The Worldline Without You (4)
Lick.
"Just the right amount of scorch. Nice and crispy."
The Tower Master licked the singed fur.
'That just cost me half my lifespan.'
More than any mage in the Mage Tower, the Tower Master could coldly assess their own condition. Naturally so. To manifest the forbidden magic that separated body from soul, one had to precisely gauge their own vessel.
'Not a bad trade, all things considered.'
Soul Separation magic.
The moment the Tower Master touched the dragon's breath, they separated their spirit from their body, minimizing the damage. As could be seen, the body bore wounds, but the spirit—and the mana born from it—escaped the aftermath unscathed.
If it had been any ordinary magic, they would have taken no damage at all. Even something like the ultra-high-tier spell, Meteor Strike, would have been no exception.
But what came was dragon breath, no less.
Considering the Tower Master's imperfect physical state... failure to deflect it would have meant instant death, and no one would have batted an eye.
Yet, as could be seen.
Lick.
A few singed whiskers, and that was it.
Was it a last-minute epiphany on the verge of death? Ridiculous.
Didn't I just say it? I'm a mage who knows their place—one of the rare few.
Thanks to that, they knew.
"Oh dear. Looks like we're both in tatters, dragon dear?"
Just like me, you're far from normal, dragon.
"Tower Master!!"
"See that, everyone? That's our Mage Tower's Tower Master!"
"H-how did you deflect that breath?!"
The senior mages' faces lit up with joy.
The Tower Master smiled. Not a warm smile, but a cold one.
"Ha."
With eyes like that watching, the Mage Tower's future was in dire straits.
Especially seeing Bensy William, the senior mage, shoulders heaving with laughter—it went beyond scorn to a sigh.
But on the other hand...
'Still better than I was back then.'
Soon, the dragon's wings gleamed once more.
Or rather, precisely, the white outer wings of the Mage Tower's magic tools substituting for them.
Facing them, the past flashed before the Tower Master's eyes like a montage—from their days as a skilled mage.
Researching forbidden magic had brought it to the Mage Tower roundtable dozens of times as an official agenda.
'Maybe I was born at the right time.'
The Mage Tower back then was nothing like today.
They emphasized rules, sure. But with no genuine care for others, punishments were laughably light.
'Thinking back, if there hadn't been someone like you, Chief...'
I'd have been expelled early, become an imperial mage or a noble, and drowned in worldly affairs.
The Tower Master's tail swished.
"Well, that ending wouldn't have been so bad either."
Kuwaaaaa—!
The overwhelming pressure surged in.
How could it unleash breath like that without even catching its breath?
Even impaired, a dragon was a dragon.
The Tower Master drew up their mana.
Someone might ask: Why not just dodge the breath?
Couldn't a short-range teleport handle it easily?
Of course, dodging was simple.
But if they dodged, who would face that breath head-on?
The real world—the adventurers' realm.
'I've caused enough trouble already.'
One stream of breath could claim millions of lives and a few cities without batting an eye.
To handle it, the Tower Master manifested two magics simultaneously.
Kwaaaaa—!
Twisting the breath's trajectory ever so slightly to focus it on themselves.
Kukwakwakwa—boom!
The moment of impact: Soul Separation magic.
Body and spirit divided.
Of course, they couldn't afford to drag it out. The spell guzzled mana.
Success again.
But damage accumulated on the body. This time, a few whiskers burned away.
'Just the residual damage did this.'
It hit home anew. The haughty Mage Tower didn't declare total defeat in the Dragon-Mage War for nothing.
Of course, the Tower Master couldn't care less about the war's outcome.
They'd surrender to that dragon in a heartbeat if it ended things.
Unfortunately.
"Doesn't seem inclined to listen, dragon dear."
Its physical state aside, the elder dragon's mental state looked even worse.
According to adventurers' reports, its exact name was 'Elder Dragon Who Devoured Evil Fruit, Yunak Seus'.
'Whatever it is, that evil fruit's the problem.'
Even without that info, something was off. Yunak Seus, who had just poured breath like it meant to kill, suddenly twisted its body.
Kreaaaaargh—!
Then an unfamiliar voice rang out.
"It's a pattern! It unleashed two big attacks in a row, so now we get our damage window. No clue how long it'll last, though."
Flap flap—!
