◈ Chapter 82. Finally Moving (1)

An apprentice mage.

Before a single mage set foot in a magic tower.

They were labeled variously.

Undisputed genius.

A magical prodigy.

The pride of the family.

Each had their own pride.

But after entering the tower.

Once you realize that all the knowledge you’ve gained is just a drop in the ocean.

You don’t just forget about it, you’re ashamed of it.

You’ve become the sunshine child of the tower.

” ……. Isn’t there something wrong with that?”

It was obvious what such sunshine babies do.

Sticking their heads out and pouting.

And then.

“It’s not just me, is it?!”

The beeps echoing through the floating garden were unusually quiet today.

I wondered if anyone was listening.

A low-voiced conversation.

The topic of the conversation, of course.

“That’s not a common painting, is it?”

It was the senior mages.

Senior mages.

A position you can only climb to if you have pride in your chosen magic.

Naturally, all twenty senior mages harbor the idea that their chosen magic is the best.

They can’t get along with each other.

“Normally, you wouldn’t even say hello to each other…….”

What’s more, it’s not the time of the regular conference, is it?

This is the time when senior mages are most sensitive.

The honor of the school was on the line.

Therefore, the scene in the floating garden was very unfamiliar to the mages.

“……Why are they all huddled together like that?”

“Facing each other!”

“Hey, there’s Senior Mage Vanguard Tom over there, too.”

And there he was.

Vanguard Tom had disappeared.

He and the other twenty senior mages were all gathered around a table.

A sight not often seen in the Crystal Hall.

This was a society, a floating garden.

As if that weren’t enough.

“They’re not just talking.”

A meal was set on the table.

The senior mages were having breakfast.

A scene that defied common sense.

The chicks began to formulate their own thoughts.

” ……, if we sit closer, can’t we hear something?”

“Are you crazy, Richelle? Don’t you have any sense? Can’t you see that senior mages don’t hang out in the floating garden? It’s not normal!”

“Of course it’s not normal. Vanguard Tom Senior is back, but I’m honestly curious, what the hell happened? How did they get along so well that they’re sitting across from each other eating a meal like that…….”

……No, but.

Is that what you’d call getting along?

Because the senior mages didn’t look happy.

“You all look incredibly tired.”

“As if they’ve been beaten up by someone…….”

“Dude, who are those people to be harassed?”

But technically, it wasn’t all of them.

Among them, the usual ones.

Yes, there was one constant.

Yes, there was one who could make even the greatest senior mages suffer.

Equal in status to a senior mage.

He was the chief co-researcher.

His posture with a fork and knife was perfect.

From his erect back to the angle of his arms and neck.

Ho-yeol personifies the word formal.

” ……Don’t you think he’s eating pretty well for himself?”

Unlike the senior mages, who don’t show the slightest hint of hunger.

Ho Yeol was eating nonchalantly.

The sight of him naturally sparked speculation.

“I wonder if you’ve heard what everyone’s been saying? Why, you know from the regular meetings, not a single presentation has gotten away with it, I suppose, and they’ve all been pointed out.”

“Is that what they talk about in the floating gardens, while eating?”

“Ugh. I don’t think you’d do something like that, no matter how tough you are.”

“Exactly. Talking about work while eating is way out of line!”

But what’s a chick to do?

What do you know.

You can’t see anything at that eye level.

No wonder they couldn’t figure out why.

However, this time it’s a new chick.

This wasn’t just for apprentice mages.

“……I don’t know what to say, really.”

“I’m glad you know that now.”

“It was always going to happen, I can only assume that now is the right time.”

Just a few hours ago.

It had happened on the top floor of a magic tower.

Only elder mages and two chiefs.

And only twenty senior wizards know.

It was an ‘internal matter’ of the tower.

Five elder mages.

Three of them, a majority, were demon worshippers.

Since when do they give the demons……?

Are they even sure they’re chewing meat?

The senior mages look like they’re chewing on something else.

My head is spinning, and I don’t know what’s going down my throat.

The reason for their gathering in the floating garden was simple.

“Skipping breakfast is a bad habit.”

It was only because Ho-yeol had said so.

In the silence, no one dared to speak.

The senior mages looked at Ho Yeol.

……Are you sure you don’t mind?

