Chapter 571
On the 10th floor of the Ivory Tower, a massive magic circle was inscribed on the wall.
— The most mysterious magic formula in human history.
— A once-in-a-millennium enigma of the magical world, never fully deciphered even after a thousand years.
The object of endless fascination among scholars, its true nature was the arcane technology of the Age of Magic: “Transfer Magic”, which could move the entire hundred-story tower to any desired location.
Three hundred years ago, it had been damaged during the Gate Incident, but restoring it became the lifelong ambition of the Ivory Tower. After countless years and investments, they had finally succeeded in restoring it.
“Heat transmission values are normal!”
“Check again if enough purification water was supplied!”
On the 10th floor of the Tower of Time, the Transfer Magic Restoration Center bustled with activity. Scholars of the Ivory Tower rushed about frantically, adjusting the circle’s settings to prepare for an optimal relocation.
Among them, one man shouted into a communication crystal.
“This is the Transfer Magic Restoration Center! Transfer Center calling! Please respond!”
He shook his head in frustration, as if despairing.
“Director! We’ve lost contact with the Tower Master. He might have gone outside the Tower….”
The man in charge froze.
“That can’t be. He was clearly on the 100th floor.”
“The Tower of Time’s barrier blocks outside communications, so the only explanation is… I’ll keep trying!”
The director groaned heavily.
What on earth is happening inside the tower right now?
Wooooong! Wooooong!
Just then, a different communication crystal rang out. The scholar who had been trying to reach the Tower Master, Bermude Eindark, hurried to pick it up.
Chiiiizik!
— This is Serne Eindark. Respond.
At that, the scholar—and everyone around him—went stiff with tension.
It was a message from the Tower Master’s daughter, the infamous official successor, Serne.
“Wh–What an honor, Lady Serne! This is the Transfer Magic Restoration Center!”
— By my father’s orders, proceed with transferring the Tower of Time to Roke Island of Keyzen, as planned.
The scholar gestured behind him, and his colleagues scurried back to their posts. He bowed repeatedly.
“Yes, I shall obey your command!”
From afar, however, the director’s eyes narrowed sharply.
Why was the daughter giving orders instead of the Tower Master himself?
And above all—
‘How is Serne still alive?’
Most of the scholars here only knew fragments of the truth. They simply followed orders.
But the director was a confidant personally placed by the Tower Master. He knew everything. He knew it was supposed to be Maelyn who was sacrificed, yet Serne herself had volunteered to lift the Absolute Seal.
— One more thing.
Her voice came again.
— What coordinates are set for relocation within Rock Island?”
“They are calibrated to Keyzen Academy.”
— Change them. There is a place called the Forbidden Forest, a little away from the academy. Set the coordinates to the central area of the Forbidden Forest.
The scholar blinked in confusion but did not dare to question. Such doubts were luxuries for the low-ranking. If he simply obeyed, responsibility would fall on those above him.
“Understood—”
“Wait. Let me answer.”
The director himself stepped forward and took the crystal.
“This is Hession, Director of the Transfer Center. Lady Serne.”
— Ah, it’s been a while, Hession.
“Where is the Tower Master? Why are you issuing commands in his stead?”
— Girdon started causing trouble, so father left me in charge while he went to deal with him.
Her voice was calm, almost casual, but Director Hession grew only more suspicious.
Still, with so many listening, he couldn’t outright question her survival or mention the Frozen Clock.
“Lady Serne, contact with the Tower Master has suddenly been cut.”
— Then he must be in combat. Girdon isn’t an easy opponent.
“Our center takes orders only from the Tower Master. Once he returns, we’ll contact again—”
— A mere dog raised by my father…
Hession flinched.
Her voice, though only through a crystal, carried an oppressive force that was hard to resist.
— Do you mistake being doted on for real worth? You dare bare your fangs? If I descend to the 10th floor right now, let’s see if you can still raise your head and yap.
The surrounding scholars paled and gestured desperately for him to stop.
Everyone in the Ivory Tower knew Serne’s cruelty. Many who displeased her vanished, only to later be found broken wrecks in slums like the Harlem District.
