A Dangerous Invitation (2)

After a 5-minute struggle, Cheon Jong-un’s magic was finally dispelled.

Amidst the released massive mana losing control and scattering, I approached Cheon Jong-un, who had slumped down and was breathing heavily, and asked.

“Was it my death that Pi Jin-hyeok requested?”

“In fact, what he wanted was the removal of the entity that interfered with them; I only realized too late that it was you…”

“You made a Mana Oath, didn’t you?”

“The value of the Necronomicon is by no means low; perhaps Pi Jin-hyeok knew it was you in advance and wanted a proxy murder by utilizing me.”

“The oath… until when is the grace period?”

“There are 2 hours left.”

I felt I knew why he had called me out so urgently, even causing a Gate incident.

And I could also tell what Cheon Jong-un desired.

“Were you planning to die?”

“Was it not a decision for a successor who is superior to me?”

“If I had been weaker than you, I would have died. Naturally…”

“It is the way of the world, so think of it as a trial an elder can leave for the next generation. And… you are the man receiving the most unfair treatment. How could I be more furious…?”

A sigh escaped. So, I asked to hear the circumstances.

“What is the story?”

Slumping down on the floor, I met his gaze.

Was it because of my attitude?

Cheon Jong-un also let out a sigh, sat down on the floor, and spoke while staring at me.

“As for the Black Tower, many problems have been occurring recently.”

The conversation proceeded like that, and summarizing Cheon Jong-un’s story, the black mages belonging to the Black Tower were currently leaking out due to external factors.

The atmosphere was grim due to the fact that black mages, who should have been given wealth and honor, were treated coldly after the end of the war and were now being cast out onto the path of ruin; they made many attempts to maintain the Black Tower, but in the end, most of those attempts had failed for whatever reason.

And while struggling with severe financial difficulties, they eventually had no choice but to touch external resources, which led to a brain drain.

Ultimately, as a way to overcome the situation, they planned to create a problem for the revival of black magic, and after such deliberations, they even prepared a plan to utilize Gates, but in the end, it stopped without being executed.

A sigh flowed out naturally at Cheon Jong-un’s sorrowful story, saying that they could never commit the act of ruining the country they had protected with such difficulty with their own hands.

It was something I already knew well—that many black mages were struggling with low social status and debt.

I thought one of the biggest factors was that even if they tried to enter a Gate, so many restrictions were placed on them simply for being black mages, and because they couldn’t perform properly due to those restrictions, they were naturally excluded from subjugation requests.

‘The sanctions were too excessive; all the black mages stepped forward against them, but since the current government values the majority opinion more than the minority and lives off their support… people like us might have been even more of a thorn in their side.’

In many ways, it felt as if the times had abandoned us.

“At that point, Pi Jin-hyeok made a proposal; an incident had occurred, and since it seemed black magic had been used, it was a request to find and remove the target. Since it was a problem that occurred at a religious facility, I thought the target would at best be some riff-raff who had fallen into a mountain of debt, but that wasn’t it.”

“Since you couldn’t back out after already accepting the request and even making an oath… so that’s why you caused this trouble.”

“I have no face to show.”

Getting up, I checked the watch.

“There are 1 hour and 41 minutes left. What was the medium used for the oath?”

“…Are you planning to go see Pi Jin-hyeok?”

“If he screwed me over knowing everything, shouldn’t he pay the price?”

“He is too big an enemy. Wouldn’t it be better if… it were settled by me losing my mana instead?”

“There are well over 3,000 fellows relying on the Black Tower. I don’t want to see all of them thrown out onto the streets. In one way or another… aren’t we comrades-in-arms?”

Cheon Jong-un got up. Then he asked.

“Did I not try to kill you?”

“I would believe it if you had attacked with proper killing intent, but after fighting like child’s play, you say you tried to kill me? Do you take me for a fool?”

“Those words…”

“It’s Old Man Han Sang-gil’s way of speaking. Anyway, I’ll be back.”

Cheon Jong-un stared at me blankly, and just as I was about to step outside after undoing the seal blocking the Gate, he spoke.

“Thank you for saving… an incompetent man like me.”

I lightly waved my hand and moved my steps.

In the meantime, the situation outside was almost settled, and many people seemed to have been waiting in a state of tension because of the mana fluctuating inside the Gate.

“H-has it been settled?”

“It was not a big problem.”

“…Didn’t an unimaginably powerful force collide?”

“I said it was not a big problem.”

“Well…”

“A big problem…”

“T-that’s enough, I understand. It wasn’t a big problem. D-dismiss…”

People withdrew with sour expressions at Gu Hae-sang’s words, and the remaining Gu Hae-sang and Bak Mi-so glanced inside the Gate and asked subtly.

“What happened?”

“There was a subjugator inside, and I fought them due to a misunderstanding. That’s all.”

“A s-subjugator? No one saw anyone enter…?”

“It’s a subjugator. Got it?”

Ultimately sensing that there was something, Gu Hae-sang shut his mouth, and when I looked at Bak Mi-so, she nodded fiercely.

After that, I requested them to watch this place for a moment and began to move.

The Magic Tower was one of the buildings desired by the era and completed by the era.

It was partly due to its excellent versatility, being chosen to revive various industries, but conversely, mages who survived in the country were deeply involved in industrial contribution, so it was inevitable that they would gain power as a natural progression.

