Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 9
SPLASH-.
Seo-jin blankly stared at the old man's straw sandal falling into the stream below the bridge.
'Crazy old man.'
Now he understood why Fist King had called him a grumpy old man.
To suddenly take off his own shoe and throw it under the bridge, then tell someone else to go pick it up.
But he had to endure it.
If he could obtain a secret skill, picking up an old man's shoe was nothing.
"I understand. Please wait a moment."
Seo-jin went down under the bridge, picked up the old man's shoe, and brought it to his feet.
His robe and pants got wet in the process, but Seo-jin didn't mind.
"Here it is, elder."
Though Seo-jin brought the shoe without complaint, the old man went one step further.
"My feet are uncomfortable. Put it on for me."
The old man extended his dirty feet.
"Yes, well."
Since he had already decided to do it, he might as well do whatever was asked.
Seo-jin was a polite young man who knew how to respect elders, so he granted the old man's request without showing any displeasure.
'I don't see anything particularly special.'
As Seo-jin put the shoe on the old man's foot, he read the old man's condition.
He couldn't feel the unique aura of a martial artist, nor were there any calluses on his hands and feet that a martial artist would naturally have.
He didn't look like a great mage or sorcerer either.
He wore only an old robe without any magical tools or implements.
Could he really learn a precious skill from such an old man?
Just as Seo-jin was lost in thought, the old man spoke.
"You seem to have many thoughts. Raise your head."
"……."
After a moment's hesitation, Seo-jin raised his head and met the old man's eyes.
And at that moment.
"……!"
Eyes that pierced through Seo-jin.
In the old man's pupils he faced, an indescribable immortal energy was swirling.
His gaze seemed to read even Seo-jin's soul.
The old man smiled and spoke to Seo-jin.
"How curious. A good will blooming within turbid energy. To have an upright heart while touching darkness and madness, it's remarkable that you haven't gone mad yet. But as you know, your body will gradually deteriorate within that contradiction."
"……."
Seo-jin inwardly marveled as he met the old man's gaze.
'He saw through my condition at a glance.'
The old man had instantly seen through Seo-jin's mental state and physical burden with just one meeting of eyes.
His soul that hadn't fallen to the path of evil despite using black magic, and his gradually crumbling body condition in such struggle.
Only then could Seo-jin be certain that the old man was an extraordinary person.
Seo-jin nodded and finished putting the shoe on the old man's foot.
"That might be so. It's done."
TAP TAP-.
The old man, who finished putting on his shoes by tapping his toes on the ground, spoke to Seo-jin.
"Thank you for listening to this old man's whim. Come back to this place tomorrow morning. I have a gift for you."
'He won't give me the skill book right away?'
This was also according to the information he had heard from Fist King in the past. Seo-jin greeted the old man.
"I understand. Then please take care."
The old man waved his hand at Seo-jin and suddenly disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Seo-jin watched his retreating figure for a moment, then turned his gaze to the darkening sky.
'Tomorrow morning.'
It was time for the sun to set anyway.
Spending a night in this forest didn't seem bad.
The travel time would be wasted, and if he went to the residential area, he might encounter those looking for him.
'Besides, there are no watching eyes in this forest, so it's perfect for training.'
Yellow Rock Forest was a hunting ground that was avoided because the items obtainable were mediocre compared to the relatively high level of monsters.
With hardly anyone coming and going, it was the perfect environment for training.
Seo-jin sat cross-legged near a suitable rock and observed himself.
"……."
The Mana Heart that had hardened and wouldn't move, and the mana circuits twisted here and there.
These were typical symptoms of cardiac vessel occlusion, and also the reason why Seo-jin couldn't use ordinary magic.
Like this, those who were congenitally unable to use magic like Seo-jin, or those with poor magical talent, fell into the path of black magic.
Black magic fundamentally used power through contracts with higher beings, utilizing the 'upper dantian', so it wasn't affected by magical talent.
'In terms of using the upper dantian, it shares the same fundamental principles as the divine power that paladins and priests obtain through prayer to God, or the spirit magic that spirit mages use through communion with nature's spirits.'
However, while they were born with a kind of 'talent' like pure faith or special affinity for communion with spirits.
Black magic was a power of defying heaven that used blood, life, twisted emotions, or souls as payment instead of that talent.
Those who walked the path of black magic would inevitably be crushed by that price someday and reach eternal destruction.
