The study was proceeding without a hitch. Daphne lifted a sheet of paper full of formulas and terms that almost no one would recognize, put down her pen for a moment, and sighed. Her office has long been messy with documents, materials, reference books, and papers. Daphne picked up a book that had fallen with a page crumpled on the floor.
“This is too much.”
Daphne’s head snapped back. Nella was walking into Daphne’s lab today with her hair tied up into a ponytail. In her hands were a few more books to add to the chaos of her disorganized lab.
“I never thought I’d get your help.”
“…We were supposed to put our egos aside and work together as wizards.”
There was no animosity in Daphne’s words. Nella, who had secretly expected her to take it bluntly, set the books back on the table.
“I can certainly see why Elroy chose you.”
As angry as she’d been when they first confronted each other, Daphne was generally very patient for a wizard, especially unlike herself, who quickly lost her temper. ‘She’s very talented, fearless…No, let’s not go down that road of comparison.’
“What do you need for the materialization?”
“We have to gather all the best wizards in the country…The Royal Tower definitely can’t do it alone. The structure is so complex and huge…”
“So, can we make it happen or not?”
Daphne nodded.
“It can be realized. It’s going to be hard, but it can be done. If only I were a little better, I could’ve improved it…But this is all I can create with only Six Circles.”
‘Only 6 circles? Is she trying to piss me off?’ Veins sprouted at Nella’s temples. But she couldn’t be angry because she knew Daphne was speaking the truth.
“I’ll submit it at the end of the day. Please give it to the Tower Master when she returns. If anything is lacking with the plan, please discuss it with me. Well, I still have to check the feasibility of it all.”
With a sigh, Nella pulled up a chair and sat beside Daphne. Currently, Laura is out of the Tower. She was holding a meeting with other Tower Masters.
“Do you want to help him that badly?”
“Of course. However, I’m not doing it for him alone because I don’t want the world to end.”
Daphne said, picking up the book Nella had brought. The Meteor defense was based on a spell Nella and Daphne had designed together. Nella glanced at it and ran her finger over a section of the formula.
“The plan is sufficient without higher circles. It might give us more power, but stability matters most, right?
Daphne looked at Nella’s point and nodded with difficulty.
“…You’re right. I should have prioritized maintenance and stability, but I guess I didn’t think of that…I’ll see what I can do with the other ideas while I’m at it. Can you help calculate this?”
“I shouldn’t have anything.”
Nella grumbled under her breath at her doubled workload and took the wad of paper from Daphne’s hand. How long would it take her to recalculate from scratch?
“…I’ll have to mobilize more graduate students.”
Thinking of her junior colleagues and students still wrestling with the math, Nella ran a hand through her hair. She felt bad about treating them like calculating machines, but it had to be done to prevent the end of the world, and if only to punch Elroy’s smug face.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Nella folded her slender arms and picked up a pen. It was an equation she could solve as long as she didn’t sleep for a whole month.
Nella’s nib touched the page of her newly opened notebook.
Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion rang throughout the building. Papers and books, including Nella’s notebook, flew through the air, and Daphne and Nella reflexively activated their protective spells. Sporadic screams shook the Tower, accompanied by the acrid smell of something burning. Daphne was slightly startled but eventually cooled her head while Nella made a face and gathered the critical materials that had fallen to the floor.
“…What’s going on?”
“Not now. Gather all the documents first.”
Nella began stuffing the materials into the box she had drawn with her telekinetic magic. All the documents piling in the room could’ve never contained everything they had to. Nella cursed under her breath.
“…Damn it. Why is there only one box in the room?”
“We should cast a protective spell over the entire room to protect the materials even if the Tower collapses. Can you help me?”
Nella clicked her tongue in disapproval but drew a protective spell on the wall. At that moment, a belated emergency announcement came through the magic crystals installed throughout the Tower.
[This is not a drill. We are currently experiencing an intruder in the Tower, and we ask that faculty, staff, and students follow the procedure. I repeat, this is not a drill….]
“Intruder?! How on earth? No, why now?”
Nella stared at the magic crystals in the room in confusion. Daphne was putting the finishing touches on a protective spell while unfurling a detection spell, scanning for signs of movement.
“It’s getting closer this way, too. It probably won’t be able to reach us properly because of the protective magic, so I don’t think we should worry too much, but….”
One explosion after another rang out. Daphne, who had remained calm, was now showing signs of anxiety on her face. The commotion seemed to start from the top and gradually spread downward.
