Moroz Magic Tower (4): Winds of the Tower and Dimensional Ties
“Haha! This is weird... It's our first time meeting, Berga-nim, but the conversation was so enjoyable I completely lost track of time! You must be tired. Get some rest. I'll head out now. If anything comes up, just let me know. I'm right next door!”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Boris didn't lose his smile until the very moment he closed the door. A tall young man with light brown hair and a sturdy, bony build. If you met him without knowing, you'd mistake him for a knight or adventurer rather than a mage. Was that why he was assigned to the watchtower?
Wave.
His thoughts inevitably circled back there, leaving a prickly unease. Especially here at Moroz. From my experience, things as they stand meant a high chance they wouldn't make it through the wave to the end.
Of course, everything was fine for now. Just from participating in this one Wave 45, it was clear. Moroz Magic Tower was handling the waves better than any battlefield I'd seen so far.
Above all, there was Lusanya. A needle pierces where it must, a blade cuts where it must, a shield blocks where it must. A battlefield built on pure rationality. Probably the most textbook commander among all the ones I'd met, conquering waves in the most orthodox way.
Despite that excellent commander. An isolated outpost with no reinforcements, troops consisting solely of mages. No matter how versatile mage units were, if specialized assault monsters appeared suddenly, they'd take unavoidable losses.
It could be magic-nullifying monsters like today, or hyper-agile ones. One thing was certain: once they started losing even one or two high-value mage units per wave, it would snowball out of control.
A bit like Eldwin. But this was a human frontline. No cozy, benevolent World Tree, just a frozen wasteland. That was the difference.
Lying in bed, he stared up at the brick ceiling. Recalling Boris's cheerful face, Berga silently hoped that smile would last as long as possible.
No. Instead of praying, he pondered. No need to wait for some uncertain higher power to watch over them.
Above all. Lusanya was surely wrestling with similar concerns.
“Lusanya.”
“Yes. I'm listening.”
Lusanya arrived at his room around dawn. Her body apparently needed no sleep, so she'd spent the night until morning organizing the day's events. Living 1.5 times a normal day wasn't bad at all.
Though he'd died doing it once.
Anyway. He'd sorted what he'd gained at Moroz overnight and picked topics to discuss with her.
“You could just store it in a blood sac.”
Lusanya was poking his left arm with something syringe-like. Already on her third cylinder of blood.
“It's for research, apparently.”
Not wrong. Indeed. Research demanded such things.
“Lusanya.”
“Yes. I'm listening.”
“You know it too.”
“Yes.”
“Moroz Magic Tower has a high chance of failing the wave as things stand.”
“...”
Couldn't keep the busy tower lord tied down forever. At the sudden main topic, Lusanya fell silent. No expression crossed her youthful face. Only the glass cylinders filled with red liquid.
“That's why you agreed to the exchange. A deal outside of Cron, right?”
No way such a sharp commander didn't grasp Cron's importance. Anything dropping from expensive mercenaries—if it could be bought without Cron.
For the future, for emergencies like today, she had to hoard Cron endlessly.
“What should we do?”
After long deliberation, Lusanya's answer was thoroughly pragmatic. It clearly presupposed agreement with his words.
But this wasn't a game. Knowing frontline issues didn't mean one click fixed it; countless other problems tangled like threads.
“Troop augmentation first. Now I see my blood's for that too.”
“Correct.”
“No way you haven't thought of what I have.”
“...True enough.”
Last night, he'd pondered Moroz's gains and needs. The solution born from merging those thoughts.
If this world's resources wouldn't do.
“Summon mages. Then steal their magic.”
“Pardon...?”
He'd already factored every variable on the battlefield. Strictly speaking, variables within this world.
“Lusanya. What magic can Moroz use, and what can't it?”
“Elemental and pure magic are our mainstays. Currently, I'm leading research on dimensional magic using those two. For frontline deployment: recovery magic and magitech. Excluding basic combat spells.”
