Emergency Summons (2)
After a brief silence passed, the room erupted.
“Fourth Circle?”
“Impossible. Barely a month ago, you were definitely Second Circle!”
“Besides, I heard you were promoted to Third Circle yesterday. And now you’re saying you’ve reached Fourth Circle in a single day? That makes no sense!”
“...There’s no way.”
The tower masters and chief mages gathered in the meeting room voiced disbelief one after another.
“I’ll show you.”
I slowly drew my mana upward.
The distinct pressure of Fourth Circle mana swirled through the conference room, and every face in the room stiffened at once.
At first, they’d worn expressions of doubt, but as I continued to release my mana, those expressions gradually shifted into shock and awe.
“Th-this is…”
“It really is Fourth Circle. And at a rather high level, too…”
“How is this possible? You were only Second Circle not long ago.”
While the others were still reeling, Roimdel slowly rose to his feet. Surprise mingled with a faint trace of satisfaction in his eyes.
“Tower Master Grace, what exactly happened? Just a few days ago, you were still Second Circle. I verified it myself.”
“I gained enlightenment. My mana reserves were already sufficient thanks to Mana Amplification. Then that enlightenment immediately led to a breakthrough in rank. It was a leap from Second Circle to Fourth Circle.”
After I explained it simply, Valter slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
“That’s impossible! No matter how much enlightenment you gained, there’s never been a case of someone jumping two ranks in one day! Not even Vilheim’s geniuses or the Empire’s great mages have ever pulled off something like that!”
It wasn’t exactly one full day, but I decided to let that pass.
“Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”
I answered him calmly.
“I’ve already made the impossible possible more than once. Same-attribute fusion, Mana Amplification, and now this. Progress doesn’t come from clinging to precedent.”
“……”
“……”
At my words, the room fell silent again, and I went on.
“At the very least, I don’t think I’m someone you can ignore anymore. And when it comes to responding to the dimensional rift, I’d appreciate it if you’d take my opinion seriously.”
“Hmph. You’ve only just reached Fourth Circle and already you’re raising your voice.”
Valter spoke with obvious dissatisfaction, though his attitude was no longer the outright dismissal it had been before.
“Valter, when there’s something to admit, you admit it. If he really reached Fourth Circle in one day, that’s unquestionably impressive.”
Roimdel took my side.
“Fine. I’ll acknowledge it. Tower Master of Fusion, I approve your use of autonomous command authority.”
Arkanus, who had been listening quietly, also spoke in my favor.
“Thank you.”
“Then let us continue the meeting. And Grace.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have anything else to add?”
“No. Nothing else.”
“Then I’d like you to leave the conference room.”
“...Pardon? Leave?”
I asked, looking confused.
Arkanus fixed me with a cold gaze.
“You said you would exercise autonomous command authority, did you not? Then you are no longer part of our joint response structure. There is no further reason for you to attend this meeting.”
“But…”
“It was your choice. You said you would act independently, and yet you still intended to attend the meeting? Isn’t that contradictory?”
“I’m not regretting my decision. I only thought that information sharing was necessary…”
“Information sharing? You act on your own, yet still expect to receive our intelligence? Isn’t that a bit shameless?”
A cold silence settled over the room.
Roimdel spoke carefully.
“Your Eminence Arkanus, the Tower Master of Fusion still agreed to continue supplying Mana Amplification. To exclude him entirely—besides, without Flame Concentration Cannon, it’ll be difficult to deal with the mutated beasts.”
“Chief Roimdel, that’s simply part of the contract and therefore a given. Autonomous command authority was a choice the Tower Master of Fusion made himself. And when he chose to exercise that authority, he also made it clear that he would no longer supply Flame Concentration Cannon, did he not?”
Arkanus said firmly.
“Tower Master of Fusion, I respect your choice. But you must also bear the responsibility that comes with it. Now leave us.”
“...Understood.”
***
About a week had passed since the emergency summons.
During that time, I produced Mana Amplification and supplied it to the five great magic towers, and with the gold coins I received in exchange, I reinforced the tower while also creating fusion spells focused on destructive power.
Alberte had also been teaching the disciples, and several of them, including Carlos, had advanced in rank.
The appearance of mutated beasts was also becoming less and less frequent.
“...It’s quiet.”
Alberte said.
“The calm before the storm.”
“At this rate, the rift should begin any time now. But Tower Master, don’t you know what kinds of beasts will appear?”
“Well…”
I didn’t know either.
When I’d been digging through the Magic Tower Management game community for information, I’d deliberately avoided anything related to dimensional rifts so I wouldn’t get spoiled.
If I’d known this would happen... I should’ve looked up everything, spoilers or not.
But regrets were useless now. There was no taking it back.
Then it happened.
Rumble—!
Suddenly, the ground began to shake.
The sky started to stain itself purple and dark crimson, and a vile ripple, as if the very air were twisting, swept over my whole body.
“Th-this is?!”
“A dimensional rift!”
At my words, Alberte’s face went pale.
Toward the imperial capital, a massive tear had opened across the sky.
The enormous rift crackled with black lightning as it slowly widened, spewing strange energy from within.
It was mana of a scale and chaos that made even the Prism Spectrum look insignificant.
Something began pouring out of that rift.
“Tower Master! Those are—!”
