Chapter 176
“I never expected it to be like this.”
I had anticipated some level of reaction on Magic Tower Net. It wasn’t just because there were many mages on Earth-34; it was also due to the sincerity and realism in the questions I posted.
Questioner: I did as you said, but my eye pressure went up, so I stopped circling. Is it a problem with me?
Power Mage: Huh? Eye pressure? Do your eyes feel swollen?
Black Flame Dragon: Sniff…! Where is that smell coming from…?
Chok Chok Stone Master: It’s Demonic Blood Eye syndrome! This sometimes happens when there’s an error in forming the circle! The pressure caused by magic power…
Black Flame Dragon: Wow. If Demonic Blood Eye is coming, doesn’t that mean a real newbie is here? For an adult immigrant who just started learning magic to find their way to Magic Tower Net…
Even though it was a half-hearted question posted casually, mages with nothing better to do would usually ignore it on any of the many Magic Tower Nets. But this time, it excited Earth-34’s mages because it was a vivid question about the pain and worries they shared in Ardenia—the kind of question that kept them up at night.
The level of the question also mattered.
If my questions were about top-tier magic above fifth class, even with all the mages on Earth-34, only a few could answer them. Sure, there might be five billion mages, but most specialize in fast three schools.
But what about the questions I’m asking now?
Most magic here is between first and third class.
And Earth-34 had developed this basic magic more than anywhere else in the universe.
Uroboros, the birthplace of magic? It was disappointing for them, but even Uroboros couldn’t match Earth-34’s number of low-tier mages. After all, why would students at a place where even Transcendents could enroll waste time on simple magic when they could learn advanced spells?
In fact, the Fast Three School itself originated on Earth-34. While anyone can learn it now, the system was originally created by a great mage who studied hundreds of thousands of samples.
“I-I’m Big Head, Your Majesty. Among the schools that teach Void Magic…”
Question: I want to train in Void Magic. Which of the three major schools would be best for me?
“This is Saruman of the Golden Magic Tower, your Majesty. Three days ago, I completed a transformation using the Platonic Solids School’s circle. The mana crystal has fixed in a triangular shape…”
Question: You’ve successfully switched to the Platonic Solids School’s circle! But what about the mana crystal…?
I posted this question after hearing it, and now I’m explaining the answer in plain words.
“Ugh… This is going to give me a headache… Just repeating it is so difficult.”
I had learned magic up to an introductory level once. It wasn’t because I preferred it; I just tried my hand at it since I lacked any special ability that could properly master it. Anyway, I have basic knowledge of magic.
But of course, that wasn’t enough.
“Ah, I can’t believe a Transcendent like me has to study basic magic…” I grumbled as I opened the ‘Magic Library’ tab on Magic Tower Net to start my studies. Most mages from Ardenia lacked even the minimum knowledge needed to ask questions about Earth-34, so I had to fill in those gaps myself.
And that wasn’t all.
There are too many theories and formulas they don’t understand.
I’d already copied and distributed basic books like Fundamentals of Magic and Demonology Standard, but sadly, not many people could grasp everything just by reading the books.
Naturally, there were related questions, and I had to read the formulas and theories over and over to avoid mistakes.
If I made a mistake that could be misunderstood while answering questions, it wouldn’t just be a simple error. It would become “the Emperor’s Word” and have a huge negative impact on the magic world for a long time.
Question: I don’t really understand this part of Appleham’s Law…
Question: Is this how you understand Melbourne’s System?
Question: I have a question about the efficiency of Fast Three.
Anyway, since I was giving lectures in Ardenia, I couldn’t take notes. So, except for when I was sleeping or using the restroom, I spent all my time studying and answering questions.
About two weeks went by like this.
Vwoom!
A new element formed inside me.
“Is it magic…? Well, I guess it can’t be bad.”
A typical chakra cultivator wouldn’t bother opening it, but with my ample capacity, I just opened it up. This time, I didn’t even need to use any acupoints.
My chakra capacity is already at level nine.
Since my skills can’t keep up with my abilities yet, there’s no point in wasting any of my remaining acupoints.
Creak!
It feels like a door is opening.
The element “Magic” has crossed the first gate and reached the second inner gate.
This is different from martial arts, where I once went through five gates at once. Unlike martial arts, which required endless training over many years, magic only involved some studying and answering questions. It’s actually surprising that I’ve reached two gates with this level of knowledge alone.
“Hey!”
At that moment, a small girl dressed in a dress appeared and yelled at me. I replied calmly:
“Dad is busy.”
“Who said you’re my dad?! No, if we have such a powerful magic sword like this, shouldn’t we go fight?”
“We are fighting right now.”
“Fighting? You’re just reading scraps of paper!”
“This is an adult’s fight. Work and study are struggles against reality itself.”
”…?” Hyperion looked confused for a moment before frowning as if insulted. “Let’s go out there! Fight with me! How dare you! How dare you—”
Hyperion’s tiny body suddenly swelled up.
How dare you mock me!
Grrraaahh! The huge dark giant roared. Even on a vast plain where the horizon was visible, his presence was unmistakable.
The monster was incredibly powerful—nearly unbeatable without my login/logout ability—but I spoke calmly.
“You’re right about magic swords having bad temperaments. It’d be better to use a holy sword.”
Fwsssh.
In an instant, her enormous body shrank into that of a girl. Seeing this change, I asked matter-of-factly:
“What’s wrong? Are you getting worked up again?”
