To Distant Lands (3)
In the end, we all came down to the Magic Tower together in perfect harmony. The temple had looked as though they rather wanted to hold us back from that decision, but they never quite managed to stop us.
They did tell us to watch out for snakes, and to send anyone who got hurt, of course.
For the record, on the way down we also tried parkour, just as Berserk had announced we would.
I would love to go on about it at length, but if I compress the whole affair into the briefest possible review, it comes down to this: Dev nearly cracked his skull open.
“From now on I’m doing it alone. Absolutely alone.”
“You fall from a little thing like that, young hunter?!”
“Don’t force me onto paths only you can take, you maniac!”
“It was actually quite helpful. Keeping up with the speed was a bit much, but… I never realized there were so many routes off the main roads.”
While Dev was having a full-blown fit insisting that what they had done was not parkour, the Inquisitor clenched her fists tight. Her green eyes and cheeks were flushed, sparkling with a fresh, lively light—so it must have been a pretty good experience for her.
From the spectator’s seat, though, she did not look especially talented at it.
“Demon Knight, next time you should come with us too…!”
Not a chance. At least not in this city!
I desperately averted my gaze from Kimchi Dumpling’s sparkling eyes. If she thought that would lower my attack power, she was badly mistaken.
“Come along, come along, let’s get inside.”
Just then the Archmage calmly ushered us in. The Magic Tower standing in the middle of the lake welcomed us with its doors flung wide open.
The design looked as though someone had simply snapped off the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica or St. Paul’s Cathedral and set it down here.
“I thought the Magic Tower building looked small, but the main hall is completely underwater…?”
“It wasn’t always like this. The city developed, the waterways shifted, and this is how things ended up. Still, everyone—mages and townsfolk alike—seems pleased that the water keeps the noise from leaking out, so it’s all worked out well enough.”
Either way, to enter the Magic Tower we had to go all the way over there.
We walked the path laid across the lake. The surface of the water undulating on both sides gave the distinct sensation of being aboard a ship. Even though it was a solid, fixed bridge rather than a swaying rope bridge, my stomach still felt strangely queasy.
Maybe that was why no one else was using it.
“The moment a crack appears in the walls, we all drown as a group…”
“Don’t say such frightening things. And it won’t break that easily. Once the place started submerging, the very first thing the mages saw to was safety.”
Whenever someone sounds that confident, it’s usually the first thing to shatter. At least it’s a lake rather than the sea, so swimming would be relatively easy.
I took careful note of the direction where the shoreline was closest, then stepped into the Magic Tower.
Through the open doorway I could see something like a reception desk. The interior décor was simpler than I had expected, yet by any objective standard it was still quite lavish.
“We’ve come to see Fierce White Wind. May we go in?”
“The Great Sage? Do you have an appointment…?”
Instead of answering, the Archmage simply presented her insignia. Proof that she was a Great Sage sent the person at the desk leaping to their feet. The stiffly crossed legs unfolded, the waist bent, and a perfect ninety-degree bow was produced.
“I’ll escort you to the research wing at once!”
“Haha, no need for such excessive formality.”
“N-no, not at all, Archmage!”
With trembling hands the desk clerk handed out visitor badges to each of us, along with a stern warning never to take them off.
Apparently security in the research wing was so tight that anyone without a badge would be immediately detained and hauled off to an interrogation room.
Wearing it around the neck was a little uncomfortable, so I wound mine around my wrist like a bracelet. The clerk didn’t object, so it was probably fine.
“This way, please.”
The clerk led us down one of the two branching corridors.
I had no idea what the other side was for, but a couple of people dressed like ordinary civilians were coming and going, so I figured it was the public-facing building.
“Can’t see outside at all.”
“Rather than erect a barrier strong enough to push the water back, it’s more efficient to simply build the structure and inscribe reinforcing magic into it.”
“…So there aren’t any windows either?”
“Most likely not. Until the day a material appears that can withstand the water pressure while still being transparent enough to see through, it will remain that way forever.”
Following the clerk’s lead, we descended a staircase. The windowless stairwell lit only by lamps reminded me strongly of a subway station.
“Hah. How can anyone live in a place like this without going mad from claustrophobia?”
“Haha, mages look outside even less than rats! So you needn’t worry about them feeling cooped up!”
Just then, as we reached the bottom of the stairs and properly entered the research wing, a voice that did not belong to our party—but that I had heard before—cut in.
“Wh-Wh-White Wind, Great Sage!”
