Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 49: Newspaper (2).

What Raize was talking about was advertising. I had somewhat underestimated the residents of this fantasy world, but they had already grasped the beneficial functions of newspapers and were thinking of placing ads in them.

‘Is the Magic Tower different after all?’

However, advertising is inherently a business. There must be an exchange. It’s not like you can do business by digging the ground; there must be compensation, right?

I asked Raize what the Magic Tower could offer in return.

“If we grant your request, what can the Magic Tower do for us?”

“Nothing.”

“…Then is there any need for us to comply with the Magic Tower’s demands?”

“If you think that way, you can refuse. This is the official stance of the Magic Tower.”

With those words, Raize quietly sipped his tea. Glancing at me, his eyes seemed to convey a hope that I would accept this.

‘Why?’

As if he had nothing to lose, why is he looking at me like that?

My head spun as if it was about to burst. However, the answer didn’t come easily. I was never good at this kind of thing. Originally, Deokgu should be handling this…

‘He should come out and take care of things like this quickly…’

Deokgu was currently in his room making a newspaper. He wouldn’t let anyone in because it would be a distraction.

In the end, solving the riddle posed by Raize fell to me. Thinking wasn’t my strong suit, but I tried to piece it together using my accumulated experience and intuition.

‘Can we borrow the name of the Magic Tower…?’

It wasn’t a bad condition. No matter how much backing we had from the Saintess, there was no guarantee she’d protect us forever.

But what if the Magic Tower were added to it?

‘Borrowed authority. Even if the Magic Tower doesn’t help at all… just having its name attached… there won’t be many who dare to show their teeth at us.’

If the name of the Magic Tower was attached, those who’d mess with our newspaper would be extremely rare. Having the Magic Tower’s name on it meant that challenging us would be akin to challenging the Magic Tower itself.

Having reached a conclusion, I slowly nodded.

“…Alright, I’ll accept the Magic Tower’s request.”

“Heh, so you’re not entirely stupid.”

“…I’m probably smarter than you, kid.”

“I’m not a kid.”

Raize glared at me with fiery eyes, but I wasn’t particularly concerned. Who would be afraid of a kid less than half their size?

“So, what does this magic circle do?”

“…Not telling.”

“Is there such a thing? Aren’t you making a contract?”

“A magic circle is something only those with talent in magic can see.”

Raize lightly exhaled and began to draw the magic circle. Letters formed following his fingers.

[If you bring this newspaper to the Magic Tower, you’ll receive a silver coin!]

Seeing that, I was startled and asked him.

“Won’t this lead to financial ruin? Just for bringing a newspaper, you’re giving out silver coins?”

“…Can you see this?”

“Of course I can see it! It’s written right in front of me.”

“You have talent in magic.”

“…Huh?”

Raize looked at me with eyes wide open like a crescent moon, seemingly surprised. Seeing his expression for the first time, I, too, gazed at him intently.

Talent in magic.

Me?

“I’m back, Master.”

“So, the result?”

“They’ve decided to accept it… But is there really a reason for the Magic Tower to get involved in this?”

At Raize’s words, her mentor, Meteor, stroked his beard while looking at her.

“Are you ready to even risk your life to satisfy your trivial curiosity?”

“Yes.”

Watching Raize answer without a moment’s hesitation, Meteor burst into laughter. He thought finding such an interesting disciple was a blessing in his later years.

“Hahaha, indeed. We mages are the kind who risk our lives to understand the truth of magic. Of course, we should. Absolutely.”

“Master, so the answer is…”

“Oh, right… There was a request from the Saintess.”

“The Saintess…?”

“Yes.”

Meteor lightly waved his fingers to bring over a letter from the desk. It was a simple beginner’s spell, but as natural as breathing.

That meant he had reached the pinnacle of his craft, proof that he was a Grand Mage, a rarity even within the Tower of Magic.

“It was a request not to touch him or the Earth Trading Company he created… More precisely, to grant him some convenience.”

“Why would the Saintess…?”

“Well, if we are searching for the truth of the world, they receive oracles from those who are practically truth incarnate. Perhaps they received an interesting oracle?”

With those words, Meteor waved his hand to dismiss the letter and looked at Raize.

“And if you can spread such things to people for free without spending a penny, the leadership decided that lending a name is nothing.”

The method of finding new mages had been very crude until now.

It was unlikely for the reclusive group to actively seek out talented individuals, so they mostly stumbled upon them during occasional travels or when carrying out requests.

Otherwise, it was entirely up to nobles or wealthy individuals to approach them first, asking to assess their children’s talent or to teach them magic.

Therefore, the Magic Tower always suffered from a lack of talent.

But from now on, things would be different.

“If that newspaper spreads nationwide, even worldwide, many people will come looking for the Magic Tower.”

The fact that the newspaper was distributed for free was significant. Free distribution meant that even poor orphans living in slums could read it. This increased the chances of discovering talented individuals.

“Prepare, Raize. You never know if you might take on a disciple yourself.”

“…I am still lacking in many ways. There is so much more I need to learn from you, Master.”

“I know. However… as more talented individuals join, there will be a need for mentors to instruct them in the basics of magic. That’s not something we can do ourselves. Young mages like you will mostly be in charge of that.”

