Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Sky Tower Visit
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#86
Seo Woo-jin kept tilting his head.
It was the same even now, as he faced six Volcadors.
Graaaaaah-!
Their roars echoed out.
But Seo Woo-jin paid them no attention.
He simply...
swung Rune Dea horizontally.
Slash-
The six massive monsters were all cleaved in half and collapsed.
Green blood flowed out, forming a small stream.
And Seo Woo-jin remained lost in thought even then.
‘Was it my imagination?’
The faint trace of demonic energy he had sensed from Baek Si-woo.
It was too familiar a presence to dismiss as mere imagination.
But he couldn’t be certain, either.
It was Baek Si-woo, after all.
Anyone else, and it might be different, but demonic energy from that guy? It was simply unbelievable.
He trusted his senses more than that possibility.
“G-Good work, sir.”
Ga Inas’s flustered voice came from behind, but he ignored it and returned to his seat.
“Wow, you sent them all straight to the Lord’s side in one hit? You didn’t even use a skill—how’d you do it?”
“Mister! You seem even stronger than last time, don’t you? Right?”
Everyone crowded around, bombarding Seo Woo-jin with questions.
“Hm, I’ll explain later.”
Seo Woo-jin asked for a moment to think things over and glanced at Baek Si-woo.
He looked the same as always.
Still handsome, his smile as he chatted with the others seemed perfectly serene.
‘Guess it was my imagination after all.’
He couldn’t sense any demonic energy now.
Maybe his nerves were just on edge from all the recent major events.
Seo Woo-jin withdrew his gaze with that thought.
‘That straight-laced guy having demonic energy? No way. If it were Seong Yu-ra, maybe.’
Demonic energy from the ‘Saintess’...
Seo Woo-jin chuckled inwardly at the absurd idea.
And with that, the large monster combat training session came to an end.
Some were satisfied with their performance, others not so much.
Seo Woo-jin, of course, had no particular thoughts on it.
The training hadn’t been especially helpful to him.
“What now?”
Lee Ji-ah asked.
“Let’s eat and do the training we missed yesterday! I’ve been waiting all day for this, uahaha!”
Goo Dong-hwan provided the answer.
At the same time, everyone’s eyes turned to Seo Woo-jin.
“Let’s do it. We did agree yesterday...”
Honestly, he wanted to head to a private training hall again today and use the ‘summon stone’ to level up some more.
But with those few looking at him with sparkling eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to postpone it.
As Seo Woo-jin nodded, everyone’s faces lit up.
Especially Gye Soo-ji and Goo Dong-hwan, who looked thrilled.
“See you at the training grounds shortly, then.”
“What about food? Aren’t you eating with us? They said something delicious is on the menu today.”
Lee Ji-ah looked up and asked.
But Seo Woo-jin shook his head.
“I have a quick stop to make.”
Leaving the disappointed Lee Ji-ah behind, he set off.
‘Can I even get in?’
By the time he realized it, Seo Woo-jin had left the academy grounds, his expression uncertain.
“Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
He shrugged, relaxed his mind, and quickened his pace.
“Is that a hero?”
“Looks like it, from the academy uniform.”
“...Doesn’t seem that strong, though.”
People on the street began murmuring as they spotted Seo Woo-jin.
It was the usual attention he got outside the academy.
To them, heroes were beings from the heavens themselves.
Still, they knew the heroes had come to help them, so the gazes directed at Seo Woo-jin were filled with goodwill.
‘Ugh.’
Seo Woo-jin wore an embarrassed expression.
He’d been through this many times, but he still couldn’t get used to it.
‘I’m not some idol.’
He showed no sign of it outwardly, but inside, he was mortified.
“Waaah, it’s a hero!”
“Over here! Look this way!”
Small children swung wooden toy swords and called out to Seo Woo-jin.
Of course, that only made his steps quicken even more.
How long did he walk?
He arrived at the entrance of a building so massive that “gigantic” didn’t do it justice.
“Sky Tower.”
To the people of the imperial capital, it was an object of awe, so there were hardly any passersby nearby.
Feeling the newfound quiet, Seo Woo-jin approached the entrance.
‘Can I get in?’
He worried the same thing again.
Having come this far, being turned away at the door would leave him feeling pretty dejected.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat and raised his hand to knock.
The firmly shut door slid open smoothly.
“Huh?”
As Seo Woo-jin’s eyes widened, someone peeked out from inside.
“Huh? Isn’t that Hero Seo Woo-jin?”
It was a young boy.
The same kid who had guided him during his previous visit.
‘He said he was a mana sorcerer, right?’
Seo Woo-jin, unfamiliar with mage hierarchies, didn’t even know what a mana sorcerer was.
So he treated him like any ordinary kid, smiling as he asked,
“Mind if I come in?”
The boy gave him an incredulous look.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Not exactly...”
“You just showed up without one?”
Now his eyes held the look of someone staring at a madman.
Seo Woo-jin flashed an awkward smile.
