He was angry.
If asked what had enraged him so, he could say it was the Abyss that had appeared so suddenly.
The Abyss, emerging as it shattered space.
He had thought he might encounter it again at any time while attempting a clear, so he was not flustered.
What angered him, however, was the fifteen dungeons still remaining.
They would have been composed of memories of the past and the truth, but now they had all been torn apart.
He was angry because he would never again be able to see that truth, those memories of the past that he—whether a god or someone else—had wanted to show him.
That was what he had thought.
But when he looked back a little more, that was not it.
His anger was directed at himself.
At the reality in which he had no choice but to be swayed like this.
At himself, for submitting to it.
The wretched king of Basterion and Ren Hank of Tetradia.
Aside from them, countless heroes must have been devoured by the Abyss without even their names being remembered.
Just how many had been sacrificed?
How many more times would he have to go through such things before he could reach the Abyss?
In the end, what he lacked was power.
If he had power, it would be something he could resolve.
He would not need to swallow his rage while watching the miserable ends of heroes whose names had not even been passed down.
If he could erase the Abyss, the root of all this, from the world.
Even though he had endured for that sake, it seemed there was no helping the anger that rose within him.
Because heroes like Ren Hank, who must have existed in the past, had not even left their names behind.
Because there was not a single person who recognized their spirit, and their noble convictions were cursed and pointed at with scorn.
Power.
To emphasize it again, he needed power.
Overwhelming power, enough to erase every variable.
In that sense, the top-tier skill that had evolved for the fifth time, Domain of Void, was quite satisfying.
「Skill: Domain of Void」
「An empty domain, or one that can become so. The one who rules over that place.」
「You may exercise creation, compression, expansion, severance, separation, movement, manipulation, and annihilation over all space within the domain.」
「The range of the domain is determined in proportion to the total amount of mana and mental power invested.」
Among support-type skills, there were likely very few better than this.
A skill that could interfere with the creation, compression, expansion, severance, separation, movement, manipulation, and annihilation of space.
Its uses were limitless.
As long as he could deploy the Domain of Void, he could defend by blocking and separating space itself, and within it, he, the caster, could move freely by crossing space.
If there was an enemy, compression, severance, and annihilation.
If confusion was needed, expansion and manipulation.
It was truly a skill that contained the entire essence of spatial arts within a single ability.
“Wizard. Are you thinking of leaving right away again?”
At Vitalianus’s voice, he closed the skill window and turned his head.
Outside the gate he had emerged from after successfully clearing Abyss -54th Floor.
“……I should.”
The knights were lined up and checking their numbers, while the possessors were also checking which of their guild members were missing.
At a glance, the number of knights had decreased compared to when they first entered.
They must have failed to break through on the Floor of Breakthrough and died there.
Why they died.
How they had no choice but to die.
No one knew.
Their bodies could not be found either.
They must have sunk into the deep, deep abyss along with the collapsed floor of the Abyss.
That was why the faces of the knights checking the numbers were heavy.
“Don’t do that. Come to the palace with us today.”
On the other hand, faint joy lingered on the faces of the possessors.
They tried to hide it, but how could such a thing be easily concealed?
One of the clears had ended rather quickly and smoothly.
They could rest again for a month or two.
They had survived this time as well, and because of that, had grown a little stronger.
All of those things combined and inevitably appeared on their faces, however subtly.
“You look as though you have no room in your heart right now.”
The number of possessors had surely decreased by a few as well.
However, their expressions were not those of people who believed their comrades had died.
Unlike the knights, who had only two choices—break through, or die—the possessors had one more option, did they not?
So they knew.
Those who were not present had logged out before they died.
They would be alive and well, waiting in the outside world.
“Next time…… I’ll come next time. I have a lot to do.”
“I see. Tsk, His Majesty will scold me again for coming back alone.”
He tried to show a faint smile toward Vitalianus, who had offered the joke, but strangely, the corners of his mouth would not obey.
In the end, what formed was a strange expression that was neither a smile, nor tears, nor a straight face.
Vitalianus stared quietly at Hio like that, then placed a hand on his shoulder.
“If the place you must go is high and far, do not carry it alone. One day, you will collapse.”
Vitalianus knew a friend who had carried everything alone.
He remembered the figure of that friend who had stood in the middle alone, seeking the Empire’s recognition and trying to wash away the disgrace of his compatriots.
And he also knew the mind that had eventually collapsed, the heart, and that final end in which he had driven a sword into his own chest.
“I do not have the confidence to see that sight twice.”
Vitalianus spoke with a bitter smile.
Only after seeing that did his expression finally settle correctly.
Not a forced smile, but a natural gloom.
