Magic (2)
The old post I’d skimmed while browsing the gallery flashed through my mind.
“…”
The gallery post I’d read in passing suddenly felt way too relevant. Hidden NPCs. Special entities that gave massive rewards once you met their conditions. I’d heard they only started appearing from the 30th floor onward, where the Tower’s structure changed drastically. How the hell was one on the second floor? From what the old man said, this place seemed to be some kind of special zone accessible from any floor.
“Hmm…”
Of course it was me. Finding a place like this on the first try. This must be fate, right?
My gaze shifted to the old man in front of me. He was clawing at his own face, muttering in a grotesque voice.
“Water magic… second floor…”
His expression grew more and more twisted as time passed.
“A climber who only just reached the second floor… here? This guy, this guy, this guy…”
“…”
Was he about to suddenly attack me with something ridiculous and kill me? The thought made me glance behind me, but the entrance I’d come through had already vanished.
“Ugh…”
Finally, the trembling old man lifted his head. His eyes, filled with madness, locked onto me.
“You… definitely said you came from the second floor, right?”
“…Yes, why?”
“And there was no lie in those words?”
The flow of tremendous mana is detected.
You have acquired the skill ‘Mana Sensitivity.’
“…?”
Mana Sensitivity Lv 1
The moment I felt it, I sensed strands of energy gathering at my fingertips. It was similar to the first time I had sensed starlight. When I moved the mana the same way I operated the Heavenly Shattering Star Sword, it began flowing exactly as I willed.
Woooong—
“…”
Honestly, it was several times easier to handle than starlight.
“If you’re a second-floor climber, you still have so much to learn. This old man will teach you one by one, slowly… Huh?”
The old man’s words suddenly cut off. His eyes, which had been burning from brown to golden, stared blankly at the threads of mana coiling around my fingers.
“…You. How are you doing that?”
“It just worked when I tried.”
“No, I mean… how?”
“…? Is it hard?”
“There wasn’t even a trace of you having learned magic… How can something like this happen in the world?”
He grabbed both my shoulders tightly. He looked like a dying old man, yet the grip was so strong it felt like my shoulders would shatter. From within those wrinkled hands, I could faintly sense the swirling flow of mana.
…He was reinforcing his body with mana?
“…”
“Hmmm… Hmm…”
I couldn’t resist or move from that spot. If I did, it felt like both my arms would be ripped clean off. All I could do was quietly stare down at his smooth, shiny bald head. I sneakily pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of him. Maybe because he had no hair, the flash made his bald head reflect the light so brightly it was blinding.
I’ll have to post this on the gallery later. New hidden NPC discovered. The title and content would be more than enough to hit the trending board. The only problem was… I had to survive and get out of here first.
How much time had passed like that?
“Interesting… Very interesting.”
He waved his hand, and something appeared in front of me. It was a single sheet of old paper.
Resident ‘■■■■■■■■■■’ offers you a contract.
📍 Condition: In exchange for granting you the magic you desire, you will be given an assignment.
🎁 Do you accept the contract?
“…An assignment?”
“It’s nothing much. If you complete just one ‘very simple’ assignment I give you, I can grant you that ‘worthless, useless, and extremely beginner-level’ water magic you want.”
“…Can’t I just buy it with money?”
“I have no need for the currency of mortals.”
“…”
A quest-type hidden NPC? I’d heard that quest-type NPCs usually didn’t have very difficult conditions. So…
“Alright.”
You have accepted the contract.
The skill ‘1st Circle Magic: Liquid Shaping’ Lv 1 has been engraved on your soul.
The method to use water magic was naturally imprinted in my mind. With this, I had somehow achieved the purpose of coming here.
And the next moment.
Quest: Ancient Magic
📍 Interpret and use the formula for the 4th Circle Magic Space Slash, then receive recognition from the resident.
⏳ Time Limit: 3 days
🎁 Reward: 4th Circle Magic Space Slash, Favor of resident !%!@%$!
💀 Failure Penalty: Death
“…Death?”
“Fourth-circle magic can be considered extremely basic. In all my years, I’ve never seen a fool who died because they couldn’t even do that.”
“How many years have you lived, exactly?”
“I couldn’t be bothered to count.”
“Hmm…”
I wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not. Even if I didn’t, I didn’t exactly have a choice. I was the genius beautiful girl sword prodigy. A perfect all-rounder who could do anything. The self-confidence that had skyrocketed on my way here lifted my shoulders high.
Above all… I didn’t know what it was, but Space Slash? That sounded badass.
Nodding, I accepted the old parchment he held out. On it was a complex magic circle formula that looked like it had been written in blood.
Interpretation Progress: 0%
“Hmm…”
“Now go. I’ve given you three whole days, so you should be able to manage it.”
“Uh, um…”
The next instant, the space seemed to warp and the scenery changed in the blink of an eye. I was suddenly standing in front of that rundown house in the second-floor neutral zone.
“The signboard… is gone?”
I went back inside the house, but all I saw were rotten, crumbling wooden furnishings.
“…What the hell is going on?”
I immediately left the Tower. My original goal had been to clear the floor, but something far more urgent had come up.
Title: I met a hidden NPC.
I was wandering around the second floor trying to get some water magic when I found a magic shop tucked away in a corner. So I went in, and some weird old man gave me a quest and left…
[Quest status window photo]
[Photo of old man using solar fist]
[Photo of rolled-up 4th-circle Space Slash magic formula]
According to the old man, this is supposedly really easy and I can master it in three days… Is that true? Looking for someone who can teach me how to interpret magic formulas.
Cheon Hwaryeon sat in the guild leader’s office, staring down at her phone and muttering.
“This crazy bastard…”
Her elegant brows furrowed, and her grip on the phone tightened. This was something she absolutely could not ignore. The Heavenly Sword Prodigy was a national treasure that must not be lost. She had also saved her guild members before… If she used all of her sixth-circle magic knowledge, she might be able to interpret the formula in the prodigy’s place.
The moment that thought crossed her mind—
“This bastard?”
Her emotion-driven fingers left a reply on the Heavenly Sword Prodigy’s comment.
Cheon Hwaryeon’s reply came flying in immediately.
“Haa…”
Cheon Hwaryeon let out a sigh and sent a private message to the floating account of the Heavenly Sword Prodigy.
Send me the formula photo here.
The reply came instantly.
[Formula photo]
…Hmm.
“Hmm…”
The moment she saw the formula, the future seemed to unfold before her eyes.
Can I survive this?
…Have you done a lot of good deeds in your life?
Why are you asking that?
You won’t be going to heaven…
…
This looks like something I’ll have to teach you in person if there’s any chance at all. Where do you live?
My home address is expensive.
Right, more expensive than your life. Got it.
“She’ll probably stop joking around. There’s no way she’d keep messing around when her life is on the line.”
This time, she would finally see the true face of this damn Heavenly Sword Prodigy with her own two eyes. However…
Oh, I think I got it?
“Huh?”
Cheon Hwaryeon’s eyes widened.