Magiro sipped bottled water and asked.
“So, you done crying? Or are you gonna cry one more time? Want me to wait a bit longer?”
“......Snff. Shut up.”
The embarrassment hit him belatedly when he realized a fully grown man had bawled his eyes out.
And not even in front of a stranger, but before someone who had once been both his comrade and subordinate.
Oscar’s ears turned red all the way to the tips as he awkwardly tried to justify himself.
“This is all because of the body. Ever since I entered a child’s body, I got influenced without realizing it.”
“Hm? No way. I’d like to think I’ve looked into quite a lot of material related to spirit monsters and possession. In fact, if you read the paper published by Jin Cernia, the former master of the Black Tower, 『A Study on Identity Preservation and Continuity of Self After Soul Transference』.......”
“Aaaah~ yap yap, you really talk too much! This has always been your problem!”
“......You entered a younger body, and now our Tower Master has straight-up become a brat.”
Letting out a snicker, Magiro leaned back against the chair.
“But still, it’s not bad.”
“What is now?”
“At least one of us survived.”
“......You mocking me?”
“No. I mean that sincerely.”
He spoke while reminiscing about the distant past.
“It would’ve been best if everyone had returned alive, but you know how unrealistic that is. I guess if only one person could come back alive, I wanted it to be you, Tower Master.”
“Why?”
“Hmm. Just...... because you seemed like the person who’d remember all of us the best?”
That insignificant little sentence flew like an arrow and pierced his chest.
And it was probably true.
Even now, he still vividly remembered those bastards’ faces and personalities, even their voices and the look in their eyes.
“And earlier, you apologized to me, but now I think it’s my turn.”
“What are you suddenly apologizing for?”
“......I was mistaken.”
Smiling weakly, Magiro stared at the campfire quietly crackling away for no reason.
“If you survived, Tower Master, I thought you’d regret making that choice.”
Between humanity and the White Tower, he chose humanity.
Because of that decision, he lost most of the people precious to him and eventually died himself.
And on top of that, the result was the decline and collapse of the house he loved.
“If it were me, I couldn’t have endured it. Every night, every moment, I would’ve regretted and blamed myself for that choice. And if I were ever given the chance to choose again, I definitely would’ve chosen the White Tower.”
But Oscar was different.
“Do you think it wasn’t painful for you because you were the Tower Master? Do you think you weren’t sad? You were the one who personally ruled the Magic Tower, so if anything, it must’ve hurt you even more than it hurt me.”
That was why even someone like Oscar, if he had survived, would surely have changed.
He thought he would never make the same choice again.
“......As expected of the man who ranks number one in my incorrect answer rate.”
Oscar didn’t simply remain there regretting the choices of the past.
As though even spending time on that was a waste, he chose to move toward a better direction no matter how difficult it was.
“You really are an amazing person, Tower Master.”
The strength to keep moving without collapsing.
The mentality to endlessly whip himself forward and continue improving.
That was a realm Magiro Wilson could never reach in the end.
“Ah, the mood’s getting too heavy. Let’s talk about something else?”
“......Then wanna hear about the kids?”
“Oh, hold on. Don’t tell me you mean those little brats I remember?”
“Listen first. It’s a long story.”
He told him about Sasha, Lloyd, and Gilliot.
Magiro’s expressions shifted constantly as he listened, before he slowly nodded.
“Hmm. More’s happened than I expected.”
“Yeah. Right now, the important thing is restoring Gilli’s memories.”
“Memories, huh...... I think I might be able to help with that part.”
“What? How?”
“You said Gilli’s still only level 7, didn’t you? Leave it to me.”
“But I don’t know if a kid whose mind still isn’t stable can clear a dungeon alone.”
“There you go again, being overprotective. I’ll design the dungeon myself. He might not completely regain his memories, but I should at least be able to crack those hardened memories a little.”
Oscar hesitated briefly.
Normally, he would never allow it, but this was Magiro.
The same guy who had once been called a walking encyclopedia, knowledgeable in all kinds of fields.
“So if I trust you, you really want me to bring him?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Replying lightly, Magiro stood from his seat.
Seeing that, Oscar asked with a tense expression.
“Why are you getting up already? There’s still so much we haven’t talked about.”
“This is why unemployed people are no good. Unlike you, Tower Master, I’m still actively working, so I’m busy.”
“But just a little longer.......”
“Ah, no can do. Get up already, hurry.”
Magiro pressed him with a deliberately annoyed look.
Knowing exactly why he was acting like this, Oscar couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
“Look at you. You want to stay together too.”
“......You really are dense. That’s exactly why I’m trying to send you away quickly. I’m scared my resolve might waver.”
“I wouldn’t mind if it did.”
“Well I would, okay? Ah, hurry up already.”
When Oscar reluctantly stood, Magiro snapped his fingers.
A very familiar staff appeared in his hand.
“......Come to think of it, I should’ve realized the Dungeon Master was someone close to me the moment I saw that.”
“Ah, sorry about that, even if it’s late. You weren’t using it, so I quietly borrowed it. I figured the dungeon would attract more attention that way.”
“You dared lay hands on the Tower Master’s belongings. What an unbelievable bastard.”
Lightly chuckling, Oscar grasped the staff and spoke.
“But this was already the reward when the completion rate was only 8%, so since I cleared 100%, shouldn’t you add something extra?”
“Tch, sharper than I expected. I was actually wondering what to give you...... but I’ve decided. Hup!”
Suddenly throwing his head back, Magiro pretended to yank his own head off.
