Chapter 156

‘Should I use Time Reversal?’

I forced my buzzing head to work as I thought.

Normally, I would have used it without hesitation, but now I found myself hesitating.

Should I pull out my trump card from the very beginning? They say hoarding leads to nothing, but would it be okay to waste a card that could potentially turn the situation around? The tension that I might not survive if I carelessly consumed spells gnawed at my nerves.

Right. Let me try to endure a little longer. My body, strengthened by the Philosopher’s Stone, will regenerate quickly anyway.

While I was being cautious, fortunately, the Magic Emperor spoke to me.

But what?

It’s been a while, he said?

I narrowed my eyes.

A sacred halo of magical power. Even his face, wrinkled with age, looked noble. His white hair and beard, his robes unmarred by even a speck of dust.

A wizard in pure white.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. I had no memory of seeing him. If I had seen him, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember.

“The phrase ‘it’s been a while’ is used between people who have met at least twice, isn’t it?”

The Magic Emperor smiled an enigmatic smile.

“Not just you. I’ve seen every wizard in this place at least once.”

“Excuse me?”

At these incomprehensible words, everyone looked at the Magic Emperor. But no one could bring themselves to ask directly, just fidgeting uncertainly. There were seven of us and the Magic Emperor was alone, yet we were the ones feeling intimidated.

Unable to bear watching this, Pan-Dalus shook his head and spoke.

“Saint of the Tower… if I say that, you’ll understand. That person is His Majesty the Magic Emperor.”

“Hup!”

“Huh!”

Gasps erupted from all directions.

Saint of the Tower. Like Earth’s Santa Claus, a legendary figure who gives gifts to good mages.

“S-surely… the old man who gave me a ring of hypnosis when I was twenty-three…”

Hedric, the Wizard of Illusion, now seventy-two years old, muttered.

“The one who gave me a precious magic book when I was seventeen…”

Sonnet, the Wizard of Resonance, now sixty-seven years old, muttered.

“A micro-teleportation barrier when I was twenty…”

“A magic sword when I was seventeen…”

Kim Ji-woong, the Wizard of Boundary, and Ak-hu, the Wizard of Extraction, were no different.

“A blessing inscription crafting set when I was fifteen… That was Your Majesty.”

Even Oh Si-jin, the Wizard of Refinement, the youngest after me at forty years old, said the same. I noticed goosebumps rising on the back of his hand.

I blinked.

My damaged body quickly regenerated and I no longer heard any ringing in my ears.

Right… so the reason my hands were trembling wasn’t because of lingering damage.

I too had realized one fact.

“It was you. The old man who sold me the Coin of Rebellion in the back alley of Ganda’s Stairs.”

The Magic Emperor looked at me. Looking again, I still couldn’t tell. That old man was the Magic Emperor? Eyes, nose, mouth, ears… if I examined each feature carefully, they seemed identical… but somehow, looking at the whole, I didn’t think of them as the same person at all.

‘Besides, that old man was 3rd Circle…’

But I soon realized. The Magic Emperor was someone who had even broken through [Simulation]. Deceiving something like Circle detection would be child’s play.

The Magic Emperor’s brown eyes smiled warmly. Like saying, ‘Yes, that was me, child.’ That kindly face made me certain in my heart.

‘Right. It was this person. The Saint of the Tower who gives gifts to promising young mages.’

Indignation surged up. Unable to contain my overwhelming emotions, I took a step toward him and asked.

“Then why did you charge me 10,000 Morning? When you gave everything else to others for free?”

How can you call yourself the Saint of the Tower after that?!

* * *

“Hahaha. Is that all you want to ask?”

As if. I had so many things I wanted to ask. So many that I was flustered and ended up blurting out my true feelings.

Why do masters and parents lie and say the gifts they gave were from the Saint of the Tower?

How did he break through [Simulation]?

What magic did he use to deceive Circle detection?

Was he still deceiving Circle detection now?

Why does he play the role of Saint of the Tower?

