The Tower Stretching into the Underworld (4)
The lightning. Or, in other words, Lightning. Electricity was the driving force behind 21st-century civilization and the most versatile energy that people on Earth had ever harnessed. People talked a lot about nuclear power or eco-friendly energy, but electricity was still the undisputed king of kings. After all, every other form of energy eventually gets converted into electricity at a power plant anyway.
In that sense, the fact that I—a 21st-century Korean—had learned how to convert mana into electricity could be called a perfect case of civilizational convergence. From now on, I would become a human-mana power plant.
“So you’re learning magic? Then I’ll take Franc back to the room. Study hard, okay?”
Dana said that and hoisted the drunk Franc onto her back. Franc went completely limp, like overcooked spinach. I honestly thought she had no bones.
“Franc, hold on properly. You’re gonna fall.”
“Huuu… Nord, did your chest get bigger?”
“…Fuck. Am I seriously getting compared to a guy right now?”
Dana froze in existential crisis as Franc’s hand slipped under her armpit and started groping her own chest. And honestly, I got it. After making her feel the overwhelming difference in bust size from behind, Franc was now comparing them directly!
I followed Dana, helped adjust Franc properly on her back, and said,
“Don’t worry. Dana, you’re a certified titty monster too. We’re basically on the same level.”
“You fucking bastard. If this wasn’t my hand, I’d knee you in the balls right now.”
Dana secretly ran her hand along my thigh. The exact location? Right over the snake pit of my Ju-Ji-Condor. Wasn’t this straight-up sexual harassment? Our poor Ju-Ji-Condor was trying to sleep—don’t wake it up.
“Look at this exhibitionist. No wonder you’re from the Ulster bloodline.”
I’d have to secretly grope Dana’s ass in public later to get even.
Dana scowled.
“Bullshit. In my hometown, they make kids wear clothes until they have their coming-of-age ceremony.”
“So that’s why you ran away at ten without going through it?”
“You’re way too quick on the uptake. Yeah. For girls, the ceremony was at ten. I hated the idea of stripping naked in front of everyone, so I bolted.”
Dana said it with visible disgust. So our girl had no tolerance for outdoor play? Well, this time Franc was the weird one.
—Creak.
—Rustle.
We carried Franc to the room, laid her down, and tucked her in. Once only her head was visible above the blanket, she really looked like a little kid. It was an old-fashioned term, but this was exactly what people meant by “bagel girl.”
I left a note for when Franc woke up. Dana put on her outer coat and followed me out of the room.
“Anyway, study hard. That Tirsi person looks like she has solid fundamentals at a glance. I’ll head back to the lab, finish up the remaining work, and come back tonight.”
“I already know how skilled Tirsi is. Guess my party luck is pretty good.”
“…You mean your woman luck, right?”
“Hehe. Then let’s just say I have great fortune with people in general.”
I kissed Dana on the cheek and stroked Franc one last time. Since I’d taken such beautiful and lovely women as my wives, the number of forever-alone virgins in the world would surely increase. That was simply the cruel and merciless law of this other world. If you’re mad about it, go succeed in life. Hahaha.
“Ah… and this is just me being overly cautious, but—”
Dana, who had been heading up to the second floor, turned back to me.
“Don’t even think about proposing to me or anything like that. No, if you’re going to do that ‘next step’ with me, don’t do it with them either.”
“What? Why?”
I had been wondering what I should do for Dana, so her words caught me completely off guard. But Dana didn’t even twitch an eyebrow as she continued.
“Why are you surprised? We don’t know how many more wives you’re going to end up with. You really want to propose and throw a wedding every single time?”
“No, I wasn’t planning to just randomly collect them like Pokémon or anything.”
Even if someone confessed to me, if I couldn’t love her the same way I loved these two, I would turn her down. That was just common sense. A wife wasn’t a trophy. You couldn’t just grab one when the opportunity came, stick it on a shelf, and forget about it.
Dana snorted.
“That remains to be seen. Besides, that kind of grand confession is more than enough for her. If you say it’s out of consideration for Franc, your first wife, anyone with a proper head on their shoulders won’t complain.”
“So that’s why you’re telling me not to?”
“Yeah. Though… I wouldn’t mind a wedding or a ring, personally.”
Was she embarrassed about openly asking for proof of my love? Dana’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
“…Ugh. Why is this big sister getting so horny in broad daylight?”
Fuck. Our girl was cutest at times like this. It made me want to tease her even more.
“Ah, stop talking nonsense. Anyway, if you say don’t do it, I won’t.”
At my words, Dana bumped my shoulder with her head. Her ears were bright red.
“What you told me last night is enough. Don’t overwrite it with some clumsy confession. Like Franc said… that made me the happiest.”
“…Got it. If that’s what you want.”
Her honest confession of feelings made me accept Dana’s wish. Whatever. If anything, I could just throw a massive wedding. Whether it was 1+1 or 0+2, the result was still 2.
‘But what kind of ceremony should we have?’
The most “wedding-like” wedding would be the Romanian style. Britannia and other countries had traditions that felt way too much like village festivals rather than actual weddings. Of course, if my wives wanted it, I didn’t mind—but if they started comparing and getting depressed, that would be a disaster. If we were doing it, we should do it extravagantly for both.
‘Or should I set up a venue based on 21st-century standards?’
It would cost a fortune and delay the wedding, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Since a wedding wasn’t something you could surprise someone with like a proposal, we should discuss it together.
‘I’ll have to pick a day soon and tell them I’m from Earth too.’
I had always planned to tell Franc, and Dana had been very curious about the source of my strange knowledge.
Dana straightened her collar and spoke like a confident career woman.
“If you understood, that’s good enough. Big sis is off to work. Study hard.”
“Don’t talk like I’m some kept househusband, okay? Your hubby earns plenty of money too.”
“Why? You are a kept man. A kept man with a pillar of fire.”
Dana flicked the head of my Ju-Ji-Condor with her fingernail. How the hell did she pinpoint the exact position of my dick every time? I felt like the coach of the Korean national team getting completely marked by Japan’s attackers.
Dana smiled seductively and hugged me.
“Honestly, even if you used that thing to torment us and didn’t work for months, neither I nor Franc could complain. Of course, doing it forever would be a huge problem.”
“How could I do that when you two suck up to me so much while I work?”
Franc had said it was okay to give up on her dreams, but if I really became a pathetic unemployed bum, her disappointment would be enormous. Just like how a quiet person’s anger is the scariest, if Franc was truly disappointed in me, the damage to me would be huge too. Another reason I absolutely couldn’t give up on my dreams had appeared.
I wrapped my arms around Dana’s waist and said,
“Just wait patiently. I’ll show you the moonshot of Bitcoin Nord.”
I would show my wives the same effect as if someone in the early 80s had bet their entire fortune on Apple stock. I, who had once been at the level of an otherworldly elementary school delinquent, had now grown strong enough to compete with Gold Class adventurers! If I kept working like this, hitting the upper limit wouldn’t be impossible at all.
Dana pressed her chest against me and grinned slyly.
“You know how hard it is to satisfy people who have high expectations, right?”
“Hehe. Making tears of joy flow from your eyes is rewarding and nice. There was a time when those damn professors worked me to the bone, after all.”
…Chuuup.
Our eyes met, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, our lips overlapped. We mixed our tongues, eyes wide open, as if trying to burn the sight of each other kissing into our memories.
—Creak.
“Ughhh…”
Suddenly the door down the hallway opened and another guest stepped out.
Ah, shit. This was an inn hallway!
We quickly separated.
“A-anyway! I’m going! See you later!”
Dana wiped her lips with her sleeve, pointed at me, and ran away. Why was she even running?
‘…Oh, right.’
What should I do about the ring for Dana? I couldn’t become Ten-Ring Mandarin Nord with rings on every finger. If I did that, what would the wife who only got a pinky ring become? I had no plans to take multiple wives, but thinking long-term, I might regret it later and get screwed.
