Episode 163
* * *
Aside from supervising the tower’s trials as a representative of the Black Tower, there was the tower’s trials that he had to take anyway.
At the age of fifteen, he acquired the ability to project heat engines as the Shadow Lord’s avatar based on the magic of the black, red, and blue. Dale’s current growth was beyond the level of the Empire’s greatest genius, and yet he was able to realize it painfully while watching the fight between the Immortal and Black Dukes that day.
It’s ridiculously inadequate.
I had to get stronger.
Even if they somehow managed to acquire enough strength to stand on equal terms with the outliers, what they showed that day was a miracle in itself that made even those strong men feel like they were fighting children.
The existence of the monarchs who rule this empire, and the real power they possess.
No, what the two Saxons showed that day was by no means their 100% power. But even that level of war of nerves was an area that Dale could not dare to approach.
Officially, the five magicians who stand at the top of the continent are the tower lords of the Five-Colored Magic Tower. But how many other unknown powerhouses, like the Immortal Frederick of the Shadow Magic Tower, exist?
The former Black Tower Lord and the Saxon Lord, who is now under the command of the Immortal Lord… …just like the 《Eldritch》.
Besides, how many monarchs are still keeping silence in the empire?
I don’t know. I remember the countless strong men I defeated as a warrior, but even they were just the tip of the iceberg.
So there was only one thing Dale could do. Get stronger. The Tower Trial was the training ground where he could most clearly obtain that strength.
Dale was able to master and wield a variety of abilities, but ultimately the basis of his power was the mana circle engraved on his heart.
A genius magician who achieved the level of the Fourth Circle at the age of twelve.
After that, the time came to test the results of the training that had been steadily built up through countless battles and experiences.
The time has finally come to jump over the wall standing in front of him.
It was a wall of 5 circles.
* * *
The top floor of the Black Tower.
“Lady Iris.”
Before Dale could begin his examination of the tower, he was greeted by the Black Tower’s secretary, Agent Eris.
“Ah, Prince Dale.”
Eris smiled businesslike, her monocle shining as usual, and Dale looked up at the highest level of the throne, reserved only for the Black Tower Lords.
The Black Tower’s throne.
“Would you like to sit down?”
As Dale looked at the spot, Eris asked.
“How dare I sit there?”
“Officially, Prince Dale is the representative of the Tower Lord. Also, as the successor of the Black Tower Lord, the Prince is more than qualified to take the position.”
“… … .”
Dale kept silent for a moment, then followed her words carefully. As she said, it was true that Dale was also performing the duties that the Black Tower Master was supposed to perform, apart from taking the test… … .
‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to sit down.’
Dale looked up from his seat on the black pedestal.
It felt not much different from when I first sat on the throne in the Duchy of Saxony.
Just sitting there, the sights unfolding around the Black Tower came into view as if on a CCTV.
“Your Majesty the King, Dale, will soon take that position officially.”
The black agent, Eris, spoke as she looked at Dale sitting on the throne of the Tower.
“I hope so too.”
Dale smiled, a little embarrassed.
“No, that is not what Confucius wishes.”
But Eris shook her head coldly.
“It is a fate I must bear as the successor to the House of Saxony.”
“… … .”
“Also, please entrust me with the task of supervising the exam on behalf of the Lord. It is my duty as a secretary.”
Eris continues.
“I hope that Your Majesty will just focus on proving his accomplishments.”
“Thank you, Iris.”
Listening to her, Dale nodded quietly.
A 7th Circle black magician who is the secretary of her father, the Black Duke, and also has the somewhat embarrassing nickname of ‘Princess of Darkness’.
Officially, she is a high-ranking elder who holds the second place in the Black Tower, succeeding the Black Lord. On the outside, she appears to be a woman of about twenty years of age with an intelligent and cold appearance, but her realm is by no means something that can be achieved in that many years.
“Do you think I can reach Circle 5 in this test, Lady Iris?”
So Dale asked, as if he were another master of black magic who wanted to learn from him.
“well.”
Eris tilted her head, her monocle shining.
“It’s something I don’t know.”
In a voice that was as businesslike as ever.
“Would you like to try it then?”
It was just then.
The black agent, Eris, asked back.
“Is it as 《Dark Princess》?”
Dale asked back. After all, the title of Black Agent meant the secretary of the Black Lord, and so she spoke the name she bore as the ‘Black Mage of the 7th Circle’.
“… … .”
But just then, behind the cold monocle, Iris’ expression flickered slightly.
“To be honest, I don’t really like that name.”
“ah.”
Hearing that, Dale closed his mouth in embarrassment. To be honest, it was a name that sounded a little embarrassing even to the speaker.
“I don’t think it’s that bad though.”
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“Really?”
As Dale tried to please her, Eris coldly asked back.
“… … To be honest, it sounds a little embarrassing.”
“… … .”
Iris spat out coldly.
At the same time, seven mana circles began to accelerate along her heart.
“Be swallowed up in darkness.”
Eris muttered softly, swishing pitch-black magic.