“I’ll go out and check on the situation, and you stay here and protect the data.”
Nella scrunched up her face at Daphne’s suggestion.
“Nonsense. You should be guarding this place. You don’t even know the Tower’s layout yet, and you think you’ll help us clean up this mess?”
“It’s dangerous out there, Ms. Nella.”
Nella snorted in disbelief. She was probably the only person in the world who would worry about the safety of a peak Fifth Circle mage.
“Dangerous? It seems more dangerous for you to be away.”
Nella said, tugging Daphne back.
“You, at least one circle higher than me, guard this place. Even if there is an intruder, this is a Tower. Even if the Tower Master is absent, this place won’t fall easily.”
Daphne looked at Nella, who pushed past her as she spoke, her eyes almost completely calm.
“I won’t let you go if you lose a single piece of data, and until this mess is cleaned up, I want you to guard it like it’s your life.”
Nella spoke deliberately, dismissing some of the protective spells and stepping out of the lab, the door closing behind her.
[I repeat, this is not a drill. We are currently experiencing an intruder in the Tower…]
The announcement continued, accompanied by enough beeps to drive a man mad, though the sounds of things burning, exploding, and collapsing were much louder. Everyone had already fled the building.
‘Wait, we’re on the 10th floor…if it happened higher up…?
As Nella’s speculations turned to the worst-case scenario, someone broke the silence.
“A monster! A monster!”
Not an intruder, but a monster. Nella frowned at the sound of someone screaming, though she realized why they shouted in the first place.
“…What a monster.”
The ceiling collapsed, and a man with tentacles for limbs caught the person. Nella drew on her mana, feeling the unnerving power of the creature. It wriggled and circled, then slowly turned its head toward Nella.
“I better get a raise.”
Without a roar, the creature lunged at Nella, who shot a stream of fire straight at it.
***
“Where are you going, Professor?”
Natalie was right on my heels. ‘Why are you so fast?’ I turned my head to dodge her flying fist, then grabbed her arm and slammed her to the ground.
The stone floor shattered and scattered. I can’t let her get in my way. I spun my arm around and threw her back, creating a chance to run away.
“…Can’t luck be on my side for once.”
Holy Sword and Null were on the tenth floor in Daphne’s laboratory. Judging from the screaming people escaping from the Tower, I can’t go to retrieve them.
“This is the worst.”
I ran through the Tower, even awakening the crown. Running through the lobby, I opened the emergency exit and stepped into the stairwell, and I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.
People were running down the stairs, chased by something. Behind the chaos of pushing, shoving, and trampling, I could hear the creepy roar of something. I gritted my teeth, gathered my mana, and unleashed it unfiltered.
The entire Tower shook. The panicked people became even more confused, but their faces changed when they saw me on the stairs.
“Help everyone up who has fallen.”
At my words, they began to move in unison. They were all skilled wizards, so they regained their order with a bit of time.
“Get out of here, making sure no one falls. I’ll take care of the top.”
The monster seemed to sense me and froze in place. I kept releasing my mana to prevent it from approaching.
“As expected.”
It was a doomsday cultist. I slammed the false sword in my hand down on the monster’s head. It died before I could even cut through it.
“…The rats are finally moving.”
I gritted my teeth and stretched my senses. Then, sensing the first signs of movement toward me, I leaped upward in alarm.
“Natalie-!”
‘Damn it. She’s too fast.’
I bit my lip, watching Natalie swoop, scattering a fog-like mist. I could sense a very familiar tinge in her mana.
It was a Mark of Disaster.
“Class isn’t over yet, Professor.”
A bolt of energy flew toward me. I reflexively raised my sword to parry Natalie’s attack, and the mana I drew up coated my blade in a silvery-white aura.
I was instantly thrown down to the seventh floor. The sword shattered under the impact of my aura and Natalie’s attack. She slowly approached me, and I felt my mana slowly drain. I gulped as I watched her transform, no longer human.
“…What the hell did they do to you?”
“What did they do? This is my true form.”
Scaled skin like a snake’s, pupils sharply constricted vertically. Inhuman leaping speed and movement. And the ominous tentacles extending from her waist.
A homunculus.
Natalie had been ‘made’ that way in the first place.
“You’ll have to choose, Professor.”
“You can take me down or step out of the way.”
I was given a choice, but I had only one option. In times like these, I’m a greedy, uncompromising warrior.
“You still have a lot to learn, Natalie.”
