Chapter 633 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

The reason one believes in God is not to rely on His omnipotence, but to always live a life free of shame under His watch. Reflecting on the philosopher's words, I rose from the couch where I had been lying. “Yawn. Senior, water.” “Oh, yeah!” Avant-Garde brought a water crystal in both hands, and I bit into it directly without even using a cup. It tasted slightly sweet and had a texture like ice. “This water crystal is sweet. Almost as sweet as a nap. What’s in it?” “Yeah! I sprinkled some sugar on it since I thought your mouth might be bored!” “It seems your kindness was sprinkled in, too. No wonder.” “Hehe.” With the Blue Tower Lord no longer overseeing and supervising me, I found myself equally neglecting my studies. Instead of immersing myself in study, I occupied my time reading my senior's thoughts and exploring the floating island. A life of taking long naps and chewing on provided water crystals. How delightful. It would be so wonderful if I could continue living this way. But the leisure was short-lived. Senior Avant-Garde struggled to set a mountain of magical texts before me. …Ah. “Anyway, what kind of magical book shall we read today? The Five Elements Study? Or Magic Circle Geometry?” “...Well, with the descent not far off, wouldn’t starting a new book be difficult? Let’s take it easy.” “No way! If the descent is close, then we need to work harder with last-minute studying!” Senior Avant-Garde spoke decisively. “You need to climb the ladder and earn the right to stay in the floating city if you want to be with me! …Hah! I— I didn’t mean it like that! I meant you could become a junior of the Crystal Tower!” T1NrUTkreFYvQUZ1VEE0bGdJSWROMVducFR2VEdlVXJnZTg4NVlJK0JHWm1yVjhXd0ZIWmlHY2Jjak5abXB4SA “Right now, everyone is busy talking about the King of Humans. Are you not interested in the King of Humans, Senior Avant-Garde?” “You… Your ladder is more important to me!” Tsk. Stubborn. I’ve already figured out a method, and there’s nothing more to study at the Crystal Tower anyway. How should I get out of this? Oh, right. Maybe I’ll try this. “I’ve done enough studying on magic amplification and enhancements for magic circles. Since there’s little time, I think I should learn something different.” “Do you have anything in mind?” “Not about magic, but about the floating island and the Magical Union. What history does the Magical Union have, and how was the floating island created? What is the descent?” I didn’t want to study, so I hoped for an interesting story. It was a typical request from a lazy student, but Avant-Garde took it as it was. “Oh! That’s good too. Even though the ladder is an event to showcase your magical abilities, knowing its purpose and format will make things easier! Wait a moment. The history of magic….” “I’d rather hear the story directly from you, senior, than reading a history book.” “Well… I’ve forgotten much about history myself.” “But you know the major events, don’t you? Even if you explain the detailed history, I won’t remember it. So it’s better to hear it in your voice.” “Yeah! I’ll try! Let’s see… Where should I start?” Satisfied that I’d switched my senior into explanation mode, I leaned back against the couch, ready to listen. Senior projected a map onto the screen and began to explain. “The Magical Union is a coalition of countless prestigious magic families. In the lower realm, other regions are ruled by these magic families, except for this floating island.” “Magic families? Are they similar to magic towers?” “A little different. Magic towers allow anyone who seeks the knowledge accumulated within to enter, but magic families consist of direct or collateral bloodlines. They mainly focus on hereditary unique magic rather than white magic.” “Unique magic passed through bloodlines? Unique magic can be inherited?” “Yes, there is already evidence that direct descendants have a higher likelihood of awakening similar types of unique magic if they grow up in similar environments. The awakening unique magic of heirs of magic families is proof of that.” I’ve heard about this somewhere. When was it? Was it the military nation? It seems the unique magic of a communications officer awakened in a way similar to this. “The Blue Tower Lord’s unique magic is said to be so similar that it’s called the revival of the first Celsius. She was known for trapping boiling steam within droplets.” “Celsius was one of the great magicians who advanced white magic that alternates between crystals and steam, right? To resemble someone like that, the Blue Tower Lord must be remarkable too.” “Right… Moreover, she’s powerful, smart, and even admirable… someone like me….” Suddenly, Avant-Garde grew gloomy. Ah, why now? I was listening so well. I casually shifted the conversation to keep the story going. “I don’t know much about the Magical Union, but just from what you’ve shared, it feels like a barrier. Like a flower on a cliff, seemingly unattainable.” Hearing my soliloquy, Avant-Garde’s enthusiasm returned. “…Yeah! That’s right! They’re so impressive! That’s why it’s a bit challenging!” “Are all the other tower lords from magic families too?” “Not all of them. One, the White Tower Lord, came from the ladder.” “Even rising through the ladder, you can become a tower lord?” “Of course, you’d need extraordinary talent to do it. The unique magic wielded by Lord Ruel of the White Tower… though it isn’t a term usually used