WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 655: Divide and Conquer

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Elcia was a mage of the lower realm, but she had once ascended to the floating castle. Like the Cyan Tower Master, she was a sorcerer. Had she not been bound by the duty of protecting her territory, she could have lived there and received treatment equivalent to that of a Tower Master. She had the right to seek the Demon King's teachings.

This was an exchange gathering. When mages of the lower realm showed the Demon King magic that amounted to children's play, he bestowed magic upon them with a kind smile, like giving spending money to his grandchildren. There was a vast difference in status, but since something was exchanged, it was called an exchange gathering.

It was simply that the magic Elcia requested was far beyond anyone's expectations.

"Space magic? Not Babel, but Celsius territory?"

"Even in the floating castle, only a few can handle that magic."

"They want to wield it in the lower realm?"

The mages attending the gathering murmured among themselves. Their gazes toward Elcia, who had dared to ask for one of the floating castle's secrets, were unfriendly.

Then the Demon King raised his fist and clenched the empty air.

That alone forced every mage to fall silent and watch.

Among the mages, frozen as if by prior agreement, the common people tapped at their arcane devices, which had suddenly stopped working.

"...Huh? Wait. My arcane device isn't moving."

"What? That can't be right. It should be working."

"Wait a moment. The Celsius family must be adjusting the rules. Arcane power should come back in ten minutes or so!"

They said you only saw as much as you knew. The common people, who could see nothing, calmly continued enjoying the exchange gathering.

Those who understood could only swallow their unease and gaze up at the Demon King.

The arcane power filling the gathering had been caught in one person's hand and could not move. Mages capable of sensing arcane power trembled before the bottomless might on display.

After bringing about a magical stillness, the Demon King spoke.

"Handling ice crystals means accepting risks! If you could use spatial separation, it would be easier to handle ice crystals, wouldn't it? The approach itself deserves praise!"

"It is magic beyond our station, but it would be a great leap for Celsius. Then Celsius could make greater contributions to the floating castle as well. Please do not consider our plea insolent, Your Majesty."

"Of course it isn't insolent! How could craving new knowledge be insolent? I'm only curious. Celsius was so afraid of ice crystals that it sent away the Cyan Tower Master, yet now it intends to use ice crystals so boldly!"

Elcia's expression froze. It looked as though the Demon King had seized not only space, but her expression as well. He seemed to have seen through her inner thoughts, yet he also seemed to know nothing at all.

"Elisha, who handled ice crystals, was too exceptional for you to keep close. Ice crystals are not such a difficult power, but Celsius's rules affect them. You could hardly dare control that variable. I understand. You cannot blame the vessel simply because water overflowed from it."

"...I apologize."

"But now the vessel says it will hold more water. Should I celebrate this? Or should I think the vessel has cracked and begun to leak?"

Did he know and test her? Or did he know nothing and ask out of curiosity?

The Demon King was over a hundred years old. He had been the Demon King from the moment he appeared in the world, so his true age was likely far greater. I didn't know how he maintained his strength and youth, but one thing was certain. He used methods that even I could not see through.

Nor was he simply skilled at magic. He had established the Arcane Federation in this land of bitter cold, bound it together as one, and ruled from the floating castle while receiving the respect of all.

Even shallow, fickle human hearts that were not worth reading would be a field of knowledge for him to study and master.

"Anyway!"

Elcia trembled with fear, bowed her head, and hoped it wouldn't show. The Demon King left her alone.

"You're mistaken about something. I never hid space magic! Even now, you can learn space magic. Perhaps you have already learned it! The reason you cannot use it is because you have not reached that point!"

"...We were too foolish to realize the teachings bestowed by the omnipotent Demon King."

"If I were truly omnipotent, I should be able to teach even foolish disciples. Hahaha! But even I cannot do that! Even with the same lesson, each person realizes something different!"

...But.

What if the Demon King was that thorough and cunning, and saw through all things with space magic? It meant he knew of the Temple of the Demon God's movements and allowed them to continue. In that case, challenging the Demon King meant following his will. Good.

What if the Demon King was simply sloppy but benevolent, a good man who let knowledge and clues spill from his hands? Then the Temple of the Demon God had a far greater chance of succeeding. In that case, we had nothing to lose by challenging the Demon King. Good.

In the end, if you wanted to change something, you had no choice but to challenge it.

