It had already been half a month since they stayed in the Floating Castle. While Huez was studying frantically in the Crystal Tower, Shei devoted himself to recovery.
He had fought a fierce battle with Nebida at the Tree of Origin, suffered the grievous injury of having both arms torn off, and even after barely reattaching them, had forced himself to fight. Though he couldn't remember it, he had even wielded a power that shouldn't exist in this era.
No matter how excellent the qi gong he had mastered or how precious the elixirs he possessed, it was too severe an injury. Shei could only compose himself after suppressing his unruly qi gong and consuming elixirs and nourishing meals. Shei clenched and unclenched his slightly trembling hands, readjusting his senses.
"There's still some awkwardness in my movements. It doesn't matter since I control my whole body with suppressed qi gong when exerting strength anyway..."
An injury was an injury, and a scar was a scar. Shei wasn't a vampire; having his arms torn off and reattached left corresponding scars on his body.
There was a crystal screen in the Magic Federation. Shei approached it and pressed the second jewel. The crystals flipped with a rustling sound, and the screen transformed into a mirror, reflecting Shei. Gazing quietly at the mirror, Shei removed his top with stiff shoulders.
A healthy body, nicely proportioned, was reflected in the crystal screen. Long ago it had been scrawny and unimpressive, but the body tempered through repeated regressions now showed quite a presence.
However, the wounds encircling his shoulders stood out like flaws in jade.
Blood arts, qi gong, elixirs, and Huez's surgery. They had reattached smoothly, but the scars still remained. Even Shei, who never cared for his own body, was seized by a bitter sentiment upon seeing the large scars.
However, Shei soon shook his head and brushed away his concerns.
"It'll revert when I regress anyway. Why would I care? That's strange."
He didn't even know why he felt such sentiment in the first place. He had never once made the privileged complaint of regretting his wounds before.
"I guess it's because I haven't moved my body at all. I'm having too many idle thoughts."
Shei changed his bandages and put his clothes back on. After glancing at the mirror that had silently reflected him, he turned it back into a screen and turned around.
"Should I visit the Crystal Tower."
He was terrible at studying, but perhaps he could gain some knowledge about magic.
And Huez would be there.
Shei visited the Crystal Tower.
And witnessed Huez swinging a hammer.
"Haaah! Crystal Ember!"
A magician shouted powerfully and curled his body. Immediately after, crystals sprouting from his body enveloped him tightly. Solidified like a bug trapped in amber, the magician rolled straight down the corridor.
A defensive magic devised by Ember, a disciple of the Crystal Tower's 6th floor. Crystal Ember. It was a magic that created solid crystals surrounding the caster to protect themselves from attacks.
I slowly circled the crystals surrounding the magician and scribbled on paper.
"Casting time, good. Crystal formation, good. Caster's condition. Ah, senior. If you can hear me, please roll your pupils up and down... Good."
So far so good. I nodded, then picked up the hammer I had set aside and struck Ember's crystal hard. With a clang! broken crystal shards flew in all directions, and the vibration rang out through my fingertips.
"Crystal hardness, good. Hmm, excellent. This should be good enough to present at the demonstration."
'Wait! The crystal is too hard to dismantle! Help me, Huez! I can't breathe!'
"I take back what I just said. There are still areas that need work. I'll have to change the structure so the crystal can be dismantled from the inside."
The effect was too good, I suppose. I tied up the senior's crystal with rope, hoisted it up, and tossed it into the central elevator. A magician who happened to be riding up in the elevator saw the senior trapped in crystal and gasped in surprise. I looked at that magician and said.
"Glessia senior. Please send Ember senior to Detrox senior on the 7th floor. Tell him we need his crystal dissolution ability."
"Uh, um... Detrox? That senior is scary..."
"Tell him I sent you. I'll consider the incident of him dismantling my High Crystal last time as if it never happened. Understood?"
"Uh, yeah..."
The magician nodded and went up with the senior's crystal. I turned around without even watching them go.
"Avant-garde senior."
"Oh! Yeah...!"
Avant-garde, who had been waiting nearby, bounded over like a puppy when I called. I paused my steps briefly until she approached. Avant-garde stuck close to my side and began walking with me.
