Chapter 679: The Tower Without a Ceiling and the Intermingling Humans - 10
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 679: The Tower Without a Ceiling and the Intermingling Humans - 10
Elisha Celsius was a genius. She had been one from the moment she realized it, and she remained one to this day.
She had a sister three years her senior, but they were always on the same level. Elisha learned the same things as Elcia and used the same magic. It was as if Elisha’s genius made up for the disadvantage of being born three years later.
The reality, however, was different.
Despite being born three years earlier, Elisha’s sister felt inadequate. She tried to close the gap through efforts so strenuous she coughed up blood, but even that wasn't enough. Had Elisha not deliberately neglected her studies, the gap would have only continued to widen.
Elisha saw and understood her sister’s inferiority complex, her competitiveness, her effort, and her venom. She realized her sister stayed up all night studying, coughing up blood, out of a desperate desire not to be surpassed by her younger sibling.
And she also knew that no matter how powerful those feelings were, her sister could never surpass her. That intense sense of inferiority might help her sister grow to some extent, but it would soon destroy her.
To know more is to be able to grieve more. Feeling a sense of sorrow, Elisha decided to step aside for her sister’s sake. On her eighth birthday, Elisha resolved to ascend the Floating Castle as quickly as possible.
Two years later, she awakened her Unique Magic and earned the right to enter the Floating Castle. On the night everyone celebrated her achievement, Elcia Celsius came to her and berated her.
"Coward," she had said.
The more capable person must be the one to yield. It has less to do with ability and more to do with being the first to recognize the problem. Elisha learned this truth by watching her beloved, yet deeply flawed, sister.
What she saw upon entering the Floating Castle were mages who, despite being less skilled than her, lorded their positions over others simply because they were on higher floors. Elisha pitied them. To Elisha Celsius, the mages of the Floating Castle were no different from the ignorant masses of the world below.
Elisha was brilliant, and at the same time, kind. She, who looked down on everyone with a gentle superiority, possessed a rare talent among mages. It was a talent called charisma—a talent a mage could not and should not possess.
Buoyed by this talent, Elisha became the youngest Blue Tower Master and interacted extensively with other mages both inside and outside the tower. Her exceptional talent gradually led her to explore more difficult subjects.
That was how the Shrine of the Divine was created.
Like all knowledge, the Divine is not difficult to understand, only to find. After gathering information on the Divine and gaining knowledge by investigating Mother Earth and the Golden Lord, the Blue Tower Master learned of the relics of the Divine.
A plain had been laid to waste after the Abyss appeared. The Golden Lord’s mere existence created and destroyed the nation of the Fallen Dominion. In Manguo, the Tree of Corruption held sway over the jungle in place of the World Tree.
The relic of a great hero might change a single domain, but a relic of the Divine held the power to transform an entire nation. Moreover, it was not a refined power like the relic in the Celsius domain. It simply scattered its power haphazardly, yet it was enough to make nations tremble.
Perhaps.
If I could systematically weave it together.
Couldn't I create a rule to govern the world?
Sweet honey attracts insects. The alluring concept of a "world law" gathered all manner of geniuses. The Blue Tower Master’s authority and resources, combined with the fiery debates of these geniuses, allowed the Shrine of the Divine to gradually take on a clearer, more powerful form.
Then one day, the White Tower Master paid her a visit. The enigmatic woman secretly summoned the Blue Tower Master and showed her the "truth."
The star floating beyond the sky. Pride.
A weapon created for the sole purpose of crashing into the surface.
Elisha understood Pride’s purpose and its danger. She also understood that it would be difficult to share this knowledge with the other mages. Hwaran Fahrenheit, who had burned down her own domain, wouldn't care about the dangers of Pride. No, she might even try to use that danger as a weapon to achieve something.
Hwaran, who had once tried to create a perpetual motion machine from an eternally burning flame, was capable of it.
Elisha wanted to stop the Shrine of the Divine. But mages were not the type to obey another mage’s orders. With Hwaran and Lankart having joined, the Shrine of the Divine was a runaway train with no brakes; even without the Blue Tower Master as its focal point, it would lurch forward. It was bound to reach the Divine someday.
