As I reached the top floor of the Tower of Magic, a cold breeze brushed against my face.
Magic circles danced in the air, glowing, and ether crystals sparkled like stars, floating around.
“Hero, please explain about Serena’s case.”
Lucy Crystal, the head of the Ether Tower and the academy’s principal, stared at me.
The office, surrounded by pure white marble, suddenly felt colder.
“As I mentioned, I elevated her energy through swordsmanship.”
At my words, Lucy’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
As her finger sliced through the air, a magic circle appeared. Within it, a bloodstained image played.
“Is this what you mean by elevation?”
It was a scene of Serena slaughtering thugs.
“She needed to relieve stress.”
The sky-blue eyes that had been watching her grew sharp.
As expected, a keen question flew at me. But it was a question I had already prepared an answer for.
“Relieving stress?”
Lucy smiled coldly. At her gesture, the surrounding magic circles spun rapidly.
“Twelve missing people. And five seriously injured. Are you saying this was just stress?”
I bit my lip. Did this woman know everything?
“Why did she, who was called the prodigy of the Alterion family, make such an extreme choice?”
“Serena was a genius, but at the same time, she was a monster with homicidal urges. She lived her life wearing a mask. But in the end, her true nature had to surface.”
The image in the magic circle changed. This time, it was the usual Serena. She was teaching other students with a perfect smile.
“Both sides are Serena. One is the uncontrollable urge to kill, the other is a forced mask.”
Lucy touched her chin, as if urging me to continue. Her sharp scholar’s gaze analyzed my words.
“So, I focused her murderous intent in one direction. Instead of indiscriminate murder, towards a single goal…”
“Towards you?”
“Yes. Now, I’m her only target. There will be no more victims.”
Lucy paused for a moment.
“That’s a dangerous gamble. Do you think you can control her madness?”
“I just realized what she truly wanted. Not ordinary murder, but an eternal journey towards an unattainable goal.”
“Interesting. To elevate the madness of a killer into art… But if you fail, it’ll be an irreversible disaster.”
“That’s why I said I’ll take responsibility.”
Lucy stood up. Her sky-blue hair fluttered with magic power.
“Alright. Let’s watch and see. A decision worthy of a hero.”
“After all, didn’t you know from the beginning? Isn’t that why you left it to me?”
“Ah… you figured it out? At first, it was just a simple mischief. Taking care of some thugs late at night… It was something the academy could easily cover up.”
“So you concealed the incident for the sake of the academy’s reputation?”
“…If Serena had been an ordinary student, I would have dealt with it long ago. But she’s Alterion. The Minister of Magic, the Empire’s Chancellor… All of them come from the Alterion family. If it was revealed that their prodigy was a serial killer…”
“The political fallout would have been uncontrollable.”
The images in the magic circle continued to play. Murder scenes became more and more brutal.
“Her urges grew uncontrollably. I thought it would lead to disaster if things continued like this.”
“So, you sent me…”
“Yes, Hero… I thought you might be able to solve it somehow.”
A bitter smile appeared on Lucy’s lips.
“To be honest, I intended to make you take responsibility. I thought you would capture her and report it.”
My eyes widened. Did this woman try to use me as bait?
“But you… surpassed all our expectations.”
Lucy sliced through the air with an elegant gesture.
“To elevate through swordsmanship… turning a killer into an artist. Truly, an interesting solution.”
The magic circle shone, and a piece of parchment appeared.
“Now everything’s been resolved.”
Lucy stamped the parchment with a seal and continued.
“Thank you for solving the case. I’ll report it to the Alterion family. Their prodigy… now walks the path of the sword.”
Her voice carried a hint of sarcasm. We both knew it wasn’t a resolution, but a patching up.
“As promised, I’ll grant you access to the Arcana Records.”
Lucy handed me the parchment with a red seal.
Finally. It was in my hands.
The key to dimension-travel magic. The key to returning. How much had I struggled to reach this point?
“You can now access all the records you desire.”
“Then, I will end my time as the academy’s combat instructor here.”
“Oh, are you planning to quit?”
Her voice sounded oddly hollow.
“Yes, now that I’ve been granted access to the records, and Serena’s case is resolved.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to what comes next, Hero.”
As the door to the Arcana Records opened, a mysterious blue light poured out. Glowing magic books reached up to the ceiling, and books floated by themselves, returning to their places.
“Finally…”
The clue I had been searching for. The key to returning was supposed to be here.
When I reached out to the first shelf, a list of magic spells appeared in the air. Thousands of titles gleamed and passed by.
[Understanding of Dimensional Gates]
[Record of Interdimensional Travelers]
[Advanced Space Magic Theory]
Documents that I had never seen in the game spilled out. Information so deep that it couldn’t be understood with the knowledge from the original work.
