Ch.113Magic Tower (1)

Our current destination was the Magic Tower.

We were going there to investigate the inner workings of the Black Pillar recently erected at the Magic Tower and to completely dismantle one of the pillars.

However, if someone were to ask if that was the entire purpose of going to the Magic Tower, it wasn’t.

We also needed to solve the problem with Lumia’s body and request the production of underwater breathing artifacts related to the fish people.

[Hmm, you mean my body?]

[I thought I’d have to wait much longer to get a body.]

‘That hidden piece isn’t actually that difficult to obtain. It’s not very valuable either.’

In fact, it was barely worthy of being called a hidden piece.

It wasn’t hidden somewhere, but rather a magic book well-placed in the Magic Tower’s library.

However, it could be said that it was just collecting dust because no one ever paid attention to it.

[What exactly is it?]

‘It’s Clone Magic.’

Clone Magic could basically create one clone that copied 50% of the user’s physical abilities.

Since the clone could recover magical power on its own, its basic duration was infinite, and when the skill reached level 10, it could even raise physical abilities up to 90%.

[It sounds good from what I hear.]

[I don’t understand why such a magic book would just be collecting dust.]

‘That’s because it creates a clone, not a separate personality.’

Clone Magic was merely magic that created a clone, but moving the created clone was a separate matter.

This was a world where numerous magicians couldn’t even cast two spells simultaneously, let alone control two bodies.

Indeed, how many people in this world could skillfully control two bodies?

I could guess that even if we searched the entire world, the number could be counted on one hand.

And even if there were magicians who could handle two bodies well, they wouldn’t use those bodies for close combat, so there wasn’t much use for it.

If one could use two bodies to cast two spells, they could just do double casting.

It was somewhat useful when using conflicting magic, but even then, considering overall efficiency, one could only shake their head.

‘For these and other reasons, it’s magic that’s far from practical. It’s almost been abandoned. Of course, it would be different if we used it.’

[Indeed, that’s true.]

[Regardless of how magicians use it, it’s perfect magic for us.]

Moving the clone would be a matter of letting Lumia do it anyway.

And since I was a swordsman, not a magician, having an additional body to move was beneficial in itself.

‘Even apart from combat, just having a body you can use is worth learning this magic.’

[Hmm~ Actually, I’m quite satisfied with my sweet life inside your body.]

[I’m worried about what kind of work you’ll make me do if I get a body.]

Lumia spoke in a playful voice, saying she didn’t want to have a body.

If someone who didn’t know her heard this, it would just sound like a joke, but I knew it was sincere.

I knew her self-destructive personality better than anyone else.

‘Do you think I don’t know that you want to be forgotten because you can’t die physically?’

[…That’s not necessarily true.]

[I’ve decided to live, so I will live.]

Lumia tried to deny it belatedly, but the hesitation before her words revealed the truth.

‘You should at least live like a proper person. You haven’t even greeted Lilly and Kitsune yet, right? When you get a body, at least introduce yourself to them.’

It was almost like an announcement rather than a suggestion, but I had no choice because she wouldn’t listen otherwise.

[Really, I got involved with the wrong person.]

‘So please give up quietly.’

[Sigh… Alright.]

* * *

The path to the Magic Tower wasn’t simple.

There was no special reason for this; it was simply because the distance we had to walk was far.

As a result, we had no choice but to diligently walk after leaving the Fairy Kingdom.

“Mmm…”

“Ah, Kitsune. Fortunately, did you wake up quickly?”

Meanwhile, Kitsune, who was being carried by Kirara, was also able to regain consciousness.

Although her body still seemed tired, her mind seemed to have recovered, perhaps because she was far away from the Queen.

“Lady Frey… where are we…?”

“We’re still in the fairy realm. You’ve worked hard for a week, so please rest well.”

“No… I should work as a person too…”

“There’s no need for that.”

Kitsune tried to get up with her tired body to walk on her own feet, but I pushed her forehead to make her lie down again.

She needed rest right now, but also there was truly nothing for her to do.

“Look over there. Lilly is having the time of her life.”

“Yap! Yap!”

The gate we were trying to use happened to be near the demon realm.

As a result, as we got closer to our destination, we were attacked by various demon species, including imps.

Normally, this would have been a somewhat arduous and dangerous situation, but with Lilly here, it wasn’t much of a threat.

Rather, they became the targets for Lilly’s stress relief, putting them in a position of suffering.

“Lilly~ Don’t bully them too much and take it easy. You might attract other demon species.”

“I know that, don’t worry!”

“See? Right now, letting Lilly play is also a form of courtesy.”

“…Yes, then I’ll rest a little more.”

After seeing Lilly grinding the demon species with wind, Kitsune was finally able to rest with peace of mind.

However, while Kitsune and the other companions were walking with ease, I couldn’t relax.

‘Surely the location where the gate opens is a coincidence… but that coincidence isn’t without reason.’

What was the reason for the gate we were heading to?

Simply because it was closer?

No.

If we looked for gates connecting the fairy realm to the material world, there were clearly gates located in closer and safer places.

Yet, we were taking the risk of going to a gate near the demon realm because the intermediate realm connected to it was close to the Magic Tower’s location.

‘And the fact that such a gate happens to be near the demon realm is more of a necessity than a coincidence.’

It wasn’t that the Magic Tower was manipulating something to target us.

After all, the gate itself was confirmed to be connected to a forest near the Magic Tower.

However, the reason for this connection was likely related to the Magic Tower to some extent.

The actions of the Magic Tower frequently opening gates to the demon realm might have influenced the flow that created this gate.

‘They wouldn’t have opened a gate all the way here just to hunt Rune Bears and obtain elixirs.’

There was clearly something I didn’t know, and that fact made me uneasy.

While continuing these thoughts, Lilly, who had been wandering slightly ahead of us, returned and told us what she had seen.

“Frey! I can see the gate ahead!”

“We’re finally arriving… I guess we’ll just have to learn about the unknowns as we encounter them.”

Anyway, there was nothing I could figure out by racking my brain here and now.

So for now, we had no choice but to keep moving forward.

* * *

Ernes was one of the cities in the empire with a vast granary area.

It was a city where there were more commoners living their days diligently than wealthy nobles, yet smiles never withered.

Yes, that’s what kind of city it was until the Magic Tower arrived.

Some might say, “The Magic Tower doesn’t have feet, what are you talking about?” but it didn’t need feet.

The Magic Tower was a flying city that traveled around the world collecting knowledge.

Originally, areas visited by the Magic Tower could be said to have various economic benefits.

Although the Magic Tower was a mobile city, it needed resources from outside, and places where the Magic Tower stayed attracted various people to the city, from merchants to nobles and adventurers.

Moreover, since the city’s people could also get opportunities to access magic, there were many places that viewed the Magic Tower’s visit as a blessing.

That’s why the lord of Ernes would have welcomed the Magic Tower’s visit.

But unfortunately for the lord of Ernes and its residents, this visit of the Magic Tower had many strange aspects.

The large amount of cheap labor that appeared with the Magic Tower’s arrival took away the citizens’ jobs.

Not everyone lost their jobs, but there was clearly a noticeable number of unemployed people.

And the Black Pillar began to take in such people.

At first, many thought it was the Magic Tower’s benevolence, but at some point, people who entered the Magic Tower began to disappear one by one.

At first, it was gradual, but at some point, the number of missing persons clearly increased.