How to Right the Magic Tower (1)

Three days had passed since the Magic Tower incident, yet public interest hadn't cooled in the slightest — if anything, it burned hotter than ever.

After all, the British Magic Tower, the headquarters itself, had been subjected to an unprecedented attack.

And the aftermath had come close to nothing less than the tower's total collapse.

'One of the most significant incidents in the entire history of hunters.'

The British Magic Tower held immense value, both academically and symbolically.

But now every mage within it was dead, and even the whereabouts of the Ark remained unknown.

It was hardly surprising that hunters across the globe, not just in Britain, were voicing their alarm.

'Of course, some places see this as an opportunity, too.'

America and China were pretending to send condolences, but behind closed doors they were probably wearing knowing smiles.

When people spoke of hunter superpowers, the usual trio was America, China, and Britain.

If this crisis shook Britain's standing, hunters would inevitably start flowing out of the country and toward others instead.

'A chance to eliminate a rival and, while they're at it, fatten up their own national power.'

The existing three-powers framework could crumble, leaving America and China standing tall above the rest. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ India and Russia, meanwhile, were eyeing the gap, hoping to claim Britain's seat among the great powers for themselves.

Both possessed World Rankers, and while they couldn't quite match the existing three nations, they had produced their share of exceptional hunters.

Still, none of them could afford to move rashly before the truth of the incident came to light.

After all, there was no proof anywhere that this terror attack wasn't the work of a foreign power hoping for a changing of the guard — move too hastily, and you'd only draw suspicion to yourself.

"Wiz was wise not to let any of that information leak."

Truth, once exposed to the outside world, was invariably twisted out of shape.

Which meant it should only be released when it could be shaped entirely by your own hand.

"There we go."

This was exactly the moment for it.

* * *

Friday — the day Diana had promised her press conference.

Crowds of people flooded into the venue.

Click! Click!

Journalists from every corner of the world.

And VIPs who had come out of personal interest in the incident.

Britain's other World Ranker, David, was unfortunately absent, occupied with clearing an S-rank gate — but Britain's other S-rank hunters, mages, and high-ranking officials were all present.

And then, unbelievably—

"W-wait, is that really them?!"

"Those are the Tower Masters!"

The Tower Masters of other nations had all come to this place.

"This is a matter concerning the Magic Tower itself. I could hardly absent myself."

The Tower Master of America.

"What happened is truly regrettable. What pains me most is that I couldn't be there to help in person."

The Tower Master of India.

"Hmph… well, nothing like this would ever have happened if it were our China."

The Tower Master of China.

"How tedious."

"Ahaha… I-I must say, occasions like this are a bit awkward for me…"

Even the Tower Masters of Russia and Japan.

Ah, and one more.

"What on earth are you planning to stir up this time, Tae-hyun…"

And Ji Yeon-ha, the Korean Tower Master, who had been wearing a strangely tense expression for a while now.

It wasn't that the Tower Masters of every single nation had gathered — but in practice, every country that could be called a major power had its Tower Master in attendance.

And there was exactly one reason they had all come.

'To claim the seat of the new Magic Tower headquarters.'

The British Magic Tower had been effectively annihilated.

Its members were all dead, and even the Ark had vanished.

Which meant that, at least until the British tower was rebuilt, a new provisional headquarters was needed.

'Provisional, they call it.'

But a tower that had already collapsed once faced a long, uncertain road to recovery.

It would be no exaggeration to call it the selection of an entirely new headquarters.

The tower appointed as headquarters would be granted tremendous authority.

'Just as the British Magic Tower enjoyed its monopoly on magic tools all these years.'

Headquarters status carried power enough to bend the entire mage community to one's whim.

'And above all—'

To check the other nations.

To shut out India and Russia especially, the two most frequently mentioned candidates for the new great-power trio, each of them absolutely had to make their own tower the headquarters.

Conversely, India ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Russia needed to bring the headquarters home in order to join that new trio themselves.

'Absolutely cannot let this slip away.''Fufu, Supreme Tower Master… with that authority, I could dismiss or appoint the Tower Masters of other nations at my pleasure, couldn't I?''Hah. If not me, who else could possibly become the new Supreme Tower Master?''The new Magic Tower headquarters belongs to Russia.''C-could I really manage it…?'

A silent war of nerves crackled between the Tower Masters.

Meanwhile, one person in the room couldn't have cared less about the competition.

'It's about time we launched the second Horizon artifact… I should run it by Tae-hyun later.'

Ji Yeon-ha let her eyes drift elsewhere, her thoughts clearly wandering.

She was already stretched thin juggling tower business, her personal research, the education of her adorable disciple, and designing Horizon's artifacts — even ten bodies wouldn't have been enough.

She had no desire to become Supreme Tower Master just to pile more headaches onto the heap.

'Maybe things would've been different once upon a time, but not now.'

She already had mountains of obligations to answer for.

Watching her, the other Tower Masters traded smirks.

'So Korea has given up?''What a relief. To think that Ji Yeon-ha would bow out.''At least she knows her place. Honestly, the headquarters in that tiny little country? Laughable.''Quitting before it's even begun. What a pathetic woman.''One fewer rival…!'

Ji Yeon-ha had been the biggest wildcard of them all, and her withdrawal was the best news the rest of them could have asked for.

"Haahm…"

The moment she stifled a small yawn—

"Lady Diana is entering!"

Diana walked into the press conference hall.

A sharp-featured man followed close behind her.

'That man is…''The famous Hunter Lee Tae-hyun, I presume.'

The Tower Masters of America and India studied him.