‘Even in countries on Earth where polygamy still existed, they said it was better to give the same gift to every wife…’
Fuck. Was I going to become a big otherworldly family that unified all wedding rings like the Green Lantern Corps? Saying it was proof of family actually sounded kind of cool.
“All wives wear the ring… and among them, there was one who polished it.”
And that one would be me. The ring-polishing Nord glowing with green mana should just go learn magic already.
I followed Dana down the stairs she had descended.
Tirsi Sensei’s special lecture was held in the empty lot near the house.
“First, I’ll set up a barrier spell—well, it’s far from a real one, but I’ll deploy a sustained shield. The Lightning Missile spell is dangerous, after all.”
—Scribble, scribble.
Tirsi drew a magic circle on the ground. Larilura watched her with sparkling eyes, as if she were a street artist who could draw a perfect caricature in one minute.
“Look at that, Senior! Tirsi unnie just spun her wrist in a perfect circle!”
“Yeah. It’s amazing.”
She was literally a human compass. After finishing the magic circle, Tirsi cleared her throat.
“Ahem. I’m ready. Norde, please step inside.”
“Yessir.”
“What about me?”
“While Norde is practicing, I’ll teach you outside.”
So I was the only one going inside? This was basically like simplified hand grenade training then. Larilura nodded and gave a frivolous salute.
“Roger that~! I’ll just read the magic books Senior lent me over here, okay?”
“Sure. But what are you going to do after learning them? Imitate me?”
I had lent Larilura the two magic scrolls I owned. That included the enchantment magic book from Crown Mountain—Mr. Sando’s book—that I had roughly finished studying.
“Tsk tsk tsk♡ Wrong~.”
Larilura wagged her index finger and acted cheeky.
“A first-rate clown sharpens their skills even further. If you think something is cool, you have to learn it, imitate it, and then surpass it! I’m a genius, so I won’t stop at mere imitation~? Even if Senior gets on his knees and begs me to teach him this time, I won’t tell you!”
“Rental fee, shut your mouth, or your side. Pick one.”
“Geez~ Senior, really. You want to learn from me that badly? As expected, you have a hobby of learning from your younger, beautiful junior…♡?”
With her hands behind her back, Larilura rocked her body left and right like she was on a seesaw. The subtle volume hidden beneath her clown outfit jiggled.
“Does Norde have that kind of hobby?”
At the words “hobby of learning from your younger, beautiful junior,” even Tirsi looked at me. Her long eyelashes blinked innocently. No, fuck, it’s a misunderstanding.
“You’ll pretend it’s cold and press your shoulders together, or say the heater is too warm and take off your outer clothes to set the mood? How unfortunate♡ How cliché. Please come up with something more romantic?”
Larilura kept chattering on, riding the momentum. This little brat’s voice was so pleasant it sounded like an announcer, which only doubled my irritation.
“This Larilura learned all about the ways of men and women from the senior dancer in the circus troupe and has mastered both listening and talking☆? I won’t fall for such outdated tricks~? Or would you like to try them on me? Fufufu. That thing, that thing. ‘Even if I love you’—”
“GAAAAAAAHH──!! You little shit!! Present your crown right now!!”
God damn it! I’m going to open the sacred Korean corporal punishment highway on your skull!
I swung my arm, but Larilura lightly jumped backward with her hands still behind her back and dodged.
“Ahaha♡! Your arms are too short to reach~? Senior is currently trapped inside the barrier, you know~? No matter how much I tease you, you can’t come out right now, can you?”
“What?”
My eyes widened. So that’s why she was acting so cocky—she had roughly measured the barrier’s range. ‘But you know one thing and not the other.’
Well, the barriers she had seen before were all ridiculously overpowered, so it made sense.
I simply scraped the bottom part of the barrier with my foot and canceled it.
“…Eh?”
The magic circle vanished instantly. Larilura’s eyes became as small as beans. I stepped out of the barrier and spoke kindly.
“If you don’t prepare for it, a barrier drawn on the ground can be erased. Just restore this part and it’ll work again, so don’t worry.”