At the same time, the entire landscape began to sink into darkness.
‘The world of ideas… …!’
A landscape of the mind displayed by a high-ranking black magician of the 7th circle.
It was a thorn forest.
A world of thorns where sharp branches spread out in all directions like vines, engulfing the area.
“I guess Prince Dale is taking the Tower Test to reach the level of the 5th Circle.”
In that thorn forest there was a ‘princess of darkness’.
“Yes.”
Dale nodded.
“It would certainly help to face the strong in the Tower Test. But honestly, the chances of Prince Dale achieving the ‘5th Circle’ that way are slim.”
Dale held his breath at Eris’s words.
“The four circles that your Highness possesses are already so precisely refined that they would not be at a disadvantage even when facing off against the elders of the tower. Furthermore, considering the power of the magic book and the avatar that your Highness possesses, this is even more so.”
“… … Then what should I do?”
When he first made his third circle, Dale made the impossible possible by forcing himself into his world.
After that, he was able to obtain the realm of the 4th circle by borrowing the power of Death, the magic book of his father, Black Duke.
Dale’s expansion of the circle was by no means like that of ordinary wizards. Eris was acutely aware of Dale’s situation.
“As an assistant to the Lord of the Black Tower, it is also the secretary’s duty to guide his successor.”
Eris spoke blandly, adjusting her monocle. The thorny forest stretching out in all directions began to squirm as if it were a living creature.
“The ‘Tower Test’ is worth taking, if only to establish your position within the Black Tower. However, to truly open the next realm of circles, a more special test will be necessary.”
“A special test?”
Iris nodded silently.
“I heard that you once encountered the Immortal Frederick in the land of the Demon King.”
At those words, Dale swallowed softly.
“Then you must know the secrets of the old Saxon lords and the truth beyond Eldritch… Don’t you, Shadow Lord?”
“… … !”
“I have watched countless generations of Saxon lords grow into Black Tower lords.”
Dale couldn’t help but hold his breath at Eris’s subsequent words.
“Among them, there were those who accepted death of their own free will, while others furthermore rejected death and went to the land beyond where the Immortal resided.”
“Surely not, Lady Iris… … .”
“When the Immortal Frederick followed the ‘Strangers from Beyond’ to the Demon World, his son and a small group of Black Faction members decided to remain here in Saxony.”
Eris said.
“I was also one of the black people who decided to stay there.”
An identity that Dale could not even dare to imagine.
A black magician who has survived since time immemorial.
“And I am carrying out my duty as a librarian, organizing and accumulating the dark wisdom accumulated by the Saxon lords over the generations, so that it can be passed down to the next generation.”
Ancient Librarian.
“Could it be that Lady Eris taught my father?”
“Becoming a master of the magic tower is not something that can be accomplished through knowledge or wisdom accumulated in one generation.”
Eris said.
“It’s meaningless for a being who cannot be called human, like the Fire and Blood Lord who rules over the Red Tower. However, at least as long as the Prince and the Black Duke remain ‘human,’ bridging that gap will be nearly impossible.”
“But my father… … .”
He has the power to stand up to the Fire and Blood Lord, and even the Immortal Lord. Wasn’t he also one of the monarchs who ruled the empire?
“Surely not, Father too──.”
“I am just an ordinary person who has finally reached the age of 40.”
But Iris shook her head quietly.
So how on earth could a wizard in his forties stand at the top of the Black Tower and have powers that rival those of the ancients?
“As I said, that’s my role.”
The key to the answer was right in front of Dale.
“To the heads of the Saxon family, who can only accumulate one generation of knowledge even if they dedicate their entire lives, to passing on the knowledge accumulated and organized over generations.”
As a wizard who called himself a member of the Black Faction along with the Immortal Frederick during the ancient Black and White Tower era.
Another immortal who remains in the frozen soil of Saxony and passes on his legacy to the Saxon lords for generations.
“Is that the will of another Saxon, the Immortal Frederick?”
So Dale asked back coldly.
“So that he can reborn the Saxon lords as his subordinates, the Eldritch, and later destroy the Golden Empire and establish the Shadow Empire?”
From the beginning, was the Duke of Saxony simply a training center for nurturing the Immortal’s troops?
When I thought about it that way, all I could do was laugh.
“Have you seen the head of the Saxon family who has become an 《Eldritch》 and has attained immortality, training in the darkness of the demon world?”
Dale shook his head at Iris’ question.
“Among them, there are probably only three people, including the Immortal Lord, who can defeat Confucius’ father. No, even they can’t guarantee a 100% victory.”
“… … !”
“Isn’t it strange? Beings who can endlessly refine their magic while living an immortal life, are defeated by mere humans.”
Dale couldn’t answer that.
“But that is the power of man.”
Iris continued speaking without paying any attention.
“And I believe in Confucius’ determination not to give up on humanity.”
“… … !”
“It is up to Confucius to make decisions.”
Eris asked.
“As the successor to the Black Tower, are you prepared to inherit the darkness without abandoning humanity?”
It was a question not even worth answering.