"Still, there are no absolutes in this world. Refusing to give something until you realize it is far too old-fashioned. If you demand it, I will answer that demand as well!"

The Demon King laughed loudly and pulled back his clenched fist.

Then the floating castle underwent a tremendous change. A hole opened in the floating castle, which had barely maintained its altitude on five legs, and a middle leg thrust out. A tower far larger and thicker than the other supports emerged from the floating castle and stretched down as though it meant to violate the earth below.

If I compared that to the human body, the expression would be either vulgar or filthy. Fortunately, I seemed to be the only one who had thought of anything so indecent.

"A new tower!"

"It's much bigger than the five towers!"

People cried out. They were not screams of terror. If anything, they were closer to cheers. The floating castle's mysterious transformation was an entertaining sight for mages and citizens alike, and it also meant that the floating castle had become more closely connected to the earth.

A few people, however, could not laugh it off.

The floating castle's center, its sixth tower.

Those who knew what Babel meant could not simply dismiss it.

"As it happens, the Celsius family has not held a Dragon Gate examination! Since we're doing this, let's take care of the troublesome matters all at once!"

Rumble.

The Tower of Babel rose downward from the floating castle and plunged into the earth.

Ordinary towers were built from the ground up, layer upon layer, but the Demon King's tower hung down from above like a thick rope. It had been made in reverse, but the important thing was its purpose, not the method.

A massive tower had appeared in Celsius territory.

The Demon King cried out, his voice resounding across the entire area.

"Listen, all common people of Celsius territory! I have bestowed a Dragon Gate examination! Those who wish to escape the lower realm and become dragons, climb the Dragon Gate!"

The Dragon Gate was the test through which beings of the lower realm ascended to the floating castle. As suited the Arcane Federation, which compared accumulated knowledge to a tower, Dragon Gate examinations were usually conducted by having people climb a tower.

The problem was that this tower was the Demon King's Tower of Babel.

"The magic this Dragon Gate examination will test is space magic!"

It meant he would test whether people were qualified to enter the floating castle using magic nobody had mastered.

Elcia asked in surprise.

"Then do you mean you will pass space magic only to those who climb the tower, rather than to Celsius itself?"

"I mean I will pass it on only to those qualified to learn it. Of course, I hope that will be Celsius!"

Yet the Dragon Gate was where talented people gathered from all over the world in hopes of climbing it. They competed for limited places and often clashed, with deaths occurring frequently.

Until now, Elcia had not paid much attention to the Dragon Gate. Outstanding talents raised by the Celsius family were recommended and ascended to the floating castle anyway. The Dragon Gate was for the small fry that had slipped through their nets. It was not something the Celsius family needed to concern itself with.

The Dragon Gate sounded impressive, but in truth, it was a chaotic arena of vicious struggle.

Wandering mages who roamed the world, mercenaries hoping to make a profit, and ignorant people who had learned aura yet coveted magic participated, disrupting order and using cowardly tricks. They ambushed and eliminated rival mages solely to climb the Dragon Gate. Naturally, the talented mages who should have enjoyed glory died.

That was why descendants of renowned families did not climb the Dragon Gate. Only those scraping by from day to day in the unranked districts and borderlands would come to participate.

But now that the Demon King had put space magic up as the prize, Celsius had to take part in the Dragon Gate.

So did I.

Looking at the towering Tower of Babel, Shei said, "A Dragon Gate? Then things just got easier."

"Easier?"

"Yes. Our original plan was to follow the Demon King for clues, find Rene's relic he had hidden away, and steal it. But if he puts it up as the Dragon Gate's reward, then climbing the Dragon Gate gives us time to look for clues, doesn't it?"

That was obviously illegal. We might have to fight not only the Demon King, but the entire floating castle. But because the Celsius family had demanded knowledge itself, the Demon King had brought out space magic instead of Rene's pouch.

This was even legal, and it would be easier to find other allies. He had practically set the stage for us. Shei was right.

Still.

"Well. Is setting the stage always an act of consideration?"

"Hm? Isn't it convenient?"

"Not necessarily. We were originally going to rob the Demon King's home, but now that the stage has been set, we suddenly have to compete with other people."

"Other people? Who?"

"That's the thing."

I glanced toward the people who would become our new competitors.

Footnotes:

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