Onion (1)
Onion (1)
"Yes, I am Sierra... sharing the memories of my future self as the Tower Master of Space."
'Ah.'
A lightbulb went off in my head.
'No wonder her behavior seemed off.'
Imbalance was a kind way to put it. Sierra's movements felt strange—not as though her skill outstripped her physical ability, but as if her body itself were still unpracticed.
'Because of the skills embedded in her future memories.'
That explanation made it fit. Her complete self hadn't come through, but those memories couldn't help but affect her.
She'd tried to hide it, but now I understood the awkwardness I sensed when she looked at me.
[...Was that really necessary?]
Not everything was settled. I swallowed a sip of tea and tilted my head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
[The Tower Master of Space is bound by the Tower's restrictions, isn't she? I was wondering if creating a situation like this might be... burdensome for her.]
The Tower's restrictions. The reason the Tower Masters could not actively operate and remained in seclusion.
Right now, not a single Tower Master could act on the front lines.
I had been able to meet the Tower Master of Knowledge, Miss Ariel, because her restrictions were relatively mild.
But the other four—the Tower Masters of Growth, Observation, Harmonization, and Space—I had never even met.
Part of that was because they'd overexerted themselves laying the foundations for my growth, but it was also because stronger restrictions applied to them from the start.
"The situation being what it is... the burden is less, or so I'm told."
Sierra, who had been gauging my reaction, fidgeted with the ends of her hair as she murmured.
"Inside the Tower of Growth. The entity I am meeting is not the original nor a clone sharing consciousness, but merely a copy. Since it is 'Sierra,' I fall under the restrictions, but they are faint compared to the true body."
[Ah-ha... So you bypassed the restrictions under those conditions.]
"Yes. Though not strictly necessary, I serve as an insurance of sorts."
[Insurance?]
"I received the memories from a point in time before the Savior appeared."
Sierra lifted her head. My reflection appeared in her dark eyes, and a flicker of complexity crossed her face.
"According to the plan established then, you should have heard the circumstances in the Tower of Knowledge. I am the insurance, prepared in case that plan failed."
In short, if entry into the Tower of Knowledge failed, she was the safety net—arranged to deliver the story even if it took an extra year.
[You don't need to worry about that. I entered the Tower of Knowledge safely and met Miss Ariel.]
"...That's a relief. However, there is another reason for my presence."
[What's that?]
When I tilted my head, Sierra glanced down and touched her own head.
"My future self possesses the skill and knowledge to wield the Authority of Space. I intend to convey that to you, Savior."
[Oh.]
My expression brightened at her words.
The Authority of Space. I could wield it with some proficiency now, but it had been painfully tricky at first and remained difficult even now.
'Learning directly from the person who wields the authority would be far better.'
I had received books on spatial magic and a bit of instruction from the Vice Headmaster, but an authority differed from magic.
"And, if possible, I intended to offer assistance with combat as well, but..."
Sierra's words trailed off as she stole a glance at me, sweeping from head to toe. Her assessing gaze fell away instantly.
"It seems I won't be of much help in that area."
[That's not true. Just exchanging knowledge with someone of your caliber, Miss Sierra, is a great help.]
"...Ahem. I am simply grateful you would say so."
Sierra's stiff expression softened slightly. The rigid, sword-like tension of her posture relaxed a fraction.
"......."
Then she went rigid again. The tension snapped back into place. I didn't think it happened without reason. A sound transmission had flown into her mind, and I detected its content as well.
Not just that. A swarm of things massing beyond the wall entered my perception.
"...Though I apologize for bringing this up before you've had a proper rest, it seems we must prepare for battle."
[Apologize for what? We entered this tower to do this.]
Sierra rose to her feet and gripped the scabbard propped beside her.
I nodded and stood from my seat as well.
.
.
.
The cadets, not even finished stowing their luggage, scrambled up onto the crooked, uneven wall.
"...The more I look at that, the dizzier it gets."
Yeon-hwa stood beside me, eyes narrowed to slits as she spoke.
The cadets, having swallowed their nervousness with difficulty, all stared in the same direction. The sight that met their eyes was similar.
Dark, churned earth. Thousands upon thousands of overlapping battle scars left the ground pitted and lumpy, and uncleared corpses lay strewn about.
The sky was equally ominous. The murky violet heavens were distorted in places, as if swirling.
It was the visible manifestation of highly concentrated mana blending and scattering.
[......]
That was today's condition.