So Elisha left the Shrine of the Divine and joined forces with the White Tower Master. Because…
Elisha was a coward.
"I don't understand why you're getting involved in this fight in the first place. Is mediating your hobby?"
My words pierced the Blue Tower Master’s heart.
"First, you tried to stop the Green and Black Tower Masters. Then you tried to stop the Red Tower Master. You climbed the tower to stop Lankart and me, and now you're trying to stop the White Tower Master. You're just trying to play the role of mediator."
I couldn't face both the Blue and White Tower Masters at the same time. I had to either win the Blue Tower Master over or make her leave. And that wasn't very difficult.
"Are you afraid of fighting?"
Elisha replied lightly.
"I'm not afraid of fighting. I've never lost. I just think it's a foolish and pointless endeavor."
"Is that why you've only ever retreated? You retreated from the Celsius domain to avoid fighting your sister, and you retreated from the Shrine of the Divine to avoid fighting the Red Tower Master."
The Blue Tower Master is a mediator. She strives to resolve conflicts between two sides. She is the very image of a person that Order would favor.
She has a cool, sociable personality, and possesses the reasoning and rationality befitting her brilliant intellect. But the Blue Tower Master has a weakness.
"Retreat from here, just like you always do. This isn't a fight for you to meddle in. Your job here is to keep Avant-garde safe."
"Stopping you is also my job. Stop this, right here. Then no one gets hurt."
She's just too strong.
She needs no particular resolve. With her powerful Unique Magic and outstanding magical skill, she could easily subdue her opponents. She could pause the fight and bring about peace.
That was why Elisha couldn't understand the kind of intense emotion that would make someone burn even themselves. In fact, she found it burdensome and frightening.
"What's up there isn't 'Pride.' 'Pride' is merely a byproduct of the Divine. The real thing is the Divine beyond it. The great knowledge that placed a star in the sky. I'm going to have it."
"It's the same thing. In the end, you'll get your hands on 'Pride.' It shouldn't fall into anyone's hands."
"There's a contradiction in what you're saying, Blue Tower Master. The Mage King already possesses 'Pride,' doesn't he? It's the knowledge he offered as a prize."
The Blue Tower Master left the Shrine of the Divine. She gave up on her own, even though she could have obtained 'Pride' if things had gone differently.
"If you truly wanted to protect 'Pride,' you should have been the first to climb the Tower of Babel and obtain the knowledge of 'Pride.' Then you should have held it close and protected it. Just like the Mage King."
"...That's only possible because it's my master."
"Then it's also the Mage King's right to pass that knowledge on. Why are you trying to stand in the way? Why didn't you just fairly obtain the Divine and monopolize it yourself?"
There were likely complex reasons. Space magic was a power that defied common sense, something not even the Blue Tower Master could easily master, and it would be difficult to manage even if she did obtain it.
But more than anything, she was burdened by the thought of all the mages who would come after her power if she were to obtain that knowledge.
"The Mage King intended to pass 'Pride' and the Divine to someone else. As one of the top five mages in the Floating Castle, you might have been able to pass his test. But you chose to become a gatekeeper instead. For someone who volunteered to be a gatekeeper, your resolve is far too weak."
"Resolve? I don't need it."
"Yes, you do. I'll show you myself."
Now free, I walked forward, step by step. Once the Blue Tower Master moved, a liberated Shei shattered the ice crystal and rushed over, while Lankart broke through Ruel's light trap and approached me. And someone in disguise slipped into the crowd of mages.
Even the White Tower Master would have a hard time dealing with Shei, Lankart, and me all at once. The Blue Tower Master, not forgetting her duty, infused her mana into the atmosphere. With the power to freeze the very air, she could stop this battle as well.
"If you're going to interfere, do it with the proper resolve, Elisha Celsius."
I took a bold step toward the Blue Tower Master. She reacted to my aggressive posture. Mana spread out like tree branches, and a blue wall formed before my eyes.
This was a duel. Me, aiming for the Blue Tower Master. And the Blue Tower Master, who had to stop me. If she posed a problem, I had to solve it. If I solved them all and reached her, I would win.
The first problem was, as expected, an Ice Crystal. The Blue Tower Master created a shield of ice to block my approach.
