Magic Tower (2)

“Aigo, my head…”

Pekafolis-ssi and I regained consciousness at the same time. It wasn’t like I had fatally strained her body, and I could somehow survive as long as I was breathing. Frankly, even if my head got chopped off, I could reconstruct as long as my mind was intact.

Opening my eyes, I was face-planting into Pekafolis-ssi’s chest. A slight burnt smell and the scent of a well-maintained woman stung my nose.

Unlike Pekafolis-ssi, who had a barrier up until the moment she fainted, I had jumped into the flames with my bare body, so my clothes were all burned away. My fair skin, as well as my private area with the womb tattoo and pink nipples, were all exposed. The reconstruction I unconsciously used didn’t even create clothes.

“Uh, um? Euhm?! Eughyaaaak-?!”

She was startled and straightened her back. We were just fighting intensely, and now she wakes up to find a naked girl on top of her. Still, is it that surprising? Am I the weird one?

“Kkeuek.”

Kung. She made a deflated sound and fell to the floor.

How violent of her. I didn’t expect to be dropped onto the debris-filled floor. The embers that hadn’t cooled down yet seared my skin.

Well… compared to the pain of being burned alive, it was nothing, but being treated like an object like this made me strangely heated.

“J-Just a moment! Are you okay?!”

She immediately picked me up.

Not wanting to be bothered, I reconstructed my injuries right away.

“…Cover yourself before the clean-up crew arrives.”

Pekafolis-ssi retrieved the top she had thrown off and wrapped it around my body. The still-warm clothes covered my private area. I admired the shirt that reached down to my knees and said,

“You’re very tall, aren’t you?”

Considering the size of the clothes, she must be 178cm. For a woman, no, even for an average man, she has a physique that doesn’t lose out. Looking at her firm abs and the shapely legs, she seemed to be thoroughly self-disciplined for a mage.

Come to think of it, in the fight just now, I was pushed back in reach. If I had long arms and legs, I could have responded properly. Being a shorty is unexpectedly regrettable.

“Is this the time to be asking about height?”

Pekafolis-ssi, grinding her teeth, sighed as she looked at the chaotic first floor. I chuckled at Pekafolis-ssi, who was sighing heavily.

“You were fighting quite enthusiastically, weren’t you?”

“That’s because you-! No, ha. Yeah. It’s all my fault.”

I chuckled and pushed the debris blocking the way far away. Pekafolis-ssi’s eyes widened. It was a look that said, ‘Are you okay being naked?’ I brazenly walked forward, putting on a bold front.

It’s not like looking will wear it down.

Walking to the center, the clean-up crew came down and started cleaning diligently. They were used to this kind of thing, clearing away the debris with faces that said, ‘Here we go again.’ The amazing thing was that they pieced the debris together, and it was restored to its original state.

‘Was there a restoration magic like that?’

I tried to analyze this amazing sight with sparkling eyes-

“Does this girl have no shame?!”

“Euhek.”

“And this, what, what is this? So embarrassing!”

I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and stopped.

I was dragged back by her grip and fell backward. The shirt fluttered. Pekafolis-ssi was about to scold me, but when she saw the tattoo on my womb, she shut her mouth. She just blushed and couldn’t say anything.

A few seconds of silence.

She shook her head, disgusted. It seemed like she had given up on understanding. Yeah. It’s easier to give up.

“…Let’s go to my room.”

She brought her hand down like a knife in the air, creating a small crack. She put her hand into the crack and twisted it as if her arm was a key. Then the crack split open to both sides. It was big enough for an adult man to enter.

It was a method I had seen somewhere before. When entering Kardhrasil, the Elven Knight made an entrance like that with his hand. Is it a similar method? She sent me a sharp look as I stared at the crack and said,

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”

“Your words have become lighter, haven’t they?”

“I’m originally this kind of person. Got a problem with it?”

She did have a lot of fire in her.

Is this Pekafolis-ssi’s true self? Seeing her scratching her head with a bothered expression, it didn’t seem like she was the modest type.

* * *

“What the hell is your identity?”

Pekafolis-ssi’s room was on the 87th floor. The view of Bridonia beyond the window was dizzying. Of course, entering her room didn’t mean I actually climbed to the 87th floor. I was just a guest. Even if I climbed with someone else’s help, the Tower wouldn’t recognize it.

“I’m an ordinary mage.”

“Bullshit.”

I swung my legs on her pink bed, looking around the room. Being all pink, her taste might be similar to Sertie-yang’s. Or maybe she bought furniture to match her hair color. Anyway, her heterochromia is always fascinating. Pink hair is rare enough, but heterochromia on top of that. It was a bizarre color combination.

She rested her chin on her hand and glared at me.

“Someone like you should be building a Tower rather than climbing one.”

Pekafolis-ssi frowned as she looked at me. I couldn’t help but be quite taken aback by her words. To build a Tower instead? Did she even grasp my level? I’m always controlling the Mana I unconsciously emit. I tilted my head and asked back.

“Isn’t that overestimating me too much, just for winning a test?”

Just. For winning. A test.

Pekafolis-ssi’s forehead narrowed. She seemed very annoyed, but she calmed down and asked me.

“Is there anything you can gain from climbing the Tower?”

“…”

No.

She was right. For me, who can learn as soon as I see it and handle elements like my own body, transcendence was a meaningless realm. I did come for another purpose, but I decided to listen to her for now.

“Why did you come to the Tower? What did you come here to get?”

“…”

“It was a test, but I poured all my strength into it. I was more serious than when I fought the Tower Lord. Do you know that? And, it felt familiar.”

“…No, it wasn’t.”

