117 – Qualifications of a Hero – 2

―The entire place is crawling with black magic; this is a real disaster. Aren’t you going to die here?

“Could you stop saying such unlucky things?”

Having been assigned a temporary room inside the Magic Tower, Ji-hye checked the room while glaring intensely at Lucy, who showed her true colors and began teasing her as soon as they were far away from Gi-jun.

True to its reputation as a Magic Tower, the guest room was filled with magic tools, but Ji-hye used the detection magic she had acquired in the second round of the tutorial to filter out all the magic tools that had the potential to cause her harm.

Once she found them, disabling their functions was simple enough.

“Eit.”

―Crackle

She skillfully released mana to twist the circuits of the magic tools.

They were not broken, but they would not function properly at least while she stayed in the Magic Tower.

Watching Ji-hye let out a sigh, “Whew,” as if she felt proud of herself after finishing the work, Lucy asked.

―What if there’s something you can’t detect?

“I know I might look insignificant because I’m with a monster like Gi-jun oppa, but I’m pretty good in my area of expertise, you know? I can detect all magic of Legendary grade or below.”

And according to what she had heard beforehand, there was no one in a place like this who could create and handle Legendary-grade auxiliary magic or magic tools.

A talent of that caliber would only be found by going to the capital of the Magic Kingdom of Hyeon, the headquarters of the countless Magic Towers spread across the continent.

In the first place, if there had been such a person, a single black magician, no matter how great, could not have privatized the Magic Tower so easily.

―Legendary grade…? You only just became a Rare-grade magician.

“But my Mana Circuit is Legendary, and my Magic Power stat has also reached Legendary. What’s more, I only chose and learned good magic in the tutorial. It’s troubling if you think of me as an ordinary Rare-grade.”

Indeed, she had not formed a party with the Contractor until the very end for nothing.

Based on what she had briefly seen during the Contractor’s business trip mission before, the movements and skills of the rest of the members were also quite impressive for their level; she even wondered if all the potential of the billions of Earthlings had been concentrated on them.

―Setting aside whether your words are true for me to verify in the future… what about black magic?

“Ah, right. I’m not very confident in that field, so could you help me?”

―You immediately use polite speech when you’re at a disadvantage.

Lucy could not help but laugh at Ji-hye’s reaction, which was vastly different from Gi-jun, who felt like an iron man in many ways.

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since she started working with her, but she wondered if this was the first time the two of them were talking alone like this.

Of course, Lucy did not have much interest in the other party members besides Gi-jun in the first place—but Ji-hye was a slightly different story.

Because she was a woman who did not harbor any ulterior motives toward Gi-jun, despite having the overwhelming advantage of being a companion who had been with him for a long time.

‘Lately, the Contractor has a tendency to treat me like a lamp that emits light when you press some button. At best, a demonic energy detector? This state is not very good. At this point, I need to make him recognize the fact that I am also an attractive woman!’

Was it not a truly sad and cruel thing to not even be recognized as a woman by her beloved Contractor?

Now that the women around the Contractor were increasing day by day anyway, she had to rectify this situation as quickly as possible.

And the one who could help her with that… was none other than Ji-hye, who had spent a long time with Gi-jun yet was not a rival.

―Hey, Ji-hye.

“Go ahead.”

Lucy spoke to Ji-hye while using her innate sensory ability to pick out all the items stained with the trace of black magic in this room.

―Since I will help and protect you in every way while we are here… I’d like you to help me in return.

“What should I help you with?”

Ji-hye asked politely while marveling at Lucy’s performance, as she was mysteriously good at finding traces of black magic without seeming to exert much effort.

Lucy stated her purpose as she watched Ji-hye break the items she had found one by one.

―It’s nothing much… just like, what our Contractor likes, what kind of woman he finds attractive, and things like that?

“It’s really fascinating how everyone asks the exact same thing.”

―The exact same thing?!

“Lora asked on the sly too, and Sister Scintilla openly asked what kind of food Gi-jun oppa likes because she wanted to cook something delicious for him. Ah, she also asked what kind of clothes would get a good reaction from oppa.”

―T-Those women…!

They were complete vixens.

Yet she had left the Contractor with those vixens while she alone came to another place!

Lucy wanted to return to the Contractor’s side this instant, but it was impossible to realize.

For now, she could only hope that the Contractor, with his unique denseness, would push all those women away.

While having those thoughts, Lucy suddenly realized something.

―Why are you speaking informally to me again?

“Well, that’s because I’ve got bargaining chips now. Anyway, we can take our time talking about oppa’s taste, so I look forward to working with you for the time being, Lucy.”

―….

Lucy truly acknowledged the fact that this woman was no pushover.

While the two of them were sharing such trivial chatter, Nabinya sniffed the items related to black magic that Lucy had sorted out.

“Nya-nyat—!”

Then, she spun around and frantically clawed the floor with her hind paws.

