Chapter 204: The Wizard King
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: The Wizard King
While on the move, I opened my Memory Book and reorganized my magic slots.
‘For the five Tier 1 slots: Dust Devil, Hot Wind, Humidify, Frost Ray, and Whirlwind, in that order.’
This was the five-spell combination to summon Blizzard. I temporarily removed Flash Freeze, used for the ice cloud, and Shorthand, an essential component for magic circle builds.
Next, for the four Tier 2 slots: Electrostatic Coat, Owl's Hunt, Compress, and Light.
I’d brought ‘Light’ specifically for this 9th-floor adventure. The field was exceptionally dark, and since there were monsters that used shadow magic, I prepared it as a counter.
‘Then, for the Tier 3 slots.’
Enchanting, Ice Armor, Oil Pit.
Enchanting could be used for magic circle builds, Ice Armor was for survival, and Oil Pit could be linked to Cumulonimbus.
"Caleb."
Yernil spoke to me from my side.
"Are you editing your Memory Book again?"
"Something like that."
I was refilling it since I had emptied it completely earlier.
Couldn't I just leave it empty all the time?
I could.
If I did, I would always start with the roughly 5 extra Action Points I had gained.
An hourglass with 11 AP—that was insane.
But for now, it was better to test the various applications of the Memory Book Inspector.
‘The eight-stack Hailstorm was a bit overkill.’
The idea of blanketing the entire 9th-floor cemetery in a single spell to wipe it out was valid, but the range was just too vast.
Come to think of it, even casting an eight-stack Cumulonimbus wasn't easy. And yet, I had summoned eight Hailstorms, a higher-tier spell.
It was worth trying to cast a denser spell over a smaller area in field battles.
There was another problem with leaving so many slots empty.
‘It takes time to register spells in the slots.’
For example, look at this.
▶Registering Spells
-Tier 2 Magic Slots (4/4)
① Light
② Electrostatic Coat (Registering)
③ Owl's Hunt (Queued)
④ Compress (Queued)
The three Tier 2 spells I had slotted a while ago still hadn't been set. The Tier 1 spell ‘Whirlwind’ had only just finished registering.
Normally, the process of removing and re-slotting spells in the Memory Book is a bit tricky.
It takes about five minutes to remove one, and another five minutes to insert one.
During that time, I have to keep the Memory Book open and maintain my focus, so it's definitely not something to be done in the middle of a battle.
But filling all ten of my empty slots during peacetime would take about fifty minutes, which was also insane.
Of course, there was an easier way to solve this.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■■■■■■]
Flip the hourglass, then use the Memory Book Editor.
*
In the old days, soldiers used to load bullets into their magazines one by one.
But now, they use a speedloader to slide them all in at once, right?
It was similar to that.
[Memory Book]
▶Spells Owned
-Dust Devil, Hot Wind, Humidify, Frost Ray, Whirlwind, Flash Freeze, Shorthand, Light, Electrostatic Coat, Owl's Hunt, Compress, Enchanting, Ice Armor, Oil Pit, Exploitative Bleeding, Ethereal Blink, Terrain Swap, Ethereal Lightning.
-Tier 2 Magic Slots (4/4)
① Light
② Electrostatic Coat
③ Owl's Hunt
④ Compress
The three spells, including Electrostatic Coat which had been in the middle of registering, were all slotted in a single second.
[Action Points: ■■■■■■■■□□□]
Strictly speaking, I hadn't ‘swapped’ the Memory Book slots just now.
I had registered spells into empty slots.
But the Memory Book Editor didn't seem to see it that way, as it accurately deducted 3 of my Action Points.
-Tier 3 Magic Slots (3/3)
① Enchanting
② Ice Armor
③ Oil Pit
I filled the three Tier 3 spell slots as well.
-Tier 4 Magic Slots (2/2)
① Exploitative Bleeding
② Ethereal Blink
The two Tier 4 spells, too.
And one each for Tier 5 and Tier 6.
-Tier 5 Magic Slot (1/1)
① Terrain Swap
-Tier 6 Magic Slot (1/1)
① Ethereal Lightning
[Your turn. Time remaining: 48 seconds]
[Action Points: ■□□□□□□□□□□]
Clearly, a simple swap was a losing trade.
The Memory Book Inspector gives 1 AP for emptying two slots, but filling those two slots with two spells costs 2 AP.
It wasn't quite irreversible, but once a slot was emptied, it was tricky to fill it again.
So, I had to be careful when using the Inspector.
It would be a problem if my Memory Book was empty and I suddenly needed to cast Noise Suppression or create an Oil Pit.
Of course, I could just flip the hourglass and fill them like I just did, but the 60-second cooldown on the hourglass was also a risk factor.
I could only afford to do this now because my three party members had grown to be rock-solid and reliable.
If we were fighting monsters in an inter-floor town or exploring the 10th floor, it would be a different story.
I would have to be extremely cautious when using the Inspector.
"Yernil, could you get me some water from my bag?"
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending turn.]
*
"Want some water?"
"Thanks."
Opening the cap of the water bottle Yernil handed me, I checked my Memory Book again. All the spells had been slotted correctly.
"What the—"
The Eastern Emperor, who was following behind us, suddenly jumped in surprise.
"What was that, just now!"
"Pardon?"
"H-How did you do that? With your Memory Book!"
"I just filled it with spells."
"How could you fill so many empty slots in an instant—!"
"..."
"Don't tell me!"
It had been a while since I'd heard this routine.
"Are you the reincarnation of the Wizard King!"
Well, that was a little different.
I was expecting something like, You possess a talent for Memory Book input!
