Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint - Chapter 624

WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Chapter 624: Equivalent Exchange of Emotion

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It had already been fifteen days since Shei arrived at the floating castle. While Hughes studied frantically in the Crystal Tower, Shei focused on recovering.

She had fought Nevida fiercely at the Tree of Origin, suffered injuries severe enough to have both arms torn off, and forced herself to fight even after they had barely been reattached. Though she did not remember it, she had even wielded power that did not belong in this era.

No matter how exceptional her energy arts were or how many precious elixirs she had, the injuries had been too severe. Only after controlling her rampaging energy, taking elixirs, and eating restorative food could Shei finally regain her strength. She clenched and unclenched her faintly trembling hands, readjusting her senses.

"My movements still feel awkward. It doesn't matter when I use Water Qi Art to control my entire body, but..."

An injury was an injury, and a scar was a scar. Shei was not a vampire. Having her arms torn off and reattached had left marks on her body.

The Arcane Federation had screens made of crystal. Shei approached one and pressed the second gem. The crystal flipped over with a rustling sound, turning the screen into a mirror that reflected her.

After quietly looking at herself, Shei took off her shirt, her shoulders stiff.

Her healthy, well-defined body appeared in the crystal mirror. Long ago, she had been thin and unimpressive, but the body she had trained through repeated regressions now showed the results.

The scars around her shoulders stood out like blemishes.

Bloodcraft, energy arts, elixirs, and Hughes's surgery had reattached her arms smoothly, but the scars remained. Shei was not one to care for her body, yet seeing the large scars left her with a bitter feeling.

Soon, she shook her head and dismissed the concern.

"It'll all return to normal when I regress anyway. It's strange to worry about it."

She did not know why she was feeling this way in the first place. Until now, she had never complained about being hurt as though she had the luxury to do so.

"It must be because I haven't moved around much. I'm having too many useless thoughts."

Shei changed her bandages and put her clothes back on. She glanced at the mirror that had silently reflected her, switched it back into a screen, and turned away.

"Maybe I'll visit the Crystal Tower."

She was hopeless at studying, but she might gain some knowledge about magic.

And Hughes would be there.

Shei visited the Crystal Tower.

Then she saw Hughes swinging a hammer.

"Hyaaaah! Crystal Amber!"

A mage shouted and curled up. At once, crystal sprouted from their body and tightly enclosed them. Like an insect trapped in amber, the immobilized mage rolled down the corridor.

Crystal Amber was a defensive spell devised by Ember, a sixth-floor disciple of the Crystal Tower. It created a hard crystal around its caster, protecting them from attacks.

I slowly circled the crystal surrounding the mage and scribbled on a sheet of paper.

"Casting time, good. Crystal shape, good. Caster's condition. Ah, Senior, if you can hear me, please roll your eyes up and down... Good."

So far, so good. I nodded, picked up the hammer beside me, and struck Ember's crystal hard.

Clang!

Shattered crystal fragments scattered everywhere, and the recoil made my fingertips buzz.

"Crystal strength, good. Hmm, excellent. At this level, you could submit it to the presentation."

'Wait! The crystal's too hard. I can't dissolve it! Help me, Hughes! I can't breathe!'

"I take that back. There are still areas to improve. We need to change the structure so the caster can dissolve the crystal from inside."

It seemed the effect had been too good. I tied a rope around Senior's crystal, lifted it easily, and tossed it into the central elevator. A mage riding up in the elevator saw the Senior trapped in crystal and let out a startled hiccup.

"Senior Glesia. Please send Senior Ember to Senior Ditrox on the seventh floor. Tell them we need their crystal-dissolving ability."

"Uh, um... Ditrox? That Senior is scary..."

"Tell them I sent you. Say I'll let the matter of them breaking down my high crystal last time slide. Understood?"

"Uh, okay..."

The mage nodded and went up with Senior's crystal. Without watching them leave, I turned around.

"Senior Avant-garde."

