"Meshara. Meshara. Meshara. Meshara."

Forcing myself to ignore the phantom voices, I examined Anton's magic circle with my Sage's Eye. It was causing an overload through a forced Rampage, but it was still functioning perfectly. At this rate, I would be swept away first.

There had to be a way. Something.

'No matter how I look at it, that's not a Rampage.'

I changed my perspective. That magic circle seemed less like a Rampage and more like a long-duration buff spell. At least, for Anton. What if I just destroyed it? Since it directly affects his spellcasting, breaking it should inflict critical damage.

'It's worth a try. Just enduring won't get me anywhere.'

I loaded Devastar and activated it. With a single spatial leap, I dodged several water spells and arrived a short distance from Anton.

Ten meters away.

"Meshara. Meshara."

Seeing my approach, Anton reinforced his water veil, but he wasn't my target. I activated the third-order Mana Drain in both hands. My plan was to use the Devastar on my right foot to pass through his Rampage magic circle, using Mana Drain to suck out the formulas and destroy it.

Just before activating Devastar, I locked my gaze on my target.

He was too stunned to speak.

"Meshara."

For a moment, my consciousness grew hazy, and my vision turned completely white.

'What is this now?'

The world stopped. As I floated on a sea of hazy consciousness, someone appeared before me: a being with long, white hair, its gender indistinguishable. It approached and gently extended a hand.

"Meshara. Meshara."

Was this the source of the voice? I wasn't sure, but drawn in by the atmosphere, I took its hand.

A blinding light erupted, and my vision fractured into white once more.

-Tower Master!

Before I knew it, I had been struck by Anton's magic and was plummeting. Every joint in my body screamed in agony. Before I hit the water, I braced my legs against the wall. Sparks flew as I skidded to a halt, grabbing onto a protrusion in the wall to stop myself.

-What's wrong? You were just spacing out with an enemy right in front of you.

Ah…!

Ea's voice trembled.

-What is it, Ea?

-Tower Master. Y-your eye…

I wiped my face with my palm. It came away smeared with an unidentifiable, blue, soot-like substance. It was coming from my right eye—my Sage's Eye. The soot kept dripping down my cheek.

-Are you all right?

The pain was gone. I planted my feet firmly on the shield I'd spread beneath me and wiped my eyes. Blue soot came away on my hand, caked on like crust from an infection. I picked at it irritably, but it stretched like strands of seaweed. After wiping it away several more times... 'Whoa.'

My vision cleared with stunning intensity.

[Your Unique Ability, Sage's Eye, has grown to the next stage. Sage's Eye → Deva's Eye.]

At some point, Anton had stopped his attacks and was simply watching me. After relentlessly hounding me just moments ago, he was now waiting as if this had been his plan all along. Had he intended this from the start? I clutched my right eye and stared forward.

The structure of the magic circle unfolding in the distance was so vivid it felt like I could reach out and touch it. It was as if I'd spent decades seeing the world through the camera of an old flip phone, only to suddenly see it through a 60-megapixel, full-frame lens. Not only could I see the shape of the magic circle, but I could also pierce through its security and read every intricate formula within. Come to think of it, this was similar to when I seized control of the Labyrinth Dungeon. 'I can control this one, too.'

I focused intently, locking onto a single point in the formula visible beyond Anton's Rampage magic circle. As I concentrated, something strange happened. A piece of the formula detached like a droplet of water and trickled away, latching onto an adjacent formula and altering it. A magic circle was an ecosystem; even the most trivial change could trigger an extreme butterfly effect. I reversed the neural activation formula and redirected the flow of mana. The entire problem could be solved just by flipping the operational symbols.

"How long are you going to stand there spacing out? Here I come again!" Anton shouted as the magic circles around him began to glow. Once again, a deluge of water magic cascaded down toward me.

-Tower Master. Can you see it? Ea asked.

'Yeah.'

Now I could peer directly into his magic, predicting its trajectory and movements in advance. I instantly activated Devastar at my right foot and pressed myself flat against the opposite wall.

'CRASSSHHHH!'

Streams of water magic scattered through the space, erupting into waves and spray in every direction. I was reading his magic circle, predicting its trajectory, and evading with ease.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

A cry of pain came from above. Anton, who had been indiscriminately unleashing his magic, suddenly writhed in agony. Every time he cast a spell now, his own mana tangled and twisted against itself.

'Just like this!'

I attempted to seize control of his other four auxiliary magic circles. This was likely his only weakness. Lacking a homunculus, he relied on multiple external systems to handle his calculations. However, these external systems had to remain exposed, leaving his security vulnerable to hacking in a battle between archmages. I finally understood—Anton's intention in phase three had been to force me to unlock the next stage of the Sage's Eye. He had blatantly shown me his weakness, deliberately guiding me to exploit it.

'You can't beat me in a simple power struggle. So I'll give you a hint. See this? Use it to beat me.'

That's what he was telling me. The pieces of the puzzle were now falling into place. I looked up to see Anton self-destructing from the mana backflow. Oh, but of course...

<Light Devastar>

I wasn't nice enough to wait for an opponent to destroy himself. I flew straight toward him, unimpeded, and raised my leg high above his head.

"Wh-whoa? Hey, wait a—!"

<Light Devastar>

With my foot pressing down on Anton's head, Devastar exploded. His body plummeted at the speed of light, pierced through the water's surface, and slammed into the floor below.

'BOOOOOOOOOOM!'

Watching the water explode in all directions, I felt all my accumulated stress wash away.

-You have a nasty personality, Tower Master, Ea commented dryly.

'When a person dies twenty-odd times, their personality is bound to get twisted.' I turned my attention to the system messages.

[Personal Trait, Child of Mana, has reached Lv.3.]

