The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 213: Eternal Moment (1)
Sasha was a child who loved people and learned quickly from a young age.
Perhaps because of that, she used to follow her two senior brothers around almost every day.
‘As a result, she ended up with a personality that's a mix of the two.’
Lloyd was a perfectionist who finished everything he started with meticulous precision.
Gilly, on the other hand, was stubborn and had to experience things firsthand to be satisfied.
Growing up with those two, Sasha never relied on others for even the smallest errands.
‘If Gilly, with his meddlesome nature, tried to help her out, she’d burst into tears, saying it was unfair.’
Thus, someone with a stubborn desire to perfectly complete tasks on her own was born.
Because of this, over time, people around her became hesitant to offer help—
especially since she would glare at them with sulky eyes if they did.
‘And this trait is even stronger when it comes to matters related to me.’
When it came to anything involving him, Sasha absolutely refused help from others.
She insisted on handling everything herself and wanted to be praised for it alone.
Her behavior, resembling a baby bird faithfully following its mother, was quite endearing—but also worrisome.
That was because it was one of the rare instances where the usually rational Sasha let emotions take over.
‘I thought that side of her would've faded during the 21 years I was gone...’
But he had been mistaken.
After reuniting, Sasha clung to him even more fiercely than before.
‘That part of her is probably what led to the current situation.’
Oscar glanced sideways at Sasha, who was walking with a dejected air.
She had been like that ever since the battle ended.
‘Right now, Sasha is undeniably the strongest force in this party.’
And her reason for joining the journey in the first place had been to protect him.
But instead of protecting him, she had ended up needing his help.
She had even been compared to his past self, and her self-esteem as a Tower Master had taken a hit.
Personally, he suspected she was deeply disappointed in her own perceived powerlessness.
‘That’s probably why it happened.’
Why the Mind Demon took root in Sasha.
Oscar’s eyes held deep concern as he looked at her.
Medically speaking, a Mind Demon was similar to a type of mental illness.
‘It’s a deadly psychological affliction that only affects magic users of Master level or higher.’
Due to the enlightenment required at higher levels, mental stability was essential.
But the Mind Demon was a devil that constantly shattered that stability.
‘It usually appears when one’s self-belief starts to waver.’
The Mind Demon torments its host by bombarding them with relentless questions.
And listening to those questions makes it feel like everything they’ve worked for is wrong.
‘Like your very existence is being denied—like you’re defective.’
And the reason it feels that way?
Because the Mind Demon speaks half-truths.
That’s what makes it terrifying.
If the voice in your head were spouting only lies, you could just scoff and ignore it.
But it blends truth and fiction so skillfully that your mind and heart inevitably begin to waver.
‘I’ve gone through it plenty myself.’
Until he gained solid confidence in himself, he too had suffered greatly.
That’s why he understood the danger better than anyone.
‘If left alone, it could be disastrous.’
It wasn’t something that could be brushed off as a mere mental slump.
If it wasn’t dealt with in time, it could lead to madness or even cause magical outbursts.
And unfortunately, it wasn’t something others could cure.
The Mind Demon was a sickness of the heart—like a fog that only disperses once the person finds their own clarity.
‘The best outcome would be for Sasha to regain her confidence on her own...’
But in her current state, with her self-worth so diminished, that seemed unlikely.
At that moment, Kaya approached carefully and asked,
“Is it okay to leave her like that?”
“...Right now, there’s nothing we can really do for her.”
“True.”
Kaya nodded in agreement, as if she had also experienced a Mind Demon before.
“Then we’ll just have to keep a closer eye on her. What about the new route?”
“It’s not bad. We had to backtrack a bit, so crossing the mountain range should take about two more days. Until then, we shouldn’t encounter Yuribe again.”
They had chosen a path opposite from the direction that Yuribe and the Devourer of Mountains had gone.
Hearing this, Oran spoke up.
“Brother, then what about the Calamities? What are the odds we’ll run into one of the five great calamities of the Red Mountains?”
“We're doing our best to avoid them too.”
As he feared, encountering one of the Calamities would be disastrous.
After their battle with an 8th-level demon, none of the four were in top condition.
At this point, running into any Calamity could mean total annihilation.
‘At least the Devourer of Mountains is too busy chasing Yuribe to come after us. That’s a relief.’
That left four remaining Calamities, and one of those—the Red Witch—was now considered a legend.
So in reality, there were only three to worry about.
With that in mind, Oscar closed his eyes and spread out his magical senses.
“......”
Sensing no hostile presence, he withdrew his magic and shook his head.
“There’s nothing within range at the moment. Since we’re checking periodically as we move, I don’t think there’s any serious danger.”
“Brother, speaking of which—how far can you currently detect?”
Oscar was the first to notice Yuribe’s presence and had given them all a warning.
Oran had been dying to ask—just how wide was his detection range?
“Hmm...”
After a brief pause to measure it, Oscar answered.
“Because the magical flow around here is unstable, my range is a bit limited right now.”
“So how far is it?”
“Roughly 10 kilometers.”
“...That’s insane.”
Oran muttered under his breath.
Detecting that kind of range from the base of a mountain was something only a Master with specialized sensing abilities could do.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
And while Oran himself was a 7th-level Master, he knew he couldn’t sense enemies 10 kilometers away.
“That settles it. Brother, you really should—oh, my bad.”
He caught himself and glanced at Sasha, offering a quick apology.
Kaya then spoke.
