Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: To Enter the Magic Tower (1)
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Is it because this dungeon incorporates the Magic Tower itself as material?
Ruuuumble...
The light enveloping the surroundings faded away.
When I opened my eyes, a towering Magic Tower piercing toward the sky filled my vision.
"This place..."
I looked around.
The layout was similar to Oxford City.
A city sprawled out around the Magic Tower floating in the air.
Tall walls encircled that city.
[Ding!]
[Stage: Magic Dropout]
[Enter the Magic Tower and find the Magic Dropout.]
"..."
Somehow, the missions were starting to feel simpler.
No hints—just barge into the Magic Tower and find the dropout.
Is this what S-rank difficulty really means from here on?
"Kid."
The old man, floating in the air, raised his hand.
"Can you feel it? The energy here? Far richer than in your world."
It did seem that way.
The air felt denser than on Earth.
Every breath brought a crisp energy tickling my nose.
My Azure Heart Technique reacted more vigorously too.
The energy circulated faster, like that.
"Here, it'd be better to train in using energy in diverse ways rather than just building stamina."
The old man hummed cheerfully.
It felt like he was shopping for the right technique out of his ten thousand arts.
'Yeah, might as well train while we're at it.'
I had no intention of passing up a good opportunity either.
But right now, this was the entrance to a new dungeon.
First things first—scope out the situation.
'Shall we get moving?'
Step, step.
I walked for a while, admiring the jagged rooftops poking up over the walls.
I arrived at the massive gate.
Thud!
The guards slammed their spear butts into the ground.
"Who goes there!"
"State your identity!"
Huh.
Come to think of it, what now?
I knew nothing about this place.
And I sure didn't have any ID on me.
"Hmm."
No choice, huh?
"Haha, sorry about that. I lost my ID. I'll come back next time."
As I scratched my head and spoke.
The guards furrowed their brows, faces saying, what the hell?
But.
Shh!
By then, I was already stepping on a shadow.
I activated 'Silent Step' and dashed along the side of the gate.
The guards must have felt like they'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"What do you plan to do?"
'First, we sneak in illegally. Entering the tower is the primary mission.'
"Hah, climb those walls? They're practically cliffs."
The walls were about 100 meters high.
No ordinary ability user could scale them.
Of course.
On the flip side, that explained the lax security.
'Pfft, I've climbed Aranbalon and giant dragons. This is nothing.'
Fwoosh!
My Divine Slaughter-grade weapon split into two short daggers.
Stab!
I laid them horizontally and jammed them into the wall.
Even the sturdy-looking stone gave way easily before these weapons.
Stab, stab, stab!
Like that, slowly.
I scaled the wall.
* * *
Clear skies.
Shh!
A man in a black hood stepped onto a shadow.
His moniker was Great Thief.
Earned from pilfering the treasures of fat nobles.
"Who should I rob tonight? Who gets the nightmare? Heh heh."
Humming to himself, he strolled atop the city's walls every day.
Simple reason.
To scout houses with weak security.
Shh, shh!
Even with soldiers on the walls, his steps were unhesitating.
His mastery of shadow arts let him pass right by without a sound.
"Hmm. Nothing worth hitting today?"
After circling once, the Great Thief muttered in disappointment.
"Guess I'll just nab some suckers today."
Truth was, he ran an organization underground in this city.
Illegal gambling dens, drug trafficking, entertainment, loansharking, you name it.
A nasty outfit preying on commoners and nobles alike.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadows, right?
He was one of the dark underbellies thriving under the rule of the Third Magic Tower Lord, Gospelheim, in this booming magical realm.
"Hoo."
Exhaling, the Great Thief stepped onto another shadow.
Heading back down to the city.
His shadow technique was smooth and stealthy.
Confidence oozed from his stride.
As if no one in this world could match his stealth, moving boldly and freely.
So he never dreamed.
That another shadow was tailing him.
* * *
"Tch tch, look at that guy move. Smells like a total newbie."
'Cute, isn't he?'
I chuckled.
After climbing the wall, I'd spotted someone stepping on shadows.
From then on, I'd been tailing him.
"Check that? Full of bluff in his steps. Like looking at your rookie days."
'Come on, don't say that...'
Shh!
My feet moved like ghosts.
The 'Silent Step' I'd mastered was the pinnacle of shadow arts.
It surpassed even Gi So-yul, the king of assassins.
The secret technique of the Shadow Shepherd King.
Mixed with the old man's World's Greatest Invincible Footwork to boot...
'He's just a smooth worm begging to be crushed. I'm already a wrinkled pupa.'
"Tch tch, fresh metaphor there?"