by magicians, it truly possesses godlike powers. It was well-suited for being the lord of the Ivory Tower.” I thought the Blue Tower Lord’s unique magic was impressive, but hearing Avant-Garde speak, Ruel’s unique magic seemed to far surpass it. “I’m curious. I’d like to meet them.” “If you climb the ladder, you’ll get to see them! The five tower lords come to assess during the ladder!” The Red and White Tower Lords are the ones I have yet to see. Although I haven’t had the chance to meet them so far, ascending the ladder should allow me to see all five tower lords, including the Demon King. “There are numerous magic families within the Union, but the families that produce tower lords are exceptionally wealthy and powerful. Their territories are generally more prosperous than others. The next scheduled descent site happens to be within the Celsius family’s territory, so you’ll be able to see the difference firsthand.” “Senior, your stories about the Magical Union are fascinating. It’s a shame I hadn’t listened earlier.” "Haha, no matter how brilliant you are, you can't overlook a senior's seasoned wisdom!" Though I've lost to Hughes in magical knowledge... at least I can teach things like this! Avant-Garde was proud, and I was entertained. A win-win situation. "Oh! By now, the descent should be underway. Would you like to go see the lower world?" "Can we see the lower world from here?" "Yes, the tower serves as a passage to and from outside the floating island. You should be able to see the lower world now." A stroll to lift my spirits sounded pleasant. I promptly followed Avant-Garde. Unbeknownst to me, having only ascended the tower before, there was a staircase that led further down from the first floor of the Crystal Tower. Avant-Garde and I stepped onto this staircase. Even the floating island has an underground. Unlike the surface where the artificial sun casts its light, the underground serves as the residential area for the enlightened inhabitants of the floating island. The surface is for facilities, and the underground is designed as accommodations, a way to make use of limited space. Below this residential zone lies the management area. It's where any damages or abnormalities in the floating island are detected and repaired, and it also serves as an observation point for the lower world. Then, one level below that, there is a path extending beyond the floating island, found only in the magic tower. The descending staircase seemed as if someone had played with it like an accordion. The steps, which should have been straight and orderly, were twisted as if someone had bent them into a circle. The floor became a wall, then continued to the ceiling. Diverting my gaze from this surreal sight, I focused on the stairs before me. Step by step. I concentrated on placing my feet on the next step, and before I knew it, I was deep within the surreal stairway. Having traversed the long passage where up and down became indistinguishable, Avant-Garde and I arrived in a room adorned with windows on all sides. "Look below. That's the Magical Union. It's much closer than before, isn't it?" Avant-Garde pointed to a transparent ceiling window. There, I had the rare experience of looking down at the ground from directly overhead. In these frigid lands, water takes on numerous forms. It freezes on its own, melts down, evaporates upward, and then falls back to blanket the earth. The land itself is swept away by the constantly changing forms of water. Avalanches alter the heights, collapsing glaciers reshape the coastline, and melting ice blurs the earth. From here, the boundaries between snow, ice, and water blur, giving a sense of time and space becoming indistinct. While nature's wondrous sight briefly captured my gaze, as I turned in another direction, I was rendered speechless by its strangeness. "Senior." "Hmm?" "Over there. What are those grid patterns visible on the land?" Amidst the snow and ice, which should have blurred the terrain, there were grid patterns on the land that unmistakably appeared man-made. Are those fields? However, fields are typically only a few hundred square meters. From the immense altitude of the floating island, they should not be noticeable. Yet, these seemed as if a god had drawn lines across the earth with a ruler. The hues change distinctly at the borders of these straight lines. It would be easier to accept if it were a map with national borders and colors for clarity, but the problem is the spectacle before me is the real terrain. Avant-Garde's voice reached my curious ears. "The floating island hovers way up high, right? The Demon King shaped them like that to make things easier to see from the floating island." "Shaped them?" "Yes, it's also convenient when descending. Moreover, clearly marking the boundaries of territories reduces unnecessary conflicts. Each magic family has its own rules, and overlapping territories can become troublesome." "I get that. But how did they shape the territories?" Perhaps, marking territory boundaries straight is a simple task. With enough power, it could be accomplished, and it's a policy worth attempting. However, my question arose from the unnaturalness felt from the land. The bizarre sense of someone pulling the earth, ignoring the contours and features, as if the land wasn't marked by boundaries but distorted to fit them, was palpable from below. Avant-Garde resolved my curiosity in one go. "They pulled it with unique magic!"