Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A Good Method
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Gaaah! Th-that guy! St-stop it!”
Not exactly my favorite method, but I dove into this terrorist's mind anyway.
It felt disgusting and sticky. To think someone could live in a mental state like this.
Utterly inhuman.
The trembling head howled in agony. I was only peeking into his memories briefly, but it was noisy enough to hurt.
I swam through the terrorist's memories for a bit, then severed the link.
And just like that, I turned everything under his eyes into cubes.
His voice, scraping like it was clawing at his vocal cords, had been seriously annoying. No mouth or vocal cords meant instant peace.
“Hmm.”
The terrorist's eyeballs shook violently up and down. Looked like a desperate attempt to avoid meeting my gaze.
Too bad it was already too late.
“Over here!”
Iru Ri's summons had brought White Tiger Guild support—the closest team around.
Not a crowded main street, but the alley was a flooded mess already, so it probably wasn't hard to find.
“Whoa?”
I was focused, so I raised a finger in a "hold on" gesture.
I didn't give a thought to how I looked to them, holding half a head and staring right through it.
“……”
“Wh-what the hell is…”
“Wait, he's an acquaintance.”
Yi Baek-ho's squad skirted past me on his orders, prioritizing the injured.
Finally, I finished extracting all the info and cubed the terrorist completely.
I slotted the eyeball back where it belonged.
“Brother.”
“Uh… huh? D-done already?”
Yi Baek-ho eyed me warily for some reason. Fair enough, it must've looked weird.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, no. What was that you were just holding?”
I gave a quick rundown to clear up misunderstandings: I'd magicked the terrorists into cube form.
Stressed that what I'd just done was a memory-reading spell—nothing creepier.
“Ah, got it. Just felt too grotesque, you know.”
“……”
Fair point. I'd been staring dead into a severed human head, after all.
Popping the eyeball in and out probably didn't help.
I finished explaining to Yi Baek-ho and collected all the cubed terrorists.
“Any Climbers active in XX District by chance?”
“Heretics over there too?”
I explained the remnants: ten total, minus the ones the Association wiped out before.
Felt more like scouts than an invasion force.
Five I'd cubed. The other group had probably kidnapped a mage to make a Grimoire.
Yi Baek-ho called in nearby Awakeners right away.
“I'll head out then. Take care of these folks.”
I pointed at the downed people. One caught my eye, but time was critical.
If they soul-ripped anyone into a Grimoire, we'd lose.
“Could be dangerous. I'll come with.”
“I'm plenty tough. I'll take point—you follow.”
I was in a rush. Worried I'd be too late and someone would end up a Grimoire.
I shot into the sky and took off.
Brother here's S-Rank, so he'll be fine.
I'd realized something while climbing.
I'm pretty damn strong as a Climber.
Still low floors, so not certain, but most parties below A-Rank climb in groups.
No real trouble for me so far means I'm at least A-Rank, maybe S-Rank caliber.
Blizzard never complains about me soloing, so it must be fine.
She's strict on guildie safety.
If I turned out weak after all that, I'd feel robbed.
Over a century spinning in that Grimoire.
If there's a god, they'd better make me a powerhouse Climber as payback for my lost youth and life.
'Otherwise, the math doesn't add up.'
Maybe that's why. Confidence bloomed.
I could handle these 90th-floor remnants solo, no sweat.
Their relic powers were tricky, but manageable.
Best case, B-Rank Climbers?
Today, I'd end these cultists, claim Akashic's reward, and wrap this up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The other cultists' location wasn't far—lucky break.
'Too late?'
Unlucky thoughts kept creeping in. I'd bolted right away, but the Grimoire I'd snagged from them earlier looked like a prison structure at a glance.
A Grimoire's soul (magic) and flesh (book form) can't be separated.
Forcing flesh via ritual and cramming in a mismatched soul makes an illegal Grimoire—a prison itself.
No idea what happens to a soulless body, but once split, no going back.
The soul's owner dies the moment it's Grimoires.
