Chapter 496: Quest (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 496: Quest (1)
Marco Toweo got his first-ever job working in the kitchens as a teenager. That experience sparked his interest in cooking, and he spent the years honing his talents until, two years ago at thirty years of age, he finally opened a small shop under his name on Ravigion Boulevard. He was also the husband of a beautiful wife and the father of two kids, and though he still felt like a kid on the inside, he did his best to take on the mantle of breadwinner without complaint. Whenever he felt wronged, he held it in, and if he could hold it in no longer, he would go somewhere far from others to let out his pent-up frustrations alone, and then head back home as his usual self.
But today...
"Ahhhhhh!"
By the time he came to his senses, he was already halfway up a flight of stairs with a shout tearing from his throat, surrounded by countless others.
"Today, we conquer the Magic Tower!"
Those words were what brought Marco Toweo crashing back down to reality. At that moment, he realized he was shoulder-to-shoulder with barbarian warriors, people he'd never imagined he would have cause to interact with within his lifetime. Not only that, but he was running straight toward a wizard who could easily stop them all with magic. He finally remembered where he was.
The Magic Tower...
He'd seen this place from afar all his life yet never once entered. How did this happen?
As he continued to climb the stairs, a wave of barbarians buoying him up from behind, the answer popped into his mind.
"Yandel! Bjorn Yandel is leading thousands of barbarian warriors to the Magic Tower!"
The famous hero, Bjorn, son of Yandel, had turned out to be just as incredible as all of the rumors said. Getting to see him in real life was exhilarating and electrifying. He seemed to radiate this unstoppable aura, his very presence warning off anyone who would get in his way from even trying.
"These people are wizards who made illegal commissions for the hearts of barbarians through the black market!"
The hero's powerful declaration in the square sent Marco's heart racing for the first time in a long time. Before he knew it, just like the rest of the crowd, he was also raising his voice and shouting at the Magic Tower. Yeah, thinking back, that was definitely when he joined in.
"A b-barrier...!"
"What do we do?"
"What do you mean?"
But how did he end up here? It wasn't like someone like him would be of any help here in the first place.
"Just break through it!"
"Raaaaaah!"
Everything he did, he did to keep his family safe and happy, so why was he suddenly following these people up the stairs like he was a younger man with nothing to lose?
Slam! Slam! Slam!
A wall made of magic blocked their path. "Baron Yandel, stop! This is as far as you go!" an arrogant-looking wizard from beyond the translucent barrier yelled.
Slam!
Like he didn't even hear him, Bjorn Yandel continued to swing his hammer. As he watched him up close, Marco finally realized something.
"Chieftain! You can't break through magic like—"
"Haven't I told you all before?
"...What?"
"If you can't break through something, that just means you aren't strong enough yet!"
The reason he ended up here was actually quite simple.
"But I am—we are—strong...!"
Because this man was strong.
Crack!
Strong enough that, no matter what stood in his path, he broke through it and pushed forward.
"Th-the barrier is cracking!"
And Marco wanted to see it. Even though today's quest might just be one of many harrowing adventures this man conquered in his lifetime, and even if Marco couldn't do much to help him on his journey...
Ba-dump!
He wanted to see it at least once.
Craaaaaash!
The Giant. Bjorn, son of Yandel.
He wanted to see what this man was made of.
***
The Magic Tower, home to this kingdom's most valued subjects—its wizards—had never once been invaded despite its long history and was, thus, considered an impenetrable fortress.
I, however, disagreed with that.
'Impenetrable'? They're only saying that because no would-be invaders had ever had a reason to storm it.
The Tower was an organization entirely composed of wizards, meaning its party comp completely disregarded the delicate balance between damage dealers and tanks. Though the different types of magic making up its defenses were a pain in the ass to break through, it was nowhere near impenetrable.
What's more, they don't all seem to be on the same page.
Right now, justification and public opinion were on my side. Since the Magic Tower was composed of hundreds of different schools with their own interests, many of the wizards present didn't even bother stepping forward to stop me even though I was technically leading an invasion.
"Don't get in our way! We only want the criminals!"
Many of the schools that weren't directly involved in this incident simply closed the doors to their labs, waiting for the storm to pass. Still, many wizards did step forward to stop us, since they couldn't stand the idea of being humiliated by some uppity barbarians. However...
Your casting was interrupted, huh? Tough luck.
