Book 2: Chapter 544
Redrun could not fully comprehend what had just happened. Overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness, he blankly stared into the void before snapping back to reality.
Unable to understand? Really?
He shook his head.
No, it wasn"t that he didn"t understand—he just didn"t want to.
…But that shouldn"t be the case.
No matter how dire the situation, turning away was not an option. Redrun forcibly turned his eyes back to reality.
And he acknowledged it.
How unbelievably the opponent had blocked the 3,000 magic bombardments.
“…….”
Lucas had been watching the entire process.
Most wizards had lost their will to fight. But did that mean the fight was over?
It would not seem so.
Because the eyes of one remained alive.
Redrun.
To Lucas, that man appeared to be their leader.
“Not bad, you blocked it quite well.”
Redrun forced a smile as he spoke. Lucas decided not to delve into that clearly visible bravado.
There was no need to.
“Shall we continue?”
Redrun"s eyebrows twitched.
As if his pride had been scratched.
“…Do you think you"ve subdued us just with that?”
That"s not it.
What Redrun needed to do now was not waste time in a pointless argument with Lucas, but to inspire the disheartened wizards.
Indeed.
The opponent was a wizard, not a commander or strategist.
It was understandable if he did not fully grasp the role a leader played on the battlefield.
Yet, Redrun seemed to have some influence among the wizards, as some snapped back to attention at his spirited voice.
[What are we going to do? It"s difficult to kill them with 3-star magic.]
‘That"s true."
[Will you repeat what you did earlier until they exhaust themselves? Until they"re weak enough to die by just poking them.]
Residue seemed quite displeased with that plan, as his voice carried a tone of grumbling.
‘No. I’m thinking of using the unique traits of this territory, the Magic Planet.’
[Traits?]
‘This place is too unique to be called a Void World. The Beginning Wizard, he truly is a remarkable man.’
Lucas said, pulling out a sharp stone embedded in front of him.
‘He made it so that mana could permeate the artificially created nature.’
[Hooh… So there"s mana in the atmosphere of this territory?]
‘It"s quite dense."
[And what are you going to do with that?]
‘I’m planning to use something I devised when I was in my home universe.’
Drawing the stone through the air, the mana in the atmosphere rippled.
Zero Technique.
A combat method devised when the mana runes were destroyed.
He wasn"t sure how well it would work, but it was better than having nothing.
However, Lucas was about to arrange the mana when,
“Let"s stop here.”
Someone"s voice was heard.
Whoosh, a warm gust of wind swept through the area as someone appeared.
A young woman dressed in a green robe.
“…….”
And Lucas lowered the stone he was holding.
[Hmm? Zero Technique or whatever, aren"t you going to show it?]
‘Later. This woman doesn’t seem like an easy opponent to deal with.’
Among the hundred or so wizards present, and including Redrun, this one woman seemed stronger.
“Ah, Lady Altata… What brings you here…”
“I"ve a.s.sessed the situation.”
The woman’s gaze fleetingly shifted towards Lucas.
“It seems you"re not planning to become a Seeker, but since the lord brought you here personally, you must have proven your minimal qualifications.”
“But this man has insulted us─”
“I said I"ve a.s.sessed the situation.”
The voice of the woman called Altata grew stern.
“You poured magic on him with the intention of killing him. It was an excessive response. Or is killing your opponent how you respond to insults?”
“…I apologize.”
“Isn’t there a more just way? After all, if he undergoes the trial, you will clash with him again.”
“…Yes.”
Redrun bowed his head in a gesture of apology, not even glancing at Lucas as he left the spot.
Altata turned around and said,
“What are you doing? The trial will begin soon. Please wait at your respective places.”
Her quiet voice carried an undeniable authority.
The wizards, like scolded children, flinched once then gradually disappeared one by one.
Soon, only Lucas and Altata were left at the top of the magic tower.
Her gaze turned toward him.
Altata had hair the color of green that matched her green robe, reminiscent of a forest.
This made Lucas think of someone else.
“Nice to meet you. I am called Altata.”
“…Lucas.”
