A certain region of the level 3 field.
It was a place where an active volcano stood prominently.
Though it was rumored to be a difficult region even in the level 3 field, most mercenaries and adventurers avoided coming here in the first place.
It was land with a master, after all.
“Welcome, Guild Master Adolf. You’ve traveled a long way.”
The Volcatornic magic tower.
Sixteen years ago, they had still kept their base on the surface, but they had since moved to the “Volcanic Island” in the level 3 field.
With fire-element magical power abundantly filling the air, it was a paradise for fire-element mages.
The mage standing guard at the tower’s entrance eyed Adolf with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.
“But what brings you all the way here?”
“I already explained in my letter. This matter is one I must discuss with the Tower Master.”
In a similarly frosty tone, Adolf’s response made the guard mage give a reluctant nod.
This was because relations between the magic tower and the Arobatty Merchant Guild hadn’t been as strong as before lately.
Of course, the guard mage didn’t know the details, and orders had already come down from above to let them in.
However, he had no intention of abandoning his duty as a guard.
He gestured toward the carriage Adolf had brought along.
“I apologize, but the Tower Master is currently not present.”
“I know. However, the Elders should be here. Call them for me.”
“…Understood. But if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what that carriage contains? I was under the impression the submission period ended earlier this month.”
“Have you ever seen a merchant travel empty-handed? My time is worth more than gold itself!”
“Hmm…”
“Ha! The reputation of the Arobatty Merchant Guild will fall to the ground. If you’re that concerned, go ahead and inspect it!”
“Ahem. My apologies.”
With that, the guard mage looked over the carriage.
Nothing particularly remarkable stood out.
There was an abundance of camping supplies, and in one corner, a small yet luxurious-looking chest sat securely.
“And what might be in that chest?”
“Can’t a mage sense something like that?”
“Hmm?”
When the guard mage focused his magical power on it, he soon let out an exclamation.
“A-A top-grade magic stone! Is that chest filled with them?!”
“Watch your mouth. Who knows if a thief might overhear.”
“Ahem…! I apologize. Please, go on in.”
Leaving the guard mage behind, he entered the interior of the magic tower.
True to its name, a towering structure loomed over the [Checkpoint] of “Volcanic Island”.
Inside, numerous mages moved around and each one of them looked thoroughly exhausted.
“Tsk, tsk… They look even worse than my subordinates who’ve been working overtime for three days straight.”
What on earth kept them so busy?
Adolf, who had long been in alliance with them, had a rough idea of what was going on.
It must mean their operation failed, contrary to their expectations.
The very fact he had come here was proof enough of that.
By now, the Tower Master of Volkatronic Magic Tower would be scrambling to deal with the unexpected turn of events.
That’s how it’s always been. These lots have mocked us merchants and called us nothing but greedy money-grubbers.
Money-grubbers?
Well, that much was true. Adolf had never once considered himself free from greed.
He had committed his share of sins for the sake of money and had never turned a blind eye to it.
Though he didn’t go around shouting it with pride, he felt no shame in his actions.
However, if there was one place that had no right to look down on them, it was the Volkatronic Magic Tower.
The robes you are wearing, the materials for your magic training, and the money you use to protect your status all came from our merchant guilds!
And yet, they had always pretended they didn’t owe a thing.
Usually, he just accepted it.
He was used to those kinds of looks.
But.
They should never have betrayed me.
Punishment was in order.
With his life already hanging by a thread, he had to be fully prepared to place them on the scales of revenge and see them judged.
It’s the only way I can make it out of this alive.
With that thought, Adolf glanced over at the empty seat beside him in the carriage.
Although he couldn’t see him, a mage who had traveled with him the entire journey had been there.
He too was crying out for revenge.
“We’ve arrived… I’ll go and draw the elders’ attention, so make sure you get the evidence.”
No reply came.
“…..?”
Puzzled, he reached his hand over to the seat beside him and felt nothing there.
Feeling slightly embarrassed since he had just been talking to himself, he scratched the back of his head.
“Moving fast, I see.”
***
“This place is hardly different from the magic tower I used to know.”
Jun, who revealed himself while manipulating the small ring on his hand, was already wearing the robe of the Volkatornic Magic Tower.
“Definitely useful.”
The ring left behind by Shylock was an artifact that allowed him to hide his presence when they had initially met.
Did Shylock somehow foresee all of this?
I have no idea.
He had gained a certain level of understanding in the art of witchcraft, but he hadn’t yet reached the point of performing them himself.
It was knowledge that remained only in his mind.
In any case, that wasn’t what mattered now.
“Good work.”
“Yeah, take care.”
A passing mage bowed to Jun. Jun accepted his greeting confidently.
After all, both of their faces were hidden under robes, and Jun’s robe was one that could only be worn by a fourth-circle mage.
As a result, most of the other mages walked by with a respectful bow toward him.
I’m glad I followed Adolf’s advice.
This robe had been provided by Adolf as part of the preparations.
Before coming here.
Jun had explained the full situation to Adolf.
At first, Adolf appeared skeptical, but as time went on, he began to harbor suspicions about the Volkatornic Magic Tower.
In the end, he was able to gain Adolf’s cooperation, making him an ally against their enemy. Of course, they also received some small assistance from Count Mordenain.
– Prove your innocence regarding this incident.
There wasn’t much choice in the matter.
One way or another, Adolf was now fully on their side.
Now, the only thing left was to secure evidence from this magic tower and escape safely.
It wouldn’t be an easy task.
Security in any magic tower was at the forefront.
The one good thing is that the Tower Master isn’t here.
To facilitate the infiltration, Count Mordenain had personally summoned Sergey, the Tower Master of the Volkatornic Magic Tower.
