A Good Day

The next day. The fourth floor of the Tower.

The moment I opened my eyes, I headed straight back to the Tower and challenged the fourth floor.

"Calm."

I made sure not to forget the Calm spell the instant I entered the Tower.

It was only one trial run, after all.

A single experiment was never enough to draw a firm conclusion. You had to try something two times, three times at least, before you could honestly declare there was no answer to be found. So today, I was here for a re-verification.

"Still… the fourth floor, huh."

I never thought I'd live long enough to set foot on the fourth floor. The thought hit me all over again, and the feeling was strangely new.

Back when I'd clawed and scraped just to get into a guild and climb the Tower, I'd clung to people's pant legs begging them to let me run even the Easy difficulty of the first floor. And now here I was, strolling into the fourth floor — Nightmare difficulty, no less — like I was walking into my own living room.

Of course, both my appearance and my mindset had changed completely since then. Even so, I couldn't help the way my spirits lifted. Factoring in that the Calm spell was currently suppressing my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠emotions, I couldn't even begin to guess just how happy I actually was.

"Rejoice, you lowly creatures. This seat is in a fine mood today."

I addressed the pack of goblins that had grown all too familiar from how often I'd run into them lately.

"Keruk?"

They looked thoroughly baffled. I'd seen them so many times by now that reading their thoughts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was trivial. That expression on their faces clearly said, What the hell is this crazy woman going on about?

"This seat wishes to savor this excellent mood for a long, long while. They do say that smiling brings fortune, do they not?"

The goblins still wore faces that said they had no idea what I was talking about. Not even conversation worked. Truly, lowly creatures remained lowly creatures.

"It is fine if you do not understand. Today this seat is merciful, and so…"

"Keruk!"

At that moment, one of the goblins lost its patience and charged straight at me.

"…This seat is still speaking."

Daring to interrupt me. It deserved to die a hundred deaths.

A Red Hobgoblin. Pure numbers put its physical capabilities at roughly twice those of an ordinary goblin. But that was hardly a problem.

Snap!

Even if the thing possessed two or three times a normal goblin's physical power, all things were equal before this seat's blade.

The instant I flicked my fingers, the Ink Blade shot from my back and settled in front of the creature's throat in the blink of an eye.

"Ke—keruk!"

Startled, it tried to skid to a halt — but the Ink Blade was faster, slicing clean through its neck.

Swish!

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clean, satisfying cut. The Ink Blade traced an elegant arc through the air and forever separated the creature's head from its body.

"Hmm."

Thanks to that, it died without even managing a scream.

"Now, where was I?"

I gave the blood on the blade a light shake.

"Ah, right. We'll be seeing a great deal of each other from now on, so why don't we take a little time today to get better acquainted?"

Goblins. Monsters that resembled humans and yet were nothing like them.

"I've been curious whether your vital points are the same as this seat's."

Not simply cutting throats — which places to strike for the most efficient suppression. Or which places to target for the most agonizing death. There was a mountain of things I needed to find out.

"Let's take our time and enjoy ourselves today."

I raised my blade and grinned.

The moment he typed "Heavenly Demon" into the portal search bar, related articles poured out as if they'd been waiting for him.

"Goddamn it."

Josh Richard — SUPER — skimmed a few of the headlines before irritation surged up so hard he slammed the screen shut.

"You still haven't found out who this person is?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir."

The man hastily bowed his head under Josh's razor-edged stare. How many people in the world could stand on two feet under the gaze of current humanity's strongest? Looked at that way, the man standing before Josh wasn't exactly weak.

"It's already been three days. Is the Guardians' intelligence network really this pathetic?"

The Guardians. The undisputed strongest guild of humanity, founded by Josh Richard. Even the name made no attempt to hide its arrogance — guardians of mankind — and as Guildmaster Josh Richard had gone from triumph to triumph, the guild had grown as smoothly as a ship riding a fair wind, without a single failure. Thanks to that, the Guardians of today possessed the power of a massive corporation and a nation rolled into one. If they felt like it, they could wipe a small country off the map in an instant.

At any rate, the head of that very guild, Josh Richard, had been in an extremely foul mood of late.

