As soon as Alon arrived at the explorer camp, he was showered with another round of “thank you” greetings.

Feeling embarrassed, he left the camp and moved straight to the Mage Tower, and two weeks had already passed.

“We’re finally here—”

When Penia spoke while looking at the distant scenery of the Mage Tower, Alon replied.

“I didn’t think I’d be coming to the academy this often.”

“I agree with you on that. But… was it really okay not to stop by?”

“Where do you mean?”

“The Principality of Luxible. You said you would visit at least once, but you ended up coming straight here.”

Alon recalled that moment a little late and nodded.

She was right.

Originally, when he first arrived at the campsite, he had debated whether to visit the Principality of Luxible.

The Ronovelli Jungle was close to Luxible, after all.

However, Alon ended up not going because of a rumor he heard by chance when he arrived at Kaslot.

“Hey, did you hear about that?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Oh come on, man. I’m just trying to make conversation.”

“Ahem. So what is it?”

“I heard they’re preparing something in the Principality of Luxible.”

“Preparing? Preparing what?”

“They say they’re secretly preparing soldiers. I don’t know exactly what for, but it seems like things are really hectic there.”

“Soldiers? Are they planning a war or something?”

“Hm, I doubt it’s that serious, but anyway, that’s the rumor going around.”

Since it was something he kept hearing during the two days he stayed in Kaslot, Alon decided not to go to Luxible.

He thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to visit a busy kingdom without a proper reason.

“Well, the rumor about the soldiers is probably false, though.”

Of course, Alon didn’t believe the rumor completely.

He knew that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, but he had also recently felt firsthand how easily rumors could be distorted.

“They looked busy, after all.”

Anyway, Alon gave a short reply to Penia and then briefly recalled another rumor he had heard in Luxible.

“They said three powerful warriors died in Ashtalon.”

But not long after, Alon realized that rumor was distorted.

According to the information he got from the information guild.

It turned out the three warriors who had taken a request in Ashtalon had simply gone out of contact, and that led to the rumor being twisted that way.

Still, Alon was suspicious about what had actually happened in Ashtalon, so he had made an additional request to the guild for more information.

“Well, I’ll find out soon enough.”

Alon soon set that thought aside and naturally brought up another topic.

“Do you think they’ve decoded at least one more magic spell by now?”

Penia immediately responded to that.

“Hmm, I doubt they’ve finished everything yet.”

“Really?”

“Yes, there isn’t a huge difference between first-tier and second-tier magic… but since hierarchical magic itself is like a big chunk of information, it must be harder to decipher.”

When Penia added, “We’ve only just found two phrases from the first tier ourselves,” Alon nodded.

“That’s true.”

“Still, even at this pace, it’s impressively fast.”

As Penia said, the progress in deciphering hierarchical magic was much faster than expected.

In just two weeks, they had managed to find two phrases.

“But things will get really tough from here on out.”

“You mean finding the sentences?”

“Yes. I think we can find the last phrase pretty quickly, but finding the sentences is basically like hard manual labor.”

It was an obvious statement that he had no choice but to agree with.

Even finding the three phrases had been grueling enough to make their eyes bloodshot.

According to what they’d heard from Heinkel, finding the sentences was even worse.

How much time had passed as Alon thought about that?

“Marquis, please step down.”

“All right.”

As soon as they arrived at the Mage Tower, Alon saw Basiliora slip into the ring as if he had been waiting, and he began walking inside with Penia.

The moment they entered to meet Heinkel.

He was momentarily stunned to see so many mages.

There weren’t supposed to be any mages here at this time.

“Penia, is it already time for the academy meeting?”

“Uh—no? That should still be a long way off…”

Penia answered, just as confused.

She rubbed her chin for a moment as if trying to remember if she had missed something, then shook her head.

While Alon, Penia, and Evan all stood there blankly staring at the crowd of mages.

“Oh? It’s Marquis Palatio!”

Someone spoke up.

And then—

“??”

The surroundings went silent in an instant.

The place that had been buzzing with chatter went quiet so quickly that Alon froze.

What’s going on?

What happened?

He barely had time to look around in confusion.

“Marquis Palatio?”

“He’s here?”

“Where, where—”

“Oh, over there.”

“Gasp—!”

As if they had been waiting for this moment, countless eyes focused on Alon all at once.

Before Alon could even say anything—

“Marquis Palatio! Please, please come teach us at the Red Mage Tower!”

“Marquis! Let’s at least have a discussion!”

“An exchange meeting! Let’s hold an exchange meeting!!”

“Or even just one magic demonstration!”

“Is it true that what you used last time was really Light?!”

Seeing the mages rush at him like madmen, Alon was completely overwhelmed.

***

“Whew—”

“Are you okay, Marquis?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Oh, come on—”

In the end, Alon was able to escape the crowd of mages thanks to Penia.

Even though Penia had stayed with House Palatio for quite a while, she had always attended the academy gatherings, so perhaps that’s why.

As soon as she showed a hint of her temper, the mages parted like the sea.

‘What kind of life is she living when I’m not looking?’

Alon briefly recalled how the mages had panicked and cleared a path the moment Penia showed a bit of hostility.

“Hmm~ But this might get troublesome. I think the Tower Masters will be arriving soon.”

“Tower Masters…?”

“Yeah. It seems like the impact of that Light magic was huge. Did you see earlier? They were all crowded together over there, using Light magic.”

“I saw it.”

Yes, he had seen it clearly.

Even as they stepped aside to make way for Penia, the mages from the five towers kept shouting “Watch my magic!!” and endlessly fired off Light spells along the way.

Alon had felt like a celebrity walking a red carpet.

