Wizard Gallery (7)
Right after discovering Ma Tower, I called I Se-ah. We talked about the tower, and the topic of witches came up too. They're enemies of wizards, beings with ominous secrets.
'That's all I know. Unfortunately, the call cut off right there. I tried calling a few more times afterward, but she didn't pick up. She texted that she was too busy to talk, so what can I do but understand?'
"Hmm..."
Anyway, that meant I had way too little information. What exactly was a witch? And why had Yoo Hana mistaken me for one? I didn't care if she grabbed me and beat me up saying no, but to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to ask.
"Why do you think I'm a witch?"
"The power you just used is exactly like the witchcraft witches wield."
The power of Yogrine I'd used moments ago was similar to the witches' power, she said. I had no knowledge to judge if that was true or not. So what else could I do but ask more?
"What kind of power do witches use?"
"Well..."
Yoo Hana hesitated for a moment before speaking. To sum up what she said:
Wizards' magic is built on clear logic and calculations, but witches' magic is the opposite. Strange abilities that require no incantations or mana.
"It's witchcraft, no different from a blemish on the world."
"Hmm..."
Honestly, it wasn't hard to understand. Everything in the world is made of mana, and you need mana to do anything. I might not know much about science, but mana surely influences it. The power I used... well, it was pretty contrived, to be honest.
"Witches are ominous beings, but that makes them... impressive too."
"...."
"I sensed their presence from you. That's a fact."
She finished like that and shut her mouth. I fell into thought. If Yogrine's power resembled witches' power... was it just a mistake? Or was there a real connection?
'What's the truth?'
[No spoilers. Figure it out yourself.]
'Tch.'
Even asking Shin-nim about it just got me a "secret" response. It felt like I'd get a sense if I saw a real witch once. Hopefully I'd run into one soon... I wanted things to go full cliché this time.
"So what now? You wanna fight?"
"...."
Anyway, there were more important things right now. Ma Tower and witches were mortal enemies. If I was a witch, Yoo Hana had to fight me—and she'd die. Even at full strength, I'd win; in my current state, it went without saying.
"...As long as we don't get caught."
"Hm?"
"It's not a crime if no one finds out, right?"
Basically, she was begging me to spare her. I'd never planned to kill her anyway, so I nodded vaguely. But Yoo Hana was still eyeing me warily.
"Something else you wanna say?"
"Nothing big... Just curious what you're gonna do next~"
What next? First goal: get out of here with Kim Gwa-jang. If possible, kill whoever attacked this place too. The barrier was still up even after the black wizard died, so the ringleader must be someone else.
"Then can you take me too?"
"...."
"I-I can be useful! I'm a rank-1 wizard, you know!"
Rank-1 wizard. From what I'd seen on the Wizard Gallery, that was just below Legend rank. They said she was the strongest student in Ma Tower. I'd heard some foolish rank-1s even evolved into grad students.
'Hmm...'
She wouldn't boost my forces much, but since I'd already saved her, seeing it through made sense. With that thought, I nodded, and Yoo Hana finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Follow me."
"Thanks! I'll make myself useful!"
I was at full condition, so no issue, but Yoo Hana was exhausted. She needed rest to recover mana. Suddenly we had time to kill, so I headed back to Kim Gwa-jang.
"You worked it out... Good thing..."
"Yeah, lucky, right."
Normally, being around Kim Gwa-jang felt like nothing, but now it was awkward. Her voice was thin and feminine, her figure womanly. The transformed look suited her so well it was brain-melting.
"You're tense...?"
"Pardon?"
"Why are you tense...? That's weird..."
True to form, Kim Gwa-jang's sharp instincts kicked in, teasing me right away. That creepy grin twisted into a soft smile. It felt off somehow, so I hurriedly put some distance between us.
'Is Kim Gwa-jang actually gay?'
Otherwise, those moves were impossible. What was with that girly smile, that expression?
[That fox bitch. Super annoying.]
'What'd you say?'