“…Work is work, Lady Serne.”
Hession trembled, but the situation was far too suspicious to yield.
— Director Hession.
“Yes.”
— Report to me in person. Come to the 100th floor. The use of the magical elevator is forbidden. Crawl on all fours, like a dog, up the stairs.
“…!”
Hession’s face flushed red with fury. His subordinates looked away, unwilling to be involved in this power struggle.
— That is an order.
“…Understood.”
He set down the crystal and moved away.
— And the one who received my call earlier?
A nervous scholar ran forward.
“Y–Yes! At your service!”
— I appoint you acting director. If the relocation succeeds, the position shall be yours permanently.
The man’s eyes gleamed with greed.
A chance to join the most promising faction in the Ivory Tower—Serne’s faction—was not to be missed.
Ignoring the senior crawling away like a dog, he cried out:
“I’ll do my utmost!”
— Prepare the tower for immediate transfer.
“Yes, my lady!”
As expected of a necromancer specialized in the mental arts, Serne manipulated both organization and people with nothing but her tongue.
The center obeyed her commands.
“Output raised to maximum!”
“Purification spell ready!”
“Everything set for transfer!”
A scholar nodded and grabbed the crystal.
“This is the Transfer Magic Restoration Center! Lady Serne, we await your—”
KWA-AAAAANG!
Suddenly, a torrent of blazing magma surged in, incinerating the scholar holding the crystal into nothing.
SSSHHHHH!
The lava swept across the entire 10th floor, swallowing the magic circle and the scholars at their posts. Those who screamed and fled, those who drew staves to resist—all were engulfed and melted away.
“H–Hurk!”
Director Hession turned in horror.
The 10th floor had become a sea of lava. From its bubbling surface, serpent-like heads flicked out tongues and scanned the surroundings.
— Hession.
The molten lava roared, and from within emerged a man.
The Tower Master of the Ivory Tower: Bermude Eindark.
“L–Lord Bermude!”
“The plan has gone awry.”
Bermude spoke.
“Keyzen’s Student Council President, Simon Follentia, has seized the Frozen Clock.”
“Wh–What? Truly?”
“From what I heard, it seems Serne assisted him. Serne is a traitor.”
His burning eyes lifted toward the ceiling.
“Wh…What shall we do, my lord?”
“There is nothing to do. The Frozen Clock is not a power one can handle lightly. If Simon Follentia truly absorbed it, he won’t last long before losing control.”
Bermude turned his gaze.
“When Simon goes berserk, we’ll abandon him as a living bomb inside the Tower of Time, and hurl it onto Roke Island. When I give the command, activate the Transfer Magic to the original coordinates and escape.”
He tossed Hession a new communication crystal. The director caught it and nodded grimly.
“And if Simon doesn’t go berserk… or if Serne kills him first?”
Bermude’s eyes turned glacial.
“Then we erase every witness. All the guests, the children from Keyzen, the Ivory Tower kids, the guards and scholars of the Tower of Time—every last one.”
“Th–Then… Lady Serne…?”
A chilling smile spread across Bermude’s face.
“Whatever happens, I’ll rip her heart out with my own hands… and chew it to pieces.”
FWOOOOSH!
His body flared into living magma and shot upward, smashing through the ceiling into the 11th floor. He blasted through the 12th, 13th, 14th… tearing each floor apart as he ascended.
‘…As expected of the Tower Master.’
In his wake, a colossal tower of molten lava rose toward the heavens.
* * *
100th floor.
From Serne’s crystal, only the sound of boiling magma came through. Moments later, static filled the line, and the connection was severed completely.
“Such a pity.”
Serne flicked her tongue.
“Just a little more, and we would have succeeded.”
“Well, the Tower Master returned sooner than we expected. Nothing we could do about that.”
Simon, gripping the hilt of the Greatsword of Destruction planted in the ground, spoke calmly.
“I’ve sealed off all the spiral staircases throughout the tower. At the very least, it’ll buy us some time.”
Serne shook her head.
“With that man, he’ll simply smash through the ceiling and come down.”
While the two exchanged words, the Ghost of Time stood deep in thought, his face grim.
Simon glanced at him.
