Chapter 1305. The Magic Tower (18)

The official reason was to bring Jo Hye-Jin’s spear to the Blue Guild, but there was no denying that something had changed in Kim Hyun-Sung’s heart. From the start, the fact that the guy who decided to stay in Heren ended up heading to Lindel after dropping me off was already strange.

Of course, it was hard to say that facing Jo Hye-Jin’s death had fully awakened him... but at the very least, he seemed like he was preparing to be reborn.

Just a little further, just one more step forward, and he would be ready to break past the wall.

Yet, at that very instant, calamity struck, leaving me speechless.

Granted, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Kim Hyun-Sung would eventually bring the remaining members of the Blue Guild back to Heren... but who could say that for sure?

‘What if he runs away again this time, too?’

The truth was that people would never change so easily. One just had to think about how many things had to happen before Second Life Kim Hyun-Sung was forged, and one would understand what I was talking about.

In this second life, he had a record of running away again and again. He had chosen to escape over and over again. With that in mind, what about his first life? He had to have been even worse.

Back then, Kim Hyun-Sung was more timid, more fragile, and messed up inside. Behind the mask of the icy Northern Grand Duke was clumsy, soft-hearted Kim Hyun-Sung.

He was no hero by birth but was crafted into one.

‘Seriously, I had to shape him into what he is today from the very beginning. Don’t tell me he knew something was about to happen in Heren and left in advance?’

It wasn’t unreasonable for me to feel suspicious of him.

Meanwhile, Heren’s internal affairs seemed to be spiraling toward disaster.

“...”

“

Whoo...

”

“Damn it... Our only communication artifact is gone. That fat-bellied bastard... must’ve run off with it,” Big Boy said.

'It's unbelievable how primitive this place is...’

“What about the carrier pigeons? Did you send word to others?” Carlton asked.

‘Carrier pigeons, seriously? Might as well send a regular pigeon.’

“Why haven’t we lit the beacon yet? Do the other cities even know what’s going on in Heren?” Big Boy questioned.

‘And now they want to light a beacon? What era are we? Are we in the Three Kingdoms era?’

“Couldn’t the mages cast a signal spell or something?” Big Boy asked.

‘Well, at least that one’s a bit original...’

“There’s a defensive spell around the castle, so anything like that won’t go through. It repels any spells from the inside, after all,” Carlton answered.

The state of their magic was laughably primitive. A defensive barrier would repel spells from the inside. What the hell was it supposed to protect?

“Big Boy, so you’re saying that fat bastard has to be the one to ask for help from outside?” Carlton asked.

“But do you really think that bastard’s going to ask for reinforcements? Once word gets out that he abandoned this place, that tyrant, Charlotte, will definitely not spare him. He’d be lucky if that were to happen.

"Honestly, it’s hard enough for him to even escape, and if he somehow managed to escape, odds are he’s just looking for a way to save his own skin,” added Carlton.

“Even the rangers couldn’t make it out at all... so then...” Big Boy trailed off.

“Yeah, we’re completely cut off. Like a rat in a trap... damn it,” Carlton mumbled.

“How much food do we have left?” Big Boy asked.

“Hard to say... but at least the supplies inside the lord’s castle are plentiful. We should be able to last another two months,” Carlton replied.

“That bloated bastard... just how much has he been stuffing his face? Damn it,” Big Boy lampooned.

“As Ironic as it sounds, that’s the only reason we can hold out a little longer. But if they decide to storm the castle... we’re all as good as dead,” Carlton remarked.

“...”

“...”

I could hear Big Boy and Carlton talking to each other.

They were the same old topics like why the chimeras had surrounded the castle and if anyone outside would even notice what was happening here. They were also worried about whether we could count on them to figure it out first.

Naturally, their conclusion was that someone

could

notice what was going on.

‘Yeah, right, like it’s going to be that easy.’

The only route in and out was the supply wagons traveling back and forth to Heren, and even those were probably under the masked bastards’ control by now.

It seemed like the masked bastards had taken over Heren’s logistics industry a long time ago, and even if that wasn’t the case, travelers going in and out were definitely being monitored.

In short, Heren had been completely isolated. It was already an out-of-the-way place that few people visited, and unless one were headed to the black market, there'd really be no reason to come here.

So yeah, this was made possible because the masked bastards had planned this so meticulously. Without that meticulousness, this whole scheme would easily fall apart. If there was a silver lining in all these...

‘Their eyes aren't that great.’

It felt like they hadn’t noticed that Kim Hyun-Sung had already slipped out of Lindel. They had no Telescope like me, so to keep tracking something, they’d need elite trackers.

Otherwise, they’d have to rely on Belial’s power, and paying the price for that every time couldn’t be easy. Still, they were pretty good when it came to making chimeras.

‘Even in the second life, it was rare to see this level of quality...’

Anyway, it was about time for me to get up and move. I wiggled a finger...

“

Oh?!

He’s awake!” Carlton shouted.

“Did you see the kid’s finger move just now?!” Big Boy shouted as well.

The first thing they did was shove water into my face.

Carlton just jammed a cup right into my mouth, so I had no choice but to gulp it down.

‘You’re choking me here, damn it.’

“H-How are you feeling?” Carlton asked.

“You little punk. You alright? Do you know where you are right now?” Big Boy asked.

“Wait, you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?!” Carlton asked.

“Carlton, back off, you idiot! You’re scaring the kid,” Big Boy criticized him.

“

Oi!

Someone bring a priest over here!” Carlton requested.

“Kid! Hey! Can you hear me?!” Big Boy called out to me.

Honestly, the proper thing would be to let me take my time and wake up slowly, but looking at these idiots making a scene, I couldn’t stand it anymore. In the end, I sprang up and spoke straight to Big Boy.

