Links of Knowledge

“Mmm…”

Heavy. My whole body was soaked. The water gripping my arms and legs weighed a thousand pounds. Gradually, I couldn’t breathe.

Drowning.

That single word struck my head.

‘That’s impossible!’

Drowning? Me, who reached the high realm of 6th Circle and 5-star, drowning? Me, who said I’d climb to the very top of the tower, sinking here?

‘No way!’

Chirp, chirp chirp, tweet tweet tweet.

My eyes snapped open.

A room where gentle sunlight streamed in. The birdsong was peaceful.

A young girl’s sulky voice could be heard.

“Sigh. You’re just sleeping soundly again today. Ugh, how boring. I’m going out! Lazy people should just sleep away. That’s how you fall behind.”

Clatter, thunk.

The sound of a door closing cutely.

“Hah. Really, being raised so preciously makes her so impatient. If she’d just waited three more seconds, she would have seen you wake up. Right?”

A familiar voice. My mind, which had been floundering underwater, was instantly pulled to the surface. A sky-blue haired beauty sat beside me. Suddenly she seemed unfamiliar.

“Your hair got pretty long, didn’t it?”

Yuria braided her sky-blue hair and let it hang neatly down to the right. The waist curve revealed by her fluttering short-sleeved shirt was slender, and her arms were smooth and long.

Come to think of it, we’ve gotten quite old. Since Yuria is also nineteen by Korean age, she’s an adult, not a girl. I hadn’t noticed until now, but seeing her like this really brings it home.

“Yeah—people tell me I look pure. So I tried changing my style once. Look, don’t I look pure?”

Yuria gently stroked her hair like an Earth model would.

Pfft. She’s really a clever person who’s good at creating whatever image others want. Teacher Sena only knew Yuria as a model student too. Before she slaughtered the Lanches gang and danced covered in blood with me.

“Yeah. You’re pretty. But was your hair always that long?”

To my question, Yuria smiled meaningfully.

“Yeah. How does it feel to open your eyes after 37 days?”

I was shocked. I’d been lying down for over a month?

I hurriedly sat up straight. My body, made from the Philosopher’s Stone, didn’t have a single stiff spot. However, my head was dizzy and I felt a faint heat from my nose.

“Magical fever…”

“That makes sense. You absorbed so much mana that even 4th Circle mages had to take shifts watching over you. Now you’re ready to challenge 7th Circle, right? Congratulations.”

7th Circle.

Even at that sweet ring, I could only smile bitterly.

“I still haven’t completed the method for ascending to 7th Circle.”

“Really? Couldn’t you achieve it soon though?”

“That would be nice. It might be possible as early as today, but it could also take years—enlightenment is… mysteriously elusive.”

I answered half-heartedly while calmly checking my body’s condition.

My mana was definitely abundant. Enough that my Philosopher’s Stone body felt burdened. At this level, I could probably create 6-star Ki-blood and even aim for 7th Circle, right? The key is enlightenment.

That strange sensation from the moment I fired <Saíl> at the Prophet. Mastering that was urgent.

“Wait!”

Come to think of it… how did the battle turn out?

I turned to look at Yuria in confusion, and she calmly explained the situation as if she’d been expecting this.

“It was a great victory. Right now we’re in Ragnarok’s sanctuary on the 59th floor of the Tower of Covenant, the Great Labyrinth.”

Great Labyrinth? Sanctuary? Here?

I looked out the window again. The sunlight was gentle and green leaves rustled as birds sang among them.

“It’s more peaceful than I expected…”

“What? Did you imagine some gloomy cave just because it’s Ragnarok’s sanctuary in the Great Labyrinth?”

I couldn’t deny it.

Yuria smiled wryly.

“Beatrice’s area is more like that. Underground, dark, not a ray of light… But if you look at the sanctuary as a whole, there are many buildings like this with good sunlight and nice views. Architecturally, this side was built much longer ago. To think they’d leave such a perfectly fine room and specifically make such a gloomy room to lock up a little kid… Anyway, that Prophet is truly vicious, isn’t she?”

That’s true. How awful.

“Anyway, to continue the report… the Ragnarok forces that followed the Prophet were annihilated. What we saw when we first entered the sanctuary were piles of dried-up mummies. It seems the Prophet used them as sacrifices to draw on the Outer God’s power. Besides that, all the different races fled, and all remaining Ragnarok forces surrendered following Beatrice. Total of 1,023 people. Among them, 5 wizards. 23 high-ranking 5th Circle inquisitors. It’s really incredible.”

“That’s truly amazing…”

It remained to be seen whether they could integrate properly, but it was nearly half of Pathfinder’s strength.

But Yuria smiled like a true adult. A smile like grass willingly embracing sorrow.

“But our side’s losses weren’t light either. We took heavy casualties from the jellyfish monsters the Prophet summoned. Fortunately, the 6th Circle wizard forces suffered no losses… but the 5th Circle mages took quite a hit. 60 went to battle and 48 survived. 12 high-level mages died. The 4th Circle losses were even heavier. 276 out of 400 survived, and 813 out of 2,000 3rd Circle mages were killed.”

Her voice inevitably grew dark. The Outer God’s servants with strong magical resistance had literally massacred the lower-level mages. Even so, thanks to them holding out with their bodies, we were able to reduce losses among our high-level forces, Yuria reported.

“Even then, without the knights’ help, the wizards would have died en masse too. We really could have been completely wiped out.”

