Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 31
Seo-jin returned to Circe's cabin after completing the class change quest.
"I'm glad you're safe."
Circe let out a sigh of relief and welcomed Seo-jin inside.
She too seemed to have heard the demon's death throes that echoed through the forest.
Seo-jin shrugged his shoulders and returned The Fairy King's Talisman to Circe, saying:
"It's fine. Even though it was a demon, it was merely a fragment, and it wasn't particularly dangerous."
Although he had been injured by the tentacle attacks, Seo-jin still had the strength left to subdue the creature.
Even if Han So-yul hadn't helped, he would have somehow managed to catch it.
Circe looked at The Fairy King's Talisman that Seo-jin offered and shook her head.
"There's no need to return it. Keep it as an apology."
Seo-jin bowed his head and stored the talisman in his inventory.
If she was giving it to him, there was no reason to refuse.
After confirming that Seo-jin was unharmed, Circe casually turned her gaze to the side.
"Who is that girl next to you?"
"Someone I happened to meet near the Thousand-Eyed Demon Tree's territory. Thanks to her, I was able to easily deal with the demon's fragment."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Han So-yul."
So-yul, who had ended up following them to Circe's cabin unexpectedly, bowed deeply in greeting.
To outward appearances, Circe looked like nothing more than a young-looking doll.
However, having heard from Seo-jin that she was an elder of the magic world whose age couldn't even be guessed, she had to show the utmost courtesy.
At first, she hadn't believed his words, but seeing the level of the barrier spread around the cabin, she immediately understood.
Circe raised one eyebrow and glared at Han So-yul.
"Now that I look at you, you're the brat who's been loitering around the forest for the past few days. Excuse me for a moment."
Circe reached out and grabbed So-yul's chin, examining her from various angles.
"Your magical talent is mediocre. Still, your Mana Heart is innate, so if properly refined, you could be useful."
"Eh...?"
'Mediocre talent? Me?'
So-yul tilted her head upon hearing Circe's evaluation.
Although she had stepped down from the frontline strategy team, she was nominally a mage who ranked within the top ten among climbers, and the guild leader of Taebaek.
She wasn't at a level to be evaluated as having mediocre talent by others.
While So-yul stood frozen in bewilderment, Seo-jin asked:
"Would you perhaps take her as a disciple?"
"No, you know my standards well, don't you?"
Circe removed her hand from So-yul's chin.
To begin with, So-yul wasn't a black mage, nor was she someone seeking to overcome her own limitations.
"Still, since my disciple received help, I can't just send her away like this."
Circe walked briskly toward the bookshelf, pulled out a book, and handed it to Han So-yul.
With content densely written in handwriting, it appeared to be something Circe had written herself.
So-yul, who had received the book unexpectedly, opened her eyes wide and asked:
"Is this a skill book?"
"It's not a convenient item like a skill book. Still, if you study it diligently, it will help with mana control. From what I can see, your mana circuit control is poor compared to the vast size of your Mana Heart."
"H-how do you know that...?"
"The content isn't easy to learn, so I don't recommend self-study. Therefore."
Circe spoke to Seo-jin.
"My disciple, you should personally teach her the introductory part."
"Me?"
When Seo-jin pointed to himself and asked back, Circe shrugged her shoulders.
"Wasn't it you who brought this child in the first place? You received potions and saved elixirs, so you should naturally take responsibility. Teach her lightly while you're recuperating here."
Although it wasn't particularly appealing, Seo-jin soon agreed.
'A mage of Han So-yul's caliber should learn quickly.'
In the remaining time after teaching, he should focus on training the Primordial Unity Technique while adapting his body to the elixir, and incidentally work hard on cultivating artificial plants.
Moreover, since the class change quest was finished, it would be good to begin earnestly training intermediate black magic.
"Yes, I understand. She'll learn the basics in a few hours anyway."
"That's based on your special case. How long it takes to learn the introduction is something you'll only know after teaching. I estimate a week."
Seo-jin chuckled and looked at So-yul.
