It wasn't a stab driven by any resolve to kill. Rankart had no intention of killing me, and I had no absolute need to kill him either. My skewer was merely a means to reach him.
However, I couldn't reach him without giving it my all.
No, even if I gave it my all, I couldn't reach him.
The Right-Handed World controls even the flow of magic power. My card is an elaborate blueprint, so it transforms into a skewer the moment even a little magic power flows into it. But in this right-handed world, even that slight magic power experiences interference.
My skewer, which should have been straight, was curved to the right, and instead of piercing Rankart's cheek, it only grazed it. The blood drops that splattered with a hiss were swept up and scattered by the right-handed world.
'Was I analyzed? By a conceptual existence, no less?'
The one-time opportunity ended just like that. Feeling the pain in his cheek, Rankart reflexively raised his arm.
'Ugh.'
The Right-Handed World centers on Rankart's body. It is the core of the world's most capricious and impulsive storm, and it was swung at me.
Because there is only rightward rotation centered on Rankart in the right-handed world, movements or magic originating from him are amplified along the rightward flow. In contrast, movements approaching from outside Rankart inevitably carry a leftward flow, which is canceled out before they can even reach him.
The Green Tower Master's unique magic path is a conceptual one-way street, but Rankart's unique magic path is a resultant one-way street. Hundreds of storm strands with his fist as their center of concentric circles crumpled greatly, then wrapped around me as if grazing me.
Just before the storm pounced on me, I lifted my soles off the ground and curled my body.
Even the stolen unique magic path was meaningless. The disheveled storm rapidly compressed between me and Rankart, then was instantly released, blowing my body away. Spinning round and round as I flew, I hit the ground back-first. I grit my teeth at the shock coursing through my entire body. As long as I have telepathy, I don't feel dizziness, but there's nothing I can do about my body staggering.
'He floated in the air without going against the flow, and rotated himself to cancel out the rightward rotation? That's not all. He jumped into the same orbit as my right fist, the core of the right-handed world. He completely understood my power!'
Fighting Rankart would always end up like this a hundred times out of a hundred. Even after stealing his unique magic path, the difference in power was this enormous. If Rankart were to throw in even a little white magic on top of this, I wouldn't even be able to resist. Fighting seriously would only result in losses.
But right now, I have to fight. Because that's what Rankart wants!
'The one solving the problem has the advantage over the one presenting it. With just a single clue, you can unravel even the most intricately tangled knot. But why? Huey analyzed me, so why haven't I been able to analyze Huey yet?'
"Is the test over? Or is this real combat? Speak quickly. I need to decide my stance too."
It was around the time I got back up and glared at Rankart. Shocked, Rankart quickly revised his thoughts.
'Because he's the King of Humans? That can't be...! A conceptual existence is the right-handed world itself! He can't be left-handed!'
"...Uh, sorry. Huey. I think I made a mistake for a moment."
Rankart released his unique magic path, and the storm freed from him scattered strand by strand. The magicians screamed and cast wind magic at the sudden storm that appeared in the Floating City, but Rankart paid them no mind and approached me.
"That can't be. Right. There's no reason why you, who defeated me, would be on the side of being analyzed."
"What are you talking about? I'm telling you, you got hit."
"The King of Humans is that woman. It was my mistake to jump to conclusions and assume you were the King of Humans based on those words alone."
Come to think of it, 'Nuna' is indeed closer to being the King of Humans than I am. But I am the King of Humans too, you know?
Well, that's not what's important. Even this was merely a means for Rankart. I growled and said,
"A mistake? You did it on purpose, you son of a bitch."
Taken aback, Rankart quietly observed me. I pointed my skewer at him and shot him a furious glare.
"You caught one lead and immediately dropped me into your right-handed world? Why. Because neither a test nor knowledge worked, now you want to test my crisis response capabilities? Has the meta changed now?"
"H-Huey. Calm down. It's not exactly like that."
