Magic that controlled gravity to float upward, then burst the air and flew by using the reaction force.
That magic wasn’t flight magic, so it couldn’t keep him airborne for long.
However, for short-distance movement, it was far faster than the magical monsters, allowing him to shake off the monsters pursuing him.
The place he arrived at was the entrance to the mountain range.
After landing on the ground, he looked at the dark energy showing at the bottom and shook his head.
“It’ll be difficult to use this for travel. I was thinking of crossing the mountain range with this magic on the way back……”
[There is no way moving with propulsion from bursting air could be efficient. It would be best to seal it away until you can use flight magic.]
After trying this magic, I felt like I understood why rockets were so expensive.
I didn’t intend to seal it away as Soph suggested, but it didn’t seem like I’d be able to use it often.
“When we return, I should avoid coming west of the mountain range for a while. There are plenty of monsters in the ruined city too, so I don’t think there’s any need to provoke the monsters on this side for no reason.”
[That would be best.]
Soph agreed with me.
In truth, I was more worried about the Demon King than about provoking the monsters, but neither of us brought that up.
Instead, I infused energy into the bracelet.
A map appeared before my eyes.
Light shimmered on the map.
I compared the map to the terrain.
The place where the light shimmered was a canyon not far from here.
“That’s it.”
A huge canyon between the branches of the mountain range.
Tens of thousands of years had passed, but the mountain range and the canyon had not changed much from the map.
If anything had changed, it was only the color.
Instead of white, gray snow was piled up in the canyon.
“I have a bad feeling about this…… That snow. Is it all right?”
[There should be no great danger. It will not be much different from the swamp where the poison had accumulated.]
“So it’s bad.”
[Living creatures that cannot activate energy would be in danger, but as long as you maintain dark energy, it should be bearable.]
At Soph’s words, I let out a sigh.
He said it would be fine, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was walking into a radioactive zone with my bare body.
Even so, I couldn’t simply not go.
I adjusted the backpack on my shoulders and moved forward.
The spear slung across my back swayed with every step.
Three hours later, I arrived at the destination.
The sun had not yet set, but because I was inside the canyon, darkness had already settled over the surroundings.
At any other time, spending the night inside a canyon would have been the problem, but now the darkness was not the issue.
“The poison is terrible.”
Poison was pouring out of the gray snow piled thickly on the ground.
It didn’t feel as horrifying as the Demon King’s aura, but the poison of perpetual snow accumulated for over ten thousand years was not to be underestimated.
[Perhaps because it is inside the canyon, the poison cannot escape.]
“This isn’t a place to linger. We need to get out quickly.”
The shoes that had stepped on the snow were already half melted. The clothes I had newly put on had also become worn, as though I had worn them for years.
Still, fortunately, I was able to reach the tower before it was too late.
The tower stood in the middle of a jar-shaped canyon.
Standing alone in the middle of the snow-covered plain, the tower was in better condition than expected.
A round building about ten stories tall.
It was smaller than the magic tower of the imperial capital I had seen in my memories, but its appearance was not much different.
It was unavoidable that it had aged with time, but both the walls and pillars remained intact.
“At this rate, it’s the most intact ruin left on the surface.”
[Perhaps because it is in such a remote place, it did not suffer much damage.]
“It is remote. It looks like the tower is the only thing here……”
Though it was covered in snow, I could see nothing besides the tower. It was the same when I checked with my senses.
There were no traces of buildings or remnants of ruins in this canyon.
“Why would they build a tower in a place like this?”
As I looked around, Soph answered my question.
[……I see. I wondered why it was in a place like this, but it was a tower of alchemists.]
“Alchemy? You mean turning lead into gold?”
At my words, Soph clicked his tongue.
[Turning lead into gold…… That is impossible with alchemy. To change atoms, one would have to adjust the nuclear force, and even for me, a great mage, that would not be easy.]
A serious answer came back to a joke.
“I heard there were mages on Earth who aimed for that.”
[…….]
I immediately tried to excuse myself, but the tongue-clicking only grew louder.
In the end, I gave up and asked Soph.
“Then what did alchemists do? Were they people who made things like potions, like in novels or games?”
[That part is similar. Alchemists used magic to grow plants and created various medicines, minerals, and materials.]
This was actually the correct answer.
At Soph’s words, I thought of the mining city I had seen before.
Indeed, the only thing that seemed possible to do in a place like this was to mine minerals.
“Then were the mages of this tower mages who mined minerals?”
When I pictured mages mining ore with pickaxes, the seven dwarfs from an animated film suddenly came to mind.
I shook my head and erased the thought.
No matter what, there was no way mages would mine ore like that.
Soph’s answer was different from what I expected.
[They may have mined minerals as well, but it seems this place prioritized medicinal herbs.]
I looked around.
A large, snow-covered plain was visible nearby.
It looked suitable for farming.
I had thought wrong.
The mages of this tower were not miners, but farmers.
“They must have made potions.”
[That is what you called medicines that restore energy, yes? There were similar medicines, but what alchemists mainly made was something else.]
I became curious about what they mainly made, but I didn’t ask.
Even if I knew, it was obvious it would be useless.
It wasn’t an artifact, and there was no way medicines would remain unaltered until now.
Even so, I did not give up hope.
It was a mage’s tower.
There might be artifacts or mage’s books left behind.
Filled with expectation, I pushed the door with all my strength.
Creeeak.
The tower’s main gate was not locked.
The tower was empty too.
It wasn’t just the first-floor lobby.