Though he had never wished to feel that way…

‘It would be the same for an ordinary mage. I probably would’ve reacted that way too if I didn’t know,’ said Penia in the background as they arrived at the library.

[Oh, you’re here?]

They encountered Heinkel, who casually waved as if it was completely routine by now.

[It’s been a month, huh? Did you finish everything?]

“Yes, I’ve completed what I originally set out to do.”

[How’s the research going?]

At Heinkel’s follow-up question, Alon gave a brief update on the current situation.

“Hmmm~ So you deciphered two phrases? And you found the hand seal for Light magic?”

“That’s correct.”

“So, how’s the completed ‘Light’ magic?”

“…It’s pretty overwhelming. Honestly, my mana can barely handle it.”

“Is it to the point where you’re completely drained after one use?”

“That’s right.”

Heinkel nodded with a thoughtful hum.

“I’d love to see Light in action, but before that, let me tell you about the research progress.”

“How’s the second-tier magic coming along?”

This time, Alon asked, and Heinkel thought for a moment before answering.

“To be blunt, it’s pretty tough. In the month you guys were away, I only managed to find one phrase.”

“At that rate—”

“I know, it’s not that fast. Oh, right. Honestly, if it weren’t for the friend you sent, it would’ve taken even longer.”

“Is the difference between the first and second tiers really that big?”

Alon had expected some difference, but seeing Heinkel this stressed surprised him a bit.

She nodded.

“It’s a huge difference. The process of extracting the needed information from magic is the same, but finding the phrases gets way more complicated.”

“For example?”

“Hmmm~”

Heinkel hesitated for a moment, wondering how to describe it, then waved her hand as if recalling something.

A piece of paper floated over.

“…This is—”

“It’s a blueprint. From the old days.”

She spread out the extremely complex blueprint in front of Alon.

“Simply put, deciphering the first-tier magic you guys are working on feels like this blueprint. But the second-tier…”

She waved her hand again and layered another blueprint on top.

“As you can see. One blueprint is enough for the first-tier, but for the second-tier, you have to stack several of them together like this to find a phrase.”

When she layered the two blueprints, a new structure emerged before their eyes.

Alon nodded as if he understood, seeing the intricate and incredibly dense layout.

[But don’t worry. It might take a while, but I don’t think it’s impossible to interpret the blueprint.]

“Is that so?”

[Yeah—at least for now, that’s what I think. Oh, by the way, how long are you planning to stay?]

“At the Mage Tower, you mean?”

[Yeah.]

Alon thought for a moment before replying.

“I’ll probably stay about a week. There are a few more things I’d like to ask.”

[Good. Then why don’t you go rest today, and maybe we can do the magic demonstration tomorrow?]

“Understood.”

After making that promise, they wrapped up their conversation.

***

When Alon returned to the first floor, he was able to see a familiar face for the first time in a while.

“It’s been a while! Marquis Palatio…!”

“Tower Master?”

It was Celaime Mikardo, the Blue Tower Master.

Approaching with his usual friendly smile, he also gave a brief greeting to Penia.

“How have you been!”

“I’ve been well. But what brings you here…?”

As he answered, Alon suddenly recalled Penia’s earlier comment about the Tower Masters coming.

Celaime beamed brightly as he cheerfully called out to him.

“Of course, I came because of your Light magic! I didn’t expect to actually meet you like this, though.”

“Ah.”

“Would it be possible to request a demonstration?”

“A demonstration?”

“Yes, of the Light magic. I really wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

Celaime looked at him with desperate eyes.

Alon hesitated for a moment, but then remembered he was already planning to demonstrate the magic to Heinkel anyway.

Just as he was about to agree—

“tsk-tsk—”

He heard a sharp tongue-click and turned to look.

There stood a woman in green clothing, wearing an icy cold expression.

“Oh, Sharan Foranu. You came too?”

Looking at her, Alon finally realized her identity thanks to Celaime’s words.

‘The Green Tower Master. Sharan Foranu.’

She was a character who occasionally appeared as an ally to the player in Psychedelia.

Among the Tower Masters, she was known as a grand mage who, while alive, had gotten closest to the ninth tier.

As Alon was recalling all this information in his head, she continued glaring at him without hiding her hostility.

“Of course I came. All because of someone’s utterly ridiculous lies.”

—that’s what she said.

***

In the middle of a forest soaked in blood.

There was a man standing among the dark red-stained leaves.

The man’s appearance was rather bizarre.

Soaked in sloth, his vacant eyes each contained two pupils.

All over his body, purple threads drifted around him as if floating aimlessly.

Sitting powerlessly on the fragments of a broken cocoon, as if he had no desires at all, “Sloth” blankly looked up at the sky.

In the middle of the night. Above him stretched the Milky Way.

A cluster of big and small stars.

Stars that shone particularly brightly.

As if they wanted to light up the entire earth like a sun, the sky was shining brilliantly.

“Sigh~”

The man, who had just been quietly staring up at that high sky, let out a long, heavy sigh.

“I hate it.”

He muttered.

“I hate it.”

He muttered again.

“I haaaate it—”

The man kept muttering without end.

As if reciting a spell, he repeatedly voiced his genuine annoyance at the situation.

Then he suddenly lowered his head deeply.

He staggered powerlessly as he stood up.

Crack—crackle crackle—!

The broken cocoon beneath him quickly melted away helplessly.

At the same time, it was sucked into his body.

Crack—crackle!

The area around him began to turn black.

As if expanding a territory, the blackness slowly spread outward.

Watching that scene.

“But still—”

The man, with dull eyes, murmured.

The sin of Sloth.

“Even so, I have to do it.”

He whispered, almost as if sighing.

“Because… this is my duty.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep