Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Master of the Sky Tower
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#78.
Master of the Sky Tower.
The continent's one and only Grand Sorcerer.
Teacher to all mages.
Dragon Slayer.
All these titles pointed to just one being.
Magic Duke Martes.
'Crazy…!'
Seo Woo-jin widened his eyes.
He had known early on that the girl in front of him wasn't of ordinary status.
He had even thought she might be a high-ranking mana engineer from the Sky Tower, or perhaps a member of the imperial family.
But Magic Duke?
'That means she's on the same level as that Sword Sage geezer!'
It was an identity he never could have imagined.
But….
'That's that.'
He couldn't tell her about the Demonic Energy.
If it came out that he had Demonic Energy inside him, he might die right there on the spot.
An oath?
In front of the Demon King and demonkin, such oaths were worth less than scrap paper.
On top of that, the being before him now was the Empire's guardian and master of the Sky Tower.
No matter how strong he had become, she was a top-tier powerhouse who could kill someone like him with a flick of a finger.
It was to the point that in the Empire, people said they could win the Great War even without the heroes' help, just with Magic Duke Martes alone.
Of course, she herself had shaken her head, saying it was impossible with her power alone.
So he absolutely could not tell her.
'But I can't just say nothing at all.'
If he kept giving off the vibe that he was hiding something, she would definitely grow suspicious.
No, it already felt like the situation was plenty suspicious.
Martes probably didn't know he had absorbed not just mana but Demonic Energy too, but she would certainly realize he was holding something back.
She might look like a young girl, but she was a monster among monsters who had lived nearly two hundred years.
'I can't let her appearance fool me.'
One of her titles was Dragon Slayer.
It meant exactly what it said.
She had hunted and killed a dragon—a transcendent species—all by herself.
Something even half-Slane or Dariel couldn't have done, she had accomplished without batting an eye.
She was a shrewd sage with a hundred sly serpents coiled in her heart.
After a moment of agonized thought, Seo Woo-jin opened his mouth.
“I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I do have something I'm not saying.”
“Hoo, go on.”
Martes stared straight into Seo Woo-jin's eyes.
As if she meant to pry out the truth.
Seo Woo-jin swallowed dryly and continued.
“Do you know much about the heroes' skills?”
“Skills….”
Martes nodded.
“I don't know everything, but I pride myself on knowing more than most.”
Mages really were mages.
There were even knights who didn't grasp the very concept of skills.
“…I have one skill that's different from everyone else's.”
Thick curiosity filled Martes's eyes.
“And what is it?”
“I don't know either. It's just marked with a question mark in my 'status window.'”
■Skill: ??? [Passive]
It was a skill that had been there since Seo Woo-jin was first summoned, and he still hadn't figured out what it was.
Instead of revealing the Demonic Energy's secret, he threw this out as bait.
“A question mark?”
“I don't know the name, and I haven't figured out the effect yet. But if I had to guess….”
Seo Woo-jin cited the subjugation in the North and the fight with Rosie Ruby as examples.
“Sometimes monsters or demonic beasts freeze up. Like they're terrified.”
As he spoke, Seo Woo-jin gauged Martes's reaction.
'Please, just let this slide.'
He prayed desperately inside.
Did his earnest prayer work?
Martes showed strong interest.
“I've never heard of a skill like that. Can you activate it now, by any chance?”
“Unfortunately, it says 'passive.'”
“Passive? What does that mean?”
It seemed even Martes had never heard the term.
“Well, it's a skill that stays active constantly without needing to be turned on, I guess?”
“That's certainly intriguing.”
Fortunately, Martes nodded.
“Why haven't you mentioned having such a skill until now?”
Starting now.
He couldn't afford to plant any more unnecessary suspicion in Martes.
“At first, I thought everyone had it.”
It was something he wouldn't know unless he asked the other heroes in conversation, so it was a perfectly convincing story.
“And after that?”
“…It scared me a little.”
“Scared? Of what?”
At the continued questions, Seo Woo-jin took a deep breath.
“Being different from everyone else.”
Silence fell.
Seo Woo-jin waited anxiously for Martes's response, while she quietly closed her eyes in thought.
How much time passed like that?
“I understand.”
The fear of being different from others.
Martes knew it better than anyone.
“I'll look into your skill for you.”
“Th-thank you.”
Seo Woo-jin let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
By giving up one small secret he was hiding, he had successfully concealed the others.
They were all fatal secrets to him, so he had no choice but to feel relieved.
'Of course, it's still too early to relax completely.'
If the ??? skill turned out to be connected to the 'Demon King' class and that got exposed, it would be a disaster.
But there was no way Martes could uncover something even he himself didn't fully understand in a short time.
No matter that she was the master of the Sky Tower.
Before then, he needed to come up with some kind of excuse.
“I'm sorry for pressing you like an interrogation today.”
“…It's fine.”
In truth, it was anything but.
