What the Hell Do You Want?!
The air here was thick with confusion, anger, and bewilderment, mirrored perfectly by the bubbling water and the crackle of embers dying in the small hut. Strangely, Ella, lying on the floor with her eyes bandaged, seemed the calmest of them all.
"Climber, you've received His blessing, haven't you? So it's no surprise you have such a Foundation."
"His blessing?"
"What? Directly from Him?"
Nikola and Shasha stared at me in shock.
'Just like that time with Arcran or whatever it was.'
"Who is this He?"
"One whose name cannot be spoken."
I scratched my head at Ella's vague reply.
"Hmm..."
There were plenty of religions on Earth that avoided naming their gods. Is 'Him' some kind of indigenous faith like that? As I pondered, Shasha spoke up.
"If it's Him, he's the ruler of the Abyss. The master of Arcran, they say. It varies by individual, but probably spot on?"
"Yes, that's right, Shasha. He who transcends all things."
"Hah, the young lady received His blessing? No wonder we couldn't win."
From their conversation, 'Him' shifted in my mind from some vague nomad deity to the ruler of the Abyss.
"The ruler of the Abyss. The one at its pinnacle?"
"......"
Ella clearly opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
"......?"
"If you couldn't hear it, then it cannot be heard."
"Zen riddles, is it? Very well."
Ella smiled faintly and unwound the bandage over her eyes. Unlike before, her eyes now bore vertical crimson slits.
Nikola grabbed her face in a panic.
"Ella! Are your eyes okay?!"
"They're fine, Nikola. It's what I gained after facing Him—a stigmata, no doubt."
She reached out and took my hand.
"Noble one, be the guide of ether."
I furrowed my brow at her words.
"A guide..."
In that instant, the image of my Foundation flashed in my mind.
'The guiding star of the sea... and the guide of ether.'
I could clearly see that the same message was consistent across everywhere.
'And the purpose is to make me a guide?'
A guide for whom? To where? My head was growing complicated when Nikola grabbed Ella in alarm.
"Ella! Are you saying you'll follow this climber now?!"
"Didn't you see, Nikola? This one has already touched the transcendent Him."
"Even so..."
"If you dislike it, you needn't come."
Nikola shook his head frantically at my words.
"No, that's not what I meant..."
He hesitated, then nodded.
"Fine. Hah. If Ella acknowledges this climber, no choice but to trust and follow."
I nodded at Nikola's words and stood.
There was much to do; I couldn't afford to waste more time.
"His blessing..."
Lee Han, the one person who might know, was already missing.
I could only speculate on my own.
"Better to climb my personal zone swiftly. There might be hints there."
"Ah, climbing the Abyss?"
"Indeed."
As Shasha started to rise, I placed a hand on his head.
"Help usher them in, Shasha."
"Me? Why!"
"To get friendly, no? We're all residents of Byeolbada City now, after all."
Nikola stared at me blankly.
"You'll let us in? Even with that terrifying bastard chasing us..."
"Didn't you say you'd follow? Naturally, I'll protect you."
I scanned the surrounding ether and frowned.
"You lot don't have much time left, it seems. Are there at least 40 of you?"
"......"
Shasha jumped at my words.
"What? King Peter's descendants numbered over a thousand—how..."
He trailed off and bowed his head.
"Spectrum, those bastards."
Shasha clenched his fists and glared at Nikola.
"Follow me; I'll open the portal."
Then, glaring at Nikola, he added,
"...But remember! The city's mayor is our climber lady, and the abyssal representative is Yupri."
"Hmph, that one-eyed woman?"
Shasha approached and scolded Nikola.
"You might be stronger, but Yupri handles city operations and management better. If you won't acknowledge that, we won't help you."
Nikola glanced at me, then took a deep breath.
"Hoo. Fine, got it."
"R-Really?"
"Instead, I'll learn from Yupri and become the representative myself!"
Shasha shook his head.
"Yeah, that'll take a thousand years. Do what you want."
"What? You little shit, you wanna die today?!"
"Ladyyyy!"
As Nikola grabbed the flailing Shasha, I shot him a look, and he set Shasha down.
"Shasha, you've turned into quite the groveler, haven't you?"
Shasha's cheeks flushed red.
"Shut up! Once I climb back to 5-level, I'll beat them all!"
Shasha huffed, glared at Nikola once more, and prepared a large-scale portal.
Back in Byeolbada City, Yupri and Monica greeted us.
Nikola and Ella froze at the sight of Monica.
"Th-There's another climber."
"And an insanely strong one, Nikola. Were we wrong to choose wrong...?"
I introduced Monica amid their tension.
"This is the 7-level mage and my magic master, Monica Newell."
"Ah."
They relaxed instantly.
"Monica, these are wandering abyssals, descendants of King Peter: Nikola and Ella."
Monica rushed over and petted Ella. Since Ella was much taller, it looked more like Monica clinging.