“Mm. I’ll take it from here, so you can head back. And… it’s been a while! You look healthy—I’m so glad. Yes, yes. While you’re here, why don’t you give me a detailed account of how the sealing shackles got smashed on your way over? I’ve heard the story, but nothing beats hearing it from the person themselves.”
Here she was. The research maniac.
“How did you know we were coming and come out to meet us?”
“Hm? Aah. Not meeting you—pure coincidence! Some idiot was secretly experimenting in a magic-prohibited zone, smashed a wall, and nearly turned us all into water ghosts. I was on my way back after scolding them when I spotted you lot!”
Fierce White Wind—Murloc—delivered this completely unfunny story with a cackling “kyahaha,” and every face in the party went pale.
“You said it wouldn’t break that easily, Mage-nim…!”
“…I had forgotten about the enemy within. My apologies. I retract the word ‘safe.’”
“Hey!!”
“Hm. Berserk can swim. In an emergency, simply swim up to the surface of the lake and escape!”
“So as long as you’re fine, Berserk-nim, everything’s okay?!”
Dev, clutching his head, looked to the Inquisitor as his final hope. With a strangely resolute expression, Kimchi Dumpling opened her mouth in all seriousness.
“If I raise a barrier I can hold the water back, so while I hold the line the rest of you should evacuate…!”
At least this one was relatively normal—except that her entire plan was built on self-sacrifice. Dev finally slapped a palm over his own face.
It felt like a scene out of a sitcom.
“Well, well, anyway, let’s go. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to arrive?!”
“Dear me. I never imagined you would be anticipating this so keenly. It almost pains me. You will have to step away from that research of yours.”
“Why?!?!”
Even White Wind looking as shocked as a puppy whose food bowl had been snatched away was the perfect finishing touch.
“Why? Because I have matters to discuss with you, of course. You won’t have been researching the sealing shackles entirely alone—there will be a mage who worked with you. Leave it to them, and you come talk with me for a while.”
“No! No!! I’ve been looking forward to this moment for so long! There were things I wanted to ask him toooo!!”
“Ask me instead.”
White Wind whined, but the Archmage was firm. She called over the mages waiting behind White Wind and issued orders.
Even though White Wind was presumably the master of this branch, the Archmage’s commands still took priority—something I found a little amusing.
“Well then, shall we go, Demon Knight?”
…Thinking about how I now had to walk straight into the heart of that madness made me deeply sad.
“The rest of you, take a look around the Magic Tower while you’re here. Who knows—you might discover something useful. Especially you, Inquisitor: if you ask to borrow a place to test your techniques, they will lend you one without hesitation, along with their wisdom. Do keep that in mind.”
“Ah, understood.”
“I was wanting to experience magic anyway, Berserk. Perfect chance to test whether I can endure it!”
“…I’ll go with Berserk-nim.”
“I’m counting on you.”
And so our party scattered in all directions.
Now that we had arrived at a proper facility, I repeated what I had done in Canabes in order to obtain more precise numbers.
In other words, I once again spammed skills just to check my output.
“Does the demon ever speak to you or anything of the sort?”
In the middle of wringing me dry, the mage asked the question.
I still needed to keep the demon sealed, so I would cooperate—but given the concept of my mood having plummeted to rock bottom, I simply yanked my already-furrowed brows even higher.
“I’m only asking so we can obtain reliable data.”
This mage had better social skills than Fierce White Wind. Instead of prodding me, he offered a reason I ought to open my mouth. An effective approach.
I finally unclenched my gritted teeth.
“No.”
But concept work is concept work, and the truth is I’ve never experienced anything like that. How is a setting-only demon supposed to talk to me?
“Really?”
“I said no.”
Aware of the gazes fixed on me, I gripped the armrest of the chair harder. The metal armrest gave an ugly screech as it crumpled.
The other mages immediately averted their eyes.
“Then what does it feel like when the demon seizes control?”
But this mage was different. She continued the questions with icy calm. She was so businesslike that I actually liked her better for it.
“…You.”
Still, liking someone is liking someone, and the concept is the concept.
I kicked the chair back and stood, glaring down at the mage. She was quite short even for a Middle, so I had to practically look straight down.
“Please explain.”
“I already told the Great Sage.”
“Then you won’t mind repeating what you told the Great Sage.”
Wow. Her guts and her mouth were both ridiculous. If someone a full head taller than me started growling in my face, I’d fold instantly.
Admiring her nerve, I considered what to do next. If I stuck to the concept, I would storm out right about now—but was that okay?
Bang!
“Ah!”
Why not?
“W-we haven’t finished the measurements yet!”
I stormed out of the room. They had been pestering me to show my right arm the whole time anyway, so there was nothing to hesitate over.