Not even a nation of miscellaneous magic can revive people.
I'm just a lone Sorcerer.
All I could do was hope to arrive before their ritual finished.
Yi Baek-ho was keeping up, bounding rooftops like bridges.
Guess that's S-Rank level.
Death's stench wafted from a building ahead.
Soul Sense picked it up. Someone dying unnaturally.
The soul's power was faint. Could lose it any second.
“One, two, three…”
The souls thrashed wildly.
Unfortunately, not one—but four.
Multiple victims was bad, but none dead yet.
Good thing we were almost there.
I floored it, praying we weren't late.
Finally hit the roof of a construction site.
The eerie, death-approaching soul waves came from below.
I leaped down the stairwells.
One floor, two, ten.
'Here!'
I arrived and let out a deflated laugh.
Tension drained from my body.
Saw a guy with familiar tools.
Han Yu-seong, crisp suit and watch as always.
“In the name of our school, I will quarter you!”
“Talky for terrorists.”
He swung the tool I'd given him at the shouting terrorist.
The keen magic blade grazed him.
The flying terrorist flopped next to the other downed ones.
All groaning in pain—no fatalities.
Those unstable souls I'd sensed were theirs.
“You held your own on the 90th for that skill.”
I greeted him; he'd already cleaned up.
“You handle them all, Han Yu-seong?”
“Moon Star!”
He spotted me watching, greeted warmly, and approached.
“Han Yu-seong… stronger than I thought.”
“Nothing special. They were weaker than expected.”
90th-floor terrorists, stronger than average mages, yet he'd soloed them.
Big skill gap: unscratched, no kills.
For his assassination-tuned magic, that was leisurely.
I cubed them all to keep them harmless even if they woke.
“PTSD spell, huh.”
“Haha, think we'll need it again?”
“……”
I meant we'd live hunky-dory from now on—no need to cube him again.
Moon Star didn't know Han Yu-seong took it as "behave yourself."
Yi Baek-ho arrived later, but they weren't chummy—just curt hellos, no chat.
“I'll take the mage. Small guild or indie, from the looks.”
“Thanks.”
Luckily, Han Yu-seong intervened fast; mage just unconscious, soul fine.
Yi Baek-ho hauled the mage out.
“How'd you know to come here?”
“Passing by, felt faint mana waves.”
Mid-convo, space cracked.
Akashic must've been summoned via caller.
She emerged from the rift.
“You called, Moon Star.”
“You're late, Akashic.”
“You're that thief from before?”
“Not a thief!”
She looked like a rain-soaked cat, whatever she'd been up to.
I handed her the cubes.
“...What's this?”
“The sorcerers you mentioned.”
“All of them cubed?”
I explained: space magic folding living things into planar coordinates as cubes.
She seemed vaguely familiar with it. I chucked one hard at the floor to demo.
Cube shattered; out popped a knocked-out terrorist.
“These the ones?”
“Yes… spot on.”
I refolded him neatly and passed it back.
“Checked memories—no other remnants.”
“Whew! I had some progress too.”
She briefed on the 90th floor.
Her library sat at the living Witch's Forest center.
These were petty thieves hitting it occasionally for Grimoires.
Never breached defenses—always fled bloody messes.
She figured a base nearby, scoured from there.
No need for the kingdom; found it in the forest outskirts.
“Hold up. Kingdom?”
Mind-blowing. A real other world in the Tower.
“Tell me later—super curious.”
“Easy enough. Reward's prepped, just… wait a bit.”
She seemed unsure. Hesitant?
“Got it. You found the base? How to handle?”
“Leaving the Tower's a capital crime there. Commission the Magic Tower to…”
She rambled unknowns. Sounded like hiring mercs.
A simpler idea hit me; I proposed it.
“Can you rip space toward their base, like when you came here?”
“Possible, but… as you know, Moon Star can't enter the 90th.”
Good, doable.
“No problem.”
I grinned mischievously.
“Got a good idea.”