“...Beings that crossed over from another dimension. Alberte, summon all the disciples at once. Switch to tower defense formation.”
“Yes!”
Alberte rushed out at once, and I watched the situation through the telescopic magic installed at the top of the tower.
The beings pouring out of the dimensional rift began revealing themselves one by one.
At first they were only small shadowlike shapes, but soon they took on solid forms.
A wyvern with massive bone wings, a spider-shaped monster with six arms, a giant golem covered entirely in crystal...
As if they had come expressly to destroy the Kassim Empire, the beings emerging from the rift began scattering in all directions across the empire.
Among them, the giant crystal-covered golem began flying toward our side.
More precisely, toward the Blue Rose Magic Tower right next to ours.
Damn it...
I never expected things to unfold this way...
I had no idea just how powerful that giant crystal golem was, but in my judgment, the Blue Rose Magic Tower alone would have a hard time taking it down.
Then after that... we’re next?
What should I do?
No matter how much we’d prepared, compared to the Blue Rose Magic Tower right now... at best, we were only around the same level.
We simply hadn’t had enough time.
If things continued like this... after the Blue Rose Magic Tower, it would be our turn.
“...Tower Master! I’ve summoned the disciples, and the defensive formation is complete.”
While I was still thinking, Alberte came running over and reported.
“Good.”
“What should we do now?”
“……”
Yes. That was the real problem now. What should I do?
“Tower Master?”
“Wait a moment. We need to keep watching the situation.”
I looked again through the telescopic spell. Alberte, standing beside me, used it as well.
The crystal golem heading for the Blue Rose Magic Tower landed about five kilometers from the tower.
BOOOOM—.
The impact point was quite a distance from here, yet even so, the vibration reached all the way to us.
“……”
“……”
We kept watching.
***
Blue Rose Magic Tower.
“Tower Master! It’s bad. The dimensional rift has begun.”
A Blue Rose mage delivered the report to the tower master.
“I know that much!”
“...The crystal golem has landed. The point is five kilometers away from here. It’s heading this way.”
“I know that too!”
“...Please give the order.”
The tower master looked out beyond the tower with a grave expression.
The crystal golem had landed five kilometers away.
It wasn’t just absurdly large.
Its entire body was made of transparent crystal, reflecting sunlight in rainbow colors, and compressed mana pulsed in every joint.
BOOM—. BOOM—. BOOM—.
Every time the golem took a step, the earth trembled. Its pressure existed on an entirely different level from that of a mutated beast.
Cold sweat gathered on the tower master’s brow.
“What should we do?”
The mage pressed him again.
“……”
After a long moment of thought, the tower master made his decision.
“All mages, prepare for battle immediately. We’re going out!”
At the tower master’s order, the mages could not hide their shock.
“Tower Master?! You’re going outside the tower? That’s insane! To abandon the tower’s defensive barrier and go out?”
Despite their protests, the tower master remained resolute.
“If we only defend here, the tower will collapse! We have to strike first before that golem gets here!”
There was determination in his eyes.
“All battle mages of Third Circle and above, with me! The rest will provide ranged support!”
Of the fifty mages, thirty left the tower with the tower master.
When the Blue Rose mages arrived before the crystal golem, the overwhelming sense of pressure only grew stronger.
But the tower master did not yield to it. He raised his staff and shouted,
“All mages, spread formation! Prepare to attack!”
At a distance of fifty meters from the crystal golem, the thirty Blue Rose mages fanned out in a semicircle and prepared their spells.
Flame, ice, lightning, wind...
The mana of various attributes churned violently through the air.
“Fire!”
The barrage of spells surged at once toward the crystal golem.
BOOM—!
Dust billowed up with the explosion.
But...
“……”
“……”
When the dust cleared, the crystal golem was still standing there, completely unscathed. Not a single attack had caused any meaningful damage.
“Wh-what is this...!”
One of the Blue Rose mages cried out in despair.
BOOM—!
The crystal golem took another step forward.
“Fall back one step!”
After the formation pulled back slightly—
“Again! Concentrated attack!”
the tower master issued another order, and the mages unleashed their spells once more.
But the result was the same. Their magic could not shatter the golem’s hardened surface.
“Damn it! Everyone fall back! I’ll handle this myself!”
The tower master clenched his teeth and began drawing up his mana. The true power of a Fifth Circle mage.
A violent surge of mana exploded from his body.
“Thunderfall of the Flame Emperor!”
The tower master shouted.
Red flames and blue lightning erupted simultaneously from his body. It was a fusion spell cast at full power by a Fifth Circle mage.
Flame and lightning intertwined into a massive pillar and crashed toward the crystal golem.
BOOOOOOM——!
The earth shook with the deafening blast.
But...
The crystal golem still stood exactly where it had been. Even after taking the tower master’s Fifth Circle fusion spell head-on.
“This can’t be...!”
Even the Blue Rose mages were stunned.
BOOM—!
And still, the crystal golem took yet another step forward.
“Nothing is working! Tower Master!”
“...”
When the tower master said nothing—
“Tower Master! Please, issue the order—”
“Retreat. We’re retreating. Fall back to Vilheim Magic Tower!”
“...Then what about our tower?”
“Abandon it.”
The tower master said it with the air of someone who had given up.