Chapter 561
Late at dawn, Simon was climbing the stairs alone.
The Ivory Tower’s “circular staircase” was the only passageway leading up or down. Normally, one would use the elevator magic circle installed there instead of climbing directly, but at this late hour it had been shut down.
‘Creepy.’
Walking around the tower at this hour was forbidden, so silence blanketed the surroundings. The dawn wind blowing through the window was chilly.
Pulling his robe tighter, Simon finally reached the 55th floor.
This was where the materials requested by the Keyzen headquarters were kept. If he were to be caught, it would be over. Simon carefully moved forward.
Step. Step.
Upon entering the 55th floor, voices broke the silence.
Of course, they weren’t real people. Regardless of day or night, the tower’s abnormalities persisted.
— Our mages have an obsession with the purity of mana. The purer the mana, the stronger the effect, or so they believe.
— But mana produces its true synergy when something else is added. In clinging to purity, we might be overlooking something essential!
As expected of the Ivory Tower, many of the scenes depicted were lectures or research discussions.
— This treaty is an unjust treaty!
— We must rise and fight! Stand up!
There were also historical moments of commoners rising in revolt.
Gray figures of the past vividly re-enacted those times. There was a reason archaeologists foamed at the mouth to enter the Tower of Time.
But Simon, on a secret mission, had no time to leisurely watch.
‘Room 38, Room 38.’
He focused on finding the right room. Lighting a lantern was unthinkable. Instead, he recalibrated the curse of “Night Blindness” into its reverse effect and applied it to his eyes.
A curse was a curse—his eyes ached and felt dry. At times like this, he envied the priests’ blessings, which could enhance the body without side effects.
‘......Nervous.’
He had to beware not only the Ivory Tower soldiers on patrol but also dungeon monsters, and above all, Girdon, who might be wandering somewhere in the Tower of Time.
Swish.
After checking the rooms ahead, Simon turned his head.
‘Looks like I need to pass through there.’
Unfortunately, right along his path lay one of the abnormalities of time.
— Go! Follow the prince!
— Glory to the Dresden Kingdom!
And of all things, it was a war scene. Soldiers in shabby gear charged against the enemy pouring in like a dark wave.
Simon scratched his head, wondering how to get through.
‘Ugh, really don’t want to do this.’
Grumbling inwardly, he opened his subspace and pulled out a sword.
Shame would last only a moment.
He braced his throat and shouted loudly:
“Follow the prince!”
Then, gripping his sword, he leapt into the gray history.
— Waaaaaaaah!
The soldiers of the past cheered at his cry, raising their weapons. Simon, roaring with them, charged forward.
‘Good, if I cut diagonally across like this, I can slip out!’
— You there!
Just as he was about to pass through, someone called out.
Simon turned, startled, and saw a young man in armor smiling warmly.
— Not only did you join the battlefield at such a young age, but you even raised the soldiers’ morale! Remarkable!
‘P-Princess Molly?!’
He looked just like Molly, only with shorter hair. He must’ve been her distant ancestor, a prince.
— I hereby appoint you to my Royal Guard! Stand with me and crush the imperial dogs!
Simon clenched his teeth.
Immerse. Immerse. Immerse. Immerse.
“It is the honor of my family, Your Highness! I’ll give everything I have to slay them!”
— Hahahahaha!
And so, Simon had to keep up the act, running alongside the prince for over twenty minutes.
— The enemy is ahead!
— They’re coming!
But despite all the shouting, no battle began. They had just been running the whole time.
It seemed the record preserved by the Ivory Tower ended at the charge. The dungeon abnormality could not reproduce a battle that wasn’t recorded.
“Your Highness!”
Simon quickly thought of an excuse.
“My father is in the western line! I must save him!”
— To follow your father onto the battlefield! Such loyalty and filial piety!
The prince nodded, deeply moved.
— Very well, I wish you fortune!
“Thank you! Glory to the Dresden Kingdom!”
Shouting that, Simon dashed out and finally escaped from the gray history. Collapsing to the floor, he covered his burning face.
