Visualization
We arrived at the Samseong Station intersection and entered the parking lot of a building located diagonally across from the Eternal Life Building, where the Magic Tower was.
This place was also opposite Vanaheim’s headquarters.
Before going underground, I looked that way, but there was no particular movement at Vanaheim’s headquarters.
Their chairman was riding an airship and doing something no different from terrorism, yet the company remained utterly quiet.
Perhaps it only looked that way from the outside.
‘Corporations really are absurd. What on earth is Kim Seonho thinking? No wonder he looked every bit as insane as Yashin…….’
For now, we decided to leave Vanaheim to the mages of the Hall.
The Administration Bureau had spoken in advance with the company that owned this building, so we were able to go straight up to the rooftop without any interference.
We planned to carry out the preliminary work here on the rooftop before infiltrating the Magic Tower.
“Oh! The view really opens up once you get up here. Very nice.”
“So the Magic Tower’s space is hidden in that Eternal Life Building over there? No matter how I look at it, it just looks like an ordinary building.”
“I know, right? I want to visualize it quickly and see it with my own eyes.”
“Come on, let’s get started.”
“But where’s the airship? I can’t see it from here. Isn’t it supposed to be around Gangnam?”
“The airship is currently said to have moved toward Mapo-gu.”
“Mapo-gu? If it’s Mapo-gu, that’s in that direction, right?”
“It’s too far away to see.”
Once we reached the rooftop, everyone looked around and offered a comment or two.
Since the scenery immediately before our eyes was nothing more than a peaceful everyday landscape, they were relaxed.
I didn’t join the conversation and went straight to work. I hurried to put up the barrier first.
Before using magic on this side, we needed to conceal ourselves. We had to make sure the Magic Tower didn’t know we had come here.
Once the visualization and passage-creating work was done, we would infiltrate immediately, and it would be troublesome if they noticed us and waited for us.
After casting a barrier over the entire rooftop, including concealment, I spoke to the mages.
“Now, let’s focus. We’ll begin the work at once.”
“Yes. Good.”
“Let’s get started!”
Everyone was full of enthusiasm. No one wanted to slack off when they were eager to see the Magic Tower with their own eyes.
What they had to do now was relatively simple.
They only had to use basic elemental magic, dye their own mana waves gold, and wait.
This was to specify the mana waves that would later be linked to the visualization. It was preliminary work meant to keep it from linking not only to the black mages of the Magic Tower, but also to any mages who might happen to pass nearby.
Today’s visualization work was not simple.
It was worlds apart from when Yu Jaeseon and I had visualized the black magic cast by Vanaheim’s black mage using dyeing magic.
Back then, all we had to do was dye the waves of gray energy and make them visible. Since the goal had been to make them visible not only to mages but even to ordinary people, no other process had been necessary.
This time, however, it had to be hidden from everyone and visible only to the investigation team. We even had to hide the very fact that we were doing this work.
Layers upon layers of security were required.
Moreover, the target of the visualization itself consisted of high-dimensional spatial magic and had high-level security applied to it, so breaking through that and dyeing it would not be easy either.
But in any case, that was my job.
“You should all be familiar with the work stages, so I’ll remind you of your individual roles once more. First, all mages, use elemental magic and dye your mana waves gold.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“I’ll do it right away.”
Since this was simple magic, all the mages on the investigation team immediately raised their mana and accomplished it in no time.
As for Yantu, I dyed his mana waves for him.
He was the only member of the team who wasn’t a mage, but due to the traits of his race, he possessed a faint amount of mana. That was enough.
“Now, while I break through the Magic Tower’s spatial magic, Mage Han Dosu and Mage Balder will be in charge of security.”
“Understood.”
“We just need to make sure they don’t notice our work, right?”
“That’s right. Please maintain security so the mana waves flowing from this side are completely hidden. Activate it now.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
Han Dosu and Balder seemed to have already divided their roles, and they immediately executed their respective security spells. They concealed the mana waves on this side and set up a shield so that the other side couldn’t detect us.
“Thor, from now until the visualization work is completely finished, keep detection magic running. Watch the Magic Tower and see if there’s any movement.”
“Okay!”
Thor took a place on one side of the rooftop and set his hammer, an excellent magic tool, in a suitable position. Then he activated detection magic.
“Mage Heimdall, since reconnaissance is your specialty, prepare for the infiltration. Yantu, you too. Check the detection equipment carefully until then.”
“Of course.”
“Understood. I’ll build the magic circuits in advance as well.”
“Mage Yu Jaeseon, please stand by. Once I finish breaking through the Magic Tower’s spatial magic and send the signal, you’ll be in charge of dyeing the gray energy and linking it to the mages.”
“I’ll be on standby.”
After finishing the division of roles, I approached the edge of the rooftop.
Now it was time for me to do my part. I activated my golden vision and immediately began to concentrate.
To me, the Magic Tower was already a visualized space, so there was no issue with seeing it again.
Even so, since Samir had hidden himself last time and had also made the Magic Tower’s space invisible, I had been worried that perhaps he had moved the space itself somewhere completely different.
But that was not the case. The Magic Tower remained there in its original place. It had merely been rendered invisible for a short time back then.
