Chapter 198
[Magic Path World.]
[Traces of the 4th Magic Tower Lord, ‘Eloise’.]
[Management Target No. 1.]
[Caution required, as this is the chamber of the worst Magic Tower Lord in history, a legendary figure of her era.]
And.
Bone Five had found this place as if it were returning home.
》The answer is obvious.
The Elder, who had been watching the whole time, muttered under his breath.
》This one may be a little difficult. Heh heh, to think Bone Five’s identity is that of a Magic Tower Lord.
And not just any Magic Tower Lord.
Apparently, one with quite the notorious history….
Anyway, I wondered whether the Magic Tower was somehow linked to Magic Towers from other worlds.
The possibility seemed high.
The world name, Magic Path World, clearly hadn’t been written there for no reason.
And the library was absurdly packed with books of unknown origin.
“…Ughhh.”
Sonya clutched her temples with both hands.
“The 4th Magic Tower Lord? Magic Path World? What is all this? As far as I know, there’s only one Magic Tower Lord.”
Ah.
This woman might not even know that there were countless worlds in the universe besides this one.
“And then there’s Management Target No. 1… and caution required? But this is written in English! Why is there English here?”
She had a point.
[Magic Path World]
[Traces of the 4th Magic Tower Lord, ‘Eloise’.]
[Management Target No. 1.]
[Caution required, as this is the chamber of the worst Magic Tower Lord in history, a legendary figure of her era.]
Aside from those lines, everything else was written in indecipherable characters.
Flip!
Sonya irritably flipped the parchment over.
At that moment,
“Kyaaak!”
Letting out a strange shriek, she flung the parchment away and collapsed.
Anyone could tell she had been startled out of her mind.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Tilting my head, I walked over and turned the parchment back over.
The English on the back appeared translated before my eyes.
[-Sophia Silverstone-]
Gasp.
I froze as well.
Sophia Silverstone.
That was the Magic Tower Lord’s name, wasn’t it?
“…?”
A chill suddenly ran down my spine.
Did that mean the Magic Tower Lord herself had written those words?
And that wasn’t all.
A mysterious-colored light was flowing from the written name.
“D-Damn it! What do we do?!”
Sonya, still sprawled on the floor, whimpered.
“We’re screwed, I tell you! Completely screwed!”
“What do you mean, screwed?”
“That glowing text! It’s basic Alarm Magic!”
“Alarm Magic…?”
“Yes! Which means the fact that we’re here has already reached the Magic Tower Lord! Ughhh, I should never have followed you…. I’m dead. I’m seriously dead.”
Thump, thump!
Sonya rapped her knuckles against her own head in frustration.
I scratched the back of my neck.
“…Is it really something worth dying over?”
“Hey! You think I’m the only one who’s dead? You’re dead too! The rules of the Magic Tower are strict! I don’t know which professor invited you here, but that professor won’t be able to avoid responsibility either! No matter how much of a professor they are, in front of the Magic Tower Lord…. Tsk, what’s the point of saying more. Damn it.”
…
If that was true, then I did feel a little sorry for Olena.
‘But.’
If Bone Five’s past life was truly the 4th Magic Tower Lord, ‘Eloise,’ then that changed the situation completely.
No matter how overwhelmingly powerful Sophia Silverstone was as the world rank 4, if I could gain an Awakened Bone Five under me, that is, a former Magic Tower Lord, then I would gain far more than just another trump card.
Not just in terms of combat power.
It could become an opportunity for the Magic Tower to evolve to another level altogether.
And I might even be able to obtain information from those vast tomes no one had been able to decipher until now.
Of course, Sonya had absolutely no interest in any of that.
“Damn it, what do I do? Crap, think! Should we run? If I jump off without a parachute and keep my head about me… I’d still die, right?!”
“…Hmm, running away.”
I shook my head.
“I think it’s already too late for that….”
At that very moment,
clank!
the sound of someone’s presence came from outside.
“Gulp!”
Sonya froze in place with both hands clamped over her mouth.
…
My own heart dropped as well.
A chill ran down my spine, and every hair on my body stood on end.
Even though I already knew who it was,
I was still overwhelmed by that enormous presence.