Therefore, Seo-jin didn't follow the typical path of black magic.
He didn't like the idea of contracting with unknown higher beings, or offering others' lives, blood, or sacrifices.
Instead, he focused on the concept and principle of using 'magic' through contracts with the 'upper dantian'.
If he applied that principle well, he wouldn't need to use the Mana Heart and mana circuits damaged by cardiac vessel occlusion.
So while other black mages squandered black magic by offering others' lives and blood, Seo-jin researched black magic by injuring his own body.
And finally, he realized that by rotating the mana in his body in reverse direction, he wouldn't be affected by cardiac vessel occlusion, and that he could accumulate and use the reverse mana that could only be obtained through contracts with higher beings by his own power.
He imposed the constraint of rotating the mana in his body in reverse as a form of contract upon himself, and used the reverse mana accumulated this way by storing it in the upper dantian.
This was a trick that applied the principles of black magic in a twisted way, and was the number one contributor to making Seo-jin the greatest black mage.
At the same time, it was also the reason why Seo-jin's body and mind were wearing out.
Afterwards, Seo-jin had been using reverse mana while reducing pain through narcotic cigarettes and supporting his crumbling body with various magical tools.
Seo-jin's desperate struggle was ultimately the right choice.
'The day the Tower collapsed and the avatars of demons that governed each floor appeared on Earth.'
The black mages who had contracted with demons all had their souls taken away and were annihilated.
It was the end of those who walked the demonic path by offering others' lives.
Anyway.
'I won't make contracts with demons in this life either.'
But he couldn't live a short life suffering with a completely ruined body like in his previous life, so he decided to change his growth strategy slightly this time.
'Investing evenly in stamina and strength to increase durability and recovery beyond that of other warriors.'
Learning the secret skill that Fist King had told him about before regression was also part of that plan.
But that alone wasn't enough.
'Increasing the body's durability and recovery is only a temporary measure.'
If he kept using black magic recklessly like now, he wouldn't escape the fate of becoming a madman like in his previous life.
A more fundamental solution was needed.
It would be good if the secret skill he would obtain this time became that solution, but there were several other methods as well.
The current Seo-jin had the 'privilege' he received by passing the administrator's test.
Seo-jin took out the privilege he received from Nimrod, the Eye of Insight, from his inventory.
[Eye of Insight (EX)]
"……."
Seo-jin quietly fell into thought as he looked at the magic eye in his hand.
'Implanting the magic eye can also be seen as forming a contractual relationship with demons.'
Because of this, users of magic eyes also had their souls taken by demons during the Tower's collapse.
If he implanted this, Seo-jin would follow the exact same path as them.
That's why he refused when Nimrod offered to implant it.
'There are plenty of ways to use it without implanting it.'
Seo-jin closed his eyes while holding the magic eye in his hand.
Then he began to overload his mana circuits and operate reverse mana.
Soon, Seo-jin's mana circuits, heated to black, emerged to the surface of his skin.
The form of mana circuits rising clearly like tattoos.
Seo-jin slowly channeled this reverse mana into the Eye of Insight in his hand.
How much time passed like this?
The Eye of Insight, having sufficiently absorbed Seo-jin's mana, finally opened its eye.
BLINK-.
Red pupils that moved their own eyelids to look at Seo-jin.
Though Seo-jin had his eyes closed, he was connected to the magic eye and observing himself from a third-person perspective.
'This is quite a unique experience.'
A mystical sensation like watching himself with a camera from a completely different position.
However, the magic eye's vision didn't stop at simply reflecting Seo-jin's appearance.
Like a hologram, it even revealed the flow of mana flowing through Seo-jin's body.
The sight of reverse mana extending from the upper dantian and spreading throughout the body through mana circuits.
It was visible to the extent that the mana flow was flowing in the exact opposite direction to ordinary mages.
It was a sight that even Seo-jin would be amazed by. Not just reading mana to some degree, but the ability to perfectly visualize it.
'This is... the Eye of Insight.'
To have this level of performance even without any separate enhancement or growth process. It was truly admirable.
'With this, it's possible.'
With just this, he could more than eliminate one of the disadvantages of cardiac vessel occlusion - the penalty of being unable to read mana flow.
Not only that, it would enable more precise and delicate mana operation, so the backlash of black magic could also be greatly reduced.
However.
SPARK-.
Seo-jin felt a sensation like sparks flying in his head and cut off the mana he was injecting into the magic eye.
