Chapter 50: Mage’s Tower (5)

Some time later, Han-seong opened his eyes.

At the same time, he realized he had lost consciousness. As he was recalling how his body suddenly went limp after defeating the Collector,

“Tsk, you’ve finally woken up.”

A familiar face appeared before him.

It was V, the supervisor of the trials.

Han-seong nodded and raised his stiff body. How much time had passed while he was unconscious? Just as he was about to ask,

V, as if reading his mind, spoke first.

“It’s only been a very short while. Not even a few minutes have passed since you completed the trial.”

“…I see.”

That’s a relief. Han-seong quietly felt reassured.

On the other hand, V frowned.

“You’re truly a monster. To clear the 3rd Layer trial so quickly, I can see why the administrator has taken notice of you.”

It clearly sounded like praise, but somehow there was an edge to his voice. As Han-seong was smiling awkwardly, suddenly something caught his attention.

[Rank Experience: 100% achieved!]

[Promotion to 4th Layer possible.]

[Would you like to proceed?]

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

Certainly, passing the trial meant gaining Rank Experience. After confirming that his Rank Experience was full, he touched the confirmation button.

[4th Layer achieved!]

[Acquired Skill Slots increased.]

[Slots: 20 → 40]

A notification that skill slots had doubled.

Then his status appeared.

[Name]: Kang Han-seong

[Job]: Remote Support Mage

[Grade]: 4th Layer (21.53%)

The first noticeable change was the mana capacity.

This was thanks to engraving the Rune of Mana.

Next, along with the grade increase, the remaining Rank Experience was also shown. Seeing that the current experience wasn’t 0%, it seems fortunately the excess experience had carried over.

[Unique skills’ grades are enhanced.]

[Existing special effects are enhanced.]

[High-Speed Meditation]: Mana recovery speed increased

▷Before: 1.5% per second for 30 seconds

▶After: 2% per second for 30 seconds

[Dimensional Isolation]: Cooldown reduced

▷Before: 45 hours

▶After: 42 hours

[Warp Gate]: Duration increased

▷Before: 30 minutes

▶After: 45 minutes

High-Speed Meditation, the special effect of Meditation.

Dimensional Isolation and Warp Gate, the special effects of Magic Castle and Temporary Base.

All three had their effects slightly enhanced.

And most importantly, a change unfolded before Han-seong’s eyes.

It was the expansion of the observation range.

[Special Effect: Expansion]

-Open Map’s observation range is expanded.

-[Remote] skills’ effective range is expanded.

▷Open Map effective range: 62.5km radius

▷Skill effective range: +500%

▶Grade: 4th Layer

A much wider observation range than before.

Han-seong narrowed his eyes.

‘As expected, my prediction was correct.’

Every time the grade increases, the effective observation range increases exactly five times. There were no exceptions from 1st Layer to 4th Layer.

‘Then if I reach 5th Layer…’

The expected effective range would be a 312.5km radius.

Using additional bases, he might be able to observe the entire South Korea region. The problem was that gathering Rank Experience wasn’t easy, but.

[Notice]

-From 4th Layer, you cannot gain Rank Experience through meditation. Gain enlightenment by activating skills or challenging the tower’s trials.

▷Per 5 skill activations: +0.01%

The experience gained is too meager.

Rather than gathering experience through skill activation, passing trials would be the best option. Sighing, he looked at the Expansion skill again.

‘The current observable range is 62.5km.’

If he uses an additional base on top of this?

It means he could set up an additional base up to 82.5km away from the officetel. Looking at the map, that would be around Cheonan Station.

Then with Cheonan Station as the center, a 62.5km radius would be the observation range, which would include Daejeon, his destination.

‘I can finally go meet them!’

His family who had headed to Daejeon before the Upheaval.

On the other hand, he also felt afraid.

What if he thoroughly searched Daejeon but couldn’t find his family? Momentarily overwhelmed by anxiety, Han-seong gently bit his lip.

‘…Still, I have to check.’

He needs to confirm his family’s safety to move forward. As he was trying to shake off the anxiety lingering in his chest,

“What have you been thinking about all this time?”

V thrust his face close.

Snapped out of his thoughts, Han-seong looked at him, and V pointed to the chest, saying:

“If you’ve come to your senses, receive your reward.”

Ah, right. Come to think of it, there was a reward for passing the trial. Han-seong immediately looked at the chest, and V’s explanation followed.

“The third reward is an artifact.”

“Artifact? What’s that?”

“It refers to objects imbued with special spell formulas. Put your hand in there.”

Is it another random draw?

