Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

In the last available biome of the Gate…

Inside a room on a giant island surrounded by the sea—

A girl with black hair tied in a braid raised her hands in surrender, an embarrassed expression adorning her face.

"No, thank you, I do not need it—" she said, her voice tinged with unease.

The monster before her nodded in understanding, stepping back slightly, while another approached with a different object in its hands.

Shaking her head with slight fear, Seline refused this gift as well.

She could not take it anymore.

"How the hell did I end up in this situation?!" she murmured, staring at the large number of beings lined up before her, a surreal parade of offerings.

---

Some time earlier, after entering the Gate…

"Where have I ended up?!" she hissed in disbelief as she looked around.

She stood on sandy terrain, but the sand here was different from where the worms had been. It was finer, more delicate. Seline felt no discomfort walking barefoot.

The sun was high in the sky, reflecting off the water surrounding the small island she was on. There was nothing else around.

"This is not my room in the academy—"

Her facial expression was a mix of suffering and resignation.

But before she could think of anything else, a sudden sound pierced her ear as a tingling sensation ran down her spine.

Without thinking twice, Seline threw herself to the ground, rolling in the sand to dodge whatever was coming at her.

"Huh?" she hissed, eyes wide, before observing the creature that had just dove back into the water with a splash. "No rest from fighting in this place, huh?" she added with a scowl, preparing her spell.

Mana flowed from her body to her hands, but Seline did not cast her magic immediately. She was waiting for the monster to emerge from the water.

After waiting several seconds, something leaped out of the sea, hurling a jet of water at the girl.

"I've got you!" she thought, locking eyes with the monster. It was just an oversized fish, nothing remarkable.

"Aqua Vivax, Rivo Levis"

The two jets of water clashed, but Seline's prevailed, cleanly cutting through the monster's attack.

But before it could be struck, the monster dove back into the water, swimming deep.

"Tch, I didn't get you…" she whispered with regret, preparing for the second strike. This time, Seline had no intention of waiting for the monster to emerge.

Carefully observing the sea and focusing on its presence, Seline began channeling mana to create a water blade.

The moment the monster was visible on the surface,

"Aqua Vivax, Aqua Lamina!"

Seline launched her prepared spell toward the sea's surface. The water blade effortlessly sliced through the surface and continued straight toward the monster.

Without suspense, a bloodstain appeared on the water's surface.

"This time I got you!" she exclaimed, satisfied. However, she had no intention of entering the water to collect the Mana Core. It was too risky, given she knew nothing about the place.

As time passed, Seline killed two more slightly stronger fish monsters, Bronze 2, but thanks to her talent that made her attacks sharper, she could handle them more easily.

"So what am I supposed to do in this place…" she murmured thoughtfully while facing another monster. "My goal isn't to make fish soup, is it?!"

The idea excited her endlessly. Come to think of it, she had never eaten monster meat. And this fish seemed tempting…

As these random thoughts filled her mind, something else emerged from the sea.

Seline was ready to cast her spell but froze for a moment, watching two figures rise from the water and rush onto the island with extreme speed.

"Damn!" she shouted, trying to cast a water jet as quickly as possible, but just as she was about to—

Thump

Two thuds echoed simultaneously.

Seline froze mid-incantation. She could not believe her eyes. Before her, the two monsters were kneeling, heads in the sand.

"What the—" Before she could even think, the two monsters rose and began crawling toward her. Their gazes were a mix of deep admiration and desire that seemed to resonate in their veins.

Their appearances did not resemble typical monsters—ugly and vicious—but seemed natural, intelligent.

Their webbed hands were raised in a gesture of peace. The scales on their bodies reflected sunlight like mirrors, while their pearlescent eyes fixed on the girl before them.

Of course, the biggest difference was that they had no legs. In their place, a fish-like tail allowed them to crawl on the sand and swim swiftly in water.

A name appeared in Seline's mind.

Sirenids

At their sight, she did not panic. Somehow, she could sense their emotions. They had no ill intentions; they almost seemed—

"Huh?" she asked with a confused expression. "You want to take me somewhere?"

Seline did not doubt the expressions and gestures of the two monsters before her. For some strange reason, she seemed to understand them, to grasp their intentions.

Driven by curiosity, she decided to trust them and follow.

Of course, not the best idea, but judging by the power these two monsters radiated, Seline would not have had a say anyway.

The sirenids were both Bronze 5.

And that was how Seline arrived at the main island where the sirenids lived. Beneath the island stood an entire submerged city, which Seline, for obvious reasons, could not stay in.

Currently, she was in the throne room inside the castle on the massive island where the two monsters had brought her.

With a resigned sigh, Seline quickly adjusted to the idea of having somehow become the queen of the sirenids.

Even though, unlike them, she had legs…

"No, thank you, I'm not interested in this either…" she shook her head firmly at the sight of the object brought by one of her "suitors."

It was dark brown with a shape vaguely reminiscent of poop.

Damn it, what the hell am I supposed to do? What happens if I accept one of their gifts—will they marry me?

The mere thought disgusted her as the face of one person randomly appeared in her mind.

"I wonder what Lian is doing right now…" she murmured softly as more sirenids presented gifts. Some brought unique items Seline knew nothing about, others mana-rich objects, and still others Mana Cores vibrating with power.