Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Mana Engineer
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“Barsik.”
The mana engineer introduced himself as he removed the black glove from his hand.
“…Barsik?”
“A mana engineer from Sky Tower.”
I’d expected it since he’d come with Lee Ji-ah, but sure enough, he was an ice block.
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”
“Let’s talk alone for a bit.”
As Barsik glanced around and spoke, people began to stand up one by one.
No one failed to grasp the implication in his words.
“We’ll be back soon! Take care and rest well!”
With Lee Ji-ah’s cheerful farewell, everyone shuffled out.
The lively atmosphere from moments ago vanished, replaced by silence.
‘Definitely an ice block.’
It was easy to see why he had that nickname.
“How’s your condition?”
Barsik, who had been staring silently for a long while, finally spoke.
“Yes? Oh, I’m fine.”
In fact, he’d never felt better.
“That’s a relief.”
Silence fell again after those words.
‘What’s this guy on about?’
Seo Woo-jin was stifling in the awkward atmosphere.
He’d heard Barsik wanted to see him, but he hadn’t expected him to just ‘stare’.
“Um…”
It was the moment Seo Woo-jin couldn’t stand the awkwardness any longer and tried to speak first.
“I heard you took down Rosie Ruby.”
“No, that’s not true.”
It was annoying that his words had been cut off, but relieved that conversation had started, he shook his head.
“It wasn’t me who killed him. It was a guy named Baek Si-woo.”
“I see. Misinformation, then.”
He hummed thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re the one who collapsed the ruin anyway.”
“…Me?”
“I heard you touched the gem.”
Right.
Seo Woo-jin realized his hunch had been correct.
‘That gem was what held the ruin together.’
When he’d placed his hand on it, the magic and demonic energy sustaining the ruin had been released, allowing him to escape.
He didn’t know the exact mechanism, though.
“Anything unusual happen in the process?”
“Unusual how?”
“Anything at all.”
There had been something unusual, of course.
A massive surge of magical power had flooded into his body, nearly killing him before he pulled back from death’s door.
But Seo Woo-jin held his tongue.
He was worried he might slip up and mention demonic energy while explaining.
‘No reason to tell him everything.’
He had no obligation to divulge every detail to a stranger.
Especially not to someone who might become an enemy someday.
“Pity.”
Barsik looked genuinely disappointed.
It was oddly fascinating to see shadows cross his already ghostly pale face.
“Oh, but…”
Seo Woo-jin snapped his fingers as if something had occurred to him.
“While wandering the ruin, I saw something.”
He casually brought up the pattern on the cover of the Otherworldly Demon King Chronicles.
“A pattern? Where did you see it?”
“Who knows? You know how that place kept shifting around everywhere. I don’t remember exactly.”
He couldn’t say he’d seen it on the cover of the Otherworldly Demon King Chronicles, so he brushed it off vaguely.
Surprisingly, Barsik accepted the clumsy excuse.
“What did it look like?”
Seo Woo-jin had expected at least a hint of suspicion, but Barsik’s face was filled with curiosity.
As expected of those called seekers of truth.
They couldn’t resist new knowledge or phenomena…
Seo Woo-jin smirked inwardly and looked for paper and a pen.
“I don’t remember the details, but roughly like this.”
He recalled it and drew the pattern as accurately as possible.
He’d worried the huge incident might have made him forget, but fortunately, he could reproduce it.
Six circles of varying sizes, with geometric lines inscribed within.
The fine details might be off a bit, but to Seo Woo-jin’s eyes, it was close enough.
“Here.”
After meticulously drawing the entire pattern over ten minutes, he showed it to Barsik.
“A magic circle.”
Stronger interest sparked in Barsik’s eyes upon seeing it.
“A sealing ritual? No, something a bit more advanced…”
He pulled out glasses from his pocket, put them on, and muttered to himself, engrossed in the pattern.
Most of it was incomprehensible to Seo Woo-jin.
But a few words stuck out.
Qualification, proof, existence, and so on.
‘Does it mean you need to prove your qualification to view that book?’
Maybe.
He was piecing together hypotheses from the words when Barsik sighed.
“Whew—”
“Did you figure it out?”
Seo Woo-jin halted his thoughts and asked.
He was dying of curiosity but didn’t show it.
“An ancient magic circle.”
“Ancient?”
As Seo Woo-jin tilted his head, Barsik added more.
“At least 1,500 years old. Possibly even older.”
A time that suited the word ‘ancient’ perfectly.
“It’s close to a ritual for qualification verification. I don’t know what it’s for, but it’s high-level magic.”
Seo Woo-jin felt a thrill, thinking his hypothesis might be right.
He was excited at the possibility of finding a way to read that book.
But Barsik’s next words were disappointing.
“Too bad. Can’t grasp the overall design from this alone.”
The activation method, proof method, and the exact purpose of the magic.