“Still, with that kind of range, we should be able to avoid even the Calamities, right?”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Oran shook his head slightly.
“If we’re talking about the Eye Thief, then 10 kilometers is nothing. It could cover that distance in the blink of an eye.”
“It’s that fast?”
“Very. Faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“......”
Among all the beings he had encountered, Kaya was surely included.
Realizing that, she nodded.
“That’s ridiculously fast.”
“Yes, but there’s no need to worry too much. As long as it doesn’t know our exact location and come charging in a straight line, we’re unlikely to run into it. Right, brother?”
“That's right,”
Oscar agreed.
“As long as we don’t recklessly use magic and draw attention, it’s hard to find anyone in these vast mountains. And this is the second peak—relatively the safest place.”
“Relatively safe? So the disasters have specific areas they’re active in?”
“Yes. The Empire groups them together as ‘disasters’ for convenience, but that doesn’t mean they’re on the same side.”
According to the records from 21 years ago, the Imperial family had identified the location of each disaster as follows:
-First Peak – Mad Wind, Silmarion
-Third Peak – Snow Thief
-Fourth Peak – Red Witch
-Fifth Peak – The One Who Swallowed the Mountain
-Seventh Peak – Noise Swarm
“Oh, that’s more precise than we knew.”
Oran looked at him with curious eyes.
“Your brother really is impressive. That was classified information even within the Imperial court—how did you find out?”
“Well... a bit of this and that.”
“But I’ve never heard of the disaster on the First Peak before. What kind of being is it?”
To Kaya’s question, Oscar gave a short answer.
“A spirit. More precisely... a wind spirit that’s gone mad.”
Oscar’s eyes grew heavy as he recalled the being.
The Spirit King of Wind, Silence Silaphrion—he had never forgotten his promise to her.
‘Silmarion was the first and most powerful spirit ever created.’
From a human perspective, he could be considered her firstborn child.
But about 25 years ago, he manifested to stop the demons—and was consumed by demonic energy, losing his mind.
Silaphrion’s sorrow and rage at that loss were immense.
So immense that she had supported the White Tower with her full strength, wanting to erase every last demon.
‘In exchange for that great help, she asked for just one thing:’
To release Silmarion from his suffering.
It was a promise Oscar had failed to keep in his previous life.
This time, he wanted to fulfill it—a burden he now carried in his heart.
‘Of course, that wouldn’t be easy with my current strength.’
Silmarion was roughly level 8 in power.
One might ask why he didn’t take him down in a past life—but he had tried, several times.
Even so, no matter how thoroughly he scoured the First Peak, he couldn’t find him.
‘That creature doesn’t remain physically manifested.’
That made him exceptionally hard to deal with—appearing and disappearing at will, making tracking nearly impossible.
Kaya let out a short sigh.
“A spirit, huh... sounds like it’ll be tough to deal with.”
“Think of it like a ghost-type. Physical attacks don’t work at all—you have to coat your magic on every strike.”
After several more hours of travel, Oscar gave the order to rest.
They needed to conserve stamina, and it was a good time to eat.
He took an opened can of soup and walked over to Sasha.
“Tower Master, it’s mealtime.”
“......”
“Tower Master?”
He lightly shook her shoulder, and Sasha finally snapped out of it.
“Ah, sorry. What did you say?”
“It’s time to eat.”
“Eat? I’m not really hungry right n—”
“You have to eat.”
Oscar firmly handed her the can.
She accepted it reluctantly.
“Thanks. I’ll eat it.”
“You need strength to go on.”
Sitting beside her, Oscar started eating his own soup as he asked:
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Well...”
Sasha looked over at Kaya and Oran, then quietly raised her mana.
She created a soundproof barrier to keep the conversation private, then let out a deep sigh.
“Master... When do you think you’ll reach level 7?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because... when you do, I’d like to pass the position of Tower Master back to you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Oscar spoke sharply.
“The White Tower Master right now is you. I have no intention of taking my student’s seat.”
“I’m not talking about taking—it’s something I want to give...”
Sasha pouted and muttered in a small voice.
“Master would obviously do a way better job than someone like me.”
“Not even close.”
Oscar shook his head.
“In fact, you’re far more suited to be the Tower Master than I am.”
“I’m really happy and grateful to hear that from you, but... come on. That can’t be true.”
“I’m not saying this to make you feel better.”
Wearing a half-serious expression, he continued.
“Inheriting a well-established organization and maintaining it is easy. But slowing the inevitable collapse of a shattered institution? That’s hard.”
He was talking about the White Tower.
He had only inherited the completed tower from the previous masters and his own teacher.
There was very little left to build or improve.
To be honest, even if it had been neglected for a few years, it would’ve run itself just fine.
But the White Tower Sasha inherited was different.
‘The tower I ruined with my own hands, stripped of everything.’
And yet, the only reason it hadn’t been expelled from the Four Great Towers was because of Sasha’s leadership.
“If I had been your age, I probably couldn’t have done the same.”
“No way.”
“I mean it.”
“Really?”
“Really, really.”
As he kept praising her, Sasha’s expression finally began to soften.
“I think the happiest moments of my life are when Master praises me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’d love to stop praising you, but you’re too good at what you do—I can’t stop. Stop being so excellent.”
“Hehehe.”
Oscar smiled as he watched Sasha flush shyly.
‘Of course, this alone won’t wash away her inner scars...’
But if her heart had lightened even a little—for now, that was enough.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

Comments

Loading...