Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Sound of Applause
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What the hell is going on?
Iru Ri couldn't comprehend what was happening right now.
It was impossible for her to accept rationally that Choi Jin Ah, her teammate and comrade, was attacking her.
"Unni... what on earth are you talking about?"
"Whirr!"
Regardless of her thoughts, reality was cruel.
Right before her eyes, Choi Jin Ah was preparing her next spell.
She could tell just from the magic circle. That was her lethal attack, Lightning Arrow.
The arrow detached from the magic circle and flew toward her at blinding speed. The mana felt far denser than the arrows Choi Jin Ah usually fired.
Could she block it?
Uncertain but acting on instinct, she deployed a defensive spell.
Kurrrunch.
Holy Guard seemed like it would tear apart any second, the arrow poised to pierce her chest.
At that moment, a wall of stone erupted from the ground between Iru Ri and Holy Guard.
"Huh?"
The arrow ultimately shredded Holy Guard but embedded itself in the wall, scattering as electricity. Having lost much of its power to the spell, it couldn't breach the risen wall.
Glancing sideways, she saw the shop owner with his hand pressed to the ground.
"You're a mage...?"
"For now, yeah!"
First things first, they needed to escape this situation.
Choi Jin Ah clearly wasn't in her right mind. The silver lining was that earth-based magic paired well against lightning.
Offensive spells were unfortunately off the table. Even shrinking the endlessly extending laser wouldn't make it usable indoors.
Iru Ri decided to request reinforcements and hold out with the shop owner.
"What the fuck is wrong with that crazy bitch! Shit, my shop!"
"...Yeah, about that."
Explanations would have to wait.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Myself and the shop owner were pooling our strength to block Choi Jin Ah's attacks.
I used Holy Position to buff him while we jointly defended against the incoming lightning spells, buying time.
"Hey, customer, how long are you gonna keep buffing me?!"
"Reinforcements will be here soon! No offensive spells?"
"Gotta have an opening first!"
The shop owner explained his offensive magic to me.
"Kyahahahaha! Lightning Chain, chain, chain."
Choi Jin Ah ignored us completely, laughing like a maniac as she unleashed barrage after barrage.
"Then use it after her next attack. Aim to knock her out!"
Lightning Chain had low attack power but homed in on enemies, chaining between them. Luckily, the shop owner's earth-attribute defense kept the chain from reaching us.
Choi Jin Ah would realize soon enough and pull out a big attack to smash through the earth wall.
I could feel her gathering mana. Probably prepping Lightning Arrow.
"Now!"
At my signal, the shop owner raised a wide earth wall. A shallow ploy to scatter her focus.
Before the wall fully concealed us, the arrow slammed into it where we'd been standing.
Crack.
The wall cracked momentarily before being pierced outright. Terrifying destructive power. If we hadn't dodged along its side beforehand, we wouldn't have made it.
As the shop owner emerged from cover past the wall, chanting a spell, stones rose from the ground and hurtled toward Choi Jin Ah.
From what I knew, Choi Jin Ah had powerful lightning spells but lacked solid defenses. I figured she couldn't block a full-area attack like this.
The pages of the grimoire orbiting her flipped rapidly.
"Roar of the Water Dragon." "Water Dragon?"
A massive magic circle formed, from which a dragon made of water emerged.
The dragon ignored the flying stones entirely, spewing a watery breath.
"Dodge!"
The breath thrashed wildly, turning the area into a watery hell.
"Cough, hack."
Swept away by the water cannon, we gulped down mouthfuls and sprawled on the ground.
Soaked through, our bodies heavy, water dripping everywhere.
"Shop owner, cough, you okay?"
"Yeah..."
"Whirr!"
How did Unni cast a water spell?
Never saw that coming. Was it that ominous floating grimoire?
Unni's state was probably due to that purple grimoire too.
Not only had her spells grown stronger, as if buffed by me, but she could now use other attributes.
Ha, for real.
With no one nearby, the response to my call was slower than expected. Any longer, and it'd get dangerous.
Spitting out the water I'd swallowed, I propped myself up on trembling legs.
By the time I stood, Choi Jin Ah was already prepping her next spell.
"Lightning Arrow." "Already?"
Her casting speed had quickened too; she was ready to fire. Getting hit by that would be deadly. Instinctive defense.
"Holy Gu..." Boom!
A dull thud against the wall unfolded a bizarre scene.
"Huh?"
In the end, Choi Jin Ah's spell never came. The thud was her vanishing from sight, only to crash into the ground.
Turning her head, Iru Ri saw her slammed into the wall, collapsing to the floor.
Both I and the shop owner were baffled when an unfamiliar voice rang out.
"Found you."
It was a grating voice, like scraping vocal cords.