”…Why do you talk so coldly? You wouldn’t really call it, would you?”
”…”
“N-no way, right?”
I had only mentioned it, yet she trembled uncontrollably. This showed how much she feared the Game Master. What kind of feeling did she get just from seeing me briefly?
Seeing her extreme fear, I tried to comfort her somewhat.
“We’ll go hunting soon enough. Just hang in there until then.”
“You always say ‘soon’… But how can you be friends with that thing—a demon king or some kind of monster? Aren’t you scared?”
“There’s no need to be scared when it treats us well.”
I shrugged off the question and returned from my inner world to continue the Q&A session.
Opening up magic elements didn’t change anything for me. Chakras grant magical abilities but don’t increase knowledge about magic.
It was now day ten in Ardenia, which meant twenty-one days had passed on Earth.
“The same type of questions keep coming up,” I interrupted the mage’s query. “Let’s stop here. Everyone has done a great job so far.”
The sudden end declaration left mages gaping at me, their faces blank as if they’d woken from a dream.
But after a moment…
Clap.
Clap.
One by one, they started clapping.
Clap-clap! Clap-clap-clap!
The applause grew louder and louder.
“Thank you!”
“Well done!”
“Wooooo---!”
Applause and cheers erupted. Ten thousand mages were cheering me on. At first glance, it looked like they were just happy to be out of class. But their faces showed too much disappointment for that to be true.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Everyone did well. Go home and get some rest. Keep up the good work in the future.”
It was a really bad speech, but everyone cheered so loud the concert hall almost exploded. They clapped and screamed. I waved my hand and went down from the stage.
“You idiot! Let go of the delete key! If you erase something wrong, the mages will kill you!”
“D-delete key? I don’t know what that is!”
“No wonder you’re still learning magic! You’re so slow! Get out of the way!”
Behind the stage, Harmony was editing video on a large display.
”…Nice trick. I bet no one taught you that.”
“Ah, Your Highness! Good work!”
“Yeah, thanks. Are you combining videos?”
“This is ten days’ worth of footage, right? Surprisingly, this machine can cut out unnecessary parts and put them together! If we do it well, it might be even more popular than my concert video! With a good-looking mage explaining in between…”
“Oh… Oh, good job.”
I’ve always felt that Harmony isn’t like most people from the Middle Ages. It seems like he’d fit right into modern times if thrown there.
Ding!
We returned to the guild tower and headed for Flower’s room.
“Where’s Flower?”
“The baby is growing quickly,” said the midwife from the palace. “According to her, it might be born as early as two months.”
“Stay prepared at all times.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I entered Flower’s room. She looked better than before when she was skin and bones, but now she seemed more exhausted.
“Flower.”
“Your Highness! You’ve worked hard. Giving lectures for ten days straight…”
Her words made me look out the window where my face could be seen on the castle walls.
“It’s quite a scene.”
Even though my image was already plastered everywhere back on Earth, seeing myself larger than life on buildings was still awkward in many ways.
“More people have been staring at the castle walls like they’re mesmerized. I bet there will be even more aspiring mages after today.”
“Well, that’s a good thing.”
I sat down next to Flower for a moment and chatted with her.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing better now that I’ve been eating more regularly. Your Highness. I’ve even gained some weight…”
But she still looked much too thin compared to last time. And as the baby inside her grew bigger every day, she’d need even more energy… Would she be able to handle it until the end?
Maybe… I’ll have to accept the position of apprentice to the Honored God.
With these thoughts on my mind, I made small talk with Flower before heading back to my room.
“I want to start copying right away so I can earn at least a little bit more money, but…”
Even though transcribing was urgent, there was no way. The Q&A had taken up far more time than expected, pushing back my match with Director Chen Xianyi too much already.
I’d already called to apologize for the delay, but now there was no more time to waste.
“Right. I should get going soon.”
The Heavenly Yuan—the term referring to the exact center of a Go board—was also the name given to the place where Ardenia’s strongest monster lay dormant.
“I need to check on it anyway.”
Despite flying over that area several times before, I couldn’t fully grasp the situation.
To begin with, those creatures never even come out of their dungeon.
At the Heavenly Yuan stood only a neutral dungeon. Around the towering pillar of light reaching up into the sky, not a single pair of eyes watched from above.
Occasionally, legendary monsters near the Heavenly Yuan would try to storm inside… But none ever returned.
Thud!
I landed in front of the dungeon entrance.
As this was the only Mythical Rank dungeon in all of Ardenia, instead of relying on luck, I armed myself with nine top-tier battle equipment.
“The farming equipment… This should do it.”
I grabbed my magic sword Hyperion. With its five golden overlays, it was rightfully considered the best tool for harvesting souls.
Oh! Finally we’re going to fight?!
I calmed down the excited Hyperion.
“Yes. Once we enter, let’s be quiet.”
We had plenty of teleportation spells, but we needed to be careful since we didn’t know what awaited inside. We were dealing with mythical-rank enemies—monsters that transcended ordinary power levels—and I couldn’t predict what they might do.
But at least… I shouldn’t die.
With 999 vitality and recovery points, along with my ability to log in and out, I was practically immortal right now. As long as things weren’t so dire that even after the Replicating Dragon sealed me away with its Ultimate Magic and drained my life force, I’d probably escape unscathed.
Flash!
I was instantly engulfed by a pillar of light.
Temple of Death
The name appeared and vanished in an obvious gag.
No.
But what I saw inside wasn’t at all obvious.
What is this…?
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