Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Horizontal Relationship
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Lee Jung-jun hadn't fallen for the mage class for any grand reason.
It happened one day, over a year after veteran players in Blackout had started multiplying and the multi-cycle class known as mage had been discovered.
After clearing the ending with a second-cycle hunter he'd raised, Lee Jung-jun was browsing the community when he stumbled upon a video from a mage player.
Blackout was famous back then for its cutting-edge graphics, and the mage player's display of spellcasting was nothing short of breathtaking beauty incarnate.
But.
Wait, what? Taking on melee with low-circle spells?
Nah, check the difficulty. It's normal mode.
LOL even a warrior could go beast mode on normal.
Fr, totally doable.
The post got roasted by the veterans' smugness, but plenty of users like Jun were captivated by the sight of spells pouring out like a torrent.
I can't spam low-circle spells like that. What skill did you learn?
Same, couldn't pull that off.
Dumping gold into mana pool upgrades is all I can do lol.
Mage Tower auctions fast chant skill. Lets you burst like that.
But video shows spamming low-circles while chanting high-circle too?
Dual chant?
Used an artifact.
Artifact?? Does that even exist?
Where'd you get it?
Where'd you get it? 2
A ton of users asked, but he never answered.
It happened sometimes.
People who flaunted their characters but clammed up about how they built them.
Veterans always found a way, though.
Mages intrigued a bunch of them, so they pooled their knowledge—and high schooler Lee Jung-jun jumped in too.
What they uncovered was the Mage Tower Lord of Zenkhar Mage Tower: Shylock.
But soon enough, the veterans hit a wall.
A newspaper article about his death was the last trace he left.
Ugh, no traces left at all?
Related quest maybe?
OP deleted and ghosted lol
For real?? No screenshots saved?
Some users kept digging stubbornly after that. Lee Jung-jun joined in, but all they learned was that Shylock had an apprentice...
"Any reason you picked this rundown shack as our meetup spot? Feels like a villain's lair."
The man shrouded head to toe in a drab robe muttered, and the woman wrapped entirely in black bandages replied.
"Oh? So you hate hanging with your big sis here?"
"As if. You're the reason I even came this far. If those stuffy tower folks had shown up, I'd have burned the shack—and them—with it."
"Hehe. My kind of guy might not be the fiery type, but I like your skills, so I'll tell you this: hurt our church's little darlings, and you won't walk away unscathed."
The seductive voice carried a veiled warning, but the man just let out a hollow chuckle.
"Ha! Loyalty to the church is impressive. Pretty roses have thorns, huh? Whatever. What's the point of talking to you lot? Let's cut to the chase."
"Fine. Why'd the mighty battle mage of haughty Volcatornic call us out? No real交流 since 15 years ago."
Her voice held some leisure, but thorns laced her words.
The man shrugged, sounding a bit indignant.
"How should I know? It's the old fogeys up top's policy."
"Then shouldn't they be here, not you?"
"Haha, no chance. Those geezers don't have hearts strong enough to face a woman like you."
"Mages with bad hearts? That's a crisis."
"Anyway, hear me out. This'll pique your interest. It's about the vessel's flesh you've been hunting for ages in the Ascendant Church."
Curiosity flickered in her eyes.
The Volcatornic Mage Tower's history might pale next to the church's, but it wasn't one to spout nonsense.
Even if they were notorious promise-breakers.
"The vessel..."
"Now you're hooked!"
"Spill the details."
"Before that... starting from the beginning would drag on. You know our tower's recent moves?"
"Some. Not too busy guarding my rice bowl."
Crude phrasing, but spot on.
Lately, Volcatornic had allied with a merchant guild to check the upstart Gilenoi Merchant Guild in Blackout.
"Ahem. 'Guarding' is generous. Truth is, they're not our main target."
To a tower that had watched over Blackout for over a century, Gilenoi was a mere infant. A hefty one, maybe.
Other guilds saw it differently.
Anyway.
"But in the process, we found something intriguing. A male mage glued to Gilenoi's daughter. His profile's got potential."
"Hmm...?"
The bandaged woman knew of him too.
He'd thwarted their plans at every turn lately.
Intentional or coincidence, he was on the hit list anyway.
"Guy seems born with a special physique."
"Special physique? Be specific."
"Not certain, but it matches the mana dominator from myths. Signs of Demon God Body."
"..."
Any run-of-the-mill mage would've gotten sneered at.
*Betting on some fairy tale, huh?*
But she didn't mock him.
"That's... intriguing."
"So we're checking it out this time. Your thoughts?"
"Terms?"
