I returned to the fourth floor, where everyone was waiting.

"Seojin! That deal to buy the operating rights for this restricted area! What's the status?"

"As you instructed, I have purchased them under Alchemia's name."

"Good work!"

If more of this Sanctification field magic were created and spread around the tower, I'd be able to freely utilize the surrounding space. My long-held dream of real estate investment was finally within reach. I quickly returned to the operations table.

"Ea, what's this 'Fog Labyrinth'?"

"It is a type of barrier. It envelops any target that enters its range in fog and sends them back to where they came from."

"Ooh! I need to use this right away." This time, I completely surrounded the Magic Tower with the fog barrier. Now, anyone who invaded the controlled zone would be unable to approach the tower and would simply be sent back.

[Confirm this location? The field magic <Fog Labyrinth> will be consumed.]

"Okay."

[Field magic <Fog Labyrinth> has been applied.]

Bora, who had been watching me set up the barrier with interest, looked up. "Ea, are there any others besides these?"

"Of course." Ea displayed a list of producible field magics on a screen in the air. There were truly all sorts of effects. The majority were installation, barrier, and illusion-type spells that applied directly to the terrain, but there were also many buff and debuff spells that affected anyone who entered the area.

"Look at this, Yusin! There's even magic to make it rain or cause a drought!"

"This really is like a weather agency," I remarked.

Ea elaborated further. "Managing the weather with this kind of magic was the traditional role of the fourth floor. Now that field magic has developed to such an extreme degree, much more is possible."

"So, Ea, does that mean I can use this facility to apply field magic anywhere in the world?"

"Yes. That is the greatest advantage of this Weather Design Bureau," Ea said with a smile. "While many field magics benefit people, there are also those that cause direct harm. Because of that, this fourth floor was the core of the Magic Tower's diplomacy in Erendel."

"Diplomacy?"

"Yes. Rain for a nation suffering from drought, a barrier for a city overrun with monsters. These were things only the Magic Tower could do, and in return, it received a great deal. Thanks to field magic, the tower was able to exert immense influence throughout the continent."

'I see.' There was a reason the Magic Tower was the de facto ruler of Erendel. The strength of its magicians was one thing, but the role of this floor must have been significant.

"Conversely, factions hostile to the Magic Tower paid a steep price. Monsters that had been quiet would suddenly cross their borders, docile citizens would voice their discontent and start rebellions, crops would wither, and rivers would dry up. That is why the Magic Tower was the one and only power that could attack any nation in the world without ever leaving its seat."

"I get it."

The first floor was finances. The second was information. The third was military power. The fourth was diplomacy. There wasn't a single weak link. Each floor had a clearly defined role, and every one of them possessed the influence to shake the world.

"I have a question, Ea," Jeong Seojin said, looking up from the production list. "These field magics… aren't their effects almost too good? The design difficulty must be considerable."

"That is correct." Ea waved her hand in the air. "I will show you the production process."

The map on the operations table vanished, replaced by something resembling a blueprint. "This is the blueprint for the 'Sanctification' field magic that the Tower Master just used."

"…It looks incredibly complex."

Field magic wasn't a matter of one or two processes. The number of runes in the blueprint alone exceeded twenty. But it wasn't a simple twentieth-order spell, either.

"This is a characteristic of field magic," Ea explained. "First, you complete a 'mana blueprint' using a multitude of runes, and then you manifest that as magic. It involves complex theories, but that is the basic concept. Its very structure is different from normal magic."

I looked over the formulas in the blueprint. Even a quick glance revealed the Kiros formula, the Link function, and the resistance variation formula. One would have to be at least a mage who could cast second-order spells to even begin to understand the design.

I stroked my chin thoughtfully. "The fourth-floor administrator will have to be someone skilled in magic."

"Affirmative. Even if they receive the administrator's Level 10 trait, it would be meaningless without magical knowledge."

"But… aren't I the only magician on Earth right now?"

As I said that, my eyes met Bora's. She pretended not to notice and subtly avoided my gaze. 'Nice try.'

"Bora, you know how to lay a base now, right?"

"What? O-of course! Who do you take me for?!"

"Then could you show me?"

She flinched. "Ah, um, right now? Oh my! I completely forgot. I have to go make today's batch of potions."

"…How long does it take to lay one base? I'll help you with the potions afterward." 'Heh, don't even think about running away. It won't work.'

In the end, Bora stood before the wall with a reluctant expression. The time had come for an original member to show her skills. She was my first disciple, after all. She'd do fine, right?

"I remember everything! Okay, first, you approach the spot where you want to draw the magic circle! Then you spread your magic power wide, like you're unrolling a flat canvas…!"

'Shatter!'

The base broke without lasting a single second. She glanced at me and laughed awkwardly. "Ahaha! Just a mistake! It must not have worked well because it's a wall. Hehe."

This time, she crouched down and placed her finger on the floor. The others had gathered to watch. Now the center of attention, she gathered her mana with a nervous expression. "Like unrolling a flat canvas…!"

The mana flowing from her palm began to form the magic circle base. However…

'Shatter!'

It broke again.

"Ugh!"

