episode_0041

The scorching sun, Ardor.

Although the bright sun was already rising outside the window.

He was still deeply immersed in profound contemplation since last night, unable to come out of it.

‘When will be a good time…’

His haggard face was a clear sign that he hadn’t slept at all.

The situation was so tense that he unconsciously repeated washing his face.

It was because he had failed the commission from Duke Shurain, who held more power than the emperor in the empire.

The commission included the complete annihilation of the Northern Army, the most powerful force of the Elven Kingdom, and the assassination of Crown Prince Eos.

In addition to an astronomical commission fee.

It was a significant commission that could even affect the fate of the tower, as a substantial increase in imperial support funds was at stake.

There was also an additional request to use as flashy and destructive magic as possible to incite war between humans and elves.

The conditions were so extraordinary.

It was a desperate act to summon meteors by mobilizing almost all the wizards and magical stones of the tower, even several times.

Yet, the commission failed.

How could this have happened?

It was certainly much harder to bear than an unbelievable failure.

The financial blow to the tower due to the failure of the commission was substantial.

Not only did they exhaust a huge amount of magical stones to summon meteors, but the supply of magical stones for experiments and training within the tower became difficult for the time being.

Moreover, a considerable number of the wizards who used magic together had overexerted their mana.

As a result, many of them lost consciousness and were still wandering in a daze.

Yes.

The current Ardor Tower was in a great crisis due to the failure of the commission.

Since becoming an apprentice wizard after graduating from the academy, he had never experienced such a thing, so it didn’t feel real.

He had managed to block four meteors.

Honestly, he thought he could manage two.

After all, Aplatus, the commander of the Northern Army of Ribengard, controlled high-level spirits.

So, he dropped one first and then successively dropped two more.

The destructive power of a single meteor was something that didn’t even need to be mentioned.

Just one fall could cause the worst disaster imaginable for living beings.

Yet, one elf managed to stop three of them, so Aldor’s confidence as a master magician did not waver.

Of course, Aldor was certain.

The mana efficiency of the spirits was extremely poor, so Aplatus would no longer have any energy left.

In fact, he had knelt down, vomiting blood.

And that was exactly why, despite the opposition of the magicians, he stubbornly dropped the fourth meteor.

Victory was already in hand.

Just that alone would devastate a considerable portion of the southern region of Tenafel and the northern forest of Rivengard.

A tremendous shock would cause earthquakes throughout the empire.

Friction with the atmosphere would generate intense heat, causing fierce flames to shoot up from all directions.

Even if the thick dust rose faintly and morning came, bright daylight would persist for a while.

However…

To think that a terrifying disaster-filled meteor…

Was simply blocked by a seemingly delicate woman raising her hands.

“Ha!”

It was truly astounding.

“Hahaha!”

It was so unbelievable that laughter burst out like that of someone who had finally lost their mind.

“What in the world is this Shield of Light…?”

It felt like something completely different.

He had read countless spellbooks, but he had never read about a shield made of light that could block meteors.

To think that a young woman, barely twenty, could use such an incredible magic, even the master magician himself didn’t know…

It was a feeling of intense self-loathing, wanting to tear his own heart out.

“Could it be a dragon…?”

If it was the magic of an extreme dragon, it could be possible.

But he had never heard of a dragon wielding light magic.

Moreover…

Why on earth would a dragon bother with the useless task of blocking a meteor…?

The doubt continued to linger, leaving Arudor unable to find an answer and only able to let out a deep sigh for a long time.

“Who on earth is that woman!”

Thud!

In the end, he even slammed the desk hard enough to hurt his fist, but still, no answer came.

It was a painfully bitter failure, but at any rate, he had to think about the future now.

Regardless, he needed to inform Duke Shurain of the results as quickly as possible.

“…!”

Then, he realized belatedly.

Despite being in a position to command numerous wizards, he had been nonchalant on the surface.

Because there was so little experience.

They had withdrawn without erasing the traces left by the ship.

To prevent potential tracking, even the wizards who had to manipulate mana distortions had become involved in summoning meteors, resulting in a state of emptiness.

If the elves were to track them down, it would undoubtedly be revealed that the blazing mage tower was behind it all.

“….”

The consecutive blocking of magic that could be called the tower’s greatest firepower was so shocking.

Even if such an unbelievable event hadn’t occurred, they wouldn’t have made such an absurd mistake.

But even so.

No matter what the elves did, it wouldn’t cause any real problems.

After all, the location of the mage tower was near the capital of the empire.

Unless they were insane, those blind fools wouldn’t dare to come here.

Even if the elves were to inform the royal family of this fact, the situation wouldn’t change.

The existence of the flying ship was a secret known only within the tower, so if they pretended not to know, that would be the end of it.

If by chance they caught wind of it from another competing tower, the client, the duke, would easily handle it.

So, worrying about the elves was unnecessary forever.

“Sigh….”

As expected.

The most urgent issue now was making up for the losses due to the failed commission.

