I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117

 

Moving to the Black Tower didn’t take as long as I had expected.

 

Rather, it was quite fast. This was because the Black Tower’s location was close. In just three days, we had reached the front of the Black Tower.

 

Considering that our original location was the Former Capital of Holy Kingdom, this was absurd. Although they said the capital was relocated due to the Great Demon, even that wasn’t very far away.

 

Essentially, they were brazenly setting up camp within spitting distance of the Holy Kingdom.

 

What was even more incomprehensible was that despite this, the Holy Kingdom wasn’t attempting to subjugate the Black Tower.

 

Even though my memory wasn’t perfect, I had heard stories from Eton and Remal during this time. If the distance were far, they might postpone subjugation considering the chaotic situation, but at this distance, wouldn’t leaving it alone be more dangerous?

 

“Why?”

 

I looked at the Black Tower with suspicious eyes.

 

As I had heard beforehand, no matter how I looked at it, it resembled a dungeon entrance more than a tower. On top of that, it even had a dazzling signboard hanging there, quite unlike what you’d expect from Dark Mages.

 

There were also a few people coming and going nearby. However, since they possessed no mana, they didn’t appear to be mages of the Black Tower.

 

Very suspicious. Would it be safe to enter?

 

Perhaps the Black Tower was just a fictitious organization. A fake created by Dark Mages to hide their real base. If that were the reason why the Holy Kingdom didn’t bother to subjugate it, it would make sense.

 

In any case, I would need to go inside to make a judgment.

 

No matter what traps might be waiting, I was confident that in the worst case, I could at least preserve my life.

 

“What’s this. One young master brat, a pathetic guard. And… Hmm.”

 

The moment we stepped inside, an old woman with a hooked nose who anyone would immediately call a witch clicked her tongue at us.

 

“What business does a noble lord have in such a humble place?”

 

“For a humble place, you’ve decorated it quite lavishly.”

“For something you called shabby, it was decorated quite lavishly.”

I answered while recalling the huge signboard that had been hanging at the entrance. Whatever magic had been cast on it, the strange appearance that even emitted light was certainly not ordinary.

He answered while recalling the enormous sign that had been hung near the entrance. Whatever magic had been cast on it, the strange appearance that even emitted light was certainly not ordinary.

“Tsk tsk. Well, it’s a New Magic Tower after all. We have to do some advertising, don’t we?”

“Tsk tsk. Well, it’s a new mage tower. We need to do some promotion, don’t we?”

The Old Witch chuckled and spoke. The way she slightly averted her eyes made her look somewhat embarrassed.

The old woman chuckled and said something. The way she slightly averted her eyes made her look somewhat embarrassed.

That was only brief. The Old Witch rolled her eyes again and thrust her face forward.

 

“So, I ask again. What happened to the Black Tower?”

 

But, well.

 

Seeing the considerable mana I felt from the Old Witch’s body, this didn’t seem to be a trap created by a Dark Mage. Above all, I felt something foreign about the form of her mana core.

 

“I hope to enter the tower.”

 

“What?”

 

As if incredulous, the Old Witch pulled her face back and looked me up and down for a moment.

 

Then she laughed.

 

“Ah, hahaha, cough, cough.”

 

She laughed tremendously. Not just a cackling laugh, but until she choked and kept coughing. Considering her appearance, I wondered if something might go wrong.

 

It was fine at first, but that was only for a moment. My brow furrowed involuntarily at the laughter that continued for quite a while.

 

“It’s true that we’re recruiting personnel, but a brat without a speck of mana hoping to enter the tower… How about reconsidering?”

 

How much time had passed? The Old Witch wiped away tears with her fingertips and spoke.

 

Her voice even carried a pitying tone.

 

“Child. Being a Dark Mage is a harsh profession. You handle many disgusting materials, and being chased by hunters is daily life.”

 

She seemed to see me as some immature noble brat. At this unexpected reaction, I let out a hollow laugh rather than anger.

 

Well, considering Remal standing there defiantly with her robe pulled down, and Eton who despite being cowardly had quite a threatening appearance, it was understandable.

 

“Let me ask one thing.”

 

I clicked my tongue inwardly and chose my words.

 

“From what I can see, it seems quite a long time has passed since you learned Dark Magic.”

 

“That’s not wrong.”

 

“How did you endure it?”

 

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. The Old Witch wouldn’t take this as a question.

 

Confidence that even if a Dark Mage’s life was harsh, there was no way I couldn’t endure what she had endured. And…

 

‘What was that?’

 

My brow furrowed at the disconnected thought. Why had I felt something like displeasure toward the Old Witch the moment I spoke those words?

 

“What?”

 

The Old Witch let out a hollow laugh. Then her expression changed drastically.

 

“I treated you kindly because you’re a young master, but you don’t know how frightening the world can be. Should you experience firsthand what kind of existence a Dark Mage who has survived for so long is?”

 

The moment faint mana mixed into the Old Witch’s voice.

 

“Human. He is a precious person. Watch your words.”

 

Remal, who had somehow moved behind the Old Witch, pressed a dagger to her throat and spoke. The Old Witch swallowed and turned only her eyes to examine her.

 

“An Elf?”

 

The Old Witch’s eyes widened as she confirmed what was inside the robe that had been slightly displaced from the quick movement.