"Y-Yes!"

Avant-garde, who had been waiting nearby, ran over like a puppy when I called her. I paused until she reached me. She stuck close to my side and began walking with me.

"We agreed to borrow Senior Ember's laboratory today. We'll practice overlapping magic circles there. Of course, Senior Avant-garde will be doing it. I don't have enough mana, so I'll only observe from behind."

"Um, excuse me! Junior!"

"Yes?"

"I-I found a new method for mana amplification... It's called resonance amplification... So, perhaps..."

Avant-garde seemed to have made up her mind and was hesitantly trying to speak.

"Sixth-floor disciple Hughes. You have a visitor."

"Yes?"

I turned at the sound of someone calling me. A first-floor apprentice mage was standing there with Shei. I excused myself to Avant-garde and approached.

"Normally, outside guests aren't permitted this far up the tower..."

"You've helped me a lot. Thank you. I'll treat you properly someday."

"...Please take care of your business. I've always respected you."

The apprentice, who had only recently reached the third floor, bowed deeply and stepped back. I had given them several eighth-floor high crystals last time, and now they were giving me all sorts of conveniences. It really paid to treat people well.

'...This is strange. Hughes acts as though he's lived here for years. Did he brainwash them?'

You don't need years to get close to people. Brainwashing is even less necessary. Do you need to brainwash people to become friends with them?

"Shei, what brings you all the way to the Crystal Tower?"

"Nothing much. I'm fully recovered, so I thought I might learn some magic."

'It'd be awkward to say I have nothing to do...'

So she had nothing to do.

The floating castle was the center of the Arcane Federation, an airborne city ruled by the Demon King. It was extremely safe and stable. Being here was an opportunity, but magic was the only thing one could gain from the floating castle.

"Really? We were just about to practice overlapping magic circles. Would you like to observe too?"

"Overlapping magic circles? What's that?"

"It's a method where you overlap two magic circles to artificially create mana distortion, then use that distortion to amplify mana. The complexity doubles, and it's unstable, so it's difficult to control, but the amplification is enormous. My only weakness is my lack of mana, so I'm trying to amplify it through overlapping magic circles."

"Um... Ah, that?"

'What's that supposed to mean? Aren't magic circles just drawings? Can they amplify mana?'

Look at her nodding even though she understood none of it. How nice would it be if she simply admitted she didn't know?

Shei put on the usual bluff of a regressor.

"I'll take a look too. There might be something useful."

"Sure. Follow me. Senior Avant-garde, Shei would like to observe too. Is that all right?"

"Ugh..."

Avant-garde pressed her lips together, her face full of displeasure.

"Um, Junior! You can't show the Crystal Tower's knowledge to an outsider!"

"Shei has a badge, though. It's a guest badge, but still."

"B-But! It's my research! Even a guest can't just look at someone else's research!"

'Who is that woman, suddenly showing up here like this?!'

Avant-garde stubbornly opposed it. Hmm. Sending Shei away would be troublesome in its own way, but I could not simply ignore Avant-garde either.

I had to coax her. Facing Avant-garde, I spoke.

"It's our research. A mana amplification method that Senior Avant-garde and I researched together, for my sake."

"That's right! Our research!"

"But, Senior Avant-garde, I'm desperate. This isn't the time to be selective about methods."

"Huh?"

I lowered my eyes and continued with a half-resigned expression.

"The Descent is in a week. Once the floating castle descends near the Lower World, I have to leave it and prepare for the Dragon Gate."

The floating castle was a place only the chosen among the chosen people could enter. Being here at all was a kind of privilege.

They would let me stay for now since they could not just throw me out, but once the Descent came, I would have to leave the floating castle. I only had one week left.

That was enough time to learn the Crystal Tower's knowledge, but far too little to fix my chronic lack of mana.

"I don't have time to be picky about people or methods. If I go down to the Lower World like this, I'll be eliminated for lacking mana before I can even climb the Dragon Gate."

