Manuela's Blessing Still Holds
Manuela's blessing was still in effect, and his luck had been pushed as high as it would go. Yujun didn't draw it out. He tipped the Long-Aged Elixir straight into his mouth.
You have consumed the Long-Aged Elixir!
You acquire one trait at random.
Trait acquired: Ruler of the Wind (S)
"Oh? This is what came up."
True to its name, Ruler of the Wind let him command the wind, though there was scarcely anything dramatic about it. All it really granted was the freedom to move when a fierce wind blew, or a steadier flight when he used Fly. An effect of that degree — a good trait for supporting other abilities.
Of course, he could make it more than mere support. That depended entirely on how he used it.
Ruler of the Wind is especially useful for swordsmanship.
Not only swordsmanship. He could work it into every weapon art, even bare-handed combat.
If this were a game, I'd have called it a decent trait and moved on. But this is the Tower of Infinity. I can actually move my body and use the power of the wind.
The only disappointment was that it had stopped at S-rank, though S-rank was, in truth, very high. He ought to be grateful that a good trait had come out at A-rank or above.
What I needed wasn't a completely new power, but a skill that could link with the others and support them. Having it show up as a trait might actually be for the best.
"Let's go."
Yujun spoke to Manuela and Paranet. There was nothing left for him to do here. He swept the surroundings once more, carefully, just in case, but found nothing of note. It looked like an ordinary forest.
Now and then a powerful monster watched them, yet none was the first to charge. When Yujun approached, the creatures fled without so much as a backward glance.
That earlier impact must have been fairly large.
Standing their ground against a host of monsters thousands strong seemed to have stamped itself deep into the creatures' minds.
Yujun and Manuela returned to the rest of the party. Atradeon and Yenil, they were told, had gone a fair distance off to gather information. Yenil had apparently taken the role of bodyguard.
In terms of raw strength, she's the most reliable of them.
Had the work of mastering the reinforced magic come to an end? He sincerely hoped it hadn't. The stress of creating new magic was great enough to swallow the satisfaction of inventing a spell and learning it.
Next time, I'll make a spell so difficult Yenil won't even dare try it.
Whether he could actually manage that was another question. If he didn't, he had the feeling he would be the one who failed to live out his years. Wearing Yenil down until she dropped first was the best outcome for him as well, though it would, of course, be exceedingly difficult.
Yenil was a player who had studied magic for decades longer than he had. He himself was a novice mage who had been a player for barely half a year, and he had only gained magic some time after arriving at the Tower of Infinity. Honestly, the title of mage was enough to embarrass him. He had merely accepted what the system handed him, exactly as it came.
Even so, he didn't believe it was impossible to create magic so viciously difficult that learning it was a nightmare. Hadn't he already produced respectable spells? The fact that Yenil was struggling more than he had expected was proof enough that the magic sat at a fairly high level.
"You're back already?" Kim Yohan spotted him and opened his eyes wide, plainly surprised.
"Why? You thought it would take a while?"
"Yeah. There wasn't really any need to leave us as an escort, was there?"
He meant it as a joke, but it was true that Yujun had returned quickly.
"Nothing happened, right?"
"Nope. Though something still might."
"Huh?"
"Atradeon said he's going in deep this time to look into something. With Yenil."
"I get that he took Yenil. Why did he leave you and Uncle Dokgo Minsu behind?"
"He said it could be dangerous, so a small elite group would be better."
"Hmm..."
They weren't marching off to war, after all. The work was to hide and dig out information, and for that, fewer people was clearly better.
"Just in case, why don't you go take a look?"
Even Do Jiyun put a word in. Yujun nodded.
"All right. Where are they?"
"He said they were going to some castle... what was the name."
"Tetra. Tetra Castle."
At Do Jiyun's words, Kim Yohan clapped, confirming that was the one.
"There was a place like that?"
"It's where the high-ranking heavenly race lives, apparently. It floats high in the sky, so they also call it the Sky Castle."
Not a sky island this time. A castle in the sky.
"Then why can't I see it? If it's floating that high, shouldn't we be able to see it from here? Is Heaven really that big?"
Yujun's eyesight was sharp enough to take in a very great distance. It would be no exaggeration to say it surpassed clairvoyance, and yet the Sky Castle was nowhere in his sight.
"They say it's hidden. If you don't have access rights, you can't see it, and you can't enter, either."
Yujun's eyes widened.
"You know a lot, Yohan."
"This is as far as I go, too."
"You don't know how to get the access rights, then?"
"Why not ask Atradeon? He said if you've got the points, there's nothing you can't get."
"You can buy access rights?"
"Seems like it."
Yujun sent Atradeon a message at once. The man must have been busy; for a while there was no reply.
Just sitting here waiting doesn't feel right either... Maybe I should eat.
