teeth and trying not to. As if he dared to make a sound.

But it didn't take long before someone couldn't help crying loudly, and the emotion infected also affected other wounded people.

Sad cries rise and fall under the night, spreading far and wide with the wind. The sad atmosphere and breath are like decadent youth...

Although they were far away, Xia Ran could still hear clearly, but although this matter had some fishing and law enforcement implications, if they had no bad intentions, they would not have encountered such a thing, so the magician I don't think there is any problem.

Following Kamijou Touma's initial guidance, he quickly found an apartment area.

Students actually don't have to worry about accommodation, because as students, they will always be assigned to dormitories. Many housing in Academy City actually exist as student dormitories, but they are also divided into different grades of quality.

Some are as luxurious as five-star hotels, while others are like cheap and simple low-rent houses.

This is mainly determined by two factors at the same time. One is the foundation and funds of the school itself. Behemoths such as Tokiwadai Junior High School and Nagatojo Academy are either private aristocratic girls' schools or high-ranking schools. As the leader of Yuandu City's ability development department, it is naturally well-positioned to provide students with more generous resources.

The second is the quality of the students themselves, or to put it more bluntly, the ability rating.

All Academy City students can receive scholarships. The scholarships are automatically transferred to the bank account every month, just like a salary. To put it bluntly, it can actually be regarded as a human experiment contract for ability development. The more star school or the higher the ability level, the higher the scholarship amount, and the higher the importance of the research involved.

The scholarship for the incompetent is just that, and the amount given out is only symbolic. Although if you budget carefully, it can still be used as part of the living expenses, but that's it.

But scholarships for people with superpowers are extremely luxurious. No matter how much they bloom, no matter how corrupt their lives are, it is difficult to use them up in Academy City.

It's a pity that Xia Ran is not a student, and has no intention of starting from this aspect - even if it seems to be exposed, it doesn't matter. With Aleister's character, he will never act rashly or do anything radical. , that hanging man only wants to take advantage of everything he can.

As long as it was not a direct hostility and must be eliminated immediately, Aleister would probably think of how to incorporate it into his plan, observe and then exploit it.

A very scary person, but this will give Xia Ran a chance to cooperate with him...

It's just that the magician is still ready to wait and see what happens. He hasn't figured out the truth about this "time travel" yet. Although everything in this world seems to be so clear, it always gives him a sense of illusion and unreality. conflicting feelings.

Like a flower in the mirror or the moon in the water, it seems that as long as he exerts slight force, the mirror will shatter, the water surface will be broken, everything will be shattered and annihilated, and disappear completely.

How should I put it, just like a Kryptonian who wears underwear outside, he always feels that he lives in a paper-like world, everything is so fragile, and the feeling of the whole world will be completely destroyed if he is not careful... …

But how is this possible?

Although he can also create hurricanes, freeze oceans, and even blow out stars with just one sneeze, but in this world... the energy level of this power is nothing, it can only be an embarrassment. More than what is lacking is more than what is lacking.

So, is this some weird delusion?

…

…

The next day, at noon.

This is also July 20th, the first day of summer vacation.

Xia Ran was standing on the balcony of her rented apartment overlooking this overly advanced city. She tilted her head and put her hand on her chin, thinking about something.

The apartment he rents is not old. In fact, he wants to find an old apartment in this Academy City, which is twenty or thirty years ahead of the outside world. There are power-generating windmills and intelligent robots everywhere, and it has a strong science fiction atmosphere. Dilapidated buildings and such are not an easy task in themselves.

Therefore, this apartment building is relatively clean and simple. Although it is not large in area, it is still designed as a single suite. Although it is small, it has all the necessary equipment, including water and electricity.

It's just...it can't be used now.

An unexplained large-scale power outage occurred in Academy City today. The entire room was shrouded in stuffy air, and the refrigerator and air conditioner were temporarily out of action.

Xia Ran didn't pay too much attention. He was just seriously searching for all the information he could get, and slowly pieced together the outline of this majestic world in his mind. On the surface, it seemed that he was just standing on the balcony and looking far away, and even seemed to be in a daze.

However, when the life form has reached such an advanced level, its method of obtaining information has long surpassed human imagination.

The radio waves in the air, the AIM diffusion field emitted by the ability users, the arrangement and movement of stars and celestial bodies, and even... the layers of the real world context of phases. Regardless of whether he is qualified to control it, at least observation is still possible. No problem.

Just standing here is enough to observe too many things.

