Ch.7Kidnapping Like This (4)

When mages duel, there is one unwritten rule.

The first attack is just to test the waters.

It’s similar to how knights lightly clash swords before a fight.

I realized it the moment we clashed.

‘…She’s strong.’

Royd quietly observed Olivia standing before him.

This isn’t a duel. It’s more ridiculous to follow unwritten rules in a battlefield where people kill each other.

In a life-or-death battle, the most important thing is winning, and the second most important thing is also winning.

That’s why he used a higher-tier magic.

Light Orb. Though it appears to be an ordinary light cluster, it explodes upon contact with magic of other attributes, creating a blinding flash.

If Olivia had used attack magic to counter the orb, the battle would have ended right there.

A mage who loses their sight has only two options.

Indiscriminate omnidirectional attack, or defense.

Either way, defeat is inevitable. The former lacks firepower compared to mana consumption, and with the latter, you die the moment your barrier shatters.

This is why other mages are reluctant to fight White Mages.

The common sense of countering attack magic with attack magic breaks down.

As one’s mastery increases, so does the variety of magic used, making it incredibly difficult for opponents.

But.

She blocked it.

Royd gripped his staff tightly.

The moment Olivia saw the Light Orb, she responded with an ice wall.

Defense rather than attack, using ice magic with light-reflecting properties.

Royd spoke with a face full of conviction.

“As I thought, you’re a witch.”

The reason the White Tower was built in the remote north was partly to block monsters coming down from the snowy mountains, and partly to gain practical field experience.

But the biggest reason was to minimize exposure to White Magic.

The most outstanding advantage of White Magic is that it breaks the common sense of magic.

This means that when fighting an opponent who knows the “common sense of White Magic,” you lose one advantage.

So how did that witch figure it out?

Betrayal? Impossible.

All mages authorized for external activities have taken the Mana Oath.

To never reveal secrets, no matter what.

Then.

“…How many have you killed?”

Olivia frowned.

It seemed she had been seriously misunderstood.

‘You told me yourself, idiot.’

Olivia clicked her tongue.

She remembered what Royd had said in his novice days.

-The reason we’re not among the 5 Great Magic Towers is simple. We have clear limitations.

-We’re not as strong as the Red Tower, nor as good at defense as the Blue Tower.

Positively speaking, they have a good balance of offense and defense; negatively speaking, they don’t excel at anything.

That’s why they gave up on training White Mages.

What’s the point of starting early? Everyone catches up in the late game anyway.

It’s also why Royd is only in his 60s level-wise while other Tower Masters start at least at level 70.

‘Slow growth, weak magic.’

There’s a reason players who choose the White Mage route are considered masochists.

‘Sure, they’re good at killing demons and demon folk, but so what? Not all enemies are demons.’

Olivia looked around. The mages watching from beyond the barrier had both anger and fear in their eyes.

Fear stemming from the thought that their Tower Master might be defeated.

Of course, not everyone felt that way. Some had suppressed their anger and overcome their fear, looking this way with calm eyes.

[Jayna Eculane]

[Ro Fernandi]

[Aramis]

Familiar names.

People she had met dozens of times while developing her character at the White Tower. Of course she knew them well.

Jayna Eculane. The next Deputy Tower Master.

Ro Fernandi. A top-tier White Mage.

And Aramis.

The next Tower Master, no less. Even the youngest Tower Master in the Empire. But why is such an Aramis just a supporting character?

Just as there’s only one sword-wielding human protagonist, Sword Master Kiel, there’s only one magic-wielding protagonist.

‘And that position is already filled.’

Grandmaster Melina.

Master of space-time magic and Tower Master of the Golden Tower.

No matter how much of a genius Aramis is, he’s no match for Melina.

That’s what being a “protagonist” in Lactea means. With 15 such characters, it’s strange they can’t defeat one Demon God.

Finishing her thoughts, Olivia looked back at Aramis.

Heh heh heh. Amazing potential, even on second glance.