"It's an Ice Crystal. You experienced it in the Celsius domain, right? Be careful, it's dangerous."
She was actually warning me. The Blue Tower Master's warning was so gentle it was almost kind. So much so that it made me want to snort.
"At this stage, you're talking about danger over a mere ice crystal?"
Instead of resisting, I ran with the wind. I could see the air before me slowly solidifying into crystals. An Ice Crystal was a wind bomb that could detonate at any moment. Without any hesitation, I reached out my hand.
My boldness seemed to fluster the Blue Tower Master even more.
"Wait. That's danger—"
But the moment I snatched the Ice Crystal with my bare hands, it transformed into hundreds of cards and fluttered to the ground.
An Ice Crystal? A solid mass transformed by mana at the moment of crystallization via Unique Magic. No matter how dangerous it was, I just had to change it with alchemy.
"Alchemy on an Ice Crystal...?! How?"
"That's for you to figure out. Give me the next problem."
Though flustered, the Blue Tower Master immediately cast another spell. Cold mana enveloped my entire body.
Strategy-level magic, Ice Statue. A spell that traps the target by turning the moisture around their body into ice. It was the spell she had used in the Celsius domain by manipulating the freezing point. Without the first Celsius's thermometer, I had no way to break the ice now.
So, I'll just prevent the ice from forming in the first place.
"Hoo—"
I recalled the magic I saw in the Crystal Tower. Crystal Amber, a spell devised by the 6th-floor disciple, Amber. A spell that covers one's body in crystal.
With my meager mana, I could only cover the first millimeter of my skin, but that was enough.
I'll freeze myself before I'm frozen.
'Hughes's body is immune to my Unique Magic?'
The Blue Tower Master's Unique Magic was the power to crystallize matter.
Just as you cannot kill what is already dead, you cannot crystallize what is already a crystal. By turning myself into crystal beforehand, I escaped Elisha's control. That was all it took.
"Your resolve is lacking. Is this all you've got? Give me the next problem."
I had overcome two hurdles. What I saw before me was the face of the Blue Tower Master, looking a little frightened. The instant I reached for her, an Ice Crystal floated up before my eyes.
"Haaaa—"
Condensed air, an Ice Crystal. A substance that was itself a bomb. Before I could even react, the Blue Tower Master released the crystallized ice. The solidified air instantly turned back into gas and exploded.
'Oops. I released the Ice Crystal without thinking. He could die...!'
It was too late to take it back. And I had no intention of letting her.
I endured.
The impact shoved my entire body back, and the wind mercilessly battered my head. But I planted my feet on the ground and held firm. My neck snapped once, and the sudden pressure change caused blood to burst from my mouth, but I somehow managed to withstand it with my regeneration.
The Blue Tower Master, who had watched my gruesome state up close, was suddenly terrified.
'How...? Why? Why would he go that far?'
It was only possible because it was a hastily made Ice Crystal. I clenched my teeth, swallowed the flowing blood, and glared at her. Overwhelmed by my intense emotion, the cool demeanor she usually displayed had completely vanished. With all her magic countered, she was nothing more than a fragile girl.
That brief opening was all I needed. My hand finally reached the Blue Tower Master.
"Mmph!"
'It hurts...! My magic was broken?! In that short time? Wait. Could he...'
I reached out and covered the Blue Tower Master's mouth. Her small jaw was caught in my hand. The texture I felt was endlessly soft and delicate. The Blue Tower Master was just a mage, after all.
With the strength I now possessed, slightly greater than that of an ordinary human, I could kill her right here.
'Die...?'
Of course, there was no reason to. The Blue Tower Master wasn't my enemy. And considering how Avant-garde or Shei would react if I hurt her, it was something I should never do.
I just needed to scare her enough so she wouldn't interfere.
"I win, Elisha. Do you understand now?"
Elisha's eyes reflected my savage appearance. Completely overwhelmed, she answered in a trembling voice.
"Y-Yes..."
"Smart girl. Good."
Growling like a beast, I gave the frightened Blue Tower Master a slight push. Her strength gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
With this, she wouldn't interfere with me or Shei anymore. Mission accomplished, for now.
The moment I felt a slight sense of relief, a fierce light flashed and sent my body flying without mercy.