Chapter 108

“Master! Master!”

Lytol’s cheeks were flushed like a child’s.

“Yes. What is it?”

“Such a precious gift! Thank you so much!”

“Umm… what?”

Lytol pulled out a protective talisman with sparkling eyes. It was a beautiful talisman, 20cm in length, adorned with ivory and gold.

“A Sunlight Protective Talisman… even the name is splendid. I absolutely love it! The main function of significantly lowering aggro is excellent, but! It also has five memorization slots for 4th Circle spells, magic amplification, magical power control enhancement, and perception and reaction speed improvement spells engraved on it…! This is truly a dream talisman made just for me! Thank you so much, Master!”

Pan-Dalus looked at his disciple, who was beside himself with joy, with a complicated expression. He parted his lips with difficulty.

“Yes. It is indeed a precious gift. Such a custom-made item would cost at least 10,000 Morning… I wonder which noble person gave you this gift…”

“What? Wasn’t it from you, Master?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“B-but, I woke up and found it next to my pillow. There was even a letter. ‘I am pleased to see you working so diligently. I leave you a gift. It is called the Sunlight Protective Talisman. Use it to protect yourself and continue to devote yourself to your training.’ If it wasn’t you, then who…?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then who…?”

Lytol’s expression was incredulous, and Pan-Dalus looked troubled.

“After hearing your story, I have a suspicion.”

Pan-Dalus cleared his throat and said.

“It seems the Saint of the Tower has visited.”

At that answer, Lytol’s mouth fell open. After a moment of silence, Lytol burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! What are you saying? I’m not a child anymore. Of course, who else would give such a gift? Thank you, Master. But even if you’re embarrassed, really? The Saint of the Tower? Hahaha.”

“Hmm… but my disciple, the Saint of the Tower truly exists.”

“Of course! They absolutely exist. I’ve always believed since I was a child. I always trained hard in magic to receive gifts. But what was different from my expectations… was that the Saint of the Tower turned out to be either my parents or my master. Hahaha. You playing this joke reminds me of when I was young.”

But Pan-Dalus was serious.

“Ahem… yes. Of course, most gifts supposedly from the Saint of the Tower are actually from parents or masters. I’ve done the same for you before. But not today. This time, it seems to be the ‘real’ Saint of the Tower. The Saint of the Tower is not fictional. I have met them in person before. Now I even know their true identity.”

At that, the smile finally disappeared from Lytol’s lips.

“…What? Master… are you serious?”

Pan-Dalus nodded firmly. Lytol asked again.

“The Saint of the Tower? The one who gives gifts to mages who train diligently? That Saint of the Tower?”

“Yes. I am proud that you have grown enough to receive a gift from the Saint of the Tower. But continue to advance so that next time you can meet them in person. If you meet them directly and pass their test, you can obtain something far more precious than the gift you received today.”

“…Y-you’re joking, right?”

Lytol’s eyes wandered in the air, unable to find their bearings.

* * *

Whiiiiing-

The wind blew. It swirled around my entire body, assisting my movements. With just a flick of my foot, I jumped higher than a building, and with a wave of my hand, I completely reversed direction.

With the help of Ari, the wind spirit, I could explore Ganda’s Stairs faster than anything else.

-It’s that way. The scent continues in that direction!

-No, it’s this way. It just moved this way.

-Wait. The scent has been cut off. Let’s search here for a moment before continuing.

But despite moving so quickly, the target was not easily caught. I leaped over several buildings, searched through alleys meticulously, and spun around in circles.

That spirit’s scent seemed to be deliberately avoiding us.

‘Huh? Where am I?’

It seemed I had gone too far.

The commotion of the mages had long since faded into the distance, and here was a dilapidated alley without a single person in sight.

Was there such a place in Ganda’s Stairs? It looked more like an ancient relic site than a place where people lived. The old buildings were gloomy.

Tap.

My feet, which had been floating on the wind, slowly descended to touch the ground.

At that moment, cheers erupted in my ears.

-It’s here! It’s right nearby.

-Shall we meet? Can we finally meet one of our kind?

-Can we recover? Can we recover our memories again?

-Will we know? Will we know what happened?

Ari’s voice was full of excitement.

Ari was a wind spirit newly born through “evolution.” It was encouraging that it had not perished, but unfortunately, it had forgotten most of its previous memories. It said it could still vaguely recall emotions like conflict, anger, loss, and loneliness, but it could not recognize specific events as if they were hidden behind a thick fog. Even the name “Ari” was one I had given.

Come to think of it, both the cube and Ari… all beings that had existed since the mythological era could not remember what had happened in that era.

As if there were a rule that one must not know about the past.

What about this time?

Could we really meet an awakened spirit?

Could we revive memories from the mythological era?

Feeling tense, I slowly looked around.

“Welcome. Looking to buy something?”

In the deserted alley, an old man had spread a mat and set up a stall with unimpressive items. He calmly called out to me without showing the slightest surprise at my appearance falling from the sky.

As expected of the Tower of Covenant, the home of mages. Even a seemingly shabby street vendor remains unfazed. The old man right in front of me also had a Circle that was as many as…

…Huh?

What’s happening?

I rubbed my eyes. When I tried to look at the old man’s Circle, my vision blurred and I couldn’t focus. Eventually, my eyes started to ache, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick? If you’re sick, go to a hospital! Don’t just stand there blocking my view!”

