Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 62
Primgard Central Government Building.
Supreme leader Ella's office showed a slightly improved appearance from its previous desolate scenery.
The sunlight streaming in through the windows breathed faint life into the ash-gray concrete walls.
On the table placed in the center of the office, three teacups were set alongside simple refreshments.
Sitting across from Ella and Ha-yeon, who had removed her rabbit mask, was Han Seo-hee, the president of the Climber Association.
Her visit to the 10th floor was to discuss Primgard's development, the construction of a Tower Entry Management Office, and future business cooperation.
Previously, she couldn't intervene at the association level due to contracts made with the government-led 'Tower Development Committee', but now the situation had changed.
The Tower Entry Management Office construction contract, which had been signed along with the exclusive Eternal Snow Ice contract, was terminated along with 'the depletion of Eternal Snow Ice', allowing Han Seo-hee to intervene.
The greed to squeeze out money until all the Eternal Snow Ice disappeared had finally brought about this result.
Until now, Hanseong and Primgard's three families had been delaying construction with various excuses, but now that the obstacle had been removed, the construction of the Tower Entry Management Office would proceed without problems.
Today's visit was to finalize contracts for not only the Tower Entry Management Office construction but also future personnel and technology exchanges, as well as magic stone loans for the reconstruction of the 10th floor.
Now only the contract signing remained.
"Hmm, there don't seem to be any problems."
TAP TAP-.
Ha-yeon, who had finished reviewing the documents while sitting beside Ella, nodded as she neatly organized the papers.
"Let me read through it as well."
"Here."
Ella took the documents Ha-yeon handed over and carefully read through them once more.
Han Seo-hee, sitting across from the two, rubbed her fatigue-stained eyelids and glared at Ha-yeon.
It was good that she was helping to ensure a fair contract, but her constant chattering was giving her a headache.
Also, the double and triple reviews were taking too much time.
"Shouldn't you be heading back soon? The strategy team was looking for you."
"I don't want to. I'll stay a little longer before going. When I go up, I can barely breathe from the pressure."
"Then don't interfere and just sit quietly. Do you think I'm going to rip them off or something?"
"I trust you, unnie, but I don't trust the association."
"Well... Tsk, fine."
The unfair contracts Primgard had signed were conducted under the government-led Tower Development Committee.
However, the contracts were strictly signed under the association's name.
So it was natural not to trust the association.
Understanding Ha-yeon's concerns, Han Seo-hee quietly sipped her tea and waited for the review to finish.
She had even received dragon scales as a gift before, so this much was nothing.
'Ah, this is nice.'
Who would have ever imagined feeling such warm sunlight streaming through the window on this 10th floor?
She even thought about taking a nice nap while enjoying this warm sunlight, but she couldn't do that in front of a floor's leader.
She asked Ha-yeon about the rising star.
"Have you met that person?"
She had received reports that the rising star was deeply involved in resolving this incident.
"I'll tell you if you promise not to chase after that person."
"I gave up on that long ago."
Han Seo-hee raised both hands, making a gesture as if surrendering.
In fact, she had long given up chasing him, and had even canceled the association-level wanted order and bounty.
As her younger sister Han So-yul had said, she judged it would be more beneficial to let him act freely.
In reality, the changes he had brought about in the Tower had been of great benefit to the association.
Also, as someone who had once been a climber herself, she understood the heart of a climber who wanted to be free more deeply than anyone.
This was also why she turned a blind eye to Ha-yeon, a member of the Frontline Strategy Team, disguising her identity and wandering around.
"Well then..."
Ha-yeon, who had been thinking for a moment, opened her lips.
"Actually, he didn't seem as impressive as the rumors suggested."
"Really?"
"Yeah, first of all, he has a terrible temper and is annoying. Should I say he acts cocky based on his looks?"
"......"
"And he's violent and impulsive. He doesn't seem to think about the consequences. He's the type who judges everything as he pleases. I don't really like that type."
At Ha-yeon's explanation, Han Seo-hee tilted her head and asked carefully.
"Ha-yeon, are you perhaps introducing yourself?"
"Why is this unnie being like this? When did I ever do that?"
"Right, continue."
Han Seo-hee waved her hand lazily while half-lying on the sofa.
Ha-yeon then detailed everything from their first meeting in the mine to when he barged into the greenhouse and caused a ruckus, to the subjugation of Glize.
However, she didn't mention the Hunting Dog that had intervened in the middle.
"......That's it. Really annoying, right?"
Han Seo-hee, who had been lying diagonally on the sofa listening to the story, chuckled.
Though it seemed like she was trying to be restrained in her own way, it was rare to see Ha-yeon looking so happy.
Han Seo-hee nodded and summarized Ha-yeon's words in one sentence.
"So the conclusion is... you made a new friend?"
"What friend? I don't even know his number, and there's no chance we'll meet again."
Would there really be no chance of meeting again?
Han Seo-hee certainly didn't think so, but instead of answering, she just smiled.
"We'll see about that."
***
F District on the outskirts of the Citadel.
This place too showed a completely different landscape from a few days ago.
The persistent snow had melted, revealing muddy ground, and small unknown wildflowers were beginning to poke their heads up here and there.
Lively noise flowed through the previously desolate alleys.
Children's laughter could be heard from afar, and residents were busily moving about, clearing snow or repairing collapsed buildings with shovels and hammers instead of drills and pickaxes.
Amidst such lively noise.
"Are you leaving?"
Tito, dressed in thin clothes, came out with his younger sister to see Seo-jin off.
It was quite a contrast from when he wore thick fur hats and winter clothing.