After checking the status window, Olivia smiled wickedly.

Now she needed to somehow make those three—no, four including the ice chicken—function properly before the main chapter begins.

‘That’s how I survive, and how you survive too.’

Get ready.

The three who made eye contact with Olivia shuddered from an unknown chill.

*****

“…What’s wrong with my body?”

“I don’t know. Ugh… feels weird.”

Jayna Eculane rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.

“Shouldn’t we fight together? What is the Tower Master thinking?”

“I know. We could at least help…”

“No, you’d be a hindrance.”

Someone spoke in a rude tone from behind them. In the White Tower, only one person would speak so rudely.

“…Aramis.”

Jayna’s face soured. Whether he knew her feelings or not, Ro Fernandi asked with an innocent face.

“Why would we be a hindrance? Couldn’t we help by attacking the witch’s blind spots?”

Among the three, only Aramis was a senior mage, but they could speak informally because they had entered the tower on the same day.

“Because…”

“If we attack the witch, she’ll have to pay attention to us too, and that would lead to casualties. But in a one-on-one fight, there’s no reason for that. The witch would rather focus on subduing the Tower Master than waste mana on us who are just standing by.”

“Wow. You’re a genius?”

Ro raised his thumb in admiration.

“…”

“That’s what you were going to say, right Aramis?”

“Half right.”

Jayna frowned. Even with such obvious dislike, a sociopath with no empathy like him wouldn’t take the hint and leave.

“Do you know how long it took him to get up here?”

“How many minutes?”

“3 minutes and 47 seconds. But he spent 3 minutes on the first floor.”

Sensing something ominous, Jayna countered.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“That witch is strong.”

“I know that too…”

“Stronger than our Tower Master.”

“…Don’t cross the line, Aramis.”

“Even the Tower Master couldn’t take down five elders in 1 minute.”

“…”

Jayna bit her lip.

No matter how rude Aramis was or how broken his empathy, his analytical abilities were unmatched.

His predictions usually came true, as she had learned over the years.

But Jayna had to counter.

“…That’s not enough. The Tower Master is constantly receiving mana from the magic stones. Even if it becomes a long battle, the Tower Master will eventually win.”

“It’s still disadvantageous.”

Finally unable to contain her anger, Jayna grabbed Aramis’s collar.

“Hey, whose side are you on?”

“J-Jayna! Calm down. This is no time for us to fight among ourselves!”

At Ro’s intervention, Jayna released his collar. As Aramis smoothed out the wrinkles, Ro asked.

“Aramis, why do you say the Tower Master will lose?”

“I didn’t say he’ll lose, just that the probability is high.”

“So why?”

Aramis pointed a finger beyond the barrier.

Due to the dust created by the collision of their magic, visibility was only a few meters. They could only guess each other’s positions by the flashing lights.

“Why there?”

“Remember when the Tower Master used Light Orb at the beginning?”

“Yeah, the witch blocked it with Glacial Wall.”

“And then?”

“The Tower Master deployed a barrier to block the reflected light.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Aramis nodded as if that was exactly what he meant.

Ro frowned. He couldn’t understand what the problem was.

One side attacks, the other defends, and vice versa. What’s the issue…?

The sigh came from another direction. It was Jayna.

“…Insane.”

“Now you see it?”

“What is it? Don’t keep it to yourselves, tell me too.”

Jayna’s face contorted as if she’d seen a monster.

“That bastard has been toying with the Tower Master.”

“…What?”

“It’s a simple numbers game. For every spell the witch casts, the Tower Master has to use two, maybe even three to counter.”

Finally understanding the situation, Ro’s face hardened.

Would a witch of that caliber not cast three spells at once because she couldn’t?

No, that’s impossible.

He finally understood what it meant that she was holding back.

‘What if she starts casting three spells at once too?’

The thought alone was terrifying.

“You knew this and just watched?”

“No, I was looking for a solution.”

“And, did you find one?”

Aramis nodded.

“I need your help.”