Come to think of it, it was strange that the Eastern Emperor, the ruler of Wyndham and an Easterner, knew about the Memory Book.
In Wyndham, they used shamanism or Taoist arts, not Memory Book-based magic.
"Hmph. What foolishness. You people don't know whose staff it was that originally stood at the pinnacle in the West Tower of Sohen's Magic University, do you?"
"It belonged to Wizus, didn't it?"
"Wiz... No, well, of course, but I'm talking about the one who was granted that item by Wizus!" the Emperor retorted, his face flushing slightly.
"Who was that?"
"A man known as the Wizard King."
"The Wizard King?"
"Yes. He was an Easterner. A man who came to Sohen long, long ago and taught magic."
"..."
"Which means the person who first created the Memory Book was also an Easterner. Do you understand?"
"What happened to this Wizard King?" Yernil asked.
"Some say he hid in the Fairy Forest, others that he left for the west. There are even tales of him entering the Labyrinth. No one knows for sure what became of him."
"That..."
Something clicked for me.
"Are you perhaps talking about the era of the Nine Kings?"
The Magic University was older than Sohen.
No, to be precise, the West Tower was older. The city of Sohen developed as the people who developed the Memory Book and researched magic there gathered one by one, forming a camp and exploring the Labyrinth.
"Yes," the Emperor said.
"The Wizard King was one of the Nine Kings."
*
"Wizus. I will now lay down your pen."
The Wizard King spoke, his voice filled with fury.
"The history you intend to write contains neither peace nor justice. I will no longer serve as your chronicler. You... you are the most wicked of all beings. I will serve you no more."
Hot tears streamed down his face.
"You are a more cursed existence than the Labyrinth Master himself. I would rather descend into the void below."
He threw away Wizus's fountain pen.
"I will also forsake your magic."
He shuddered at the wickedness of the Ethereal Galaxy.
"From this day forward, I will never again hold a wand or a staff."
The Wizard King took up a small dagger and descended into the Labyrinth.
*
"Gasp!"
The Labyrinth Master's most faithful subordinate and right hand.
The White Lion awoke from his sleep.
"What a foul dream."
He lay back down on the bed, examining his right arm.
‘It's almost fully grown back.’
The severed arm had been almost completely restored using a regeneration scroll. Now, his fingers were growing in, small and delicate, wiggling slightly.
"How are you feeling?"
Someone entered the White Lion's bedroom.
It was the lord of the 6.5th floor, the Mushroom Beetle.
The wings on its hard, chitinous body trembled.
"Well enough. What brings you here?"
"I came to deliver some interesting news. Care to hear it?"
"..."
The White Lion thought for a moment before asking.
"Has that wizard's party arrived?"
"How did you know?"
"The spider is using them. Seeing that I'm not in my best shape, it must have thought this was the perfect time to push them into the 9.5th floor."
"They should be down soon."
"..."
"Want help with your revenge?"
"A pest like you would only get in the way. Where are the Lancer and the Gunner Shark?"
"They're having some problems of their own."
"What kind of problems?"
"The Dagger Raptor is dead."
Not all the Inter-floor Lords were loyal to the Labyrinth Master. Each had their own desires.
The Gunner Shark had ruled the south for a long time as the Dwarf Governor.
His friendship with the Halfling Prime Minister, with whom he had co-ruled, was, surprisingly, genuine.
The Gunner Shark had intended to drag his friend to the 8th-floor altar and sacrifice him, to give him the Dagger Raptor's position.
And the Lancer, who had always been on bad terms with him, couldn't tolerate his altar being used so carelessly.
"The two of them fought it out right there."
"What a total mess."
"They were always uncontrollable."
"You included?"
The White Lion stared intently at the beetle.
"White Lion."
The beetle moved closer to the bedside.
"Put me in the Labyrinth Master's party."
"..."
"I can do better than that shark bastard. I'm confident."
"Is that why you tried to capture the wizard and offer him up? Luring him into a trap on the 6th floor, summoning the 7th-floor Glutton? And you still failed?"
"That damn spider just had to interfere."
"..."
The White Lion swept the mane back from his forehead with his left hand.
"When has the Master scheduled the Eruption?"
"Before the Consul musters his forces."
"He's moved the schedule up quite a bit."
"That's what happens when someone repeatedly screws up on the surface, gets caught, and spills everything."
"Laugh all you want. You'll never be in the Master's party."
"..."
The beetle clicked its tongue. It changed the subject.
"About Caleb," it said. "He's grown remarkably. Not just him, but his party members too."
"..."
"If you're thinking about when you fought in Sohen, you'll be in for a rude awakening. You're going to need my help. Or else."
The beetle continued.
"You could use your magic wand."
"I already got rid of it. I will never use it again. And I don't need your help."
"Then you will die soon."
"I won't. I need to talk to that wizard."
The White Lion produced a scroll from his left hand.
[Regeneration Scroll]
"Talk to who? Caleb?"
"Yes."
He tore the scroll with his mouth and left hand and cast it on his right arm. The fingers began to lengthen.
"What are you going to talk about?"
"About Wizus."
*
There are several ways to find the staircase leading to an inter-floor town.
One is to use Undead Back Attack to search the area directly above the Sanctuary of Souls.
On floors with a monument stone, you can search the area in front of it.
The easiest way is to ask the Awakened Compass to find it, but I had asked the compass for something else.
"We need to find the special district first. From there, we'll find a way to the staircase."
I had been leading the party with that in mind, but then—
"Boss, isn't that a staircase over there?"
"Huh?"
We had found the inter-floor staircase.
It had literally popped out of nowhere while we were progressing through the 9th floor.
"..."
This kind of dissonance. I was used to it by now.
‘The White Lion is inviting us.’