"Am I supposed to calm down? A guy who clung to me calling himself a friend is acting like an examiner, trying to measure my abilities one by one. You said the same thing in the Military Kingdom, didn't you? You said it was unpleasant for someone stupider than you to try and evaluate you. Do you think you're superior to me?"
"That's not it. I guess I got slightly tainted while being among the self-proclaimed chosen people of the Floating City. I keep forgetting your personality..."
Good grief. Now he's blaming the environment. I racked my brain looking at this troublesome peer.
Why does he do such things? That's simple.
If he doesn't periodically update my superiority, he can't acknowledge his own defeat. He's deliberately testing me in order to highly evaluate me, the one who caused his defeat. To put it metaphorically, he's like a lover who tests every time to confirm love.
If he were a woman, it would at least be cute. Seeing a pitch-black guy doing that is just an eyesore.
"I just took your words about the King of Humans at face value, that's all. Anyway, let's put the minor issues aside for later."
"He wants to sweep his own mess under the rug. Living so comfortably."
"More importantly. The King of Humans has appeared. Is our policy still the same?"
No. If this guy were a woman, he would have been a far more troublesome existence than he is now. Thanks for staying just a friend, you bastard.
I wiped my face and said,
"It's changed a bit. I've decided to climb the Gate of Ascension."
"The Gate of Ascension? Why bother with something so trivial?"
"I have to face the Demon King. That's why I'm receiving instruction from the Blue Tower Master."
Rankart tilted his head and asked back.
"That woman doesn't have anything to teach you at her level."
"The Floating City has its own formats and rules, right? I need to learn them too. Even I don't know white magic that well."
"That woman knows white magic but you don't. I could teach you better."
"Just focus on your own duties."
There's no merit in learning from you over Avant-garde or the Blue Tower Master.
"Learning at the Crystal Tower while building connections is much better. What was Nuna doing?"
"Gathering people."
Gathering people? They were probably gathering on their own.
Nuna isn't someone who would gather people herself, nor does she need to. However, the Great Dense Forest has no proper nations, only tribes longing for all nations. To them, Nuna is their only hope, and she must appear as someone worthy of their loyalty.
"I don't know what Nuna is planning to do."
"Why are you asking that? The King of Humans is a conceptual existence. Not even right-handed, but rightness itself. Her actions are no different from those of any other trite beast king."
"Let me put it the other way around. I don't know how humans made Nuna."
My words seemed to provide quite an inspiration, as Rankart found a rather enjoyable subject for contemplation and fell into thought. I threw him a mental dog chew, so he'll probably gnaw on it for a few days. I brushed back my disheveled hair from the commotion and said,
"You clean up what you broke. I already have a mountain of things to do. I don't want to become inconvenienced because of the ruckus you caused."
"Yeah. Of course, Huey. I'll absolutely not inconvenience you."
Rankart, nodding repeatedly, immediately amplified his voice with magic and threatened the onlookers.
"Did you hear me? Fix this. Without anyone noticing."
This son of a bitch. That'll just make it spread more.
***
Rankart didn't really need to threaten anyone. A much more important concern had arisen than the common news that the mad magician Rankart had run amok releasing his unique magic path.
The King of Humans. The Floating City was greatly shaken by the news about the representative of all humans.
What kind of existence is the King of Humans. What abilities does it possess. Can it use magic. If it can learn magic, how far would it reach. A Tower Master? A Magic King? Nah, no way.
The Floating City isn't that narrow, but it was as closed off as it was fast at spreading news. In just one day, stories about the King of Humans spread throughout the entire Floating City, and both the towers and the streets were filled with that topic.
King of Humans. King of Humans. King of Humans.
A magician walking down the street sat at a table, surrounded by avatars made of light, with serious expressions, visiting magic towers to seek advice from superior mentors.
There is no arrow that can be fired infinitely, but there was gum that could be chewed infinitely. The King of Humans became a good subject for contemplation and was on the lips of magicians. 'Nuna' was a true king who served humans even in this respect.
