27 – Three Ducks (1)
After the incident of the appearance of demons in the Great Labyrinth, the gallery was heated for a while.
Ultimately, most of the magicians were able to escape safely, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again.
The reason why this bait lasted so long, separate from the incompetence of the administration, was because the damage was surprisingly minimal.
Interestingly, everyone had different opinions about the clear reason for this.
—–
[Those who have come back to life this time should be grateful to Lord Juttak their whole lives.]
If it weren’t for Juttak, you would all be dancing the tango with the deceased in the afterlife.
– Great Juttak
– Praise it.
– I sent a naughty picture this morning as a sign of gratitude.
– Really? But didn’t Meteor save you?
ㄴ They barely managed to escape with their lives. What are you talking about?
—–
—–
[Judak didn’t even see a shadow, but he saw a spear-wielding sorcerer who gave out corpses.]
At first, I thought a bomb had exploded in the labyrinth, but it turned out to be a spear flying.
They said he was an adventurer brought in hastily from Meteor, but there was something off about him.
– Actually, I survived because of him. Who is this Judak anyway?
– Everyone in the labyrinth seems to know.
ㄴ Seriously, someone who died and came back to life. There are so many fashion labyrinth explorers, it’s a big deal.
ㄴ Those labyrinth explorers are practically living off of trials, what confidence do they have? Lololol.
– So, he’s not Judak?
ㄴ I’m Judak, so that’s correct.
ㄴ Judak doesn’t even use primitive weapons like spears…
– Who burned the remaining corpses in the labyrinth with lightning?
ㄴ They say there was a hole in the ceiling, and Judak came down through it.
– The adventurer who throws spears? The one who ranked third in the Magic Festival from the Sunju School?
ㄴ Oh, that Gonik?
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– There’s a rumor about the Gold level.
– Whether it’s Gold or Platinum, if you can’t use magic, you can’t pass the training level.
– That’s right, hahahaha. No need to feel inferior.
—–
—–
[They’re posting pictures of two people who came out of the Great Labyrinth at the exact same time!!!]
(Tactical nuke)
– Ah!! Damn it!!!
– Perfect timing!!!!
– We can’t ignore this, hahahaha.
– This one seems a bit suspicious, hmm…
ㄴ ㄱㄷ
ㄴ f*ck, don’t provoke me.
– Why aren’t the idiots doing their job properly these days!!
—–
—–
[Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the idiots disappeared simultaneously on the last day?]
I usually check the online time of the perfect timing members as a hobby.
The three who were still in the gallery before the Great Labyrinth closed were also suddenly absent?
There must have been some kind of connection.
(Photo)
This is a connection list by time that I recorded out of boredom during last year’s Christmas.
– Wow.
– Wow…!
– Isn’t it suspicious that they suddenly disappeared like this?
ㄴ Could it be that they all went to meet each other?
ㄴ It seems like a secret meeting among the leaders… I kind of like this.
– Do you check this kind of thing regularly? Wow.
– You scare me the most.
– More importantly, look at the connection rate during Christmas. Everyone is faking it.
ㄴ Yeah, Joo-Ddak was diligently chatting even on that night.
ㄴ Don’t make things up, they chatted until morning.
ㄴ I decided to support Joo-Ddak after seeing this.
ㄴ Joo-Ddak, you’re something else!!!!
ㄴ It’s ridiculous that a crazy person like that meets people outside the gallery.
—–
As I watched the bait in the corner of the 11th floor staircase, I noticed that Mari had been offline for a long time.
It had been quite a while since the last climb for mental stability.
From my perspective, the mind referred to the most comfortable state when viewing the gallery, so it seemed like there was another reason.
Fortunately, unlike the other three leaders, she had a solution to fix things herself if they broke down.
“It’s not allowed!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t you aware that the wicked Gresia and the Meteor guys are targeting you if you go outside?”
Agnès used her entire body to block me from going outside.
To me, it was a desperate gesture to monopolize me from other factions that have been sending numerous requests for handshakes since I came out of the Grand Labyrinth.
But it wasn’t me who would stop walking just because a disease like the Newborn, similar to the latest ice water purifier developed by the research department, blocked my way.
Moreover, ever since I started climbing in earnest, my footsteps were not even remotely hindered, let alone the Seven Sages in front of the Tower.
“Master, you said you would take good care of me, but you haven’t even shown your face after joining the Haeju faction.”
“Well, you didn’t say anything and didn’t join. Besides, I’ve been busy too…”
“I learned all my magic from Senior Frina, and the only support I received until the end of the Magic Exam was the mana stones I obtained with my own abilities.”
“Hae, the Haeju faction always lacks funding…!”
“But the Gresia and Meteor guys climbed up with the Labyrinth. They were helping and pulling each other, but I didn’t have a single classmate.”
“Enough! Just stop!”
“In this situation, wouldn’t it be nice to hear what they’re talking about over there? They say that those in the training floor can use their facilities for free, but our lounge is tucked away in a corner like this staircase…”
On the training floor, there are basic facilities such as libraries and training rooms for each faction.
Large factions sometimes occupied a whole floor or connected several floors.
However, the Haeju faction’s share was only the emergency exit staircase used by external personnel.
And even that was not entirely ours; we had to step aside when other people went up and down.
“Um, excuse me, could you please step aside for a moment? I have to clean.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Anyway, while you’re on the training floor, you have no choice but to use other factions’ facilities.”