There was much he wanted to know, but sadly, little could be learned now.
It was just a tiny fragment of countless patterns.
Barsik was right.
From his perspective, it was like touching an elephant’s leg.
Seo Woo-jin felt the same regret.
He’d thought a mana engineer-level mage might uncover something, but it hadn’t panned out.
‘Still, it’s not nothing.’
Qualification proof.
Pass that, and he could read the book.
He didn’t know the method yet, but it wasn’t impossible.
Just needed time.
‘I’ll memorize the patterns bit by bit each time I level up.’
If he kept asking for interpretations like this, he’d eventually find the way.
“Thank you.”
Seo Woo-jin expressed his sincere gratitude.
But Barsik shook his head.
“Seeing a magic circle like this, I should be the one asking. No need.”
“Then, may I ask again sometime?”
“If you find more.”
With that, Barsik stood up.
He’d wanted to uncover something, but with nothing more from Seo Woo-jin, there was no point staying.
“Rest well. …Though you don’t seem to need it.”
Surprisingly, he’d accurately assessed Seo Woo-jin’s physical state.
‘No wonder he’s a mage.’
As Seo Woo-jin acknowledged it, Barsik left the room without looking back.
“Definitely an ice block.”
Aside from when viewing the pattern, the man radiated chill.
Seo Woo-jin shuddered dramatically before lying back in bed.
‘I need to run some tests soon.’
To see just how much his body had changed.
* * *
“Rosie Ruby?”
“Yes.”
Riok answered Agna’s question calmly.
“…You’re sure?”
She asked again, wondering if it was a mistake.
“The mana engineer from Sky Tower confirmed it as well.”
“Then it must be true.”
Hearing that even Barsik had verified it, surprise crossed Agna’s face.
Rosie Ruby dead?
One of the most dangerous threats in Demon Realm Heldein was gone. How could she not be shocked?
“Then subjugation is possible… No.”
Agna started to speak but shook her head.
With Rosie Ruby dead, now was the perfect time for subjugation.
But it was impossible.
They couldn’t afford to waste forces now.
‘The Demon King’s descent is imminent.’
Considering the Descent War, they had to conserve maximum strength.
‘Heldein isn’t just Rosie Ruby.’
True to its name as the Demon Realm, Heldein teemed with monsters.
Dark Elves aside, there were several on par with Rosie Ruby.
It would inevitably bring heavy casualties.
They couldn’t afford such losses now.
‘A shame, but unavoidable.’
Agna erased subjugation from her mind.
“Who killed Rosie Ruby?”
“Baek Si-woo.”
“Oh-ho—”
Agna let out an exclamation of admiration.
“I knew he’d grown a lot, but enough to take on Rosie Ruby already?”
“Word is, it was a single blow.”
“As expected!”
The greatest hero in history.
It was only natural he was strong, with the Empire pouring endless support into such talent.
“No casualties among the heroes?”
“None. Some were a bit off-condition from wandering the ruin so long, but no injuries or deaths.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Every hero was precious.
They were the ‘weapons’ who would fight the Demon King for them.
It would be a problem if they died pointlessly before the war even started.
Agna smiled at the string of good news.
But only briefly.
Now came the more serious matter.
“What about the Dark Elf investigation?”
Dark Elves, who should be at the heart of the Demon Realm, had appeared on the outskirts.
Following the last incident, they’d ambushed the heroes again.
And Crusiel had failed to detect it beforehand once more.
“Seems like a high chance it was a random attack.”
“Random?”
“Investigations show no traces of Gerald or his followers.”
Riok spoke with conviction.
But Agna’s expression darkened.
“There are no coincidences in this world.”
As head of Intelligence, she was extremely wary of the word ‘coincidence.’
‘We need to dig into this properly ourselves.’
She didn’t mean to underestimate the knights, but they were too straightforward.
“Alright. That’s enough report. Anything else noteworthy?”
It was just a perfunctory question.
But Riok nodded.
“Do you know a hero named Seo Woo-jin?”
Agna’s gaze lifted from the documents.
“Seo Woo-jin?”
“A D-rank hero. He received support in Sion…”
“I know that. Get to the point.”
“Sky Tower seems to be taking notice of him.”
At that, Agna began tapping her fingers on the desk.
‘Sky Tower? Why would those stubborn lunatics care?’
Mages were fundamentally indifferent to worldly affairs.
Of course, heroes were prime material to pique their curiosity, but they didn’t act rashly.
They knew full well that heroes were essential for the world’s survival.
That’s why they’d forcibly suppressed their curiosity about heroes.
‘And now they’re interested?’
In a mere D-rank?
Agna dredged up memories of Seo Woo-jin.
Lately, that name kept nagging at her nerves.
‘No notable anomalies reported…’
Just that his skills exceeded his rank.
But if Sky Tower was taking interest, she couldn’t ignore him anymore.
“I need to meet him.”