Chapter 174

War is an intense psychological battle. The stakes in this battle are life and glory. Everyone desires the glory of victory, but if defeat comes, all that remains is miserable death.

Therefore, deciding to participate in war is a choice that becomes more blood-chilling by the second. Even if this war is a noble one to save the world and protect all their lives… people only decide to enter the war after seeing at least minimal odds of victory. If it’s a battle destined for defeat anyway, it’s better to eat well and live well until the moment of destruction. Because someday the world ending is better than dying right now.

No. Apart from all those calculations, it’s scary and futile.

That’s why mages who volunteered to fight didn’t head straight to the alliance headquarters. Around the alliance headquarters and quite extensively in front of the frontlines, a kind of ‘war volunteer’ territory had formed. It sounded nice to call it the territory of war volunteers, but bluntly speaking, it was a place for gauging the situation.

When to enter the war to maximize the glory of victory? And when to avoid to prevent a meaningless death? Free mages who belonged to neither Truth Tower, Magic Tower, nor Society had gathered on their own, keeping their ears constantly attuned to frontline information every single day, preparing for war and timing their entry.

“Recruiting attack squad!”

“This 67th floor stronghold mission is the perfect opportunity. The area has already been thoroughly scouted, so the possibility of unexpected variables is extremely low. It’s the perfect chance to safely achieve the glory of victory.”

“After all, life is one shot, isn’t it? The 70th floor reconnaissance mission is extremely dangerous. That means not just anyone can do it. We only accept those with strong magic and mental fortitude who can withstand the attacks that come several times a day and shake off the new monsters that endlessly pursue us. Let’s obtain glory as great as the skills we possess and the risks we shoulder. Not only the massive privileges guaranteed by the alliance, but you can also receive plenty of mana’s love. I guarantee that once you taste the addictive rush of mana increasing by 200, 300 percent, other missions will seem too boring to bother with.”

Wherever mages gathered, attack squads heading to the front formed.

But on the other hand, there were groups returning from the frontlines and groups just watching.

“The momentum was good for a while, but recently it’s been at a stalemate. The fatigue is pretty severe too… the mood is just somehow off, so I came back for now.”

When a mage says their “mood is just somehow off” in that vague way, nine times out of ten it means “I’m scared” or “it feels ominous.” They speak vaguely like this because as mages, they can’t rashly make definitive statements or show weak sides.

Someone else crossed their arms and said.

“The momentum has been too good recently. Those monster bastards wouldn’t just end things like this. No matter when it happens… they’ll launch a major counterattack.”

Again, they spoke ambiguously with the expression “no matter when it happens,” but the real meaning was that they felt the counterattack would begin soon, so they wouldn’t go to the battlefield and would just observe instead.

They avoid the falling rain. They only enter positions where they can definitely win. Compared to the grand cause of fighting extinction, it was even shabby behavior, but that’s what ordinary people are like. They’re not without a sense of justice, but noble sacrifice seems like a meaningless death, and though they dream of being heroes, they don’t have the guts to actually take risks.

At the crossroads leading to the 65th floor where the alliance headquarters was located, various groups of people had gathered like this.

Ambitious people wanting to make a big name this time and greatly elevate their magical realm, clever mages wanting to avoid danger appropriately while still obtaining the fruits of growth and glory, and cowardly mages who had come but couldn’t muster the courage to advance to the frontlines were all mixed together, creating an unprecedented landscape.

All this phenomenon looked like a huge opportunity to me.

“This place is a complete goldmine, isn’t it?”

At my words, Ak-hu smiled with satisfaction.

“Heheheh. There were already many reclusive masters in the Great Labyrinth, but this really is no joke.”

It turned out Ak-hu was from the Great Labyrinth.

He said the lineage of Ki-blood magic, which had almost disappeared from the towers, continued along the complex paths of the Great Labyrinth. The home base of Ki-blood magic. Maybe that’s why Ak-hu had looked pleased all along.

“All the unaffiliated mages seem to have gathered here. If we could draw these mages to our side, Pathfinder’s standing would jump tremendously… it’s truly regrettable. So regrettable.”

Yuria clicked her tongue.

“Why regrettable? Let’s just draw them in.”

“We’re busy with the delegation mission.”

“Still, we can’t just let an opportunity like this pass by.”

When I spoke confidently, Yuria’s eyes widened. She poked my side and whispered.

“What magic are you going to use again?”

What magic indeed. It’s the magic I’ve been holed up perfecting all this time.

Before my eyes, mages were actively discussing.

The Great Labyrinth is said to be a maze where paths lead in all directions, but ultimately there’s only one path leading to the 65th floor. Tents lined the path like a marketplace, and under each tent mages were sharing questions and knowledge like haggling over goods.

A holy war led by the Magic Emperor to save the world.

But the mages still hadn’t properly grasped the meaning of this war.

“Where exactly did these new monsters come from?”

“That’s what I’m saying. They’re supposedly the cause of all the disasters that have happened so far, right? The sudden water calamity, and the stairs and gates collapsing.”

“What exactly are they? Everyone felt it, right? That mana increases tremendously when you kill them?”

“That’s right…”

The war was rather one giant puzzle.

We won yesterday, but will we win today too?

What does all this mean? What will happen to the world in the future?

Thump. Thump.

How strange.

When I see mages looking confused, I feel oddly pleased.

Is it because I have many stories to tell them?

I don’t need to draw them in right away.