I loosened my hands and approached Larilura. She quickly gave up on running and her pupils shook violently.
“…Ehehe? Senior? It was a joke, a joooke♡!”
I was planning to go easy on her if she apologized, but this brat made a V-sign with both hands and acted cute.
“You wouldn’t hit someone as cute as me, right?”
“Vector—blizzard on the highway.”
“Huh? Highway? Eh? Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah───?!”
I grabbed her head and delivered a merciless forehead-to-back-of-the-skull knuckle bulldozer. Larilura screamed and collapsed.
Who is justice? I am justice. Feel the pain of a man who waited an hour on a bus with a dead phone battery.
“Tirsi. Ignore this brat’s nonsense. Let’s begin.”
“Fufu. Shall we?”
I completely ignored the fallen clown and spoke to Tirsi. Tirsi restored the barrier and shrugged as if to say, “What can you do?”
“Ah, before we start, there’s something I should tell you. Not only the Lightning Missile you’ll be learning today, but all arrow-type magic has one important precaution.”
Tirsi raised a finger. A precaution?
“The most important thing is to precisely control the direction of the mana you release from your body. All arrow series spells convert mana into a specific type of energy. If you make a mistake in control, it will spray in every direction and you could get hurt.”
“Ah, so Lightning Missile is especially dangerous?”
“Yes. Because it converts mana into electricity. In terms of accident rate, it’s the most dangerous. This barrier has the effect of preventing electricity from flowing through the air, but please still be careful.”
“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Had Tirsi deliberately learned this special barrier? No way. She must have found and learned it specifically to teach me. I shouldn’t betray that kindness—I’d have to work hard too.
“Hic… Senior? That one really hurt…”
“Tirsi. Where’s the magic book?”
“Ah, here it is.”
I completely ignored the crying clown holding her head and took the magic book. It contained the structure of the spell and incantation. It was about the thickness of a hospital magazine’s cancer prevention guide. Not sure if that was a lot or a little.
I opened the book, read until the middle paragraph, and found the incantation.
—O lightning mana flowing through the heavens. Become N strands of nails and pierce through.
What was written there was the magic incantation. N was a variable number. If you wanted to fire seven shots, you just had to say “seven strands of nails” while chanting.
‘Fuck. This is so embarrassing.’
Now I had to shout incantations in front of other people. I wasn’t some manga character who yelled out technique names every time I fought. Vector—Nine-Tailed Fox Lightning Reinforcement! Having to do this shit was truly depressing. Was this how Vegeta felt when he struck fusion poses?
I endured that sorrow and repeated the practice.
“The trick to the spell is to form the mana inside your body into a circle first.”
Tirsi also gave me tips that only experienced users would know.
“It’s the same principle as nocking an arrow, just like the name suggests. Maybe that’s why this school of magic is called the ‘Arrow of ○○’ series?”
“An arrow, huh.”
I would’ve had to actually shoot a bow to know that. As a former army soldier (a pathetic veterinary student who still enlisted), I only knew how to shoot guns.
‘Wait. Then couldn’t I just imagine a gun?’
A gun! In English, GUN. The feel of my soul partner, the K-2, used to appear in my dreams until just a few years ago. There was no way I could forget it, you bastard. That damn sergeant.
Recalling my military days, I chanted the spell.
“O lightning mana flowing through the heavens. Become one strand of nail and pierce through.”
I slammed the mana into the spell formula as if loading a bullet into a magazine.
“Lightning Missile.”
—Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The moment I poured mana into the spell and shouted the incantation, a small orb of light appeared at my fingertips. No, it wasn’t light. It was electricity. Electricity compressed into a perfect sphere! A sight impossible by the laws of physics or 21st-century science.
Tirsi stepped aside and pointed at the empty space.
“Use less mana and try shooting it. Imagine firing a gun.”
“Firing?”
Now that was something I was damn good at. I took a seated firing position, drawing on my experience as a top marksman. And shouted.
“Mjölnir—Fire—!!”