BXBX NOVEL Chapter 169: The Floor Guardian of the Upper Tower (1)
Chapter 169: The Floor Guardian of the Upper Tower (1)
I followed the man who introduced himself as Peheln to the upper floors.
As expected, the atmosphere changed as soon as we entered the 4th floor. I felt it last time, but the true face of the Alliance starts from the 4th floor. In the midst of the silence, I felt gazes scanning me from head to toe.
From the 5th floor onwards, a subtle sensation tickled my lower abdomen.
A magic circle that disrupts the flow of the mana core.
It was highly likely the work of the old geezers from the White Magic Tower, but it didn\'t matter to me since I use Circles anyway.
And then, the 6th floor.
At the entrance to the floor, on a chair so extravagant it could be called a throne, sat a knight with a giant scabbard pointing towards the ground.
\'Hmm.\'
He was no ordinary knight at first glance. The lion emblem drawn on his upper chest hinted at his lineage.
The Hyark clan.
The clan of knights who pursue the Dominion Sword.
\'They\'re all over the place.\'
It seemed like he was dispatched to the Alliance.
Our eyes met briefly as I entered.
The knight stared at me intensely.
"Hold on a moment."
At the knight\'s low voice, Peheln, who was walking ahead, flinched and turned around.
"Did you call, Sir Altair?"
"Who is this?"
He looked me up and down with a dubious gaze.
Before Peheln could answer, I waved my hand dismissively and stepped forward.
"Why are so many people asking who I am these days? I am the Commander of the Samael\'s Crazy Mage Squad. Who are you?"
Peheln, encountering my casual speech for the first time, widened his eyes as the knight named Altair rose from his seat.
Altair slowly walked towards me.
The moment I spoke, I had already anticipated how he would react.
Putting aside everything else, a fight with a Hyark wouldn\'t be bad. But his following response was unexpected.
"The Samael clan? Could you be the Crazy Mage?"
"What? You know me?"
Altair\'s expression changed strangely.
"Interesting. Indeed, you don\'t seem like a typical mage. No wonder I felt something was off."
"Answer me. Don\'t change the subject."
The dubious gaze disappeared.
Instead, Altair\'s eyes were filled with interest.
"Of course I know you. We are also very interested in the news of Ardehain. I am Altair of the Hyark clan, one of the Six Dominion Swords."
I was reminded of the memory of Ardehain and the Hyark clan head sparring whenever they had the chance.
At that moment, Peheln, who had been observing the situation, quickly spoke.
"Sir Altair, the Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad is a guest of Official Agouro."
"I have no intention of interfering."
Altair looked at me.
"I hope your skills are as interesting as your personality. Let\'s meet again later."
Not many knights in the Hyark clan are granted the title of Dominion Sword.
\'Someone higher than I expected is here.\'
As I followed behind Peheln, I looked around and saw that everyone passing by was dressed in white.
High-ranking officials of the Alliance, belonging to the White Magic Tower.
None of them exuded the aura of a mage.
Peheln, who had stopped walking at some point, knocked on a wooden door.
***
"Nice to meet you. I am Agouro Mahonguro, 4th-level Official of the Administration Office."
[TL/N: Got 0 clue about this will confirm after I get more context]
The man greeted me in an office that was more modest than I expected.
Likewise, I couldn\'t sense any magical aura from him.
His first impression was that of a typical, old-fashioned, and rigid man.
"I\'m Ruin Samael. I heard you wanted to see me."
"Shall we have a seat first?"
Sometimes you just get a feeling.
Agouro\'s behavior and speech.
It revealed the typical characteristics of an official wielding power.
"You must be curious as to why I asked to see you today, Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad."
"I have a rough idea."
"May I hear what that idea is?"
To think he would initiate a battle of wits from our first meeting.
As expected, my prediction was right.
Usually, this kind of person tries to take control of the conversation.
This is also part of a battle of wits.
Intentionally making me slowly ascend to the 6th floor to impress upon me the authority of the Magic Tower Alliance, creating a moderately tense environment to make the other party feel intimidated, it was all deliberate.
The way to gain control in this situation is simple.
"But what is that?"
Agouro, who turned his head following my gesture, replied,
"Ah. Don\'t mind that."
"It looks like a magic circle. I\'m quite interested in magic circles."
"It\'s an internal communication tool within the Administration Office. Has your curiosity been satisfied?"
"Not really, but let\'s say it has."
Agouro\'s eyes subtly filled with bewilderment and displeasure.
It was because I wasn\'t intimidated at all, contrary to his intentions.
This was also part of my own battle of wits.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Your expression seems rather unpleasant. Why? Is nothing going according to plan? But that\'s only natural. That\'s why first encounters are difficult."
Agouro\'s eyes twitched more and more as he looked at me.
"Is this your first time experiencing this?"
"...I do feel that you are a unique individual."
"No, not that."
"Yes?"
"Is this the first time a heaven rank monster has appeared in a low-level demon realm?"
That was the moment.
Agouro\'s expression, which had been unpleasant, changed completely.
He coughed awkwardly with an embarrassed face and then changed his posture to a serious one.
"Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad. It seems my words and actions have offended you. I apologize."
"A swift acknowledgment is always welcome."
"Thank you. It\'s actually become more comfortable to converse. Let\'s get straight to the point."
This kind of behavior was unexpectedly refreshing.
Even in my past life, I rarely encountered someone who accepted the failure of their battle of wits so quickly.
He didn\'t seem narrow-minded for a high-ranking official.
"Please ask first."
"I\'ll ask directly. Did you know in advance that a heaven rank monster would appear?"
I shook my head.
"No. It was my first time entering Section 1’s demon realm."
"Were there any unusual signs within the demon realm?"