But the more this happened, the stranger he felt. This world seemed a little strange. No matter how the second magic works, infinite possible worlds before and after the collapse of the wave function are presented to him one by one. His clear eyes appear unchanged on the surface, but in fact they reflect various parallel futures.

As if everything is normal...

But under this cosmic system, the countless tributaries that appear in the long river of time are still unified matter and space-time.

Like a closed black box, he was completely unable to detect other realms outside this universe. It was as if there were no other time and space, other worlds, or other dimensions outside the realm, only the baseline of this world existed. .

Even the laws and world unfolding within himself seem to be completely void, as if the inward creation he has been carrying out before has not yet been born, or has long since died, but it has no influence on his power and essence. Influence.

This is really a wonderful thing... In what state am I trapped in this world?

"It really feels like I'm in a dream... I just can't wake up."

After opening the attribute panel that she was still not used to, Xia Ran thought about it and felt that there seemed to be something else that she hadn't noticed.

For example, if this world is so closed, independent and parallel in the entire infinite world, then how did I get in? And how is the connection with space maintained? Well, having said that, is there really a subtle connection with space in this world?

Xia Ran was a little unsure. He flipped through the property panel back and forth, but he couldn't find the familiar redemption options, stay time prompts and other functions. Without this kind of real-time dynamic feedback, it was difficult to confirm whether it was connected to the space itself. .

But I found some function settings that I wasn’t used to——

For example, in addition to free attribute points, there are also skill points, which are said to be invested in the corresponding expertise and abilities, which can directly increase the level of the skills and strengthen the effect and performance of the abilities... The upper limit of the level of basic abilities is LV20, and advanced The upper limit of skill level is LV10.

Although each skill point can unconditionally improve the skill level by one level, it is enough to make people feel liver ache.

When was this version? It was not humane at all. Or was it that the space at that time did not have so many resources, or the efficiency of converting the essence was very poor, so we could only choose this version of rules for operation?

In addition, there are also settings such as merit points and ranks, which made Xia Ran even more heartbroken.

After turning off the panel, he turned around and walked back into the house, packed up his things, changed into clothes that were more in line with the style of the city, and then opened the door and went out.

There was nothing he could do for the time being, and he couldn't figure out why he could be so calm, as if he didn't care at all. There was only a touch of curiosity and interest in his heart, which made him feel that his state was a little abnormal. .

As if it were real, I felt that this was just an interesting but unreal long dream, but I didn't have to worry about anything while sleeping.

Xia Ran felt that this was a very incorrect mentality. He tried his best to ignore and suppress this strange feeling from his heart, and prepared to go out and take a look.

"correct……"

As if he suddenly thought of something, the magician stopped. He reached into his pocket and used this cover-up action to gently take out a tarot card. It showed a man with his hands tied behind his back and hanging upside down from a tree trunk. pattern on.

The "Hanged Man"'s hands tied behind his back form a triangle, and his legs are intertwined to form a cross. Together they form a special symbol.

This seems to be the only thing he carries with him. When all other external objects and even his own inner universe only show nothingness, only this card is brought here...

"Was this expected?"

Looking at the tarot card in his hand, Xia Ran shook his head with a dumb smile, and then couldn't help muttering.

There are two "Hanged Men" in this world. The first is that guy Aleister. This is a real Hanged Man, and he is still hanging upside down in a windowless building.

Next is Othinus, the demon god who is actually the true form of Odin in Nordic mythology and legend. The most famous legend is that Odin once hung upside down from the sacred tree for nine days and nine nights in order to obtain the fountain of wisdom. He was stabbed by a spear and finally gained wisdom at the cost of his left eye.

Presumably it's not the former...

But if it was the latter, Xia Ran was a little unsure, and who knew how to use this card? Should he just give it to the one-eyed girl?

He was in a trance, and a familiar and beautiful voice came to his ears at this time:

"Hey, you guy...are you okay..."

The surrounding scene was like a mirage, or like ripples on the water. The scenery of Academy City changed in a daze, and was broken like a mirror, and among the fragmented ripples, Xia Ran saw a pair of familiar rose-red eyes again. .

She was holding her shoulders and asked with a worried tone. The crowd around her was a little noisy and seemed very noisy.

"I……"

Xia Ran opened his mouth, but before he had time to say anything, everything quickly moved away from him, as if the broken water surface had returned to calm, reflecting a false mirror image again.

The surrounding scene changed back to that of Academy City. The three blades of the power-generating windmill were emitting light in the sun. Guards and cleaning robots were patrolling back and forth on the streets in the distance. The hot shopping streets were just like the ones they had just seen. Any difference.

seem……

It's like nothing happened.