All I thought about was researching magic and exploring divine authority in preparation for the decisive battle against Kreutzvalt.
How could I head into the Abyss even a little bit stronger?
Living with only those thoughts in mind, the days in the Tower of Mages passed by incredibly quickly.
It had already been nearly two months since we conquered the 71st Floor and entered the tower, and it was time to challenge the next floor.
“I made the most of it.”
It had been two unprecedentedly packed months.
While I had often immersed myself in training before, I had never grown this much in such a short period.
I had mastered a large number of 6th and 7th Circle magics, which are normally difficult to learn even one per month, obtained a new divine authority, and all without neglecting other matters.
It was possible because I had previously expanded my vessel to its limits.
But it was also possible thanks to the help of many people—both in obtaining the divine authority and in being able to immediately learn its true name upon acquisition.
“Let’s go. They should all be gathering by now.”
The news of the 72nd Floor’s appearance would have reached Regarda and Vitalianus, who were scattered in various places.
They would have naturally received the news earlier than Hio in the tower and would have already finished their preparations.
Thus, Hio and the Airlights temporarily left the tower for the 72nd Floor conquest.
Using the tower’s portal, Hio and the Airlights immediately arrived at the Imperial Castle in Enmenia, the capital of the Empire.
The castle’s grandeur, unmarred even as the entire continent suffered the aftermath of the bursting Gates.
Passing through the castle gate, receiving salutes from knights, and entering the castle via the wide, paved road, one sees various ornate statues and well-maintained gardens.
Only by passing even those and going deeper can one finally arrive.
“Welcome.”
The deepest part of the Imperial Castle, where Sylvia greets them.
The center of the continent.
“Long time no see, Hio.”
As if she doesn’t even see the Airlights right beside him, Sylvia welcomes only Hio.
“Hey, am I invisible?”
“Hio must be very busy too, so to get straight to the point, the situation is the same.”
It meant that the method of maintaining minimal control over the Gates and entrusting everything to the new expeditionary force remained unchanged.
“There were some who said it was an irresponsible method for an emperor, but if we perfectly succeed in conquering this floor, such talk will vanish.”
“I suppose so. It’s stabilizing quickly now.”
“Yes. They’ll soon start to realize who we have to thank for escaping the crisis.”
Sylvia continued quickly with a serious expression, but…
“Wouldn’t it be thanks to an emperor who ruled well?”
At Hio’s single remark, her expression immediately softens.
“……Hehe…… No. It’s thanks to Hio and the expeditionary force working hard.”
Sylvia shakes her head, covering both cheeks with her hands.
And as if displeased with this, the Airlights shoves her face between them.
“I said, can’t you see me?”
“Ah…… I didn’t notice.”
“You didn’t notice? You must be getting presbyopia already. How pitiful.”
“Rather than that, should I say you lack presence?”
“……Presence? Me? None?”
It was a rare and amusing sight to see Sylvia react so sharply.
It was also surprisingly rare to see the Airlights being pushed around by Sylvia, but it’s best to keep things moderate.
“Enough of that, let’s prepare for the conquest. What about Vitalianus and Regarda?”
“……They’re at the Gate’s entrance. Hio probably doesn’t need to prepare anything.”
“Haven’t seen Antipus since then?”
“No. At least not within the Empire.”
“Should I try contacting him then?”
***
After pondering briefly, she shakes her head.
“No. He must be busy over there too. Let’s just leave him be for this conquest.”
Things on Earth must be hectic with the aftermath.
The situation there was several times more severe than here, so a month or two would be woefully insufficient to sort it out.
“He’ll come on his own.”
If he has the time, he’ll find his way here on his own.
We might lose a bit of conquest time without Antipus, but it’s certainly not to the point where we can’t conquer the floor.
“And about what Hio requested before…….”
“Ah, that? How did it go?”
“I prepared that too. You can try it before you leave.”
“Thank you.”
There was something Hio had previously requested from Sylvia, and she had prepared it.
‘What was the preparation for?’
An experiment.
An experiment regarding Dimension Transfer.
Think about it.
Hio now, Regarda, Freya.
‘What is the reason for finding a passage to the Abyss?’
‘Isn’t it to cross over to the Abyss?’
And it’s not about crossing over one or two people; we need to cross over in army units.
Considering the Airlights’s golems as well, we might need to think in terms of tens of thousands.
“Let’s go out. I’ve prepared the remaining personnel.”
That’s what the experiment was for.
‘How many people can we actually move via Dimension Transfer?’
If we can move a meaningful number of people, then there’s no need to painstakingly search for a passage.
The problem, if it is one, is that a ‘meaningful number’ means moving at least ten thousand people…
Well, since it’s a Transcendent skill, maybe it’s possible, was the thought.
Transcendent Skill – ‘Dimension Transfer’ is being activated.
Thanks to Sylvia’s order, we were able to conduct the experiment on the assembled soldiers.
It sounds a bit odd to say we’re experimenting on soldiers, but it’s really just a test to see if we can move them at all.
‘Continent Verdan’, ‘Nation Verdan’, ‘Nearest Abyss Gate’ are designated.
Targets ‘Hio Pavlenko and 3,021 others’ are designated.
And the result of that experiment was.
Movement is not possible.
The number of movable targets is exceeded by ‘2,921’.