Most of the wizards of the Magic Tower were researchers, so they weren't accustomed to battle. They instead spent day in and day out trapped in their labs, studying magic and magical theory. It would be ridiculous to expect them to perform on the same level as battle mages. Not only that, but they also had another major disadvantage stacked against them.
"...Master! L-Let's just burn them all! B-Before they break through the barriers!"
"We can't... Can't you see?" Alongside the barbarian warriors storming into the Magic Tower was a group of civilians who had joined their cause.
"Master! They aren't civilians. They're just rioters!"
"We already received an official notice from the military. We are forbidden from harming any civilians."
"But... we won't last much longer if this continues! They've already gotten all the way up here!"
"...We just have to hold out a bit longer, until the military arrives. Then victory will be ours."
"If you can't break through something, that just means you aren't strong enough yet!"
The reason he ended up here was actually quite simple.
"But I am—we are—strong...!"
Because this man was strong.
Crack!
Strong enough that, no matter what stood in his path, he broke through it and pushed forward.
"Th-the barrier is cracking!"
And Marco wanted to see it. Even though today's quest might just be one of many harrowing adventures this man conquered in his lifetime, and even if Marco couldn't do much to help him on his journey...
Ba-dump!
He wanted to see it at least once.
Craaaaaash!
The Giant. Bjorn, son of Yandel.
He wanted to see what this man was made of.
***
The Magic Tower, home to this kingdom's most valued subjects—its wizards—had never once been invaded despite its long history and was, thus, considered an impenetrable fortress.
I, however, disagreed with that.
'Impenetrable'? They're only saying that because no would-be invaders had ever had a reason to storm it.
The Tower was an organization entirely composed of wizards, meaning its party comp completely disregarded the delicate balance between damage dealers and tanks. Though the different types of magic making up its defenses were a pain in the ass to break through, it was nowhere near impenetrable.
What's more, they don't all seem to be on the same page.
Right now, justification and public opinion were on my side. Since the Magic Tower was composed of hundreds of different schools with their own interests, many of the wizards present didn't even bother stepping forward to stop me even though I was technically leading an invasion.
"Don't get in our way! We only want the criminals!"
Many of the schools that weren't directly involved in this incident simply closed the doors to their labs, waiting for the storm to pass. Still, many wizards did step forward to stop us, since they couldn't stand the idea of being humiliated by some uppity barbarians. However...
Your casting was interrupted, huh? Tough luck.
Most of the wizards of the Magic Tower were researchers, so they weren't accustomed to battle. They instead spent day in and day out trapped in their labs, studying magic and magical theory. It would be ridiculous to expect them to perform on the same level as battle mages. Not only that, but they also had another major disadvantage stacked against them.
"...Master! L-Let's just burn them all! B-Before they break through the barriers!"
"We can't... Can't you see?" Alongside the barbarian warriors storming into the Magic Tower was a group of civilians who had joined their cause.
"Master! They aren't civilians. They're just rioters!"
"We already received an official notice from the military. We are forbidden from harming any civilians."
"But... we won't last much longer if this continues! They've already gotten all the way up here!"
"...We just have to hold out a bit longer, until the military arrives. Then victory will be ours."
Thanks to the civilians who joined us, the wizards were unable to use their greatest weapon—Area of Effect attacks. Instead, they could only cast defensive spells.
[You have cast Swing. The damage you deal with blunt weapons has increased significantly in proportion to your Muscle Strength.]
Thanks to that, we were able to make our way up the stairs one floor at a time while smashing through the barriers they shoved in our way.
"...Dirty savages! You will regret this!"
The wizards we captured were tied up with rope and made our prisoners.
"Bjorn! You go up! We'll continue searching this floor!"
With each floor we climbed, a few warriors stayed behind to search for the wizards on our list.
"Ainar, don't search through any of the schools that didn't show up on the list until you've already checked everywhere else."
"Huh? But those bastards might be hiding with another school!"
"Just do it last."
There was a chance that we might search the entire tower and not find a single criminal on our list anyway. I also wanted to avoid making enemies of the other, innocent schools. What we had already achieved today would be enough to make these wizards quake in their boots every time they came across a barbarian for the rest of their lives.
But I have to make sure not to cross the line here. If I do, all of the schools within the Magic Tower may end up joining forces against us, which could end up being a major headache in the future.
"Remember, you can't kill anyone. You can only capture them! Got it?"
