The Blue Tower's Wrath
Lim Dojun began running with renewed intensity.
He had shaken off the knights for a moment, but they would catch up soon enough. The knights had been caught off guard when the mage Lim Dojun unleashed sword aura and combined it with Shadowless Spear magic, but they had not sustained any fatal wounds. They would recover quickly and give chase.
He had to escape the mansion before that happened.
Tap-tap-tap!
Fortunately, Lim Dojun's speed as he kicked off the ground and sprinted was not much slower than the knights'.
Should I invest some points into Strength or Agility?
Lim Dojun currently held five achievement points. He had been saving them to restore his body in case the dragon spirit's rampage grew severe. However, if he invested in Strength or Agility and raised them to ten points, his physical abilities would increase explosively. It was a choice between preparing for the future or gaining immediate power.
He was mulling it over when it happened.
Vwoooom!
The mansion's entrance was just coming into view when magic circles suddenly activated along the surrounding walls. It was an enormous, hemispherical barrier that enveloped the entire sprawling estate.
So that's why the mages were late.
Lim Dojun's gaze shifted to the robed mages positioned along the mansion walls. This was no ordinary barrier meant merely to repel intruders—it was a grand spell designed to completely isolate the mansion's interior from the outside world. Even Lim Dojun, who had begun to grasp high-class magic, could not fully comprehend how such a powerful barrier had been constructed.
"Blue Magic Tower Elder! You cannot escape this place. If you surrender quietly, I promise we will only seal your mana and treat you as a prisoner!"
The most senior-looking mage shouted.
It was a reasonable offer. Lim Dojun appeared to have no chance of victory. No matter how powerful he was as a Blue Magic Tower Elder, these mages were the marquis house's sworn mages. The senior mage was likely on par with an Elder, and the others were at least high-class mages. Moreover, the knights were closing in from behind. Unless he was among the strongest Elders or a Tower Master, breaking through would be nearly impossible.
Yet Lim Dojun's eyes showed no trace of despair. If they had used another method, it might have been different, but this was still just a magic circle. Destroying magic circles was his specialty.
Tsk. I'm overusing dragon soul magic.
Ziiing!
Lim Dojun's pupils split vertically like a reptile's, and the structure of the magic circle began to unravel before his eyes. He could see exactly where and how to strike to dismantle it, though even the weak points were not easy to exploit. The vulnerabilities shifted constantly, and even if he timed it perfectly, he would need tremendous force to break through.
It would not be simple. If he took too long gathering power, the weak points would move again.
In that case...
Lim Dojun extended his ice sword forward. High-class magic had too much casting delay to be practical here. Instead, he poured all his mana into the tip of the blade.
Thump-thump.
He felt the dragon heart fragment in his body pump violently as mana was rapidly drawn out. With the ice sword in hand, he sprinted forward, continuously channeling mana from the fragment into the blade to reinforce it. The sword trembled violently, but he gripped it tightly and charged, striking precisely at the shifting weak point.
Kwaaaang!
With a tremendous explosion, the magic circle shattered. The released mana scattered, whipping the mages' robes and hair into a frenzy. Lim Dojun's expression tightened slightly.
The recoil... is no joke.
A twisting sensation churned in his gut, and his face grew pale. Even his stabilized internal body had been jolted by the impact. A chill crept up his left arm, making it impossible to hold the sword, so he quickly switched it to his right hand. It was fortunate it was only his arm. If his lower body had seized up, he would not have been able to keep running and would have collapsed on the spot.
Olivia promised me two dragon bone accessories, but things have gotten too complicated.
Even now, he could not afford to relax. He had no idea when his legs might stiffen next.
"M-My god! The magic circle!!?"
"He destroyed it with his own power? Even an Elder... how could someone so young...?"
The marquis house's mages stared at Lim Dojun in shock. Having activated the barrier themselves, they knew exactly how powerful it was.
"......"
"......"
The frightened mages hesitated, unable to approach him. Lim Dojun's condition was poor, but to the mages, it looked as though he had effortlessly shattered the barrier and was now regarding them with a cold, composed gaze.
Lucky.
Lim Dojun breathed an internal sigh of relief that the mages had not attacked, then began running again.
"I'll help you!"
He had just crossed the mansion's entrance when Olivia came sprinting from the side, shouting.
She was waiting nearby?
Lim Dojun understood the situation the moment he saw her. She had likely been positioned close by from the moment he entered the mansion to gather information. When the commotion broke out, she had rushed over immediately.
"That won't be necessary! I've escaped safely, so head straight for the Blue Magic Tower!"
"What in the world did you do? The information gathering is completely ruined, damn it."
Olivia burst out in frustration. After an incident like this, the Baran Marquisate would never show another opening. Openings only appeared when one let their guard down.
"Ruined? Hardly. The information gathering is complete. The ones colluding with the cult are those people."
"???"
Olivia was stunned. She had assumed Lim Dojun's reckless actions had completely botched the mission, but that was not the case at all.
"A cult? The Baran Marquisate?"
"I have evidence in my bag. More proof is in the mansion's basement."