‘......So, so embarrassing.’
Thank goodness no one had seen him.
Steeling himself once more, Simon pressed on. The thought that he’d have to go through the same act again on his way back made him dizzy, but he had to hurry before dawn.
Fortunately, his destination wasn’t far.
Just beyond the abnormality, at the end of the corridor.
That was Room 38.
— Tszszszszsz.
‘!’
Then came the eerie cry unique to the monsters of the Tower of Time.
‘Are they nearby?’
A chill ran down Simon’s spine as he stared at the doorknob of Room 38.
‘I-I should at least get inside first…’
[If I were you, I wouldn’t touch that.]
Simon’s face went pale. He instantly raised Darkness, spinning around.
[Greetings.]
Someone was there.
A short man wearing a rabbit mask. His whole body flickered with distortion and static.
‘A being created from the abnormality!’
Thankfully, it wasn’t an Ivory Tower guard.
Simon breathed a sigh of relief inside and forced a smile.
“H-Hello.”
Who was this historical figure?
He had no background information yet, but just as he had bluffed with the prince earlier, Simon decided to wing it.
“Long time no see! Have you been well?”
The rabbit mask chuckled, twirling the staff in his hand.
[It’s our first meeting, so why pretend otherwise?]
“R-Right, of course.”
[You’re amusing, young man.]
After the ordeal with the prince who resembled Molly, now this rabbit mask.
This mission was proving to be nothing but trouble. Simon forced another smile.
“What brings you here?”
At least he might glean some background.
[That topic’s boring.]
But the rabbit mask slipped away easily. Simon pressed on, patiently.
“Then, what do you find interesting...?”
[Shall I guess what you’re doing here?]
The mask’s mouth stretched into a long grin.
[Boy from Keyzen... You’re here to steal information from the Ivory Tower, aren’t you?]
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, Simon had drawn the Chaos Spear from his waist and leveled its tip.
“......Who are you? You don’t seem like just an abnormality.”
[Sharp eyes, indeed.]
The rabbit mask answered with a laugh, hands clasped behind his back as he began to stroll. Simon shifted his spear to keep its point trained on him.
[It’s true that I too am a being born from the dungeon’s abnormalities. But I’m fundamentally different from those fools who just babble on mindlessly.]
“......”
Simon was confused.
Humans created by the tower’s abnormalities were all fabrications that didn’t truly exist. The moment they realized they were fictional, and that their world was false, they would lose control like rampaging monsters and attack humans nearby.
But this rabbit mask knew his own condition, yet he didn’t turn monstrous. On top of that, he even knew Simon’s identity.
[Could you put that scary thing down? After all, I just saved you, didn’t I?]
The rabbit mask said slyly. Simon narrowed his eyes.
“......You saved me?”
[If you had tried to open the door to Room 38.]
He pointed to the wall with his finger.
[The security magic would have activated. You’d be electrocuted, and Ivory Tower guards would’ve swarmed in immediately.]
“......!”
[Go on, see for yourself.]
Though still cautious, Simon kept his spear aimed at him while scanning the wall.
‘!’
It was really there.
Camouflaged like a chameleon against the wall’s color, but undeniably a magic circle.
[See? For a student like you, the formulas would be too complex to undo.]
The rabbit mask swirled his hand as though performing a trick.
[But I’ll help.]
And indeed, the circle’s outlines loosened, then scattered into the air as mana, vanishing completely.
[I moved the circle’s time forward, ending its duration and naturally dispelling it.]
Only then did Simon lower his spear.
“Who exactly are you?”
[Heheheh! Call me the Ghost of Time!]
He bent at the waist and gave a gentleman’s bow.
[Why don’t we step inside and talk?]
* * *
The Ghost of Time.
Whether friend or foe, it wasn’t clear yet.
But had Simon opened Room 38 in panic at the monster’s cry, the Ivory Tower would surely have been alerted. Whatever else he was, this much was true: the rabbit mask had saved him.
The two of them stepped into Room 38.