Looking toward the source, she saw men in strange attire.
I recognized that outfit.
The robes from the photo So Seori Unni had shown her of Akashic.
Five in total. The man at the front wore robes of a different color.
"I am Jera. By the Dean's will, I've come for what belongs to us."
No need to ask. These were the sorcerers Akashic had mentioned.
Now the puzzle pieces fit. No clue where she'd gotten it, but Choi Jin Ah's grimoire was their illegal creation.
They'd tracked it here.
A whip-like thing dangled from the lead man's hand. With a casual flick, it elongated impossibly, wrapping around Choi Jin Ah like an object and dragging her to him.
That must be the cursed tool Akashic mentioned. The alarm had sounded because of it. Unlike artifacts, it looked grotesque and unsettling.
"Unni!"
Iru Ri cried out, but she showed no response, already unconscious.
"Little mage, this grimoire isn't yours."
The man in the differently colored robes drew a small dagger.
"No! Don't!"
I thought he was about to kill Unni. I wanted to rush in, but my legs wouldn't budge.
But he didn't stab her. He seemed utterly disinterested.
Instead, he whipped the grimoire orbiting her, snatching it.
Pulling hard to claim it.
But the seized grimoire didn't move, as if bound to something. For a moment, it looked like the man was miming.
"Feisty."
"Ah... no. It's mine..."
Bleeding from her head, newly conscious Choi Jin Ah reached for him.
The grimoire refused to leave her side, unmoving like it had a will of its own.
He gripped it and wildly slashed his dagger between her and the grimoire.
Suddenly, snick, the dagger caught.
"Grimoire, your master isn't this mage."
With force, he severed some invisible bond.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Unni!"
Choi Jin Ah screamed and collapsed unconscious.
"Come to think of it, you're a mage too."
Pocketing the purple grimoire, he approached us slowly.
"Shop owner! Run!"
"C... can't move."
The shock from the water dragon must've been severe; the shop owner clutched his thigh, immobile. I was the same.
The man with dagger and whip was suddenly right in front of us.
"I've always wondered what happens to a mage's original grimoire when you turn the mage into a grimoire."
He lashed his whip at my grimoire of light, yanking it over.
"Whirr!"
Wisph resisted, but to no avail.
Like before, he gripped it and slashed with the dagger.
'Ah, this is bad...'
The water dragon's damage must've been worse than thought. Felt like getting trucked.
He kept slashing at the invisible something.
Like before, when the dagger caught with a snick, my body reacted.
'Ah...'
Now I get it. That dagger severs invisible soul bonds—a cursed tool.
The moment it caught, I felt interference in my soul.
"Heh, lucky day. I'll take this grimoire too."
Dangerous, but I knew this was the last chance to escape.
"Rage..." Snap.
"Too late?"
But the cavalry arrived first.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sensing mana vibrations, I flew over and spotted a weird group. Anyone could tell their getup screamed "straight outta the Tower."
"Five in total."
Potentially dangerous, so I decided to neutralize them first.
While they were distracted, I cubed them one by one.
Snap.
"One, two, three."
And the last four.
They stuck together but lacked combat knowledge or experience.
All staring one way. I took out the rearmost man first, then one by one.
Only the differently robed man remained.
To extract info, I cubed him everywhere but the head.
Binding complete, I descended slowly.
"Too late?"
I first healed the shop owner and Ri Ru.
"Unni too! Please heal Unni too!"
A collapsed woman lay in the distance. I healed her wounds, but she didn't wake.
The shop owner and I recognized each other and exchanged greetings.
"...You're strong, customer."
"Cheat magic helps."
Ri Ru dashed to the distant fallen woman.
"Unni!"
"......"
Leaving the running Iru Ri behind, I grabbed the hair of the head floating atop its cube and lifted it.
"Let go! How dare you touch my head! I'll turn you into a fine grimoire myself!"
Head bobbing in midair, the man ranted away.
"Where are the remaining stragglers?"
"You dare question me?"
Slap!
"......"
A clear sound echoed, silence falling.
"Where?"
"How dare—! We are from the great Tower's 90th floor..."
Slap!
"......"
Slap!
"Wait..."
Slap!
I slapped him about a dozen times, but he said nothing more.
"Tough bastard."
The cube-bound head had its mouth busted open, blood dripping steadily.
"If you're gonna clam up, I'll just take a look myself."
Moon Byul plucked out his left eye.
He held the cleanly extracted eye in his hand. Something black oozed slowly from it.
"Why nue ye bo?"
"Asking again."
I hoisted the head to eye level, meeting his gaze.
"Ah... aaa..."
"Think it."
I closed my intact right eye and peered through the socket with my 'true' eye, piercing him.
"Where and how many stragglers?"