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 Toonka-nim 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.

His Raon 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.

'Though the Bell Tower wasn't actually for Alchemists. However, it's a plan for later. The Empire is too large for me to oppose them on my own. Still, this tower is 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 got a glare from Cale for that, so he then looked toward Choi Han, who was talking to Rosalyn, before casually starting to speak.

"You are interesting because you are weak, yet you have gathered a lot of strong people."

Cale naturally ignored Toonka, however, Toonka continued to speak. "A weakling who oddly seems strong like your companions."

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. The rat is useful~"

Hong snorted before moving his front paw.

Tap. Tap. 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.

But 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. Oh well.' 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 would gather together the mages who are only interested in magic research under his wings.

Cale then asked Toonka. "Can I go in now?"

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.

Beacrox and Choi Han stood behind Cale. Seeing Beacrox there, Cale had an understanding expression on his face.

Beacrox was looking toward the still bruised and battered Toonka with disgust, but his eyes seemed to be sparkling with satisfaction afterwards.

"Harol."

"Yes, leader-nim. Young master Cale-nim, I will guide you."

Screech. The Magic Tower's door opened.

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 beside 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.

"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 over there." 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. "Pelia-nim, 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 20th 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 simply listened.

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's shoulder 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?"

"How did you know?"

"The mana told me."

Harol had a twisted smile on his face after hearing Cale's answer.

[The mana told me] That was the phrase that was quite famous for being the Magic Tower's liege's favorite phrase.

Harol Kodiang. He was born between a mage and a magic resistant citizen, and he had the unique traits of both sides.

However, his appearance did not look anything like the citizens at all. "...Are you planning on using my bloodline as blackmail?"

Cale looked down from the 20th floor instead of responding to the question right away.

There were a lot of memorable extra characters in [The Birth of a Hero], the people he never even knew of from his past life. Harol Kodiang was one of them.

His mother passed away while giving birth to him alone, and his father did not even know of his existence. That was the start of Harol's anger.

'However, there was something Harol did not know.'

It was something only the author and the readers of [The Birth of a Hero] would know. That one line was enough to make Harol's anger worthless.

The novel did not go into detail about it. All it said was that the liege of the Magic Tower met her when he was out training as a young mage and fell in love.

Cale continued to look out the window before speaking to the son of the Magic Tower's liege, who ended up destroying the Magic Tower.

"Why would I use it to blackmail you? Being related to someone by blood is not a sin."

Harol did not have a response.

Cale turned his head to look at Harol. "Plus, aren't you all the ones who are in a rush?"

It was currently mid-summer, with the fall harvest season right in front of them. All of them had rebelled against the Magic Tower because they could not handle the taxation of the Magic Tower any longer.

Harol needed to fill the people's desire in order for them to rise up once again.

In fact, Harol was someone who wanted war even more than Toonka did. He wanted to destroy the seeds of mages in the entire world.

"...There is a mage within your crew."

"Yes there is."

Harol could feel mana like his father, but could not use it. There was no way he wouldn't know that Rosalyn was a mage.

Of course, the reason that he couldn't feel Raon's presence was because his skills were too weak.

Harol could see how calm and confident Cale was and decided to ask. "What is the Roan Kingdom planning to do with the Magic Tower?"

Cale started to smile as he made it very clear to Harol. "The Magic Tower is mine."

Harol observed the red-haired man who spoke confidently while looking out the window.

"I do not share my things with anyone else."

'Unless it's with ones I considered family.'

He would have to be crazy to give this to the kingdom. Cale thought about all of the time he spent to get here. There was no way he would give this up. The kingdom itself never done anything for Cale Henituse and his family.

The Magic Tower would become an ingredient for him to create the sturdiest castle for his territory.

Cale could see that Harol's eyes were filled with complications and confusion. 'He probably is going through all sorts of scenarios in his head because he is so smart.'

The final goal of this pitiful yet crazy bastard was to destroy all mages in the world. Harol respected and hoped for a world where everyone just relied on their strength or things like ancient powers.

It was funny, since the world Harol was trying to create would be even worse when it came to comparisons between the people who had abilities and the people who did not.

Cale, no, Kim Roksoo knew about that more then anyone in this world. That was why Cale called him a crazy bastard.

"...Young master Cale, is it not that you want the mages of the Whipper Kingdom?"

"Me?" Cale scoffed to show that he was being honest when he answered. He already had Raon Miru, the Black Dragon with him. "I do not need any more mages around me. An even greater existence is by my side."

– ...Human, I like the view from up here! The great Raon is right here, Human!

Cale could hear Raon's voice, but he paid no attention to it. Harol had a complicated expression on his face.

Cale was planning on sending the mages to the crown prince anyways. He didn't care about whether Harol figured this out or not. He wasn't lying, since he personally would not take those mages under his wing.

'Of course, I will give some helps to the crown prince.' By some, he meant a lot of help to make sure that the mages ended up with the crown prince. So he could ask for compensation for his efforts.

"Alright, Chief Harol Kodiang." Harol could see that Cale seemed to have no worries at all. He pointed to the door.

It was at that moment.

"Cale-nim, it has been 5 minutes."

Their alone time was over.

Choi Han looked through the open door and announced the end of the time before adding on. "And other people have arrived as well."

Other people? While Harol looked confused, Cale started to speak. "You can hear the details from my people."

Two people entered through the open door as soon as he said that. It was Billos and Deputy butler Hans. Hans had a large bag of files in his arms.

Why had Cale called Billos and Hans to come with him? It was naturally in order to put them to use.

Harol could feel Cale's hand on his shoulder.

Tap. Tap. Cale lightly tapped Harol's shoulder before continuing to speak. "Have a nice discussion."

Harol started to laugh at Cale's calm voice before returning to his usual gentle expression. "I definitely will."