"I've arranged to borrow Ember senior's laboratory today. We'll be practicing overlapping magic circles there. Avant-garde senior will, of course. Since I have no magical power, I'll just observe from behind."
"H-hey...! Junior!"
"Yes?"
"W-well, I've found a new method regarding magic power amplification... It's called Resonance Amplification... Would you perhaps..."
It was when Avant-garde was hesitating to speak, as if having made some big decision.
"Disciple of the 6th floor, Lord Huez. You have a guest."
"Yes?"
Turning at the sound of my name, I saw an apprentice magician from the 1st floor calling me with Shei in tow. I asked Avant-garde's understanding and approached them.
"By the rules, external guests shouldn't be allowed up to the middle floors, but..."
"I appreciate it. Thank you. I'll treat you generously someday."
"...Please go about your business comfortably. I always respect you."
The apprentice magician who had just reached the 3rd floor bowed and withdrew. When I gifted him a few High Crystals from the 8th floor last time, he's been providing various conveniences. You really should treat people well. It comes back like this.
'...That's strange. This guy Huez is too familiar, like someone who's lived here for years. Did he brainwash them or something?'
You don't need years to get close to people. You definitely don't need brainwashing. Do you need brainwashing to get close to others?
"Shei. What brings you all the way to the Crystal Tower?"
"No reason. Just thought I might learn some magic since my body's fully healed."
'It's embarrassing to say I had nothing to do...'
He had nothing to do.
The Floating Castle was the hub of the Magic Federation, an aerial city under the Demon King's rule. It was extremely safe and stable. It could be considered a fortuitous encounter, but the only thing one could gain from the Floating Castle was magic.
"Really? We were just about to practice overlapping magic circles. Would you like to observe, Shei?"
"Overlapping magic circles? What's that?"
"It's a method of creating magical power distortion artificially by overlapping two magic circles, and using that distortion to trigger magic power amplification. The complexity doubles, and it's unstable so it's difficult to control, but the amplification amount is enormous. Since my only weakness is my small amount of magic power, I'm aiming for magic power amplification through overlapping magic circles."
"Hmm... Oh, that?"
'What's that. Aren't magic circles just drawings? Can they amplify magic power too?'
Look at him nodding along without understanding at all. It would be so much better if he just admitted he didn't know.
Shei put on the typical bravado of a regressor.
"I'll watch too. It might be helpful."
"Sure. Follow me. Avant-garde senior, is it okay if Shei observes too?"
"Ugh..."
Avant-garde clenched her teeth with an expression full of dissatisfaction.
"H-hey. Junior! You can't show the Crystal Tower's knowledge to an outsider!"
"Shei has a token, you know? It's a guest one, but still."
"B-but! This is my research! Even if he's a guest, you can't just let anyone see someone else's research!"
'Who is that woman, suddenly coming in like that!'
Avant-garde stubbornly opposed. Hmm. What to do. Kicking Shei out would be troublesome in its own way. But I couldn't ignore Avant-garde either.
I need to persuade her. I faced Avant-garde and said.
"It's our research. It's a magic power amplification method that Avant-garde senior and I researched jointly, for me."
"That's right! Our research!"
"But, Avant-garde senior. I'm desperate. This isn't the time to be picky about methods."
"Huh?"
I lowered my eyes and continued speaking with an expression of half-resignation.
"There's a Descent in a week, right? When the Floating Castle descends near the Lower World, I have to go down from the Floating Castle and prepare for the Ascending Gate."
The Floating Castle was a space where only the chosen among the chosen people could enter. My very presence here was a kind of special privilege.
They couldn't just throw me out, so they'd let me stay, but when the Descent happens, I must rightfully descend from the Floating Castle. The time left for me was only a week.
It was enough time to learn the Crystal Tower's knowledge, but too short a time to cure my chronic constitution.
"I don't have the luxury to be picky about people or methods. If I go down to the Lower World like this, I'll fail due to lack of magic power before even reaching the Ascending Gate."
Then Avant-garde shook her head vigorously and cried out.
"N-no...! Junior. You absolutely must come to the Crystal Tower! If you're here, the Crystal Tower can break its long stagnation and rise another floor! I also became a 6th floor disciple thanks to you!"
"I'm hoping for that too. To do that, I need a method to amplify my innate magic power."
