Vilheim Magic Tower (2)
"...Mana Amplification?"
There was more suspicion than surprise in his voice.
"Yes, Mana Amplification."
"You mean you intend to complete it? That spell the Vilheim Magic Tower has poured every resource into for twenty years and still failed to finish?"
"Yes."
I looked Roimdel straight in the eye and spoke.
If I backed down here, I would have no future.
Dimensional Rift...
When I first saw the leader-grade Grim Wolf, I had remembered the information I’d seen on the community boards.
Before a Dimensional Rift event began, the surrounding beasts would start mutating.
Abnormally large bodies, red markings, traces of mana accumulated over a long period...
This wasn’t an ordinary leader-grade Grim Wolf.
It was a beast that had mutated before the Dimensional Rift event had even begun.
It was only a sign for now, but... still, it had happened far earlier than I’d expected.
Hell difficulty or not, I hadn’t expected it to come this fast.
I don’t have time. If I don’t get stronger right now...
I didn’t have the leisure to accept Roimdel’s offer of subordination.
Instead of wasting time serving under someone else, I needed to strengthen my own tower and grow my own power.
If I wanted to survive, I had to become stronger.
Otherwise, there was no way I’d survive the invasion and the rifts from that dimension.
To survive...
I’ll use Roimdel’s resources, but I won’t become his subordinate.
"Hah. Interesting. So a mere 2nd Circle mage says such things... Go on."
Roimdel burst out laughing as though my words were absurd.
"If I succeed in fusing Mana Amplification, will you trade with me on equal footing?"
I said equal footing, but according to the information I’d gathered from the community, this was one of the hidden quests.
If I completed Mana Amplification, I’d be given a chance to stand not merely equal to him, but above him.
"Equal footing?"
Roimdel snorted.
"No matter how exceptional your talent may be, how could the Vilheim Magic Tower and a tiny frontier tower possibly stand as equals?"
"It’s not about talent. It’s about results."
I said it firmly.
"If I can fuse the Mana Amplification you’ve researched for twenty years, that alone should be enough to justify an equal trade."
Roimdel’s eyes flashed sharply.
"And if you fail?"
"Then I’ll accept your original condition. I’ll become a direct researcher of the Vilheim Magic Tower and disclose all my techniques."
"Kwahaha!"
Suddenly, Roimdel threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Now that is a truly amusing proposal! Very well, I accept."
***
A week later, I arrived at the Vilheim Magic Tower.
Three hundred meters tall. The spire that could supposedly be seen from anywhere in the empire now rose before me, towering overhead.
"Wow..."
Lia let out an involuntary gasp. So did I.
It was on an entirely different level from what I’d seen in the community screenshots.
The Vilheim Magic Tower in person was... overwhelming, in the truest sense of the word.
"This way."
Guided by an attendant, we entered the tower.
As we passed through the corridors, every mage we met wore high-quality robes, and the flow of mana around them was stable and powerful.
So this is the level of one of the Five Great Magic Towers.
There was no comparison to our Fusion Magic Tower.
"This is Chief Mage Roimdel’s research lab. Chief Mage, the master of the Fusion Magic Tower, Grace, has arrived."
The mage guiding us knocked and announced us.
When the massive door opened, an unusually large space, almost like a small battlefield, stretched out before us.
The floor was covered in layer upon layer of complicated magic circles.
Dozens of mana amplification crystals hung from the ceiling, and the walls were lined with all kinds of premium materials.
Roimdel stood inside with two other mages.
"Tower Master..."
Lia whispered in a trembling voice.
"Just the materials here... they must be worth thousands of gold coins."
She was right.
Each and every one of those materials was worth several months of operating expenses for our tower.
"Grace. I thought you might run away, but you came after all..."
"...Yes. I came."
"I’ve prepared everything."
Roimdel pointed to the worktable. Four materials were laid out there.
Superior Firestone, Abyssal Water Droplet, Light Crystal, and Essence of Darkness.
They were the highest-grade materials required for a four-attribute fusion.
"The materials alone are worth about five hundred gold coins. If you fail, all of it goes up in smoke."
At his words, I swallowed without realizing it.
Five hundred gold coins...
More than our tower’s debt.
"There’s no need to be nervous. If you fail, you’ll become my direct researcher anyway."
Roimdel chuckled mockingly.
"So that’s him? The one who claims he’ll create Mana Amplification?"
One of the mages with Roimdel spoke up.
"Who...?"
"You don’t even recognize Chief Mage Serena? Allow me to introduce them. This is Chief Mage Valter of the Crown Magic Tower and Chief Mage Serena of the Astral Magic Tower. Both are 6th Circle grand mages."
Crown and Astral.
Both were among the empire’s Five Great Magic Towers.
"...It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Grace, Tower Master of the Fusion Magic Tower."
"This young man is attempting a four-attribute fusion? Roimdel, you really are something. To grant a chance like this to a frontier 2nd Circle mage."
Meanwhile, the mage called Valter snorted in disbelief.
"Watch closely. It should be entertaining."
Roimdel sat down in a chair and looked at me.
"Well then, shall we begin? Are you ready?"
I nodded.
There’s no turning back now.
If I failed, I would either become Roimdel’s researcher or, at worst, die from mana backlash.
