Chapter 60: The Trust in Dolls

[Evron: The 3rd Duel Tournament will be held. Registration is open for two days starting tomorrow, and the tournament will take place over the following four days.

As before, there will be no entry fee, so I hope many of you will participate.

Like the previous tournament, the videos from this event will also be uploaded to the bulletin board. Please take this into consideration.

The rewards for the tournament are as follows:

1st place: One-month pass for the 3rd floor

2nd place: Two-week pass for the 3rd floor

3rd place: One-week pass for the 3rd floor

4th place: 1,000 points

5th place: 500 points

Registration can be completed by approaching the doll set up at the entrance of the tower and expressing your intent to participate. We hope everyone will join with a light heart and have fun.]

[Hong Ryeong: Then I’ll take first place again this time.]

[Goro: Haha, do you really think you can? I’ll win this time.]

[Hong Ryeong: There won’t be any mistakes like last time, Goro.]

[Omon: That was hilarious back then. Charging in while taking off your clothes—there’s still footage of it, isn’t there?]

[Hao: But why is this even happening? I’m joining since there’s no fee, but still.]

[Yuna: Who knows? He started hosting these suddenly after returning from the last rank assessment.]

[Cassian: I’ll participate too.]

The crowd was buzzing with voices. They were eagerly anticipating the upcoming duel.

I could feel their eyes on me.

Glancing around, I noticed nearly everyone in the tower had gathered, surrounding the central hall where I stood.

Checking the mirror insect discreetly, I saw that the time was near.

I stretched briefly and cleared my throat loudly.

The sound, amplified by magic, echoed through the space.

“Everyone has gathered, I see. You’ve all been waiting for this moment, haven’t you? The time has come to finally reveal who is the strongest in this tower.”

The noise subsided, and silence fell over the room.

Their eyes sparkled with excitement, their interest clearly exceeding that of the last tournament’s finals.

“First, we have Hong Ryeong, the winner of the previous tournament.”

With a snap of my fingers, the large mirror insects flying around displayed footage from the last tournament on their screens.

The scenes showed Hong Ryeong delivering clean, decisive strikes, effortlessly defeating his opponents.

Amidst the fluttering insects, Hong Ryeong walked out leisurely, a relaxed smile on his face. I gave his a slight nod before continuing.

“And his opponent is none other than Cassian.”

At my words, the mirror insects shifted to show Cassian.

She had taken down every opponent with her sword still sheathed, using only the scabbard.

“Although this is her first tournament, she has made a strong impression by defeating every opponent with a single blow.”

Cassian entered the central hall, glancing around as if curious.

The mirror insects captured her every move and displayed it for the crowd to see.

“Kill her!”

“Get my revenge!”

The swordsmen shouted passionately, their emotions palpable.

Some even radiated a murderous intent toward Hong Ryeong.

Cassian, however, paid no attention to them.

She calmly toyed with the hilt of her sword, while the bear doll following her lightly patted her back.

“Both of these competitors are undeniably strong, which is why they’ve defeated everyone else to stand on this stage. I won’t say much more. Now, let’s watch the final battle.”

***

The two began to release their magic. I left the central hall with the bear doll, heading toward the pre-arranged magic circle—a multi-layered defensive barrier to contain the battle’s impact.

As the magic activated, the duel began.

Hong Ryeong launched a light gust of wind, which soon grew into a storm aimed at Cassian.

Cassian blocked it effortlessly with her scabbard as she advanced.

In an instant, she closed the distance between them with swift, agile movements.

The air thickened as their auras clashed, each trying to overpower the other.

Hong Ryeong manipulated the wind at his fingertips, creating another whirlwind—this time far more powerful.

Cassian, standing before the massive surge of magic, calmly unsheathed her sword.

A simple swing of her blade released a terrifying burst of energy.

The moment magic met the blade, the air quaked, and a chilling roar reverberated through the hall.

Both were pushed back by the impact but immediately focused their killing intent on each other again.

The duel continued, each strike more intense than the last.

The mirror insects positioned around the hall captured every moment of the battle from all angles.

