Frey thought to himself, ‘Why was it that in Zion’s world, magic and divine arts—that is, black magic and white magic—could never be used simultaneously?’
“I have a rough idea. What people here call ‘magic power’ and ‘divine power’ are, from Earth’s perspective, essentially MP diluted by removing its toxicity, though at the cost of reduced effectiveness.”
Left alone in the guest room after Zion and his group departed, Frey reached a conclusion within about thirty minutes of staying in the Jewel Tower.
“If MP is basically a poison diluted with water, then magic power or divine power is chemically stripped of toxicity, but the potency is proportionally weaker… something like that, right?”
“Not the best analogy, but it’s close enough. Anyway, thanks to this, people here can use magic or divine arts without needing to Awaken. There’s a strong repulsive side effect between the two forces, and though the potency is reduced, it also heavily restricts talent.”
The reason Frey could quickly figure this out was partly due to the unique nature of the Jewel Tower itself.
This massive structure functioned as a powerful magic amplifier, making it easier to read and analyze the amplified flow of magic through the magic eye.
“Honestly, even Awakening conceals talent quite a bit. But something worse than that—I really don’t want to deal with. If anyone heard that, they’d say an Earth’s strongest talent prodigy is bragging. Haha.”
What Awakened needed to grow was not just talent, but also surviving many battlefields, defeating countless Monsters, and enduring over time.
When comparing those with similar experience, differences in talent would certainly show starkly, but there was no predetermined ceiling from the start.
Magic and divine arts in Zion’s world were different from the Awakened on Earth.
Without talent, you simply couldn’t learn them; and even if you somehow got in, your ceiling was fixed from the start according to your talent.
Because of this, both the Lawkingdom and the Jewel Tower harbored a latent sense of superiority.
“Interesting. This phenomenon can’t be a coincidence. There must be something causing it… MP refining? Purification? Yes, there must be something somewhere acting as an MP purifier. Whether it’s a living organism or something else, natural or artificial.”
Frey lifted his gaze toward the north.
Beyond the Jewel Tower to the north lay the World Tree Forest, the final destination of Zion’s journey.
***
The goal on the first day was light exploration.
They scattered carefully to gather information, but no one expected to find any important clues immediately, and indeed, the night ended with little gain.
‘The conflict between the Lawkingdom and the Jewel Tower is intensifying over time. It wouldn’t be surprising if it erupted into full-scale war any moment now…’
Late at night, Soares furrowed her brow as she mulled over the contents of the letter in her hand.
‘The last letter arrived six days ago. Regular contact comes every three days, but nothing since then.’
The letter’s sender was one of Soares’s “sisters” embedded within the Lawkingdom—not a blood relative, but a subordinate in the Royal Guard Division responsible for espionage within the Lawkingdom.
‘From the tone, it doesn’t sound like war has broken out yet. And this kid isn’t so incompetent that she’d fail to protect herself in wartime.’
The more she tried to calm herself, the deeper her anxiety grew.
Without realizing it, Soares bit her lips anxiously.
She worried not only about her lost contact but also about the negative impact war could have on Zion’s group.
‘The most accurate way is to go myself and see with my own eyes.’
Though she had pondered it for a long time, the conclusion was clear from the start.
Finally accepting this, Soares took a light sleep and went to see Zion at daybreak.
“Going to scout the Lawkingdom alone?” Soares’s cautious request caught Zion off guard.
However, seeing her serious expression, he realized it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“May I know why? It’s not that I’m against it, but I’m worried about you going to the unstable Lawkingdom.”
For a brief moment, Soares hesitated over how much to reveal, but she quickly realized such hesitation was disrespectful to her new master.
If it was Zion—the kind-hearted boy—he would surely understand her worries.
“One of my ‘sisters’… one of my subordinates hasn’t been in contact. And…”
As she explained, a shadow crossed Zion’s face.
Soares suddenly sensed what he was about to say next.
“In that case, it’s better for all of us to go to the Lawkingdom together…”
[Stop right there, Zion.] Frey quickly interrupted Zion’s words.
Zion’s pouty expression was like that of a child being cut off.
[Don’t act like a kid… Ah, well, he is a kid anyway. But try to understand Soares’s feelings too.]
[That’s right, that’s right. Just as Zion worries about her, she’s worried about Zion.]
[Zion, don’t lose sight of your goal. Your purpose is to stop the inhumane experiments using Monsters in the Tower, right?]
[Huh… Huh? Do I have to say something too? Is that the atmosphere now…? Um, ummm… Don’t worry, Zion! If you’re nervous, you can just leave it to Frey or Arcs to handle somehow!]
After some thought, Yumin carelessly tossed out that advice, and a spark lit up in Zion’s mind.
