The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 344: Wind and Lightning (3)
“D-Do you think he’ll really fall for it?”
“Who knows. For now, the mana code is imitating Isel’s, at least.......”
The Tower Master’s room.
They had even taken out an old communication crystal orb in order to hook Pentarion.
Oscar glanced sidelong at Sasha, who was nervously chewing her nails.
“Sasha. Your nails.”
“Ah...... yes.”
Startled, Sasha hurriedly lowered her hands, but now her legs began to tremble instead.
Since she was a child who knew nothing of lying, she seemed extremely tense—so it was best to overlook that much.
“Well, the bait has been cast. The rest is up to Pentarion.”
The two waited in silence for about ten minutes.
The crystal orb suddenly flickered rapidly.
“I-It’s here! A message!”
“Wait! I’ll decode it right now.”
Without taking his eyes off the crystal orb, Oscar scribbled rapidly across a sheet of paper.
—Midnight in two days. Valdes Forest in the southeastern continent.
“......It worked.”
“Thankfully, he doesn’t seem suspicious! But wait a second—Valdes Forest?”
Sasha rummaged through a drawer and spread out a continental map.
Then she scanned the southeastern region with her tiny hand and shouted.
“Found it! Master, it’s here.”
“Let me see.”
Oscar rotated the map and looked at the Valdes Forest she pointed to.
The forest lay in the southeastern part of the continent—roughly at the five-o’clock position.
It was a fairly large forest, but beyond it stretched cliffs overlooking the sea.
“The location isn’t bad.”
“But isn’t it impossible to get there from the southwest in just two days?”
At that innocent remark, Oscar snorted with laughter.
“Sasha, Pentarion isn’t a fool.”
“......I suppose not?”
“I already told him that Isel fled north, and that he’s currently in the southwest. In Pentarion’s mind, Isel is probably already running away in a big counterclockwise loop around the continent.”
“And he still works people this hard? Is this the Yellow Tower’s way of doing things?”
“More precisely, it’s Pentarion’s way.”
Tap, tap.
Oscar tapped the spot of Valdes Forest on the map.
“No matter how much Isel talks about rotation or whatever, in the end he’s still human. If he’s been fleeing around the entire continent, his stamina and mana will both be depleted, and his circuits won’t be in a normal condition either.”
“That’s true. That’s why I thought Pentarion would come somewhere near the southwest if possible.”
“But he didn’t. In fact, telling him to come all the way to Valdes Forest in just two days means he’s demanding that he squeeze out every bit of remaining stamina, mana, and even mental strength. Why do you think that is?”
Receiving Oscar’s meaningful gaze, Sasha inhaled sharply.
“Don’t tell me...... he’s planning to cut off the tail?”
“Exactly. He’s planning to deal with him after pushing Isel’s condition down to rock bottom.”
The reason was obvious without even looking.
Because they had mentioned Edna in order to lure Pentarion.
‘If it’s something like an airport terror incident, he might somehow be able to smooth it over with his current power.......’
But the Magic Tower—especially the White Tower that had once boasted the greatest golden age—collapsing was a completely different matter.
From Pentarion’s perspective, the fire had already reached his feet, so he must be eager to eliminate Isel as quickly as possible.
“Just as planned. In any case, if Pentarion shows up at the meeting place, that alone will prove he had some sort of connection with Isel.”
“Then we should start preparing as well.”
“We should indeed—prepare.”
“Um, Master. But.”
After pondering something seriously, Sasha asked carefully.
“If he’s a mage on the level of the Yellow Tower Master, detecting the mana across the entire Valdes Forest wouldn’t be difficult, right?”
“That’s probably true.”
For an 8-level mage, the moment one enters that region, even the presence of a single ant would already be detected.
“Then isn’t this meaningless? We need to arrest the Yellow Tower Master at the scene, but if he senses any mana other than Isel Marcos’s, he’ll definitely just run away.”
“Heh, Sasha. Your master already thought of that much.”
“How?”
“A subspace.”
Snapping his fingers, Oscar pointed at the gaping space that had opened.