That was why I continued to emphasize that whenever I could. If we slaughtered every wizard we encountered, we would be written off as violent trespassers without just cause.
Are we already on the thirtieth floor...?
As my march up the tower continued, I was met with even more barriers.
"It's the baron! The baron is here...!" There was a gaggle of wizards gathered behind the translucent barrier, eyeing me nervously. "Baron! Turn around right now! Do you know how many laws you've broken?"
Again, they tried to persuade me and curse me out in the same breath. Unfortunately for them, I didn't plan on stopping just yet, though.
Crack!
I bashed my hammer square into the barrier. After about ten uses of Swing, it slowly began to crack. However, I noticed that the higher I went, the stronger the barriers became. And that wasn't the only bad news.
"Chieftain! The royal army! The royal army has arrived!"
Military backup had arrived. They'd shown up sooner than I expected them to.
They must have gotten orders to deploy the moment we stepped foot in the city... Damn it. This place is unnecessarily efficient when it comes to stuff like this.
"It's over! Lay down your weapons and give up, warriors!" It seemed the wizards had also heard the news, because they brightened and started shouting at us again from beyond the barrier, looking much more confident. It made sense. Even if we tried to keep bulldozing through, the royal army was sure to stop us before we could conquer the entire tower.
Fine. That's that, then.
Right on time, the barrier blocking the stairwell to the next floor was broken. The wizards who had been trying to maintain it with their mana scrambled upstairs in a panic, but the warriors were able to capture a few of them.
Thanks to the civilians who joined us, the wizards were unable to use their greatest weapon—Area of Effect attacks. Instead, they could only cast defensive spells.
[You have cast Swing. The damage you deal with blunt weapons has increased significantly in proportion to your Muscle Strength.]
Thanks to that, we were able to make our way up the stairs one floor at a time while smashing through the barriers they shoved in our way.
"...Dirty savages! You will regret this!"
The wizards we captured were tied up with rope and made our prisoners.
"Bjorn! You go up! We'll continue searching this floor!"
With each floor we climbed, a few warriors stayed behind to search for the wizards on our list.
"Ainar, don't search through any of the schools that didn't show up on the list until you've already checked everywhere else."
"Huh? But those bastards might be hiding with another school!"
"Just do it last."
There was a chance that we might search the entire tower and not find a single criminal on our list anyway. I also wanted to avoid making enemies of the other, innocent schools. What we had already achieved today would be enough to make these wizards quake in their boots every time they came across a barbarian for the rest of their lives.
But I have to make sure not to cross the line here. If I do, all of the schools within the Magic Tower may end up joining forces against us, which could end up being a major headache in the future.
"Remember, you can't kill anyone. You can only capture them! Got it?"
That was why I continued to emphasize that whenever I could. If we slaughtered every wizard we encountered, we would be written off as violent trespassers without just cause.
Are we already on the thirtieth floor...?
As my march up the tower continued, I was met with even more barriers.
"It's the baron! The baron is here...!" There was a gaggle of wizards gathered behind the translucent barrier, eyeing me nervously. "Baron! Turn around right now! Do you know how many laws you've broken?"
Again, they tried to persuade me and curse me out in the same breath. Unfortunately for them, I didn't plan on stopping just yet, though.
Crack!
I bashed my hammer square into the barrier. After about ten uses of Swing, it slowly began to crack. However, I noticed that the higher I went, the stronger the barriers became. And that wasn't the only bad news.
"Chieftain! The royal army! The royal army has arrived!"
Military backup had arrived. They'd shown up sooner than I expected them to.
They must have gotten orders to deploy the moment we stepped foot in the city... Damn it. This place is unnecessarily efficient when it comes to stuff like this.
"It's over! Lay down your weapons and give up, warriors!" It seemed the wizards had also heard the news, because they brightened and started shouting at us again from beyond the barrier, looking much more confident. It made sense. Even if we tried to keep bulldozing through, the royal army was sure to stop us before we could conquer the entire tower.
Fine. That's that, then.
Right on time, the barrier blocking the stairwell to the next floor was broken. The wizards who had been trying to maintain it with their mana scrambled upstairs in a panic, but the warriors were able to capture a few of them.
"Chieftain! What do we do?"
"We have to go higher, quickly!"
Now that the military was getting involved, the warriors were starting to get antsy. However, I stopped our attack on the next floor up and doled out new orders. "Bring me all the criminals we've captured so far."