As time passed, both the color and the phenomena in the sky would change without warning.
The ground and air could suddenly warp, and mana condensed beyond mere visibility into solid magic stones could pelt down like hail.
Demon Realm.
In that era, they had no choice but to call it that. It was that ominous and treacherous a place.
The reason wasn't simply that the sky changed color, the earth moved as if breathing, or hailstones of unknown origin fell from it.
- Skreek...
A superhuman nocked an arrow. Though the bowstring was not drawn, Aura and innate talent condensed over the arrowhead.
A mage raised their staff, mana stirring at their call. Rumble! The ground below the wall quaked, and the undead lying prone struggled to rise.
A dark tide spread between the ground and the sky, a mass of inky forms surging like a wave.
It was no real wave. Though a sudden wave could indeed occur here, what approached, teeming like a swell, was a horde of monsters.
The distance closed. Soon, superhumans with the sharpest eyesight could make out the grotesque features of the creatures.
"Ah, those three-legged crow bastards are back. Why the hell can't we just exterminate those damn things?"
"Judging by the tone, it's them all right. Try not to lose a leg this time."
"Just don't offer up your own eyeballs as an appetizer."
The superhumans who had served on the frontlines, long accustomed to such sights, grimaced with disgust.
"...Whoa..."
The unaccustomed cadets stared, mouths hanging open.
They knew it was an embodied fake, but a few still shuddered at the vivid, sticky, hot sensation that clung to their skin.
- First wave! Ready!
A sound transmission echoed in their heads. Bowstrings were drawn to their limits, and spells wove together.
- Fire!
At the signal, the readied attacks poured down indiscriminately.
Arrows soared out first, exploding flocks of flying monsters and knocking them out of the sky.
Magic hammered into the ground, detonating in succession and punching massive holes through the densely packed monster ranks.
The occasional outdated firearm or shell—rarely seen in the modern era—also sprayed out.
Accuracy was meaningless. The horde was so densely packed that wherever an attack landed, it hit a monster.
- Incoming! Brace for contact!
That also meant that no matter how many they thinned out, the number of monsters reaching the wall would still be high.
"Whew... Still, a lot of them died this time. That'll lighten the load."
Someone muttered, wiping their forehead. I couldn't verify it myself, but judging by the reactions around them, it seemed true.
'That makes sense.'
I smoothed my robe and observed various points along the wall.
I could see the cadets' faces—some flushed bright red, others drained deathly pale, all looking out of their element.
But not one of them was frozen in place.
They launched their ranged armaments and magic, and when that wasn't enough, they drove Aura into the monsters that reached the wall itself and killed them.
For monsters that couldn't be killed easily, multiple cadets swarmed them. A few drew the creature's attention, and the moment an opening appeared, another cadet struck to end its life in a single blow.
A 5th-rank monster's head flew into the air. The eyes of the superhumans who had been watching for a chance to assist widened.
"What the? That's not just skilled swordsmanship."
"How far has that unique ability grown... insane. Did you see that sword just split?"
By the time they reached their second year at Siyoram, a cadet possessed enough skill to serve in active duty even in modern times.
More importantly, this was a less-developed point in the past. Though their practical experience was far lower, most of the techniques themselves were superior to those of current serving heroes.
- Fwoosh...
In a single instant, an ember danced. A tiny sound rang out. That was all, yet everyone's gaze was instantly drawn toward it.
The ember drifted down onto the head of a monster trying to scale the wall.
- Fwooosh!
The ember exploded. The monster it touched was reduced to ash before it could even thrash. A fire horse swept over the nearby monsters and spread.
It did not take long for the rampaging fire horse to engulf a large portion of the horde.
In one moment, more monsters died to the flames than had been killed by the entire bombardment so far.
"Calamity Flame."
Someone murmured, their jaw hanging open. It wasn't a cadet. It was an embodied superhuman, a figure from the past, who nonetheless recognized Calamity Flame.
"Ohhh..."
Yeon-hwa's mouth dropped open. Drip, drip... drops of incandescent Calamity Flame swelled on her blade's edge and fell from the wall.
"This is seriously insane..."
She twisted the sword. The calm fire horse writhed and swelled in size. Monsters caught in the blaze burned to death. Yeon-hwa's eyes gleamed.
"Manipulation's ridiculously easy too, and the strain's way less... Having Calamity Flame to draw on makes it easy, and the mana storage keeps it abundant... What even is this? Isn't it way better than the Beacon Fire Sword?"
[Heh-heh.]