“I’ll hide people inside my subspace. That way, to Pentarion’s senses, the only mana he’ll feel is mine imitating Isel Marcos.”
“Woaah!”
Apparently genuinely impressed, Sasha’s eyes grew enormous.
“With that, even the Yellow Tower Master won’t have a choice but to be fooled!”
“Haha, of course.”
Once Pentarion dropped his suspicion and approached closely, it would be over.
It was a plan he had already calculated countless times in his head—there were no gaps.
“Now all we have to do is execute it well.”
The mastermind who had brought down the White Tower.
The trap meant to bring down Pentarion Ereus had already been prepared.
“Haaak, haaak.”
A figure breathing roughly entered Valdes Forest.
His legs failed to maintain balance, his body swaying repeatedly, and a sweet smell escaped from his mouth.
“Haaahk, haaak.”
Naturally, he was Oscar, perfectly imitating Isel Marcos’s mana code.
Oscar acted like someone whose stamina and mana were completely exhausted as he gradually moved deeper into the forest.
His body staggered without rest, yet his eyes alone sharply read the surrounding information.
‘Pentarion isn’t here yet?’
Valdes Forest was quite large.
It was probably intentional that they hadn’t designated a specific meeting location.
‘He must be planning to verify everything thoroughly before approaching.’
Whether he truly was Isel Marcos or not.
He had always felt it, but that old man was truly suspicious by nature.
Because of that, Oscar had to wander aimlessly through the forest.
‘Around here.......’
Oscar tripped over his own legs and fell, then chose not to get up, resting beneath a large tree.
If it was Pentarion, he would already know his position anyway.
Even if he truly had been Isel Marcos, in poor condition he would probably have behaved the same way.
“.......”
Oscar released faint breaths and pulled down the brim of his wide wizard’s hat.
His face could not be seen, but the clothing itself resembled what Isel Marcos used to wear.
Only it was far more worn and dirt-stained.
‘Come.’
Leaning his head back against the tree, Oscar’s eyes flashed sharply.
But no matter how much time passed, Pentarion did not appear.
‘......Did he notice?’
No, that couldn’t be.
There was no way the operation had leaked outside, and he hadn’t made any mistakes so far.
If Pentarion still hadn’t appeared, there could only be one reason.
‘That suspicious old man.’
He was still observing him.
Oscar let his body slump weakly.
Wrinkles filled the back of his exposed hands and skin.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Since he had woken before dawn to prepare this disguise, he might as well show it off this openly.
“.......”
Oscar quietly scanned the surroundings and steadied his breathing.
Within the deep silence of the quiet forest, not even the sound of wind could be heard.
“?”
Wait, there’s no wind?
Even a few hundred meters below here there should be the sea.
Any mage from the White Tower would know how fierce the sea breeze near the coast was.
‘This feels too artificial.......’
The moment that strange thought crossed his mind—
Rustle.
Suddenly the forest leaves trembled, producing a grand sound.
Yet there was still no wind.
And yet the leaves shook as though they were herbivores screaming before a predator.
Crackle, crackle.
Static electricity formed in the drying air.
At the same time—shrrk—his hair stood upright against gravity.
‘Wait... no way? That can’t be.’
The moment Oscar’s eyes trembled slightly—
KRAAAASH!
A bolt of lightning struck down exactly where he had been standing.
“Ugh!”
He hurriedly threw himself aside and raised his mana, but his clothes and fake skin caught fire.
Oscar quickly shook it off and looked up at the sky.
A cloudy night sky.
In the center of it, brighter than the moon or stars, was a blue flash that seized the gaze.
Crackle.
A figure wrapped in overwhelming presence within that flash looked down at him as if from above.
‘Pentarion Ereus.’
Oscar bit his lip as he looked up at his opponent.
Given Pentarion’s cautious personality, even if he intended to kill Isel Marcos, he would first confirm face-to-face that the person really was Isel before killing them.
If so, there could be only one reason he attacked immediately like this.
‘He realized it. That I’m not Isel.’