'Using it freely is still too much.'
The mana consumed to operate the magic eye was higher than expected. The mana consumption per second was 2.
Seo-jin's current mana was 26, so he could only maintain the magic eye's opened state for a maximum of 13 seconds.
'But it's fine.'
The mana consumption could be filled with mana stat growth and items.
For now, seeing that possibility was enough.
However, if there was a problem, it was that it was too conspicuous and cumbersome.
Carrying the magic eye in his hand like this was unsightly. Moreover, it wasn't suitable in terms of mana efficiency either.
He would need an appropriate storage case or magical tool, or a magical creature to temporarily implant it in.
'Ah, come to think of it.'
Seo-jin's thoughts reached somewhere as he thought of magical creatures.
Seo-jin had some talent in necromancy as well, being a master of black magic.
'But I hardly used undead in my previous life.'
Because if he used necromancy on top of the already poor perception of black magic, it would become difficult to handle the aftermath.
However.
'...Even without using it, the end was still execution, so let's just use it.'
Was his reputation good in his previous life just because he didn't use necromancy?
Since the end was the execution ground anyway, there was nothing to be picky about now.
'Shall I make one as a warm-up?'
Seo-jin put the magic eye into his inventory and took out part of Behemoth's corpse that he had received earlier through Nimrod's kindness.
PLOP-.
Seo-jin spread Behemoth's corpse on the ground.
Since it had been in the S-grade inventory that ignored space-time constraints, Behemoth's corpse was maintaining a very fresh state.
'Though it's a replica rather than the original, this is something.'
Even replicas had their own worth.
It was a replica of a mythical monster, and moreover, a divine body created directly by the administrator.
Using this as material, he could create a very high-grade chimera or undead.
Seo-jin laid out Behemoth's bones by category.
Then he carefully looked at the bones and pondered what kind of creature to make.
'A puppy, let's make a cute puppy.'
Seo-jin had always had a desire to raise a large dog.
Having decided to make a puppy-shaped undead, Seo-jin selected bones of appropriate size from Behemoth's bone fragments.
The first thing needed was a frame.
Seo-jin cut and attached Behemoth's bones to make a frame.
Then Seo-jin began to gradually build the skeleton centered on the spine.
Starting with the ribs, he attached bones one by one to establish the frame, and the skeleton was completed with a museum fossil-like feel.
'Good.'
Having completed the frame, Seo-jin made Behemoth's various organs miniature-sized and arranged them inside the frame.
This was an essential process for making proper undead, not shabby ghouls or disposable skeletons.
Though Seo-jin had considerable anatomical knowledge, this process took quite a while.
After finishing the arrangement, Seo-jin added Behemoth's muscles to the frame so that the organ positions wouldn't change.
'Very sturdy.'
The elasticity and residual mana remaining in dead Behemoth's muscles were beyond what he had expected.
At this rate, it felt like a creature much stronger and faster than its master would be born.
Having attached the muscles, Seo-jin entered the most important work.
The task of weaving mana nerves so that the mana circuits would operate correctly.
'It's no exaggeration to say this process determines the undead's basic ability scores.'
Seo-jin wove the mana nerves with utmost care.
Finally, he installed a mana core refined from Behemoth's heart and connected the nerves.
WHOOSH-.
Mana nerves glowing blue.
It meant they were properly connected.
Now what remained was the exterior finishing.
Seo-jin cut Behemoth's hide and attached it over the completed frame.
"……Hmm."
The undead creation was finished with the exterior finishing as the last step.
Though he felt it himself, Seo-jin had poor aesthetic sense compared to his magical talent.
He looked at the completed result and fell into thought for a moment.
'Is this really a puppy?'
Looking at the completed form, it wasn't the visual he had initially thought of.
The only thing it had in common with a puppy was the quadrupedal appearance.
Still, if he lived with it and grew attached, he might find cute aspects.
'This should be enough.'
Satisfied with himself, Seo-jin entered the final work of breathing life into it.
DRIP DRIP-.
The process of sprinkling his own blood on the ground to draw a reverse pentagram, and granting mana and a name to the prepared undead.
Having quickly finished this process as well, Seo-jin placed his hand on the head of the undead he made with his own hands and gave it a name.
"Your name from now on is Baduki."
At the same time.
FLASH-.
Baduki opened its eyes and emitted a red glow.