Ho Yeol was an adventurer.

Technically, he was an outsider until recently.

But his status as an adept was well known among adventurers.

To think that such a mage tower was being played by a demon worshipper.

He should have been as shocked as they were.

Ho Yeol was nonchalantly slicing meat.

As if that weren’t enough, he was on the top floor of the tower.

The way he’d acted when he’d confronted the elder mages.

He didn’t know what an elder mage was.

They were demigods, capable of shaking the heavens and earth with their magic.

If it was the same mages, just facing them would have no choice but to be weighed down by the magic they emitted.

They would be overwhelmed.

But Ho Yeol was not like them.

He wasn’t overwhelmed.

He even spoke to the elder mages.

‘He must be a foolish worshipper…….’

The words were stinging.

Having witnessed it with my own eyes.

It was only natural that his opinion of Ho-Yeol would change even more dramatically.

Yes, if it weren’t for Ho Yeol.

Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten Vanguard Tom back, maybe we wouldn’t have been able to make a decision based on our suspicions, and it was horrible to think of the worst.

We would still be at the hands of demonic worshippers.

They were.

Whether they realized it or not.

Everyone in the tower was indebted to Ho Yeol.

That was why they couldn’t refuse his invitation to eat.

In just one day.

Ho-yeol had done so much for the Magic Tower.

Yet his demeanor hadn’t changed.

He seemed surprisingly normal.

To the point where it was pointless to keep an eye on him.

Yes, the same as usual.

He was so sensitive to manners and formality.

He looked at the table and said.

“Sometimes there are more important things than appetite.”

“……!!!”

What is more important than appetite?

Twenty people in the room.

No wonder we all have different answers.

“Oops. Does that mean I’m breaking table manners?

“I’m holding my fork and knife backwards……!

“……Maybe I’m the only one who ordered something different?!

But the behavior was the same for everyone.

It wasn’t until Ho Yeol’s words ran out.

The forks and knives started to move in earnest.

Only then did the meal begin.

* https://pindangscans.com

Yes, you should eat even if you don’t have an appetite.

You’re going to have a busy schedule starting today.

A man’s heart is in his stomach.

Of course, I’ll still be the busiest one.

Oh well.

This is my eight children.

My eight berths without a breeze.

The top floor of the tower.

To cut to the chase, no battles were fought there.

An elder wizard.

No, I should call them demon worshippers now.

It was because they had lowered their tails.

They must have realized their lives were worthless.

I realized there and then.

I realized that if you want to die, you live, and if you want to live, you die……!

Instead, I was prepared for an all-out war.

As a result, the quest was successful.

[Quest: The Truth of the Magic Tower]

Contradictions exist in the Magic Tower.

Uncover the contradictions.

Set the tower and the truth straight.

Secure Vanguard Tom, the chief mage who is tangled up with the chief of the Magic Tower. (Success)

Identify a devil worshipper among the elder mages. (Success)

[You have fulfilled the condition].

[Your relationship with the Magic Tower is greatly increased].

[Your influence in the Magic Tower is greatly increased].

A quest I was reminded not to succeed at.

Sure enough, I succeeded……!

The rewards were quite large.

My relationship with the Magic Tower and my Influence increased significantly.

Wasn’t I the one who had the most to offer the Magic Tower?

Valuable magic grimoires, of course.

Approved magic tools and items on loan.

And the free breakfast I just ate.

‘Though there’s no telling how much of that is left.

One thing was certain.

The reward of a better relationship with the Magic Tower and increased influence would be far better than any other reward. Of course, the quest was far from over.

In keeping with the scale of the Magic Tower.

The quest was also a tie-in quest.

And, as usual, it’s not an easy one.

[Quest: Rebuilding the Mage Tower].

The contradictions that existed in the Magic Tower.

Even its purpose, the pursuit of truth, has been corrupted.

Rebuild the tower from the ground up.

Meet with the Tower Lord. (Ongoing)

Dispose of the escaped demon worshippers. (Ongoing)

Find the real truth. (Ongoing)

Indeed, the Tower Lord.

Apparently, you get what you pay for.

Right from the start, quest objectives pour in. Pouring in.

And none of them seemed easy.

For starters, just running around the tower.

