Chapter 126 – Floating Fortress

The sprinting bike came to a halt.

Stealth and even Ghost Riding.

It was good to have many functions, but the drawback was that fuel consumption was extreme.

Since he had not packed his inventory full of high-end mana stones,

he decided to stop sprinting excessively for no reason.

“What is the remaining fuel?”

-It is 95%.

He had sprinted to shake off Veronica, but it was unnecessary now.

“Turn off both functions.”

-Stealth OFF

-Ghost Riding OFF

The two functions turned off, and he stopped on the road.

While there were some drivers who were surprised to see him suddenly appear, there was no significant confusion since he had shown himself after assessing the road conditions.

Since it was a city of mages in the first place, they were less easily surprised.

Coinciding with the signal to stop, the absorption transceiver rang just in time.

Checking it, it was her.

“Are you planning to run a bike business?”

He had wondered why she hadn’t called.

Indeed, since he had swiped 500,000 credits in a lump sum, was it not natural in a way that a confirmation call would come?

“You said you didn’t care, but you called immediately.”

“The amount is on a different scale, isn’t it? I was a bit surprised to hear that you went to the Sky Island only to do a bike business.”

“What are you talking about? A bike business?”

“Didn’t you buy the showroom? It was 500,000 credits.”

Even in her common sense, a bike was not such an expensive luxury mode of transport.

Much less a vehicle that cost that much.

“What I bought was a bike. Not the showroom.”

A short but clear silence ensued.

“…Did a 500,000-credit bike even exist in this world? Even the Lerari I rode briefly was in the mid-6,000 credits with full options.”

Lerari.

It was a supercar she had ridden briefly before yielding to the road conditions of the Capital and leaving neglected in the family garage.

“It exists. I am on a mission, so I will contact you again later.”

“…Yes, very well.”

She was certainly somewhat flustered.

Indeed, she probably never expected a 500,000-credit bike.

‘The timing never aligned, but I finally get to ride it this time.’

If he had a lot of money, his combat power was lacking; if he raised his combat power, he was short on money.

The one he had no fate with like that was the Viper Ssaulabi R he was riding now.

‘Still, it’s very useful. I imagined it someday. A day when I would run while riding this.’

The signal on the road changed.

As the cars began to move, Rashid, matching them, looked at the holographic map projected on the dashboard.

The travel route was kindly projected over a 3D map made of mana lines.

“Alpha, I plan to go look for someone in the Dharma Mage Division.”

-Confirmed.

“I think he is probably dead, but there is always a one-in-a-million chance. I would like you to help with the search.”

-Identification is required.

“Retrieve his personal information from the memories in my head. You can do that, right?”

-Physical access is required to access the user’s memory layers.

-Requesting contact with the fingerprint scanner near the throttle.

Rashid extended his right thumb, which was holding the throttle, and placed it on the nearby metal panel.

The moment his fingerprint touched, their mana circuits connected, and Alpha accessed his memory information.

“Wolfgang Kaiser, the current representative of the Golden Age Party.”

-Beginning access to memory layers.

-Extracting memory data…

-Found the target person’s identity information and characteristics.

“Did you find it?”

-Completed identification.

“I plan to search for him at the Dharma Mage Division. Just be aware beforehand.”

-Confirmed.

The mana stone Alpha.

It was a sentient mana stone, the core of the Viper Ssaulabi R.

Could it be said to be similar to a super-intelligent AI?

“You don’t know me, but I know you. I look forward to working with you.”

-I also look forward to working with you.

“It’s congested. What is the estimated arrival time?”

-Reflecting current road conditions, the estimated arrival time is in 25 minutes.

“If we run like earlier?”

-It is 3 minutes.

His deliberation was short.

“We’ll have to run like earlier then.”

-Stealth ON

-Ghost Riding ON

Vanishing along with the bike on the road, Rashid disappeared with a roar.

* * *

Just before arriving at the Dharma Mage Division,

Rashid equipped his mana armor with a click of his inventory.

It checking this, Alpha reacted.

-Confirmed that the user is a Player.

Rashid was not flustered at all.

It was something Alpha, who was equivalent to a super-intelligent AI, could naturally figure out, and there was no harm in letting it know.

Leaving the manufacturer aside, Alpha was entirely on his side.

“Yes. I’m a Player.”

-Confirmed. I will modify the temporary profile with the updated information.

“I will get off after arriving at the lobby, so search on your own. And there was a transceiver function, right?”

-Yes, long-distance communication is possible with a user who has a transceiver.

“Add my number too.”

Rashid directly entered his number verbally.

-Number entry is complete.

“Contact me immediately if a problem occurs. Contact me if you find him. Contact me even if you don’t.”

-Confirmed.

Far in the distance, a massive building called the Floating Fortress, which the Dharma Mage Division used as its base, was visible.

Although called a Floating Fortress, it was actually a building, but it was called a Floating Fortress because another building was built on top of the building as if floating.

Wheeeeeeng!

Reaching the Floating Fortress in an instant through the shortest route utilizing the Ghost Riding function, Rashid covered the front of the bike with a membrane crafted of mana like a spear.

Having practically become a rushing bulldozer, Rashid, who had even equipped his mana armor, charged straight ahead.

Striking three Dharma mages who were walking out of the main entrance, he charged directly into the lobby.

Craaaash!

Due to the untimely raid, the lobby of the Dharma Mage Division instantly transformed into a scene of chaos.

The glass-paneled walls shattered, and several Dharma mages caught in the sudden raid rolled on the lobby floor.

In addition, the Dharma mages who were staying inside the lobby flocked to the center of the lobby with bewildered faces.