Avant-garde shook her head and cried out.

"N-No... Junior, you have to come to the Crystal Tower! If you're here, the Crystal Tower can break free from its long stagnation and rise one floor higher! I became a sixth-floor disciple because of you too!"

"That's what I want as well. To do that, I need a way to amplify my innate mana."

"I'll find one!"

"I believe in you too. But refusing to seek other methods would be no different from neglect. As hard as you work to find a method, I need to search just as hard. Even if I have to accept someone else's help."

Not that Shei would be any help.

Avant-garde could not overcome me either. With a deeply dissatisfied expression, she went to Ember's laboratory, inserted a disposable key, and poured mana into it. The disposable crystal key slowly melted away, opening Ember's laboratory.

Shei looked at Avant-garde and grumbled.

"What's this? You're making a huge fuss just because I want to watch some magic."

"Of course she is. Even energy practitioners hide themselves when they train to keep their weaknesses secret, so why would magic be any different? This is a magic tower. Follow a mage's common sense."

"...You've really become a mage, haven't you? Aren't you impressive?"

I could say this for certain. Shei was no help whatsoever.

"Why are you amplifying such a tiny amount of mana? It doesn't even increase by much."

Shei watched the flow of mana with her Seven-Colored Eyes and spoke indifferently.

Mana? Shei had often come into contact with all kinds of treasures and relics, and her body had consumed countless elixirs. Her mana reserves rivaled those of a Tower Master.

Mana sensing? Shei's Seven-Colored Eyes even visualized mana itself. Combined with her natural sensitivity, they reacted keenly to every kind of power.

It was talent made for a mage.

There was a reason the Green Tower Master called her one of the chosen people, and a reason the Cyan Tower Master had tried to make her a disciple.

She was my complete opposite.

That included comprehension.

"The mana flowing through the magic circle isn't mine. I need to raise my initial mana. Please distinguish between initial mana and manifested mana."

"Forget it, Junior. We can't communicate with her. Let's work by ourselves."

Avant-garde was treating Shei like a complete idiot. It was an accurate observation worthy of a mage.

Shei was an idiot, but she was an idiot who knew when people treated her like one. Sitting on a chair with a sulky expression, she asked,

"Hughes, are you really planning to become a mage?"

Who knew?

I stopped Avant-garde before she could object and answered.

"Shei, I think I've finally found my calling."

"What calling?"

"Honestly, the years I spent stupidly relying on my body were stranger. People should do work suited to their talents. A person with lofty, brilliant intellect like mine should do work worthy of it."

"You're really going to climb the Dragon Gate and learn magic on the floating castle?"

"Yes. Who knows? If I solve my chronic lack of mana, I might gain an incredible card to play."

'That is true. As the King of Humanity, he can probably use all kinds of magic. He can even wield a Demon God's power, so why couldn't he use magic?'

"And wouldn't I be more useful to you if I learned magic?"

I had said it to persuade her, but Shei thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Not really. You're already enough as you are."

How could she say something so thrilling so carelessly? She had probably said it without thinking, but still.

"I heard that people who climb the Dragon Gate receive special advice from the Demon King. They say that if the Demon King knows the answer, he will answer any question."

"Wait. The Demon King?"

Shei's expression changed at the mention of the Demon King. There was only one person Shei needed to see in the floating castle: the Demon King.

The Demon King, who held the button for Pride, the Star of the End, was an important key.

"Yes. If I climb the Dragon Gate and have a private audience with the Demon King, wouldn't that be the greatest result of all?"

"You hadn't forgotten."

"How could I? It's too important. That should be our first priority."

'I thought you were putting Pride aside while learning magic.'

With one worry lifted, Shei stood up lightly. Her face was far fresher than when she had arrived as she headed for the laboratory door.

"I don't think I'll be any help. Work hard, Hughes. I'll get moving too."

"All right. Take care."

"And... Avant-garde? Please take good care of Hughes."

"Tch!"