Teacher's Compromise and Record-Shattering Rampage

One round in return! After being subjected to something close to intercourse in her sleep, the first thing Evelyn did upon regaining her senses was save face.

"…Yesterday's events, I'll consider them a debt of gratitude. Thanks to you, I kept my life. I never imagined something like that could happen in a single day."

"Gratitude?"

"What's wrong with that? Can't a teacher say such things to her disciple?"

Han Do-yoon was taken aback by Evelyn's attitude, so different from the past, but he figured this might actually be the normal response.

That haughty bitch bending her pride like this… I must've heard somewhere that women turn obedient after a good fuck. Guess it's true.

"…No, not at all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. It happened because of me."

"Enough. I won't shift the blame. I was the one who took you as a disciple, and I was the one who slipped up… The real issue is what comes next."

Evelyn sighed, trying to sense her mana… In crude terms, communing with the tower—a staple claim among Heavenly Tower devotees—was utterly impossible.

"My mana circles are wrecked. Since I haven't been expelled from the Tower World, recovery isn't out of the question… but I can't use magic for the time being. That means I can't teach you properly or keep this workshop running."

No matter how you sliced it, the process had boiled down to a clash of pussy and cock, but the fate of her painstakingly built tower crumbling remained unchanged.

For some reason, Han Do-yoon felt a wave of relief.

"If you want, you can leave. I won't have any work for you anytime soon, and right now, I'm barely managing to take care of myself."

"There's work to be done."

It was heartbreaking to see the woman who once stood tall, proudly displaying her alchemist's shawl cape, now hunching her shoulders timidly. She was like a flower that had boasted its fragrance and golden glow, now snapped at the stem.

Han Do-yoon didn't want a master like that. He wanted to remember her forever as the proud, dignified figure she'd shown until their parting. The reason was…

"Can't I just run the workshop until you recover? That'd put out the immediate fires, right?"

"It's not as simple as—"

Evelyn trailed off… Han Do-yoon might actually pull it off.

"I don't know your skills precisely enough to judge rashly… Fine, you. Mana circles?"

Han Do-yoon took a deep breath and communed with the tower… His mind linked to something distant, his vision shifting to third-person view. Looking in a mirror, six familiar dark-red circles hovered above his crown.

"Six from the start…? Impossible!"

"No idea. Maybe teacher's influence."

Coming from the future meant a different starting line from everyone else. It was bound to raise questions, so he'd prepared an excuse.

"We drew that transmutation circle linking you, me, and the Tower World, right?"

"Yes."

"I learned alchemy's basics: equivalent exchange. You gain something, you lose something. Maybe your mana circles guided mine and transferred over intact."

"No, even if that were possible, energy loss during transfer would've dropped it below six circles."

"What else explains it but teacher's brilliance?"

"…Well."

Evelyn twirled a loose strand of side hair around her finger as she spoke.

"It does make sense. It was my first time guiding, but that circle was my original, made from theory alone."

She nearly died twice because of me.

He let out a hollow internal sigh and surveyed the workshop. How many years had he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rotted away here? With all the future creations mapped in his head, replacing Evelyn wouldn't be hard.

The only issue was explaining how he knew all this now.

"…Anyway, it works out. I can just teach theory. Alchemy recipes are documented—follow them, and you'll get something marketable enough."

The current Han Do-yoon had no obligation to help his master this much. He could've grabbed the mana circles and cut ties, per his original plan.

Yet here he was, going all-in because…

I want her recognition.

Years spent slaving under Evelyn. He'd been on the verge of opening his own workshop named after himself, showcasing his works—only to vanish before earning that nod.

Even if she's different from the woman I knew, I want her approval.

He wanted to show his grown disciple side. In the Tower World, "return" was just an illusion of recapturing lost chances.

@

Life at Evelyn's workshop began. He'd worried how to break it to Isana, but she agreed readily.

"You found a job?"

"Effectively, yeah."

"…Room and board, skilled trade?"

"Not wrong."

"Nice. Not a bad gig… Actually, I have something to say too."

Pregnant? Kids were rare in the Tower World. Han Do-yoon knew that, which was why he'd irresponsibly creampied without a care. Still, anxiety lingered. Rare didn't mean impossible.

The impossible cases were when parents ditched their kids.

"I found a master."