It was like an unused storage room. Even with the festival of time, no one had bothered to clean this far, cobwebs and dust covered the place.
[Make yourself comfortable.]
Said the rabbit mask, who had introduced himself as the Ghost of Time. Simon fixed his eyes on him.
“Before that, I’d like to know more clearly who you are.”
True, he had helped disable the magic circle, but it could still be a trap.
Perhaps he was pretending to aid Simon, only to seize decisive evidence and hand him over.
[You’re quite the suspicious type. I like that.]
He leaned back—and floated into the air, suspended above the ground.
[You know of the dungeon gate incident that happened in the Ivory Tower 300 years ago, don’t you?]
“Of course.”
[I lived in that era.]
“Oh-ho.”
Simon’s eyes lit with curiosity.
“What did you do back during the Gate Incident?”
[At that time—]
The Ghost of Time raised his voice.
[I was aboard a time machine!]
Simon, who had been listening intently, instantly went cold.
“......Ah, right. A time machine.”
[What’s with that reaction! Anyway, it’s true. In those days, time magic research was booming in the Ivory Tower, and I invented a special artifact called the time machine.]
“That’s... impressive.”
Simon replied half-heartedly.
[But my colleagues treated me like a fool, focusing only on the projects led by the Ivory Tower Master. To prove my achievements, I boarded the time machine myself! And then!]
The Ghost of Time slammed his staff against the ground.
[At that very timing, the dungeon gate opened!]
The dungeon that appeared at the top floor of the Ivory Tower swallowed up all the time magic research they had been working on. Naturally, he too—inside the time machine—was no exception.
[And so a fascinating phenomenon occurred.]
He chuckled, spreading his arms wide.
[I do indeed exist as a dungeon abnormality, but I can still think and judge for myself! And with the time machine’s influence, I gained the ability to see the “time” flowing within this tower. There is no other being like me in the world!]
Simon crossed his arms.
“Wouldn’t it be torment to exist forever like that?”
[Nonsense! That’s a misconception of those burdened by flesh!]
He gazed up at the ceiling with an enraptured expression.
[I enjoy the freedom of being released from lifespan, endlessly pondering and researching whatever I wish! I don’t reveal myself to the people here, but from time to time, I leave my research results by a window. Some even come daily, take them, and register the work as their own, rising to the highest ranks of the Ivory Tower! Well, let them! Hahahaha!]
As the talk drifted further, Simon cut back to the point.
“Then how do you, someone supposedly forever trapped in this tower, know that I came to dig up information about the Ivory Tower?”
[Did I not tell you? I can see time. From the moment you stepped into this tower until the moment you leave, I can see all of your time.]
“To see time...”
It was an alien concept.
[To my eyes, it’s clear. Today you’ll activate a certain “artifact” here on the 55th floor to obtain information. Tomorrow, you’ll go to the 63rd floor.]
“......!”
He was exactly right.
Not just the floors Simon planned to visit, but even the identity of the “artifact” he had yet to reveal.
The Ghost of Time even mentioned what would happen after the mission—Simon being hit by the curse of the sleep-talking girl upon returning to his lodgings.
“......So is this like prophecy?”
[Prophecy? Hah! Past, present, and future are all fictions created by humans who cannot perceive four-dimensional spacetime! In truth, time stretches out infinitely!]
‘What the hell is he talking about…’
Simon rubbed his forehead.
“Fine, let’s keep it simple. You can see my future within this tower. Then—what’s your goal?”
The rabbit mask went silent for a moment, then spoke in a grave tone.
[At some point, the tower’s future disappeared from my sight.]
“......What?”
[The tower’s time turned pitch-black—I can no longer see it! This can mean only one thing: something catastrophic will happen to the Tower of Time! The Ivory Tower Master must be plotting some suspicious scheme using this place!]
Simon’s expression grew serious as well.
“When is it that the future becomes unseen?”
The rabbit mask raised four fingers.
[In four days.]
Simon’s mouth fell open.
Four days from now—was the very last day of his Ivory Tower assignment.
[Not long from now, something terrible will happen to this tower.]
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters