C546
Redrun
The Red Wizard, the lowest-ranked Magician. (Note: I hate it when the author uses Wizard, Mage, or Magician to refer to them haha)
He joined the Seekers about 50 years ago. Despite his relatively short career, the fact that he was granted the title of Magician means he has exceptional talent.
His primary magic is based on fire and ice.
Of the "Five Qualities of a Wizard" defined by the Beginning Wizard, the one that stands out the most is "Observation."
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Lucas looked around. A dark place that resembled an altar.
A huge magic circle engraved on the floor, complex patterns written on the walls, cobwebs on the ceiling, the placement and number of candles lit as if a ceremony were being conducted.
What did all this mean?
Nodding, he said to the man sitting in the center:
"Is this your field?"
"That's right."
Redrun replied as he stood up from his seat. He showed no signs of emotion or agitation as he had outside. His aura was calm, his breathing even, and his face only reflected coldness.
"It's gotten tougher," Residue diagnosed Redrun's state with a single sentence, and Lucas agreed.
Redrun alone was more troublesome than when he was with the hundred wizards outside.
"First, I want to ask. How is the 11th-floor test conducted?"
"The 11th-floor test..."
Redrun, about to say something, suddenly fell silent.
His eyebrows raised in surprise.
"...Please wait a moment."
"...?"
Lucas was intrigued, but he soon realized that Redrun was communicating with someone. In a way that Lucas couldn't fully understand.
"It seems he's in contact with a wizard on 'another floor.' Interesting. Establishing a communication network that transcends dimensions is quite difficult..."
"...Did you say a 'omen' has occurred?"
Redrun's voice was heard. It seemed he couldn't convey it solely with his mind, and he needed to speak aloud.
Lucas didn't pretend not to hear, but rather focused on the voice.
"But... shouldn't there be more time? Didn't the Lord himself say so? Yes. I understand. Anyway, we must prepare. That is the role of the Magic Tower... Understood. I will inform the Seekers up to the 10th floor. Be careful too, Harun."
With a click, the communication was immediately cut off. His expression was now completely serious and complex. Redrun seemed to be deeply pondering something. He glanced at Lucas sideways.
"What's going on?"
"...It's not a stranger's business."
Stranger.
Redrun used that word again.
This man was particularly hostile to Lucas, even among the wizards of the Magic Planet. Lucas now knew that. Not only from Altata but from the few wizards he had met on his way here.
They had been surprised and amazed by Lucas's talent, but that was it.
They didn't hate him without reason just for being a stranger.
Only Redrun was like that.
"And the test?"
Lucas reconnected the interrupted conversation.
"How magnificent will it be?"
The flames of the candles illuminating the room intensified, and the cobwebs on the ceiling began to creak.
And from Redrun's hands, fire and ice sprouted at the same time.
"Defeat me."
The test was to defeat Redrun.
And so Lucas did.
He fought against the Magician, Redrun, and defeated him. It didn't take him long.
"..."
Unexpectedly, Redrun did not disintegrate. He simply lay on the ground with an expressionless face, staring at the ceiling.
"It's humiliating to be defeated so miserably. I couldn't even put up a decent attack."
Understandable. After all, Redrun's magic hadn't even managed to burn Lucas's clothes.
Lucas had already experienced his magic. Although he had only seen it once, it was enough. Unfortunately, Redrun's magic wasn't as complex or grandiose as to need to see it more than twice.
His stunned voice continued:
"How is this possible? You're supposed to have sealed most of your power."
"It's true. But my most powerful weapon is not subject to any restrictions."
Lucas tapped his temple twice.
"…Ha."
Redrun let out something akin to a laugh, though it was tinged with self-contempt.
"My test is over. Go up."
"Alright."
"The difficulty will increase from the 12th floor onwards. The 'tutorial' is over. Don't expect it to be the same as it has been so far."
"Is that advice?"
"...It's a curse. Damn you."
For a moment, a smile almost escaped Lucas. Lucas paused before ascending to the next floor.
"What's wrong? Is there still something left to do?"
Redrun, lying on the floor, asked. Lucas turned and looked at him as he replied:
"Is arrogance the quality most valued?"
"What?"
"..."
Instead of asking again, Lucas looked at him silently. Redrun clicked his tongue and replied:
"...Yes. To wield more powerful magic, to not falter in the face of any crisis, we need to maintain firm arrogance at all times."
"Falter?"
"You must know it now too. That everyone on the Magic Planet is aware of annihilation."
"..."
"Some religious people overcome the fear of death through self-cultivation and discipline. Our case is similar. We polish our arrogance to endure an inevitable end."
Redrun smiled weakly.
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"What's the point of hiding it now? The first condition to become a Seeker of the Magic Planet was not to fear annihilation, even after knowing it."
"……."
"Do you understand? We can't fear annihilation, a future already set, because we believe in ourselves. We can live each day with appreciation."