[Success Case: The Hero’s Return]
Most of the successful cases were those of heroes. However, the reason a hero could return was because of their connection with the saint. The saint, blessed by the goddess, had to perform the ceremony of the order.
This method wouldn’t work. Now that I had fled from the saint’s obsession, I couldn’t ask Seraphine for help.
“This…”
A book flew toward me. The title was written in ancient characters on the cover.
[The Final Journey of an Interdimensional Traveler].
My fingers trembled. As I opened the book, chilling records began.
Turning the pages, I read horrific accounts. Cases where only the soul returned, where the body was shattered, disasters where the time axis was skewed.
“If it were that easy, I would have returned long ago.”
A bitter smile escaped. In the game, it was simply stated that if the demon lord was defeated, the return would happen automatically.
Suddenly, another record caught my eye.
[Success Case: Dimensional Rift].
‘I finally found it.’
I unfolded the old parchment, and faint magic power tickled my fingertips. The secret of dimension travel, researched by ancient wizards, was written there.
Not the miracle of the goddess, but another method. A magic that directly creates a dimensional rift.
“Indeed… is this possible?”
I bit my lip. It was a dangerously reckless challenge.
But there was no other way.
‘At least, I’ve found a clue.’
I carefully closed the parchment. More preparation was still needed. Special magical materials, perfect timing, and most importantly… overwhelming magical power capable of tearing through dimensions.
It was far more dangerous and complex than I had anticipated.
But at least one thing became clear. I could return without the help of the church. For today, that was enough.
The moment I left the Arcana Records with a joyful heart, a cold sensation ran up my spine.
Lucy was waiting for me.
“Are you done already?”
There was a dangerous undertone in her voice. The surrounding magic circles started glowing in unison.
“I’ve seen everything I needed to.”
“Is that so?”
Lucy took a step closer. Her sky-blue hair fluttered with magic.
“By the way, I heard you don’t know much about magic engineering…”
A scholarly smile appeared on Lucy’s lips.
“Yet you can grasp the fundamental principles of Ether. Your intuition about the essence of magic is truly extraordinary.”
“No, I don’t know anything like that…”
“You don’t have to be humble. Not in front of me, at least.”
Her face slowly began to turn more maniacal.
“I think you’ll be able to help complete my research. The revival of ancient magic, the establishment of a new magical system… Together… with you, Hero…”
“Will you research with me?”
Her breath became heavy, filled with academic excitement.
“Hah… Hah… You can’t leave just yet.”
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine.
“Think about it. If your knowledge and my research abilities combine… we can spark a revolution in the magical world!”
This woman has completely lost it.
“You can recite ancient runes fluently, you know the secrets of magic from hundreds of years ago… Your special knowledge… I wonder how much more you know…”
Scholarly madness radiated from Lucy.
Damn it, did I flaunt too much knowledge back then? I showed off the original knowledge too much.
“I just happened to…”
“Happened to?”
Lucy laughed coldly. At her gesture, all the surrounding magic circles activated.
“So, you happened to solve my magic puzzle… happened to collect rare magical materials and accidentally learned practical runes? Is that what you’re saying?”
In that moment, all the exits were sealed with magic circles. There was no way to escape.
“You can’t do that. You can’t pretend you don’t know… Knowledge should be shared with everyone, don’t you think?”
From Lucy, reason had vanished, leaving only pure curiosity.
“I’m so eager to know your special knowledge. Every day will be a continuous discovery. I’ll research and analyze everything you know… one by one! And if you don’t like being an assistant…”
A chilling smile appeared on Lucy’s lips.
“I have a spot for an experiment subject, though?”
It was a different kind of madness from Serena’s—a pure academic obsession.
“Shall we go to the lab now?”
“Sorry, but I have a busy schedule…”
Lucy waved her hand. Dozens of magic circles appeared, pointing at me.
The ceiling, walls, and floor… the entire office was covered in magical circuits glowing blue.
I examined the walls closely. The spells etched at regular intervals. Each of them formed a perfect, harmonious sequence.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? The Ether Tower masters over the past 300 years have etched these one by one. A masterpiece filled with the essence of magic.”
The circuits shone brighter. The pulsing blue light was directed at me.
“I specially prepared this for a fleeing experiment… I mean, research partner.”
A chill ran down my spine. Did this woman always have this situation in mind from the start?
“I’m just a hero who only knows how to fight.”
“Hehe… Of course you are.”
Blue magical power flared from the tips of Lucy’s fingers.
“But there’s no choice. Let’s take our time and research every single thing about you. Unlimited budget…!”
Her magical power exploded. But what was more dangerous was the look in her eyes.
“Ah, this is really going to be a hassle…”