"…Master?"

Only then did he recall what he'd overlooked. Isana's sword… Form of Heaven, Shadow of Sound, Blade of Tower… used a hilt handed down from her master.

…Time paradox.

That master was alive right now. She'd have met someone with the exact same hilt.

A chill ran down his spine. How would she react? How would the future change? Worries flooded in.

"What kind of master? A bedroom tutor?"

"You're insane again… Nothing big. Met her serving at the inn; she offered to check my sword."

"Cool. Good for you."

"She heard about you and wants to grab drinks sometime."

"I hate booze, so no."

"Just dinner, then."

Whatever worked. Would the future Sword God's master lack the insight to spot a 10-years-from-now arrival? Han Do-yoon doubted it.

"Works for both of us. We'll see less of each other."

"Isn't that normal for our age? Meeting once a week…"

"Meeting?"

"…Nothing!"

Who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew what Isana meant. Sounded like Earth culture, fresh for her mere days ago—but for Han Do-yoon, physically 20 years back, mentally even further. Earth memories had faded to fragments, sparkling nostalgia that tugged him back to happier days.

"Gotta go. We're not far, so no calling me a bastard or weird stuff."

"Saying that means you're bummed to split, huh?"

"The bummed one's your pussy."

"…Pervert again."

After parting with Isana, he returned to Evelyn's Summer's Grand Triangle.

"Back quick… What's up? Why the panicked face?"

"…We have regular deliveries, but no materials."

"Just buy 'em."

"Can you enter the Heavenly Tower?"

The tower of heavenly bodies wasn't for just anyone. Han Do-yoon now qualified as a proper mage, but he hadn't registered publicly.

"Can't. Teacher…"

"Teacher."

"…Can't teacher buy them?"

Evelyn scratched her cheek, avoiding his gaze. Her evasive demeanor told him everything.

Pride's her only height now.

Current Evelyn wasn't even a mage, let alone an alchemist. What would her circle say, seeing her who'd always chased perfection and aloofness? Heavenly Tower entry meant instant rumors. A blemish on the workshop's rep was inevitable.

"I… I can't go in."

"No solution then."

"Just the urgent ones… You get 'em. Catalysts make it doable with stuff from floor 2."

"I'm workshop help, not a mercenary fetch-boy."

"This once… Mana circles recover by month's end."

Her teary upward gaze was impossible to refuse. Han Do-yoon looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away.

"Not confident on floor 2 yet."

"Go and…"

She whispered something faint. He leaned in to hear.

"What?"

"Like last time…"

"Last time?"

"Like last time, one round! So hurry back!"

He was floored. Had he been calling a whore his teacher?

…But damn, it tempted him. He wanted to hike up Evelyn's skirt, keep her stockings on, and pound away.

"Fine, lend me that."

"It's unfinished; no."

Their eyes locked on a hand cannon in the display case. Shaped like a revolver but thick as a forearm—literally a handheld cannon.

"Can't lend that to your newbie floor-2 disciple? I'll die."

Tower trials could go south on a whim, no matter your skill. Without Han Do-yoon, Evelyn was helpless, so his words spooked her.

"…Fine. But output-limited. Don't exceed it, or it's wrecked forever."

Han Do-yoon grinned, grabbing the weapon. Cold heft seeped in. The grip felt foreign—not his old one—but familiar.

The internals bore a familiar transmutation circle, flawlessly etched… Far in the future, ones Han Do-yoon would erase and redo.

Grip needs reworking first… But reinforce my forearm before that.

It was brutally heavy. The Thousand-Year Prison capped him, but exoskeleton and potions had let him one-hand it back then. Now, two hands might barely tame the recoil.

"Magic bullets?"

"Not many. Stick to 2-circle or below."

He took the material list from Evelyn and headed to the tower.

Didn't expect floor 2 this soon.

He entered the Black Iron Tower. Floor 2 was a purple-tinged cave, lit only by stalactites and glowing crystals…

But Han Do-yoon was over-specced for it: a 6-circle mage.

Even top dogs from their home worlds got nerfed here. All he retained was battle-hardened experience.

Plenty to give him an edge.

…Record-breaking was tough. But Han Do-yoon nailed both: superior ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠power and experience.

The results were inevitable.

Unprecedented in Tower World history, though.