“Master, I am not young.”

“Haha, aren’t you less than a quarter of my age?”

“Still… I am an adult.”

“You’re quite young enough.”

At those words, Raize puffed out her cheeks in anger, but to Meteor, it was nothing more than an endearing gesture.

Indeed, he found joy in raising a disciple in his later years. Meteor proceeded with the lesson for the disciple who had returned from an errand.

Dungeon.

Although the floors from 1 to 10 had been opened by Dojin, originally, it was a space meant for novice adventurers who had just begun their adventures.

From the 11th floor, where even the Adventurers’ Guild called them true adventurers and treated them with respect, it remained a danger zone filled with dense darkness.

Monsters could attack at any moment from anywhere, and the ones encountered by chance were horrifyingly powerful, making it a hellish space where one had to risk their life every time.

However, Dojin’s party was walking through that space as lightly as if it were their own living room.

Slash!

The blood armor of the attacking Lizardman was peeled away, and it collapsed, pouring out blood. Before the blood that was sprayed high toward the ceiling could fall back to the floor, the Lizardman transformed into a mana stone.

Monsters in the dungeon leave nothing behind when they die. Blood or flesh that touches weapons or bodies doesn’t disappear, but the blood that was sprayed toward the ceiling was absorbed into the dungeon and vanished.

“…Be careful.”

Seoyoon said. Dojin, surprised that she was showing concern, expressed admiration inwardly.

However, her next words immediately cooled his heart.

“You almost got blood on me.”

“…Ah, right. Sorry.”

Of course, that cold-hearted Seoyoon wouldn’t worry about others. Naturally, as a human, she would have some concerns. If a child less than half her size said they were going into a dungeon, she would stop and worry about him.

But that wasn’t genuine concern, more of a rational judgment based on logical reasoning.

Even if a child entered the dungeon, they wouldn’t gain anything. The dungeon was challenging even for adults. With a child’s physical abilities, they couldn’t even fight against a goblin on the first floor.

Likewise, since Dojin wouldn’t get hurt on this floor, Seoyoon didn’t worry about him. She considered the act of worrying itself to be unnecessary.

Dojin took his eyes off her and asked the others.

“What floor are we on now?”

“Ah, according to the map, the Lizardmen appear around the 20th floor!”

“The 20th floor… So it wouldn’t be wrong to say we’re on the 20th floor?”

Dojin said this as he looked around. Even when he swung the torch burning brightly in oil back and forth, the light didn’t extend beyond 5 meters.

However, he could somewhat judge the terrain. He found their position based on the terrain he judged and located where the boss on the 20th floor might be, just as he had done on the 10th floor.

“Hmm… The place where the boss room might be from here…”

“…Not really? If this map is correct, it’s completely filled with no gaps.”

Unlike the 10th floor, which had an empty space in the middle of the map, the 20th floor had none of that.

As if there was nothing on this level.

“For now… should I just break something randomly?”

“Do as you wish.”

Dojin finished speaking and got up, heading towards the stairs leading up. Typically, the exit and the boss room were near each other.

In front of the stairs going up, he began smashing the surrounding walls recklessly. On the 10th floor, he needed Hanyoung’s help.

Now? He could produce a similar level of destructive force.

Of course, Hanyoung’s monstrous strength was constantly maintained, so it wasn’t that Dojin’s strength was better than Hanyoung’s.

While breaking the wall, he sensed something unusual. The wall was unnecessarily sturdy. As if there was nothing inside.

After breaking the wall for a while, he saw the wall was completely solid, unlike the 10th floor, and gave up breaking it.

‘Was the 10th floor… unique?’

Dojin recalled what happened on the 10th floor. He discovered a space that must have something according to the map.

When they broke it, a monster called the Master appeared inside. It was a boss monster. It expressed gratitude to them. Gratitude? Why was it grateful?

‘No, that’s not what’s important.’

He had to find the unique feature only the 10th floor had. What was there? The difference between the 10th and 20th floors.

Monsters? No, the monsters varied their appearance with each floor.

The shape of the space? Indeed, there was a space on the 17th floor that seemed to have something.

However, it wasn’t neat. There was no mathematical correlation between 10 and 17.

If something with a personality created the dungeon, it wouldn’t have chosen such an untidy method.

Isn’t there a saying that scientists who discover cosmic truths always say?

The universe moves remarkably beautifully.

That the next floor after the 10th is the 17th, is not so beautiful.

Then why was there no boss monster on the 20th floor?

‘On the 10th floor… level up.’

At that moment, the answer flashed through Dojin’s mind like a bolt of lightning.

He leveled up on the 10th floor.

But on the 20th floor?

‘The reason someone who has leveled up even once is treated as an advanced adventurer is…’

Because you have to climb quite a few more floors to reach the next level up.

As far as Dojin knew, it was the 30th floor.

‘Just as no one has ever leveled up by hunting on the first floor their entire life. You have to pass through these levels like the 10th floor, the 30th floor, and the 50th floor… to have a chance to level up, right?’

If that was the case, it made sense that there was no Master on the 20th floor like on the 10th floor. If Dojin’s prediction was correct, the next floor with a Master would be the 30th floor.

And his intuition was quite accurate. Always, consistently.