“I’m fine! I-I just fell asleep. It’s super stressful when you all stand there staring at me like that!” I yelled at them.

“

Huh?

”

“I’m totally fine. There’s nothing wrong with me... I just passed out from mana exhaustion and got tired, that’s all. There’s no need to call a priest or worry so much. You’re overreacting, seriously.”

‘Man, you’re all way too much. This is suffocating.’

Two huge, burly guys stood up and stared straight at me, making me feel overwhelmed. Perhaps they had to have realized that they’d gone overboard with the overprotectiveness because they let out these awkward, embarrassed coughs.

The atmosphere even turned a bit awkward.

We met suddenly and had to sort things out in a rush, so there hadn’t been any chance for a proper conversation. Of course, they already had a rough idea of what had happened and seemed to understand that I could cast strange spells, but still, facing each other like this in broad daylight felt a little awkward.

A heavy silence settled, and after a few seconds, Carlton was the first to speak.

“Yoojin’s safe. It’s all thanks to you,” said Carlton.

“If I hadn’t disappeared in the first place, nobody would’ve gotten hurt... It’s my fault, really. I’m sorry,” I said.

So... what the hell were you doing,

huh?

You little punk...” Big Boy asked.

“I-I don’t really know. I just came to and found myself wandering the streets. This has... happened to me before, sometimes,” I answered.

“What? Wandering where...?” Big Boy asked.

“In the alleys near the plaza. That’s where I was when I came to,” I answered.

“Wh-What happened there? Did something happen?” Big Boy asked.

“Nothing happened. I woke up maybe two, three hours later... but, you know, people in Heren don’t really care about others. So, yeah...” I answered.

“You little brat! That depends on the person! A kid like you wandering around late at night, something could’ve happened to you! You just got lucky, got it? You have any idea how many thugs are out there? You ever see the retainer traders around here,

huh?

” Big Boy questioned.

“I-I’ve seen them,” I stuttered.

“Then what the hell?! Zoning out like that, what were you thinking? Damn it!” Big Boy shouted.

“I-I’m sorry. It hasn’t happened in a while... I thought it wouldn’t happen anymore,” I mumbled.

“Seriously! Pay attention when you’re walking around,” Big Boy yelled.

‘What the hell is his problem? How is this my fault? Is this really my fault? Why’s he getting mad at me?’

Big Boy looked seriously worked up. Perhaps he realized that he was yelling for no good reason, as he suddenly went quiet. He even leaned over to whisper something to Carlton.

“Damn it... so it

is

a side effect. You punk,” Big Boy whispered.

“What, you thought it wasn’t?” Carlton questioned.

“So what do we do?” Carlton asked.

“What else? We just... treat him like we always do,” Big Boy answered.

“Weren’t we planning to ask a bunch of questions? Like what’s with that holy power, and those strange tentacles... Shouldn’t we know a little more about them?” Carlton asked.

“So... you’re going to ask him directly?” Big Boy questioned.

“...”

“...”

“Honestly, we don’t need to ask. We’ve got a rough idea already,” Big Boy added.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s probably from experiments or whatever. No point making the kid remember all that and stressing him out. Don’t you think?” Carlton asked.

‘Well, that’s true.’

“We’re not even sure if he

can

remember... Let’s just leave it be for now,” Big Boy suggested.

After their whispering, they ruffled my hair like nothing had happened.

“Well, for now, we’ll forgive you,” Carlton said.

“

Heh... hehehe...

” I laughed.

“And... I’m just saying this so you don’t get too shocked, but things have gotten a little complicated. Whatever happens... don’t panic, okay?” Big Boy said.

‘What the hell is he saying?’

“Just trust us. No matter what happens,” he added.

“

Ah...

okay,” I answered.

At first, I was confused, but after glancing around, I had a rough idea why they said that things had gotten complicated.

‘This room is way too fancy.’

Big Boy’s party and I were staying in a ridiculously luxurious room. It wouldn’t have been strange at all if I had woken up in some storeroom or a retainer’s quarters in the castle, but no, this room looked like something straight out of a noble’s private suite.

‘Ah, damn it... This is exactly why I can’t afford to stand out.’

Sure enough, as soon as Big Boy took me outside, I heard cheers everywhere.

‘They’ve turned me into some kind of beacon of hope.’

It was obvious what was going on.

‘These idiots think I’m their savior.’

A random kid appeared out of nowhere, wiped out the normal chimeras, and even managed to injure a special variant, so of course, these pieces of trash wouldn't stay quiet about it.

The castle was surrounded, and they found something to pin their hopes on.

Big Boy seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was feeling from all the attention, so he squeezed my shoulder firmly.

‘Damn it...’

“If you’re feeling anxious, just trust me,” Big Boy said.

“O-Okay, hyung,” I answered.

‘He’s actually reliable.’

“I’ve already smoothed things over, so you don’t have to worry,” Big Boy reassured me.

‘That’s easy for you to say. Everyone’s staring at me.’

For the record, I had no intention of becoming famous in the first life. This wasn’t supposed to be the tale of Lee Ki-Young shaking the world; it was supposed to be a small, cozy story about a kid traveling with Big Boy.

And yet, the faction that had seized control of the lord’s castle was striding toward us with heavy steps. Among the dignified figures approaching, a familiar face caught my eye. He was someone I never expected to see here.

“This is...” Big Boy asked.

“Right.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Song Soo-Kyung, in charge of defending Heren, at least for now,” Song Soo-Kyung said, introducing himself.

It was none other than Villain Song.

“...”

“...”

‘What the hell are you doing here?’