"Come on, what level are you? Surely it won't take a whole week? Want to make a bet?"
"Fine. What shall we wager?"
"......"
‘Like master, like disciple.’
So-yul shook her head watching the two who were making bets about her learning speed.
A week later.
Seo-jin looked at So-yul with a dumbfounded expression and asked:
"Are you... really a blockhead?"
As Circe had predicted, it took exactly a week for So-yul to learn the basics of mana circuit control.
And she hadn't even completely mastered it.
Among all those mana circuits, she had only managed to control 'one strand.'
For someone over level 200, it was quite an impressive achievement.
"Geez, why are you talking like that? And isn't it strange to master something immediately after learning some theory? A week is already fast!"
"I did it in three hours."
"You're the strange one! Even within the guild, there was no one who learned magic this way."
So-yul continued speaking while tapping the book with her hand.
"And what exactly is this book anyway? It's not something that can be immediately acquired like a skill book, and it's not a combination formula or manufacturing method either! It's literally just a theory book, isn't it?"
"What's wrong with a theory book? To become a real mage, you can't just depend on the Tower's internal system."
Those who relied only on the Tower's system assistance all died after the Tower's collapse.
Among that chaos, only a very few survived - only those who had honed their power without depending on the Tower's system.
Seo-jin looked at So-yul's remaining mana capacity, which remained abundant despite long mana training, and said:
"You really seem to have climbed this far relying only on your mana capacity. In some ways, it's admirable."
If Seo-jin had that level of mana pool, conquering the Tower would be possible too.
Of course, paradoxically, it was also because of this vast mana capacity that magic control was difficult.
If Seo-jin could be compared to a nimble and fast motorcycle, So-yul would be like a freight truck loaded with cargo.
Having tremendous firepower but difficulty controlling that power was perhaps natural.
Seo-jin looked at the sky beyond the window, which had already grown dark, and said:
"Today's lesson is over. You may go."
"I was going to leave anyway."
So-yul packed her things and immediately disappeared into the cabin's annex.
Circe, lying sprawled on the sofa, asked Seo-jin teasingly:
"My disciple, how can you torment your student like that?"
"I've never had such a blockhead as a disciple."
"Still, isn't her effort admirable? An ordinary person would have run away long ago."
That was true.
It wasn't the early stages of tower climbing, and at level 200, her mana circuits had already hardened and become fixed in her own way.
Loosening the completely hardened mana circuits and controlling them according to one's will required tremendous patience and talent.
No, even before that, she wouldn't have tried to learn magic with such a humble attitude.
There are quite a few people in the world who live trapped in their own narrow world, proud of their high-held noses.
He had been strict only to encourage quick learning, but he didn't actually look down on her that much.
"Well... she certainly has grit."
"Later, have a meal together just the two of you to smooth things over. If you leave her like that, she'll definitely sulk."
Seo-jin nodded with a reluctant expression and took out a cigarette to put in his mouth.
WHOOSH-.
"Are you getting used to it?"
"Yes, it suits my constitution perfectly."
Seo-jin flicked off the ash from the cigarette tip and again absorbed the elixir's energy.
Cool mana filling his lungs completely.
SQUIRM-.
The elixir's components soon met with the red blood cells in his body and spread throughout his entire system.
The effect was immediate, and the Reverse Heaven's Mana that had been flowing backward through his mana circuits quickly subsided.
Although it wasn't a fundamental solution, it was perfect for temporary relief in urgent situations.
"It's time."
During the time he had been teaching Han So-yul, he had accomplished various things in his spare time.
He had adapted to the elixir and completed the improvement of artificial plants using the Thousand-Eyed Demon Tree's seeds as the source.
Next time he came to harvest, he would be able to make higher-level elixirs.
"Are you leaving soon?"
"Yes."
Seo-jin answered while stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.
He had completed his body's recuperation and grasped the direction of his black mage class change.
'The goal is All Master.'
Undead creation, blood magic, necromancy, curses, and so on - he would learn everything possible among black magic.