There might not be a need to return part of the commission fee received as an advance payment, but the situation was such that there was barely enough money to make up for the consumed maestones and pay the promised compensation to the mobilized wizards.

Furthermore, the increase in royal support funds had also become a lost cause.

As he would lose the trust of the duke,

In the end, not only the support funds but also the substantial privileges of various policies and projects hosted by the royal family would be taken over by other powerful figures.

So.

He had no choice but to lose sleep pondering how to confess his failure to Duke Schrein.

Should he use the sudden appearance of the woman as an excuse?

Or should he ask for a chance to make up for the failure?

His mind was so filled with such concerns that it became too complicated to think straight, and eventually, he found himself clutching his head in both hands, deeply bowed down.

Crack! Suddenly, a sound of something tearing from the ceiling was heard.

Since becoming the tower lord, it was the first time he had heard such a sound.

From the gilded ceiling, fine white dust fell softly like snowflakes.

The only emotion one could feel in a situation they had never experienced before was a sense of crisis.

Naturally, his right hand began to fumble with the rings on his left hand.

The jade ring on his little finger was a magical ring that allowed instantaneous teleportation anywhere within the tower.

On its surface, the runic inscription in golden letters elegantly read ‘Anywhere you want to go.’

And the stone ring on his ring finger was a ring that could instantly summon a magma golem.

The shimmering light seeping from the cracked crevices was due to the sealed golem.

Rumble-

Then soon after, another thud! was heard, and ultimately the roof collapsed.

“W-What in the world is this!”

Through the destroyed roof, someone wearing a black hood was looking down at him.

The twisted lips slightly visible below were extremely menacing. It was so unpleasant that it sent shivers down his spine.

“Truly an astounding sword. There’s no need to make it transparent.”

The man, who dared to invade the tower lord’s personal space by piercing through the roof, leapt down without a moment’s hesitation, muttering incomprehensible words.

***

Thump! Thump!

It didn’t take long for him to adapt to the sudden pounding sounds coming from all directions.

Of course, in the process, I had to endure a terrible headache and even vomited blood once.

Unable to go on as it was, I eventually released my transparency.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Everything stemmed from the sword I held in my hand.

The green blade of the national treasure of Ribengard, the rapier.

That long thing.

It fiercely awakened forgotten life from all the dead trees around, through the long green blade, connecting me tightly to all sorts of structures made of wood from the flying ship in the sky, the cold walls of the mast, and various furniture inside the tower used by wizards, all shining green.

The dead trees were suddenly revived and responding to me with the vitality through the green blade.

However, the countless presences sent from hundreds or even thousands of different places were quite burdensome for me now.

As consciousness faded and excruciating pain wracked my body, tormenting my head at every moment.

Fortunately, the rapidly depleting mana was being replenished at an even faster rate by the armor of Wiblea, quickly surging back up.

What emerged after the agony was a firm conviction that I could freely manipulate countless pieces of wood.

“Who are you?”

After enduring the pain in silence for a long time, just as it began to subside rapidly, another wizard ascended to the rooftop.

He alternated between looking at his astonished colleague and me.

“Intruder-”

Pointing his wooden staff at me, he tried to announce the presence of the intruder loudly, but he seemed not to worry at all.

Finally, the terrible headache disappeared completely, and my brain adapted to the new stimulus, opening my eyes to a dizzying sense of omnipotence.

I immediately tested my abilities.

Crack! Boom!

From the ground, from the ship, and even from the staff he held. Dozens of thin and thick wooden stems explosively burst out and wrapped around my whole body.

Rather than stretching like rubber bands, they seemed to grow at an unimaginable speed.

“Grrrk…!”

The magician, bound and floating in the air with large characters, could no longer speak.

To make something like this possible… Truly, it was an extraordinary sword.

Of course, the mana consumption was enormous, but I quickly recovered thanks to my armor.

In the end, Apflatus’ words were not empty.

If only I had the weapon of Wiblerea.

It seemed like it would be a piece of cake to actually collapse one of the magic towers.

A tremendous sense of power overwhelmed my mind, making me feel like I could truly do anything.

Thud! Crack!

I rushed forward and knocked the magician unconscious with the hilt of my sword.

Thump-

The protruding wooden branches rapidly returned to their original positions.

The two magicians inside the blazing tower lay unconscious side by side.

Thus, I had successfully preserved two precious gunpowder barrels.

And from now on, I would have to capture the owner of all the gunpowder barrels, the tower lord.

I closed my eyes and focused my mind.

Thump-thump-

It was to locate the tower lord’s position through the countless wooden structures in the tower.

“….”

I bowed my head and looked at the ground.

The tower lord was right below the rooftop.

So, what I had to do now was quickly collapse the floor, and for me, that was not a difficult task at all.

Because the rooftop floor, covered with red bricks and cement, was filled with numerous wooden structures.

Crash! Rumble rumble-

Several embedded wooden beams writhed like angry snakes, collapsing exactly where I wanted them to.