"No. There was a fog that nullified senses, but that was a characteristic of the heaven rank monster, so it\'s hard to consider it a premonition. I didn\'t find anything strange with the demon realm itself."
At my answer, Agouro chewed his lip.
"I\'ll ask you this. What is the extent of your role in the Administration Office?"
"I am in charge of overseeing the demon realms."
"Is there no one above you?"
"There is, but I am practically responsible for all the actual work."
"Good. Then it will be easy to talk. Has something like this ever happened in the demon realms before?"
"Please be precise."
"I\'m asking if a monster or mutated species that shouldn\'t appear in a demon realm of that level has ever appeared."
"...Yes, there has."
Agouro answered with a frown.
"Not long ago, a disaster-rank monster appeared in a Level 1 demon realm."
"A disaster-rank, as in a monster that appears in a special-grade demon realm?"
"That\'s correct."
"I don\'t understand. Shouldn\'t the classification system be revised at this point?"
Agouro bit his lip again.
"This is the first time this has happened. In fact, not only are there more general monsters, but also more mutated species, and even closed demon realms have reopened. The higher-ups are also paying attention to this issue."
"Were there any signs that a disaster-rank monster would appear in that Level 1 demon realm?"
"Similarly, no."
A single coincidence can happen, but when coincidences overlap, they become inevitable.
Suddenly, I remembered the demon realm where I had discovered the monster and asked,
"Is there anything noteworthy about the red mutated species?"
"The frequency of red mutated species appearances is also increasing."
"Any reports of a different type of red mutated species being discovered?"
"Well, there haven\'t been any reports yet..."
Agouro stopped mid-sentence and looked at me.
"Do you have anything you can tell me? I\'ll take it to heart."
"Hmm."
I thought for a moment.
What I felt while talking with Agouro was that there was nothing suspicious about him.
Moreover, I was the one obtaining more information.
However, Agouro was different from Karios.
If I told him too much, word could spread to others in the Alliance.
After contemplating, I said,
"I found a red mutated species in the lower-level demon realm I entered recently. It was a mustelid monster. But somehow, it felt different from what I had heard. You can confirm this with the regular branch."
Even if I only said this much, they would be cautious.
I had a few more conversations with Agouro about the demon realm, and then we said goodbye, promising to meet again.
As I was about to leave, a question suddenly came to mind, and I turned around.
"Ah, about the Level 1 demon realm where the disaster-rank monster appeared."
Agouro, who was organizing documents, looked up at me.
"Were those who entered annihilated?"
"Fortunately, most of them were safe."
"There must have been a strong person."
"The Bellusia clan was there."
"Bellusia?"
"Yes."
It was an understandable answer, but it made me feel somewhat uneasy.
At that moment, the magic circle engraved on the left wall emitted a red light.
Saaa—
Agouro, who had begun working on the documents with a tired face, widened his eyes and rushed to the magic circle, bringing his face close to it.
"Yes, Tower Head. This is Official Agouro Mahonguro."
"..."
"I will report it by today... Yes? You\'re here now?"
Agouro\'s expression suddenly filled with dismay.
As Agouro looked at me with a tense face...
Knock, knock—
A knock came from the door.
As I stepped aside, the door slowly opened, and a man with long hair entered.
"How have you been, Official Agouro?"
Agouro\'s face, now in front of me, was frozen stiff, beyond just looking stiff.
"Tower Head. If you had given me a heads up, I would have visited you."
"It\'s fine. I came here for an appointment. It\'s just a brief visit."
"I was going to finish the report and submit it by today..."
"I\'m not here to scold you. That\'s not why I came."
As I made my presence known, the gray-haired man slowly turned his head towards me.
Thump—
For some reason, my heart sank.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn
A wrinkled face. Gray hair from his eyebrows to the top of his head.
He had an ordinary impression, but I could tell at first glance.
A Magic Scholar.
"You\'re the Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad, aren\'t you?"
"You know me?"
"Of course. It\'s only natural that I know you. I came here because I wanted to see you after hearing that the Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad was here."
"Why me? How did you know I was here?"
As I looked at Agouro, the old man smiled.
"Agouro didn\'t tell me. The Alliance has many eyes and ears."
The old man smiled like a child and observed me.
"But who is this old man?"
The old man, laughing, stopped Agouro from hurriedly saying something.
"I am Mahon Sirius. I conduct various research at the White Magic Tower."
"Are you, by any chance, the Floor Guardian of the Upper Tower?"
"Oh. That\'s right. I am in charge of one of the floors of the Upper Tower."
"Which floor?"
The old man replied with a playful face.
"That\'s a secret."
I couldn\'t sense anything from him.
It was hard to tell if that playful face was truly playful or just a facade.
He seemed like an ordinary old man, but also like a cunning master.
"Do you also want to ask me about the demon realm, old man?"
"Please stop calling me old man. No, wait. Now that I hear it, it\'s quite a friendly expression, I like it. But why would I ask you about the demon realm?"
"Then what?"
"I heard there\'s a traditional mage who uses incantations these days. I was so curious that I came here. You have quite an intense presence."
Suddenly, memories of Hector and Parin flashed through my mind. They had definitely said that the White Magic Tower was very interested in incantations.
"Please visit the White Magic Tower sometime."
I asked the old man who was staring at me intently,
"If I go, can you open the restricted sections of the library for me?"
The old man shook his head with a smile.
"Even I can\'t do that. The rule is that the library is open to everyone fairly. Accumulate contribution points. 500,000 points for the 4th floor, 1 million points for the 5th floor."
"Then there\'s no need for us to have a conversation."
"Still, please visit sometime."
"Why?"
The old man nodded.
"I\'d like to talk about incantation magic."