The Magic King's Tower
By the time he came to his senses, Carpe was already inside the Red Tower.
A sealed room like a studio apartment. One ornate door clung to one wall.
But Carpe had no time to take in the bland surroundings. The situation was so abrupt that he was left utterly dumbfounded.
"Mana pattern? Special stage? No, more than that..."
Carpe recalled the final notification window from moments ago.
"This Red Tower is the Magic King Dretsch's tower?"
Hah. Unbelievable. For over ten years, that story never even... Wait a sec.
Cheonma muttered as if realizing something, then let out a gasp of admiration.
Oh! So that's what that story was about?
"What story?"
Actually, this Red Tower has a legend or something? An old folktale setting like that?
Long ago in ancient times, there was an evil sorcerer on the continent.
Unfortunately, this wicked sorcerer wielded power beyond anyone's reach, and the world fell under his dominion.
But the evil, greedy sorcerer wasn't satisfied with that.
'Humans are frail, pathetic beings. I will surpass humanity and become a god!'
So he built a tower.
The world's tyrant mobilized countless slaves to pile up the tower.
Taller and grander than any structure before.
To reach the gods in the heavens, he kept raising it endlessly.
But that act provoked the gods' wrath.
The skies were the gods' domain, and a human reaching for the heavens was a challenge to their authority.
The gods did not stand idly by.
They punished the evil sorcerer, sealing him deep underground, and shattered the tower's upper levels, scattering them across the land.
And as a result, the continent—once a single nation—split into many countries, languages divided, making communication difficult. Something like that. What does it remind you of?
"Isn't this that Bible story?"
It was a tale anyone with even passing interest in myths or legends would recognize.
"The Tower of Babel myth. Humans built a tower to reach heaven and incurred God's wrath."
Yeah. That's the usual take. I thought so too until just now.
The devs must've based the Red Tower on the Tower of Babel.
If you knew the Babel story, that's the natural conclusion.
But that's our view. How do the locals see it? Especially those tied to Arkram?
Cheonma glanced at Tina after saying that, and she shared her thoughts.
"I took it as the War of the Gods tale. The victors likely twisted it that way."
"Yeah, right. Master. I felt the same. Bad guys."
The legend of this Red Tower is familiar to us Ramark folk as well. Hmm. The Magic King's tower. Who knew it had such a backstory.
"...Yeah, that makes sense."
Swap 'sorcerer challenging the gods' with 'Magic King battling the Patron Spirits', and it fits perfectly.
History is written by the victors, after all—turning the Magic King into the villain.
"So what was the real purpose of building this place?"
We'll find out by checking ourselves.
Cheonma pointed to the ornate door behind Carpe.
The answer's probably in there.
"Yeah. Looks like it."
Carpe approached the door.
He steadied his breath, then flung it open.
And there.
"If you're here, hurry up and come in already. What's with the dawdling? This wait is boring as hell."
"...Huh?"
A boy waited inside, hovering in midair and looking down at the group.
His face was strikingly familiar.
Perfectly matching blue bob haircut. And that cheeky grin.
It lingered clearly from when Mirage mimicked him in the Elf Forest. A bit younger, maybe ten years.
"Magic King Dretsch?"
"Indeed. First time meeting face-to-face. Welcome to my tower, heir."
Maybe 15 or 16?
The boy Dretsch grinned as he spoke.
"...Lord Dretsch?"
"Eek. Kid Dretsch feels weird."
Huh. Feels like a dream. To face a legend in the flesh... The world is full of wonders worth living for! Ah, though Death Knights are undead, of course! Heh heh!
Carpe, Cheonma, and even the dolls stared at Dretsch with bizarre expressions, unable to believe the scene.
"Long time no see, everyone. Tina, Mirage, and Lindor... Huh? What's this? Not Lindor? Something weird's mixed in?"
Something weird...
"Lindor couldn't withstand the passage of time and returned to mana."
