89. Elixir: The Mage Tower Mage's Desperate Crisis
Mage Tower wizard Bruno was facing the crisis of a lifetime.
It was even more dangerous than that incident ten years ago—the most perilous moment of his life—when he'd been ambushed by a horde of monsters while fleeing to the shelter.
Back then, he'd thought nothing could ever threaten his life more than that...
'There's no such thing as "never" in this world.'
Of all the people here, why did it have to be him standing closest to the Giant Variant?
The distance between him and the variant was a mere 2 or 3 meters.
The moment he made the slightest move, that thing would smash his paper-thin body to pieces with the same force it'd used to send the shieldbearers flying.
'Fuck... Am I really gonna die here...?'
It was too close to cast a protective spell in time, and even if there'd been enough distance to weave a defensive incantation...
This variant's brute strength would shatter any barrier in an instant.
Overwhelming, inescapable death loomed right before his eyes.
'...If I'd known it'd come to this, I should've just stayed in the tower and kept researching.'
He never should've volunteered for the raid party.
But what choice did he have? The Mage Tower raid party had been a hot commodity back then, with insane competition.
Their goal was the variant's enhancement jelly, but even if the variant didn't show, the park's Golden Ticket reward made it worth it—so most of the researchers had signed up.
'Hah, serves me right for punching above my weight and stepping onto the battlefield.'
Most Mage Tower wizards were basement-dwelling nerds, after all.
They pursued magic as a noble pursuit of truth, not as a tool for combat. Battle magic was for barbaric, worldly types.
With that mindset, it was no wonder they froze in a pinch like this.
Sure, everyone got basic combat training to protect themselves as mages, but they weren't seasoned war mages...
How many wizards here could even beat a warrior one-on-one?
And this monster before them was beyond specs...
Even if he'd been a war mage instead of a researcher, surviving this would be a tall order.
'Hah... That's why I said don't rely on firepower alone—bring proper warriors...'
As he steeled himself for death, Professor Aisha's voice rang out from where she was directing the fight.
"I'll hold it off—everyone, fall back!"
She wasn't specialized in combat imagery, but as a mage who'd completed her hierarchy, her casting speed was leagues above the others.
The ground around the variant slime surged up rapidly, trying to encase it—but in that instant, the slime had already slipped out of range.
The raid members could only gape in horror.
"Insane...! What kind of speed is that?!"
"Warriors, don't just stand there—protect us now!!!"
The mages turned tail and fled from the slime, while the shieldbearers spread out to encircle it.
"...Sealing it off looks impossible."
Aisha gave up cleanly on containment and shifted to terrain alteration to restrict its movement.
With her brief incantation, the dungeon's landscape began to warp.
Trees sprouted around her like massive pillars, transforming the area into a forest-like maze.
The columns would limit the slime's paths.
That should blunt its mad charging power considerably.
The mages marveled at her large-scale spellcasting. They'd had no idea the researcher who'd spent her days buried in studies could pull off something like this.
"Professor Aisha, as expected...!!"
"Experience can't be ignored..."
"So this is the magic of an elf over 400 years old...!!"
With cover everywhere and pillars thick as tree trunks, everyone figured even that monstrous slime couldn't smash through easily.
Thud—thud—
But the slime charged straight at Aisha, as if it knew exactly who'd cast the spell.
It ignored the pillars entirely, barreling forward in a straight line.
Even columns meters thick shattered against its rush.
Boom—!!
Boom—!!!
Mage Tower wizards unleashed every spell they had from all sides as it barreled toward her, but not a single one connected.
"Oh god, Professor Aisha!!!"
"Dodge!!!"
The mages realized they couldn't stop it and screamed for her, but it was too late.
The slime had already closed in, toppling pillars in its path.
"......Ngh!!"
Just as Aisha's body was about to burst under the slime's charge—
Its momentum halted mid-air.
Just centimeters from her face.
She collapsed limply, like someone snatched from the jaws of death.
"Hah... hah... What... happened..."
That freakishly strong slime was frozen, as if gripped by an invisible force.
"...What in the world..."
"F-First, let's get Professor Aisha out of there...!!"
As Aisha and the entire raid stared in confusion, a stranger's voice cut through crystal clear.
"Looks like we'll need to change up the strategy next time?"
A figure in a clown mask approached at a leisurely pace from afar.
Boom—boom—boom—
Explosions rang out in succession.
No one here could believe the scene unfolding before them.
The hired warriors were stunned, but the Mage Tower mages were even more shocked.
"Fuck... What the hell am I watching?"
"Is that guy really a mage?"
As mages themselves from the tower led by one of the world's strongest—the tower master—they rarely batted an eye at magic anymore.
But this clown-masked man's combat had transcended magecraft entirely.
