It's Time to Reclaim You as Well (2)
Tick!
A slender white finger taps the pointed hat on the desk. One spin, two spins, three spins... The hat, spinning endlessly without any sign of stopping, had long since defied the laws of physics. But no one watching would be surprised.
"Hmm."
Playing with the hat so indifferently was none other than the Grand Archmage, Jessie Haynes. It was only natural, since the hat was her symbol, practically an extension of herself.
Ever since gaining fame with her Grand Archmage class, Jessie had never let anyone see her without it—not even her old comrades from the Shining days.
Out of shyness? Because she didn't want to show her face? Or perhaps the opposite—to cement the hat as her trademark?
All sorts of speculations swirled around Jessie. But disappointingly for the public, she wasn't the sentimental type.
Staring at the spinning hat, Jessie muttered,
"How about it? Dizzy yet? Maybe it's time to cooperate?"
Mages. Beings with emotions and abilities far removed from ordinary folk. Even in the Mage Tower, where mages gathered, jokes about their questionable personalities were rampant—despite everyone knowing it'd earn them a spit in the face.
And among those mages, Jessie was one acknowledged as having the vessel of a Grand Archmage.
She raised her voice at the end, as if proving her worth.
"Considering your ages, you really shouldn't be pushing yourselves, right?"
The previous Grand Archmages dwelling within the hat. Jessie was threatening them in her own unique way.
The Grand Archmage—no, the Tower Master—who had once spoken to her from inside the hat was no more. She'd anticipated some change to the hat during the Tower Master's consciousness separation. But she hadn't expected her Grand Archmage class quest to grind to a halt so abruptly.
"Hmm."
Jessie had been at this intimidation routine for days now. And it included a grudge. Why? Because the more she thought about how they'd only seen her as a vessel to exploit, the angrier she got.
"Even like this?"
Still, silence.
She flicked it lightly.
Tick!
"What about now?"
Infused with mana from her finger, the hat spun even faster. This was shaping up to be a long siege.
"Don't blame me if you regret it later. Think it over."
Jessie's gaze shifted from the hat to the monitor.
What do you think, expert? Any chance of victory in this fight?
Well... I'm not sure it's even a fight to begin with...
The massive wall screen blared breaking news. The escalating feud between Raymon Sean and Lee Hoyeol...
Jessie scowled uncomfortably at the headline.
"Why Raymon Sean first?"
A player's privilege: immunity to language barriers. Even so, grasping Korea's national rule of alphabetical order without explanation wasn't easy.
"VBC? Guess no interview then."
Her mutter, enough to chill some broadcaster's spine, was brief. The next bulletin followed.
Lee Hoyeol had cleared a hundred rifts in under an hour.
"......"
Jessie said nothing. Words weren't needed.
Having faced the rampaging Tower Master's body alongside him, she'd felt his magical realm firsthand. This was utterly expected—no surprise there.
But the anchor's voice on the next report made her flinch.
News from the Mage Tower, which she hadn't visited in a while.
Breaking news just in from the Mage Tower. The pure-blooded magical race, the Twilight Descendant, has revealed herself there. For details, our reporter at the scene...
"!"
Jessie had seen this via emergency update too. But she'd paid it little mind. She was intrigued by magical races, sure, but prying open the mouths of the Grand Archmages in her hat took priority.
That hadn't changed until moments ago.
"I am the Twilight Descendant, Mary."
"I have come to the land of adventurers from the Arcana Continent to find my purpose. From today, I will gradually prove my worth."
Arcana Continent. Pure-blooded magical race, Twilight Descendant. Stepping onto this land for a purpose...
"......!"
As her thoughts raced, Jessie suddenly reached for her smartphone. The mana trace she'd left to avoid losing it proved handy now.
Ching—
Mana flared. The phone flew straight to her hand.
Notifications piled up.
Skipping past Camilla's advances—which made up over half—the message from AAU North America West Branch Chief Joshua caught her eye.
Jessie's brow twitched subtly.
"......Related to the Grand Archmage class quest?"
A scrapped concept from development, leaving only basic lore. But with the Twilight Descendant confirmed real...
Jessie sprang from the plush sofa.
Infinite advancement—exactly what I hoped for.
She straightened her clothes, muttering inwardly.
Just when things were feeling stagnant.
The day she'd heard the grand alliance had launched into the Zero Mountains' hundred thousand caves with Hoyeol, she'd felt left behind.
Strictly speaking, Hoyeol had given her the first shot. That day facing the Tower Master's body side-by-side, he'd shown her real consideration.
Yet she hadn't repaid it. It gnawed at her.
Like hitting a wall.
To break through, she'd soloed rifts. Strained to manifest true magic beyond skills. She couldn't use it in combat yet, but daily life? No problem.
Tap—
As proof, the spinning hat halted at her gesture, floating up to settle on her head.
She eyed the screen again.
"......Twilight Descendant, Mary."
A being tied to the Grand Archmage quest. Now that she knew, Jessie headed to the Mage Tower without hesitation.