Knights? This was eye-opening news.

“Did Evan and Monggu succeed?”

Yuria smiled mysteriously and tapped my shoulder.

“They say it’s not an alliance. Just that they helped that one time… But hey, those butchers helped a dying mage organization, right? Depending on how we handle things going forward, an alliance is definitely possible.”

I quickly ran calculations in my head.

The losses were heavier than expected, but joining with Ragnarok was enough to more than compensate for those losses. If we could also recruit the Ragnarok forces that had been away from the sanctuary, our strength could more than double.

‘And if we can form an alliance with the knights too…? We could become the tower’s undisputed strongest force!’

I clenched my fist.

Thinking of our fallen comrades made my heart ache… but still, calculations had to be precise.

Rather, I should be grateful that their deaths weren’t in vain. This expedition that began to catch the tail of the Outer God had achieved results beyond expectations.

But even so…

‘I’ll become stronger.’

Even if it was just a goal, I renewed my resolve to become strong enough that no one would have to die.

So what I need to do now is…

I sprang up.

I practically jumped out of bed. Yuria grinned.

“Right? You can’t afford to lie around. So, what’s today’s schedule?”

“First, Beatrice.”

“Hmm—you want to coordinate things so Ragnarok integrates well? Well, there doesn’t seem to be much to worry about, but it’d be better to see for yourself.”

Thunk.

Yuria opened the door.

“Well then, let’s go. Beatrice left right after you woke up, so she can’t have gone far.”

I walked straight outside without even changing clothes. I didn’t need to wash either. Whether purification magic had been cast or not, despite lying down for 37 days, both my body and clothes were completely fresh.

* * *

“You’ll be surprised.”

Yuria grinned mischievously.

“I’m still taking it easy because of severe mana exposure… but everyone else has been fired up lately.”

Yuria looked me up and down with expectant eyes.

Why is she acting like this?

“They were already working hard before, weren’t they? Everyone.”

“It’s not that level I’m talking about.”

Yuria raised her finger and pointed to the end of the corridor. Beatrice could be seen entering some room with her white hair fluttering. A massive wooden door decorated lavishly like a king’s audience chamber closed with a thud.

“Oh ho. She’s going there as expected. Today will be interesting too.”

Grabbed by the wrist, I followed Yuria into the room Beatrice had entered.

Whoosh.

Hiss hiss!

The moment I entered, first it was hot, then bone-chillingly cold. It was a place in chaos with heat and cold swirling, filled with notable mages.

The room was like a circular arena. Large steps ringed around it, getting lower toward the center of the room, with a stage-like spacious area in the very middle. A powerful barrier was deployed throughout the room that looked like it could withstand 6th Circle magic being used at full power.

On the central stage stood some dolls, and mages were scattered throughout the visible steps arguing with each other. The Beatrice we’d followed was standing on the steps across from us.

The voice of Wizard of Debt Shilo de Medissa rang out passionately in the room.

“Hmph! Heavy attacks become uncontrollable the moment they miss even once. What can truly be called the strongest attack is the rapid rotation of spells that completely restrains the opponent!”

Then Wizard of Extraction Ak-hu shot back with mockery.

“That sounds nice—rapid rotation—but ultimately it just means light! A single precise strike that cuts the vital point can win.”

As the two continued their back-and-forth argument, Beatrice from far away waved her small fists and shouted.

“Why are grown mages making so much noise?! Stop talking and have a match!”

That one statement was the spark. The atmosphere in the hall heated up.

“Ha! Fine! Let’s test it then!”

“Hmph. Brute with only strength.”

Shilo de Medissa and Ak-hu glared at each other before simultaneously putting on helmets.

What are they doing? They said they’d fight but why the weird helmets…?

“Watch closely.”

Yuria pointed to the stage below the steps.

“Huh?”

Light came into the eyes of the steel dolls standing there, and they began moving as if loosening up. What surprised me was that Ki-blood and Circles were engraved on those dolls. Just like mages.

“What are those? They’re completely fascinating.”

“Refinement made them by disassembling guardians.”

“What? Guardians?”

“Yeah. You were unconscious and the guardians weren’t retrieved, right? So he took them apart.”

“On whose authority?”

“He said you’d like it and just took them. Disassembled three of the lowest-grade ones.”

Scary.

He took them the moment I lost consciousness?

But my bewilderment soon turned to admiration.

“So Shilo and Ak-hu are controlling those now?”

The steel dolls clashed in the center of the stage.

The steel doll on the left dodged attacks with movement spells while forcing unavoidable damage with <Debt>, and the steel doll on the right ignored <Debt> and charged in looking for an opening to land <Collapse Strike>.

Of course, their actual destructive power wasn’t even half that of the two men, but looking purely at combat style, anyone could see it was unmistakably Shilo de Medissa and Ak-hu themselves.

“Hehe. Here is the hottest hot spot that emerged while you were asleep—the ‘Magic Strategy Research Institute.’ They have proxy battles using steel dolls with identical mana. All battles are recorded and thoroughly studied.”

“Ha ha…”

I could only laugh.

Did I sleep for 37 days or 370 days? How did all this happen in just a month…

“See? I told you everyone’s been going crazy lately.”

Yuria savored my dumbfounded expression with satisfaction.

“Go! Fight! No no! The right! You need to aim for the right! Geez! You’re both so weak! I’d do better fighting myself!”

Beatrice’s excited voice rang out like sound effects.