But I at least wanted to leave a very strong impression on them.

Whoooop!

I took a deep breath and shouted loudly.

“Greetings! I am Baek Jun-woo, the Divine Wizard and Senior Elder of Pathfinder. Now! Let’s begin the situation analysis!”

Eyes snapped toward me from all directions.

That’s right.

What could draw attention more than the word ‘situation analysis’ for people lost between fear and greed, suffering because they can’t interpret the situation?

Especially when it’s a situation analysis by someone who’s a wizard no less. And done directly by this person who became known throughout the tower during the last water calamity.

Without stopping my stride, I continued walking and began reciting.

While the Outer God’s influence grows stronger on higher floors making observation difficult, up to around the 70th floor I could peek at situations with some effort.

I couldn’t directly observe the Outer God’s minions since they’re not included in the Akashic Records, but there were ways to indirectly figure out the situation.

“Actually, the risk for 67th floor missions has increased. Recently there’s been noticeable movement of calamities in that area. Large-scale calamities were massacred on a large scale.”

Then someone asked.

“If calamities were massacred, wouldn’t it be safer?”

“No. Calamities also oppose the new monsters. When they suddenly became active without particular reason and were massacred on a large scale, it means powerful new monsters have been newly deployed to the 67th floor. Also, calamities that fled from battle after defeat are expected to be pushed down to lower floors. The 66th floor frontline will likely feel the impact too. However, the good news is that the 70th floor reconnaissance mission has likely become much easier. With new monsters being pushed down to lower floors, the security on higher floors has probably become more lax.”

Hope and despair alternated with each of my words. The more I spoke, the more intense people’s reactions became. Those quick to act had already started packing to leave, and most people followed desperately to hear even one more word.

“Calamities and new monsters are hostile to each other? Why is that?”

“Because the new monsters are invaders from another dimension. Though calamities hate humans… they’re still legitimate residents of our world. They won’t just stand by and watch invaders. It’s just regrettable that they don’t have enough reason to form a united front with us.”

The tents that had been lined along the path were dismantled one by one as I passed by. People packed up their tents and started following me.

A massive procession formed following our steps.

Someone else asked.

“How do you know all this?”

Though they seemed to believe it since it came from a wizard, they couldn’t help but be curious about the source of this information.

That’s why I could smile brightly.

“When you reach 7th Circle, you can communicate with the world. You can obtain various information without directly seeing it. Also, I’m a somewhat special 7th Circle among them… so I could obtain more specific information than others.”

WAAAHHH!

I thought a bomb had dropped. It was a completely different reaction than before.

The crowd surged like boiling water.

“Divine Mage!”

“Divine Mage!”

“My goodness. 7th Circle!”

Did they think a completely new hero had appeared on this battlefield full of uncertainty? Some kind of ‘flow’ seemed to be emerging. Mages who had crossed their arms saying they’d observe for the time being packed their things again. The march toward the 65th floor and then to the frontlines began behind me.

“Reassuring!”

“The Divine Wizard will carry us to the very top of the tower!”

“Big brother! We believe only in you!”

Countless mages surrounding us and cheering.

Are they all on our side?

Of course not.

Most are fair-weather mages who flee when it’s cold and gather when it’s warm. Right now they’re advancing to the frontlines believing in my analysis and power, but the moment the Outer God plays a stronger card, they’ll scatter like dust.

‘But among them, there will be a few who don’t scatter and remain.’

Those people are usually called the ‘real deal.’

They were the people I was waiting for.

“Ah, this is nice.”

I gained unexpected benefits from this diplomatic mission to join the alliance.

Pathfinder’s strength is objectively quite small, so it’s likely to be ignored, but if we show this level of influence, they won’t be able to treat us carelessly either. Plus, I gained an opportunity for talent recruitment.

A smile formed naturally.

I was enjoying this satisfaction all by myself when…

[Already 7th Circle? Impressive.]

At the suddenly heard voice, chills ran down my spine.

“M-M-Magic Emperor?”

Embarrassingly, I stuttered out loud.

To the people looking at me with puzzled expressions, I briefly asked for their understanding, then focused on the Magic Emperor’s voice echoing in my head.

‘Right now this is… a conversation through the Akashic Records?’

[That’s right. Those who’ve risen to 7th Circle can hear my voice like this. Huhuh. Congratulations on finally reaching the realm of transcendence. Thanks to this, work will become easier.]

7th Circle was the realm where mana-made neural networks ‘intuited’ the Akashic Records.

Then this Magic Emperor was using the Akashic Records themselves as a communication network to contact me.

‘Intuiting the Akashic Records and beyond… interfering with them… Is that the realm of 8th Circle?’

The feeling wasn’t pleasant. He could routinely observe and interfere with me through the Akashic Records while I couldn’t do anything back—it was completely one-sided. And what’s this about the ‘realm of transcendence’? Just how much does this Magic Emperor know…

[You must have many questions, but let’s discuss those gradually. Today I contacted you to make one request. Gather as many people as possible and come. If we’ve been cutting off fingernails until now, this time we’re going to cut off a finger.]

‘Cut off a finger?’

I hurriedly asked back, but the Magic Emperor didn’t respond.

No matter how much I called, it was the same.

Hah…

Did he just say what he wanted and hang up?

Am I his subordinate or what?

I looked back at the crowd following me with a complicated expression. Until just now they had seemed so reliable and proud… but suddenly I didn’t want to bring them along.