"I'll find it for you!"
"I believe in you. But not seeking other methods would be the same as negligence. I must search just as hard as you're searching for a method. Even if it means receiving help from anyone."
Not that Shei would be of any help.
Avant-garde couldn't defeat me either. With a face full of dissatisfaction, she went to Ember's laboratory, inserted a one-time-use key, and flowed magic power into it. The disposable crystal key melted away, and Ember's laboratory opened.
Shei looked at Avant-garde and grumbled.
"What's with her? Making a fuss over just watching some magic."
"She should make a fuss. Even qi gong practitioners hide their training scenes to conceal their weaknesses, how much more so for magic? This is a magic tower. Follow the common sense of magicians."
"...Look at you, acting all like a proper magician! So great!"
I could say this with certainty. Shei was of no help at all.
"Why amplify such a small amount of magic power? The amplification isn't even that much?"
Shei said casually while gazing at the flow of magic power with his seven-colored eyes.
Magic power? Shei had a body that frequently came into contact with various treasures and relics, and had drunk all kinds of elixirs. His magic power amount was comparable to a Tower Master.
Magic power perception? Shei's seven-colored eyes could even visualize magic power as sight. On top of that, his unique sensitivity made him react sensitively to all kinds of power.
A talent that seemed to have been born for a magician.
It wasn't for nothing that the Green Tower Master called him one of the chosen people, and it wasn't for nothing that the Blue Tower Master tried to take him as a disciple.
He was the complete opposite of me.
Including comprehension.
"The magic power flowing in the magic circle isn't mine. I'm telling you I need to raise my activation magic power. Please distinguish between activation magic power and manifested magic power."
"Enough, junior. We can't communicate. Let's do it ourselves."
Avant-garde was treating Shei like a complete idiot. It was the precise insight worthy of a magician.
Shei was an idiot, but he was an idiot who knew he was being treated like one. With a pouty expression, Shei sat on the edge of a chair and asked.
"Huez. Are you really planning to become a magician?"
Well. I wonder.
I stopped Avant-garde from snapping and answered.
"Shei. I think I've finally found my calling."
"Which is what?"
"Actually, my past days of trying to brute force things with my body were more abnormal. People should do work that suits their aptitude. Someone with as lofty and brilliant intellect as mine should do work befitting that."
"Are you really going to climb the Ascending Gate and learn magic in the Floating Castle?"
"Yes. Who knows? If only my chronic lack of magic power is resolved, I might have an incredible card in my hand!"
'Certainly. If he's the King of Humans, he should be able to use various magic. Even the Magic God uses it, so why wouldn't he be able to use magic.'
"And wouldn't I, having learned magic, be more helpful to you, Shei?"
It was said to persuade him, but Shei thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Not really. You're sufficient just as you are now."
How could he say such heart-fluttering words so nonchalantly. He probably said it without much thought, but still.
"They say those who climb the Ascending Gate can receive special counsel from the Demon King. Any question, as long as it's knowledge the Demon King knows, he'll answer it all."
"Wait. The Demon King?"
Upon mentioning the Demon King, Shei's expression changed. The only person in the Floating Castle that Shei needed to see was one—the Demon King.
The Demon King, who held the button of 'Pride' from the Star of the End, was an important key.
"Yes. If I climb the Ascending Gate and have a private audience with the Demon King. Wouldn't that be the greatest achievement of all?"
"You haven't forgotten."
"How could I forget? Something that important. That's the top priority."
'And here I thought you were putting Pride on the back burner to learn magic.'
Having tossed out one worry, Shei rose from his seat with a light heart. With a refreshed face, a complete contrast to when he arrived, he headed toward the laboratory door.
"I don't think I'll be of help. Do your best, Huez. I'll get moving too."
"Sure. Take care."
"And... Avant-garde? Take good care of Huez."
"Tch!"
A tongue-clicking sound came from Avant-garde. Shei, wearing a victor's smile, left the laboratory happily despite hearing the click of the tongue.
He was just bored after all. As long as he felt better, that was fine.
"Focus, junior! You said there's no time, so stop lazing around!"
For some reason, Avant-garde seemed to have become in as bad a mood as Shei had become in a good mood. And why are you being like that again.