“Hey, Ver. Don’t move.” Cain said when the bolt of lightning entered his Mana Zone. Veronica’s cheeks flushed red, her thoughts running wild. He… he called me “Ver…” Her emotions and thoughts flew faster than the bolt of lightning that aimed at her head, distracting her from the incoming threat.

Cain froze the bolt of lightning in the air with his mana; its speed prevented him using a mana word in time. An arc of electricity flickered down the bolt and lightly zapped Veronica’s cheek, bringing her out of thoughts.

Before she could react to the massive rod of electricity pointing at her face, Cain moved it to the side with the dense mana net that smothered it. The bolt of lightning vibrated violently; its caster trying to make it break free from the unknown confines.

The human figure in the air dismissed his flotation magic; his body hurtled to the plaza square, landing inches from the mage’s head which was now lowered in a bow. The mage backed away from the figure, scurrying on his hands and feet till his back hit the carriage wheel. “Excuse me, pardon me.” Cain muttered while shuffling across everyone’s knees to leave the carriage.

The mage who fell from the sky took this time to prepare a big cast, four… five… six… the number of magic circles kept climbing, showing no signs of stopping. Cain hopped out of the carriage and bent down to brush his knees.

The mage fired his spell at this moment, once again aiming for Veronica’s head. A multitude of lightning bolts appeared from each magic circle and spiraled around each other. The bystanders’ and the party’s senses were heightened to the peak due to the atmosphere, making the drill of lightning appear as if it inched forward every second above Cain’s back and towards Veronica’s eye.

[100% - s]

Cain swung his right arm up, his hand grasping onto the fine point of concentrated lightning. Ferocious air currents rippled outwards from Cain’s arm, the carriage rocked slightly, the hostile mage’s concentration broke causing the magic circles the lightning drill appeared from to shatter.

[10% - s]

Yet the drill did not dissipate. Parts of it distorted while others vibrated, the mana it was composed of tried everything it could to break free from Cain’s grasp and the mana net that tackled its sides. Cain slowly stood up, bringing his right hand in front of him to inspect the lightning. The length of the bolts stretched and warped around Cain’s body, forced to follow the force tugging it.

“Shall we talk civilly now?” Cain asked the 7th circle mage who fired the lightning bolts at them. The mage refused to listen and began forming magic circles to cast another spell, yet Cain’s word shattered all of them instantly.

“Kneel.”

The weight behind the words forced every mage that occupied the plaza to the ground; the hostile 7th circle mage was no exception. An old man using a wooden staff to support his weight shuffled through the kneeling crowd towards Cain.

“T-tower Master!” The mage who backed into the carriage wheel cried out to all the old man. “Austin! What’s with all this ruckus.” The escort mage’s face drooped when he saw the Tower Master ignore him and check in on his disciple.

“This little mage here said we were late so I opened a portal directly here to save time.” Cain answered in Austin’s stead. Austin’s rugged breaths tried to force words out, yet the density of Cain’s mana around him was far greater than everyone else, to the point cracks on the floor started appearing.

“Are you the ones from the Adventurer’s Guild?” The Tower Master asked Cain, to which he nodded. “Ah, you must be the one who contracted the Spirit King of Space. My apologies for the rough greeting my disciple gave you, he’s had a grudge against elves ever since he was little.” Victoria opened her mouth to protest the Tower Master’s explanation of Austin’s fixation on Veronica.

Cain raised his left hand, silencing her. “I guess we were in the wrong for appearing so unannounced, yet that’s no reason to ignore my words and continue to fire spells at us.” Cain dragged the lightning drill completely in front of him while beckoning the bolt of lightning Austin first shot at the carriage.

Stuttered breaths escaped the Tower Master’s bearded face; if he had a wizard hat, he’d be a reincarnation of Gandalf. “Austin, is that true?” He questioned his disciple who tried to answer him, yet Cain used his mana to establish disguised magic circles of force on his head, driving it into the plaza floor.

Previously, the mana was scattered and thus the weight distributed. Yet with Cain’s sudden modifications, the weight shifted faster than Austin could adjust to it. “My apologies, my concentration slipped.” Cain replied as Austin tried to shoot him a glare through the pebbles in his face.

Cain directed the captured bolts of lightning towards the air and propelled the forward, releasing them into the sky until they dispersed. He also released the pressure of the mana that forced every mage to kneel as he recorded the bolts of lightning with his eyes for further study.

“That… may be true…” Austin mumbled, shaking the rocks out of his fiery hair, his eyes hovering between Veronica and Cain. “Hm? Must I plant your head back into the ground?” Cain threatened Austin when he saw his scowl. Austin scoffed and fled back to his estate to repair the roof.