Cold sweat was still soaking his back even now.
But he couldn't show it, so he forced a smile and shook his head.
“Is there anything you desire? As an apology for today, I'll grant one request, whatever it is.”
'A desire?'
It was an unexpected stroke of luck.
'What could it be?'
He had a new sword….
Armor and such equipment wouldn't really help his fighting style anyway.
He had plenty of mana, and his body was more than strong enough.
If he lacked anything, maybe levels, but that didn't bother him much either.
Given his class rank, he could grow far faster than others anyway.
'I don't know.'
Put on the spot, nothing came to mind.
As Seo Woo-jin's deliberation dragged on, Martes smiled.
“If not, shall I pretend I never said it?”
“W-wait! Just a second. I'll think of something soon!”
His mind spun frantically.
“Hmm, looks like there's nothing you need….”
“I want to get stronger!”
Fearing Martes might take back her words, Seo Woo-jin shouted without thinking.
“Get stronger?”
'Damn it!'
In his panic, he had blurted it out without any filter.
If he'd had just a little more time, he could have wished for something far more specific and efficient.
Seo Woo-jin felt a pang of regret, but the words were already out.
'Well, getting stronger is what I need anyway.'
He just hoped Martes would interpret it in a way that helped him.
“Hmm, get stronger. Get stronger.”
Martes pondered his words.
“Aren't you strong enough already? And you'll only get stronger in the future. Even so, that's your wish?”
“…I want to get as strong as possible. To drive out the Demon King, no matter how strong I get, it won't be enough.”
For some reason, the excuses flowed smoothly off his tongue today.
“You're right. When it comes to the Demon King, better too strong than not strong enough.”
Then, murmuring 'let me see,' she gazed into empty space.
It looked just like how heroes viewed their status windows.
“As a hero, this should suit you.”
Martes smiled in satisfaction as she pulled something out of thin air.
'Is it like a pocket dimension?'
Seo Woo-jin grumbled inwardly that he should have asked for an item with space magic instead.
Heroes didn't have inventories, after all.
But when he saw what Martes held out, his eyes went wide.
“This is…?”
“Take it. This should be plenty helpful for you.”
* * *
“Where's Uncle? Training ended ages ago, and he's still not back?”
Lee Ji-ah asked while doing push-ups in the middle of the training grounds.
Yoo Hong-seol, beside her, smiled and answered.
“I overheard earlier that someone was looking for him.”
“Who? Was it a woman? Was she pretty?”
“Nope. It was some old guy with white hair.”
At Yoo Hong-seol's words, Lee Ji-ah stopped exercising with a deflated look and stood up.
“Da-hye, did you see him too?”
“Nope.”
Kim Da-hye shook her head as she drew.
“What are you drawing today? Another gun?”
Lee Ji-ah sidled up and pestered her.
But Kim Da-hye, used to it, casually showed her sketchbook without a care.
“…What's this?”
“M134.”
“So what's that?”
Kim Da-hye hesitated a moment before speaking.
“Minigun.”
“What? Minigun?”
Kim Da-hye's words echoed loudly through the training grounds.
“Eek!”
Lee Ji-ah whipped around to see a bear of a man standing there.
“Oh, it's the 'Magical Girl' uncle.”
“Uhaha! I'm not an uncle yet!”
Goo Dong-hwan denied it, but no one paid him any mind.
“Anyway, a minigun?”
Kim Da-hye nodded and showed him her drawing.
“Ooh!”
Goo Dong-hwan's muscles twitched in excitement.
“A real minigun! You summon this to fight?”
“Yup.”
It was a weapon that could pulverize most monsters without leaving a speck of dust.
“C-can I try shooting it sometime later?”
Goo Dong-hwan begged like a puppy eyeing a treat, and Kim Da-hye nodded indifferently.
“Thanks!”
As he laughed 'uhaha,' he glanced around and asked Lee Ji-ah.
“But where's Mr. Seo Woo-jin? We were supposed to train together starting today.”
“No idea. But he always keeps promises like clockwork, so he'll be here soon.”
Before long, everyone connected to Seo Woo-jin had gathered at the training grounds.
Lee Ji-ah, Kim Da-hye, Yoo Hong-seol, Kang Byung-gyu, Jin Tae-seong, Goo Dong-hwan, and even Ailin.
“Su-ji unnie said she'd come too.”
Lee Ji-ah's eyes sparkled.
She had trained with Seo Woo-jin and felt confident she wouldn't lose to anyone barehanded.
But against Gae Su-ji, she had been utterly crushed.
Jealousy would have been natural, but instead, Lee Ji-ah admired her.
“I wish we could all train together soon. No Uncle, no unnie.”
“Should we start without them?”
Kang Byung-gyu suggested.
“Oh, yeah?”
The others brightened at the idea.
Sitting around chatting idly felt a bit pathetic anyway.
“Sorry I'm late.”
Just then, Gae Su-ji arrived.