A hunter from a chaebol family whose recognition had lately shot past vertical ascent into the stratosphere.

Gate-breaking records, slaying the dragon of Tokyo, recruiting Ayase Karin — even crafting magic tools, of all things.

He was racking up, one after another, achievements a hunter might manage once in a lifetime.

'A-and now he's entangled in the British Magic Tower affair, too…''A dangerous man.''He's still just a hunter from some small country, isn't he? Nothing worth worrying about.'

Every eye in the world was fixed on this one place, right now.

And the silver-haired woman standing at the center of it all—

"Greetings. I am the Tower Master of the British Magic Tower, and Chief Administrator of the Magic Tower headquarters."

—began to speak.

"I am Diana."

It was her first public appearance since the incident.

She calmly fielded the torrent of questions that came pouring down.

"First, allow me to apologize for the delay in explaining this incident. Given the unprecedented scale of the tragedy, it took time to distill only the most accurate and verified truth before presenting it to you."

There was something faintly sorrowful in Diana's voice.

Naturally so.

Because the person who had suffered the greatest despair from all of this was none other than her.

'So this is Diana, then.'

The fact that she could remain this composed even after enduring such a loss was proof of a superhuman will.

She paused, and her chin trembled almost imperceptibly.

"…I'm sorry."

After steadying the surge of emotion—

"This incident was an act of terror carried out by an organization targeting the Magic Tower's Ark. It was a calculated, meticulously planned assault timed to the moment I left the tower unattended, and the intruders' capabilities were, at minimum, World Ranker class."

"A W-World Ranker?!"

"At that level, it's no wonder every mage in the building fell…"

"Where on earth did fighters like that come from!"

A World Ranker-class assault on the Magic Tower.

At such a shocking revelation, exclamations erupted all across the hall.

"They installed a special barrier around the tower and advanced toward the labyrinth where the Ark rests. In the process, they slaughtered every mage who tried to defend it."

Diana bit down hard on her lip.

The picture of fury and grief.

"I entered the tower as quickly as I could, but by then the intruders had already reached the Ark."

"S-so does that mean the Ark was taken?!"

"No. It was not."

She lifted her head slightly.

And then, wearing a smile of boundless grace, she turned her gaze toward the man seated beside her.

"Hunter Lee Tae-hyun protected the Ark — and me."

"Excuse… excuse me?"

"The moment Hunter Lee Tae-hyun heard of the attack on the tower, he came with me to the scene without asking for a single condition in return."

The murmuring swelled.

"So that rumor was true…?"

"I'd heard something about them being connected, but…"

"Then after Japan, Britain owes Lee Tae-hyun a debt too?"

The logic held together well enough.

Lee Tae-hyun had crafted magic tools through Horizon, and Diana, intrigued by them, had traveled to Korea.

While she was there, the tower had been attacked, and the two of them — together by coincidence — had entered the tower and confronted the intruders.

'There's nothing odd about Tae-hyun's involvement.'

If anything, refusing to help in that situation would have earned him public condemnation.

"Hunter Lee Tae-hyun saved me, brushing past death itself to do it. Had he not come to my aid, I would have been murdered that day as well."

The finer details followed from there.

The specific sequence of the intruders' subjugation.

Of course, certain portions had been altered along the way.

Things concerning Tae-hyun's abilities, the circumstances of his brush with death, and so on.

"That concludes the full account of the Magic Tower incident."

The moment Diana finished, chaos broke out among the press.

The reason was simple.

Contrary to the popular assumption that he had been, at best, a supporting ally, Lee Tae-hyun had in effect defended the Magic Tower single-handedly.

'If not for Tae-hyun—'

Britain would have lost a World Ranker on top of the tower and every mage within it.

"J-just a moment, please…"

One journalist asked, his face blank with disbelief.

"Then… does that mean Hunter Lee Tae-hyun's strength is on the level of a World Ranker?"

Diana glanced sideways at Tae-hyun at the question.

He flashed a winsome grin and gave a slight nod.

And the answer came.

"…Yes."

Diana confirmed it.

"Hunter Lee Tae-hyun possesses strength on par with a World Ranker. Strength that surpasses even my own."

Lee Tae-hyun.

A man whose martial prowess was, by admission, nothing less than World Ranker class.

"Wh-what…!"

"A new World Ranker is born?!"

"An F-rank World Ranker!"

The notoriously proud Diana had just declared him stronger than herself.

Half the world had just officially witnessed the measure of Lee Tae-hyun's power.

"Furthermore, with the incident having cost Britain its tower's function, we now require a tower to serve as temporary headquarters in Britain's place. And though I owe Hunter Lee Tae-hyun a great debt… such matters cannot be decided on gratitude alone. After comparing the qualifications of all candidates, I have selected the tower to serve as our provisional headquarters."

A strange tension rippled through the Tower Masters.

'Obviously it'll be us.''Nowhere fits the bill like India.''Where else would you build the headquarters if not China?''Russia. It will be Russia.''If only it could be Japan…'

Amid that silent war—

"Huh?"

Ji Yeon-ha witnessed something.

It was the sight of a man grinning so wickedly the corners of his mouth looked ready to split.

"EEK…!"

It was Lee Tae-hyun.

"…Heh heh heh."

"D-don't tell me…?"

Ji Yeon-ha swallowed dryly.

No. Surely not.

This was Diana of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all people. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Even if he had saved her, he wouldn't dare—

"I hereby appoint the Magic Tower of the Republic of Korea as the temporary headquarters."

"GYAAH?!"

Ji Yeon-ha shot to her feet, a strangled noise escaping her before she could stop it.

The twist was that there was no twist at all.