Chapter 72
Chapter 72: Different than Intended (4)
Cale could see the change in Toonka’s expression . He blankly blinked a few times before slowly starting to frown as if he remembered what had happened .
“I lost . ”
However, he was calm when he started to speak . Cale then proceeded to speak .
“It was still a warriors’ battle . ”
Toonka blankly stared at Cale before slowly starting to smile . He looked extremely ugly with that expression on his face . His face, that already looked like an orc’s because of the beating he had just received, now looked like a mutant troll’s face . It was full of blue bruises .
Cale turned away to stop seeing that ugly face . He could hear Toonka starting to speak as he turned . Toonka was speaking to Pelia .
“A new warrior has appeared today!”
Cale could see soldiers approaching them after hearing Toonka’s loud voice . There was anticipation on the faces of the citizens . They did not seem to look down on their leader for fainting or have any animosity toward Choi Han for beating up their leader .
Warrior .
It was a cool title that was incomparable to those stupid mages . Someone who deserved such a title had appeared .
“We will have a celebration tonight! Get it prepared!”
Boom . Boom . Boom .
The citizens started to stomp their feet again . At the same time, they cheered for both Choi Han and Toonka . Although these citizens were called barbarians because of such actions, Cale did not care .
Of course, there will definitely be some soldiers whose morale goes down because Toonka lost, as well as some high-ranking people who will have animosity toward Cale’s crew .
‘Not my concern . ’
He just needed to take what he needed to take . Cale could hear Toonka speaking to Choi Han behind him .
“Warrior! I will definitely kill you next time! Muhahahahahaha!”
Cale turned around to see Choi Han frowning deeply . Choi Han had deeply disliked Toonka in the novel . He then heard Toonka speaking to him .
“I destroyed it less, per our agreement!”
It meant they were now going to go look at the Magic Tower .
Cale climbed back up and patted the pale Billos’s shoulder .
“Billos . ”
“Yes sir . ”
“Go get everybody from outside the base . ”
Billos seemed confused, but accepted before pointing to someone else .
“Of course . But there is someone I need to introduce first . ”
Cale looked toward who Billos was pointing at . Brown hair and brown eyes along with an extremely average face . He seemed so common and average, but it was so much so that it made him look unique .
“Young master-nim, this is Chief Harol-nim . He is currently the Supreme Chief in charge of the entire faction . ”
Harol . He was a necessary member of the non-mage faction .
“Nice to meet you, young master Cale-nim . My name is Harol . ”
The peasants of the Whipper Kingdom did not have last names . Cale reached his hand out to Harol .
“Nice to meet you . I am Cale . ”
Harol cautiously shook Cale’s hand before quietly starting to whisper .
“I guess young master Cale-nim is who our leader Toonknim said he was going to sell the Magic Tower to . ”
Cale did not say anything and just smiled as he let go of Harol’s hand .
Harol . Harol was neither a very strategic person nor a strong individual . He also did not have any unique abilities . He was a great scientist, but he was lacking compared to the other chiefs .
However, he was one of the founding members of the non-mage faction .
The mages had considered themselves above the regular citizens because of their magic abilities . Harol had been the one who had brought up the idea of saving the people from such tyranny . To them, he was a hero .
People followed him because of how average he was . Toonka and Harol, this combination was the hope for the Whipper Kingdom’s citizens .
“It is my honor to meet you . I guess we have a lot to discuss from here on . ”
The non-mage faction needed money . Harol probably wanted to take as much money as possible from Cale . At that moment, Cale could hear Raon’s voice in his head .
- What a liar .
The dragon really was sharp . Cale gently responded to Harol .
“I suppose so . ”
An unfair trade . That trade started from Harol and not Toonka .
***
Cale stood in front of the Magic Tower and looked up .
The 20 story Magic Tower was the second tallest building on the entire continent . The tallest building was the Empire’s Alchemist Bell Tower .
‘It’s better than I expected . ’
Toonka had destroyed the Magic Tower less than Cale had anticipated . There were only a few outer walls that were destroyed . In comparison, all the windows and the insides were a total mess .
‘This isn’t all there is to the Magic Tower . ’
Cale turned away from the Magic Tower to look at Toonka .
“Are you going in as well?”
The question made Toonka start to frown .
“You think I am crazy? Why would I go into that dirty place?”
Dirty place . Toonka was calling this famous building that was known throughout the Western Continent a, ‘dirty place . ’ It was dirty to him because the citizens’ blood, sweat, and tears were shed inside of this building .