Han-seong obediently put his hand in the chest. He tried to grab something but failed. There was nothing but empty air to grasp.

“There’s nothing here…”

“Just wait patiently.”

With his palm open.

Following the advice, he did as told.

After a while, something about the size of a pebble fell onto his palm. Han-seong took his hand out of the chest and was immediately startled.

He almost threw it away without realizing.

He couldn’t help it. What lay on his palm was none other than a human eyeball. Meanwhile, upon seeing the eyeball, V frowned and said:

“It’s a Magic Eye.”

“Wh-what’s that?”

“As the name suggests, it’s an eye imbued with magic. It has the rare ability to distinguish truth from lies. You’re truly lucky.”

The ability to distinguish truth from lies.

It would certainly be helpful to have.

Even if just to prepare for encountering survivors trying to deceive him in the future. The problem, however, was how to use this eyeball.

“…But how do I use this?”

Han-seong’s eyes are perfectly fine.

Do I perhaps embed it in my forehead or something?

As he was lost in these silly thoughts, V suddenly approached and snatched the Magic Eye.

“I’ll do it for you.”

“Huh? Do what?”

“Just stay still.”

“W-wait a moment! You don’t mean…”

V brought the Magic Eye close to Han-seong’s eye.

Feeling an ominous sensation, he tried to stop him, but V’s actions were faster.

Pop!

The Magic Eye was embedded in Han-seong’s left eye.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say it was absorbed. The moment it touched his eye, the Magic Eye transformed into a liquid-like substance and was absorbed into his cornea.

Having finished the procedure, V spoke.

“When you draw mana and inject it into your left eye, the power of the Magic Eye will activate.”

Curious at those words, Han-seong converted aether to mana and then injected it into his left eye.

Then he looked at V with his right eye closed, but couldn’t find anything particularly different.

“I don’t see what’s changed…”

“You can distinguish truth from lies through conversation. If it’s the truth, you’ll see blue; if it’s a lie, you’ll see red.”

Ah, so I need to have a conversation.

Let’s test it out.

Han-seong addressed V.

“You’re actually a fake Decoy Dummy, right?”

“No, I’m not! That’s my imitation! I’m the original!”

V shouted angrily.

A bluish light swirled around his body and then disappeared. Presumably, the opposite color would appear for someone telling a lie.

Han-seong nodded in understanding.

As he finished verifying the Magic Eye,

“Hmph! If the trial is over, get out now. I have to clean up the mess you made.”

V pushed Han-seong’s back.

As if telling him to leave now that his business was done.

Han-seong also had no more business here, so he was about to obediently return to the waiting room.

“Ah, right.”

But then he stopped in his tracks.

Something he wanted to ask came to mind.

“When can I challenge the next trial?”

“That differs for each person.”

A reply came without hesitation.

He examined Han-seong closely, then spread all five of his tiny palms and said:

“In your case, you need to subjugate five or more Champion-grade monsters.”

“…Five Champion-grade?”

The condition seems too high.

Han-seong complained, but V didn’t respond at all. He kept pushing his back as if telling him to leave quickly, so Han-seong eventually returned to the waiting room.

Kuung!

The door leading to the trial room closed.

Then a familiar voice was heard.

“Ah, Mage-nim!”

It was Aewin, the tower administrator.

Approaching with quick steps, she spoke with a voice clearly showing curiosity.

“How did the trials go?”

“I passed them all.”

“Wow, you’re truly amazing. Even among all the Guardians of the Stars, there wouldn’t be five Mages who cleared the trials this quickly…”

Aei exclaimed in admiration.

Han-seong thanked her.

Along with saying that the two books he received before taking the trials were very helpful.

Aei shook her head as if it was nothing, then spoke in a calm voice:

“Then I should keep my promise too.”

Before taking the trials, Aei had said:

If Han-seong passed all three trials, she would provide one more opportunity to ask a question.

Now it was time to keep that promise.

Having gained the chance to ask a question, Han-seong fell into thought for a moment.

‘There’s a mountain of things I want to ask.’

The ■■ entity the merchant had mentioned.

Aei’s true purpose. And the purpose of the group called the Guardians of the Stars, and so on. However, Aei had refused to answer these questions outright.

‘Then…’

I should ask about my biggest current question.

Finally making a decision, Han-seong moved his lips. To voice the question that had been circling in his mind throughout the trials.

“The Combat Support System, Eden.”

“…Ah.”

“I’d like to know what that is.”

As soon as the question ended, Aei fell silent.

And she stared blankly into space.

Could this be difficult to answer too? Feeling somewhat anxious, he waited impatiently for her reply.

Aei’s answer came.