I'd tried to suppress my emotions since we were in combat, but the flood of praise made the corner of my lips twitch on its own.
"For real. Wow~ it really hits different using it in actual battle."
Baek A-rin was full of nothing but praise as well. While Calamity Flame rampaged across one side of the battlefield, Azure Sea was flooding the other.
A streak of deep blue slashed down from the wall.
Monsters struck by the surging tidal wave burst apart, and those swallowed up were torn to shreds by the vortex churning within.
Any monster touched by the cold energy froze solid without a chance to react, shattering into pieces with the slightest impact.
With a fire horse and a tidal wave prowling the field, well over half the monsters had already been cleared out.
After observing the astounded expressions of the superhumans, I quietly turned my head.
Sierra, who had been gripping her sword hilt and surveying the battlefield, directed her gaze toward me.
[We blocked this attack easily enough.]
"Yes, we did."
Sierra nodded without hesitation.
"The cadets' combat capability exceeded both my and the command staff's expectations. With this level of strength, they should be able to fend off several such waves of this intensity without trouble."
[If this kind of assault repeats, that becomes a problem, doesn't it?]
"...Yes, it does."
Again, she nodded without hesitation.
"This is a battlefield, and it is the Demon Realm. The fighting continues without rest. Most of all, since we are isolated by the dungeon, we must resolve our supplies ourselves from within and hold out."
[Mm.]
At her words, I cast my observation briefly across the battlefield.
There was almost no damage.
At the heart of that result stood Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin, who were slaughtering the monsters wholesale before any damage could occur. The presence of such powerhouses made the difference.
There was another reason.
The wall itself. Despite its shoddy materials and abysmal state of maintenance, superior magic was applied to it, helping to hold the battle line.
Also, the undead currently blocking the monsters' approach at the base of the wall...
[Hm...]
I checked the surrounding earth veins and soil quality.
...It was a mess. The earth veins overflowed with mana, true, but they were so tangled and twisted—likely due to the dungeon outbreak—that they were nearly impossible to utilize.
The soil condition was similar. It was rich in mana, but in other words, the purity was foul. The soil itself was contaminated and hard to use. It was at a level that would be troublesome to fix even with a decent growth-type unique ability.
'To feed this many people here, shelter them, clothe them, withstand ceaseless monster attacks, and wait for the isolation to lift...'
That would be difficult.
However excellent the magic was, the wall would inevitably collapse without repairs, and even the undead meat-shields had their limits.
Supplies might run out even faster.
The cadets had packed personal supplies, but only as much as was permitted. It was nowhere near enough to let them sit idle for a long period.
This was typically called a crisis. Because standard solutions were lacking.
- Hoo...
But not for me.
I drew a deep breath. Air filled my lungs, tainted with an unpleasant sensation. That was unavoidable on a battlefield.
A more fundamental sensation lay beneath it. The mana woven thickly through every breath, and the Blessing of Growth augmenting my body.
'I'll grow significantly here and then get out.'
I raised both hands high.
The wall... and the ground below it trembled.
'Homogenization.'
- Crash!
At the center of the battlefield, in the ground between the Calamity Flame and the Azure Sea, countless spikes erupted. Monsters impaled on the spikes screamed briefly; most died.
"Huh?"
I lowered my hands. Rumble... the slain monsters spasmed, then gripped the spikes impaling their bodies and twisted themselves free.
The spikes dispersed, and the newly turned undead monsters spun around.
Their presence was distinctly sharper than the other undead. Their gazes, blinking at first, gradually converged on a single point.
"...Ha-yul, is this okay?"
Baek A-rin blinked, then turned her head to ask.
[It's fine. The meeting's already been scheduled since after we entered the Tower.]
The Tripartite Meeting of the Three Great Families had been set. Not long after this Tower expedition ended, around the break after the first semester.
Before that, when the schedule wasn't fixed, I'd asked them to be cautious. But since I'd be found out soon anyway, it no longer mattered.
'Even if it weren't for that, I don't want to throw away a growth opportunity now by playing things safe.'
This was a time when the already-high modifier of the Blessing of Growth was soaring even higher. If I didn't train here, when would I?
I bobbed my head and stamped my foot.
A manifestation of Taesan through Homogenization.
The earth shook, and the undead I had stockpiled rose up in a clattering mass.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Sierra Skariar
●●●●●○○○○○(50▷51/100)
｢Tower Master of Space｣ ｢Swordsman｣ ｢Sensible Person?｣