"Whoa! So cute~"
"C-Cute? Me?"
"Yep! Totally adorable~ Your ether's all fluffy; you must've been loved growing up?"
Monica then stared intently at Ella's eyes, fascinated.
"Oh my, reverse eyes with a rare pupil? Wait, not a pupil—a scar? I heard reverse-eyed abyssals are super strong! And there are 40 of them?!"
Nikola's shoulders tensed at the word "strong." From his personality, Yupri could probably tame and integrate him well.
'Simpleton, but useful.'
It was true that getting too close to Spectrum made me uneasy.
'Time to prepare.'
When magic tower alliances formed worldwide, and rogue Mage Hunters were hunted by them in turn.
Even in that chaos, I'd operated as a Mage Hunter.
Having lived that era, I knew well the limits of individual power.
'Perhaps time to form a group.'
I didn't know much about Spectrum, but I knew Asterra's power all too well.
'If those guys come, Korea will be drenched in blood.'
This current peace was just the calm before the typhoon.
So, maximum preparation was needed.
'If I'm building a magic tower... money first.'
A mage's faction, a magic tower, was a money pit.
Stable funding was essential.
As I watched Shasha, Nikola, and Yupri discuss the city,
Monica sidled up slyly.
"Actually, while you were in Nikola's dimension, Lee Haryeong called."
"That pink-haired brat?"
"Yeah, seems the magic tower alliance is looking for you."
I scowled deeply.
"Because I rejected their sponsorship?"
"Doubt that's the main issue now..."
"?"
"You publicly said you're not with the Korean Magic Tower Alliance."
"Indeed."
"So from their side, they probably think you could fly off to another country anytime."
"......?"
"Like, 'I hate Korea~ Gonna go somewhere else!'"
'Does it come off like that?'
"Plus, your training ground, ether, and master are all independent of the alliance..."
"They just realized they have no leash on me."
"Yep."
"Hah~ Even they run on such haphazard logic."
"Well... they've been busy lately, probably."
I shook my head and shrugged.
"Understood. I have wants from them too. Set a date, and I'll go."
Mahwa Lee Haryeong sat with a headache.
"Another summons, huh?"
Her mind was a mess. She'd thought refusing summons meant, 'Fine, hate Korea that much, you traitor?' and they'd give up.
But receiving the summons suggested room for negotiation.
'What the hell is this kid thinking?'
As Haryeong nursed her headache, her secretary knocked.
"Alliance President, Mage Yu Eunha and Mage Monica have arrived."
"Send them in."
Haryeong steadied her breath.
'Right, the holy artifact will do it. Who'd refuse that?'
The holy artifact—a national relic for mages above a certain level.
It could nearly double power for some; a mage's dream weapon.
A mage whose life hinged on strength refusing a holy artifact? Impossible.
'Easy to placate and done.'
A haughty little girl in a white tee, overalls, and sunglasses.
Words from Yu Eunha's mouth were utterly incomprehensible.
"Nay. Holy artifacts are a hassle to manage and tricky to use. All show, no substance—just baggage."
"......"
As they stared in disbelief, the brat scratched Haryeong's mentality.
"Besides, Korea's holy artifacts are low-grade. Why bother?"
"You little..."
Air swirled violently around Haryeong as her temper snapped.
"Hey. You really..."
Contemplating blasting a 7-level spell into that face, Haryeong bowed her head.
"......"
Only her final resort left.
Haryeong grabbed the brat's pant leg and clung.
Lee Haryeong has activated Tantrum!
"Hey, you punk! Where do you think you're going, abandoning your country?! Huh?! Sis will treat you right! Step on me if you wanna leave!!! Aaaah!!!"
Her tantrum seemed to work; Eunha looked flustered.
'It lands.'
"Please! Huh? I'm begging like this! A forty-something begging a seven-year-old~ Just once, give it a pass!!! What the hell do you want?! Don't abandon Korea~ Dedicate your youth to the motherland~"
The flustered brat smiled faintly.
Haryeong sensed a chill in that smile and backed away.
"Then I require a business permit for ether mining and sales."
Haryeong stammered.
"Wh-What? Th-That's held by Korea Ether Corp's monopoly..."
"No deal then."
Watching the seven-year-old turn away ruthlessly, she screamed.
"Uwaaaah! Monica, you... what scheme is this?!"
Monica turned slowly.
"I did nothing, Haryeong-unnie."
"Really? This plan came from that brat's head? This?"
Haryeong broke into a cold sweat but desperately cajoled Eunha.
"K-Kiddo, that's huge trouble. Ether mining and sales rights are held only by Korea Ether Corp and mega-towers. No approvals in 20 years. Even those mega-towers earned it through massive merits."
"Then I'll go to America or Japan. Even regular towers mine and sell freely there."
"......"
Haryeong's vision went dark at the brazen Yu Eunha's declaration.