“Harol will guide you . ”
Toonka said that before peeking toward Beacrox, Hilsman, the Wolf children, and Lock . It was because he smelled strong scents from them as well . He then also peeked toward the two baby kittens in Cale’s arms .
He then looked toward Choi Han, who was talking to Rosalyn, before casually starting to speak .
“You are interesting because you are weak . ”
Cale naturally ignored Toonka, however, Toonka continued to speak .
“A weakling who oddly seems strong . ”
However, Toonka could not say anything else . It was because Choi Han had started to stare at him . Toonka started to smile brightly at Choi Han’s stare before he started to approach him .
“What? You want to fight again?”
Choi Han sighed before ignoring Toonka . Cale observed Toonka and Choi Han’s interaction before taking a look at Billos and Harol discussing with one another . He then started petting the kittens in his arms while starting to quietly sing .
“Let’s catch a rat, let’s catch a rat . How many rats?”
On’s front paw moved in Cale’s arms .
Tap .
She hit him once .
Cale continued to speak .
“Don’t hurt him though . Life is precious . ”
Hong snorted before moving his front paw .
Tap . Tap .
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He tapped twice before his tail started to wag . On started to shake her head after seeing the smiles on Cale and Hong’s faces . The two of their villainous smiles were becoming similar the longer they were together .
However, On’s tail was shaking as well .
At that moment, a stealthy voice filled Cale’s mind .
- Should I come with you too, human?
Raon really must want to go with them, as he even asked Cale for permission . Cale sternly shook his head . Cale quietly whispered as if he was gently speaking to the kittens .
“You have to catch something else with me . ”
The baby kittens and Black Dragon all closed their mouths after seeing Cale’s expression as he said, ‘something else . ’ That sounded fun as well .
Harol and Toonka soon approached Cale . Toonka pointed to Harol with friendliness .
Our chief will guide you . Pelia will go with you as well . ”
Pelia was going to be Harol’s guard . Cale nodded his head and asked .
“Did you clean up the corpses of the mages in the tower?”
“I left a few there . ”
Cale knew this would be the case and kept a straight face . At that moment, Raon started to speak .
- I guess you are only afraid of mermaid corpses . Don’t worry, I will make sure the mermaids can’t get to you in the future .
‘ . . . I’m not really afraid of the mermaids either . ’
However, Cale did not say that out loud since he should not run into any mermaids in the future .
Toonka observed Cale’s calm demeanor before continuing to speak .
“Those bastards do not need their souls consoled . ”
The consolation of the soul referred to cremation .
The citizens burned mage corpses whenever possible . Of course, there were some corpses with their heads rolling around on the ground, but those corpses would soon be burnt as well .
However, there must be a reason for the corpses they left behind not to be burnt .
‘Probably the ones that killed the most citizens . ’
What do you need the most of to advance magic devices?
Experiments .
What would they experiment on?
People .
There were many mages who performed experiments on humans in secret .
“I plan on getting rid of them when there are no more mages left in this kingdom . There will be no traces of them left . ”
Toonka quietly mumbled, contrary to his usual self . However, Cale did not pay much attention to his words .
Although all of the mages in the tower were dead, not all of the mages in the Whipper Kingdom were dead .
‘The Mage Tower mages were all part of the mage faction . ’
They were hierarchical and greedy . A tower is naturally going to have a top and a bottom . The people on top enjoyed looking down on the people down below .
However, there were some mages who stayed far away from power and greed . They preferred not to take part in politics or anything of power . Those mages were currently in hiding, trying to find a way out of the Whipper Kingdom, as well as trying to determine where to go .
Crown prince Alberu Crossman would be their shield . Alberu will gather together the mages who are only interested in magic research under his wings .
Cale then asked Toonka .
“Can I go in?”
Cale put the two kittens in his arms down on the ground . They will stealthily investigate on their own as long as the entrance door remains open .
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Beacrox and Choi Han stood behind Cale . Seeing Beacrox there, Cale had a confused expression on his face . However, Beacrox was looking toward the still bruised and battered Toonka with disgust .
“Harol . ”
“Yes, leader-nim . Young master Cale-nim, I will guide you . ”
Screech .
The Magic Tower’s door opened and Cale started to frown . He casually started to speak to Harol and Toonka, who were both looking at him .
“The rotten stench is strong . ”
The first floor of the Magic Tower . As soon as the door opened, Cale could see a corpse wearing the golden robe that symbolized the liege of the Magic Tower, as well as the destroyed remains of the devices inside . Cale started to speak with disgust at the crazy people who caused all this .