Maybe because it had just faced the dragon, the wyvern's wingbeats seemed almost cute.
The Tower Master's gaze turned to an adventurer.
Knight's armor. Sun-tanned skin. No Mage Tower member, clearly.
But apparently acquainted with Marcelo.
"What brings you here, Sir Skal?"
"If I've intruded, my apologies, Chief Marcelo. But with Grand Commander Lee Hoyeol absent and a dragon appearing, I had no choice but to act."
"Intrusion? Thank you for your courage."
Hmm... Past me would have sneered.
What does some lowly adventurer know, blabbering on?
Maybe even mocked their resurrection powers and flung a spell at them.
'What a narrow-minded fool I was.'
But that self was gone.
Someone had shattered those prejudices, hadn't they?
As expected, it was him.
'I owe him in so many ways.'
Thanks to Chief this time too.
The Tower Master had witnessed possibilities in adventurers—distinct from Arcana natives—through Hoyeol.
So they asked Skal,
"So now's our chance, adventurer?"
...The cat that tanked dragon breath is talking to me now.
As Skal looked baffled, Marcelo explained concisely.
"It's the Tower Master."
"Th-the cat is the Mage Tower's Tower Master...?!"
"The Tower Master changed form due to circumstances."
"Ah."
Seemingly convinced at once, Skal continued.
"Yes! Hitting a rampaging dragon won't be easy... but as you know, boss raids are marathons, right?"
Boss raid.
Communication gap between two worlds—couldn't fully grasp it.
But roughly: it meant a prolonged battle.
The Tower Master nodded.
Skal nodded back.
"So if the Tower Master keeps tanking the breath like that—er, absorbing it—our side gets openings to attack. Rinse and repeat until its HP drops to a safe threshold... then."
Skal's pupils blazed.
"I'll mount the dragon!"
"...?"
The Tower Master wore a characteristically feline icy expression.
Oh no, the Tower Master's misunderstanding.
Marcelo hurriedly added,
"Sir Skal is a dragon knight."
"Ah. Makes sense—with something to rely on, he steps up boldly."
Swish—
The tail swayed.
Not bad.
With a plan like that, even I could stake my life.
The Tower Master concluded.
With Chief Lee Hoyeol absent, adventurer Skal's plan was the best option.
'Killing that monster is impossible anyway.'
Adventurer fated as a dragon knight.
From this man, hopefully, a light as bright as Chief's.
At last, the Tower Master issued the command.
"All senior mages, hear me. From now, I authorize the use of decisive battle magic tools. Target: our eternal foe from the Dragon-Mage War, the dragon soaring above."
Permission granted.
Pajijijik—!
Countless spells lit the sky.
Freezing, flame, lightning... offensive attribute magics opened fire.
Illusions to healing spells supplemented their weaknesses.
"Shall we move too?"
Elder mage Yugweed didn't sit idle.
The golem's mana heart blazed.
Rumble—!
Crouching like prepping a leap—then skyward.
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Rocks, did your heavenly kingdom really make a combiner robot? What's rising from the sea? Hidden in the Pacific? Those movies were based on true stories?!"
"...What're you talking about?"
The heavy leap stunned Zero Mountains players.
Of course, Harcon Kingsguard kept scanning the battlefield.
Thus, he could shout,
"All units, prepare to attack!"
Shing—!
Harcon drew his sword.
Preparing attacks at this range? Hard to grasp immediately.
But orders were orders.
Nam Taemin, Skal, and the Holy War Alliance raised weapons.
Harcon's eyes narrowed.
"Incoming!"
The golem that soared skyward.
Clack—!
Its massive hand gripped the dragon's ankle.
Shrieeeeeek—!
Using its full weight, it dragged Elder Dragon Yunak Seus toward the Zero Mountains.
In the archer's wide view, Camilla stammered.
"So our Jessie's all grown into a proper skilled mage in the Mage Tower? Impressive as always. Yeah, all good... but if that thing crashes here, will we be okay?!"
"...!!!"
Dragon plus golem weight.
Impact like a nuke.
Zero Mountains might shrug it off, but the spread-out players?
Like Camilla, Shining exec Dmitri panicked beside her.
"The Mage Tower mages here will handle it, right? Pool their power for a barrier! It doesn't look like it'll hit us dead-on..."
Noise cut his words.
Kwakakakaboom!