A heavy heart born from having personally extinguished a hero’s miserable end and, despite it all, the spirit that had not collapsed.
“……I’ll keep that in mind.”
His expression naturally sank.
“Wizard, there are more and more people who admire and like you. Among them are several who will shoulder the Empire’s future.”
Having said that, Vitalianus turned his head and looked toward one place.
Between the ranks of knights, a pair of red eyes stared fixedly in this direction.
An expression similar to Hio’s, but sorrowful in a slightly more intense way.
“So if it is hard, you may rest a little. The Empire is not so weak that it will collapse because you take a short break.”
Claire’s two eyes shone with tears that had not yet dried.
After meeting them for a moment, he eventually activated his skill.
The Gate to the Netherworld opened, and a divine beast of light revealed itself.
Hio climbed onto the Phantom Steed and immediately turned his back.
“I’ll keep that in mind as well.”
It was because the road ahead was far.
Far too far.
* * *
「The portal is activating.」
「Moving to the Ancient City of Tetradia - ‘Wizard’s Tower.’」
The 101st floor of Tetradia’s Wizard’s Tower, the floor where he had first entered the Magic Tower and the one he was most familiar with.
Naturally, the scenery outside as seen from there should have been familiar as well.
The outside, where only the area around the Magic Tower was visible thanks to the light leaking from it—the scenery of Tetradia.
The massive movements writhing here and there in the darkness must belong to one of the Abyss monsters, and beyond them, the darkness would be filled with the aura of the Abyss.
It was the scenery he had seen every time he came to the Magic Tower.
Yet, for some reason, it felt unfamiliar.
Perhaps it was because the scenery of Tetradia he had seen in the dungeon had been too bright and beautiful.
“……Tetradia. And Abelard Pavlenko.”
Tetradia, where the entire city, including the Magic Tower, had been moved.
This was the result.
Where was this place, and for what reason had they been forced to come here?
Since they had driven out the Abyss, had the plan succeeded?
Or had it failed, since in the end everyone had died, magic had been lost, and even their names had been forgotten?
His contemplation was brief.
“I’ll find out someday.”
As his Circle rose, the floors of the tower would open.
If that continued, would he not someday be able to reach the top of the tower, the floor of the Magic Tower Lord?
Would he not be able to move to the lobby of beginnings on the tower’s first floor and look around Tetradia of the present age?
So what he had to do now was move forward again.
He would have to begin again by completing all the necromancy he had been learning.
* * *
- The Sarcophagus of Death! You must absolutely learn it before the next clear. There was no need to use it this time, but who knows what will happen next time? Store as many high-grade materials as possible…… no, bodies.
The Sarcophagus of Death.
A place like a warehouse that stored undead one had created or contracted.
The magic that summoned it was a Fifth Circle necromancy, Sarcophagus of Death.
“It’s closer to the concept of summoning than using space.”
- That’s right. This is why I told you it would be best to properly understand that magic circle when summoning Arilleia’s dragon. Isn’t it much easier?
“Well, it did help a lot.”
The Fifth Circle necromancy ‘Sarcophagus of Death’ was a spell closer to summoning than spatial arts.
- It does not create a space to store undead. It temporarily borrows an area that originally exists in the Necropolis. That is why such a complex feat is possible.
The Necropolis was a city for the dead.
Even the vast domain of the Necropolis he had seen on the previous Floor of Conquest was said to be an extremely small part compared to the whole.
Simply borrowing space and summoning it required the realm of the Fifth Circle.
- Let us inscribe runes related to connection, reconstruction, and summoning.
After three days and nights of repeated research and practice, he was able to cast the Sarcophagus of Death as a complete spell.
It was possible because he had established the theory beforehand and had studied summoning patterns.
Patterns were packed in much more densely than before.
Among them, the patterns related to space and summoning filled with light, and mana that had gathered power clumped together and headed toward the tip of his staff.
And thus, the necromancy, Sarcophagus of Death, was completed.
「You have succeeded in casting the necromancy - ‘Sarcophagus of Death.’」
「Would you like to register the necromancy - ‘Sarcophagus of Death’ as a skill?」
「The necromancy - ‘Sarcophagus of Death’ has been registered as a skill.」
Darkness spread thickly through the floor.
A darkness different from the Abyss, not unpleasant. The energy of death that existed in the Necropolis like air.
It settled heavily.
And.
“…….”
And…….
“……That’s it?”
Nothing happened.
The spell had clearly succeeded, and a message had even appeared to prove it.
In theory, something more should have popped out here.
- That is because there are no undead stored in the sarcophagus yet. If there were something stored, the sarcophagus would pop out, and if there is not, it ends in this prepared state.