‘……Hm?’
As I examined the Magic Tower, I sensed something strange.
No matter how much I detected, I couldn’t feel Samir’s energy.
Of course, Samir’s magic circuits, bearing the characteristics of the infinite pentagon, were contained intact within the spatial magic that formed the Magic Tower itself and throughout various parts of the space, but I could not sense his presence.
‘Is Samir not in the Magic Tower right now? Did he perhaps leave the Magic Tower entirely back then?’
But even if he wasn’t there at the moment, I didn’t think he would have abandoned the Magic Tower outright and left.
Where would he go after abandoning his base?
He might have stepped out for a short while. Or perhaps he was suppressing his presence as much as possible.
There could be all sorts of possibilities, but in any case, whether Samir was there or not, we were going to infiltrate the Magic Tower today.
Since today’s goal was investigation rather than combat, it might actually be better if Samir was not in the Magic Tower.
I needed to hurry and break through the spatial magic.
I examined the Magic Tower thoroughly once more.
All kinds of buildings stacked layer upon layer, and a tower soaring to a dizzying height. It was shaped like a single district of an incredibly complex, chaotic city stacked vertically.
However, I could sense that not all of what I saw was actual space. Some parts were nothing but deception.
There was no way the Magic Tower had enough residents to fill that enormous space.
Step by step, I analyzed the circuits of the spatial magic.
Even aside from the gigantic infinite pentagon drawn on the outer wall, the spatial magic that made up the Magic Tower itself contained countless fragments of infinite pentagons.
A space formed and maintained by Samir’s magic. It was truly like an extension of his own self.
‘As expected, there’s no way he abandoned that place and left.’
The circuits of the spatial magic were woven with tremendous precision, but now, they no longer felt as hopeless as they had when I first saw them.
That was because my own skill in spatial magic had improved by leaps and bounds in the meantime.
I began to grasp the patterns within the knots of countless connected infinite pentagons.
Find the pattern, and from there, read the rules.
There were bound to be gaps. No matter how complexly it was woven with spatial magic, as long as it was not a sealed space, there had to be entrances and exits for coming and going.
I just had to create a new portal by referring to the pattern of those gap knots.
As expected, Samir had layered security upon the spatial magic. I carefully broke through that first, then gently began to unravel the gap knots.
To prevent anyone inside from noticing the missing portion, I connected the unraveled knots with virtual circuits.
Then I carefully drew one end of the unraveled knot toward this side.
I quietly observed whether there were any changes or movements in the Magic Tower. On this side, Han Dosu, Balder, and Thor were each fulfilling their assigned roles.
When I looked back, they answered me in turn.
“No issues with security.”
“The shield is solid too.”
“The Magic Tower is quiet. Is there even anyone in there?”
Even though I had broken through part of the spatial magic, the Magic Tower seemed to have noticed nothing.
Only then did I feel relieved and gave Yu Jaeseon instructions as I drew over the knot I had unraveled from the spatial magic circuit.
“You can feel the gray energy here, right? Dye it now.”
“Understood.”
Yu Jaeseon, who had been waiting, immediately dyed the infinite pentagon knot and linked it to the mages’ gold waves, which had been dyed in advance.
One by one, the waves connected, and the space began to visualize.
A short while later, exclamations burst from among the mages.
“Oh! I can see it, I can see it!”
“So that’s the Magic Tower! Good heavens, just how tall is it? It’ll take ages if we have to investigate all the way to the top.”
“But why is it so complicated? The buildings are stacked up in layers so precariously.”
“It’s only possible because it’s spatial magic. That’s a building you couldn’t create with construction technology. It completely ignores the laws of physics.”
“In any case, it’s even more incredible than I imagined.”
Each of them shared their impressions of the Magic Tower.
“No, but what’s that thing around the center?”
“Good grief, that’s some kind of sculpture, right? Looks like they’ve deified the head of the Magic Tower.”
“That’s right, they have.”
“Surely the leader doesn’t actually have that many arms and eyes, does he?”
“If he looked like that, would he even be human? It must just be idolization.”
As expected, the most striking part of the Magic Tower’s space seemed to be the deified carving of Samir engraved in the central area. The mages’ gazes were drawn there.
In any case, judging by what they were saying, everyone seemed to be able to see it very clearly.
The first stage of today’s mission, the visualization work, had ended smoothly.
“It seems the visualization worked well.”
“Yes. I can see it very clearly.”
“I can see it perfectly. To think such a monstrous space was hidden there.”
“However, not all of what you see right now is actual space. Some parts are merely deception. For the infiltration, we’ll investigate around the central area where that grotesque sculpture is. That’s where Samir usually stays.”
When I explained, the mages nodded.
“I thought so…… If all of that were real space, it would mean the Magic Tower’s forces are enormous. I figured that couldn’t be the case.”
“So the central area is our investigation target.”
“Do you think Samir is there right now?”
“Based on my detection, it doesn’t seem like Samir is there. But we don’t know the exact situation, so we still need to be careful. Keep looking.”
At that moment, Yu Jaeseon suddenly cut in and said,
“It seems the terror attack has happened.”