Nox.
The Master of the Magic Tower began recounting an old story.
"Was it eleven years ago? A massive explosion occurred outside the Magic City. When we went to investigate what had happened… Hendrick's external research laboratory had exploded and collapsed."
The mages who had been inside Hendrick's laboratory were annihilated in the accident.
After recognizing the danger of that spell, the elders of the Magic Tower concluded—after much discussion—that teleportation research should be banned.
It was top-secret information that even senior mages who had worked in the tower for many years did not know. Benjamin, looking puzzled, asked a question.
"Tower Master. May I ask why this fact has been hidden all this time?"
Accidents occasionally occurred during magical research, but cases where they were completely concealed were rare.
Hendrick had been a mage of great renown.
If he had died during research, it would have been proper to hold a proper funeral and at least erect a memorial.
So why had the Tower Master concealed it?
"The reason is simple."
Duran began explaining.
"Hendrick himself didn't want it known. When he was researching teleportation spells, he was particularly strict about security. He even told us not to inform others if an accident occurred."
"And why did he ask that?"
"How would I know? It's not like I could look inside his head… At the time, I just accepted it."
Please keep it secret if possible.
The Tower Master had remained silent for years because of his friend's request, but more than a decade had passed. Today, he decided to reveal it.
"For a mage, dying because of a failed spell isn't an honorable thing. And since Hendrick asked… I kept this accident hidden all this time. So don't go around spreading what I just told you."
"Understood."
Duran looked around and spoke as if issuing a warning. The mages nodded repeatedly.
The conversation was about to end when—
"...Then what about that guy?"
Someone said this while gesturing toward Kim Woojin. At those words, the mages remembered the original topic they had momentarily forgotten.
Hendrick's successor—Nox.
The mage Nox had supposedly died after being caught in a long-distance teleportation accident.
If that were the case, then who exactly was the man standing here—Woojin?
Duran dismissed it calmly.
"What else? Just someone who happens to look like him."
"Ah."
The situation ended anticlimactically.
There seemed to be no need to continue chatting here, so the mages who had gathered dispersed and returned to their own work.
As Woojin quietly stood there watching them leave…
Duran suddenly spoke to him.
"Sorry if we caused you confusion. It seems we must have mistaken you for someone else."
"It's alright. Still, may I ask a few things I'm curious about?"
"Go ahead."
Duran readily agreed. Woojin began asking questions without hesitation.
"Do I resemble this Nox person that much?"
"You do resemble him. Your age is similar, and your appearance is almost identical… But the atmosphere is far too different, so it's hard to believe you're the same person."
Nox had been a small, slender mage.
Woojin, on the other hand, was a warrior who tore apart demonic beasts with his bare hands. The difference in image was far too extreme.
Woojin spoke as if offering an explanation.
"I didn't have this kind of strength from the beginning."
"Even setting strength aside, your aura is completely different. Nox was a talented mage, but he was extremely timid and cowardly."
"Is that so?"
Nox had been extremely shy.
He barely spoke to anyone except Hendrick. Hearing Nox's voice was an extremely rare occurrence.
"He was probably like that because he was an orphan. It's not good for a child to grow up constantly reading other people's moods from such a young age… but given his environment, it couldn't be helped."
Duran grumbled as if still dissatisfied even now. Come to think of it, Nox had been an orphan.
"Was he adopted from an orphanage?"
"That's right. Hendrick adopted him. The man used to volunteer at an orphanage every holiday, and one day he suddenly brought Nox back and proudly introduced him."
"He must have been a good person."
"He was. Hendrick was a man who was well respected."
His death had been a great loss to the magical world.
As Duran said this… he suddenly muttered quietly, as if speaking to himself.
"...He was also a man with many secrets."
"What do you mean?"
"Just what it sounds like. Hendrick was always hiding something. I never knew exactly what it was, but…"
Duran glanced around before speaking in a lowered voice so only Woojin's group could hear.
"Original sin. Hendrick once said that his family were prisoners burdened with a great original sin."
One day, when Hendrick had become completely drunk, he confessed that.
He said he was a sinner who had inherited a great original sin, so people shouldn't grow attached to him.
Duran had been deeply shocked at the time. Hendrick had always been a cheerful and spirited man.
"Who would have thought he carried such a deep shadow behind that? Perhaps the reason Hendrick was so obsessed with teleportation research was related to that 'original sin' he spoke of."
But now it was all in the past.
The one person who knew the truth was dead, so the hidden story behind it would likely never be known. A tale that no one cared about and would eventually be forgotten.
"Still… I'd appreciate it if you kept what I just said a secret. I didn't intend to talk this much, but I guess old age has loosened my tongue."
"Understood."
Woojin promised to keep the secret as strictly as possible.
Duran nodded as if reassured.
"Anything else you're curious about?"
"Just one last question."
"Go ahead."
Woojin asked the question he was most curious about.
"Were Hendrick and Nox's bodies ever found?"
"No… they weren't."
They had sifted through every fragment of the collapsed laboratory, but the bodies of the two mages were never found.
When the spell failed, it seemed the mages had been caught in the explosion and completely vaporized. That was the conclusion of those who investigated the scene at the time.
Woojin had obtained enough information.
"Thank you for telling me."
"I'm glad it helped. You should be going now. I'd like to continue the research I was working on."
The Tower Master politely dismissed them.
Woojin stepped outside and began walking as if taking a stroll, organizing his thoughts.
'The bodies were never found.'
Duran's words kept echoing in his mind. Naturally, a hypothesis formed.