“What if I want to store only corpses, not undead?”
- In that case, there is a formula written separately down below, is there not? You must make use of that.
Of course.
There was no way magic would be that simple.
Since it was not magic meant for pure offense like other elemental spells, he had to carefully adjust the patterns whenever he used it in various ways.
- It may be a little troublesome, but once you become accustomed through repeated practice, it is convenient.
One spell to call in the basic domain.
Then, if he wanted to store something, he had to awaken different patterns and control his mana again.
If he wanted to take out what he had stored, he had to create another formula suited to that.
Then, if he wanted to take out a large-scale undead army……
- ……Well, you can just diligently take them out one by one. It may look a little less impressive, but still, this is such a useful and efficient spell……
He had to cast the spell each time and take them out one by one.
It was obvious that the more he stored, the more dreadful the labor would become.
“I was deceived.”
In other words, he had been deceived.
At first, he had spoken as if Hio could cover an entire battlefield with undead in an instant.
“I’d rather cast elemental magic in that time.”
How long would it take to pull them out one by one, then store them again, over and over?
Of course, since it was simply taking them out and putting them in, it was not terribly difficult.
But it was bothersome, was it not?
In that time, it would probably be better to call Kkingkking and unleash elemental magic with infinite mana.
- Ahem! You do not know what you are saying! Without effort, there can be no results! Why do you keep trying to take only the easy path? Is that a trait of young people these days?
“Even so, this is way too annoying. We could prepare hundreds or thousands of strong bodies from Abyss monsters, right? Imagine putting souls into them and making them into undead. You’re saying I have to use magic to take out each and every one of those thousands? Screw that, I’d rather not do it.”
- Such lazy nonsense……! Hah!
“Don’t you ‘hah’ me.”
- ……In any case, there is no other method. To advance further as a necromancer, the Sarcophagus of Death is an essential spell, and as a necromancer, you must use it. No matter how much you grumble, in the end, you have no choice but to master it through repetition.
“There has to be…… some other way, don’t you think?”
The truth was, Hio knew it was a decent spell.
An undead legion numbering in the hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands.
A spell that could store them without limit and summon them at any time—the merits of Death’s Sarcophagus were undeniably exceptional.
However, it was also true that the drawback of having to take out that vast number one by one was enormous.
—There is no such way. Surely you know as well that magic has only the proper path. No good will come of trying to be clever.
Purnel firmly shook his head.
“Tsk… I feel like something’s about to come to me…”
—Oh, something will come to you, all right. The thought that you ought to train diligently in magic.
For whatever reason he was so excited, Purnel began rattling on at machine-gun speed about how this sort of thing had been basic in the old days, and how children these days had no perseverance.
Because Hio was far too used to that sight, he lightly ignored him and continued thinking. Something was definitely flickering at the edge of his mind, as if he could almost grasp it.
For instance, something like the message window that had appeared when he cast the Realm of Void…
“Ah, a skill!”
A thought flashed through his mind.
What if he tried using Death’s Sarcophagus not as magic, but as a skill?
「Skill: Death’s Sarcophagus」
「Summons a portion of the realm of the underworld.」
「You may store undead that you have contracted with or personally created, and for undead of high rank, it will be a satisfying space.」
Couldn’t he receive the system’s assistance, just as he had when casting the Realm of Void?
At the same time that thought occurred to him, Hio canceled the spell and tried casting Death’s Sarcophagus as a skill.
「Skill - ‘Death’s Sarcophagus’ is being activated.」
Once again, the energy of death spread across the floor.
Unlike the spell, which had ended with the energy of death settling down and darkness spreading, the skill’s effects produced other things.
Dozens of stone coffins appeared, surrounding Hio in midair, and pitch-black hands writhed in the gaps between them.
Up to that point, it was likely nothing more than the effect of the skill.
What mattered was what came after.
Whether or not he could receive the system’s assistance.
—Tsk, tsk… To think he has only grown more full of petty tricks. Has he still not realized the simple truth that great abilities are bound to come with hardships?
There, at the site of that experiment.
「Please select the undead to register to Skill - ‘Death’s Sarcophagus.’」
「Please select the undead you wish to take out.」
「List of undead registered to Skill - ‘Death’s Sarcophagus’」
「Slot 1 - Empty」
「Slot 2 - Empty」
「Slot 3 - Empty」
「Slot 4 - Empty」
……
The result was a tremendous success.
It was an extremely important moment in which he discovered that a spell’s drawback could be covered by turning it into a skill.
Unable to hide his joy, Hio relayed this fact to his master.
“It’s fucking easy, though?”
Purnel’s lips jutted out in a pout.