"The heart. We just need that. You need the body, right? A vessel for your divinity or whatever."
"Hmm."
She pondered, weighing pros and cons.
"Deal. You shared the source, so conceding that much is easy."
A heartless vessel was less useful, but one with Demon God Body?
Their Black Forest raid vessel plan had gone south lately, giving her a headache.
*This could smooth that over.*
Decision made, she smiled.
"You handle the rampage. I'll take the target."
She sounded confident.
She didn't like the man much, but trusted his skills.
Unlike desk-bound mages, he'd survived ten years on the battlefield.
"One thing bugs me, though."
"Shoot."
"Why call us for this? You have enough firepower, plus your stout merchant allies."
"What else? Can't trust fat-bellied merchants' greed."
In other words, to snag Demon God Body, he'd betray decades-old allies.
Her smile grew more alluring.
"Truly, you all only see a step ahead."
"That's life, no? Anyway, count on us. Later."
"Hope your confidence pays off. Adrian."
Two days after meeting Shylock, the pinnacle of artifact crafting.
Jun had grasped clues to his artifact's growth.
Drastically speeding up the golem's progress.
Meanwhile, Cloi was deep in auction prep.
Just in case, he'd posted Aiden and Maya by her side.
*If I'm the target, staying far away smooths things.*
Variables should stay within predictions.
On that note, Jun holed up alone at the old 'Hungry Wolf' inn.
*Needed time to consolidate my magic anyway.*
It'd been a while since hitting 4th circle.
For Jun, always short on introspection time, this leisure was gold.
*Padded pockets let me research magic carefree.*
But peace didn't last.
"..."
He'd closed his eyes early for condition check. Opening them, the sun hadn't risen.
Something felt off. Alien.
His sharpened 4th-circle senses, maybe.
Eerily quiet.
"All dead? No... gone entirely."
If anyone died inside, his senses would've pinged first.
Breaths would've faltered unnaturally.
So?
Tat tat tat.
Opening the window, a crimson mist curtain blanketed the inn's perimeter.
[Field of Consciousness]
A barrier infamous among Assimilators.
Induces mental anomalies in non-targets, driving them out.
Even experts subconsciously avoid it, blocking outsiders.
Realizing this, Jun cast Shield and bolted for the door.
Shield
A fireball slammed into his former window spot.
Kwaaaang—!!
The blast shattered the frame, scorching heat choking the air and engulfing Jun.
His Shield bought precious seconds against the inferno.
Slipping into the hall, he dashed to the opposite window.
Enchantment: Elemental Armory
Attribute: Wind
Hastily enchanting his shoes, he vaulted to the roof, spotting a silhouette at the mist's edge.
"Don't know who you are, but midnight greetings suck."
"Hahaha... Sorry, but I don't do quiet nights like tower hermits. Prefer it hot-blooded!"
The figure at the boundary flicked his hand like swatting a bug. Fireballs erupted midair, homing on Jun.
Shield
A mage.
Fire-attuned, no less.
Fire magic boasted raw power. Control was easier than lightning too.
But not flawless.
Like a bomb's warhead detonating on light impact, keep distance and lead with Shield, and they'd self-destruct.
"Whoa... rumors say your chant speed's nuts. And you're not even tower-affiliated."
Clear disdain and loathing.
That pegged him as Mage Tower.
Juniors got scorn always, but loathing? Only from fellow mages—and tower ones at that.
"Try blocking this!"
The mystery man stomped. A pillar of fire erupted below.
*'Dual chant?'*
Firing flames from hand while prepping that underneath.
4th-circle level: Fire Strike.
Feeling the mana surge below, Jun leaped from the rooftop.
Superhumans might shrug it off with a foot tremble, but it was plenty high for him.
Sequentially casting Shield at landing points, he stair-stepped down.
"Monkey in the family tree? Nimble bastard."
"Then you'll be the fire-spewing monkey."
"What?"
Dual Chant
Lightning Whip
Five lightning whips manifested, streaking like arrows toward the man.
He fired fireballs in response.
The whips intercepted like AA fire, but fell short of him.
He'd backed off already.
Flames surged along his retreat path.
*'Burning Step?'*
Evasive propulsion magic.
Like warriors blasting mana at their feet, flames propelled thin aerial levitation.
"Pfahah! Just like they say. A tower outsider wielding magic this well..."
The robed man adjusted his hood.
Sooty tan skin, golden hair. Lip piercing notable. He grimaced, sticking out his tongue.
Not a pretty face, but Jun eyed him squarely.
"Volcatornic Mage Tower?"
Adrian's face crumpled instantly.