“Y-Yeah, figured as much.”
He’d come with nothing to lose, but it was still embarrassing.
“No? Come on in.”
“Huh?”
He’d been ready to turn around, but the boy flung the door wide open.
“I can go in?”
He was so startled he forgot his polite speech.
“You said you wanted to come in.”
The boy nodded nonchalantly and continued.
“Sky Tower doesn’t turn away visitors. You can come anytime you like.”
He hadn’t known that.
He’d expected complicated procedures, inspections, and the like.
To think he could just walk right in like this.
“Any imperial citizen knows that.”
“But there was no one around...”
“It’s a sign of respect for Sky Tower. They don’t want to disturb the mages’ research, so they keep quiet.”
Seo Woo-jin let out a hollow laugh at the boy’s muttering of, ‘There’s soundproofing magic anyway, so it wouldn’t matter.’
“Come on in already.”
Urged by the boy, Seo Woo-jin hurriedly entered Sky Tower.
Wooong-
That same alien energy from before washed over his body again.
‘What is this energy, exactly?’
He’d wondered the same last time, but it felt different from mana.
As he pondered, the boy turned back and asked,
“What’s the purpose of your visit today?”
“Ah, I’d like to see Lady Martes.”
“...Lady Martes?”
The boy’s eyes narrowed.
“She’s not someone you can just meet because you want to.”
Of course not.
She was the master of Sky Tower.
In Earth terms, it was like walking into a corporate headquarters and demanding to see the CEO on the spot.
No way that would fly.
Still, Seo Woo-jin asked on the off chance.
“Could you at least ask?”
The boy sighed.
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
With that, blue light gathered in the boy’s hand.
‘Magic?’
He didn’t know the type.
Seo Woo-jin had no real understanding of magic to begin with.
He simply watched with curious eyes.
Moments later, the light faded, and the boy turned to him with a strange look.
“...The Tower Lord says she’ll see you.”
“R-Really?”
He felt like cheering.
He hadn’t expected much, per the boy’s words, but to think he could meet her so easily.
“This way.”
The boy led Seo Woo-jin to one side.
It was a different direction from last time, so he tilted his head.
“The Tower Lord is at the top floor right now.”
Had he noticed Seo Woo-jin’s confusion?
The boy explained.
“The top floor?”
It was a tower with no end in sight.
Just how many floors did it have?
Seo Woo-jin voiced his sudden curiosity.
“I don’t know exactly. The number of floors changes even now, as we speak.”
It was incomprehensible.
But the boy clamped his mouth shut, as if declining further explanation, and focused on guiding him.
“This way.”
The place Seo Woo-jin and the boy arrived at was a circular room ornately decorated.
“It’s a teleportation magic circle.”
“Ah.”
Seo Woo-jin nodded.
Walking to the top floor would indeed be impossible.
Even an elevator would take an absurd amount of time.
“There are countless teleportation magic circles installed throughout the tower interior. Outsiders can’t use them, of course.”
With that, the boy channeled mana, and the magic circle began to glow.
Fwaaah-!
The scenery around them changed in an instant.
“The Tower Lord should be inside there.”
The boy pointed to one side without leaving the magic circle, as if that was the limit of his access.
He didn’t need to turn his head.
There was only one door beyond the magic circle.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. See you next time.”
The boy grinned and vanished just like that.
“Whew-”
Seo Woo-jin took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.
‘I made it in, at least...’
Whether he’d get what he wanted was another matter.
‘Summon stone.’
If possible, he wanted a few more.
Even just ten would be a huge help—not just for him, but for his other comrades too.
‘Will it work?’
Martes’s personality was unpredictable.
Maybe because she was a mage, or perhaps from living so long.
Either way, getting a ‘summon stone’ wouldn’t be easy.
‘Guess I’ll just have to try.’
Seo Woo-jin stepped toward the door.
Knock knock-
“Come in.”
The door opened.
In that instant, a starry sky unfolded before his eyes.
This was no mere metaphor.
Black space and countless stars truly filled his vision.
‘...What is this?’
He turned around.
The door he’d just come through had vanished without a trace.
“Magic, huh.”
Seo Woo-jin didn’t panic.
He’d had plenty of experiences like this.
Still, it was fascinating, so he looked around.
Vast space stretching endlessly.
Stars shining each in their own colors within it.
A world so immense it made his head spin just to behold.
“You don’t seem all that surprised.”
And at its center, Martes welcomed Seo Woo-jin.
Her small, doll-like appearance was the same as ever, smiling as if pleased to see him.
“Good to see you again.”
Seo Woo-jin bowed politely in greeting.
“I thought this reunion would be far off, yet here you are sooner than expected.”
Martes’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, as if she already knew what he wanted.
Seo Woo-jin swallowed dryly and carefully opened his mouth.
“I came to ask a favor.”
“A favor... Perhaps you need more ‘summon stones’?”
Martes asked as if she’d been waiting for it.
Seo Woo-jin nodded.
“Yes.”