“You held back, didn’t you? Don’t even think about denying it.”

“Pekafolis-ssi.”

“Even now. You’re not listening to me at all.”

Honestly, I was also frustrated. Who knew I’d meet the Vice-Tower Lord from the first floor? I was planning to receive attention but ignore it and climb up step by step, but it was ruined from the start. I refuse this much excessive attention. I lay down with a nonchalant expression. The soft pillow enveloped my head.

“Let’s not pry into each other’s details and just look at the results.”

“…”

“I beat you, and I earned the right to climb. What should I do from now on?”

“Haa…”

–Kung!

Pekafolis-ssi banged her head on the table and groaned. She seemed to not know how to treat me. It would be nice if she just treated me comfortably, but it’s a shame that it’s already gone past that point.

“…Take this.”

Without raising her head, she just reached out and handed me something. It was a bracelet. I got up from my seat and carefully received the bracelet she handed me.

“Don’t lose it. You can’t climb without it.”

“This is…?”

“A bracelet for climbers. If you infuse it with Mana, it will guide you to the next floor. Of course, along with trials.”

A red bracelet that matched the Red Magic Tower. As soon as I heard her words, I put on the bracelet. The bracelet contracted to fit the user’s wrist. The fit wasn’t bad. I clenched and unclenched my fist and asked.

“What happens if you climb all the floors?”

“You can fight for the Tower Lord’s position. You issue a challenge. Or…”

“Or?”

“You get the right to challenge the next Tower. Starting from the beginning again. Climbing from the 1st floor to the 100th floor. Until you reach the truth.”

Until you reach the truth, huh.

As someone who has tasted a glimpse of the truth, I wouldn’t really recommend it. Sometimes, it’s better not to know. Thinking about how much I suffered after falling into this world, now that I know everything, makes me shudder.

Even now, there are times when suicidal impulses surge up. I can’t even imagine how terrible it would be to see the real truth.

“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

“…”

That emptiness. The emptiness that makes it feel like my existence will disappear. Thinking about that damn emptiness still makes my heart burst.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay?”

“…I’m okay. I just remembered something bad for a moment.”

I regained my senses and shook my head. I have a goal now. I have a reason to live, so I just need to be faithful to that. I bit my tongue to awaken my mind. Cutting my tongue in half seemed to dispel the negative thoughts.

“Haa. I don’t know. I thought only the Tower Lord was above me, but such a monster appears…”

Pekafolis-ssi scratched her head and brought her hand down like a knife. A crack leading to the first floor was created. She cleared her throat and adjusted her tone of voice. It was the receptionist Pekafolis-ssi.

“Congratulations. You are now a member of the Red Magic Tower. Just like the guild, you can receive various benefits if you accumulate contribution points, so tell me if you’re interested. I’ll always be on the first floor. Of course, I don’t know if you’ll need it…”

“You can speak comfortably.”

“…Okay, Yujin.”

She said, opening the portal.

“I look forward to your good work. See you next time.”

* * *

It was exactly the second week since I entered the Magic Tower.

I was spending time in a private laboratory that I had been assigned separately.

‘Already the 48th floor, huh.’

Climbing and trials… Just hearing the words makes you think of bone-carving asceticism, but it was just ordinary days of self-training. In the first place, trials were meaningless to me, who can master all magic, so climbing was just a matter of time. I was even thinking that I should adjust my climbing speed.

I’ll probably stay around the 70th floor. I said I’d go to the hundredth floor, but I didn’t really intend to do that.

I stretched, organizing the documents piled on the table. My blood was rushing because I had been sitting for too long.

The very first thing I tried to do when I came here was not writing a thesis or training magic, but improving weapons. I didn’t have a talent for teaching others with words, and training wouldn’t help anyway, so this was all I could do.

The weapon that Colin used when he went to the Pahellen barony, the Staff of Fire. Seeing its terrible efficiency made my blood pressure rise. I was determined to improve it.

“Haaeeueu…”

The documents piled on the table were the result.

“Witch-nim! We’ve received an additional order from the Gredlin barony!”

“Put it next to me.”

“Yes!”

Having the Magic Tower as a backer was much more convenient than I thought.

At first, it was just an improvement I made without thinking, but once the performance was verified, they automatically made contracts with other territories. Not only Bridonia and Pahellen, but even some baronies in the east wanted me.

They took care of the material procurement and the sales. And they were even strangely fast. Even after deducting the commission, the money that rolled into me was enormous.

“Where should I move the money to?”

“You take it.”

“Yes, yes? Yes?!”

“It’s just two days’ worth of income anyway. I don’t need it.”

It was good that I had work to do, but… I didn’t come here to develop weapons. I didn’t come to make money either.

I needed something that would definitely build my reputation.

I wonder if there’s anything good that can build a political foothold. Working as a weapon developer like this isn’t bad, but I can’t escape the image of a merchant in the end.

I needed a big game.

A really, really big game.

“Clark. Give me a pen. And some stationery too.”

My assistant, Clark, who was working next to me.

He was a young boy who was about the same height as me. But unlike his young appearance, his floor was 34th, so he was a mage of a level that couldn’t be ignored.

He was the one who developed the Staff of Fire… When I showed him the improved version, he asked me to take him as an assistant. I thought two would be better than one, so I’m entrusting him with miscellaneous tasks.

“Ah, yes! By any chance, where are you sending it to?”

Anyway.

It’s already been almost a month since I came to the West. It’s only two months until I can meet Aileen, so I’m very excited.

But.

“Pahellen? Or the Lord of Bridonia-nim?”

How could I not send a single letter during this long time?

I said with a pouty face.

“To Lushellini.”