'...Nox survived.'
The reason Woojin thought Hendrick's research had succeeded was simple.
The place where Woojin had first opened his eyes—the deepest region of the Demon Realm. Even the dark-side priests could not set foot there. It was a forbidden zone where every form of malice lurked.
No ordinary method could bring someone into that hell. They would be killed before even crossing the threshold.
Therefore, some kind of shortcut must have been used.
'Long-distance teleportation.'
If that spell had been used, even a fragile human could reach the deepest part of the Demon Realm.
But a major question arose.
'...Why go there in the first place?'
Entering the depths of the Demon Realm was essentially suicide. Why would Nox do such a thing?
Perhaps the spell had malfunctioned. Maybe the long-distance teleportation spell had an error and dropped Nox at the wrong coordinates.
That seemed like the most reasonable explanation…
But there was a major flaw in that assumption.
Shing—
Woojin drew the machete hanging at his waist. As always, the blade gleamed with reassuring sharpness.
He had possessed this weapon from the very beginning.
A mage wouldn't need a weapon like this.
He recalled the belongings he had when he first woke up in the Demon Realm.
A machete, leather armor, a water flask, a winter coat and travel bag, dried rations, and various supplies…
The meaning of those items was obvious.
They're supplies needed for exploring the Demon Realm.
Among them were a few strange items—like a mercenary badge marked Third-Class Mercenary—whose purpose he didn't fully understand, but most were survival gear required for exploring the Demon Realm.
In other words, Nox had prepared from the start to end up in the Demon Realm.
Which means he intentionally came to the deepest part of the Demon Realm… but why would he do something like that?
The question returned to its starting point.
Why had Nox used a teleportation spell to come to the Demon Realm?
And where had Hendrick—the mage who researched the spell with him—disappeared to?
At present, there was no way to find the answer. Nothing had been clearly revealed yet.
I'll think about it later.
For now, Woojin left it at that.
The underground ruins from a forgotten age were vast, and there was plenty to see.
Woojin spent his time leisurely—taking walks with Arwen or watching Claire as she buried herself in research.
Today happened to be the latter.
Scratch, scratch—
Claire was scribbling with a quill on her notebook. Listening to the sound, Woojin let out a yawn.
I should probably go see Cindy soon.
Quite some time had passed.
Previously, Cindy had boarded a sailing ship to Elus and was expected to return soon to the city of the Nagas.
He couldn't keep his sworn younger sister waiting like last time. He should make time to visit soon.
If I ride Manta, I can get there quickly.
If he hurried, he might even be able to make a round trip within a day. Just as Woojin was thinking that—
"Jin, are you tired?"
"To be honest, I'm a bit bored."
Woojin nodded. Seeing this, Claire smiled and made a suggestion.
"I'm getting bored too. Let's go watch something."
"Where?"
"How about watching the third trial? I heard someone is close to passing it."
While Woojin had spent the past three days resting comfortably, those attempting the third trial had been diligently honing their skills.
Claire suggested they go watch them.
Woojin accepted immediately.
"Let's go."
He walked out of the laboratory with Claire. As they approached the site of the third trial—
Clack, clack, clack!
Along with it, the sound of footsteps grew louder.
Just like before, a slender steel mannequin was dancing on the stage.
Its movements were precise and disciplined, like a ballerina.
But the person facing it was no ordinary opponent either.
Clack, clack, clack!
As if a mirror had been placed in front of it, a woman danced opposite the mannequin, matching its rhythm exactly.
She's good.
If she didn't make a mistake, she would probably pass.
While thinking this, Woojin suddenly became curious and asked Claire,
"Did you ever try that test?"
Claire had recently learned martial arts and had developed excellent physical coordination. Following a dance like that shouldn't be too difficult for her.
But Claire waved her hands in denial.
"No. I'm too embarrassed to try. When many people are watching me, I start feeling sick…"
It seemed she had stage fright.
He would have to watch Claire dance another time—if such an opportunity ever came.
Twist!
The woman twisted her ankle.
Seeing this, the spectators let out involuntary sighs.
What a shame.
She had made a mistake right before passing.
The steel mannequin seemed to feel the same way. Instead of coldly chasing her off as usual, it extended a hand and helped the woman to her feet.
Applause erupted here and there.
The woman stepped down from the stage with a bitter smile.
Someone will pass today.
Perhaps others thought the same, because as people continued watching the dance, the crowd gradually grew larger.
However, it wasn't easy to perform without making mistakes in front of an audience. Failures continued one after another, and just as the situation was starting to feel dull—
A new challenger stepped onto the stage.
A blonde woman.
Her face looked familiar.
I've seen her before.
Was her name Angelina?
Her skill had improved noticeably since the last time he saw her. The female mage confidently reproduced the mannequin's movements.
Claire exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, Angelica used to brag that she received noble education when she was young… but it seems she had reason to."
"Angelica, huh."
Woojin realized he had remembered the name wrong.
Correcting it in his mind, he continued watching the trial.
After demonstrating several kinds of etiquette one by one, the most difficult part began—the dance.
Clack, clack! Clack!
The lively sound of footsteps echoed.
A steel doll created in the distant past and a human from the present day danced together on the stage.
After the dance continued for quite some time—
…Bow.
The steel mannequin bowed politely to Angelica.
It was the closing greeting given to a dance partner.
With that, the mannequin's chest split open.
Inside was a silver key.
The mannequin reached into its chest, pulled out the silver key, and handed it to the successful challenger.
She passed the third trial.
With that, the trials of the ancient ruins had come to an end.
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