The old man cackled.
He seemed to be enjoying this new world tour.
The unfamiliar sights.
The amusing situations.
"But what's the plan? Keep tailing him?"
He asked at the same time.
"You trying to show off who's stealthier?"
'Nah, no way.'
I shook my head.
'Guys who move that sneaky always have shady backsides.'
What I needed most in this new world was an identity.
I'd already tried entering a Magic Tower in Oxford.
I knew how tough it was without one.
'And you know this, right?'
Plop!
I'd descended to the city streets and muttered as I entered.
'Shady types are pros at illegal stuff. It's a universal rule.'
To achieve my first goal.
I planned to use this guy.
* * *
This world.
Was a lot like our neighborhood.
General stores for daily goods, inns, taverns.
La la la~
In the square, a street performer played instruments for copper coins.
Woof, woof woof!
Stray dogs barked along the roadside.
And in a dim, shady alley.
I crouched low beside a garishly lit sign.
Just moments ago.
The guy I'd tailed had entered here.
'Hmm.'
I closed my eyes and scanned the building interior and underground.
Some presences with decent energy here and there, but no real threats.
I hid and waited a bit.
"Heh heh heh, let's have a proper party tonight!"
"Party my ass—don't get fleeced clean."
"What're you saying! Watch, I'll make enough here to buy a building near the tower! Wait for it—city view!"
"Hope you get what you want."
One by one.
Rough-looking men entered, wallets stuffed.
From their chatter, 100% gambling den.
Set up in a shady spot—definitely illegal.
"Tch tch, that must be the bluffer's hideout."
'Seems like it.'
"Gambling, huh... Worlds are all the same. Wasting time on money games instead of training. Tsk tsk. So, what's next? Bust in and wreck the place?"
'Hmm.'
I would wreck it.
But not with brute force.
'Can't just pass by a gambling den.'
I grinned to myself.
'Might as well learn the currency and make some cash. Money's power in any world.'
"You? You don't even know the games here."
'Don't know the games, but I got a cheat key.'
"Cheat key? What's that?"
"What else? You, obviously."
Exactly.
The old man—my invisible cheat key.
* * *
Sniff sniff.
A thick stench assaulted my nose.
The space choked with hazy cigarette smoke and sharp alcohol fumes.
And that peculiar mustiness of a backroom.
"Hoo."
Having infiltrated via shadow arts, I breathed through my mouth.
No way I'd risk my nose.
Just looking at it gave me a headache.
"Come on, let's go to school!"
"What're you waiting for? Deal the cards! Gotta make money!"
"Ah, shit... If you win, share a little?"
"Share? Money doesn't grow on trees. Piss off somewhere else if you hate it."
Clack clack clack!
The sharp shuffle of cards.
Clink!
Chips tossed onto the center of the table.
About twenty tables in the room, players dealing cards among themselves.
'Looks like a game from our world.'
Match suits and numbers—highest hand wins.
"..."
Hidden, I swiped a stack of chips from a desk.
A madam-type woman was counting money nearby, but cloaked in presence suppression, she noticed nothing.
"Tch tch, using Silent Step for thieving—Shadow Shepherd King would grieve if he knew."
The "black shadow mutt" meant Shadow Shepherd King, no doubt.
Ignoring the cackling old man, I revealed myself.
As if I'd been there all along.
Arms crossed, watching the game.
"Hey."
A stranger tapped my shoulder.
Hook, line, sinker.
"What're you doing? Here to play, right? Looks like you've got chips—game?"
"Sure, why not?"
Not my money anyway.
I'd pick up the rules as we go.
The game set up fast.
The guy was a regular—paid the madam her cut and rounded up players quick.
"Hey, Gald! All-nighter again?"
"Huh? New face? Fresh meat?"
"Heh heh, careful with newbies. Lessons here cost extra."
The gamblers bared yellow teeth in friendly greetings.
Some ordered liquor right away.
Others lit smokes.
"..."
I silently stacked my chips.
From the vibe.
White chips were 1 gold, black ones 1 silver.
Ten black for one white.
Clatter!
I dumped my chip pouch onto the table.
A hefty pile of whites spilled out.
"Ooooh!"
"Loaded, huh?!"
"Bigger fish than I thought."
Their eyes changed.
Greed gleamed in those beady stares.
'Go ahead.'
You won't take a single chip.
Why?
"Hmm, that spiky symbol means a good hand, huh."
"Fun game. So many combos."
The old man was wandering behind me, memorizing the rules.
No CCTV in this dump.
With my old-man cheat key peeking at the cards, no way I lose.
"Alright."
I grinned.
"Let's get serious."