“That’s interesting. Most people say wands are more convenient.”
“…Right now, this just feels more comfortable.”
Eden questioned why I chose arm guards worn on my hands instead of a wand as my magical tool.
I couldn’t explain the reason, but it was simply my preference.
Unless it’s a high-grade wand that can be properly tamed, I don’t intend to use one easily.
“Phew, I never thought this day would come so soon. I thought it would take a few more years.”
On the other hand, Eden, who carried a wand, glanced at me and muttered to himself.
His emotion in his gaze was peculiar—part blame and resentment, part amazement and admiration.
In any case, following Leoden’s orders, Eden had quit manual labor and started working as a climber alongside me.
“The master said that as an experienced climber, I should guide you, my junior. But honestly, I barely know anything myself. The only things I’ve done are the easiest tasks here on the second floor of Edelion. Since you’re the brilliant genius, I’ll trust you in battle, okay?”
“Why did you quit?”
“…I had my reasons.”
When I asked the reason, he flinched and averted his gaze.
There were plenty of reasons one could guess.
The most common is losing someone or barely escaping death while challenging the tower’s trials.
When such scars are imprinted during the early, inexperienced stages, many find it hard to overcome them.
Even seasoned veterans sometimes have their old wounds reopen.
Eden likely fell into this category.
From his words and actions, he pretended to be fine, but if even a small crisis arose, those hidden memories might resurface.
‘Not that he’d be enough to hold me back, anyway.’
Even if he tried to hinder me, he wouldn’t succeed, so I didn’t particularly care if he became dead weight.
After all, I had no obligation to help him.
However, it didn’t sit well with me to see someone who could be considered my junior struggling in a place like this.
He’s also a fellow dark mage—the only other one I could trust besides Leoden.
If someone with talent like him got scared and buried himself in the lower floors, helping him rise as high as possible would benefit me as well.
“Let’s go. For now, we’ll start with a little warm-up.”
Once we finished preparing, we stepped out onto the street.
It hadn’t been long since I returned to the first floor, but now I was setting foot in the tower again.
“The tower’s trials come in various forms. Dungeon types where you enter and clear a dungeon, open types where gates appear in public areas, large-scale invasions or defensive battles that occur at scheduled times…”
Eden didn’t stop explaining, diligently carrying out the task assigned to him.
As he said, the trials of the tower varied widely depending on the floor.
There are floors with over 100 trials and others with just one.
And if you meet certain conditions on a floor, you’re granted the qualification to move to the next one.
To ascend from the second floor, Edelion, to the third floor, you must clear one of the five highest-grade trials on the second floor.
The purpose of the numerous training centers here revolves around that goal.
“Those who enter the training centers receive solid support from factions and advance without difficulty…but that’s not us. We have to start from the bottom, with the lowest of the low.”
“The lowest of the low?”
“I mean the ones who can’t show their faces openly. Like us.”
Eden smirked and gestured toward an alleyway.
There, climbers equipped with various weapons were gathered.
Some were criminals on the run, others were ostracized by factions and couldn’t operate openly, and still others sought to evade taxes and make more money.
Whether on the lower or upper floors, light and shadow coexist.
As a dark mage, this was another society I was destined to be part of.
Though I feigned ignorance by asking Eden questions, there was no way I didn’t know.
I had already seen and experienced it all firsthand.
“We don’t need companions today. Just the two of us will suffice.”
The trial we chose to attempt was among the easiest on the second floor.
It involved entering a dungeon set in the city’s underground sewers and battling giant cricket-like monsters the size of large cats.
“Not scared, huh?”
They were insignificant creatures, unworthy even of being made into wraiths.
Weak enough to be wiped out with basic magic.
As I effortlessly dealt with the cricket monsters, Eden muttered in surprise.
He kept glancing at me, as if expecting me to scream at their grotesque appearance or sheer numbers.
“The rewards are as stingy as the difficulty.”
Unfortunately, I’m not afraid of bugs.
After clearing the dungeon and collecting the rewards, I let out a dry chuckle at the sight of lower-tier enhancement stones and cricket carapaces.
In the past, my heart might have raced at my first real battle and its rewards, but now my standards were too high for such trifles to impress me.
“Not satisfied with this? You want more?”
Eden frowned, seemingly annoyed that my reaction wasn’t what he expected.
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to tease me or genuinely wanted to motivate me, but it seemed he was determined to provoke a response.
“Neither of us has mastered wraith resurrection yet. For now, this is the best we can manage together. To aim higher, we’ll need companions.”
Eden, suddenly acting haughty, shrugged his shoulders.
Truthfully, he was just as excited as I was, though he tried to suppress it.
After so long, his anticipation outweighed his fear of being back.
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