As Oscar grew perplexed, unable to tell where he had made a mistake, a voice echoed through the air.
“There is an old proverb—do not look at the tree, but the forest.”
“.......”
“It is truly a frog-in-a-well kind of idea. If you wish to see the bigger picture, you must observe the entire image—from the sky to the ground.”
The sky?
Only then did Oscar’s gaze fix on the drifting clouds beyond Pentarion.
“Don’t tell me......”
“Cloud transmission. A method used by Yellow Tower mages of level 7 and above when communicating secretly with one another.”
Crackle, crackle.
Within the gray clouds, faint static electricity appeared and vanished repeatedly.
Only then did Oscar realize.
While he had focused entirely on Valdes Forest, Pentarion had already completed his verification through the clouds.
“Ha, I didn’t know that. This is definitely my loss.”
Letting out a hollow laugh, Oscar removed his hat.
No matter how carefully he had disguised himself as Isel, it was useless now.
Without hesitation, he tore off the suffocating fake skin.
“If I’d known the Yellow Tower had such a gloomy communication method, I would’ve looked at the sky too.”
“You could not have known. Even within the Yellow Tower, only high-ranking mages use this method.”
Pentarion looked relaxed, like a judge before delivering a verdict.
Well, it wasn’t wrong.
He had already scanned the entire forest with mana and was certain Oscar was alone.
‘That’s the weapon.’
Their cards weren’t all exposed yet.
Pentarion still didn’t know about the forces hidden within the subspace.
He had to exploit that single moment of carelessness to its fullest and capture the old man here.
‘But first I have to drag him down to the ground.’
If he stayed floating in the sky like that, it would be impossible to catch him.
If they tried to chase him while he fled, they would simply be burned to death one by one by lightning raining down from above.
“.......”
Pentarion carefully observed the man tearing off his fake skin without hesitation.
Then the moment he confirmed the face beneath it, he frowned.
“Oscar Crucian?”
“What, surprised?”
“I heard you were hovering between life and death.......”
Could it be that even the Order had joined in setting this trap?
No—that wasn’t it.
Out of suspicion he had already asked an archbishop who frequently interacted with the Yellow Tower, and the man truly knew nothing.
‘The Order isn’t rejecting us. That means perhaps only the Saintess and Archbishop Baldwin are supporting the White Tower.’
That much wasn’t a problem.
Through the archbishops who had been receiving money inside both the Yellow Tower and the Order, it could easily be smoothed over.
Reassured once more, Pentarion looked at Oscar.
‘Oscar Crucian.’
His unconventional actions and abilities strangely reminded him of the previous White Tower Master.
Perhaps because of that, he had always remained in Pentarion’s sight as a bothersome existence.
‘But killing him would be difficult.’
When Oscar came here today, he surely hadn’t come without informing the White Tower.
If Pentarion simply returned now, then even if the White Tower shouted endlessly about his relationship with Isel, he could simply manipulate the media and counter them the same way.
“You are a fortunate child.”
Pentarion had just turned his body to leave.
“Let’s see...... hmm, it recorded well.”
Oscar pulled out a small machine from inside his coat and muttered.
Seeing it, Pentarion’s eyes narrowed.
Oscar shook the object lightly.
“Made in the Yellow Tower. Magical engineering products really are the Yellow Tower’s specialty. This ‘camera,’ you call it? The technology is quite impressive.”
“.......”
A camera.
A device that preserved the image of a subject in real time.
Moreover, that model was a newly released product from the Yellow Tower.
Not only could it take ordinary photos, it could also record moving images of a subject for up to five minutes.
In other words, the other party could prove with 100% certainty that he had come to Valdes Forest.
Pentarion asked,
“Do you happen to have many lives?”
“For now, I think I only have one.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Crackle, crackle.
Yellow static electricity filled the entire atmosphere of the forest.
Lightly drawing up his mana, Pentarion spoke.
“Then it means I only need to kill you once.”
KRAAAAAAASH!
Dozens of lightning bolts crashed down toward Valdes Forest.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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