The Tower Master sighed as his disciple fled. “I hope you can forgive him eventually. Anger clouds his judgment whenever he sees an elf. Come, let’s discuss what you came here for over tea.” The Tower Master shooed the mages away and beckoned the party to follow him. “I’ll forgive him if he apologizes for burning Veronica’s face.” Cain retorts.

“Eh? Vicky, is there a burn on my cheek?” Veronica showed her right cheek to Victoria hurriedly. “Sort of… It’s quite sma–it’s gone now. Cain, did you heal it?” Victoria observed the burn mark smaller than a fingerprint disappear from Veronica’s cheek. “Yep.” Cain nonchalantly replied while checking the group chat.

—Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob, and Rex— (35ms from Cain’s first message)

Rex: Damn… That escort mage is so untidy.

Rex: …and rude. Is his watch broken? Or maybe it’s his brain?

Dresil: Hm… I’ll give that roast a 3/10.

Bob: 2/10.

Rex: :cry_pain:

Rex: …this mfer really forgot those few hundred spells existed.

Bob: Roughly 867, but yes.

Dresil: What do you mean roughly… Also these mages are pretty talented if most of them can double cast.

Rex: …idk what’s happening, but ok.

Rex: What the… How could Veronica not sense the lightning bolt just because of a nickname?

Rex:

Rex: Do you like making people kneel or something?

Cain: Nah, it’s just the simplest way to make these people understand I’m out of their league.

Cain: Otherwise they’d just refuse to believe what I can do and claim it as tricks or something similar.

Rex: Hmm… also, what was that flicker with your physical enhancement?

Cain: I didn’t want to take any chances the drill would touch Veronica since her eye was exposed to it.

Dresil: …at least your impulsiveness improved somewhat. You’re still pretty reckless though.

Cain: Yep… I probably should’ve thought portaling here through more, the escort’s attitude just got on my nerves since I was hardly awake.

Dresil: Shall I wake you up sooner then?

Cain: …I’ll work on my attitude.

Cain: Also, I called Veronica by her nickname on purpose so her emotions would distract her from the danger.

Rex: Yeah, but… why does that even work?

Cain: It’s love, can’t really explain it in words.

Dresil: Is she at that point or does she still have a crush on you?

Cain: I think it’s developing to a bit more than a crush right now.

Cain: :sigh: Now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve done something different.

Cain: It feels like I forcibly propelled our relationship with this incident.

Dresil: Just slow it down from here on then and be more careful.

Cain: True…

--------------------------

“May I ask how you stopped my disciple’s lightning spells?” The Tower Master asked Cain as he led them to his office within one of the Mage Towers. “Telekinesis.” Cain responded absentmindedly, feigning ignorance to the party’s and the Tower Master’s reaction. The group of six continued to walk through the crowd of dispersing mages in a 2x3 line; with Cain and the Tower Master at the front row.

—Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob, and Rex— (51ms)

Rex: Tf… didn’t you basically just tell the group that summoned you that you can use telekinesis now?

Dresil: Oh? I was expecting Rex to connect those dots tomorrow.

Bob: Indeed… he does seem to be getting smarter.

Rex: :hehe:

Cain: Yep, couldn’t really back out of it though; at least the explanation wouldn’t be as believable as contracting the Spirit King of Space and being able to use telekinesis.

Rex: …but Bob can’t grant you telekinesis.

Cain: They don’t know that, even if the people who summoned me do, it’ll reveal itself through their actions and tell us a lot about their origins.

Bob: Indeed. Almost no beings on this plane know of my existence beyond it being a myth, let alone the exact definitions of my powers.

Bob: Only a few gods know I can’t use telekinesis as well, the rest never cared or just assumed I could.

Cain: See? We already know the group that summoned me had some contact with the gods since that apple I ate came from them.

Cain: This will help narrow down their connections and background.

Rex: What the fuck man… give my brain a break, will you?

Rex: Is this what you meant by you work your actions led by your desires to your favor?

Rex: …but where is the desire in this… mess…

Cain: Impulsiveness and recklessness is a type of action that clouds judgment, just like desires leading to emotions that cloud judgment.

Cain: They’re similar in the sense that their outcome is the same but the path is different. So I guess they’d belong to the same category.

Rex: and that is…?

Cain: Idk, I don’t have all the answers.

Rex: :ded:

--------------------------

The Tower Master led the party up the winding steps of the red-capped Mage Tower on the left. Contrary to the skinny Mage Towers shown in the comics Cain read, these towers had a base of roughly 40 meters in diameter. A giant pillar ran through the center yet also had vents that distributed mana of varying density to its floors.

“Who built this tower?” Cain asked, perplexed by the complexity and style of the layout. From the techniques to the materials, it truly appeared as if a team of engineers came from Earth and designed this tower. To top it off, they managed to combine magic and engineering with the pillar. It provided structural support that was further reinforced by defensive magic circles whose range appeared to be the whole tower, not just the pillar itself.