"Oh? Well, whatever. The new Dark Lord looks plenty strong. Anyway, not important..."
Dretsch floated over to Carpe.
"Proper introductions first. Nice to meet you. I'm Dretsch Arkram. You are?"
"...Carpe. Uh, mind if I ask one thing?"
"Plenty of questions, I'm sure. Fire away."
"Why are you... here?"
That was the first question that popped into his head upon seeing him.
Dretsch had vanished after sealing the Patron Spirits with his final strength in the War of the Gods.
Was he hiding in the Red Tower all this time?
"Ah, yeah, that could be misleading. I am Dretsch, but not the Dretsch. More precisely, a fragment of his memories."
"Memory fragment?"
"Yep. A thought-form inheriting his personality and memories. Think of it that way. See?"
Dretsch grabbed his left arm with his right hand.
Or tried to—his right hand passed right through.
Like a ghost. Dretsch chuckled at his goofy body.
"So you've been here for centuries?"
"Nah. I awoke after detecting your mana pattern. Sealed before that. Staying conscious constantly guzzles mana, y'know?"
The Magic King had expended most of his power in the War of the Gods.
No matter how great, he couldn't sustain a thought-form for centuries.
"Anyway, time for the handover. Lucky you got here before I fade."
"Handover?"
"Huh? Didn't it tell you when you first entered?"
"Tell me? What... Oh, wait."
Carpe recalled the notification before entering the Red Tower.
Welcome to the tower of the Magic King Dretsch, Administrator.
The window had called him Administrator.
And from the current situation, guessing what he was administering wasn't hard.
"Right. I'm transferring Magic Tower admin rights to you now."
"...Whoa."
Whoa. Insane. No way. Sudden landlord ending?
This wasn't like owning a building in Gangnam.
The Red Tower was one of RaSe's hottest spots across all regions.
Seven months post-launch, not even a third conquered. A massive tower brimming with hidden pieces, no level limits—perfect hunting ground for all users.
Some said it could be its own game and still hit it big.
Becoming admin of such a content-packed place!
"What do you say? In? No pressure if not."
"Obviously."
No gamer would pass this up.
'Sweet. Thought it was a tower-climbing story, but it's dungeon management. Yeah, dungeon sims are the meta now, not tower climbs!'
Shit game. Absolute trash game! Handing a massive dungeon to one random player? Wanna sew my mouth shut for once calling RaSe a balanced god game.
"One more question?"
"Time to spare. Ask away."
"What's the tower really for?"
No way it was to reach the gods—that was Patron Spirit propaganda.
What then? A forward base against Patron Spirits...?
"Purpose? None really."
"Huh?"
"Just came here when bored, tinkered with this and that, grew huge... My personal playground. Now it's a human playground. Not a bad end."
"...Playground? This?"
Heh heh! Legendary indeed! What scale!
A tower RaSe players bled for years to conquer... a playground? Believe it?
Cheonma shook his head.
"Anyway, questions done? Let's proceed. This way."
Dretsch led Carpe to the room's center.
A geometric magic circle etched the floor.
"Yeah. Stand there. It'll be quick."
Dretsch chanted in an unknown tongue.
Vmmm.
The circle glowed faintly.
Whoosh!
Light surged, enveloping Carpe.
First-stage Magic Tower rights delegation complete.
Basic tower interior info now viewable.
"Info view?"
"Yeah. Try it. Think 'show info'."
"Got it."
Following instructions, a new window appeared before Carpe.
"Eh? Second stage? Not all at once?"
"Heh. Can't hand everything to my heir in one go. Prove yourself for more."
A quest window popped up as Dretsch spoke.
The Magic King Dretsch's Trial
The Magic King Dretsch wishes to grant you tower rights. But he harbors slight doubt about your fitness as master. Prove your worth.
The tower has boss monsters every 10 floors. Defeat the 10F boss to gain second-stage rights for floors below. Topple the 10F boss.
📍 Success: Rights to floors 1-10, clue to fourth relic