He claimed that he needed Sergey’s counsel regarding this incident and asked asking him to come.
Even as a seventh-circle mage and a Tower Master, Sergey couldn’t refuse the Count’s summons, so he was currently on his way to the Founder City in the level 1 field.
Without the Tower Master… the tower’s practically an empty shell.
The Tower Master was both its beginning and its end.
The lower floors are for dining, and above them… an experiment hall? No, a training ground. So they still conduct training here.
The tower was large and wide.
The reason for this lay in several factors, with a major one being the inherently conservative nature of mages.
At first glance, one might wonder why mages who always seek new revelations would be conservative, but fundamentally, mages disliked breaking their concentration.
They feared losing the hard-won insights they had already gained.
Because of this, they preferred to arrange all the essentials of life—food, shelter, and other necessities—within a single space.
This was also the reason for the layout of the magic tower.
The workshop must be further up.
No one had kindly explained the interior of the tower to him, but his sharp senses allowed him to make educated guesses.
Let’s keep going up.
In most magic towers, the higher one went, the more important it became, and it was where mages of higher ranks moved about.
Jun boldly made his way to the upper floors with his face obscured by his robe.
Thanks to his past memories, he had little trouble navigating the basic structure of the tower.
When he had ascended to a fairly high floor—
“Hey, you.”
As he walked down the corridor, a mage called out to Jun and stopped him.
Was I found out?
For a moment, the thought crossed his mind, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“I don’t recognize your face. Where are you assigned?”
Judging by the embroidery on his robe, the mage was of a slightly higher rank than Jun.
Jun replied without hesitation,
“Yes. I’m with External Team 3.”
“Ah, there? I heard they’ve been having a bit of trouble recently.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m here to gather materials to capture the basilisk that’s settled on the fourth level.”
“Hmm. I see. I ended up holding up a busy man. Thought you were with the manufacturing team.”
“Apologies for not being of help.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Good luck with it.”
The middle-aged mage then returned to his room, and Jun let out a quiet sigh before heading further upstairs.
Just as Adolf had told him, even among those affiliated with the tower, no one knew exactly what others were working on or where.
It made sense. Mages, by nature, were rarely interested in anything beyond their own research.
After passing this first hurdle, Jun noticed that the higher he climbed, the fewer mages he encountered.
However, as he advanced, those he did pass were increasingly high-ranking individuals who turned their heads with curious expressions.
A mid-level mage who had reached the fourth circle was venturing far too high up in the tower.
Each time, Jun offered a different excuse.
“I heard Team Leader 3 recently received a summons from the Tower Master. I’m here to provide assistance with related tasks.”
“There’s been a tip on an incident from two months ago. Here are the evidence documents.”
“Ah! I’m here on orders from Mr. Marnoff, who’s currently off-site. I was told the materials needed for his research are located here.”
Each excuse worked like a charm.
They were curious about the arrival of a fourth-circle mage, but none could imagine he was a spy from the outside.
Desk-bound mages softened by peace.
They had never experienced a true crisis within the Tower.
Blackout was a very secluded place.
Unlike the outside, even entering this “Volcano Island” required various verifications, and entering the Magic Tower was no less difficult.
In the fifteen years since settling here on “Volcano Island”, they never had a single intruder, so suspecting Jun wasn’t easy.
Yet a big issue still remained.
A point had come where the clumsy excuses made from Adolf’s materials wouldn’t hold up.
The top floor.
Only the Tower Master and those with close authority could access this space.
From this point on, a special barrier blocked the way.
A passageway blazing with flames.
And not just ordinary flames.
Once ignited, these flames wouldn’t die down without special measures.
Only by chanting a separate incantation or carrying an enchanted entry pass could one proceed.
This was something Jun had not managed to obtain.
Indeed, Adolf was right.
There were no guards around the perimeter.
Such was their faith in the barrier.
Well. Who would be able to break such an elaborate barrier so easily?
Jun quietly placed his hand on the choker around his neck.
[Deciphering the spell…]
[Deciphering complete.]
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 1 percent.]
He started slowly and carefully controlling the flow of magical power to keep it from spreading outward.
Once he had grown used to it, he released the incantation again.
[2%, 3%……]
It was gradual but steady as he awakened the [Mana Body].
At the same time, he read the movement of the magical power filling the passageway.
To most mages, the erratic magical power would be impossible to interpret.
But Jun realized it was forming a distinct pattern.
What an impressive barrier.
This was a barrier that only a mage of considerable skill could have created.
When he had reduced the influence of the incantation on [Mana Body] to 7%, the patterns that had been faint became clearer as he pushed past 10%.
The image was like reading the flow of water waves crashing on a vast shore.
Waves that seemed to lack any direction actually moved with a regular rhythm.
Their height and intensity shifted each time, but to Jun’s eyes, the flow was crystal clear.
A thrilling sense of omnipotence flashed through his mind.
Danger, danger.
It was nothing less than a warning from [Mana Body] itself.
If he dared to push any further, he would be punished.
Jun danced on the edge and went back and forth like he was balancing on a razor’s edge. Gradually, he grasped the pattern of the barrier.
It seems that unknown mage has been more helpful than I thought.
The magic Adrian had used when he ambushed Jun in the Black Forest carried the essence of the spells from the Volcatornic Magic Tower.
He was a fifth-circle mage. Though crude he was highly skilled.
After fighting him with the incantation reduced to 15%, Jun had familiarized himself with some of the magic patterns Adrian had left behind.
The barrier in front of him now shared a noticeable resemblance to those magic patterns.
A tempting revelation flashed through his mind. Like something he was on the verge of clearly understanding.
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