Check specs for once.
The clown mask muttered that and released the variant slime he'd just caught, provoking it to attack.
He looked like a kid who'd found a fascinating new toy—utterly out of place.
But that variant's speed was a mage's worst nightmare.
Unless fighting from an advantageous position like their spellcasting circles, a mage's win rate against a peer warrior was under 20%—so letting go of the slime seemed suicidal to the Mage Tower wizards.
Would this clown's arrogance doom them all?
But their worries proved unfounded as the fight continued.
The variant slime charged straight at the clown mask—only to slam into a mana barrier of unbelievable density.
"Insane... How can a simple defensive formula have that kind of density? That level of defense is theoretically impossible—how?!"
"Even more unbelievable is the deployment speed!! It's like this is his imagery—no gaps whatsoever."
Realizing a head-on clash wouldn't work, the slime changed patterns.
No more brute-force charges—it maximized its elasticity and speed, ricocheting off pillars to swarm the clown from all angles.
Too fast to track with the naked eye, drawing groans from the onlookers.
"Ahh...!! That was our last chance!!! How could he be so foolish!!!"
"Speed worthy of an assassin at the pinnacle... It's over..."
The clown mask remained utterly serene amid the crowd's reactions, hands in pockets, staring straight ahead.
He almost looked frozen in the face of an unavoidable assault.
The slime targeted his blind spots—but...
Boom—boom—boom—
Every strike was blocked by pinpoint mana barriers.
"What...?"
"How...? Does he have eyes in the back of his head? No—reacting to that speed?"
And not broad shields—just instantaneous walls where needed.
Too fast for visual reaction; prediction was the only option. The watching mages plunged into deeper confusion.
After blocking the high-speed barrage, the clown mask snatched the airborne slime mid-bounce once more.
"Guess that's all the patterns."
With business done, he flicked his hand at it.
Snap—
The slime's jelly exploded outward, leaving only a smooth core floating in the air.
"...Huh."
"......What the hell was that external consultant doing all this time?"
"If I retrain as a war mage... could I pull that off...?"
Thus, the phase-4 variant slime fell with pathetic ease, ending the Mage Tower raid.
The Tower Master's Room
Tower Master Evangeline glanced at the clock while rolling around in bed.
"The raid with that guy should be wrapping up about now."
Bang—!
No sooner had she spoken than Aisha burst in—raid leader fresh from the dungeon.
"Hah... Aisha, this is my room? A little courtesy..."
"Tower Master!! Who the hell is that guy!!?"
"...Why are you so worked up? Last time you took vacation, you came back a mental wreck mumbling weird shit like 'Tower Master... Can I never master difficult spells either?' What's it this time?"
"...Forget that... No, that external consultant!! Who is he?!"
Hah... Did that idiot stir up trouble again?
He could've just stayed quiet— what mess had he made now?
"What? Did he sexually harass someone?"
"No, that's not it... Where were you hiding a powerhouse like that?"
"What're you talking about?"
Aisha explained the raid in detail to the baffled Evangeline.
From the near-total party wipe due to the variant slime's new patterns...
To the clown mask's debut, his speech, and the insane combat prowess he'd displayed against the slime.
Evangeline's response?
"......Who the hell is that?"
"Pardon?"
Back home, I showered roughly and flopped onto bed when a message from Joodak came in.
She asked if I'd sent a sub, then passed on thanks from raid leader Aisha for the save—along with a gift.
Aisha's gift was none other than an elixir.
Her field was originally alchemy, she said.
Not top-grade, but priceless now that the ingredients were unobtainable...
The enclosed note listed a ton of effects.
Stuff like improved circulation, back pain relief—basically, this world's ultimate tonic.
"Hmm... Didn't expect a separate reward like this..."
Two pills inside.
I popped one in my mouth right away.
Instant reaction—my body heated up, mind sharpened.
The other...
"Kkomangi, want this?"
"Hek hek..."
I fed it to Kkomangi as he hopped onto the bed; he shivered all over.
"Feels good for you too, huh?"
As I gazed fondly at him, a chat from Yeomje popped up.
"Hm? What now?"
Rip—
At Yeomje's frantic plea, I tore a ticket and headed to the hot springs.
There were the dwarf triplets mid-soak, Yeomje, and even Dragon Mask Padak.
"You're here!!! Look at this!!"
Yeomje pointed to the nearby spring.
It was glowing.
"Huh? What's going on? You all came out of that one?"
What, radioactive hot springs?
"Yes!! But that's not the issue!! My back pain's gone!!!"
"Dungeon Master, our muscle aches are history."
I glanced at Dragon Mask Padak; he muttered softly.
"Ahem... My prostate feels improved."
The hot spring had evolved.