‘The Magic Tower Lord….’
That’s right.
The owner of this tower.
The world’s 4th-ranked Hunter.
Sophia Silverstone had arrived outside.
The Magic Tower Lord’s appearance had not changed.
Platinum-blonde hair.
Snow-white skin.
Eyes as blue as the sea.
And a powerful aura that made every hair on my body bristle.
“M-M-Magic Tower Lord…!”
Thud!
Sonya’s legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed.
“I-I’m sorry! It’s all… that Black Fox Mask threatened me… no, that’s not it… to be honest, I let my curiosity get the better of me for a moment too. Sob! I’m sorry.”
Step, step.
As Sophia slowly approached, her gaze wasn’t on Sonya.
She was staring straight at me.
“Hello. It has been a while, hasn’t it?”
Then she smiled faintly.
A soft smile formed on her lips.
But her eyes were not smiling at all.
There was only curiosity in them.
How I had gotten here.
And how I knew about the Magic Tower’s hidden passage.
…
As a sign of respect toward the strong, I removed my mask first.
“It has been a while, Magic Tower Lord.”
I bowed my head politely and continued.
“I have committed a discourtesy, though it was not intentional.”
“…Huh?”
Sonya, still collapsed on the floor, looked back and forth between us in a daze.
“You two know each other…?”
“Child.”
At that moment, Sophia looked at Sonya with a gentle smile.
“Step outside the library for a while. We’ll discuss this incident separately later.”
“Yes…?”
The dazed look on Sonya’s face instantly vanished.
“Ah, yes! I-I understand!”
She hurried out at once.
So hurriedly, in fact, that she forgot her fear of heights and scrambled right back up to the original ceiling.
Wooooong!
At the same time, light flowed from Sophia’s hand.
“I’ve cast Soundproofing Magic. Nothing we say here will be heard outside, Joo Donghoon.”
The Magic Tower Lord looked straight at me.
Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“What will happen to Sonya?”
“Sonya?”
Sophia paused briefly before continuing.
“That child broke the rules of the Magic Tower. She will be punished.”
…
“No matter how much you ask, this is not something I can excuse for you. The rules of the Magic Tower are strict. However… well. If she is later acknowledged for a different contribution, then she may receive a reward of equal value.”
“A different contribution….”
“Before that.”
Sophia cut me off.
“There is something I am curious about.”
…
“To be honest, I am deeply bewildered. That you know about this place, and that you are investigating Ancient Magic through the Korean Association.”
Sophia crossed her arms with an arrogant tilt of the chin.
Right.
From her perspective, bewilderment was only natural.
Judging by how she ignored my attempt to change the subject and immediately went to the heart of it.
But.
I was just as bewildered as she was.
“The same is true of me, Magic Tower Lord.”
Bone Five’s hidden chamber.
My low voice echoed through the cramped space.
“How you know about this place, Magic Tower Lord. And how you know about the existence of Ancient Magic… I am curious about that as well.”
Sophia’s expression hardened.
Did she think I was just trying to play word games?
The Magic Tower Lord tightened her grip on her staff.
At the same time, a fearsome amount of magic power began to boil up.
“Delilah spoke highly of you, so I had been viewing you favorably as well. But if you intend to mock me with that mouth of yours….”
Rumble, rumble….
An immense pressure rose from her body.
‘Keuk.’
The suffocating force pressed down over the entire space.
“I will no longer be able to regard you favorably.”
…
I could feel Sophia’s sincerity.
‘This is real.’
If she judged it necessary, she really could kill me.
Right.
My opponent was the world’s 4th rank.
In a world where power was law, the proper thing would be for me to bow my head.
Especially since I had been the one to trespass first.
“Phew, fine. I’ll be honest. I’ll speak plainly. I… have absolute beings from other worlds serving under me.”
At my words, Sophia’s eyes sharpened.
“…Other worlds?”
“Yes. I assume Delilah already told you something about that? There’s a very high chance that one of my Skeletons is the 4th Magic Tower Lord you wrote about, Eloise.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Sophia looked utterly unconvinced.
“Your Skeleton is Eloise?”