Even from the top floor.

It didn’t look like it was in good shape.

What about the objective to dispose of the escaped demon worshipper?

This was a call to find the elder mage and settle the score.

And the ultimate goal of the Magic Tower, the pursuit of truth.

Just looking at those goals…….

I really do feel like a part of this organization.

Your relationship and influence have increased significantly.

And now I get this quest?

Well, whatever. As you can see from its grand goal.

It wasn’t a quest that could be broken right away.

From the beginning, the quest was called “Reconstruction of the Magic Tower”.

It’s not an easy task, to be sure, but it all starts with a single step.

And so on.

So I took a step.

Toward the basement of the tower.

* https://pindangscans.com

There is an underground space in the tower.

The role of the underground space is just to support the tower.

There are many spaces in the tower that are incomprehensible to common sense.

Its structure cannot be explained scientifically.

On the surface, it doesn’t look very tall or vast.

In fact, the inside of the tower had countless floors, and each floor had a vast space.

It was built with magic.

Naturally, a solid foundation was needed to support such a magical tower.

A foundation that could withstand all magical forces, all eons of time, and remain unwavering and constant.

Yes, the basement of a magic tower is the place that always reigns.

Its proper name is the Nether.

True to its name, it was a hellish place.

There were those who had fallen into it.

Demon worshippers who had been called Elder Mages only a day before.

The worst sinners in the history of the tower.

“Damned place.”

The Elder Mages had reached the ‘peak’ of their magic.

But even their magic was useless in the Nether.

So was their highly touted mental strength.

“How long has it been, a week, a month?

All their senses, including their sense of time, had long since broken down.

But they didn’t give up.

Yeah, they wouldn’t be the only ones feeling overwhelmed.

“Marcelo. When did you notice?”

I said, desperate to get through to him.

“Marcelo, you’ve got to get him out of this.”

If only I could get out of this cage.

Maybe I can escape the damned Nether.

‘If I could only escape…….

I will repay you for this disgrace many times over.

Deceiving someone with words?

Nothing could be easier.

Even the Chief have been deceived by their own tongues.

And they had their reasons for speaking with them.

“We’ll have to find out where one of them is.

To find and punish the other one who escaped.

That’s probably the Tower’s top priority right now.

So he held out hope.

“……I’ll live if I stay awake.

Of course, that hope was short-lived.

“Hello?”

Marcelo spoke up after a long silence.

His greeting was directed at Lee Ho-yeol.

The adventurer and Marcelo’s chosen co-researcher.

The moment his face met Marcelo’s, it felt foreign.

“……What is it?

There was not the slightest hint of panic in his voice.

This was Nether.

A place where it’s hard to keep your wits about you.

It was a place where time literally stood still.

How could he be so unharmed?

” …… I have to trick him to get out of here?”

Is that really possible?

Is it just an illusion that I feel because my senses are malfunctioning?

If not, is it truly real?

‘It’s impossible……!

Again─

I felt a cold sweat run down my spine.

*

Nether.

Always a space.

The moment I heard Marcelo explain it, I thought.

“One of the first things he learned as the next head of the family was not to get carried away with personal matters.”

The position of patriarch of the Claudi family was one in which the slightest disturbance was unacceptable.”

This was going to be watered-down meat.

That prediction turned out to be accurate.

I was feeling very comfortable with Nether.

I was not mistaken.

Marcelo alone was showing signs of exhaustion.

Not to mention the demon worshippers.

‘So much for the initial momentum.’

By the way.

They don’t even know what they look like.

Here’s a quick look at their status…….

─Dispose of the escaped Demon Worshipper. (in progress)

Maybe we can finish this sooner than expected?

I thought I might be able to find out more than just the whereabouts of the escaped demon worshipper. Information about demons, of course.

‘Anyway, it’s because I was in the position of an elder mage.’

Couldn’t he have some advanced information about the Arcana Continent?

Of course, there was no urgency.

This nether space was on my side.

It was literally my home ground.

So I spoke as I always did.

I didn’t need to threaten.

The same attitude always works.

“Let the interrogation begin.”

I meant it in a nice way.

……Why, did their faces become more somber?

I don’t know why.

Not being swayed by personal emotions like pity.

That’s always the case, too.