Holding the Pendant, Zion immediately summoned one of the Awakened.
“Deus Machina.”
Exactly.
If they couldn’t go themselves, they could at least send plenty of Artifacts.
“There’s nothing suitable to use as material right now.”
“Arcs, simple Artifacts can be created by consuming MP even without materials, right? I’ll temporarily lift the Avatar restriction now.”
Closing his eyes while gripping the Pendant, Zion’s summoning freed Arcs from the chains that had wrapped her entire body.
However, her expression was full of worry.
“Zion, are you sure about this? Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”
“I’m fine. I can still hold on. So please, start the work quickly.”
Feeling the firmness in Zion’s voice, Arcs stopped protesting.
But to ease his burden even a little, she began working quickly.
“First, we need a communication Artifact so we can stay in touch. Then several escape Artifacts. Also, just in case, some anti-brainwashing mental interference Artifacts. And probably some that can heal injuries.”
“Wait, Zion? That’s a lot more orders than I expected.”
“Arcs, you can handle it, right?”
“I can, but?! Zion’s treating me like a relentless client boss! Waaah!”
After about twenty minutes of continuous work, both Zion and Arcs were exhausted.
Arcs was mentally tired from working hard after a long break, but Zion had consumed MP to the extreme and looked pale, almost about to faint.
Yuria hurriedly supported him to the bed.
“Ugh, you fool. What will I do if you push yourself like this again?”
“It’s okay. I’ll recover quickly with a short rest.”
“Good to hear, but…”
“Don’t worry. I don’t lie to Yuria. Oh, or Soares either.”
“…That’s the biggest lie of all right now.”
Zion chuckled softly, struck in the heart.
Then he looked at Soares and said, “I won’t stop you, Soares. But please remember one thing above all else: put your life first and return safely.”
Soares bowed deeply, keeping her lips sealed.
Seeing this, Zion smiled with satisfaction.
After kneeling on one knee and performing the courtesy reserved only for royalty, Soares left the room.
***
Three days had passed since Zion’s group arrived at the Tower.
‘They’re more subtle about showing signs than I expected.’
From his laboratory, Senior Professor-level Mage Jolt Tagion clicked his tongue softly as he reviewed footage transmitted via communicator.
‘Could it be… they’ve already noticed us? How? Right, that boy uses magic and divine arts together—that jerk Jeren saw it. Maybe that boy also recognized Jeren at that moment? That stupid disciple messed up again!’
Jeren had insisted from the start that the boy must be forcibly captured and used as a test subject.
Though fearing the disciple might run wild, Jolt had answered that there was some merit to the idea—but in truth, he thought it was nonsense.
‘He’s a one-of-a-kind talent who can use magic and divine arts simultaneously. Even searching the entire continent, he’d be unique. And they want to waste him as an experiment subject? Foolish! Blinded by their sense of superiority, they can’t even tell the difference between livestock and humans!’
Jeren mistakenly believed he shared the same ideology as his master, but in fact, they were very different.
Both aimed for human advancement through magic and racial evolution, but Jeren defined only mages as human, while Jolt believed ordinary people who couldn’t use magic also deserved to climb the evolutionary ladder.
That was why Jeren was unhesitant to use humans as test subjects, but Jolt regarded it as a necessary sacrifice for the whole of humanity.
Neither realized how similar their positions truly were to outside observers.
‘Honestly, the best approach is to explain the situation honestly and seek cooperation… No. That’s too uncertain. Whether we seek cooperation or exploit them secretly, we must keep that boy detained in the Tower for now. Brainwashing… hypnosis… suggestion… yes. We’ll need to apply suggestions step by step. First, make life in the Tower feel cozy, then make him afraid to leave—it’ll be easier from there. But for that…!’
His specialty was physical mutation and reconstruction.
His knowledge of mental interference magic was only basic.
He could use simple suggestions or perception distortions, but he couldn’t be sure it would work on a being wielding unknown power through magic and divine arts.
He would need help from other elders.
‘To be honest, I want to monopolize that boy’s power… but now is the time to make a rational decision.’
He swallowed a sigh and picked up the exclusive communicator for elder professors.
At that moment, the public communicator sitting on his desk began to tremble, glowing an ominous red.
Jolt’s expression twisted fiercely at the unexpected development.
[—Emergency! Emergency!]
Without Jolt’s permission, the communication line connected automatically, and an urgent voice sounded.
This was the emergency communication function only used in crises.
And there was only one situation that justified activating it in the Tower.
[—Monster overflow in the underground Labyrinth! The responsible interception team must urgently prepare for interception.]
“Damn it! At a time like this!”
Jolt slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration.
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