And most importantly,

How had he managed to live so long?

Originally, I had come here to find information about the Outer Gods… but aside from that, a mountain of questions had piled up.

“It’s fine, ask me anything. Every mage is my subject. Especially to mages like you who have grown so well—what could there be that I can’t tell you?”

He smiled warmly and spread his arms wide in a generous gesture.

Ah, this person is really smooth.

I glanced back at Pan-Dalus. I think I now understood why he bowed to the Magic Emperor. I also understood why he couldn’t hide his bitter expression.

I stared straight at the Magic Emperor.

“Hey. What are you suddenly talking about? We Pathfinders are not your subjects.”

The Magic Emperor’s eyebrows twitched.

Our Pathfinder elders also flinched and stepped back from the Magic Emperor. Having been dazed, they only now realized the Magic Emperor’s scheme.

A smile appeared on Pan-Dalus’s face. It was both a satisfied smile and a self-deprecating one.

Hah. Magic Emperor. Where do you get off trying such tricks—

“Don’t try to slip that past us. The moment I ask you a question here, I’d be acknowledging myself as your subject, wouldn’t I? You don’t look it, but… you’re more petty than I thought.”

I directly rebelled against him.

I struggled to calm my trembling knees. I composed my voice and feigned composure.

This Magic Emperor was someone who utilized Akashic Records better than anyone else. I had carved the name “Divine Mage” into the tower by achieving the feat of slaying magical beasts. Pathfinder had carved their name into the tower by discovering mana.

But this person?

He had carved the name “Saint of the Tower” into it. For an incomprehensibly long time at that.

All mages throughout the world knew that name and regarded him as a transcendent being.

How incredible must his records be?

‘So that’s why he did it.’

Now I understood why he played the Saint of the Tower. I also understood how mages could tell those ‘lies.’

He was that great a figure. A being worthy of taking on others’ achievements. Just as people on Earth say “It was the Lord’s grace” or “It was Buddha’s mercy” about their own accomplishments, he was someone transcendent enough to shoulder that credit without it feeling strange. He had built up such a solid, transcendent record.

‘Using that influence to subtly pull mages under his wing.’

When a mage who grew up hearing legends about the Saint of the Tower from childhood faces the real thing, how could they dare to oppose him? They’d already be mentally conceding several moves before they began. And if that being, far from threatening them, offers all kinds of help with affection and goodwill? It would be hard to refuse.

The Saint of the Tower, and the very existence called the Magic Emperor, becomes no different from a Divine Realm mental spell. One that even wizards would find hard to resist.

I stealthily observed Pan-Dalus.

He had his eyes closed. I now understood his position.

He probably received help from the Magic Emperor at some point. From that moment, he was already caught by that ‘word spell.’ He would have already surrendered to the Magic Emperor in his heart. The fact that he refused to join Truth Tower and held out despite all this was already impressive.

“Come on. And stop pretending to be generous. You took every penny you could from me.”

So I—

I bare my teeth even if it meant pushing myself.

I shatter his ‘word spell’ that was trying to subtly crush us beneath him.

“And don’t think about taking credit for the gifts you gave others. It’s petty to nitpick about that. Who asked you to give them anything?”

“Ohh…”

The Magic Emperor’s brown eyes quietly examined me. My flesh trembled. I’d survived countless deadly crises, but I don’t think I’d ever trembled like this before.

Huff— huff—

Good, my breathing is fine.

Let me hide my pounding heart with a smile.

Snicker.

The Magic Emperor smiled along with me. It was somehow a friendly laugh that made the tension dissolve, though of course I couldn’t take it at face value.

“Haha, aren’t you thorny. Maybe I should have given it to you for free back then?”

“It’s fine. I understand. Even being the Magic Emperor, giving away treasures like that would have been burdensome.”

“Hey. I gave you a huge discount though, don’t be so harsh.”

“That was all stolen goods anyway, wasn’t it? You were trying to bundle worthless items with it to rip me off.”