"I should write a thesis on the King of Humans! This is the theme for this academic conference!"
Even the Crystal Tower, which prided itself on immutable and solid scholarship, couldn't avoid this atmosphere. Dozens of magicians stopped their ongoing research and began gathering in groups of threes and fives to find information about the King of Humans.
It was absolutely not an atmosphere where anyone could teach anything. The Blue Tower Master, who had covered the grimoire crystal, stared at me intently and asked.
"Come to think of it, you came from the Tree of Origin, right?"
"Yes. I did. Didn't Shay explain?"
"She explained. But, if even a grain of talk about the King of Humans had been in that explanation, I don't think I would have been this surprised."
So Shay didn't talk about the King of Humans either. She has some discernment at least... no, that's not it.
I saw Nuna, but Shay didn't see Nuna awakening. She would know that she would resurrect someday and that it was imminent, but she wouldn't know the fact that Nuna opened her eyes and stretched. She wouldn't feel the need to mention a matter she didn't know well.
"What I saw was only a two-thousand-year-old druid who was raising the tree to resurrect the King of Humans. I was trapped there with Shay, but I don't know if the King of Humans was resurrected."
The Blue Tower Master asked with half-closed eyes.
"Really?"
'The ancient druid imprisoned you for no reason, and after that, the King of Humans coincidentally appeared in the world...? Telling me a lie that anyone else would have seen through. That's a little unpleasant.'
Smart as always. I guess I should reveal this much.
"We were sacrifices for resurrecting the King of Humans. We were heading toward all nations when we were kidnapped by Nebida. We couldn't just wait for the day we would die, so we set the Tree of Origin on fire to escape safely. After that, we were rescued by Rankart."
"And you happened to be Rankart's friend. The world is quite small, isn't it?"
"That was a real coincidence. It's not like I designated Rankart to come, right? The Floating City is unfamiliar to me too. Fortunately, I met a good person like you, Blue Tower Master."
Why would I reveal everything when this place is unfamiliar to me too? The Blue Tower Master and I briefly made eye contact. I smiled sweetly at her.
'Even if he's treated poorly as a fool in the Floating City, Hues was probably a fairly renowned talent in the lower world? If he reached Nebida's tree, he must be a big shot. I should look into the information.'
The Blue Tower Master gathered her shirt and stood up. Originally, it would have been time to teach me, but she was also someone who had become busy due to the news of the King of Humans.
"I'm sorry, disciple. There is a Descent in three days, so I should be devoting myself to teaching you, but. I'm so busy that I have to step away. I won't be able to see you often from now on."
"It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. The King of Humans is an issue that wouldn't be enough even if all five Tower Masters were called."
"...Who told you there's a gathering of Tower Masters?"
"You set up a curriculum timed right before the Descent, and then suddenly got busy, so that can only mean a new issue arose recently, right? It must be because of the King of Humans. There's no way they'd only call you, Blue Tower Master, to a meeting like that."
You're not the only one who can make deductions. Well, I actually read minds, though.
'That's right. With his intelligence, this level of deduction would be easy. I've only ever been the one analyzing, so it's been a while since I was in the position of being analyzed, and I was flustered.'
With a faint smile on her lips, the Blue Tower Master left one remark before leaving the room.
"The world is changing. It's also time for the Floating City to change its stance a little. I want you to climb the Gate of Ascension. If a fool like you rises to the Floating City, the Floating City could change too."
I saw off the Blue Tower Master leaving the room and fell into thought for a moment.
The Blue Tower Master had been like that from the beginning. She was interested in people from the outside, helped them stay in the Floating City, and even taught them. This is not something someone who doesn't dream of change would do.
But the Floating City itself is very stable and appears peaceful. I even liked it.
Then the problem must be on the outside, right?
The supreme city where only chosen magicians can ascend, the Floating City.
It's time to look at the Magic Federation, which accounts for the majority of the population, not here.
Three days until the Descent.