“The founder of our Mage Tower organization. He had designs and plans to build the estate houses and the plaza outside, yet he passed away before he could build them. We couldn’t understand the methods or materials used, so we had to adapt his designs then build them. We named the complex Magic Tower to honor his name though.” The Tower Master explained as he lead the party past the seventh floor.

No… Why did you name it after the towers and not the person who built it… You’re just confusing everyone at this point. Cain lamented as he looked back at the party. Jared mumbled something about a headache, his steps wobbling some. “I see…” Cain commented, not having the social energy to get into a discussion about a naming sense so bad it rivaled his.

“Is the mana coming out of the pillar also one of his designs?” Cain asked as they reached the tenth and final floor. He had observed the mechanisms of the pillar with his eyes and Mana Zone during most of their trek up. Yet no matter how he viewed it, it looked as if two different people built the pillar, one the magical and the other the structural.

“No… That system was built by the Founder’s wife. She believed in providing a workspace for the mages that was mana rich so they could cultivate during their breaks or use the mana to enrich their mind.” The Tower Master explained, showing a hint of regret within his tone and gaze.

He gestured towards some couches near a large window for the party to sit on. “Woah! Is that the capitol? It looks so small!” Jared and Veronica stared out the window that overlooked the capitol. From the size of the city, Cain guessed the distance between the capitol and the Magic Tower to be roughly three kilometers.

“It is, come, sit. We have yet to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Albert, the Tower Master.” Albert poured some tea for the party and brought a wooden chair near the head of the coffee table, facing the window. Cain, Veronica, and Victoria sat on his left, with Jacob taking up most of the sofa and Jared squeezing in between the rest of the space.

Cain hastily took a sip of the tea and observed its reaction with his mana to see if it was poisoned. With poison currently being the easiest way to assassinate him and the least proficient of things he can heal, Cain was more vigilant than usual, especially since the party was with him.

A few minutes passed in which nothing occurred; the party introduced themselves during this time with Cain closing off the introductions. “You have my, er, late greetings… Haha… Anyways, why have you young’uns come to the Tower?” Albert awkwardly chuckled as he gave his greetings, Victoria filled him in on everything that happened in the ruins.

“I see… Those devices would be of great help to the boys in the labs. They’ve been feeling down lately due to lack of results in some areas, it’d be good for them to have something new to distract themselves for a bit. Although they can be arrogant at times, they’re good kids at heart.” Albert talked about the hundreds of mages as if they were his grandkids, he used his staff to help himself stand up after speaking.

“Well, follow me. I’ll lead you to a place where you can put the spoils.” He led the party towards a door within his office, revealing a large open space that presumably occupied the rest of the floor’s area. “Why don’t you try changing their attitudes? Surely that would prevent a lot of problems like before, although they wouldn’t occur on such a grand scale.” Victoria asked, ushering Veronica and Jared to stop casting glances outside the window and follow the group.

“Haha… What do you expect an old man like me to do? There are many factions within the Tower and I am but a simple old man.” Albert responded while gesturing to the open space. Jacob stepped forward and controlled the magic circle on the back of his right hand to open deposit the spoils from the dimensions Cain created.

Cain took this opportunity to modify everyone’s circles so they’d only work with their unique mana signature. Previously, it worked with any mana since he didn’t know how to filter or read mana signatures until Bob taught him when they made Rex’s parental controls. “You’re an old man at the 8th circle, surely there must be something.” Cain retorted while making his modifications.

“Hoho… It seems your eyes match your talent, young lad. I may be the Tower Master and at the 8th circle, but I am also close to the end of my life.” Albert chortled for a bit, anticipating the research materials that were about to appear. “My eyes are nowhere near as potent as my talent. What if there was a way to extend your life? One that didn’t require you to sell your soul or anything like that.” Cain countered, scanning Albert’s memories for any connections to hidden organizations or the like. He also took a drop of blood from Albert to examine his telomere length later.

“Then I’d gladly take that opportunity. There are still many things I must research and handle in this world.” Albert commented while eyeing the vehicles and drake tail that Jacob extracted from the loot dimension. “I’ll personally manage the group researching these parts and contact you if we get one of the vehicles running again.” Albert stated while running his skeletal hands along the side of the hover bikes.

“Alright, we’ll get going then.” Cain said as he opened a portal to the Adventurer Guild’s entrance. The party disappeared through the exit, while Cain lagged behind. “Let me know if you wish to be promoted to the 10th or 11th circle. Spend a few days or maybe weeks to let your control over the mana within you catch up. Of course, it won’t be free.” Cain stated moments before disappearing through the portal that closed behind him.

Albert quickly scanned his body and was surprised to discover that he had enough mana within to easily promote to the 9th circle. He immediately sat down and meditated to form the 9th circle, circulating the remnant natural mana Cain left in his body to temper it accordingly.