"...There is indeed an ominous energy emanating from it."
Olivia glanced toward the mansion. The price of destroying the grand barrier had not been limited to Lim Dojun's injuries. Whatever he had disturbed had completely shattered the magic circle concealing the basement, allowing a sinister aura to leak throughout the entire estate. The ominous energy was palpable even from the main road outside.
At this point, concealment was impossible. A thorough investigation of the Baran Marquisate was inevitable.
"So run. We went through all this trouble to escape—we can't afford to get caught now."
"Understood."
The two began sprinting away. Though Olivia was also a mage, her years on the run had made her accustomed to fleeing and hiding. Using more magic would strain her already overheated body, but she occasionally launched suppressive spells behind them.
Kwaang!
Pung!
The sound of knights deflecting Olivia's magic grew closer. They had escaped the mansion, but the knights were determined to recapture them. However, after a short while, Lim Dojun stopped running. Olivia did the same.
"Haha... Checkmate."
Their gazes lifted to the sky. A mage in a blue robe looked down at them with a terrifying expression. His eyes, from which blue light streamed in streams, burned with fury.
It was Valteon, the Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower.
"How dare you... How dare you lay hands on this tower's Elder. The marquis house has gone mad!"
His voice was thick with suppressed emotion. Valteon spread his hand wide, and an immense amount of mana began gathering in the sky above—enough to astonish even Lim Dojun, who possessed a dragon heart fragment.
"Ice Meteor."
Dozens of magic circles materialized, amplifying the mana, and finally, meteorites of ice began to fall.
Kugugugu!
The clouds parted as a single meteor plummeted. It had carried such velocity from the moment of summoning that it slammed into the ground at tremendous speed the instant the spell was cast.
"...Tower Master?"
If that struck here, they would not escape unscathed either. As the thought crossed his mind, the ice meteor descended, and Lim Dojun squeezed his eyes shut.
Kwaaaaaang!
A massive explosion swept across the surroundings.
* * *
In the end, neither Lim Dojun nor Olivia sustained any injuries. Valteon's control over the magic was so masterful that Lim Dojun could not even imagine replicating it. The meteor struck only the Baran Marquisate's people on the ground, freezing and destroying the mansion while sealing the space from which the ominous energy had leaked, rather than shattering it further.
The battle ended there. Even though the marquis himself and his elite forces had been away on external duties, Valteon had single-handedly dismantled an entire noble house. Watching this, Lim Dojun was reminded once again of a truth he had known on Earth as well: power was everything.
"Hoo..."
In a private recovery room within the Blue Magic Tower, Lim Dojun exhaled steadily as he regulated his body's condition. His hands were somewhat stiff, but fortunately, his body had stabilized. If he continued stabilizing it, the stiffness might eventually fade.
Creak.
"Are you all right?"
"Ah. Discipline Elder Keon."
Keon entered the room with a concerned expression.
"You were training, I see."
"Yes, well..."
Strictly speaking, it was recovery rather than training, but to others, it would appear no different.
"Elder Jun, you really are something else. Even after all that, you're still training in your hospital bed. Then again, that's probably how you managed to pull off something so extraordinary."
Keon nodded as he spoke. Thanks to Lim Dojun, the entire kingdom had been thrown into considerable turmoil. They had secured evidence that the Baran Marquisate, one of the kingdom's prestigious houses, had colluded with a cult. The mansion's basement bore clear traces of cult rituals, and Lim Dojun had even retrieved several key items himself. In such a situation, escaping through political maneuvering would be difficult. No matter how prestigious, the Baran Marquisate had many enemies, and they would not miss this opening. They were already tearing into the marquisate from all sides, with the Blue Magic Tower leading the charge.
"I didn't come today just to check on you. You've accomplished something significant right after becoming an Elder."
Elders were also expected to undertake external missions and accumulate merits as mages of the tower. In fact, they were expected to earn even more than regular mages. Lim Dojun's actions had significantly elevated the Blue Magic Tower's standing. He had uncovered the betrayal of an entire marquis house in advance and prevented what could have become a national catastrophe. The kingdom would reward the Blue Magic Tower, and since Lim Dojun was the primary contributor, he deserved appropriate compensation.
"Take this. It is a gift from the Tower Master."
What Keon handed over was a single, elegantly bound book. The cover read:
* * *
Deep within Monster Land.
Though it was a place rarely reached by human footsteps, countless humans actually resided there. It was the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Cult. Today, the massive main gate swung open.
Kugugugung!
A beautiful woman with snow-white hair reaching her waist walked out slowly, a smile on her lips. The cult's many followers dropped to one knee around her in reverence.
"We congratulate the Cult Leader on her great achievement!"
"Congratulations!"
The Cult Leader, who had sworn not to leave the headquarters without results, had opened the gate herself. The faint smile on her lips confirmed it. Their god had taken another step toward the heavens.
The Cult Leader looked down at her followers.
"Prepare yourselves."
"What preparations do you require?"
"We will go to the continent. There is someone I must find."
"...! Understood!"
The followers were momentarily stunned, then began moving busily.