“I apologize. I was briefly discussing with the other guardians, so my answer was delayed.”

“Then the result is…”

“With 51 votes in favor and 49 against, I can provide an answer. If you’re alright with an answer that has some information restricted, I’ll explain.”

“That’s fine. Please tell me.”

It’s a golden opportunity to unravel the secrets of the system that appeared with the Upheaval. Even if the information is restricted, he was eager to hear it.

Soon her story began.

“The Multidimensional Integrated Management System, Eden.”

“…Pardon?”

“This is a kind of relief system created by the Guardians of the Stars over a long period for beings on primitive planets unfamiliar with aether.”

Han-seong tilted his head.

He had asked about the Combat Support System, but an unexpected answer came back.

So when he pointed this out, Aei calmly replied without showing any signs of being flustered.

“The Combat Support System is one of Eden’s partial functions. It’s a function provided limitedly to the primitive planets I mentioned earlier.”

“Ah…”

“If you understand, I’ll continue the explanation.”

Han-seong nodded.

As if saying he would listen attentively to Aei’s story.

“Eden automatically searches for planets where the apocalypse is about to begin. When it finds a suitable planet, it reports this news to the Guardians of the Stars and independently begins preparations to face the apocalypse.”

War preparation.

Aei summed up this stage as such.

“Afterwards, when the apocalypse engulfs the star, Eden’s Combat Support System activates. Eden supports the battle through various functions until the apocalypse is completely driven away and peace is restored.”

Jobs, levels, items, coins, and so on.

Aei said all of these were created through Eden’s functions. Among them, the first thing she mentioned was jobs.

“Eden analyzes the talent, potential, and inclination of subjects with high aether adaptability, then assigns the most suitable job to the subject.”

“Then what about levels…”

“It’s a way of quantifying combat experience to distinguish capable soldiers who can face the apocalypse.”

She added that skillbooks or items obtained from defeating monsters are the process of materializing the aether possessed by that entity.

Han-seong nodded repeatedly at the detailed explanation and asked again.

“What about coins or the auction house?”

And at that moment.

Aei’s body flinched.

“I’m sorry. I can’t speak about those two as they are restricted information.”

A moment later, she flatly refused.

As if it would be difficult to answer any further. And she spoke in a stiff voice.

“Additionally, this is all I can tell you about Eden at present.”

“Oh…”

Han-seong also closed his mouth.

He hadn’t learned as much as he’d hoped, but he couldn’t keep pressing for more. He had already agreed to hear a restricted answer.

So as he was silently nodding,

Suddenly a question occurred to him.

‘Wait, then what was the reason Eden’s operation was temporarily suspended during the trial?’

She said Eden supports the battle until the apocalypse is driven away. Then shouldn’t it have been fine to take the trial while receiving Eden’s support?

Han-seong asked Aei the question that had just occurred to him, with a hopeful expression. However, the answer that came back was not different from what he had expected.

“I’m sorry. That too is…”

“Restricted information?”

“That’s correct.”

Han-seong let out a disappointed sigh.

In the end, what he had gained through this question was only the identity and purpose of the system.

Perhaps feeling sorry for him? Aei, who had been silent, suddenly took a step forward.

“Instead, using my personal authority, I can tell you just this one thing.”

“Really? What is it…”

Then Aei narrowed the distance even more.

Close enough that their heads would touch if she leaned forward. Having come right up to his face, she whispered in a small voice.

The reason why Eden’s operation had to be stopped in the tower’s trials.

“Among the forces of the apocalypse, there are □□ that can block Eden’s interference and stop its operation.”

Han-seong asked back blankly.

He couldn’t hear clearly what that entity was, but that wasn’t the important part.

Rather, the fact that Eden’s operation could be stopped came as a bigger shock.

“So after returning to your original place, please don’t neglect your training. You must train in magic, not skills.”

Skills and magic are different.

Aei drew that line.

Han-seong also had some understanding, so he silently nodded. Having finished their conversation, Aei returned to her original position.

“It’s time to say goodbye.”

“Please visit the tower often after returning to your original world. I’ll wait for you with a glad heart until we meet again.”

Aei bowed her head politely.

On the other hand, Han-seong had a puzzled expression.

“I never said I was leaving.”

“What? But you’ve already completed all the trials…”

“I have other business besides that.”

“Other business being…”

Aei asked back with a curious tone. Instead of answering, Han-seong spread out his right palm.

“I’m going shopping.”

The skillbooks and lower runes he had seen on the 2nd floor earlier.

Besides those, he planned to buy everything that could help in battle before returning.

Han-seong grinned.