No issue there. Except one thing Jessie herself didn't realize.
"......!!"
Her unusually blank expression drew stares from players and mages alike.
"That's Jessie Haynes, right?"
"Feels like forever since I last saw her..."
"Why's she look so serious?"
"Maybe it's connected? I mean, it's the Grand Archmage, Jessie Haynes. Bet she has some quest with the pure-blooded magical race..."
The mood reached her inevitably.
In the Crystal Hall, Mary—marveling at the Mage Tower's pinnacle of pure essence—froze.
An adventurer who knows me?
On Arcana, she'd only stayed in the Spacetime Salon and the silent southern seas. No adventurers there.
Am I... getting jumpy?
Plenty of reasons for frayed nerves. Her first foray into the Demon Realm—utterly unlike Arcana—had been hell thanks to warped senses.
Plus, this body... Wishing it held up unscathed went against conscience. The cigarettes she'd chain-smoked to drown the Omen's whispers had become debt collectors, demanding principal plus interest on her sanity.
Mary murmured,
Not the time to get distracted.
Claudy had said,
You have value to me.
Twilight mana and magic might save Arcana and the adventurers' world.
She was thrilled. Finally, a way to repay Claudy.
Then, until this rotten flesh holds out.
No—until Claudy recognized Twilight's worth.
Mary vowed to endure, no matter what. She knew it wouldn't be easy. But hadn't she resolved herself?
She prepared her Twilight magic. Purple mana surged from her.
Her vision swam violet, but the onlookers saw differently.
"Something's starting..."
"Look, Banggrit senior—you're pure mana senior! I can't see it, but you should! That rippling mana for sure!"
"No matter how much you nag, if I can't see it, I can't!"
They could only guess it was Twilight magic, as announced.
Their insight fell short of witnessing it.
"Tch."
All the seniors—even Chief Mage Marcelo—were no exception.
Only natural. Without transcendent power—or enough manifestation for circles—beholding Twilight was impossible. A whole other dimension of magic.
In that sense, Claudy was remarkable.
Magic, swordsmanship, and realms beyond my ken.
Truly multifaceted.
But now, the one surprising Mary wasn't Claudy.
Crystal Hall. With Hoyeol and the Tower Master absent, no one should witness Twilight mana.
Yet someone muttered,
"......Purple mana?"
Mary reacted first.
"......!"
A mage with exceptional manifestation? No.
The one who spotted Twilight's purple hue was a familiar face.
Yes—the player she'd watched intently earlier. Jessie Haynes.
What?
No circle formation detected. How could she see Twilight mana?
Two possibilities. One: the girl—humans were all youths to Mary—had Twilight blood.
But she was an adventurer from another world, not Arcana.
Only one left.
Mary's eyes calmed.
"The vessel of the Grand Archmage."
*
Busy, so busy. Cleared a hundred rifts, stopped by Yusra Kingdom. Back in reality, I stamped my face at the Mage Tower but skipped Yusra.
Reports are the real issue, huh?
Chief at the Tower, overall commander at Yusra. Position or not, can't they cut some slack?
Of course, Grandfell's principles offered no special treatment by rank. Grumbling aside, I returned post-sunset.
"Late, Chief."
The Tower's top floor. Greeting me: a furball sprawled on the floor.
Cat—Tower Master—scratched his head with hind paws.
"Rare for you."
I eyed the drifting fur coldly.
"I am not late."
"Then?"
"The sun merely fled from me."
......What a talent for deadpan nonsense.
The Tower Master stared, then licked his paw.
"Ever consistent. Good."
Thank goodness for his nonchalant nature. He'd shrug off any drivel.
Still embarrassing...
"I resume Chief duties henceforth."
Notified the boss, time to hustle to the office. As I turned—
"Your guests await outside, Chief."
......Guests?
Wait—did he hear that sun-fleeing crap?!
Internally panicking, the Tower Master yawned.
"Fled to avoid disturbing my nap."
That—!!
Sarcasm, right? This is why I hate cats. Shedding aside, they're two-faced.
"Understood."
Couldn't show it. I escaped the top floor, conflicted.
Mage Tower guests? Mages, obviously.
Not Marcelo, probably.
No reason for him to seek me upstairs. Shadow Mercenaries recovering in the healing wing? Major progress while I was in Arcana?
Bellie senior overdid it, considering time diff.
No.
Ah.
Office door. Waiting: Mary.
......Forgot completely. Reality must feel alien to her. No place to stay—I was thoughtless.
Especially with all the hard work ahead. I'd neglected hospitality.
Realizing my blunder, a familiar silhouette beside her. Hat, specifically.
Shamelessly, I spoke.
"Circumstances demand we skip formalities."
Mary and the hat—Jessie Haynes—turned.
Until they spoke, I'd never imagined.
My etiquette training would backfire so spectacularly...!
They bowed politely in unison.
"Welcome back, Lord Grandfell."
"Long time no see, Chief Lee Hoyeol!"
"......Lee Hoyeol?"
"......Grandfell?"
"??"
Disaster struck after all......!