It seemed she instinctively wanted to bury these items because the smell was too disgusting, but unfortunately, this was not a dirt floor.

“Just smelling it makes me feel sick, nya! How did that Frank or whatever guy manage to contain such energy in his body, nya?”

“Frank is the name of a sausage from my hometown. So, did you find out anything?”

“Nyat.”

At Ji-hye’s question as she picked up Nabinya and scratched behind her ears, the creature narrowed her eyes and nodded.

“I can tell that these all belong to a single person, nya. It’s the exact same smell I’ve sniffed since entering the Magic Tower, nya.”

―Aha. In other words, unless there’s someone acting exceptionally stealthy, there is only one black magician in this Magic Tower.

“Should I say it’s a relief, or should I grieve that the Magic Tower was actually encroached upon by just a single person…?”

Among the plans originally established with her party members, one was to first locate Frankenstein Junior and then involve the Lord’s army to escalate the incident, driving the magicians into an atmosphere where they could not help but be hostile to him.

However, if the Magic Tower was already controlled by the black magician… at worst, the possibility of all of them attacking without any regard for their lives could not be ruled out.

“Ah, what a headache. What on earth is the correct answer here?”

―Wouldn’t it be better to somehow just kill that Frankenstein Junior guy and flee? Once they lose their focal point, they’ll watch their step too.

“What if they run wild instead? What if they vent their anger on the innocent citizens of the territory?”

―We won’t be here by then, so wouldn’t it be fine?

“…What?”

Goosebumps broke out all over her body at Lucy’s cold words.

Ji-hye asked her with an expression of disbelief.

“Are you really a Spirit of Light?”

―I know what you’re implying with that question, but basically, I couldn’t care less about anything else except my Contractor. The only reason I’m protecting you is because the Contractor wants me to.

“I-I see.”

She realized that Lucy was not a very good partner to exchange opinions with.

Therefore, Ji-hye told Lucy to relay the current situation to Gi-jun and ask him what they should do.

After keeping silent for a moment, Lucy soon spoke with a puzzled expression herself.

“He said it’s actually for the best. He wants you to confirm that the magicians of the Magic Tower are all under the influence of black magic, and then gather all of them in one place.”

“Eh? That’s extremely tricky… First, I need a concrete definition of ‘one place’.”

“He said it’s enough if they are crowded onto a single floor of the Magic Tower.”

“…Is he planning to use an area-of-effect attack or something?”

Surely he was not planning to bury her along with them, right?

No, a Hero might, but there was no way Gi-jun oppa would tolerate a strategy that sacrificed his companions.

Deciding to bury her needless worries, Ji-hye replied, feeling like a nuclear missile guidance unit from a very famous classic game.

“Ji-hye, commencing operation.”

* * *

By submitting a few common spells she had designed herself, Ji-hye was able to be guaranteed freer movement within the Magic Tower.

In fact, no matter how much they coveted Ji-hye’s knowledge, letting an outsider wander around the inside of the Magic Tower so easily was extremely strange, but it was understandable if the Magic Tower had already fallen into the hands of the black magician.

“Brainwashing? …Really?”

―Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such an overtly dangerous drug. That’s not all. It’s mixed with curses, black magic, poison, and all sorts of things. The part where they concealed it so that even a magician wouldn’t notice is especially insidious.

“It stinks, nya! It smells so foul, nya!”

Because all they had to do was brainwash Ji-hye with black magic and turn her into a slave loyal to the black magician!

As soon as Ji-hye heard those words, she burned the food that had been served to her as breakfast this morning.

If Nabinya and Lucy had not shown disgust the moment they saw it, she would have eaten it without a thought and met an immediate game over.

“What is this? This is seriously dangerous. I didn’t expect them to play tricks so recklessly. Shouldn’t I run away immediately? Right now!”

Although she had warded off the immediate danger, Ji-hye’s body was trembling.

However, Lucy bit into the brown sugar Gi-jun had packed for her and said with a nonchalant face.

―Would you not look down on me so much? If things go wrong, I’m confident I can safely run away with just you, no matter who the opponent is. I’ll step in immediately if it gets truly dangerous, so rest assured.

“Fufufu… Rest assured, nya. Since the Master ordered me to protect you, I will protect Ji-hye, nya.”

“You really have to step in immediately, okay? I’m a glass cannon, so if I get hit once, it’s game over!”

Having calmed her mind for now at the words of the spirit and the Cait Sith, Ji-hye began poking around the Magic Tower in earnest, searching for Frankenstein Junior.

Of course, she was only wandering around distractedly while the actual search was handled entirely by Lucy and Nabinya.

“Oh, so this is the archives. Can I really look through everything?”

“Of course. We might become family soon, so how could we refuse?”

The magician guiding Ji-hye spoke with an infinitely benevolent expression, but from Ji-hye’s perspective—since she already knew their ulterior motives—it was simply dumbfounding.

