Yoahim? Where Are You Going?
After finishing his private meeting with Haellagos, Yoahim was heading to the interdimensional elevator when Halbert called out to him.
"Yoahim? Where are you going?"
Unlike the others, Halbert hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, maintaining his impeccable demeanor. It was exactly the look one would expect from Haellagos's first adjutant and administrative officer.
"Ah, just heading back to rest."
"You look pretty worn out. But you're the guest of honor at the banquet—why not stick around and enjoy it a bit longer?"
"Sorry. I've got stuff to do starting tomorrow, so I should turn in early."
"I think I can guess what that 'stuff' is."
Given Halbert's position, he clearly knew what Haellagos had in mind. Rather than say much, Yoahim just nodded curtly.
"Do you even know where your room is?"
"Ah..."
Ever since arriving in the Withered Land, Yoahim hadn't received any proper orientation about life here. He'd gone straight to the Spire Tower upon arrival, then gotten dragged into battle because of Tilia. After that, the banquet had started before he could even catch his breath.
Haellagos hadn't told him where he'd be staying from now on, so even if he left the Spire Tower right now, he had nowhere to go.
Seeing Yoahim's flustered expression, Halbert chuckled softly.
"I'll show you. Your quarters are on the 5th floor of the Spire Tower."
"Where on the 5th floor? It can't be the whole floor, right?"
"No, sir. The entire 5th floor is yours."
"The entire 5th floor is mine?"
Yoahim was caught off guard again by the sheer scale of it. The 5th floor didn't look any smaller than the one they were on now. It was a massive space that had hosted a banquet for countless people—he couldn't imagine using it all by himself.
Even sharing it with Leon and Sasha would feel too big.
Yoahim had no idea why he'd been given the entire 5th floor of the Spire Tower, but he decided to turn it down for now. Honestly, it felt overwhelming.
"A room that huge is too much for me. Just get me a small house in the city or something."
"We can't do that. The master's adjutants are each assigned to guard one floor of the tower. Giving you the 5th is for that same reason."
"But I'm not an adjutant yet."
"You will be soon. I know full well how much trust the master has in you. Frankly, it rubs me the wrong way a bit. The 5th floor is right below where the master stays. Handing such a vital spot not to us—who've served him loyally all this time—but to some new rolling stone like you."
Straight shooter—I like that.
Yoahim smirked.
"Looks like a lot of people don't like me."
"But don't get the wrong idea. It's not jealousy. If you prove yourself worthy of the master's trust, I suspect I'll come to respect you too."
"I'll do my best. Mind if I bring my friends up to the 5th floor?"
"Not at all. It's plenty spacious—far too much for one person. And later, bring in some soldiers too."
"Soldiers as well?"
"As I said, your role as lord of the 5th floor is to keep enemies from reaching the master. You don't plan to hold them off alone, do you? Think of each floor as its own dungeon. You're the boss of yours."
Yoahim nodded quietly at Halbert's explanation. Halbert continued.
"The more achievements you rack up, the larger your unit will grow. Pick reliable ones from the ranks and assign them as your soldiers."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind. So, can I head up to the 5th now?"
"Oh, I've kept you too long. Go on. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Yoahim gave a casual wave, and Halbert nodded. Walking past him with steady footsteps, Yoahim took the interdimensional elevator down to the 1st floor.
First things first—he needed to grab Leon and Sasha from the temple before heading to the 5th.
"Where was that temple again...?"
Recalling the way he'd gone with Tilia, Yoahim wandered the night streets until he spotted the massive temple. Torches blazed everywhere to light the dark surroundings, lending the temple an even more mystical air.
One might expect a temple at night to feel eerie, but not here. The shrine to the god of death brimmed instead with a solemn, sacred aura.
"A god's a god, huh."
The world was born of creation and death. They could seal the god of death, Kallagon, but they couldn't erase death itself. As long as death existed in the world, Kallagon would endure as the eternal saint.
"Brother, welcome to the Haellagoria Temple. What brings you here?"
The demon priest guarding the entrance torches recognized Yoahim and smiled. He had a monk-like tonsure from the medieval era; as he bowed slightly, the firelight glinted off the bare center of his scalp. Yoahim stifled a laugh with a loud cough.
"Came to see my friends. Too late for visitors?"
"You must be here for the recovery ward. It's before bedtime, so you're fine. Shall I take you to them?"
"Yeah."
"This way."
Yoahim followed the demon priest to the recovery ward. After a long corridor and passing through an arched marble door, they arrived.
A few injured patients inside were chatting by candlelight or reading alone. Those who'd recovered seemed to have been discharged, so it was quieter than during the day. Thanks to that, Yoahim quickly spotted Leon and Sasha.
"Apostle! You're back!"
Yoahim waved cheerfully at Sasha, who greeted him with a bright smile. Leon, who'd been doing sit-ups with his feet hooked on the bed frame, sat up at the sound. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, steadied his breathing, and turned to Yoahim.
"You're back, Apostle. Thought you'd ditched us since you didn't show."
