Magic Tower City (7)

The air in the Chancellor’s office was heavy. Numerous magic circles moved as if dancing in the air. The cold, blue light rippled, making it feel like being underwater.

“All the lost magics, the forgotten rune letters… you are like a living repository of knowledge.”

Lucy took a step closer. The surrounding magic circles fluctuated as if reacting to her emotions.

“I want to know everything. That knowledge you possess… I want to dissect it piece by piece.”

“Chancellor-nim, please calm down.”

She wasn’t listening to me anymore.

“In the lab… together forever…”

Madness bloomed in Lucy’s eyes. It was the moment when pure curiosity for knowledge turned into a twisted obsession.

“If I study you… I can recover hundreds of years of lost knowledge.”

The blue magic Lucy unleashed poured in from all directions. The entire Chancellor’s office transformed into a giant magic circle.

“It’s okay. Very slowly… I’ll study everything. Everything you’re hiding.”

The look of obsession I had encountered throughout my adventures, now familiar.

My lips were parched. It was time to play my trump card.

“Yeomyeong!”

The holy sword ‘Yeomyeong,’ which I hadn’t called upon in a while. A sacred light materialized in my palm, and the sword took shape.

But Lucy’s expression didn’t change.

“Oh? Drawing a sword in front of me….”

She lightly waved her hand. The formulas engraved on the walls glowed even more intensely.

“How cute. In a city of magic… such primitive weapons.”

The holy sword’s sacred energy collided with the magic circle. A dazzling flash of light erupted.

For a moment, the magic circle seemed to waver. But soon, the blue light regained its stability.

“As expected of the Hero. But…”

The broken magic circle was instantly restored. Healing itself as if it were alive.

“This place is a magical fortress steeped in 300 years of history. That’s not enough.”

The formulas on the walls glowed even more intensely, tightening around me.

A cold sweat ran down my back. If even the holy sword doesn’t work…

“Now, what secrets are you hiding? Let’s examine them one by one… in great detail.”

A scholarly madness bloomed in her voice.

The magical knowledge I possessed was only superficial, for the sake of game walkthroughs. But she believed without a doubt that something hidden within me.

From the moment I was branded as a research subject, she would do anything to get her hands on me.

The concentration of magic power grew thicker and thicker. A suffocating pressure.

A smile of victory hung on Lucy’s lips.

“Don’t even think about running away. This is just the beginning of the real research.”

I’d heard that scholars of the Magic Tower lost their reason in the face of knowledge. So that’s what it was like.

I gripped the holy sword once more. But it wasn’t time to give up yet.

I’d barely found a clue to the dimension-shifting magic, and I couldn’t become a graduate student… no, a lab rat like this.

At her gesture, the magic circles in the air lit up all at once. Sparkling aether crystals fluttered like a rainbow.

I hurriedly dodged.

Taking advantage of her relaxed demeanor, I slashed at the wall with the holy sword, but it was quickly restored.

“Do you know the difference between a practical mage and a theoretical mage? A practical mage’s body is their magic circle and magic circuit. They manifest magic as naturally as breathing.”

Magic on the battlefield is an art of the moment.

Quickly, powerfully. You can’t afford complex preparation time in battle. But that also meant its limitations were clear.

“But theoretical mages are different.”

Lucy’s steps were elegant. Magic circles rippled like waves wherever she passed.

“They draw magic circles, engrave circuits, and prepare materials. It takes a long time.”

The weakness of theoretical mages was clear. They needed time. To draw magic circles, prepare materials…

But this place?

The magic towers visible through the window lit up all at once. All the preparations were already complete.

As her finger pointed into the air, the formulas on the walls became even clearer.

“But that makes it… overwhelming.”

Magic power bloomed from every wall. A spectacle where even a speck of dust became part of the magic, dancing.

“Do you see it? That flow of blue light.”

Lucy’s voice was filled with scholarly passion.

“The magic circles engraved by the previous generation of mages, their disciples added new circuits on top of them. Like that for 300 years…”

The Magic Tower City was instantly bathed in magical light. From the stone pavement on the streets to the tips of the spires, everything functioned as one giant magic circle.

With every breath, Lucy’s magic power dug into my lungs.

“This place is my laboratory, and my castle. Hero-nim.”

So this is the completed form of a theoretical mage. Now I know why they say never to enter a mage’s workshop carelessly.

“Do you understand now? Why Magic Tower City is called Magic Tower City.”

The corridors, the stairs, all the structures began to function as a single magical device.

Hundreds of aether crystals lit up simultaneously, covering the entire city.

It wasn’t just the Chancellor’s office. The Ether Tower, the entire Ether Academy was her workshop and magic circle.

“Here, everything requires my permission.”