Now she was just being stubborn. She changed her posture, kneeling and placing both hands on the floor. Then, snorting with determination, she began the spell once more.

'Shatter!'

Third attempt, failed.

'Shatter!'

Fourth attempt, failed. The fifth, sixth, and seventh attempts all ended the same way.

"…I'm sorry, Yusin." She finally surrendered with a dejected sigh. "Should I go kneel in the corner with my hands up?"

"…Haa, it's fine. As long as the first-floor administrator can make potions, that's all that matters."

"Hehe! You're the best!" Bora quickly clung to my arm, trying to act cute.

'Vwoooom!'

Just then, beside me, Seojin succeeded in creating a magic circle for Gauntlet.

"It's magic!" Eunsol cheered excitedly.

Seojin pushed up his glasses with a calm expression. "I just practiced a little as you taught me, Tower Master, and it worked."

"Hahaha! Is there anything you can't do?"

It was still clumsy, but the fact that he'd manifested magic at all was something. While everyone else congratulated him, Jin Bora just pouted. Her expression clearly said, 'Hey, if you can do it, what does that make me?'

"You're our hope, Seojin! Want to be the fourth-floor administrator?"

"If there's no one else, I suppose I have no choice. But who will manage the second floor?"

…Ah, right. Seojin was irreplaceable. It seemed I would have to recruit a new administrator for the fourth floor after all.

'How am I supposed to find someone skilled in magic in the modern world?'

A truly incredible floor had opened, but the question of who to appoint as its administrator presented a new challenge.

* * *

'Swoooosh!'

Late at night, rain poured down as if a hole had opened in the sky. On a dark road, untouched by a single streetlight, a hunter ruffled their soaking wet hair. In front of them, a monster lay dead in a pool of its own blood.

"Gave me a hell of a time. Tsk."

The radio they'd been carrying had been smashed during the fight. The hunter searched their pockets, but their cell phone was also gone, likely dropped somewhere in the chaos.

They let out a small sigh and looked around.

"How can there be nothing out here?"

How far had they strayed? The desolate road was devoid of a single building, offering only a view of rice paddies and a few parked excavators.

'Rumble!'

Thunder and lightning tore through the sky. The weather showed no signs of letting up.

'It's cold.' The hunter had been caught in the downpour for too long, their stamina already drained. A chill seeped into their bones, and a shiver wracked their body.

'What a pain. Isn't there a single car out here?'

'Flash!'

A bolt of lightning illuminated his surroundings in a fleeting, stark white. In that instant, something caught his eye. They sensed a presence and recoiled.

"Whoa! You scared the hell out of me. How long have you been standing there?"

It was a person. A figure cloaked in a black raincoat approached, their footsteps splashing in the puddles. From within the coat, they produced a cell phone and offered it to the hunter.

"Oh, for me? Wow, thank you! You're a lifesaver!"

The hunter took the phone, overjoyed, and began to dial. They paused after punching in the beginning of a number 010, scratching their head in frustration.

'Ah, damn it. Forgot it again.'

They couldn't recall their manager's number. This was the problem with relying on saved contacts. Back in the day, they'd had everyone's number memorized, from their upstairs neighbor to the local noodle shop. Sighing at the trivial thought, they glanced apologetically at the figure in the raincoat.

"Sorry, you must be in a hurry. I'll just call the police; it's an emergency."

The moment they dialed 112 and raised the phone to his ear, lightning flashed again. As the world turned white, a puddle on the ground reflected a horrifying scene.

Something shot out from the raincoat, piercing the hunter's body.

"Uh…?"

The phone slipped from their grasp, tumbling across the pavement before landing in the rainwater. The hunter's pupils trembled, their mind unable to process what was happening.

Just then a faint voice from the phone spoke.

"...is the emergency line. How may I help…?" a voice crackled from the phone. The call had gone through.

The hunter reflexively tried to speak.

"Uh, ugh? Kegh."

There was a hole in their throat. They fumbled at their neck in a confused panic as bloody foam bubbled from their lips. They collapsed to their knees, then slumped sideways to the ground.

"Hello? Is everything alright? Hello?" the voice from the phone persisted.

'Crunch!'

The figure in the black raincoat stomped on the phone, crushing it into silence.

'Swoooosh!'

In the suffocating stillness, only the downpour echoed. The rain washed the blood from the black raincoat. The hunter's wide-open eyes stared into the darkness, their expression one of utter disbelief. After a long moment of silence, the figure pulled their hood low and vanished.

* * *

"…A serial killer?"

Jin Bora nodded emphatically.

"Yes! A notoriously evil serial killer is in Korea right now! They say he just swings a knife at anyone he sees. Ugh! Isn't that terrifying? He's supposedly hiding somewhere in Seoul! Just yesterday, they found a corpse on the street, blood gushing from its neck…"

I narrowed my eyes as she spoke. "Did you really have to bring that up while we're eating tteokbokki?"

Eunsol, who had been happily munching on the spicy rice cakes simmering in the pot, looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Yusin! Is there a serial killer in Seoul?"

"It's fine. You're safe inside the Magic Tower."

"I know about serial killers, too!" she declared.

At her words, everyone around the pot froze.

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