It was the same even after I went upstairs.
All the rooms the mages had used were empty, and nothing remained in the conference room or the laboratories either.
There were no books or artifacts to be seen.
Only empty bookshelves and furniture remained forlornly.
[It is only natural. When the Demon King burned the star, the royal family and the master of the magic tower summoned all the mages.]
Soph had known the tower would be like this.
[There was no other way to protect the kingdom from the Demon King’s army. Even after sealing the Demon King, they would not have had time to return. Monsters were pouring down from the moon.]
Feeling hollow, I scratched my head.
“You should have told me beforehand.”
[I did not know everything either. I hoped there might perhaps be something left.]
It seemed he had deliberately not told me because he saw how excited I was, but when he said it like that, I had nothing to say.
“I wonder if the spatial movement device is still here.”
[There is no way a mage would have carried luggage instead of using spatial movement. The spatial movement device should remain as it is.]
He meant they would have moved using the spatial movement device, so the device would still be here.
I hoped so.
I didn’t want to come all this way only to go back empty-handed.
When I went down to the basement, there was a closed door.
It looked ordinary, but extremely sturdy.
I pushed with all my strength, but the door did not open.
“Is this the right place?”
[It is. Seeing as the door will not open, it appears the device is operating.]
If it had been broken or stopped, it seemed it would have opened automatically like the main gate.
Since the door was closed, it was time to call on Soph.
I placed the staff against the door.
[What are you doing?]
Instead of opening the door, Soph asked me a question.
It was annoying, but I kindly explained again.
“The door is locked, so you have to open it, Soph.”
At my words, Soph said something I hadn’t expected.
[This is a mage’s tower. It is not a place I can open like the other facilities.]
“What? If you can’t open it, what am I supposed to do? Don’t tell me I have to break it down?”
Perhaps magic had been cast on the door, because I could sense it was full of energy.
This was not a door that could be broken easily.
Soph let out a sigh.
[Break it down? Why would you break it down? You have the Zafmel bracelet, do you not? What did I tell you that bracelet was?]
“The bracelet? It’s a map with the magic towers marked on it. You also said it serves as the master of the magic tower’s identification……”
[Do you understand now? Bring the bracelet to the door.]
I had nothing to say.
As Soph said, I held the bracelet to the door.
Click. Rumble.
When I brought the bracelet close, the door opened.
A familiar sight appeared.
A large magic circle was drawn on the floor, and a small shelf stood to one side.
It was a spatial movement device.
Dark energy could be felt from the magic circle and the shelf.
Just as Soph had said, the spatial movement device was safe.
[First, check whether movement is possible.]
I didn’t know why he said “first,” but I did as Soph said and went to the shelf to check the device.
A hologram appeared, and letters passed by.
Countless letters had turned gray.
Only three were intact.
[Wait a moment. Right now, it is connected only to the magic towers, but with a slight adjustment, it should be possible to connect it to the kingdom’s public network as well.]
With those words, energy flowed into the spear.
The letters inside the hologram passed by quickly.
I didn’t know the script, but it looked similar to hacking a program.
While Soph adjusted the device, I looked around.
Nothing special was visible.
Perhaps they had moved in haste, because only a few broken boxes were rolling around.
And one glass bottle with a black stone embedded in it.
‘An artifact?’
A glass bottle with a black stone embedded in it. It was an item I had never seen before.
I placed the spear on the shelf and went to where the glass bottle was.
Unlike the broken boxes, the glass bottle stood neatly on the floor.
A large black stone was embedded under the glass bottle, which was the size of a water bottle.
It was a black stone modified for use in an artifact.
It was indeed an artifact.
“A glass-bottle artifact? What is it used for?”
I carefully lifted the glass bottle.
‘A terrarium?’
When I examined the inside of the glass bottle, that thought naturally came to mind.
Soil and moss covered the bottom, and a single flower stood alone in the center.
Inside the sealed glass bottle was a small ecosystem.
‘Is it a flowerpot or a decoration?’
The flower was pretty, but that was all.
I couldn’t feel any special aura from it, and nothing changed even when I poured energy into it.
It was disappointing.
It seemed a mage had left behind a flowerpot they had used to decorate the room.
Still, since I had found something, I decided to take it.
Holding the glass bottle, I went to the front of the shelf.
[It is finished.]
It seemed Soph had finished his work just then too.
Perhaps seeing the flowerpot, Soph asked,
[What is that?]
I placed the flowerpot in front of the spear.
“It’s a flowerpot. Looks like someone left it behind.”
A flowerpot that even used a black stone.
It was absurd, but since it was something a mage had done, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
Seeing the flowerpot, Soph brightened.
[It is a Warda Kshef.]
“Is that the flower’s name? What does it mean?”
I asked about the flower’s name, but Soph talked about something else.
[I wondered if it might be the case, but as expected, they did not take it.]
“What?”
When he said something out of the blue, it meant there was something to it.
Soph told me what it meant.
[Warda Kshef means mage’s flower.]
Contrary to my expectations, the flower’s name didn’t seem to have any special meaning.
“That’s perfect as the name of a flower decorating a mage’s room.”
[It was not named for that reason. I said the alchemists of this tower were growing a plant, did I not?]
“Yes. You did. You said it was something different from potions.”
I checked the flower inside the glass bottle again.
A pretty but ordinary-looking flower.
[This is that flower. The chance is not high, but it is a flower that can turn an ordinary person into a mage—no, into a dark energy user.]
But this flower was no ordinary flower.
The mage’s flower.