“Leave the door open to ventilate . I can’t stand this type of smell . ”
He then started to speak to Toonka .
“And cover the corpse . I’m a weakling so I can’t stand looking at a corpse for long . ”
Toonka snorted, but still motioned to a soldier guarding the entrance . Cale verified the pale, yet calm Rosalyn, before leaving her and the others behind and entering the Magic Tower .
Choi Han quickly stood in front of him with Beacrox behind him .
“Shall I guide you floor by floor?”
“Chief Harol . ”
“Yes?”
“The top . ”
There was no reason to look anywhere else .
“ . . . The top?”
“I’m curious about what it feels like to look down from the top . The liege’s room . Let’s go there . ”
“I understand . ”
They got on the elevator, the only device that was still functioning in the Magic Tower . It would instantly take them up to the 20th floor .
“You somehow managed to not break this . ”
“Just in case we needed it . ”
Harol gently responded, but Cale had to hold back his snort .
Oooooong .
The only remaining magic device in the Magic Tower started to move with a gentle vibration . The platform that Cale and crew were standing on slowly started to move up . It finally stopped once they got to the top of the Magic Tower .
Cale looked at the single door on the top floor and started to speak .
“Is that the liege’s room?”
“Yes it is . Ah, young master-nim?”
Cale did not respond to Harol’s call and started to walk .
The others quickly followed behind him . Cale walked to the door and turned the knob .
Click .
The door opened and the liege’s room revealed itself .
“What a mess . ”
Cale’s blunt assessment was heard by everyone else .
An area as wide as an entire floor was in front of them . It definitely was a mess .
Everything inside the liege’s room was destroyed . There was also blood everywhere . It looked like they had splashed blood around the room on purpose .
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“A total mess . Chief Harol, can I go to that window over there?”
The only symbol of the liege’s room . The only undestroyed thing remaining in this room was the view from that large window .
“Of course . Let me guide you there . ”
“I want to think in silence . Can I go alone?”
“ . . . That is a bit…”
Seeing Harol looking uncomfortable, Choi Han moved away from the liege’s room and stood in front of the elevator .
“I will be right here . ”
Beacrox went and stood next to Choi Han as well . He looked thankful that he did not need to go into such a dirty and messy place . However, Pelia was still uncomfortable . Nevertheless, Harol had made up his mind and started to speak .
“Pelinim, I will guide young master Cale-nim over there . Will five minutes alone with me be fine, young master-nim?”
“Of course . Keep one door open . That way, she can feel at ease . ”
“Thank you very much . ”
Cale returned Pelia’s thanks with a smile .
The liege’s room had a double door entrance . They kept one of them open as Cale entered the room . The twentieth floor . The liege’s room was very wide as the liege had occupied the entire floor for himself .
That was why most people would not be able to hear Cale’s voice once they got to the window at the edge of the room .
‘Choi Han might be able to hear it, but it doesn’t matter if he does . ’
Cale crossed through the destroyed items in the room . Tables, chairs, books, carpets, everything was now trash .
Cale stood in front of the window that was the furthest away from the door and started to speak .
“You broke everything?”
Harol confidently responded to Cale’s question .
“Of course . This was the room of the worst person in the Magic Tower . This was the room of a monster made from mana . ”
A monster made from mana . This was what the warriors used when referring to mages .
- What a liar .
Raon was grumbling in disbelief, but Cale did not care . Instead, he started to whisper in Harol’s ear . He was talking about Harol’s secret that nobody else knew about .
“You say that, but you are a mage as well . ”
He could feel mana, but his heart resisted mana . He was a mixed child of a mage and a magic resistant person . The unluckiest of all mana users .
The secret of a person’s birth was quite common in this world .
“Chief Harol, no . ”
Cale put his hand on the completely pale Harol and called out to him .
“Harol Kodiang . ”
The phrase about how a smart person going crazy was scary definitely was referring to Harol Kodiang .
“Don’t you want to erase all traces of your father?”
The liege of the Magic Tower, Pister Kodiang, did not know about Harol . This was a child who was born without his knowledge . A true monster that the monster made from mana had created .
“How did you know?”
Cale gently responded to the monster who asked him that question with a bitter smile on his face .
“Let me hear your answer first . ”
He didn’t need to say something like how he was going to buy the Magic Tower . Instead, Cale spoke about what he knew to be Harol’s desire .
“I will get rid of the Magic Tower for you . What do you think?”