The old man suddenly flared up in anger.

“Ah, just a moment. I’m sorry…”

Ah, now I can see it. Was I just momentarily tired?

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the old man again. Now I could see his Circle clearly. 3rd Circle. At that age, 3rd Circle… in the Tower of Covenant, this would classify him as a commoner.

I also glanced at the items the old man was selling. Looking again… they still seemed completely unimpressive.

“Look! How about it? Amazing, right? I’ve collected only extraordinary treasures here! They’re so incredible that I’m selling them in this remote location so that only those connected by fate can buy them!”

Old man. What an absurd lie…

“…This?”

I picked up a protective talisman that was withered and about to crumble. The old man smiled broadly.

“That’s right! Although it looks unimpressive on the outside, it’s actually the very one used by the Mage of Freedom, the first president of the Society. That one. Have you heard of the Freedom Talisman? It’s currently sealed, but when its true owner appears, it will break its seal and reveal its legendary might.”

“…Really? Can you guarantee that?”

“What are you saying! Of course I can’t guarantee it! I just heard such a story… that’s all.”

He was a shameless old man.

Well, let’s check it out.

<Browse>

The talisman’s past flowed by. It was a talisman made by some 2nd Circle mage for practice five years ago. The material was a dried peach branch. Freedom Talisman, my ass…

“…How much is this?”

“As it’s an extraordinary treasure, even hundreds of thousands of Morning would be cheap, but… considering it’s still sealed, I’ll specially sell it for 1,000 Morning.”

“What?”

“Hmm… 500 Morning?”

This was absurd. Even the protective talisman I used when I was seven years old was much better than this. It wasn’t worth even 1 Morning.

“Hmph! Your expression is very disrespectful. If you don’t want to buy it, then don’t! Treasures only go to those who can recognize their value.”

In the end, the old man snatched the talisman from my hand.

Then, after huffing to himself for a moment, he suddenly switched to a insinuating voice and recommended another item.

He seemed like an old man whose mind was going in and out.

“Then how about this? This is made from the scales of an S-grade Night Calamity, a dragon…”

But all the dozens of items spread out on the mat were like that. Even the items he brought out from his bosom, saying “I don’t show this to just anyone…” were the same.

I examined them carefully, wondering if there might be a clue about the spirit among them, but they were just trash, exactly as they appeared.

It seemed like an old man who had set up in a deserted place, putting on an air of mystery to overcharge naive mages.

Finally, I tore myself away from the old man who kept trying to hold me back and turned around. I had no time to waste here.

Haah… I guess that spirit or whatever isn’t here?

Ari. Are you sure it’s around here?

-Yes. Right next to us or right behind or right in front… it’s around here.

-Why? Why can’t we see it when the scent is so strong?

I don’t know. I really don’t know. Should we start digging?

Ting-!

“Hmph! Someone who doesn’t have the capacity to hold a treasure but acts so haughty… don’t block my view and get lost! A wet-behind-the-ears brat with no manners…”

I turned back at the sharp voice to see the old man glaring at me, flipping a rusted coin in the air and catching it.

I was already having a headache, and now this old man too… wait, but…?

“Excuse me, but what is that?”

“What, boy! You still haven’t left?”

“No, wait a moment. Let me see that coin.”

“Hooh… this brat. I thought you had no eye for value.”

The old man raised the rusted coin to his eye level.

“This is the relic that the infamous butcher and murderer, Doom Knight Zeros, gave to his beloved disciple Evan. Evan lost this coin in a battle with Princess Hwi Someong of the Truth Tower.”

The Wizard Slayer, Doom Knight Zeros. As the Grand Duke of the Knight Order and one of the 1 Mages of the Nine Dragons, he was one of the strongest in the Tower of Covenant.

His beloved disciple Evan…

I had never heard of the Doom Knight having a disciple, but the name Evan itself was familiar. “Evan the Goblin.” A name that was like an eternal symbol of fear for children growing up in the wilderness. Was that Evan this Evan?

Anyway, for an item belonging to such a great figure, it just looked like a too-rusted coin, but… it looked a bit different to my eyes.

The mana symbolizing the coin was more complex and beautiful than any relic or spell I had ever seen. I couldn’t tell if this was really Evan’s coin… but this object was definitely real!

I found myself asking.

“How much is it…?”

“10,000 Morning.”

“What?”

“10,000 Morning. No haggling.”

The old man put the coin back inside his clothes.

At that moment, Ari shouted.

-Oh no! It’s moving! The scent of our kind is getting farther away! It must be moving!

-Hurry! The scent is already fading. It’s too fast!

-You won’t let it get away, right? You’ll definitely help me meet one of my kind, right?

“What? Are you buying or not? Were you just testing me again?”

Ugh, damn it…

There was no time to hesitate.

[T-rans-por-tay-shun]

I dumped 10,000 Morning in front of the sneering old man and snatched the coin.

Without even realizing that I had just openly used a primordial incantation, I left the old man behind and flew up, following the spirit’s scent.

* * *

“Hmm…”

The old man, left alone, snapped his fingers.

Whoosh!

A flame rose and burned all the junk piled on the mat.

A satisfied smile formed on the old man’s lips.

“You recognized only that one, eh? Handling the spirit’s power properly, too… and that incantation… hoho. I’m so proud.”

The old man murmured, looking in the direction where Baek Jun-woo had disappeared.

“Continue to diligently pursue magic. Child.”