Ideals and Reality Are Different

[Cards not taken will be added to the next opportunity!]

Six Arcana cards swirled in front of me. I eyed the sparkling, colorful beauties. Of course, three of them were the ones I already had.

They were solidly good ones, but I'd decide after checking the others. Just needed to look at the three new ones.

This wand gave me a slight sense of déjà vu.

"...Huh?"

Wasn't this the school loaner wand? No, looking closer, it was a bit different. Thinner and longer. But the performance seemed similar. For some reason, the school wand felt better. Hmm. But did I really need it? Better to save up and custom-order one from the school market. Pass... or rather, discard.

"Oh?"

Pretty solid. If I wasn't happy with my speedrun record, I could redo it? And snag any missed hidden pieces. Sure, you could just exit and re-enter... but like that third room with the "Rock rolling in!!" bullshit, you couldn't backtrack. Anyway, onto the third one.

"Hmmmmm... hmmmmmm..."

This was tricky. I was gonna enhance Dragon Eye if nothing great popped up. But this was exactly what I needed right now? Aura was a big deal. And with training, couldn't it go all the way to SSR? Sure, it'd take forever, but I'd get the starting boost for free.

I agonized over it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠until one line on the Arcana caught my eye.

'Usable anytime, once per room!'

Anytime.

'So even if it looks like I'm screwed, I can retry?'

Even in rooms that scream "don't enter," a quick retry click and I'm back alive?

"Total scam cheat?"

I chose Retry Right.

Hmm. I pulled out my phone from inventory to check the time—barely under 40 minutes had passed.

"Didn't take long to clear the rooms."

Spending time browsing artifacts and agonizing slowed me down. Anyway. I planned to hit the third floor today. Fourth and up seemed tough, and I didn't wanna grind more. Especially the second floor—mental fatigue was no joke. Overusing Dragon Eye drained mana, but the mental toll was huge too.

"Skipping fourth for now."

So, hit third now or eat first? Only choices left.

"Clear it quick and grab something tasty!"

Gotta use sealed containers this time.

I felt the air around me grow thick with an eerie chill. The sky was a subtle purple, neither day nor night. Bats and zombies crawled about, with gravestones every few steps.

What? Ghost Graveyard? I instantly recalled an internet post.

Back then as a melee, that post scared the shit outta me. Magic barely works, I worried. Especially the speedrun—SSS at 15 minutes? Time to kill a werewolf and boil cup ramen. Second floor was tight; this'd be nightmare.

But... it was super easy. Like, no difficulty.

"Preeeaaa—!"

"Myaaa—!"

"Miyooooooong—!"

"Why is this so damn easy?"

These things? Rough aim and they hit. And on hit, they wail comically and ascend. Like they'd borne the world's sorrows alone. This was minimum power too. I stared at my staff, faint mana threads rising, baffled.

What the hell? I recalled Karnaroph's class.

'Especially in basic attack magic, the momentary mana density is crucial...'

'Magic circle studies emphasize it too...'

'Stacking magic circles... blah blah... Yumia, wake up.'

'Eek! Wasn't sleeping!'

I really wasn't. Drowsed but absorbed it somehow. Seemed related.

"Eh, good is good."

I blasted every ghost in sight, sending 'em to the afterlife. On ascension, sheet-ghosts reverted: cat, duchess, bird, hamster, etc. Kinda hilarious.

Rewards...

Oh? Trait enhancement essence. Usually from 5th-floor bosses, right? But... not a ticket—use it now.

"What to enhance?"

Dragon Eye on hold since Arcana popped. Candidates: Magic Square Designer, Great Mage's Talent, Inventory, Nature Affinity.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Hmm. All good, but... Inventory's my most-used lately. Let's do that.

What? Probability? SR enhancer on SSR trait maybe. Let's try.

Status window colors went wild, then gold light and fanfare!

"Way better than expected?"

Size first: 1.3m cubed. Mental math fail. Scratched on floor: 2.1... whatever, lazy. Basically double capacity! More hauling now.

And crucially: 20x time slow. Means fresh food lasts 20 days!

In other words.

"The Tower demands ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I turn it into an all-you-can-eat buffet!!"

Sealed containers, come to mama! Revolution.

"No one can stop me now!!!"

Then fanfare blared. I whipped around.

Oh yeah, that. I checked the rising Arcana. Three new ones.

"Huh?"

No more than seven?

Four from first floor... math checks out. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I scanned the new Arcana.

"Hmm..."

First two sucked.

Reinhardt second-year stuff. Professors like Isabelle might teach if asked. Discard.

Godsend for noobs, but... how'd I top training camp? Discard.

Third intrigued me.

Huh? Preview? No hesitation, I hit it.

And.

"Eeeeeek!!"

...Shit. Can't learn this.

Learned, but useless breathing. Patched with Magic Square Designer due to lacking basics. Quietly picked Dragon Eye upgrade.

Hmm. Any difference? Better dragon mana use, but otherwise same? Test dynamic vision now...

"Too lazy. Later."

Show Adrian later. He embedded this in my eye, enhanced it. Knows more than me probably.

Ditched the most replaceable trash. Time to go.

"Wow, Sera. You see everything from here."

'This is bad.'

It was Oh Hyun-young. Him on Chuncheon Tower Street? Normal—famous folks come. But.

Sera and Oh Hyun-young. Two guild bigwigs overlapping? Suspicious.

"Baekho Guild cleared your schedule? Something big?"

"Nah, just vacation. You're the one with big duties."

"What? Closest A-rank to S."

True. Not Tower-acquired, but association-certified SSR: Divine Sword Unity. Imbues sword with divinity—stronger with better blade. Tough maintenance, but worth it. Tower on Very Hard too. Most domestic/international S-ranks from there. Sera had shot too. One floor and she'd be S-rank lock.

But...

"You're not here for me. Right?"

"Of course, scouting that super rookie too. Tell me. Where?"

"No idea."

"No lies allowed."

One eye glowed gold.

"Brought Jupiter's Observer too?"

"You're lying."

Sera feigned calm.

"I shut up, it's over, right?"

"But we can deal."

"Why obsess? Plenty others."

"Saw her training camp record."

"...What? Illegal..."

"Samak Mountain Devil, trainees' nightmare, vengeful ghost, homeless, incompetence king."

"......"

"All her. Topped camp with zero abilities."

"Wait, exaggerated..."

Something off? Yeah, Yumia had those nicknames... but hyped AF.

"Must be a monstrously tough heroine."

...Tough heroine? Sera stifled laughter. If he saw that lunatic trumpet-while-mountain-climbing. Tough? Too tough, problem.

"Won't ask where. Answer one thing, I leave you alone today."

"What?"

"What kinda person? Looks, personality. Gotta know to convince."

Hmm. Jupiter's Observer detects truth/lies. Can't lie either. Yumia's due soon. For that question, true-yet-false answer ready. Fitting his misunderstanding.

"Cool person."

"Not enough."

"Reliable, smarter than anyone I know. Good?"

"Hmm..."

"Huh? Mister, who's this?"

Thought I dodged. If Yumia wasn't tugging Park Hyun-young's suit with her tiny cute hand.

"I'm hungry."