…The Beginning Wizard had told Lucas that…
there was a way to avoid annihilation.
However, Redrun seemed to know nothing about it.
That wasn't all he realized.
Lucas felt a strange dissonance in Redrun's words. But he hesitated before speaking. His next words could be an unnecessary intrusion.
Did he have the right to do so? And would the change it would provoke in Redrun be positive?
"Do you know how annihilation will occur?"
"Isn't it the end of everything?"
"I'm not talking about the conceptual part. I'm asking if you're truly aware of how terrifying annihilation is."
Redrun's gaze changed.
"What do you mean?"
"The Seekers of the Magic Planet. I thought they were admirable beings in some aspects, but if what you say is true, they're nothing but a bunch of fools who have given up."
"What are you saying?"
Redrun stood up from his seat. As expected, he hadn't used all his power. Of course. His mission wasn't to fight to the death with Lucas. The battle that had just taken place had only been a test.
"Holding onto arrogance to strengthen your inner self? You're wrong. What they do is not grandiose at all. They don't know anything. They absolutely know nothing. That's why they can talk so calmly about self-improvement and the like."
He understood now. The wizards of the Magic Planet he had seen outside...
The reason they could live so carefreely.
…They minimized the fear of annihilation within themselves. They refused to deeply think about it.
It's the opposite of Diablo. He thoroughly researched annihilation. Although he came to a wrong interpretation, he came to know the terror of annihilation better than anyone.
"…I'm not talking about what's right or wrong."
In the end, Diablo, consumed by fear, lost his way and went mad. The conclusion he reached was too cruel, and it led him and those around him to death.
On the other hand, those who live on the Magic Planet could find peace of mind because they refused to thoroughly know annihilation. They didn't harm anyone.
Humanly speaking, Diablo was wrong. But in Lucas's eyes, Diablo, who despite being on the verge of breaking down from fear, he dug to the end of annihilation and finally reached a satisfactory conclusion, he was...
─Much more a Wizard.
"At the end of your arrogance, do you want to be a living being or a stone?"
"…"
"Are you proud of not being swept away by the current of a stream? Is that what you call 'annihilation/destruction'?"
Redrun stopped speaking and refuting at some point.
Lucas continued:
"Think of a tsunami. Research and learn more about annihilation. Maintain your composure even in the looming terror. Then you'll be able to further strengthen that arrogance you speak of."
He didn't know what change this would provoke in him. Maybe it won't change anything. That's why it was an intrusion.
"Wait a moment."
Redrun stopped Lucas, who was about to leave. He had an expression that Lucas had never seen before, hesitant.
"That, well…"
Redrun hesitated for a long time, as if he needed great courage, and finally said:
"...I have more questions."
"…"
Seeing his face, Lucas couldn't help but laugh this time. However, there was something about him that was characteristic of a wizard.
In Redrun, curiosity had overcome pride.
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The Magic Tower.
A space completely isolated from the outside.
There are only eight places in this place where the "outside" can be observed.
Firstly, the "Beginning Wizard's Room" at the top,
And the "Double Floors" managed by the Seven Magicians, that is, from the 11th floor to the 77th floor.
The higher you are, the wider the view.
Of course, the one who can see "farther" is the Beginning Wizard's Room, followed by the 77th floor.
─The 77th floor, the real summit of the Magic Tower,
The master of that world. The strongest wizard among the Seven Magicians, considered as the right arm or the successor of the Beginning Wizard.
Harun finished communicating with all the Seven Magicians and then fell silent, murmuring:
"Why the omen already… Lord, what's happening?"
At that moment, Harun's eyes sharpened.
"Who's there?"
A sharp voice echoed in all directions. His amplified sense carefully scanned the surroundings, but found nothing. There was nothing visible to the naked eye.
Am I becoming too sensitive?
This wasn't just any place, it was the 77th floor.
A place that could be considered the summit,
The only way to enter this place was through the "staircase" connecting to the upper and lower floors.
It wasn't a place where an intruder could sneak in stealthily.
Sss…
That logic, that analysis, and a hint of carelessness. Death occurred all too easily when those elements combined.
Plaf
Something fell to the floor.
"…?"
Harun wiped it with his finger. It was a black liquid, of unknown composition.
Where did it fall from, the ceiling?
Harun looked up at the ceiling, but he couldn't see anything. And that darkness was the last thing Harun saw. The darkness, like a liquid adhering to the ceiling, engulfed his entire body.
The strongest Wizard of the Magic Tower couldn't do anything against what happened so quickly. He couldn't even utter a sound.
The darkness devoured Harun's entire body and then stirred.
It was a repugnant movement, like a stomach digesting food.
Tap
Finally, the movement of the darkness stopped.
The darkness, which had remained in place for a while, began to move again.
Sss, sss…
As if crawling, leaving a viscous trail in its wake, it descended.
Towards the lower floor.
Tags:
TGMRA (Novel)