He drew Snowfield Yeti meat from his subspace pouch, conjured a fierce fire with magic, and set it to grilling. Do Jiyun came over, drawn by the smell.
"Whoa. What is that smell?"
"Snowfield Yeti meat."
"...Monster meat? Not beef or pork?"
"Have you ever seen a pig or a cow this big?"
"..."
He had cut away only a single portion, and still it was larger than most animals. Set against the bulk of a Snowfield Yeti, it was nothing but a part.
"Does it taste good? The smell seems all right."
"Eat it, and it's better than all right."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Yujun's face was serious, because his whole attention was on the meat. The temperature of the fire mattered, too. He was grilling over high heat, but the cut was so thick that he turned it without rest, making sure the flame reached every side.
"That's some craftsman's spirit."
"Where flavor is concerned, I have no intention of cutting corners or compromising. That's my creed."
"Were you a chef before you came here? Or was it a hobby?"
"No. I lived on delivery. Aside from boiling instant ramen, I'd never cooked."
"..."
"There. It's done. Want to try it?"
"Yes!"
Do Jiyun answered as if she had been waiting. Monster meat left her a little hesitant, but the smell alone was already intoxicating, and she didn't think Yujun, with all the points he had, would carry monster meat around for no reason.
She bit into the chunk of yeti meat he had cut for her, and her eyes went wide.
"Hah..."
She looked at Yujun, startled.
"Good, right?"
"This is unreal. How is monster meat this delicious? Is it normally like that?"
"Who knows. What I can say for certain is that Snowfield Yeti is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"There goes my prejudice that monster meat would taste bad. Ah — but people do say most monsters actually taste awful. Tough, with a heavy gamy reek and off-flavors, and there's a limit to how much of that stink you can get rid of."
"I see."
"Where did you catch a Snowfield Yeti? I've never seen one."
"It was something like an event. I ran into it by chance, so I doubt I'll see another. Unfortunately."
"That really is a shame."
"I did stock up a lot, though, so if you want some, anytime — well, not anytime. Ask now and then."
"Got it. You won't get sick of me if I ask too often, right?"
"How much are you planning to eat by yourself..."
She had taken all of one bite, and already she was this far gone on yeti meat. She was not the only one who couldn't forget the taste. Manuela was watching Yujun with eyes bright as lamps.
"...You want some too?"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Under that fervent stare, Yujun tore off three chunks for her. For a frame like Manuela's, it was a great deal.
"I can eat all of it?"
"Yeah. If it's too much, you can share with Paranet."
"Master. I am unable to partake of food. I have no organs, and so it falls at once upon the ground."
"I know."
"There is much to commend in being undead, yet the inability to taste food is a lament indeed. Mind you, even in the days when I was an alchemist, I scarcely ate anything worth calling delicious."
"Why not, back then?"
"I was skin and bones, was I not? And why do you suppose that was? Not for lack of coin. I simply did not know the pleasure of eating."
"Then you're not exactly dying of envy even now, are you?"
"Only in death does one finally learn how precious it was to be alive. Heh heh."
"Why are you talking like an old man who's already lived his whole life?"
"A day will come, Master, when you become as I am."
"You looking to die? Suddenly throwing curses around. How's that any different from telling me to become undead?"
"No, no, no. I meant it in the sense that you shall enjoy eternal life."
"Eternal life?"
"You shall become a god, Master. A truly great one! Not some half-formed thing, such as a Demigod."
"Where is this nonsense coming from?"
"Master. Did you not make growing stronger your aim? And do you not mean to stop the Demon God? Then surely you must become a god. The likelihood is high, besides."
"It isn't something I can do only by becoming a god. I could cut off the Demon God Worshippers' plans before they ever start."
At that, Paranet broke into a deep, rolling laugh.
"Do you truly believe such a thing possible? I hold the Demon God's resurrection — his return — to be all but certain."
"...Why do you think that?"
"Because it is fate. Just as you and I were fated to meet."
"There you go again."
"Heh heh. You need not take my words to heart. All things shall proceed according to their proper course."
Paranet had not said it merely to amuse himself. In any case, Yujun had never simply named the Demon God Worshippers his final enemy. As Paranet said, he had to prepare for the worst, and the worst was the Demon God's return. He meant to ready everything on the assumption that the Demon God would appear.
Watching Do Jiyun, Dokgo Minsu and Kim Yohan found their mouths watering as well.
"Everyone, gather round. There's plenty of meat."
"S-sure!"
"Come to think of it, the hour has come for me to take a meal as well."
They were sharing the finished yeti meat and passing a pleasant while when a single message arrived. It was from Atradeon.
Heaven's market. He could think of it as a black market.
While I'm there, I might as well look over the items.
Yujun, holder of a staggering number of points, let a smile touch his lips.