The engine roar filled with killing intent tore through the lobby, and long tire tracks and glass fragments turned the floor into a mess.

“W-What is that?”

Something wrapped in a cloaking field was caught moving in the center of the lobby, and soon, a single knight wearing mana armor revealed himself before the bewildered crowd.

Class 1 mana armor containing pitch-black light.

The Dharma mages in the lobby reacted quickly.

“It’s an enemy!”

Since they had turned hostile toward all factions within the Magic Tower due to the recent incident with Professor Kane, a raid by someone was not very surprising to them.

However, this was the first time an enemy had invaded so aggressively.

Unless one was insane, there was probably no crazy person in this world who would single-handedly invade the base of the Dharma Mage Division, which was evaluated as the most powerful within the Magic Tower.

As the Dharma mages poured out mana bullets, Alpha, who was near Rashid, actively stepped forward.

-Deploying protective barrier.

Before the incoming mana bullets could directly hit Rashid, they were blocked by the magic barrier deployed by the bike.

However, Rashid, deeming this unnecessary, gave instructions to Alpha.

“It’s unnecessary, so just search for the guy. If he is alive, he will definitely be somewhere inside here.”

-Confirmed.

The bike wrapped in the cloaking field disappeared with a roar, leaving only Rashid and the Dharma mages who were still trying to grasp the situation.

“W-Where did you come from?”

“How dare you come to such a place without fear!”

The female employee at the lobby reception desk hastily made a call somewhere, and in tandem, the Dharma mages deploying magic barriers shot mana bullets from all directions.

Amid the raining mana bullets,

Rashid, stirring up the lobby like a lightning bolt, subdued the Dharma mages in the lobby in an instant.

Now, all that remained was the single female employee trembling in front of the magic communicator.

Approaching her, Rashid shattered the magic communicator with his tightly clenched hand and said to her,

“Why don’t you head home? It is going to get very noisy from now on.”

The terrified female employee took a few steps backward, then fled out of the building past the chaotic lobby.

Along with this, Rashid scanned the chaotic lobby.

Dharma mages’ corpses lay scattered, but this was merely the beginning.

‘Eventually, if this drags on, Zodiac will come out. But it’s still too early.’

If a few quests popped up, he could wage a decisive battle against Zodiac in a more grown state than now.

‘So there’s no need to overexert myself. It’s not like the gate for the Evil God is completed immediately.’

Furthermore,

this was the base of the Dharma Mage Division.

‘Setting Zodiac aside, the two Grand Dharma Officers are the problem. One of the reasons Zodiac is tough is because the two Grand Dharma Officers who possess fields accompany him like attendants.’

Once the field is deployed, mana can be utilized, but all magic becomes useless.

Practically a structure where mages become fools.

However, the two Grand Dharma Officers could freely utilize magic, which was a problem.

‘I must use the Spirit-Sealing Jar first.’

Since additional troops had not arrived yet,

utilizing that gap, Rashid, who opened his armory, took out the Spirit-Sealing Jar he had brought from the Purgatory Witches.

And as he opened the evil spirit jar, the Armor Lucifer began to suck in those souls terrifyingly.

-Absorbing the evil spirits.

-The mana amplification rate of Armor Lucifer increases. 258%…

-289%…

-311%…

The figure that kept rising like that finally stopped at 338%.

-The current mana amplification rate of Armor Lucifer is 338%.

‘Excellent.’

Throwing the evil spirit jar aside, the armory closed, and numerous portals opened throughout the lobby as they began to arrive.

The Dharma mages who had set out to defend the base arrived in large numbers.

“You’re here? You seem a bit late.”

The number of Dharma mages surrounding him exceeded a hundred.

They encircled Rashid as if surrounding him and deployed their respective magic formulas.

All magic was suspended in mid-air, and a Dharma Commander wearing a purple robe among them stepped forward and asked Rashid,

“Who are you? Where did you come from? Seeing you wear mana armor… you don’t seem to be a person of the Magic Tower.”

Rashid stood facing the Dharma Commander who had come forward to represent the Dharma mages.

“Is that important, Dharma Commander?”

The Dharma Commander saw the countless magic formulas hanging in mid-air.

From simple mana bullets to beams.

If all of that poured down, it seemed certain that he, positioned in the middle, would turn to dust and disappear.

Even if he wore mana armor.

“What a foolish bastard. Do you even know what kind of place this is that you came seeking?”

The answer that followed was truly surprising.

No, perhaps it was a natural answer.

If one had the guts to invade this place single-handedly, that is.

“I know. A den of idiots. Enough chatter, let’s start. I’m a busy man and have a long way to go.”

“Is he all talk? Dispose of him.”

No sooner had the words fallen than the green-robed Dharma mages targeted Rashid, whom they were surrounding, with their respective crafted magic formulas, but Rashid was not one to take them meekly in the first place.

His figure disappeared as if evaporating, and he began to sweep away the surrounding Dharma mages all at once.

Raining mana bullets reduced the lobby to ashes, and dozens of Dharma mages were sliced apart by rushing sword strikes.

The fight did not last long.

Down to the last remaining Dharma mage.

Severing his breath, Rashid saw dozens of additional Dharma mages arriving through portals once more.

‘There are indeed many. Well, it’s the base of the Dharma Mage Division, so it can’t be helped.’

The Dharma mages who had arrived leisurely, thinking it was already taken care of, could not hide their surprise upon seeing the corpses cluttering the lobby.

Toward those Dharma mages,

Rashid pointed his blood sword and gestured with its tip.

The bewildered confrontation lasted only a moment.

The newly deployed Dharma mages began to fire mana bullets in unison.