Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Imaginary Realm
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“Alright, I’ve earned my bus fare.”
“Where is it?”
I illuminated the darkness with a magic orb and stared at the wall. My eyes were getting bleary from staring at nothing but the wall for so long.
“Ugh...”
According to the novel’s description, there should be a special pattern around here.
“Huh? Is this it?”
I muttered while looking at a circular pattern drawn on the wall.
It was an ordinary pattern one might pass by in any dungeon, but knowing the novel’s content, I couldn’t just ignore it.
When I placed my hand on the wall, I felt a very faint flow of mana.
It was similar to the flow of mana from the barrier I had dispelled during the previous dungeon class.
“......This is it.”
This had to be the spot.
There was no reason for mana to emanate from the wall otherwise.
Beyond this wall, there must be a path leading to a hidden layer.
With conviction, I immediately activated the Outsider’s Boon.
[Unique trait, ‘Outsider’s Boon,’ activates.]
[Interpreting the magic formula.]
As the trait activated, the flow of mana became visible in my vision.
The wall was covered in complex magic formulas hidden by a special spell.
Normally, it would be hard to decipher, but my trait made it possible.
“Good, good.”
I placed my hand on the wall and altered the magic formulas one by one.
The barrier on the wall was just hard to find because it was concealed, but dispelling the magic formulas themselves was quite easy.
After a few minutes passed like that.
-Kuoooong......
A pure white light emanated from the wall, and it slowly began to crumble.
[You have achieved the ‘Barrier Dispel Expert’ accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 2,000 points as a reward.]
“Got it!”
I swatted away the accomplishment window that popped up in front of me and looked beyond the wall.
There was a single staircase beyond the wall.
It was exactly as described in the side story of Modern Wizard.
The side story covered the story after the ending of Modern Wizard.
The hidden layer that would be discovered ten years later had now revealed itself.
“Then, shall I head up?”
Just as I was about to climb the stairs.
Something I had momentarily forgotten came to mind.
“Right. There’s a demon appearance tonight......”
I had been so focused on finding the hidden layer here that I’d overlooked it for a moment.
I checked the time using my student handbook.
［6:20 PM］
The demon appearance starts at 9:30 PM.
“Three hours left.”
Three hours was plenty.
There was still time to spare.
Then, up I go.
I climbed the stairs to the hidden layer.
A lively, cheerful atmosphere where youth and happiness ran wild.
On this chilly night when winter’s cold had not yet fully receded, many people had gathered at the Han River.
They had come here for none other than the Han River fireworks festival starting at 10 PM tonight.
“Seojun, Youngjun. Come here.”
“Hm?”
Lee Hyun-joo smiled as she positioned Lee Seojun and Shin Youngjun in front of her. Behind them loomed a massive Ferris wheel wrapped in flashy lights.
Lee Hyun-joo took two steps back and activated the camera function on her smart student handbook.
Click.
“Ah. What the heck. Why’d you take it?”
Shin Youngjun, who usually hated having his picture taken, approached Lee Hyun-joo. She took one step back and laughed.
“What’re you saying. You two look great together.”
“Great my ass. Shut up and give me the student handbook. I’ll take yours.”
“Oh. Really?”
Lee Hyun-joo perked up at Shin Youngjun’s words, as if he were doing her a favor.
“Yeah, hand it over quick. That’s why I called you out anyway.”
“Hey, what kind of way is that to talk.”
“Of course I’m kidding. Heh heh. Hand over the student handbook already.”
Shin Youngjun took the student handbook and stood in front of the two.
With the handsome guy and pretty girl standing amiably together, surrounding gazes focused on them. Those gazes were filled with envy and admiration.
“But do we really have to take a picture?”
“It’s a souvenir. Of course we do.”
Lee Hyun-joo replied to Lee Seojun’s words and pressed right up against his side. Lee Seojun reluctantly flashed a natural smile at the camera.
Watching them, Shin Youngjun spoke.
“Alright. Taking it. One, two.”
Click.
As the camera shutter sounded, Lee Hyun-joo relaxed her pose.
“Did you get it good?”
“As if. You two come out good no matter how sloppily I take it.”
“Oh my. Such smooth talk.”
Lee Hyun-joo chuckled.
“Look at the picture.”
Lee Hyun-joo slowly approached Shin Youngjun.
Lee Seojun followed behind her.
“Let’s see Youngjun’s photography skills.” Lee Hyun-joo took the student handbook and checked the photo.
“Hey. The night view in the back isn’t visible.”
“What’re you talking about. It’s perfectly visible.”
“Visible my foot. Can’t you see the sides are all cut off?”
“Man, you’re picky. Take it again?”
Shin Youngjun, who had been speaking with a bewildered face, noticed something in the photo at that moment.
“Huh? Hey. Wait. What’s this?”
Lee Hyun-joo and Lee Seojun looked at him at Shin Youngjun’s words.
“What?”
“Look here.”
Shin Youngjun pointed to one spot in the photo.
What he pointed to was a man in a black fedora visible far behind Lee Hyun-joo and Lee Seojun.
“What about it?”
“Take a good look.”
Shin Youngjun zoomed in greatly on the man.
A man in a black fedora. The man’s face somehow looked haggard.
His cheeks were sunken as if he hadn’t eaten for days, and the dark circles under his eyes were deep—he didn’t look to be in good condition at all. Up to here, he just seemed like a man in poor health.
But that wasn’t all.
“......Huh?”
It was the man’s eyes. The whites of the man’s eyes weren’t visible. His entire eyes were black. Lee Seojun muttered softly upon seeing it.
“......A demon?”
Entirely black eyes were a trait of demons.