But if I succeeded... I could negotiate on equal terms.
I walked to the center of the magic circle and stood before the materials.
"May I begin?"
"Anytime."
Once Roimdel gave his permission, I took a deep breath and studied the materials.
From the Superior Firestone came pure heat; from the Abyssal Water Droplet, a deep, frigid current of power.
The Light Crystal glowed softly, while the Essence of Darkness writhed blackly as though it were swallowing light.
Among all the fusion spells I’ve made so far, this is definitely the most dangerous one.
Controlling light and darkness, two fundamentally opposite attributes, at the same time was theoretically close to impossible.
It was a dangerous challenge that could kill me instantly with a single mistake.
Knowing that, Lia watched me from a distance, her eyes full of worry.
But I have to succeed.
Having finished preparing myself, I slowly began to draw up my mana.
Fire mana in my right hand, water mana in my left.
Then light mana in front of my chest, and darkness mana behind my back.
The four currents began to churn from four different directions.
ZZZIIIIIIIT—!
As expected. The instant light and darkness met, a violent repulsion erupted.
Like poles of the same magnet, the two forces refused, absolutely refused, to become one.
But I kept my focus.
While guiding fire and water to harmonize, I also adjusted light and darkness to seek balance.
Not yet. Just a little more...
Sweat trickled down my forehead.
It was hard enough controlling four separate streams of mana, and on top of that I had to reconcile attributes that were naturally opposed.
Then, all at once, the four currents began to violently reject one another.
Especially the light and darkness mana, which seemed intent on devouring each other as they produced unstable vibrations.
ZZZIIIIIIIT—!
"Dangerous!"
Roimdel shouted urgently.
"Activate the protective magic circle!"
At his command, the mages around the lab simultaneously cast defensive magic.
Seven layers of protection formed between me and the observers.
"At that level of repulsion, mana backlash could occur."
Chief Mage Valter said in a tense voice.
I couldn’t give up.
Already, the four currents were raging violently inside me.
If I stopped here, I might really die from mana backlash.
Just a little more...!
If I gave up here, everything would be over.
Even if I survived by some stroke of luck, the Dimensional Rift that awaited us later...
I clenched my teeth and refused to lose focus.
That was when it happened.
Fusion success rate +30%
Fusion spell power +30%
Mana stabilized during fusion process
The perk had activated.
And yet.
Unlike before, the four currents had only grown slightly calmer than before; they were still surging violently.
What? Why is it different this time?
Even after the perk activated, the mana wasn’t stabilizing properly.
No, to be precise, it was stabilizing.
But the opposing properties of light and darkness were so overpowering that a 30 percent correction didn’t seem nearly enough.
This won’t work!
The four currents were beginning to slip from my control.
In particular, light and darkness were clashing with such ferocity that it seemed as though each sought to annihilate the other completely.
CRACK—!
Blood burst from my body. Red streams spilled from my nose and ears.
"Tower Master!"
Lia’s scream-like cry rang out.
"You must stop immediately!"
Roimdel shouted in alarm.
"Don’t! Don’t touch it!"
I spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted back.
The four currents had already reached their critical point.
If I stopped now, the backlash would definitely kill me.
Now... there was only one way left.
Steeling my resolve, I began forcibly compressing the four currents into a single point.
Even if it meant risking an explosion, I had no choice but to create a fusion point by force.
I can’t die. I can’t end here!
With everything I had, I drew the four currents inward toward the center.
Like a black hole, I tried to compress all that mana into one point.
RUMBLE——!
The entire research lab began to tremble, and the air around us warped as a vortex of mana formed.
"This is madness! If you try to force a fusion like that—!"
I heard Chief Mage Valter’s warning, but I couldn’t stop.
Just a little more! Just a little!
The light and darkness mana drew closer and closer.
But the force repelling them was so overwhelming that my body could no longer endure the pressure.
THUD—!
Blood burst out again. This time, tears of blood streamed from my eyes as well.
But in that exact moment...
At the point where light and darkness met, a new color of light appeared.
It was neither light nor darkness, but a luminous gray that perfectly harmonized the two.
Just a little more!
Centered on that gray radiance, the fire and water mana began to wrap around it naturally.
The four currents were finally finding balance.
Whoooooosh—!
Like the pattern of the taiji, disparate attributes spun together in a single harmony.
"I can’t believe it..."
Chief Mage Serena murmured in a stunned voice.
"To fuse light and darkness at the same time. Theoretically, that should be impossible..."
Chief Mage Valter looked equally shaken.
But I still couldn’t relax.
The final step remained: the moment when all four currents would merge into one.
Now!
Gathering every ounce of mental strength I had left, I fully fused the four currents into a single whole.
KA-WOOOONG—!
With an earthshaking boom, a blinding flash filled the research lab.
And when the light faded, a mysterious bead hovered in my palm.
A bead based in gray, yet shifting depending on the angle of view into shades of red, blue, gold, and silver.
Fusion SpellMana Amplification completed
Circle: 4
Effect: Increases total mana capacity, duration permanent
Cooldown: 48 hours
Mana Cost: 35
I nearly collapsed to my knees, but somehow managed to hold myself up.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, and the blood that had poured from my nose, ears, and eyes had already dried on my skin.
"I succeeded..."
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