My concept is that I would rather bite my own tongue and die than show my right arm to anyone, so what of it? That was the one thing I had never yielded even to Fierce White Wind.
Surprisingly enough, White Wind herself had never forced the issue. If even she hadn’t, there was no reason for me to listen to her subordinates!
“W-wait a moment!”
Yeah, no.
I shook off the mages’ hands and left the building. The corridors were a little complicated, but backtracking my way out was perfectly doable. Kehehe.
“Heh heh, once I submit this, this month’s paper will…”
“Pomegranate tea… that damn pomegranate tea was the problem. If I hadn’t drunk that pomegranate tea I never would have been dragged here… *sob*.”
“I am a talking potato… a potato that only knows how to talk…”
“Hey! Hey! Emergency! Mage Cheongha is taking all the materials and equipment and moving to another branch! Tell the kids in that lab right now!”
Along the way, though, I got a little glimpse of the mages’ daily lives. With them sprawled out like zombies all over the place, it was impossible not to notice.
“Sage… please, just pass my paper…”
“Chief Mage, it’s all pointless. Whether you’re chief or ordinary, you’re still just a slave to the mages…”
Roughly speaking, the hierarchy seemed to run Great Sage (Archmage) → Sage (Mage) → Chief Mage → ordinary mage…
Honestly, just listening to them talk made it sound exactly like graduate school. I’ve never actually set foot in a real graduate school, but I’ve heard the rumors.
“Ugh, I can’t breathe. If I’m going to get worked to death here, I might as well go to Cheongsanho’s Magic Tower…”
“Are you an idiot? Would they take a mage who couldn’t even last under White Wind?”
“I heard they even accept mages with no mana at all, so someone like me should be fine… right?”
“You’re a complete moron.”
“Accept or not, if you go there you’ll just get drafted into hunting mermen.”
“Damn it!”
I had only ever pictured them as research maniacs, but it turned out mages had it pretty rough too.
I felt oddly sorry for them. The moment any of them looked at me like research material the way they used to, though, I was fully prepared to turn cold again.
“Who’s that civilian over by the research wing…?”
I casually angled my arm so the visitor badge hanging from my hand was clearly visible and climbed the stairs. The desk, the lobby, and the exit came into view.
Finally, outside.
Shhhhhh.
I practically flung the visitor badge back at them, then dashed toward the bridge.
Spending two or three hours in a place with zero natural light must have stressed me out more than I realized, because a wave of pure relief hit me at once.
I hadn’t known it before, but I guess I like open spaces. That would explain why I always avoided the subway.
“If you stand too close to the railing you might get eaten.”
But who was being this considerate… wait. Not “you might fall in”—“you might get eaten”?
“Didn’t you see the warning signs?”
I turned my head slightly to look at the person who had warned me. Robes, insignia—definitely a mage. Extremely… young, though.
“Anyway, step back. Dozens of people have already met with misfortune that way.”
I felt a little flustered looking at the child whose head barely reached my chest.
Of course, getting too flustered just because someone looked young would be rude, so I quickly collected myself. They might simply be short and actually an adult.
“What are you doing? I said come away from there.”
Separate from the kindness, the tone was extremely curt. I suppose people who ignore the signs and stand by the railing must show up a dozen times a day.
“You really don’t listen, do you. Blind and deaf, too—”
But personal insults crossed the line, didn’t they?!
“Get out of the way!”
I brought my hand to my waist and drew my sword.
Slash!
The surface of the lake was lightly carved open, spraying red fluid. Something had come up through the water aiming for me.
“You picked the wrong person to warn, kid.”
So what had just lunged at me… ugh, this isn’t Central or South America—why is there a giant water snake here?
Shouldn’t this place have a “no lake access” rule rather than just “don’t go near the railing”?
No wonder the temple people had told us to watch out for snakes the moment we said we were heading to the Magic Tower!
“A s-snake… in one stroke.”
I glanced at the water snake, now sliced in half and sinking, then stepped away from the railing.
Their ambushes weren’t particularly scary, but I had no desire to stay glued to the railing after receiving that blistering personal attack either.
“Wait, wait!”
Yet the fiery little insulter grabbed me again. The hand I had been about to swing down went limp the instant it registered how small the body was. The hand that had seized me was pushed away with nothing more than a light tap.
“Do you take commissions?! If you do, could you please deal with those snakes for me?!”
Separately—was this turning into a side quest?
“Please, I’m begging you! If this keeps up, every customer who comes to buy magic will disappear!!”
…Is this free experience?