"O-Okay! We'll bring them here!"
We'd done the best we could. From now on, it was up to chance. If we had been able to find at least one of the criminals on the list somewhere on the bottom thirty-one floors of the tower, then that would make things much easier for me from here on out. At the same time, however, things would get a lot harder if we didn't.
I sighed.
So what was the outcome?
"Bjooorn!" It didn't take long before Ainar appeared in the stairwell. Like someone showing off a successful hunt, she held up three wizards by the napes of their necks with one hand—Extelin Flacco from the Mailen School, Mohilo Ostquin of the Bebektalt School, and Kuol Memendrick of the Ulters School.
One of them was not one of the twenty-two wizards I had named in front of the crowd. Not that that was an issue. I hadn't listed all of them back then. If I had said all their names, then I would have given them all time to escape to safety.
"Well done, Kharon, Ainar."
I asked them if they ran into any trouble subduing them, but they said it wasn't much of an issue. For some reason, these guys didn't try to escape the tower and instead just hid within their own schools.
It's a shame we couldn't find the bastard who put in the request for my heart. But I can settle for this.
I'd get my hands on him eventually. In fact, everything we were doing now would help springboard us closer to that goal.
"Th-this is a misunderstanding, Your Lordship!"
"We'll know soon enough if that's true. What's the situation downstairs, Ainar?"
"The warriors are blocking their way, but they won't hold out long. When I was down there, the soldiers had already made it up to the fourth floor."
"We'll have to get started, then." I activated the recording crystal ball I had on me then glanced around, catching the eye of a man standing nearby. He was a civilian who had followed us up to the thirty-first floor.
"What's your name?"
"I-It's Marco Toweo, Your L-Lordship!"
"Marco Toweo. I'll remember that. Now, I have a favor to ask of you." I handed him the crystal ball. "Can you stand over there and hold this? Make sure to hold it so it records both my face and theirs."
"I-It would be an honor! B-But...can a regular person like me really be entrusted with such an important task...?" He trembled, clearly afraid of messing up.
I patted him on the shoulder with a smile on my face. "I trust you." I did trust him much more than my fellow barbarians. How could I hand one of them a delicate device they'd never used before in their lives?
"Marco Toweo," I repeated, taking a moment to commit his face and name to memory.
"...L-Leave it to me!"
Now that I had found my cameraman, it was time to hurry up and begin the interrogation. Although this place was bursting at the seams with wizards, there was no need to drag one here to cast a verification spell for us. I already had my own.
[You have activated No. 7234: Misplaced Trust.]
I'd been able to clear out quite a bit of my inventory recently, but this was an item I had lying around that I'd been wanting to use.
"Extelin Flacco, Mohilo Ostquin, Kuol Memendrick," I said, looking down at the three wizards tied up in front of me. "Now, say it again. Has there been a misunderstanding here?"
When these guys were first arrested, they wouldn't stop screaming and yelling about how they were being unfairly accused, but now, their mouths were glued shut. They knew it was impossible to lie when this item was active. Their silence was proof enough. However, for the sake of clear evidence, I needed a verbal response.
"You are being accused of treason."
I tightened the leash, and they immediately started barking. "...T-Treason? That's ridiculous!"
After all, it was difficult to hold your tongue when you were being accused of something that could result in the execution of your entire family.
"I-I never committed treason. I've never even thought of it. S-See how I'm answering you? Th-that means it's the truth!"
The wizards quickly defended themselves, shooting sideways glances at the crystal ball recording them. It was obvious my mention of treason had spooked them. "But your intentions were the same, no? Isn't it true that you joined forces with traitors of the empire?"
"Joined forces with them—! I-I only made a request—"
Unfortunately, right when one of them was about to give me the answer I was looking for, things were cut short as someone rudely interrupted us.
"That's enough, Baron Yandel."
His grave voice reverberated through the entire floor. As he spoke, a magic circle appeared on the ground as if drawn by an invisible hand and began to emit a blue light.
Step, step.
I turned my head in the direction of the sound to see an old man walking down the stairs. It was my first time seeing him, but I recognized him at first glance. He was the Master of the Lengman School and the third brother of Duke Kealunus. In other words...
"Teshelan Lengman Kealunus."
It was the Lord of the Magic Tower.
"Chieftain! What do we do?"
"We have to go higher, quickly!"
Now that the military was getting involved, the warriors were starting to get antsy. However, I stopped our attack on the next floor up and doled out new orders. "Bring me all the criminals we've captured so far."
"O-Okay! We'll bring them here!"
We'd done the best we could. From now on, it was up to chance. If we had been able to find at least one of the criminals on the list somewhere on the bottom thirty-one floors of the tower, then that would make things much easier for me from here on out. At the same time, however, things would get a lot harder if we didn't.
I sighed.
So what was the outcome?
"Bjooorn!" It didn't take long before Ainar appeared in the stairwell. Like someone showing off a successful hunt, she held up three wizards by the napes of their necks with one hand—Extelin Flacco from the Mailen School, Mohilo Ostquin of the Bebektalt School, and Kuol Memendrick of the Ulters School.
One of them was not one of the twenty-two wizards I had named in front of the crowd. Not that that was an issue. I hadn't listed all of them back then. If I had said all their names, then I would have given them all time to escape to safety.
"Well done, Kharon, Ainar."
I asked them if they ran into any trouble subduing them, but they said it wasn't much of an issue. For some reason, these guys didn't try to escape the tower and instead just hid within their own schools.
It's a shame we couldn't find the bastard who put in the request for my heart. But I can settle for this.
I'd get my hands on him eventually. In fact, everything we were doing now would help springboard us closer to that goal.
"Th-this is a misunderstanding, Your Lordship!"
"We'll know soon enough if that's true. What's the situation downstairs, Ainar?"
"The warriors are blocking their way, but they won't hold out long. When I was down there, the soldiers had already made it up to the fourth floor."
"We'll have to get started, then." I activated the recording crystal ball I had on me then glanced around, catching the eye of a man standing nearby. He was a civilian who had followed us up to the thirty-first floor.
"What's your name?"
"I-It's Marco Toweo, Your L-Lordship!"
"Marco Toweo. I'll remember that. Now, I have a favor to ask of you." I handed him the crystal ball. "Can you stand over there and hold this? Make sure to hold it so it records both my face and theirs."
"I-It would be an honor! B-But...can a regular person like me really be entrusted with such an important task...?" He trembled, clearly afraid of messing up.
I patted him on the shoulder with a smile on my face. "I trust you." I did trust him much more than my fellow barbarians. How could I hand one of them a delicate device they'd never used before in their lives?
"Marco Toweo," I repeated, taking a moment to commit his face and name to memory.
"...L-Leave it to me!"
Now that I had found my cameraman, it was time to hurry up and begin the interrogation. Although this place was bursting at the seams with wizards, there was no need to drag one here to cast a verification spell for us. I already had my own.
[You have activated No. 7234: Misplaced Trust.]
I'd been able to clear out quite a bit of my inventory recently, but this was an item I had lying around that I'd been wanting to use.
"Extelin Flacco, Mohilo Ostquin, Kuol Memendrick," I said, looking down at the three wizards tied up in front of me. "Now, say it again. Has there been a misunderstanding here?"
When these guys were first arrested, they wouldn't stop screaming and yelling about how they were being unfairly accused, but now, their mouths were glued shut. They knew it was impossible to lie when this item was active. Their silence was proof enough. However, for the sake of clear evidence, I needed a verbal response.
"You are being accused of treason."
I tightened the leash, and they immediately started barking. "...T-Treason? That's ridiculous!"
After all, it was difficult to hold your tongue when you were being accused of something that could result in the execution of your entire family.
"I-I never committed treason. I've never even thought of it. S-See how I'm answering you? Th-that means it's the truth!"
The wizards quickly defended themselves, shooting sideways glances at the crystal ball recording them. It was obvious my mention of treason had spooked them. "But your intentions were the same, no? Isn't it true that you joined forces with traitors of the empire?"
"Joined forces with them—! I-I only made a request—"
Unfortunately, right when one of them was about to give me the answer I was looking for, things were cut short as someone rudely interrupted us.
"That's enough, Baron Yandel."
His grave voice reverberated through the entire floor. As he spoke, a magic circle appeared on the ground as if drawn by an invisible hand and began to emit a blue light.
Step, step.
I turned my head in the direction of the sound to see an old man walking down the stairs. It was my first time seeing him, but I recognized him at first glance. He was the Master of the Lengman School and the third brother of Duke Kealunus. In other words...
"Teshelan Lengman Kealunus."
It was the Lord of the Magic Tower.