Lusanya answered his question diligently, despite her puzzled expression.
“Lacking summons and support enhancements, then. If this land can't provide them, get them from beyond dimensions. Summon mercenaries from each school as cheaply as possible and copy their magic.”
“Th-that... method...?”
Lusanya seemed flustered by the unexpected thievery suggestion.
Flustered? What good did that do? Before life-or-death stakes.
“Not literally steal. Trade like with me, persuade them, whatever. Exchanging knowledge between fellow mages wouldn't be bad. No resources needed.”
“Ah... I see.”
“Just summons secure the front line. Support enhancements boost merc efficiency. You know this.”
“Yes.”
If this was reality, tweak just the smallest game-like bits to taste.
“All done.”
“Good work.”
“Never expected a mercenary to suggest exploiting fellow mercenaries... but it helped. Thank you.”
“Enough. Focus on surviving. You're doing well.”
“Yes. I will.”
Lusanya bid farewell with a smile he'd never seen before. As she packed the blood-filled cylinders into a leather bag and turned to leave.
“Are you somewhat familiar with magic?”
An unexpected boon from the massive consultant fee. Afterward, he endured grueling magic lessons on the small training ground outside the tower.
“Aren't you busy, Tower Lord?”
“You're not one to ignore duty. And.”
“And?”
“I've delegated some tasks to my research mages. I have time.”
Sorry. Truly apologetic.
He'd inadvertently screwed over Moroz's many stand-ins for Jeong Ji-hoon. Had to give his all now.
“Continue... No time to rest...”
“Yes. Aero Step.”
“Right.”
Aero Step. If he could learn just one spell, this was it without question. Simple effect: create wind platforms mid-air. Like a double jump.
For him, more efficient than any flight method. Chosen for synergy with Sky Step.
One more Sky Step in mid-air, and he could soar until Garkan looked like a lizard. Moreover, now he needed counters for flying units. Pure hovering couldn't deliver full slash power.
In that sense, platforms were ideal.
“You're good at it.”
“Similar to what I do.”
A cool energy circulating underfoot. Like Sky Step without the burst, handled more fluidly.
Once quite accustomed to Aero Step.
“Leaving already, Berga-nim?!”
“Yeah, Boris.”
“Such a shame...”
The large-dog-like mage looked at him with a pout.
“No need to be sad. If you survive, we'll meet again someday.”
“True. Dimensions are like that by nature.”
“Huh?”
Dimensions are like that by nature? A casual remark. An unexpected reply popped from Lusanya's mouth. As if his familiar worries were utterly obvious.
Come to think of it.
“I'm leading research on dimensional magic using those two.”
Right. A mage handling dimensions. One who made researching the dimensional mysteries he only guessed at her life's work.
Why hadn't he thought of it sooner?
“Lusanya.”
“Yes. I'm listening.”
“Your words. I'm very interested.”
“...Pardon?”
“But time is short. And I can't base myself at Moroz.”
White light began squirming at the edge of his vision.
“To the point. Take this. No loss for you.”
Long-term consultant contract with the commander is now possible.
He presented the consultant contract right before Lusanya's eyes. Consultant or not, the key was the messaging function. He could ask magic questions anytime.
If their earlier talk helped, she'd gain too. As expected, after brief thought, Lusanya nodded. Seemed she heeded the urgency.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Same. Ask anytime you need. Before that, about those dimensions...”
◈ Contribution: 100%
◈ Base Pay: 2,000 Cron
◈ Settlement Fee: 10% (-200 Cron)
◈ Final Payout: 1,800 Cron
◈ Excess contribution used for internal evaluation (not public).
“...tell me.”
Before he finished, he arrived in the white space. Unlike Moroz's snowy plains, this white held no temperature at all.
Still, that frozen plain felt far more comfortable, even if cold.
The silver lining: the woman resembling that place's snow easily guessed his unfinished words.
Status: Valid
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