"Yeah, I've been here long enough."
"Th-this is a gift."
Tito rummaged through his pocket and handed Seo-jin a small sculpture carved from magic stone.
Seo-jin looked the sculpture over from various angles and asked.
"What's this? A starfish?"
"......I tried to make Baduki."
"......"
Hearing that, when he looked closely, it wasn't a starfish but the form of a dog with limbs and a head.
"Hmm."
While Baduki did look peculiar, it wasn't quite this bad.
He was grateful for the thought, but for Tito's future, it would be better if he didn't become a sculptor.
Of course, he didn't voice this thought.
"I'll treasure it."
Let's make this into a necklace and hang it around Baduki's neck.
"Next time you come, I'll definitely treat you to a delicious meal. Made with agricultural products I grew myself."
Agricultural products he grew himself.
As the frozen ground thawed, farming became possible in areas other than the greenhouses.
With fertilizer from outside supported by the association, they would soon welcome abundant results.
Of course, even though winter had ended, if the three families had remained intact, poor people like Tito wouldn't have escaped being tenant farmers.
However, Ella had promised a certain future to all citizens regarding this concern.
Through land reform, she would distribute the three families' fiefs to citizens for a fee, and that payment would be made with a portion of the agricultural products produced thereafter.
Without a leader like Ella, these people would have remained slaves forever, with only their pickaxes for mining Eternal Snow Ice changing to plows.
But now it was different.
Breaking free from a life where even daily survival was hard to guarantee, they would have the leisure to save surplus products and plan for the future.
"Yeah, I look forward to it."
Seo-jin patted Tito and his younger sister's heads in turn, then used the teleportation stone to move to the next floor.
FLASH-.
Seo-jin's figure disappeared with a bright light.
Tito tightly held his younger sister's hand and waved toward the direction where he had disappeared.
***
FLASH-.
The bright light blocking his view stopped, and Seo-jin set foot in the new world that was the 11th floor.
Above the sky, massive floating stones carved with geometric patterns scattered artificial light, and on the coastal cliffs, mage towers boasting different civilizations and styles competed as they rose up.
Among them, what particularly caught the eye were the traces of a massive collision remaining in the center of the floor.
As if mythical giants had clashed, the earth was deeply gouged and twisted in various places.
Moreover, at the center, there were even blackened traces as if massive magical power had exploded.
Hyeon-wol opened her eyes wide as she flew around here and there, saying.
[This place is... mysterious.]
"That's right."
Seo-jin raised his head.
As Hyeon-wol said, this mysterious place was commonly known as 'the mages' floor'.
It was a floor where various nations and mage groups competitively built 'mage towers' to conduct research, targeting the abundant magic stones and rare magical materials.
For those who craved knowledge and power, it was a land of infinite opportunity.
At the same time, it was also a perilous place where fierce secret battles between mage towers and uncontrolled magical experiments never ceased.
Seo-jin bent his waist and touched the scorched earth.
RUSTLE-.
Magic power dancing as if clinging to his fingerprints. It wasn't simply that the concentration of magical power was dense.
Dark traces deeply etched into his fingerprints even after brushing off his hand.
Long ago, the 'demon' that had fought with his master had been severely wounded and abandoned its body here.
The battle scars remaining like columnar joints near the coastal cliffs were proof of this.
By the present time, the power of Reverse Heaven's mana had almost completely dissipated, and it was known that various magical materials and magic stones were produced due to the influence of the magical power remaining in the demon's body.
However, it seemed that Reverse Heaven's mana hadn't completely disappeared.
Though faint, he could definitely feel its traces.
TAP TAP-.
Seo-jin completely brushed off the soil and traces of Reverse Heaven's mana from his hands.
A faint ozone smell and the high magical power density felt through his skin.
Seo-jin instinctively moved his limbs.
SWOOSH-.
Even if he couldn't directly sense the concentration of magical power, he could clearly feel the magical power density pressing against his skin.
To exaggerate a bit, it felt like being underwater.
Seo-jin organized the goals he absolutely had to secure on this 11th floor while feeling the flow of magical power.
First was the demon's [Energy Core] hidden somewhere on this floor.
It was a substitute that could be used in place of Seo-jin's Mana Heart, a key item that would elevate his magical abilities by one level.
Currently, he handled mana circuits indirectly through his upper dantian, making his use of magical power inefficient.
Also, since he couldn't sense the surrounding energy, he had to use the Eye of Insight for awareness, and the development of the Primordial Unity Technique was also slow.
Using an Energy Core at this time could improve that efficiency.
Second was the rare material [Star Dust] that could only be obtained in specific times and specific regions of the 11th floor.
This was an essential catalyst for crafting powerful artifacts or learning special skills.
His master had told him to obtain as much as possible since it would be needed when creating Hyeon-wol's body.
This seemed easy to get since mage towers held many of them.
The last one was a torn fragment of the [Time Distortion Spellbook] stored deep in the underground ruins of the mage towers.
As one of the main materials for the 'Stone of Return', it was a material item he absolutely had to obtain.
'There's a lot to do.'
Fortunately, the 11th floor was a place where no natives lived.
Whether due to the ancient battle or the Reverse Heaven's mana left by the demon.
There were no natives, only mage towers built by climbers.
As such, rather than World Quests, he could climb the Tower through climbing quests hosted by each mage tower, making him feel more at ease than on other floors.
Among the numerous mage towers here, there was also the mage tower of 'Taebaek', Korea's mage guild.
Seo-jin immediately headed toward Taebaek's mage tower.