"As if I'd abandon you guys."
"Honestly, getting left behind wouldn't be so bad. Plenty of our kin here. Perfect spot to start a new life under a new boss."
"Why say something like that?"
Leon dressed with a deadpan expression. Yoahim sighed at him, then spoke again.
"Come on. We're staying in the Spire Tower from now on."
"Impressive, Apostle. Already setting up a nest here? Maybe you're more suited to this place than I thought."
"It's not about being suited... Never mind. Let's go. Sasha, pack your things."
"Yes, Apostle!"
Leon and Sasha jumped up, gathered their belongings, and followed Yoahim. They'd apparently made friends with some other demons and dark elves during their short stay—a few called out farewells.
"Brother, safe travels. May Kallagon's grace always be with you."
"Take care."
After bidding goodbye to the demon priest at the entrance, Yoahim's group headed to the Spire Tower. Seeing it for the first time, Leon and Sasha let out awed "oohs."
They rode the interdimensional elevator to the 5th floor, where an empty expanse greeted them. Aside from the pillars holding up the floor above, there was truly nothing—almost disorientingly so.
Makes sense. To turn this into a dungeon, starting empty is ideal.
After conquering Levia Castle, he'd have to renovate this place bit by bit. As Yoahim pondered troop placements and structures, Sasha's voice pulled his attention.
"Apostle, just the three of us using this whole place?"
"Uh... yeah. Pick any spot for your room. Servants will come tomorrow. Oh, and gather round—I have something to say."
"Hm, Apostle. Finally confessing your corpse-loving tendencies?"
"No, you lunatic."
Yoahim sighed once, then relayed what Haellagos had told him: his appointment as vice captain, the order to assault Levia Castle as vanguard starting tomorrow, and his plan to make Leon and Sasha his lieutenants.
After hearing it all, Leon nodded.
"Not thrilled about working for Haellagos, but if it's your will, Apostle."
"I'm not crazy about it either, but I'll follow your lead, Apostle."
"Thanks. Rest up, then—see you tomorrow. I've got work to do."
Leon and Sasha nodded and went off to find beds. Yoahim headed deeper inside alone.
Once by himself, he opened his inventory and pulled out a book—the skillbook from Tolstone Tower.
Need to learn a new skill before tomorrow's fight.
It was just the beginner spell Shield, but better than nothing. It could at least block a arrow or two.
Yoahim placed his hand on the skillbook.
Would you like to acquire Shield?
"Yes."
With the succinct alert, Yoahim felt Shield added to his skill list.
"Shield."
Got a new skill—gotta test it out.
A translucent barrier materialized in front of him.
"Mana cost is reasonable, and the durability... Not bad."
He tapped it with his hand; it seemed sturdy enough for a hit or two.
"I've learned a ton of skills, but still not enough... They're all just beginner stuff anyway."
He knew plenty, but they were all low-level. Fine against weak foes when he was low-level too, but against stronger enemies, they'd be useless.
"Maybe I should research magic like a real mage."
Yoahim recalled the Tolstone mages' spells. But he wasn't thinking of parallel incantation processing—that only worked with multiple mages drilled in sync.
What caught his interest were the fragmented incantations they used.
"Breaking incantations into pieces and reassembling them on the fly is definitely useful."
An incantation was sound infused with power. Words formed from mana combined into sentences, producing a unified sound.
Words, sentences, sound. Mana, incantations, mages. These were the core elements of casting magic.
A mage casting was like assembling words into sentences and speaking them aloud. Yoahim focused on that.
Sentence order could change meaning entirely. Nuances shifted intent too.
Incantations worked the same. Tweak the order or meaning slightly, and you got unexpected effects.
"Fragment the sentence. Break it into words and recombine them."
Yoahim had never memorized incantations before—just shouted skill names, and they activated. But now, for the first time, he was trying to cast by reciting one.
Conveniently, the depleted skillbook had reverted to a basic magic tome, full of foundational references.
"Can't tweak too little or too much."
Changing "one" to "once" wouldn't alter the sentence's meaning much—same result.
Scrambling word order too wildly was bad too. A sentence needed coherent meaning to hold power. A jumble of words wasn't a sentence.
"Carefully... Not too little, not too much..."
Yoahim slowly analyzed Shield's incantation, dissected it, and reassembled it. The incantation fragment of moderate length was reborn in his mind as a new one.
One piece. The single remaining gap after cutting and pasting.
Yoahim swallowed hard and slotted in the final word.
Crackle!
"Whoa!"
Yoahim jolted back at the sight of the Shield filling his view. At first, he thought a botched word order had caused a mana explosion.
But no—his magic had worked perfectly.
The Shield glowed with a yellowish tint, crackling with powerful electricity across its surface.
"It worked... Shield and Lightning Bolt combined!"
Yoahim had soloed what had taken three Tolstone mages dividing roles. Success brought more bewilderment than joy.
"It actually worked? Maybe the Tolstone Tower Master was right—am I a real genius?"