Of course, when a demon was in human form, it wasn’t easy to detect unless using special techniques.
However, demons in poor physical condition or with mental issues sometimes had their eye transformations slip, turning out like that.
And usually, demons showing such abnormal symptoms would soon enter a rampage state and attack people indiscriminately.
Lee Seojun quickly turned to look behind him. The man in the black fedora from the photo was nowhere to be seen.
[You have entered the hidden layer of the Tower of Proof, ‘Imaginary Realm.’]
[The Tower of Proof takes notice of you.]
[Mystical mana envelops you.]
As I climbed the stairs, the tower’s will echoed in my mind.
A mystical power dwelled within me. I could feel the mana in my body surging.
I raised my head and looked around.
In the blink of an eye, the space had changed.
Unlike the previous pitch-black layer, this place was blindingly white and bright. Looking down at my feet, even the stairs I had climbed had vanished.
[You have achieved the ‘Mystical Explorer’ accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 5,000 points as a reward.]
“......It really feels different.”
The floor of the vast space was covered in flowers of every color. Between bird nests on the ceiling, small birds flew about chirping.
The ceiling was pure white but adorned with elegant golden border patterns.
A space I had only seen described in the novel.
Coming face-to-face with it in reality, a slight sense of awe welled up.
“Wow. It’s really pretty.”
I walked slowly, admiring the flowers on the floor, then stopped. In front of me stood a beautiful statue of a goddess holding a sword downward.
At that moment, the tower’s will spoke again.
[O climber of the Tower of Proof.]
[Can you prove yourself?]
The goddess statue’s eyes glowed.
Strong mana spread around the goddess statue. The flower petals on the floor shook as if caught in a gale from the aftermath.
A moment later, five glowing somethings appeared around the goddess statue.
—Giggle giggle giggle.
—Hee hee giggle.
The glowing somethings laughed.
Flower Fairies.
Contrary to their pretty name, they were ferocious monsters that attacked humans on sight.
The monster rank of Flower Fairies was C-grade.
In truth, Flower Fairies weren’t that strong of monsters. But their uniquely small bodies made them hard to hit with magic, troublesome even for B-grade or higher wizards.
Was the hidden layer’s trial beginning now?
I manifested two spells above my hand.
Flower Fairies were nimble and small, making them hard to hit, but their attack and defense weren’t particularly high.
The key was to manifest them as lightly as possible and release them at maximum speed for accuracy.
“Hah!”
I released the small manifested spells toward the Flower Fairies.
Since I’d put minimal mana into them, I released them at the maximum speed I could manage. But because I’d made the magic orbs small, they barely missed the Flower Fairies.
“Tch.”
—Giggle giggle.
—Hee hee hee hee.
Once more!
I began manifesting and releasing just like before.
But this time, I didn’t release just one or two spells like earlier.
With the intent to land at least one hit, I continuously released multiple spells.
The Flower Fairies twisted their bodies diligently, dodging the magic orbs one by one. However, they couldn’t evade the endlessly pouring magic orbs forever.
-Kyaaak!
The Flower Fairies fell one by one.
By relentlessly releasing spells without pause, soon all the Flower Fairies screamed and vanished.
“Phew. Finally succeeded.”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and exhaled.
It was a somewhat brute-force method, but with my limited mana reserves, it was the only choice.
Making the manifestations larger would increase the risk too much if I missed.
Still, succeeding before my mana ran out was fortunate.
“Now I just wait?”
According to the novel, special rewards from the hidden layer drop the moment all Flower Fairies are defeated.
I’d just taken out all of them, so the reward should come now.
I swallowed hard and waited for the reward to drop.
At that moment, the goddess statue’s eyes glowed again.
[Proof has failed.]
“What?”
Dazed by the sudden absurdity, my mind went blank.
Proof failed?
No, this wasn’t in the original story?
[O climber of the Tower of Proof.]
[Can you prove yourself?]
“No, I just proved it! I took out all the Flower Fairies!”
As I shouted, strong mana spread around the goddess statue once more.
Whoosh!
A burning sound came from somewhere. I turned my head toward the noise.
“......Huh?”
Flames were raging.
The beautiful flower field had turned into a sea of fire in an instant. The birds peacefully flying from the ceiling choked and plummeted to the floor.
“Cough! Cough! What the hell?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, I panicked.
Why was this happening all of a sudden?
The choking smoke from the blaze suffocated me. I covered my nose and mouth with my clothes and quickly looked around.
‘Should I get out of here?’
A way out of this place......
There was none.
The stairs that had led me to the hidden layer had long since disappeared.
What do I do? How should I handle this?
I thought rapidly.
At that moment, the tower’s will I’d just heard came to mind.
‘Can you prove yourself?’
Proof......
The reason for proof failure......
Now I remembered.
What the Tower of Proof meant by proof.
The proof the Tower of Proof referred to was one’s unique talent or skill that only ‘I’ possess.
In other words, proving one’s individuality that no one else has.
But when facing the Flower Fairies, I hadn’t shown my unique individuality.
Unlike the novel’s content, I’d solved it by brute-forcing spells.
That wasn’t my individuality.
The Tower of Proof had recognized that and declared proof failure.
The tower’s difficulty is usually determined by the rank of monsters encountered and the traps installed.
Having failed the monster-based proof, the next trial using traps had begun.
Therefore, this sea of fire wasn’t real.
It was a trap created by magic. I needed to dispel it to prove my ability.
[Unique trait, ‘Outsider’s Boon,’ activates.]
[Interpreting the magic formula.]
Using Outsider’s Boon, the special magic installed in this space became visible to me.