“I didn’t say it definitely is. I said there’s a very high chance. Of course, whether you believe me or not is up to you, Magic Tower Lord. But… isn’t the fact that I know about this place proof enough? Judging by the way it was hidden, it wasn’t exactly a place one could stumble across by accident.”
I gave a shrug.
“The reason I needed a Fragment of Ancient Magic was also to undo this Skeleton’s Awakening.”
…
“That’s all. The end. There’s nothing more for me to hide or explain. Surprisingly simple, isn’t it?”
I looked her straight in the eye.
Silence fell.
Whooosh!
The crushing pressure that had filled the room subsided.
“What, it’s true? There’s no lie in your eyes.”
Even her tone softened compared to before.
I stared at her.
“…You can tell just by looking into my eyes?”
“Try living to my age. You naturally come to learn such things.”
…
Right.
Even though the Magic Tower Lord looked like she was only in her 20s,
wasn’t she actually an 80-year-old old woman?
Wasn’t that why Jang Daewoong had called her the British hag?
“Hah.”
Sophia let out a faint sigh.
“Alright, then I have no choice. Since you spoke honestly first, I suppose I should tell you my side as well. It seems that’s the only way this conversation can continue.”
A bright smile returned to her face.
“But promise me one thing.”
“A promise?”
“In exchange for my telling you everything, you must also tell me everything you learn from this point onward without omission. Especially if it concerns Ancient Magic.”
Wow.
So experience really couldn’t be fooled.
She wasn’t an ordinary opponent.
“Alright.”
I nodded.
“Then let’s call this a mutual agreement to exchange information.”
===
[Skill: Magic Tower Lord]
[Rank: SS]
[Effect 1: Builds a Magic Tower in the sky.]
[Effect 2: This skill can only be obtained by one person per world.]
[Effect 3: Consumes 1,000 Energy.]
“For five years, I lived only for magic. Completely consumed by it. And the skill I was lucky enough to obtain was this. Magic Tower Lord. It was an absurd ability that allowed me to build a Magic Tower in the world. And that wasn’t all.”
[Skill: History of the Magic Tower]
[Rank: S]
[Effect 1: Checks the information and history of all Magic Tower Lords that exist in the world.]
[Effect 2: Consumes 500 Energy.]
“I also obtained something like this.”
[Skill: Follower of Ancient Magic]
[Rank: SS]
[Effect 1: Explore the traces left behind by ‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-Rank).]
[Effect 2: Increases understanding of magic.]
[Effect 3: Skills can be applied in complex ways depending on the results of research.]
“And I got this as well. Since you disclosed your side without holding back, I’m being equally open. For the record, even Delilah doesn’t know about this.”
Sophia’s explanation was simple, but concise.
She had essentially explained everything just by showing me those skills.
“Isn’t it fascinating? It was from that point on that I began exploring the inside of the Magic Tower through the skill [History of the Magic Tower], and searching with all my might for traces of Ancient Magic. Of course, that work is still ongoing. And during that process, I heard news of you.”
“I see.”
I had never imagined it.
That a Ranker on the level of the Magic Tower Lord would reveal things this openly.
Was she really that desperate for information related to Ancient Magic?
“You said you were looking for a Fragment of Ancient Magic, correct?”
“Yes.”
Rustle, rustle.
I pulled a diary from my pocket.
[Item: Diary of a Magical Dropout]
[Rank: S]
[Type: Medium]
[Description: A clue that can uncover the secret of a hidden ruin.]
[Effect 1: Can open the dungeon, ‘Magical Dropout’.]
[Effect 2: This item is bound to the Hunter, ‘Joo Donghoon’.]
[Effect 3: This item can be activated by an S-Rank Hunter or higher.]
[Effect 4: An ‘Ancient Magic Fragment’ (SS-Rank) is required to activate this item.]
The medium needed to Awaken Bone Five.
“To be precise, I need an SS-Rank Ancient Magic Fragment. I have to open this dungeon.”
“Then that’s already solved.”
The Magic Tower Lord grinned.
“This tower.”
Thump!
She struck the floor with her staff.
“This tower itself is that very fragment.”