"Everywhere I go it's Heavenly Demon this, Heavenly Demon that! Because of that bastard I can't even get through a proper interview!"

CRASH!

The table Josh slammed split with a thunderous crack. It was solid furniture of the finest hardwood, but it was nowhere near enough to withstand the full strength of humanity's strongest.

"W-we've been looking mainly among China's new awakeners, but…"

The man spoke in a trembling voice.

"But?"

"It's such a hot issue that the information pollution and interference are severe."

"Damn it. Which bastards are getting in the Guardians' way?"

"Well… for one thing, it's the Chinese bastards' home turf, so their hostility toward outsiders is extreme."

China had no guilds or private associations. Everything belonged to the people. The only organization that existed was the single "Chinese People's Awakener Association." It was a system that came with countless drawbacks — but it also had one undeniable advantage. There was only one head, and that head was terrifyingly powerful. No matter how large the body grew, a unified chain of command was the worst possible nightmare for the Guardians, who needed to slip through their cracks. You could prod the torso all you liked and still never get anywhere near the core intelligence the head kept locked away.

"Damn it. What about that Blood Demon bastard?"

Josh asked after the movements of the strongest blade that head commanded — the Blood Demon. Eternal second place. Irritating, but never a real threat to his own position, so Josh had never paid him much attention… until now.

"H-he's reportedly been in continuous training lately."

"Any other unusual activity?"

"No, sir. He either holes up at home training, or occasionally posts on interviews. That's the extent of it."

"Son of a bitch."

Josh ground his teeth. Never in his life had he imagined the day would come when that Blood Demon would grate on his nerves this badly.

"I-if I may be so bold… may I ask one question?"

The man carefully spoke up.

"What."

"Why exactly are you looking for the Heavenly Demon?"

The Heavenly Demon. The emerging awakener who had recently shaken the entire world.

"The Heavenly Demon is a rookie who only just started climbing the Tower. Whereas you, Mr. Josh, are a veteran who has already passed the fiftieth floor and is preparing to clear the sixtieth. So…"

"You can't understand why I'd feel inferior to some rookie?"

"…I didn't put it quite that far."

"You might as well have."

Hit dead on, the man clamped his mouth shut.

"Matthew. How long have you worked for me?"

"About five years now, I believe."

"That's why I don't fire you. You're an idiot, but bringing in someone new and training them from scratch would be even more of a hassle."

Josh spoke through gritted teeth.

"You think I'm looking for the Heavenly Demon out of inferiority? Hell no! Sure, the idiots down below will trash-talk me with that kind of gossip. But I always look forward!"

"Th-that's…"

"That Heavenly Demon's talent is the real deal! So what should we do with someone like that? Tell me!"

Meeting Josh's blazing eyes, Matthew felt in his bones what it meant for his knees to go weak. A wrong answer meant death. That was not a joke.

"Uh, um, well…"

And so he couldn't answer. The tension seemed to paralyze his tongue.

"Should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we crush him before the sprout even grows, like those stupid masses say? No! We have to bring the Heavenly Demon in! That talent! That star power! All of it must be allowed to bloom within the Guardians!"

Having poured the words out, Josh sucked in ragged breaths. In the wake of the storm, a heavy silence settled over the room. While Matthew carefully gauged his mood, Josh also steadied his breathing and cooled his excitement.

Bzzz!

At that exact moment, both of their phones vibrated at once. As if by agreement they unlocked their screens, and the same notification filled both pairs of eyes.

"Th-the Heavenly Demon just cleared the fourth floor."

"Check every single person coming out of every Tower in the world. Right now!"

"A-all of them?"

Did he have any idea how many Towers there were across the globe? Even at one per country, you were looking at well over a hundred. And he wanted all of them investigated?

"Yes! There'll be CCTV in front of the Towers, won't there? Get it by any means necessary!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Matthew scrambled out of the room.

"Heavenly Demon…"

He would claim that person. Faster than anyone else. And when he did, the Guardians would reign as the undisputed strongest of humanity. The entire world racing to kneel before the Guardians — that was the one grand picture Josh Richard had painted for himself.

Once again, the Mage Awakening Gallery was flipped completely upside down.