He deliberately did not reveal his surname Trowman.
It seemed unlikely that they knew the ident.i.ty of The Beginning Wizard.
“Lucas, first of all, I apologize on their behalf for their rudeness. Additionally, if it"s not too much, I would like to explain the ‘Trial of the Tower 77" to you.”
An apology, and an offer.
Lucas nodded to both propositions.
“Thank you. Let’s head down to the ground first.”
They slowly descended to the ground.
Altata dusted off her robe and then headed toward the entrance of the tower.
The entrance was a giant iron door, so large that it could easily fit a house.
In the middle of the door, there was a faintly shimmering emblem engraved, and Lucas realized it was a style of magic seal he had never seen before.
Altata placed her palm on the emblem.
Koong—
The door opened majestically, as if it was announcing the opening of the gate. The interior revealed behind it was rustic. Most of the decorations were made of stone, and the interior was illuminated by torches that would suit a cave.
However, it wasn’t dirty or messy. There was hardly any dust, let alone trash.
And then the corridor.
A very long and large corridor stretched out ahead.
‘It’s bigger than it looks from the outside.’
It wasn’t just a figure of speech; it was factually so.
[Hmm. It seems not only the rooftop room but this entire magic tower itself is a s.p.a.ce isolated from the outside world.]
Thud—
Altata began walking down the corridor.
“Please take this as friendly advice.”
Just as Lucas started to follow, a business-like voice spoke.
“I overheard your conversation.”
“Conversation?”
“You’ve set many restrictions before taking on the tower.”
“That’s right.”
“You are probably the strongest wizard here, aside from the lord of the current Magic Planet.”
[Looks like she is more perceptive than the idiot from earlier.]
Residue chuckled.
“The techniques you showed in your fight with Redrun, even the lord might find them challenging.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“30th floors.”
30th floors?
“That"s the highest floor you can reach with the restrictions you"ve set.”
“……”
“To elaborate, you can defeat up to the ‘Second of the Seven Magicians."”
Lucas didn’t take it as an insult or feel bad.
Instead, it seemed plausible.
“What level of the Seven Magicians are you?”
“Did I ever claim to be one of the Seven Magicians?”
“You seem much stronger than that Redrun guy, so I just a.s.sumed.”
Hmm. A convincing sigh followed.
“I am the Fourth, and I oversee the 44th floor.”
The Fourth, that placed her in the upper-middle tier.
And that meant there were at least three wizards stronger than her.
“Time is also an issue. A month would be ridiculously insufficient.”
“Is that so?”
“……”
The conversation abruptly stopped, and Altata halted her steps because the corridor had come to an end.
Now there was a stone door.
She turned around before the stone door. Her cool eyes carried a hint of puzzlement.
“Did you understand what I said?”
“You suggest reducing the restrictions or extending the period of the tower a.s.sault, correct?”
“You"ve understood correctly.”
“I appreciate the advice, but I have no intention of following it.”
Her eyebrows twitched.
Did she feel her advice was being disregarded?
“May I ask why?”
“Your lord agreed with my proposal.”
Altata hesitated.
“Agreed…?”
“Yes. If these conditions were truly absurd or impossible, he would have reacted differently.”
“That’s a convenient interpretation. Maybe he just thought persuading you would be useless. He must have thought you would only understand by experiencing it firsthand. Didn’t he burst into laughter the moment you mentioned a month’s time?”
That could have been scoffing.
“Then all the more reason I cannot retract my words.”
No matter what others thought, he did not want to show such a disgraceful side to The Beginning Wizard. There was no clear reason, but this feeling was genuine.
At that, Altata fell silent before speaking.
“You resemble the lord.”
“……”
“It seems I spoke out of turn. Please forgive my rudeness.”
She slightly bowed her head. It was a simple gesture but not excessive, which was pleasant.
“May this ascent through the tower strengthen your convictions further. I hope to meet you again on the 44th floor.”
With those words as her last, Altata disappeared.
She must have returned to her rightful place.
And Lucas looked at the door in front of him. Unlike the one they entered through, it was unimposing and small.