Watching the fight intently, I felt relieved not to be in that arena.

The sheer force of their magic would have flung me away.

Such power… This was exactly the kind of battle I wanted to witness.

A deep sense of satisfaction swelled within me.

‘People cannot be trusted.’

The thoughts began after I returned from the rank assessment.

It had been six months since I ascended to the second floor.

Fifteen lectures had passed, and only five remained.

The bitterness I had felt in the past had dissipated.

When I reviewed the points I earned, they turned out to be more significant than I thought.

‘In the first month, I received only 500 points—so few that I barely noticed.’

‘But the next month, I earned 1,000 points. Then 1,500 the following month. The number kept increasing.’

‘Now, I was at 3,000 points. At this rate, five years from now, I could earn a staggering 30,000 points per month.’

Thinking about the points melted away my resentment.

It wasn’t entirely a loss for me, and that must be why my professor didn’t complain much about it.

Yes, in a way, it was a beneficial outcome.

However, I needed to reflect.

This might happen again in the future.

There were two main reasons this situation arose.

The first was that I hadn’t relied enough on my professor.

Until now, I had been half-immersed in managing the tower.

The feeling of directing 200 mages according to my will was exhilarating.

I devoted myself entirely to handling every matter.

In the process, people noticed my professor’s idleness.

She had never shown herself even once, so it was only natural.

Meanwhile, I appeared, holding an enticing prey in my hands.

‘Who could resist? Even I would have taken a bite.’

That’s how this incident came to be.

From now on, I needed to cling to my professor.

She was the only one I could rely on.

This situation was no different.

Although the timing had already passed, what if I had immediately sought her help after the incident?

She would have found it bothersome and probably beaten me to the brink of death.

But she might have prevented the situation from escalating.

I was confident she would’ve granted such a desperate request, as I provided her with the utmost convenience tailored to her needs.

The second reason was my lack of strength.

I had resolved not to fight, going so far as to sacrifice my advancement and create dolls.

For a while, I thought that approach was credible.

The other residents of the tower respected me because they used my dolls.

But the university outside the tower adhered strictly to the logic of power.

After losing so much this time, I realized again.

They targeted me so easily because I lacked the strength to protect myself.

It was true—I was weak.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t be as strong as them.

But strength wasn’t just about personal power.

After the assessment ended, I secluded myself in the tower and created many dolls, solely to calm my mind.

***

Zero, my first doll, handled all the mirror insect production for delivery.

All I had to do was plant my tree branches into the products it made.

Thus, I abstained from eating and focused entirely on crafting dolls.

Amid the many dolls I created, I came to a realization.

‘People cannot be trusted. But dolls can be.’

Dolls were lives born from my hands, beings that could communicate with me.

At university, I had made dolls only for others.

That approach suited me best, and it earned me the most points.

But there was no reason I couldn’t create dolls solely for myself—strong dolls that would become my power.

That was why I started hosting tournaments.

Previously, I hadn’t created dolls with offensive capabilities for one reason—I lacked talent in offensive magic.

But now, I had found another way.

***

The fight between Hong Ryeong and Cassian was nearing its end.

The overwhelming magical energy swirling around them made it impossible to see the result clearly.

Judging by that magic, it was evident they were exceptionally strong.

Their spells were no exception.

Even now, their battle was being recorded by the mirror insects, and the footage was stored in my shadow tree.

As the magic subsided, the victor was revealed.

Only one person remained standing in the central hall: Cassian.

Although her neck was partially slashed and blood poured out, she stood upright, reining in her magic.

Hong Ryeong had likely been transported to the medical bay.

Soon, Cassian staggered and disappeared into the light as well.

The spectators applauded as they departed.

What a magnificent fight.

It was a bloodbath worthy of a final match.

Starting tomorrow, both of them would ascend to the third floor for further training.

It had taken countless pleas, and even some beatings, to persuade my professor to prepare rewards enticing enough to draw them in.

This tournament, too, was satisfying.

It would all become nourishment for my dolls.

‘People cannot be trusted. So I will make dolls—dolls meant only for me. I will steal the talents of other mages and embed them within.’