The skill is canceled.
Failure.
Hio furrows his brow, showing disappointment.
It seems the limit for the number of people movable via Dimension Transfer is 100.
That wouldn’t allow moving ten thousand units.
“……Then we’ll have to find the passage after all.”
Feeling an unavoidable wave of disappointment, Hio and the Airlights head for the 72nd Floor Gate.
A small expeditionary force composed of Vitalianus, Regarda, Hio, the Airlights, and Freya once again sets out to conquer the 72nd Floor.
It was essentially the entire previous expedition team except for Antipus, and even without the top-ranked Antipus, no significant gap was felt.
Looking at the team’s composition, it’s understandable.
Compared to them, Antipus, who merely possesses top-tier skills, did feel a bit behind, to be honest.
“Let’s start right away.”
Even though they were entering blindly with no prior information, no one was tense or worried.
That’s how overwhelming their combat power was.
“This time, the goal is also to finish the conquest as quickly as possible.”
“That doesn’t seem like a difficult goal.”
“Provided there are no variables.”
The biggest variable was always Kreutzvalt.
We never knew when or how he would appear, like on the 58th Floor, so we always had to be prepared for him.
Other variables would be the appearance of completely new forms with no information, like the Memory Gate on previous floors.
But no such variable existed on the 72nd Floor.
All that appeared were Strange Entities.
They poured out, seemingly a bit stronger than the lower-tier entities from last time.
Of course, nothing changed.
At that slightly stronger level, they couldn’t withstand a single attack from Regarda or Vitalianus.
They couldn’t put up much resistance against Freya’s or Hio’s magic either.
And they were easily neutralized by the Airlights’s divine authority.
Thus, they reached the swamp Strange Entity, the conquest boss of the 72nd Floor.
Although it was a somewhat useful entity that twisted laws and altered the environment…
It met its end and vanished after one sword strike from Vitalianus, who charged first, followed by one thrust from Regarda.
Abyss – Conquest of the 72nd Floor has succeeded.
That was the end of the 72nd Floor conquest.
With no variables, even the deep Abyss of the 72nd Floor was conquered in the shortest possible time.
Abyss – The 72nd Floor sinks into an unfathomably deep abyss.
Returning to the original space.
***
After finishing the conquest, I asked Regarda about the progress of his work upon exiting, but he only told me that there hadn’t been much advancement.
“We found it, but it’s not easy. Still, Freya is trying this and that, so results should come soon.”
The work Freya and Regarda are doing is searching for a passage.
A passage outside the tower.
For example, a place like Aerial’s former dwelling, the Dragon’s Temple.
‘According to memory, he said he had prepared a passage near there, didn’t he?’
However, even if we find the location, we have no idea how to open and use that ‘passage,’ so we’ve been researching it from scratch.
“Alright. If you catch even the smallest clue, let me know through Freya. I’ll rush over immediately.”
“I’ll do that.”
With those final words, the expeditionary force scatters once again, each to their own path.
Vitalianus returns to the Empire.
Regarda and Freya go to the Dragon’s Temple.
And Hio and the Airlights return to the Tower of Mages.
Thus, they return to their daily routine.
The Tower of Mages, returned to after quickly finishing the 72nd Floor conquest.
It felt like we had just stepped out for some fresh air and came back, that’s how quickly we finished.
“Back to work.”
Having healed, it’s time to go crazy over magic again.
Up to today, the total number of magics learned in the tower is four.
The Chronomancy ‘Manipulation’ and the time-isolating ‘Temporal Rift’.
The earth attribute sealing magic ‘Earth Bound Shackle’.
The fire attribute area recovery magic ‘Immortal Flame’.
The celestial defense magic ‘Celestial Shield’.
Each was a magic of immense utility, but they were all classified as 6th Circle magic.
Even if Chronomancy has ambiguous boundaries between circles, isn’t the superiority between circles clear for other attribute magics?
So now, it’s time to learn the higher-tier 7th Circle magic.
“7th Circle magic……”
There are many kinds.
Among the magics recorded in existing grimoires, there are 7th Circle ones, and the new grimoires Furnel obtained also included 7th Circle ones.
For instance, the Resurrection from Ashes in the [Sutra of Flame Transformation].
The torrential rain and storm in the [Book of Nature’s Apostle] are also 7th Circle magic.
Among them, the overwhelmingly powerful one is the Judgment of the Stars recorded in the [Tome of the Heavens].
Among 7th Circle magics, it was a mercilessly powerful 7th Circle magic, notorious as both an area and attack magic.
-Ah, that one is good too. It’s just tricky to learn.
But in terms of pure attack power among 7th Circle magics, it’s undoubtedly called the best.
Since I’ve also engraved quite a few 7th Circle inscriptions while learning 6th Circle magic, I just need to choose and learn.
“Judgment of the Stars…… What should I learn first……”
As I was pondering over the grimoires with Furnel…
“Hio.”
The Airlights, who had been quietly staring into space for a while, called Hio.
When Hio turned to look, she shifted her gaze from the void and looked directly at him.
“It’s full.”
“Full? What is?”
“Divinity Points.”
The Divinity Points have been fully gathered.
It meant I could obtain the targeted divine authority.
“I’m going to obtain Venus’s authority.”
It’s time for another new, forgotten authority to be revealed to the world.