They apparently felt that messing with her food was not enough, as they had even installed devices to loosen the human mind and infiltrate black magic in all sorts of places where she stayed or headed, such as incense burners placed in rooms and hallways, lamps in the dining hall, and so on.

If not for Lucy, who stuck to her side twenty-four hours a day and cleared status ailments with the spiritual power of light, she would have been in deep trouble long ago.

“Ugh, disgusting perverts. They must have intended to do something wild after brainwashing me, just like in an adult doujinshi…!”

―Instead of such trivial talk, continue what you were saying earlier. The Contractor likes red lips?

“When we were in the tutorial, there was a very glamorous noblewoman—to be honest, it was extremely obvious she was wearing makeup, but since that oppa is an idiot, he wouldn’t know, right? So… oh, this is quite…”

When Ji-hye, who had been engrossed in a section of the book she hadn’t let go of throughout their conversation, raised her voice in admiration, Lucy shouted in annoyance.

―Ayy! You just need to act, so why are you genuinely admiring it!

“Because it’s helpful!”

Ironically, the investigation of the Magic Tower also held great significance for Ji-hye herself.

The magic cast on each of the structures making up the Magic Tower and the various magic books she was permitted to read brought countless realizations and inspirations to Ji-hye, who had never formally learned magic and had self-taught herself solely through her outstanding comprehension and spellbooks.

In truth, it would be difficult for an ordinary magician to develop their abilities with such a short period of experience and reading, but Ji-hye’s potential was far from ordinary.

‘If this place weren’t dangerous, I’d want to stay for another month. The place called Hyeon or whatever must be even more amazing than this, right? I should pester oppa later and ask him to go there with me.’

Ji-hye, whose eyes were shining with expectation while forgetting the current situation, suddenly realized she was engrossed in magic and smiled bitterly.

She had first learned magic in the tutorial because she lacked the dexterity to move her body well and wanted to make some desperate struggle.

At that time, she had absolutely no interest in things like the structure or origin of magic.

She had only thought about returning to Earth…

‘But honestly, right now—I think it might be more fun here. It’s also good that I can utilize my talent. Though it’s sad to be separated from my parents, Uncle Su is here, and so are Shin, Min-i, and Jun-i oppa who firmly protects me…’

In the end, was it not because of people that a person grew attached to a place and lived there?

Since the people she had known for so long—who felt more like family than her actual family—were all here, she rarely thought of missing Earth these days.

Moreover, Ji-hye in Leta was truly a talented magician.

Since even her social status was satisfied, she had no reason to yearn for Earth.

――To be honest, unlike during the tutorial, she felt at a loss now as to how they could return to Earth.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Ah, yes. The theory on this multi-attribute harmony is interesting— Hik?!”

Ji-hye, who raised her head while vaguely brushing off the sudden voice, ended up letting out a gasp of shock because she was so startled.

Before her eyes stood a single human.

No, it was not human.

Golden hair.

Blue eyes.

Lips dyed a bizarrely bright red.

Soft, milky skin.

Moderately slender and soft arms and fingers.

A body that was neither slender nor thick.

A pleasant voice.

Even a unique mana that did not match anyone else’s.

It was a monster that had merely gathered and loosely patched together the universal elements that made one fit to be called human on this continent.

Ironically, it closely resembled the humans who were treated as the weakest on the continent.

“Oh dear, my apologies. I must have startled you.”

The man.

The monster in the shape of a man politely apologized while fluttering what appeared to be a mouth.

It sparkled beads that mimicked eyes, fluttered cloth that resembled eyelids covering them, and formed something that strove to look like a smile.

Confronting the hideous monster that was more beautiful than any human Ji-hye knew, she was certain.

This person was Frankenstein Junior.

She had not expected that he would come to find her himself!

“After hearing a very interesting story, I could not help but come to see you myself. You developed a universal… a Mana Circuit that anyone can learn, I hear.”

The monster continued to speak in a manner that left it unclear whether it was unaware that Ji-hye had noticed its abnormality, or if it was deliberately ignoring it.

“I would dearly like to talk in depth about that. It is a field I am very interested in. For example, how far that Mana Circuit can be applied. Whether joint research in a similar field is possible…”

Ji-hye could not distinguish whether the man in front of her smiling was to win her favor—or if he was simply licking his lips with prey right before him.

She merely cursed the Hero who had pushed her into such a death trap, and Gi-jun who, without stopping the Hero, had readily assigned the mission to her, thinking that he had changed.

“I-I see… I am also curious about the opinions of the magicians of the Magic Tower, so how about we all gather and hold an exchange meeting?”

Even in the midst of this, she desperately racked her brain to carry out her mission.

“That sounds excellent! Let’s gather everyone. I’m sure they will all like it.”

The opponent smiled.

It was a smile confident of victory, as if he did not doubt that Ji-hye was already under the influence of black magic.

…It was likely a smile.