“Ah, I got it!! Then, magic! I’ll teach you magic, so don’t mess with me like an enemy! Pleaseee!”
Anyes, hanging onto the stairs, shouted surrender without hesitation.
She straightened her robe and flicked off the dust, coughing to assert her own dignity.
“I told you before, if you can climb up to the 10th floor, I have a lot to teach you. Seeing you follow your master’s words like the sky, it seems you’re ready to learn the vision of the Haeju School.”
“If it’s not a big deal, can we get rid of the curse and switch to Glesya?”
“N-no worries! By the time you’ve mastered these things, the trials on the training floor will be nothing!”
I wondered if my threat to fold and put away the tools would be effective.
Anyes said she would teach the rituals of the Haeju School, so I should listen carefully.
I sat in a corner of the stairs, where the janitors were busy sweeping and polishing, and had a private conversation with my master, who sat with crossed legs and held a magpie’s foot.
The gentle voice whispering in my ear was ticklish.
“Now, the interference techniques you’re learning have three types. They are reversal (逆化), elimination (消魔), and transformation (改撰).”
Reversal returns the opponent’s magic back to them.
Elimination completely erases the magic itself.
And transformation converts the spell formula into a new magic.
It seemed difficult to master any of them.
At my current level, I could only interfere up to the 1st or 2nd levels, at most, in the case of the Ice and Mist realms, when I didn’t use mystic powers.
“It seems difficult for my level.”
Upon hearing my words, she shook her head and spread out three soft fingers.
Folding two of them, she explained that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought.
“Understanding everything as one principle is the essence of Haeju. What you need is to find an assistant to learn the three techniques.”
“Supporters, you say?”
“Any school of thought is fine. It doesn’t matter if they are a mid-level or higher mage with a reputation. Find three people who are willing to willingly share their magic with you.”
Anes said that the more they extract countermeasures, summoning, and enchantment from their magic, the more powerful the interference device will become.
After hearing Anes’ words, two concerns came to mind.
“If magic is dispelled, won’t it affect the caster?”
“That depends on the nature of your interference. But I’m sure there won’t be any major issues. You’re not a bad person, and above all, you’ve never used curses before.”
My master sniffed my neck and smelled it, then made an impressed expression.
It seemed that the mist I created, which turned reality into a gallery or the core of a labyrinth, did not count in her sense of smell.
After all, it was unimaginable for someone as kind-hearted as me to curse someone.
But there was another problem that troubled me even more.
“But, Master.”
“Yes?”
“What if I can’t find a friend who will share their magic with me?”
Anes avoided my gaze for a moment.
“Well, the reason curses create bonds is because of that.”
She couldn’t teach me.
I finally understood why Prina had so much hatred towards the insiders.
*
“Sharing magic” is a sensitive issue regardless of the school of thought.
Because even a single magical recipe or combination method is the lifeblood of mages.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the magic families known as ‘Purebloods’ or ‘Baekga’ in Matap were established by passing down the magic accumulated by their ancestors.
Therefore, it was very difficult to receive all the elements, not just deflect magic with an interference device.
I couldn’t make Cerana Arthur my collaborator because she didn’t just revere me, she was afraid of me.
They wouldn’t be able to freely provide the magic of the faction they belonged to.
So the first choice was Marielle.
Unlike other magicians, she already had her own unique mystery.
Although she may not have the ability to build her own magic yet, she would be able to create at least one during her training.
“Mariel, are you inside?”
“……”
“I’m coming in.”
After disappearing since coming out of the maze, she was found quietly in her dormitory bed.
She completely ignored the alarm of the location note ringing beside her, even flipping the blanket over her head.
“Even if the messages keep coming, can I ignore them?”
“It’s not something the caretaker who lied to me should worry about….”
Most of them were sent by me.
After sending a few messages and not receiving a reply, I casually stirred up trouble as usual with the nickname ‘Electric Conducting Smiling Girl’.
Seeing that she didn’t reveal her face even during the impersonation that ranked first in the popularity poll within the gallery and scheduled a solo concert in the Grand Labyrinth, it seemed that her heart was greatly hurt.
And the reason was simply that I didn’t let her know that I was the one behind the window.
“I’m disappointed. The caretaker hasn’t said anything to me all this time.”
“Are you talking about the Dark Forest? It was just a report I saw on the bulletin board.”
“No! I’m sure you secretly laughed at me inside when you heard that I couldn’t even climb up the starting floor for five years! It’s incredibly infuriating!!!”
“……”
So you’re saying that’s what you would have done if it were me.
Thinking of someone as narrow-minded and despicable as yourself.
Whether I wasted five years or ten, if you had focused more on your own growth, you wouldn’t have become a burden in the Grand Labyrinth.
Of course, I laughed my heart out at your regression ability, which was even more useless than I imagined.
“Doesn’t everyone have at least one secret?”
“Not everyone is as deceitful and ominous as a caretaker. Especially me, I am clean and transparent.”
I don’t know if she wants emotional connection or genuine comfort from me.
Maybe it could be both, but the more satisfying the impact, the more I wanted to torment her.
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I stopped spinning the corner of the blanket and grabbed the position note on the desk.
“The genius blond girl? Are you by any chance the administrator of the gallery?”
“Eek!? D-don’t look at that! Forget it, right now!!”
In less than a second, Marie, wearing only underwear, popped out from under the blanket.
Who said they didn’t have any secrets?