The Archmage's Warning
You keep doing that. The next Magic Tower Lord, Ri-en.
Coincidences aren't something that happen all that often.
The silver-haired Magic Tower successor epithet. And all those words about being arrogantly close to the pinnacle of magic.
Those words all point to one thing.
"No matter how you look at it, it's that guy, the Archmage."
Without hesitation, I summon the Heroine Gallery into the air.
When something's bothering me, it's stupid to sit here racking my brain alone.
I've learned that lesson well lately.
The familiar translucent window appears.
Without a second thought, I start typing a post.
Title: Is this the Archmage, you?
Author: Baek Woobin
Is this you?]
The moment I hit post, a notification chimes.
Like she'd been waiting for exactly this question.
As expected, not a single guess misses the mark.
Watching her proudly admit that she is Ri-en, I let out a small smirk.
Well, that makes things simple.
If this meeting is inevitable anyway, I'd rather take the initiative. Just like with Kim Soyeon, I planned to get advice from the Archmage.
...A foal?
The Archmage's sudden self-roast.
Calling herself a foal wrapped in arrogance.
Even if it's herself, I never expected her to tear herself down that much.
Just how bad was it for them to react like that?
The Archmage, and even the other heroines, sounded thoroughly fed up.
In other words, according to the Archmage, I absolutely shouldn't meet my current self and should ignore her completely.
Meeting her now wouldn't do me any good.
"..."
Why does this advice feel like it's not really for my sake?
So, just in case, I asked.
Suddenly, no reply.
The Archmage who had been chatting away so enthusiastically just moments ago.
But the moment I asked if she was embarrassed, she went completely silent, like a ghost.
Instead, only the other heroines' hooks appear.
Just as I was about to laugh in disbelief—
"...No, seriously, just how much of a nutjob was she?"
The Archmage typed away desperately.
It seemed like she was trying everything to stop me from meeting my current self...
"Not a chance."
Honestly, after everything that happened with Kim Soyeon, I'd felt firsthand just how accurate the Heroine Gallery's advice was.
The weakness behind the left ear. Little conversation tips.
Even strategies to win her over.
I know it's accurate, but... for some reason, this time I don't want to follow the Archmage's advice.
It feels like she's just trying to hide her own dark past.
I won't go out of my way, but... that doesn't mean I'm going to stop Ri-en from coming to find me either.
With that, I closed the gallery.
Then I stood up from the sofa and stretched.
"If I want to make the Archmage desperate like she said, breaking more records would be effective."
In that case, since things have come to this, wouldn't it be even better to break records that defy common sense itself?
Thinking that, I raised my right hand and repeatedly opened and closed it lightly in the air.
The combination of Quake and lightning.
And the Plasma Cannon I'd come up with.
"I won't know just by thinking about it."
I grabbed my coat, slung my bag over my shoulder, and stepped out the front door with light steps.
The tower's 18th floor.
Since things had turned out this way, I decided to head to the tower and try implementing the new technique I'd thought of yesterday, Magic Tower or not.
The next day, afternoon.
"Mmm..."
Stirring my stiff body, I slowly opened my eyes.
Sunlight filtering through the curtains tickled my face.
Still lying down, I calmly replayed last night's events.
The moment midnight struck, I'd entered the tower and climbed the 18th floor.
As always, one High Orc and three regular Orcs had appeared, and I'd dealt with them easily while wearing the Yggdrasil Greaves.
Up to that point, it had been so easy it made me yawn, but the problem came after.
During the remaining time limit after clearing, I'd tried to implement the Plasma Cannon on the stage.
Quake, Lightning Bolt, and Weight Control.
I'd combined and tested those magics, but the result was failure.
...As expected, pulling it off in one go was impossible.
Even the heroines had said that using the Plasma Cannon only became possible much later.
Of course, there was also the fact that I'd only just thought of it, but maybe the heroines hadn't told me because they thought it was impossible right now too.
In reality, compressing lightning with the Quake skill had been very simple.
But the moment I tried to inject Weight Control to accelerate it, the lightning's balance shifted and it bounced back from my palm like a reverse jet.
Thanks to that recoil, my right arm still felt numb.
"Well, I'll get it with more practice. Just need to improve my mana control a bit more..."
Just as I was muttering to myself and trying to get up—
"...? Smell?"
A smell. No, a fragrance.
A sudden scent tickled my nose.
A fragrance that definitely couldn't come from me. And one that felt strangely familiar and pleasant.
A soft, sweet scent mixed with shampoo and a gentle body odor.
To identify it, I rubbed my eyes and turned my head.
My vision gradually cleared. The first thing that came into view was a head of black hair occupying one corner of my bed.
"...Hm?"
For a moment, my body froze as I held my breath.
A familiar face visible beneath the disheveled black hair.
There, holding Neukgu tightly in her arms with a content expression and a faint smile on her lips, was Kim Soyeon, sleeping soundly.
She looked incredibly peaceful.
When the hell did she get in here?
Though I was dumbfounded, I didn't bother waking her and instead rested my chin on my hand, quietly watching her defenseless state.
She really did have a youthful face.
The way her eyelashes trembled ever so slightly with each breath and her slightly parted red lips made it strangely hard to look away.
After a while, as if sensing my presence, Kim Soyeon's eyelids fluttered.
"Mmm..."
A small, sleepy sound. She opened her eyes, her still-drowsy pupils wandering through the air.
Then her gaze met mine.
Looking into Kim Soyeon's eyes, I greeted her in a relaxed voice.
"Sleep well?"
A line I'd said before.
But she didn't respond to the greeting.
She just stared at me blankly, mouth slightly open, blinking her eyes.
Honestly, she's cute.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Just what kind of dream was she having to wake up with that dazed expression?
After some time, life returned to her previously unfocused eyes.
"Huk...!"
Kim Soyeon jolted awake and sprang up on the bed.
Then she hurriedly started fixing her messy hair.
"Ah, th-that is! I was definitely in the living room... but Neukgu kept whining so I was calming him down... Ah, no, that's not it!"
Just like I thought.
She was rambling excuses without even being asked, flustered.
Her transparent, flustered expression was so adorable that I couldn't help but smirk.
"Yeah, I got it. I got it, so wait a sec. I'll make some coffee."
I got up from the bed leisurely and headed to the kitchen.
Then I operated the coffee machine like usual.
Chiiik—
Normally, this would've been a single cup just for me, but this time I took out two mugs and brewed coffee.
"..."
For some reason, that felt strangely unfamiliar.
When the coffee was done, I turned around to see Kim Soyeon, who had come out of the bedroom at some point and was now sitting quietly at the kitchen table.
Maybe the embarrassment still hadn't faded.
She was staring at the table, coughing awkwardly.
"Ahem, ahem."
She was clumsy. To put it nicely, her pure demeanor made a mischievous urge slowly creep up on me.
I slid a mug toward Kim Soyeon, sat across from her, took a sip of coffee, and muttered casually.
"You keep sleeping defenselessly next to me like that, what are you gonna do?"
I teased her lightly.
If it was her, she definitely wouldn't have missed that mutter.
She must've heard me.
I thought she'd get flustered and snap back, but—
"..."
Kim Soyeon didn't make excuses or argue.
She just avoided my eyes. She simply lowered her head, gripping the mug tightly with both hands, and quietly sipped her coffee.
Through the white steam rising from the mug, her cheeks were clearly flushed much redder than before.
A silence that didn't deny anything. I wasn't dense enough not to understand what that meant.
"You know, you..."