Then he held out something heavy as though handing it over to Oscar.
“Here, take it quickly. It’s heavy.”
“......What is this?”
“My head.”
Oscar stared at him flatly, and Magiro withdrew his hand before shaking his head as if disappointed.
“Ah, forget it. We really don’t match.”
Pulling out a book from his coat, Magiro spoke.
“You know one of the Four Great Counts, Lapiros, right? The guy you always made me mark.”
“You had the best compatibility against him.”
Lapiros, the One Who Sees Ahead.
Predicting and dodging the trajectory of every attack while approaching with movements so eerie they resembled a ghost.
That was why the only solution was to bombard him with an absurd amount of magic so overwhelming that even someone like Magiro, who could read trajectories, wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
“After fighting that bastard so many times, I eventually realized something too. So for the twenty-something years it took before this dungeon activated, I devoted myself entirely to digging into that one thing. And this is the result.”
“......Magiro Time? What’s this?”
Oscar asked after reading the title written on the book.
“It’s a spell. A spell I created by reinterpreting Lapiros’s ability in my own way.”
“Oh.”
His interest was piqued slightly.
Magiro had created quite a few interesting personal spells before, like 『Eye of the Firmament』.
In terms of theory alone, he was a mage equal to or even beyond Oscar himself.
“This is interesting. What does it do?”
“It hyper-accelerates thought.”
“......Hyper-accelerates thought?”
Oscar tilted his head.
He couldn’t quite understand at first glance.
“What’s the merit in that? Does it make mental arithmetic faster or something?”
“If that’s what you want, go enroll in an abacus academy or something. The moment this spell activates, the user’s thought speed increases explosively. To the point where it creates the illusion that the surrounding world has slowed down. In that state, you can calculate your opponent’s posture, breathing, gaze, mana flow, the surrounding terrain, variables—everything—and even predict their next action. If I can do it, then you probably can too, Tower Master.”
“......What?”
Oscar’s mouth fell open in shock.
Just from the explanation alone, the effect sounded completely absurd.
Enjoying his reaction, Magiro smiled with satisfaction as he continued.
“Ah, of course, there is one tiny little drawback.”
“Well, something like that can’t be helped. What is it?”
“The duration is a little short. At most, around one to two seconds.”
“......That’s way too short. Is mana capacity the issue by any chance?”
If that was the case, it didn’t matter.
He already possessed more mana now than he had even as a level 9 in his previous life.
“No. The problem is the brain.”
“The brain?”
“Yup. The human brain wasn’t originally designed with this level of processing power in mind. So it can’t withstand the amount of information flooding in all at once. That’s why it’s one to two seconds. No matter how much you force it, I don’t recommend maintaining it for more than three seconds. Any longer and your brain will burn out, turning you into an idiot like Radan.”
Gulp.
Oscar swallowed hard.
The effect was incredibly attractive, but it was a spell that came with equally massive risks.
“......I remember now. Right before Magiro died, he dodged every single attack from the Great Emperor while closing in.”
Because of that, an opening had appeared, allowing them to inflict a fatal wound.
Though Magiro himself had died immediately afterward.
‘So that was this spell’s power.’
If so, then even if only temporarily, it meant the spell could function against a level 9 opponent.
Oscar asked.
“Are you really okay with giving this to me?”
“I was planning to pass it down to someone worthy eventually anyway. If it’s you, Tower Master, there’s nothing to hesitate over.”
It was only a single book, yet why did it feel so unbearably heavy?
Oscar slowly nodded.
“It’s not really revenge, but I’ll make sure to settle things properly. So don’t worry about what comes after.”
“I’m not worried. The demon bastards are the ones who should be.”
Magiro held out a fist.
“I wish you good fortune in battle, our Tower Master.”
“......Yeah.”
Neither of them said something like, “See you again.”
If that were possible, it would naturally happen on its own.
The moment Oscar bumped his fist against the one Magiro extended—
Srrrrrrk.
The background disappeared, and Oscar was transported outside the dungeon.
Even now, the front of the dungeon was packed with people.
Before entering, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now they looked different to him.
‘They’re full of hope.’
People flushed with excitement at the hope that they could become stronger.
People emerging with rewards, smiling in satisfaction.
This was probably the kind of scene Magiro had wanted as well.
‘Too bad he can’t see it himself.’
Smiling bitterly, Oscar moved back to his room before the gloomy feelings could rise again.
The Mad Demon, who had been sitting in the corner as usual, sensed his presence and abruptly lifted his head.
“Long time no see. Been well?”
Before, the guy at least acted happy when Oscar came back to the room, but after not seeing him for a few months, he was completely on guard again.
Normally, Oscar would’ve taken him out for a walk or something to rebuild some rapport, but......
“You little bastard, come with me somewhere.”
When Oscar grabbed his arm, the Mad Fiend resisted as though he absolutely didn’t want to go.
Oscar soothed the visibly disgusted fellow.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re not going somewhere weird. Yeah, we’re going to eat meat. Meat.”
“......Grrr.”
At the word “meat,” all the strength behind his violent resistance drained away instantly.
Thanks to that, Oscar was able to bring the now-docile Mad Fiend over to the front of the dungeon.
“Grr?”
Unable to spot any meat no matter where he looked, the Mad Fiend vigorously protested with gestures.
“I’ll let you eat as much as you want after you come out. Off you go.”
Fwoooooosh!
Using the wind as it was, Oscar shoved him straight into the dungeon, then dusted off both hands.
“Hopefully this time it’ll actually have some effect.”

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