The flow of magic running along the walls became vivid before my eyes. The legacy of the previous generation of mages was still alive and breathing.

“Look. This city… is a perfect magical weapon. No one is powerless before Magic Tower City. You can’t stop our curiosity. Not even a Hero.”

Lucy’s smile shone with the joy of victory. As if this was just the beginning.

I chuckled. Listening to her pride-filled explanation, I was mentally crunching numbers.

It wasn’t a mistake to leak game knowledge and stimulate her research drive. It was a perfectly calculated action.

‘Pretending to know nothing, occasionally showing special knowledge.’

It was enough to stimulate her scholarly curiosity. I was targeting the weakness of theoretical mages.

Their obsessive desire for knowledge about new knowledge, about the unknown.

‘Obsession must be offset by another obsession.’

It was a small lesson I learned from running away from my party members.

I followed the flow of aether running through the magic circles with my eyes. I gazed at the sight of the entire city transformed into a magic circle.

Powerful enough. This should be enough.

Now that I’ve confirmed the true nature of the Magic Tower… all the conditions have been met.

“You’re truly amazing.”

A small smile appeared on my lips. Lucy’s sky-blue eyes sparkled.

“But now, it’s about time…”

I raised the holy sword.

“Don’t you understand yet? That won’t work.”

“That’s right. It won’t work.”

“You finally admit it.”

A smile of victory hung on Lucy’s lips. I continued to speak.

“But this… is a signal.”

The sacred light that cut through the sky covered the entire city.

Lucy’s eyes wavered.

“What did you say…?”

“Not for you… a signal for someone else.”

I answered with a smile instead of words. Showing off game knowledge and stimulating her curiosity, staying in the Magic Tower to browse the Arcane Archives.

It was all for this moment.

Thump-

The earth rumbled. It started as a subtle vibration, but the entire Magic Tower shook.

“What’s going on? The flow of magic power…”

The Magic Tower’s barrier slowly crumbled. Her fingertips trembled. Cracks began to appear in the formulas she was so proud of. It was at a speed that made self-repair impossible.

“Could it be… you? This… it’s impossible! What on earth did you do? The magic circles built up over hundreds of years… how…”

No, is she already here? She’s too diligent.

“I’m sorry.”

A small smile appeared on my lips. I had been waiting for this moment.

“I’m already getting enough obsession.”

Kuaooo-!

The roar shook my soul. An elegant yet sharp voice, filled with rage. A sense of oppression that was on a different level from humans pressed down on the city.

The air trembled. Golden magic power flashed at the end of the sky. A storm of magic power slammed into the city’s defenses.

Thump-!

The shockwave spread throughout the city. The windows of the Chancellor’s office rattled.

Bbiing- Bbiing-

Emergency alarms blared. The hurried footsteps of mages running through the corridors.

“Reinforce the defensive line!”

“Prepare the magic cannons!”

“Maximize the barrier!”

Urgent shouts rang out. Blue magic power soared from all over the city.

The sound of flapping wings could be heard in the distance. The sky darkened. A huge shadow covering the city.

The blue magic power flowing along the walls instantly turned red. It was a signal that the city’s defense system was activated.

“I’m sorry. Aris is… quite jealous, even among the party members.”

The sky was dyed golden. As if dawn had come.

Golden flames swept through the city outside the window.

The barrier on the outskirts of the city shattered.

According to plan.

I smiled inwardly. I had been thinking it was about time to shake off Aris’s pursuit once.

“Chancellor-nim, you said you’d show me the power of the Magic Tower, right?”

That’s why I chose this city. Because it was powerful enough.

A place where I could have a proper fight with Aris.

And a place where I could have a chance to escape in the chaos.

Kugugung-!

The dragon’s magic and the city’s protective formulas clashed.

All the mages of Magic Tower City Arcana were engaged in an all-out war.

Every time golden flames and blue magic power collided, the night sky flashed.

At that moment, magic circles were activated throughout the city. Binding formulas that hindered the dragon’s flight, weakening magic that reduced the strength of its scales, barriers that halved the power of the flames.

Swish-

The golden dragon’s wings fluttered. With a single movement, the formulas covering it shattered.

The city instantly became a scene of carnage. Explosions continued as the mages’ formulas and the dragon’s breath collided.

“Then, I’ll be going…”

This was the only timing to escape.

At that moment, her voice echoed throughout the entire city.

[Thou.]

An elegant yet chilling voice, filled with the pride of the dragon race.

[Return quickly. I am not angry at all, you know?]

Her calm voice was even scarier.

[Hehe… you mustn’t run away. No, no, you mustn’t.]

A chill ran down my spine. Cold sweat flowed.

[A dragon’s treasure… must be by the dragon’s side forever.]