Furthermore, thanks to all three individuals called heroes actively supporting the Magic Tower, it succeeded in popularization centered on the Great Sage Bak Hyeok, who could be called the symbol of the Magic Tower at the time.

However, even that time did not last more than 2 years, and Pi Jin-hyeok usurped the position of the Magic Tower Master and rose to the top.

While Bak Hyeok’s whereabouts had been unknown since his disappearance during this period, a man appeared at the entrance of the Magic Tower, which had been reborn as a sanctuary for mages and a starting point for industrial recreation.

“I’m tired.”

It’s a day I spent quite a bit of mana. I’ve already used total magic four times.

I have enough mana to use it about five more times, but even that would be wasted in an instant if I undergo small repeated battles, so I would eventually have to draw from something else or fight with extreme efficiency.

“What brings you here?”

A mage asked me, as I stood there blankly.

Seeing that he didn’t know my face, he appeared to be a mage from the 6th generation onwards, and since the concentration of mana felt from him also felt like it was around the 3rd Circle, I ended up asking a question rather than a threat.

“Is the Magic Tower Master inside, by any chance?”

“That… is not something I can tell an outsider.”

“Then I have no choice but to check for myself.”

I moved my steps inside past the mage, and although the flustered man hurriedly tried to grab me, I lightly released mana at him and induced paralysis using mana pressure.

Then, he stiffened like a log and collapsed as if fainting, and mages who finally sensed something strange began to rush out in large numbers, while the countless Awakeners inside the Magic Tower also showed interest with shining eyes as the situation took an unusual turn.

The mages surrounding me were mostly those belonging to the fairly strong side with skills around the 4th to 5th Circles, but after immediately releasing mana to pressure them all, I manifested amplification magic and shouted with an enormous volume so that my voice would directly reach the upper floors of the Magic Tower.

“Pi Jin-hyeok!! Come out!!”

On the same floor, it sounded like a light shout, but on the high floors where the magic was manifested and amplified, it couldn’t help but sound like an enormous noise, as if a thunderbolt were falling right in front of them; was it because of that?

Powerful mana surged, and soon a small cluster of light formed nearby, and countless high-level mages appeared.

Some of them who knew me shouted in surprise and bewilderment.

“Why are you causing a commotion in this place!!”

“Just what kind of rudeness is this!”

“I wondered who was causing a commotion, and it’s you. Tch, just why are you looking for the Magic Tower Master?”

They were elder-level mages of the Magic Tower, and after looking at them, who were of the 1st generation, I spoke.

“If you want to settle this as a minor misunderstanding, Pi Jin-hyeok himself should come to me and hand over what I want. Otherwise, I feel like I might erase this tower from the map today.”

At that moment, some onlookers watching shouted.

“He’s incredibly arrogant. Hasn’t he watched too much anime?”

“He seems to be acting up because he has some skill; it’s hilarious. Does he not know where this place is?”

But the problem was that, unlike those hurling such sarcasm, the elders’ faces had turned pale.

“Just… what are you doing this for?”

The Awakeners were flustered by the elders’ humble stance, but soon it seemed there was someone among the crowd who knew me.

“It-it’s the Worst. Shut up! You idiots…!”

“What? The what?”

“The Worst, the black mage, the Worst! You crazy bastards!!”

The hall was in an uproar, and then all the mages surrounding me began to break into a cold sweat in tension, and after looking at them nonchalantly, I spoke.

“I will give the Magic Tower Master 1 minute to arrive before my eyes. I made it clear. Even if a hero comes, they won’t be able to stop me today.”

It was a stern warning, and at that moment, light formed in front of me, and Pi Jin-hyeok appeared.

“Tower Master!”

“Ooh, it’s the Magic Tower Master!”

Amidst the crowd stirring again, Magic Tower Master Pi Jin-hyeok looked at me piercingly and asked.

“Seeing that your condition is intact, it seems you had quite a fun time, didn’t you?”

“Hand over the medium. I don’t need any other words.”

“How about showing some manners?”

“If you want to be treated like the Magic Tower Master, show behavior befitting that. Don’t think about playing tricks while leaning toward that side.”

Pi Jin-hyeok glared at me piercingly.

Even if I said here that Pi Jin-hyeok was a Cultist of Ruin, there aren’t many people who would believe it. However, if even a small question like ‘What if’ or ‘Really?’ is raised, he will be talked about, and Pi Jin-hyeok’s radius of action will decrease drastically.

Along with that discomfort, the burden of having to deal with the worst enemy called ‘me’ would not be small, so I spoke aiming for that part.

“If you hand it over, things will pass without incident today, but if you stubbornly think you can benefit from it, I intend to inflict damage at all costs.”

After a brief moment passed while facing Pi Jin-hyeok’s gaze, Pi Jin-hyeok snapped his fingers, and simultaneously a single document emerged from the air and was handed over to my hand.

“It’s the contract. You persist in an old-fashioned form. Tch… I hope I never see you again.”

“If your side washes its hands of it, I also don’t particularly intend to take the trouble, but if you continue to make this land we protected with our own hands chaotic… I will have no choice but to step forward again to settle the chaos.”

“Look at the guardian stepping out.”

With that, Pi Jin-hyeok left the place without regret. I turned to the mages staring at me in tension and spoke.

“You’re lucky. Confronting me isn’t exactly pleasant. I’m… busy too, so I’ll take his leave. My apologies for the intrusion.”

I bowed lightly and quickly left the hall.