It seemed like a childish argument, but this was all work to break the Magic Emperor’s word spell. I was tensely prepared behind me in case the enraged Magic Emperor came charging. I held onto my tension with all my might, even as it tried to relax at his easygoing laughter. Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

The Magic Emperor looked at me like this and nodded. Without erasing his smile, he spoke. As if the power struggle until now had never happened, he suddenly cut to the main point.

“Divine Mage. I know why you came. But no. I don’t form alliances or make deals with anyone. Child, I am one who rules.”

Ah, I see.

I realized it from that one statement.

This person isn’t even 7th Circle.

I focused my eyes, but I still saw nothing but spider web-like connections linking the parts of his Circle. But still, I was certain. This person was not 7th Circle. That was impossible.

Someone who refuses equality with any mage. The emperor of all magical arts. Someone who sustains his records with the identity of Magic Emperor. Someone who builds up and maintains such karma—how could he be merely 7th Circle? That’s ridiculous.

This person is the closest to the gods in this world.

‘I roughly understand what kind of person he is now.’

We hadn’t engaged in direct questions and answers, but I had learned quite a lot about him.

And that… would be the same for the Magic Emperor.

What had he figured out about me? What plans might he have?

He said,

“As long as you maintain that attitude, there’s nothing you can gain from me.”

Right. He was someone who willingly gave everything to promising mages. If I asked him to let me advance to the 50th floor, he would let me. If I asked for information, he would give it.

But the moment I accepted it, I would inevitably be gradually bound by his word spell.

However… somehow his words now sounded different to me. ‘So… keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t try to seek help from me directly.’ Was I being delusional? But it really seemed like that’s what he was saying.

…Huh?

Right.

Come to think of it, I had been curious about that too.

A suddenly arising sense of incongruity.

I looked directly into the Magic Emperor’s eyes. I asked those unfathomably deep brown eyes, like the ocean depths.

“Not giving me the Coin of Rebellion as a gift but selling it… did you plan that from the beginning?”

He didn’t answer. He just smiled. I understood that smile.

‘The Magic Emperor never wanted me to come under his wing from the start.’

But why?

Was this another delusion? This answer suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Because he thought he couldn’t face the enemy with his power alone.’

The Magic Emperor said,

“I think we’ve shared all the conversation we can. As I said again, my territory is always open to my beloved subjects. The only ones who cannot enter here are the traitor bunch living in the Southern Sea.”

It was an abrupt ending, cutting off the beginning and end.

From start to finish, he never engaged in direct questions and answers. He only made me infer through context.

Why was that?

To maintain his identity as ‘ruler’?

Or… it might be because he was wary of the Outer Gods.

The fragment of god had also avoided direct mention of the Outer Gods. The Shadow Library had been reluctant to discuss them at all.

‘Is the entire world under surveillance by the Outer Gods?’

As my thoughts deepened,

Pat.

The Magic Emperor firmly gripped my shoulder and stepped back.

Turning his back, he said,

“Remember this. I am the guardian of the world you live in, and above me, no one exists.”

Step. Step.

Watching his retreating figure disappear across the dark corridor, I slightly bowed to him.

I didn’t know what he was thinking… what plans he harbored, but two things had become certain just now.

‘He is the guardian of this world, and above him, no one exists.’

In other words, he is not a puppet of the Outer Gods. And,

‘The traitor bunch living in the Southern Sea…’

Ragnarok’s stronghold could be accessed through the Southern Sea.

Compared to his terrifying entrance, he turned out to be a good person who gave me all the information I needed in the end.

‘Whatever his ulterior motives… whatever his true identity… he was an adult.’

* * *

Walking down the endlessly long corridor back to the 50th floor, the Magic Emperor couldn’t hide his escaping chuckles.

The long years he’d lived abandoning even his own name. During that time, he had never encountered such hope.

“His hair turned black… He’s got real guts. Is he seriously planning to fight? But…”

Another snicker escaped.

“He’s smart too.”

During the entire long walk down the corridor, the smile never left his face.