“It seems this is the ‘1st floor."”
[Ascending the tower… Such a tedious process. To climb up from the 1st floor one by one. Truly an irritating task.]
Lucas chuckled lightly.
“From now on, do not give me any advice or suggestions. I want to face it alone.”
[Hmph. Let"s see how well you do.]
Residue snorted, and Lucas opened the door.
* * *
Suddenly, a bright light filled his vision.
It was so intense that for a moment, he thought he would go blind, but Lucas stared directly into it to understand exactly what was happening.
‘…The s.p.a.ce hasn’t changed.’
Rather, something more.
“Welcome. To the first floor.”
Warm sunlight, the scent of flowers, and the sight of a well-kept garden appeared.
At an outdoor table placed there, an old gentleman was sitting, looking this way with a deep smile.
“I am called ‘Torun," an old man who explains the tower"s system to the ascendants. Additionally, I present a simple first trial.”
“…Torun.”
Lucas nodded.
“I’m short on time, could you briefly explain the essentials?”
“You are an impatient ascendant. Very well.”
Torun continued with a smile.
“First, let me explain how the interior of the tower is configured. This place, known as the magic tower or the Tower 77, is composed of independent s.p.a.ces on each floor. Generally, the way to ascend to the next floor is by completing the trial set by the wizard of that floor.”
s.p.a.ces, huh.
So that"s how it"s packaged.
[Packaged?]
‘Don’t you see? This place, the concept of ‘independent s.p.a.ces’ and such isn’t real."
Lucas looked around as he spoke.
‘This is the Three Thousand Worlds."
[Hooh…….]
‘If what this old man says is true, that each floor is an independent s.p.a.ce… then this tower is connected to a total of 77 different worlds."
[Is this also the work of The Beginning Wizard?]
‘Possibly. I don’t know how it’s possible."
Regrettably, since he had restricted most of his powers at the start of the tower climb, properly a.n.a.lyzing it was also not feasible.
Torun continued to explain, unaware that Lucas had realized one of the tower’s biggest secrets.
“Each floor presents a different trial, a different character, a different environment…”
“Therefore, having only one or two outstanding attributes is not enough to reach the top…”
After a rough overview, Torun spoke.
“Before we start the trial, let"s lightly measure the ascendant"s abilities.”
Measurement, huh.
“There"s no need to be nervous. It’s simply to a.s.sess your apt.i.tude as a wizard.”
The moment Torun snapped his fingers, several images appeared behind him.
“From the 1st to the 10th floor are essentially the testing grounds. They are to prove the five most important qualities of a wizard, as emphasized by the lord: Observational Skill, a.n.a.lytical Skill, Creative Skill, Application Skill, and Computational Skill. Those who are on the 10th floor will have their data quantified through simple trials.”
[This is ridiculously childish.]
Lucas strongly agreed with Residue’s opinion.
“And then.”
Swish—
Some figures appeared in front of Lucas.
There were seven of them, representing someone’s quantified data.
“These are the approximate stats of the ‘Seven Magicians" who govern the Tower 77. Though it’s unlikely, if you surpa.s.s any of these figures in one category, you will receive bonuses that will aid your ascent.”
Bonuses, huh.
So, obtaining good scores here could simplify the a.s.sault on the tower?
“Let’s cut to the chase and start immediately. I will measure ‘Observational Skill." Here comes the first question.”
Torun interlaced his fingers as he spoke.
“It has been about 5 minutes since the ascendant and I faced each other. During this time, several minor and major changes have occurred to me. You probably haven’t noticed them.”
“……”
“Anything will do. Please tell me the changes that have occurred to me.”
Torun grinned.
“Since it"s your first time, I’ll give you 10 minutes to think─”
“The pattern of your tie.”
“……”
“The design on the top of your jacket, the color of your pupils, the type of gloves, the material of your shoes, the number of b.u.t.tons on your sleeves has decreased… And although it’s not a change related to you.”
Lucas took a sip from the teacup in front of him and continued.
“The contents of this teacup have also changed.”
“…….”
*****