Chapter 35: A classmate, pharmacist, alchemist and a gaming buddy

I am a righteous hero.

When visiting a friend’s workplace or home, I always act with courtesy and respect.

It’s not my place—it’s their turf, and I can’t afford to embarrass a friend.

I’m usually mindful of etiquette, but this time, I intended to be especially strict about it.

I greeted the desk staff and security guards on the first floor dutifully, with no thought of causing a scene.

Looking up at the tower, entirely clad in blue material, I thought, So this is the place.

Until I got a sense of it, I’d hold back.

“Oh-ho.”

A privacy protection mode, you could say.

I often dampen my senses to respect others’ privacy.

But since visiting Seol Yeonhwa’s apartment, and given the stakes now, that wasn’t the case.

My spiritual awareness and senses were fully extended, covering the entire area.

At this close range, I could read the tower’s peak as clearly as if I were seeing it with my own eyes.

Seol Yeonhwa, nearly dead on an operating table.

An old mage exuding a sinister, vile aura.

A male mage beginning to radiate dark mana.

A tense scene, less about the patient’s safety and more like a battlefield ready to erupt over a “treasure.”

I quickly concluded:

This feels dangerous.

Instead of regretting hesitation later, why not intervene now and hear them out?

A bit of rudeness might be worth risking.

If they truly care for the patient, they’ll forgive a little chaos. If not, I don’t need to care about their feelings.

[The Goddess clasps her hands with a radiant expression.]

Let’s stir things up.

Loosening up, I wrapped myself in dozens of layers of mana barriers.

Crunch. My foot sank into the ground.

“May the blessings of the divine be with me.”

Pierce through in a single point.

A tower is typically built by a high-ranking mage.

If they were a hunter, they’d be an S-rank, a high-ranker, boasting immense prestige.

The master of a renowned tower would be someone with great experience and skill, second only to a great mage in magical prowess.

Such a tower naturally comes with stringent defenses.

A security system meticulously designed by a high-ranking mage over years.

A labyrinthine structure for outsiders.

Subordinate mages with skills rivaling a major guild’s forces.

Located in a city center, open invasion by other factions was near impossible.

Unless someone could storm in and achieve their goal in a single breath, they’d be caught by public scrutiny or the tower’s intricate systems.

No one could breach a tower—practically a fortress—and its defenses in a short time.

Not unless they were a transcendent great mage or a comparable monster…

That’s how it should’ve been.

Boom!

Bang!

BOOOOM—!!!

In an instant, everything was pierced.

Breakthrough.

A hero’s way of climbing a tower was simple.

A structure like a maze to outsiders’ eyes?

If the tower’s mages could turn hostile, move so fast they can’t even register you.

I sensed the tower’s layout and chose human paths to account for invisible traps.

Mages with weak dynamic vision, relying on mana detection, couldn’t track me if I disrupted the mana around me.

BOOOOM!!

A belated gust of wind was all they felt.

I was long gone from that spot.

A strategy leveraging overwhelming physical ability and mana control.

The hero’s strength was the method itself.

Force breaks through all.

Beep—

My speed was so blinding that by the time the initial alert sounded, I was already past the tower’s midpoint.

WEEEEENG—!!

When the tower’s sirens blared, I was already there.

***

Elnair Grantz, the Tower Master, grimaced at the rare activation of her designed security system, belatedly realizing the intrusion.

Erneong, a high-ranking dark mage commanding the space, was equally startled, staring beside the operating table.

“Not too late, I hope.”

Suddenly, a man stood beside Seol Yeonhwa.

Next to her freezing chill, a dazzlingly radiant aura.

Gently brushing her forehead, he relaxed, then turned his head.

Calmly, he met the gazes of the high-ranking mages with an impassive stare.

No trace of worry or tension in his eyes or expression.

Elnair Grantz and Erneong felt a dissonance from this man.

Despite entering the Tower Master’s domain, he seemed utterly unconcerned about being attacked or defeated.

The room alone held dozens of interception spells and barriers, ready to activate at a thought.

Yet this intruder was bizarre, defying expectations.

To dismiss it as the arrogance of youth felt wrong—the situation was too absurd.

Yelling or subduing him might be the obvious move, but…

Elnair and Erneong, seasoned and perceptive, hesitated to act rashly.

…A monster isn’t judged by appearance alone.

An unfathomable aura.

A unique composure.

Mana barriers so dense not even a curse could penetrate.

An effortless, extraordinary presence.

“…Who in the world are you, to climb this high?”

Elnair Grantz watched his movements closely, probing his identity.

Erneong, stripped of his usual nonchalance, stared rigidly, already leaking dark mana, ready to unleash it if the man moved.

The hero glanced at the black mist-like mana, scratching his forehead.

“Hm, not exactly a dead guy.”

Checking Seol Yeonhwa’s condition again, he added,

“Classmate, pharmacist, alchemist, and gaming buddy, all rolled into one? Just dropping by.”

“…?”

“She hasn’t logged in lately.”

Seol Yeonhwa’s face, not flushed but deathly pale, drew a faint smile from Shin Yuseong.

“I’m here to heal her.”

Pop.

He opened the potion bottle, pried open her mouth, and poured it in.

Golden liquid, infused with the hero’s radiant mana, glugged down her throat.

A thorough cure would take more effort, and her body needed time to warm, but this was the first step.

It should taste sweet, at least.

“…Huh?”

“What the…!”

To onlookers, it could’ve been poison for all they knew—the situation was incomprehensible.

Especially to Elnair Grantz, whose lifespan depended on this, who cast a spell in panic.

“Stop! Halt!”

No matter what kind of monster he was, touching her treasure meant subduing him first.

Wooong!

Six rings, the hallmark of a high-ranking mage, began to rotate in unison.

The tower’s security system and the room’s interception spells resonated.

A barrier manifested.

Crack-crack-crack!

Unique Domain.

Frozen Prison.

The civilized office transformed instantly into an ice castle filled with blue frost.

Ice surrounded everything, reflecting like mirrors.

Yet the hero, unfazed, continued feeding the potion, glug by glug.

Elnair Grantz bit her lip, tightening her grip on the space.

In a flash, the high-ranking mage’s mana turned into a mighty spell.

Multi-casting.

Blizzard.

Whoosh— White dust swirled, turning the mirror-like world entirely white.

Visibility dropped sharply.

A blizzard raged before his eyes, and peering through it revealed only transparent ice.

Elnair, and even Erneong, had vanished.

***

“Hm.”

Having faced countless mages and demons’ tricks, the hero knew the pattern.

Carrying Seol Yeonhwa, whose expression had improved after drinking the potion, on his back, he rolled his eyes.

Even without direct sight, he could sense much through mana.

Dozens, hundreds of spells surrounded him.

Sharp icicles from the floor, walls, and ceiling glared at him.

“Man, that’s chilling.”

Clicking his tongue at Seol Yeonhwa’s defenseless state, Shin Yuseong drew his sword.

Not the holy sword.

Truthfully, it wasn’t even scary.

Just absurd and annoying.

A small flame flickered on the blade.

“Ignar.”

In an instant, the blizzard retreated.

The ice melted.

The force was so destructive, it felt less like magic and more like divine authority.

It was at that moment that Erneong, the dark mage, made his move.

To be continued…