“Right, by the way—how is it? Can you see the Tower’s future?”
[Hm? Ah, yes. It seems the darkness is slowly lifting.]
“That’s a relief.”
[But more importantly, kid—are you truly fine wielding the power of the Frozen Clock?]
Simon shrugged.
“Other than feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous, not really. It’s the same symptoms as when I used this power before.”
[……Hmm. Then that truly is fortunate.]
Simon rose to his feet, still holding the hilt of the sword.
“I’ll manipulate the dungeon to stall for time somehow. Serne, focus entirely on your recovery in the meantime.”
Serne gave a half-smile.
“I’ll try.”
The fact she was even alive after lifting the Absolute Seal was a miracle in itself. Without her support, they wouldn’t last long.
“For now, I’ll control the dungeon. If that’s not enough, I’ll even summon the Legion…”
Ping—
Suddenly, Simon’s vision flipped upside down. The world split into three, and he gagged, collapsing to the floor.
“Simon?”
[……As I feared. One cannot wield such immense power without consequence.]
The Ghost of Time rushed forward. Simon dropped to one knee, gasping.
[Release the sword! Forget controlling the dungeon, your life is at stake!]
“I—I can’t!”
Simon’s eyes widened as he panted.
“My hand—won’t come off! It’s stuck to the blade like it’s glued!”
Kiiiiiiiiiiing!
Golden circles flared one after another across the Greatsword of Destruction. Sparks of golden light crackled along its surface.
“Simon?”
“Don’t come near me!”
Simon barked, straining to wrench his hand free. But the golden rings wrapped around his wrist like shackles. Then they spread—binding his head, chest, and limbs.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick!
From Simon’s entire body came the sound of clock hands moving.
“Ghh—Aaaaarghhhhhh!”
Simon screamed in agony, thrashing. His pupils warped into clock-faces, their hands twitching with each second.
[The Frozen Clock! It’s going berserk within the sword, and its power is spilling into Simon!]
The Ghost of Time cried out.
Feer immediately intervened.
[Boy! Do you hear me? Use thought resonance—share the burden with me!]
Feer poured his will into Simon, but even the formidable mental strength of a Legion Commander struggled against the Frozen Clock’s rampage.
“Kh—rrghhh!”
Kugugugugugu!
The entire 100th floor shook violently. Debris rained from the ceiling, cracks split the floor.
[There’s no choice! As the Dungeon Master, destroy this tower now!]
The Ghost of Time shouted. Simon looked up through the pain.
“But if I destroy the tower—!”
[No choice! At this rate, not only I but you both will perish as well!]
“Simon!”
“Kh—!”
Simon clenched his teeth, shutting his eyes.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick!
He couldn’t even summon strength. Forget destroying the dungeon, he was struggling just to remain conscious.
Chzzzt! Chk!
Simon’s body began fading, his form distorting into gray like a corrupted image. Every movement left jagged afterimages.
“Ah!”
Serne’s eyes widened.
The afterimages grew stronger, then Simon’s body split into multiple versions.
A baby’s cry was heard. A small boy Simon. A rustic farm-boy Simon chopping wood. Simon in his first year at Keyzen. Even an older Simon, aged beyond the present.
“Simon’s time…!”
This was dangerous. Serne stopped her recovery and pulled out a feather, preparing to act.
— Wait.
“!”
A third voice froze her in place.
Pzzzzzt! Crackle!
Purple magic circles erupted in all directions, forcefully stabilizing Simon. The rampaging power was suppressed, and his fractured selves faded—until only two remained.
Simon’s current self. And a tall man.
— So this really is the Tower of Time. I thought as much.
Serne’s eyes went wide.
A face both foreign and familiar. Nearly identical to Simon, yet the aura he exuded was completely different. And that power—indescribable.
‘…This man.’
Not just strong. Overwhelming. Her whole body shivered. Goosebumps prickled her skin.
For once, Serne was at a loss, her voice unsteady.
“Who… are you?”
— Ah.
The man with sharp, sculpted blue hair looked at her in surprise, then softened into a warm smile.
— It’s been a long time, Serne.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters