Chapter 111: Respective Reinforcements (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 111: Respective Reinforcements (1)
‘Could it be…!’
A conversation he’d once had with his old magic teacher suddenly flashed through his mind.
—There’s a special device in the staves used by Zipple’s Tower Masters. If you look at the top of the staff, there’s a tiny rune engraved there.
—What’s it for?
—When a Tower Master activates that rune, a signal is sent to their respective tower. It’s a spell used to summon their subordinate mages in an emergency. Naturally, they use it when they’re in danger or encounter an enemy they can’t handle alone. I can’t tell you how much trouble that thing caused me.
Jin quickly strode toward Myuron’s corpse.
If his teacher’s words were true, Myuron’s final act of swinging his staff must have been to activate that rune.
“Kid, what’s wrong?”
“I need to check his staff!”
“Why the staff?”
Murakan was unaware that the Zipple Tower Masters’ staves possessed such a function. It was a magic developed long after his era of peak activity.
As Jin debated how to explain, Casimir seemed to recall something similar and clapped his hands together.
“The rune! I’ve heard that the staves of Zipple’s Tower Masters have runes that can call for their subordinates.”
“What? There’s such a thing?”
“I’ve only heard rumors, myself. As a Runcandel, Young Master Jin would likely have more detailed information on Zipple than I do.”
“I also remember Sister Luna mentioning it in passing, so I wanted to check. If there really is a rune…”
“That would be quite troublesome…”
Anxiety clouded the eyes of the three men as they stood side-by-side before Myuron’s body.
“…Hmm, Tess. That fellow burned it so badly I can’t tell if it’s a staff or a lump of charcoal. I don’t see any rune. If it were activated, shouldn’t it be glowing?”
“It looks that way to me as well, Lord Murakan. Haha, perhaps it was just a needless worry.”
The two men forced smiles as they stared at the blackened staff.
However, as Jin gently scraped away the charred surface at the top of the staff with his dagger…
He saw it. A rune emitting a faint green light. His ominous premonition had been right on the mark.
“Dammit.”
“Shit!”
Murakan and Casimir slapped their foreheads in unison.
“Hey, kid. That sacred object… should we just tell the natives we’ll come back for it later? I can’t even transform into my true form right now. Kid, how many mages do you think will show up?”
“I understand that at least a hundred mages are stationed at each Magic Tower. Since many of them are 7-star or 8-star, we won’t be able to handle them even if only half of them swarm here.”
Even if only a quarter of them came, let alone half, the three of them were in no condition to face them.
“The world has certainly become a better place. Back in my prime, four or five 8-star mages were just a warm-up. Bah! Fine, let them come. Even a withered dragon is still a dragon. I’ll show them the experience of three thousand years.”
“Lord Murakan, to be honest, I’m not confident. Even if you could handle all the mages alone, I don’t think I could protect Young Master Jin by myself.”
Though the mana backflow had been somewhat calmed by the unicorn horn they’d luckily obtained, Jin’s internal injuries were not fully healed. If he entered combat in his current state, the backflow would erupt again, and it wouldn’t end with just a period of recuperation.
“Leaving the sacred object behind would make the future far too bleak, kid. You take Jin and retreat first. Even if I’ve lost my power, there’s no way I’d lose to those small fry.”
“How can we leave you behind alone, Lord Murakan!”
“Haha. Kid, you actually have a commendable side… Don’t worry. It’s not like I’ll actually die.”
As Murakan wiped his nose and struck a pose, Casimir nodded vigorously.
“…Understood! Then I shall take Young Master Jin and withdraw first!”
“Wait. Why the hell did you give up so fast? Isn’t the normal response to say you’ll fight and die together? This is strangely annoying.”
“It’s likely just your imagination, Lord Murakan.”
While the two exchanged their useless banter, Jin let out a low sigh.
“How long will it take?”
“Ah, Young Master. How long for what?”
“For the mages of the 7th Magic Tower to arrive here.”
“Hmm. Since Zipple’s 7th Magic Tower is at the northern tip of the continent, it should take at least two hours even if they use teleport gates. They might arrive sooner, but I can’t say for certain.”
Two hours.
‘Two hours, huh. Can we get it done in that time? I don’t think the natives will ever leave this land until they find the sacred object, even if it costs them their lives.’
Tika’s eyes had said as much earlier. They had protected the mirror for hundreds of years under Zipple’s oppression; they wouldn’t abandon their pride now.
‘Two hours, two hours… Regardless, I need powerful reinforcements who can get here as quickly as possible.’
Runcandel was out of the question for now. If he, a reserve flagbearer, called upon Luna once more, his other siblings would certainly not stand by and watch this time.
He needed reinforcements who weren’t Runcandel, yet were capable of standing against Zipple, and could rush to Colon with extreme speed.
There weren’t many in the world who possessed such power.
Having made his decision, Jin looked at Casimir.
“Sir Casimir. There is something you must do.”
As Jin explained his plan, Casimir’s face quickly stiffened.
“…Young Master, is that really possible? If they refuse, you and Lord Murakan will be in grave danger.”
“We have to try. And they probably won’t refuse, if only out of spite. We don’t have time. It will be difficult, but please hurry.”
*
Meanwhile, in the northern part of the central continent, on the top floor of Zipple’s 7th Magic Tower.
“The crystal ball has turned red!”
“Something must have happened to the Tower Master!”
“Isn’t he just playing a prank again? Last time we rushed over, he was just passed out drunk.”
“Even if it is a prank, it is our duty to go when the Tower Master calls, 3rd Elder.”
“Tsk, what kind of Tower Master can’t even treat the elders with proper respect…”
“Shh, it’ll be trouble if the Vice Tower Master hears you. Regardless, we must inform him at once. You there! Fetch the Vice Tower Master immediately.”
The crystal ball connected to Myuron’s rune had turned red, but some elders were displeased. In fact, most of them reacted coldly.
A servant ran off in a hurry, and a short while later, the Vice Tower Master appeared.
A young man of exceptional talent and refined features, Midore Elner.
He was an illegitimate son of Kelliark Zipple.
“Where is the location indicated by the crystal ball?”
“The Colon Ruins.”
“As of this moment, I am mobilizing all mages of the 7th Magic Tower to head for Colon. Elders, please contact the main family and the other Magic Towers immediately.”
“Even the other towers? Aren’t you making too big a deal out of this?”
“I have a bad feeling. A sudden summons at this hour… something has surely gone wrong. 3rd Elder, please open the teleport gate.”
“Hmm, I would like to, but…”
The 3rd Elder scratched his beard awkwardly and pointed out the window.
“It has suddenly started snowing far too heavily since about an hour ago, Vice Tower Master. We cannot use the teleport gate in this weather.”
Just as he said, snow was falling in thick flurries.
On days with heavy snow or rain, using a teleport gate carried the risk of one’s body being torn apart. This was because snow particles or raindrops often absorbed the mana radiating from the gate and exploded along with it.
“How about waiting for the snow to stop before we go?”
“That will be too late. If something has happened to the Tower Master, we will have no excuse when the main family criticizes our lack of initial response.”
After a moment of thought, the Vice Tower Master nodded.
“We will go by dragon. We’ll fly to Chenka and use the teleport gate from there to reach Colon.”
That meant every dragon belonging to the 7th Magic Tower would be heading to Colon.
*
An hour passed, and dawn began to break.
In the meantime, the natives had been able to bury their dead with the help of Jin and Murakan, and Dino had managed to secure several pieces of evidence, including Myuron’s journal.
“Murakan, I’ve been thinking. Maybe the mages of the 7th Magic Tower won’t be able to get here within two hours.”
“Why?”
“In January and February, it snows almost every day at the northernmost tip of the continent. And teleport gates can’t be used when it’s snowing.”
“A stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune, then.”
“It’s not a certainty. It’s just a hope, since it snows so often. Two hours is just too tight no matter how I think about it.”
Fortunately, just as Jin hoped, the mages of the 7th Magic Tower were unable to use their teleport gate.
Though even Jin hadn’t anticipated that they would mobilize dragons.
Cough!
Suddenly, Jin spat out a thick glob of blood. The aftereffects of the mana backflow were beginning to set in. Though the immediate crisis had passed thanks to the unicorn horn, such a massive backflow couldn't be perfectly suppressed in such a short time.
“Ugh, I guess I did overdo it.”
“You overdid it massively. I never expected that lunatic to be able to use dark magic. And a rune to call his lackeys… in my day, if you lost a fight, you usually just withdrew gracefully. There’s no romance these days, no romance at all.”
“We called Sister Luna with Orgal’s Pendant last time, didn’t we? And Sir Casimir has left to call for reinforcements right now.”
“That’s different, okay? We were protecting the world back then. If we hadn’t destroyed the Demon God Stone, the whole world would be in chaos by now. Similarly, the Colon people’s sacred object is a dangerous item if it falls into Zipple’s hands.”
Jin gave a small smirk.
He was thinking of his magic teacher. If it hadn't been for his teacher from his past life, he wouldn't have even known the rune existed.
‘Teacher… I wonder if you’re growing up well. I think I’m growing up quite well.’
*
“Sir Casimir! Why did you return alone?!”
“Honey? Why are you by yourself? You look terrible. Did something happen?”
Gilly and Alisa jumped up and shouted, while Enya and Quicantel, who were nearby, looked at him with confusion.
“There’s no time to explain in detail! Gilly, where is that flower?!”
“The flower? Why are you suddenly looking for a flower…”
“Ah! There it is!”
Casimir shouted, pointing at a vase on the windowsill of Jin’s room. It was a flowerpot containing a single, unique blossom.
A flower with pure white petals that shimmered like snowflakes.
The Secret Palace Snow Flower.
“Alisa, open a teleport gate to the point closest to the Secret Palace. Every minute counts if Young Master Jin is to live!”