Thanks to the golem locking the ankle, senior mages' spells hit Yunak Seus.
Watching, skilled mage Jibril spoke.
"...We can't block that."
Gossiper Jibril knew the rumors around the twenty senior mages.
All but one from famed lineages across the continent.
The sole commoner, Senior Banggrit Tom, had innate mana affinity shaming nobles.
Their combined power was typically...
"At least ten times a skilled mage's."
Factor in decisive tools: fifty times at least.
Yet even that barrage barely scratched the dragon's scales.
Adding our power wouldn't...
"We absolutely can't..."
"No, Jibril."
"...?"
"We don't step up because we think we can, right?"
Jibril looked up, trembling, to see Cley Odia.
Usually soft and frail Cley, now calmly gripping her shaking shoulders.
"We step up because we must."
Jibril voiced her honest feelings.
"...Have you caught it from being near Chief, Cley?"
"Huh? Out of nowhere? What're you saying?"
"Nothing. I showed an ugly side."
Jibril pulled herself together.
Even without Chief's teachings, Cley was right.
For a Mage Tower mage, this was the moment to step up.
Mages proved their worth through magic to survive.
No better foe than the King of All Creatures to shine.
Swaaaaa—!
Collision neared.
Golem and Yunak Seus loomed huge.
Mage Tower mages raised mana for a mana barrier.
Hisagi Kazuma muttered unwittingly.
"...No joke."
"Why mumble alone?"
"I figured, but this is another level."
Spearman class, half-mage, frequented the Tower.
Thought he'd gauged their levels indirectly.
Far beyond.
"Even accounting for skill-magic differences..."
Manifesting barriers with mana was among the worst efficiency.
Yet sustaining this scale?
Hisagi added to Leoni Bellucci,
"Honestly, can we even catch up?"
Leoni gripped her twin swords, nonchalant.
"We have to. Or we're useless."
Couldn't help being nonchalant.
Inefficient magic? Even I was doing worse—worrying about our Grand Commander Hoyeol.
Yet here on the battlefield.
"Everyone's grinding in their own way, right?"
"...What the hell's he on about?"
"Don't get chummy with me, Nam Taemin."
"Tch. Twin combo."
Brief tension-breaking chatter.
Kwakwakwakaboom—!
Roar and crash—Yunak Seus and golem into Zero Mountains.
Result: Mage Tower mana barrier held.
Kwakduk! Kwaddduk! Kwakduk!
Perfectly blocked the missile-like rock shards from the impact.
But they overlooked something.
The dragon.
Even impaired.
Still the King of All Creatures.
Kwajik—!
"?!!"
The noise wasn't the barrier—but the ground beneath everyone's feet.
Vast Zero Mountains began transforming from the fall.
Players' visions flashed messages.
Elder Dragon Who Devoured Evil Fruit, Yunak Seus, is transforming the field.
Zero Mountains worships the King of All Creatures.
Zero Mountains builds a fortress for its king.
...Zero Mountains building a fortress?
Doubt lasted a blink.
Soon, the flat ground surged up like towering walls.
The Holy War Alliance scattered, isolated.
"Hear that?"
"Yeah! Looks like the cliffs split us up."
"Damn, what the hell...?"
But before regaining senses.
Another realization hit.
Right—vast Zero Mountains held more than just them.
Slowly turning, looming shadows appeared.
"!"
Man Glave Bear: Lv.800
"What the fu—?!"
Hell unfolded in Zero Mountains.
"Oh ho."
The Tower Master's body began to glow, staring at Yunak Seus.
Not mana.
A power even they—who knew their place—couldn't fathom.
Licking a paw, the Tower Master murmured,
"Is this what they call a final burst of glory? Not bad at all."
...
But reality has no dramatic final bursts.
Especially in Arcana—every phenomenon has a cause.
—"Hey, dragon dear, your opponent's me."
Naturally.
The bizarre phenomenon around the Tower Master had a reason.
The tiny beast tanking dragon breath.
The cat calling the King of All Creatures "dragon dear."
With Lee Hoyeol absent in that situation.
Another misconception spread worldwide.
The misconception spread in a flash.
Relayed billions of times to billions.
Becoming legend.
Legends' power cares not for truth.
Dragon-Tiger Clash.
The bubble-wrapped cat became a tiger.
Baring claws at the King of All Creatures.