And he aimed to establish a new school of black magic with himself as the founder.
Though it had been a short time, he had gained much.
Both materially and spiritually.
It felt like he had returned to his hometown home and rested without any worries for the first time in a long while.
"Ah, and there's one thing I'd like to ask before I leave. Someone will come looking for this place soon."
"Again?"
"Yes, you'll be lonely by yourself anyway, won't you? Please look after them for a while."
"I have no hobby of taking care of brats."
"I know you'll do it anyway."
Saying this, Seo-jin opened his inventory and handed over the loot from the Vampire Bat King he had caught in the Bat Cave on the 2nd floor.
It was the loot he had secured after stealing the final blow from Kim Se-yeon.
Since she had been told to find the false sage when coming to the 3rd floor, she would come to the Black Forest before long.
If my Master would just open the barrier, she would be able to find this place without difficulty.
"Well, I never. There's a limit to how lightly you can regard your master."
Circe reluctantly accepted the loot Seo-jin handed her and put it away.
Perhaps because he was her only disciple, Circe accepted all his unreasonable demands.
Seo-jin felt both grateful and sorry for her thoughtfulness.
Seo-jin, who let out a small sigh along with a smile, asked:
"But Master, why did you accept me? What made you trust a strange person who came to you out of nowhere?"
"Are you asking that with your own mouth?"
"Yes."
Since Seo-jin knew Circe's character and personality, he had just gone for it first.
'She's someone who doesn't get caught up in trivial matters and penetrates to the essence of phenomena.'
For Circe, Seo-jin's strange behavior or incomprehensible flow of cause and effect was just something to research later, a distant back-burner matter.
The 'essence' of this matter was only that Seo-jin was connected to Circe through the bond of master and disciple in some way.
If it was Circe, who was also versed in astronomy, astrology, and foresight, she would surely understand this.
However, this was only Seo-jin's speculation - what had it been like from Circe's own perspective?
After closing her eyes and thinking for a moment, Circe spoke:
"Well. Think of it as just a whim. Perhaps I wanted to try making at least one disciple."
The path of a mage who was both tragic and noble - one who stepped into black magic yet strived not to fall into corruption.
A disciple who could walk together on that narrow and treacherous path.
"Then why did you come looking for me? In this Tower, there are countless sages other than me, a false existence."
"Because I made a promise with Master before."
"A promise?"
"Yes, a promise."
Seo-jin looked up at the blue moon shining brightly outside the window and quietly murmured:
"Someday I promised to rescue Master's main body and cut off those demons' necks together."
"......"
Circe, who had been staring blankly at Seo-jin for a moment, soon spoke with a hearty laugh:
"Goodness. That's such a one-sided promise, just like you."
On that dark night when master and disciple gazed up at the blue moon together.
[The 30th floor has been opened. I repeat-]
News of the frontline strategy team's tower climbing echoed throughout the entire Tower.
***
Tower 29th floor.
KROOOOOO-!
The black dragon's massive body collapsed onto the altar with a death cry.
KUWOONG-!
The frontline strategy team had succeeded in subjugating the Demon Dragon, which had been the Hoakin Kingdom's long-standing headache.
"Huff. Huff."
The frontline strategy team consisted of Sword Star Ju Won-jae, Saintess Kwon Ha-yeon, Holy Knight Robert, Fist King Choi Gang-hyeon, Grand Mage Gu-ren, Divine Archer Yelena, Onmyoji Rei, Divine Spear Lee Seo-mun, and others.
These were called humanity's strongest force gathered from around the world, but after fighting the Demon Dragon, not a single one of them was uninjured.
They slowly set foot on the stairs leading to the Tower's next floor, dragging their exhausted bodies.
When they reached the end of the stairs, a large door opened, and soon bright light shone into the inter-floor stairway.
And beyond that backlight, a beautiful man appeared to greet the frontline strategy team.
"Nice to meet you, members of the frontline strategy team. I am Nimrod. I am the administrator of this Tower."