[Personal Trait, Analysis, has reached Lv.6.]

[Accelerated Casting has reached Lv.6.]

[Multi-Casting has reached Lv.6.]

[Mobile Casting has reached Lv.4.]

[Magic Power has increased by 10.]

[Darkness has increased by 5.]

[Agility has increased by 3.]

[Stamina has increased by 3.]

Once Anton was defeated, the water that had threatened to reach the ceiling quickly evaporated. A moment later, his form was revealed where he had been slammed into the floor.

"Hahaha! You finally did it!" he boomed cheerfully.

He had returned to his elderly form and, despite the brutal impact, stood there as if nothing had happened. I landed in front of him and bowed my head respectfully.

"How many attempts did it take?" he asked.

"This was the twenty-second," I replied.

"Hahahaha!"

Anton suddenly threw his arms up in triumph.

"It took me eighteen tries to beat the 12th Master! I win!"

Seeing him so cheerfully happy made me laugh despite everything. He was childish for his age, exactly like the Anton from the diary.

"Well, it seems you've obtained your new eye," he observed.

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

I closed my eyes, carefully recalling the memory.

"A woman with white hair."

I didn't miss the look of pure shock that crossed Anton's face. His expression shifted through a storm of emotions: agony, anguish, deep contemplation. I had seen this exact expression before, on the face of the doctor right before he delivered my father's terminal cancer diagnosis.

"Hmmmm."

In the end, the expression that settled on his face was a smile that seemed to have transcended everything.

"You're in for a turbulent life as well."

Anton never told me what it meant. Just then, the space around us began to fracture with a sharp cracking sound. Seeing this, he spoke again.

"It seems we're out of time. As promised, since you defeated me, I'll give you a gift."

I had been waiting for this moment.

"You've fought me twenty-two times, so you should be well aware of the magic I used as a boy."

"Of course."

"Name one spell you desire. I shall grant it to you."

'Whoa. What's this now?'

"Are you saying you'll pass on a spell to me?"

"Literally. I'll imbue the magic into an artifact and simply give it to you. No need for proficiency or practice—you'll just have it."

"...Even one of your originals, great predecessor?"

"Of course! Would I go back on my word in front of my successor? But it must be a spell I used in our battle."

My mind raced frantically. What should I choose?

'Anton's water magic is powerful, but I don't have the confidence to maintain that level of control, and I'd never use it as well as he did. In that case...'

After much deliberation, I gave my answer. Hearing it, Anton nodded with a faint smile of approval.

"A fine choice. Then..."

He pulled another necklace from his jacket pocket. It was a simple thing—a brown cord with a single small gem dangling from it.

With a shout of exertion, Anton opened his palm wide, and countless magic circles unfolded around him, all activating at once to pour mana into the small gem. That was sixth-order magic. It served as a fresh reminder that if this hadn't been a handicapped match, I wouldn't have stood a chance. A moment later, the work seemed to be finished. The magic circles vanished, and the gem, which had been floating in mid-air, settled gently into his palm.

"Using it is simple. Just wear it around your neck."

Anton handed me the necklace carefully. By its appearance, it looked like nothing special. But the moment I put it on...

Knowledge—and even experience—flowed directly into my mind. I knew it without even having to test it. It felt as if a spell had just pierced my skull and settled in on its own, as if I had known this magic all along. Anton chuckled at my surprised expression.

"That necklace has one more effect."

"It does? What kind...?"

"The one I demonstrated in our battle. If you break the necklace, it will trigger a Mana Break within a 1640-foot radius. Of course, you'll lose both the necklace and the magic engraved on it, but it could be useful in a desperate situation."

I nodded in understanding.

"Then, it is time for our farewell, 14th Master."

'Rumble!'

Perhaps Anton's mana was finally depleted, because the spatial magic itself began to collapse around us.

"I'm sure you'll be able to conquer all nine floors and become the true Master of the Magic Tower."

"...Thank you for everything."

I bowed deeply. It hadn't been long, and he had killed me twenty-one times, but he was, without a doubt, my teacher.

"Remember this, 14th Master," Anton said, his voice echoing ominously. "The survival of the world depends on you. Reach the 8th floor as quickly as possible. And stop the impending doom."

With his final message, the spatial magic completely crumbled, and my vision shifted.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the boss room.]

[The 4th floor of the Magic Tower, the 'Weather Design Bureau,' is now unlocked.]

[You have acquired a portion of the 'Bureau Director's' traits.]

When I came to my senses, I was back inside the Magic Tower.

'...The impending doom.'

His voice still echoed ominously in my ears.

"Congratulations on unlocking the 4th floor, Tower Master."

Ea appeared in a shimmer of light.

"Yeah. Thanks for your hard work during this trial, Ea."

"You have now unlocked more than half of the Magic Tower."

"Right."

I looked up at the stairs leading to the fourth floor. The trial's magic had completely vanished.

"Would you like to visit the fourth floor?" Ea asked.

"Let's check it out with the others later. For now, let's head to the lobby..."

Just then, Ea suddenly flinched.

"What's wrong?"

"Eunsol is calling for me from the first floor."

"Go on. I'll head down to the lobby right now."

Ea disappeared instantly. I stepped onto the magic circle elevator and descended to the first-floor lobby, where I found Eunsol hugging Ea tightly and sobbing her eyes out.

"Yusin!"

She ran over and threw herself into my arms.

"What's wrong?"

"...Bora! It's Bora!"

I got the full story from Eunsol. She didn't know the details, but Bora had suddenly gone silent, and Seojin had gone out to find her. I immediately called Seojin.

"Tower Master." His subdued voice came through the phone. "It seems the Healer's Union has kidnapped Bora."

I almost dropped my phone.

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