[Nothing. Dumbass husband.]
I got cursed out by Shin-nim out of nowhere. Kim Gwa-jang was chuckling from afar, Shin-nim was sulking for some reason. Why were they doing this to me? The injustice welled up, but there was no one to vent to. Sad reality.
"Ready now."
"Got it. Time to go."
Anyway, after about five minutes. Yoo Hana finished meditating and approached. We were ready too, so we set off immediately.
"Down to the basement."
"There's a basement here?"
Perfect—I'd already spotted it. The passage to the arena basement that opened when the black wizard died. It screamed trap, but everywhere else was walled off. Better to take the known risky path.
"I'll take point."
"I'll follow right behind."
"I'll bring up the rear..."
Naturally, I led. Yoo Hana behind me, Kim Gwa-jang at the end. It made strategic sense, plus I'd told Kim Gwa-jang something extra.
'If she tries anything, let me know right away.'
'Leave it to me...'
Of course I didn't trust Yoo Hana. Even if she betrayed us, it wouldn't be dangerous for me, but you never know. If Kim Gwa-jang got taken hostage, it'd be trouble, so I'd told her to just run in an emergency.
"...."
"...."
"...."
So we descended toward the arena basement. Black brick stairs. The interior was dark, quiet enough that our breaths echoed. We'd gone down silently for a while when I started feeling something was off.
"Again."
"Fucking black wizard bastards."
After the endless corridor, now infinite stairs. We'd descended forever, but no bottom. Now we couldn't go up or down. We stopped to ponder.
How to escape this?
"Let's try solving it...?"
"Find a gap in the barrier."
Standard advice. Boring, academic, time-consuming. But I had a simple solution.
"Just break it."
"What? Wait—!"
Yoo Hana panicked to stop me, but I'd already decided. I placed my hand on the stone wall, sensing the moisture inside. This was a sea temple or arena—plenty of humidity, bricks soaked with it. Well-built to withstand it, but irrelevant to me.
[O water...]
This was very tricky. The moisture in the bricks was barely water—half-assimilated with the stone. But being inorganic, it couldn't resist my control, so I manipulated it successfully. The rest was obvious.
"What a lunatic!"
"Kyaaah~"
Crack! Craaack!
The solid bricks forming the stairs cracked all at once. Tiny water droplets churned violently. Bricks shattered one by one until the whole staircase collapsed.
"Whoa."
No need to mention Yoo Hana or Kim Gwa-jang—even I couldn't survive a fall from this height unscathed. With debris raining down, time for deep-sea magic.
[Tentacles, if you please.]
[Shurororong~]
Sliced my palm lightly to bleed, drew a magic circle, summoned tentacles. They shot out, one leg gripping the wall as a foothold. The others caught us three, halting us midair.
"What the...?"
"Ooh..."
They were stunned for different reasons. Yoo Hana recoiled at the tentacles' aura; Kim Gwa-jang reacted like someone seeing something wondrous. She glanced at me, eyes gleaming with curiosity and strange madness.
[Let's descend.]
[Shruk.]
Anyway, not the point now. We'd avoided falling to death, but the threat wasn't over. With the Infinite Stairs barrier broken, wizards would notice soon. They'd come to deal with us, so we needed to hurry down.
"...."
The tentacles descended the wall, debris tumbling beside us. Hearing destruction sounds farther down meant ground was near. As we neared it, the scenery suddenly shifted.
"...."
A cavern glowing navy blue. Massive pillars lined the sides like in the arena. But the key feature was ahead: a huge door, guarded by two imposing statues.
"Ominous."
Never mind the door looking like a Shin-nim knockoff. Those two statues screamed bad vibes—unpleasant design, intricately carved without a flaw.
And yep, the statues were alive. Red light blazed from their dead eyes, dust clouds rose as they assumed combat stances. They gripped their spears tighter, thrusting at us still descending.
I sighed at the sight.
"Goddamn it."
Looks like we'd be fighting nonstop for a while.