 

The Old Witch raised both hands belatedly, as if she had no intention of being hostile.

 

“Tsk tsk. The rumored Dark Elf, is it? You really are precious indeed.”

 

“Rumored?”

 

“Yes. If that’s what you want, I’ll accept you. However.”

 

The Old Witch ignored my muttering and spoke in an ominous voice.

 

“You’d better not expect special treatment. Tsk tsk.”

 

* * *

 

The Black Tower gave me one cramped room. Remal received a room of quite decent size, while Eton was assigned a space next to the livestock barn.

 

“All treatment is judged by two things: ability and achievements.”

 

The Old Witch said that.

 

Remal had already proven her ability, and it seemed they considered that having her as my subordinate was enough for me to pass the minimum standard.

 

That was all there was to it.

 

True to her words about not expecting special treatment, that was everything. The room contained only one hard wooden bed, and there wasn’t even a blanket.

 

“…Let me switch rooms with you.”

 

Remal said that. Eton had subtly said the same thing, but fled after meeting Remal’s sharp gaze.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

It didn’t really matter. For some reason, this body didn’t find the cramped room uncomfortable, as if it had often been in even worse situations than this.

 

Well, having spent a year squeezed between tree branches, it was perhaps only natural.

 

I sent away Remal, who offered to give me a blanket, and lay down on the bed to organize my thoughts. I had somehow succeeded in joining the Black Tower. But the future was the problem.

 

The most important thing was recovering my memories.

 

‘Three days left now?’

 

Trading Company Owner Dahan had mentioned a week. However, more than half that time had passed without any major changes. I seemed to react to the mention of dark magic, but for some reason, it was the same even after entering the Black Tower.

 

Should I inevitably think of it as something from the past and let it go?

 

‘But it seemed to contain something far too important for that…’

 

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no particular solution. I had no choice but to diligently move around and wait for memories to surface.

 

-…ry…

 

“Huh?”

 

Suddenly a familiar voice came to mind. Wondering if my memories were trying to return, I tried to concentrate, but what I heard next wasn’t a voice but the sound of someone knocking on my door.

 

“….”

 

Should I open it or not? I hesitated for a moment.

 

I didn’t want to miss the opportunity that had finally come, but if I didn’t respond, they would likely knock on the door again. I sighed and opened the door.

 

Standing in front of the door was someone I hadn’t expected at all.

 

“So, how’s the room?”

 

It was the Old Witch I had met during the day.

 

The Old Witch made a cackling sound and rolled her eyes. She seemed to be looking for something to find fault with. It appeared that my question from earlier had quite gotten on her nerves.

 

“Well, it’s decent enough.”

 

I shrugged my shoulders casually as I answered. The room’s condition wasn’t uncomfortable, but what was unbearable was the Old Witch suddenly shoving her face close to mine like this.

 

I tried to hide my displeasure, but I wasn’t sure if it worked.

 

“Take these.”

 

The Old Witch pulled her face back and handed me the things she was holding.

 

It was a small piece of paper and a book.

 

“It would be best to memorize them as quickly as possible.”

 

“What’s this?”

 

“Since you’ve become an Apprentice Dark Mage, you need to do your work, don’t you? Starting tomorrow, you’ll work according to that schedule.”

 

Laundry, cleaning, organizing the laboratory. And even preparing meals for the other Mages.

 

Fortunately, things like cleaning the livestock barn weren’t included, but seeing the tightly packed schedule with no time to rest made me frown involuntarily.

 

“….”

 

“That book is a basic Magic Book. It’s content given to everyone, but those without talent can’t master it.”

 

Was she telling me to handle that schedule while learning magic?

 

“If you can sense mana and form a Mana Core and circle within a month… then I’ll acknowledge you as an official disciple of the Black Tower.”

 

And that too within a month. Since this original body seemed to have learned Dark Magic before, minimal talent should be guaranteed. But considering the tight schedule, I wasn’t sure if it would be possible.

 

Then suddenly, I realized there was a strange word included in the Old Witch’s words.

 

“Circle?”

 

“Circle Magic. Seeing that you don’t know, you must have been holed up in some cave somewhere?”

 

It was an unfamiliar term. At least according to the vague sense of dissonance I felt, it didn’t seem like a word used in this kind of situation. But the Old Witch reacted as if it was strange that I didn’t know about it.

 

“Last year, it’s a new magic system devised by the Tower Master who established our Black Tower. It creates rings around the Mana Core and has the ability to amplify mana.”

 

The Old Witch clicked her tongue as she explained.

 

It divides the chaotic mage rankings into nine stages and categorizes the magic that can be used accordingly.

 

Although it had only been introduced a year ago, its effectiveness was tremendous. It even greatly improved the instability that was mana’s weakness, so even those who weren’t Dark Mages were continuing their research on it.

 

“More than I thought, this Black Tower Master seems to have exceptional abilities.”

 

After the old witch left, I lay on the bed and thought.

 

Even if they were only at human level, creating a system that could influence the entire magic academy of the continent was no easy task.

 

What could their identity be?

 

From the flow of events so far, it seemed that the Black Tower remaining intact was also thanks to the influence of this person called the Black Tower Master.

 

‘This is definitely something that will be resolved with time.’

 

Unlike my indefinite memories, since I had entered the Black Tower, confirming the Tower Master’s face wouldn’t be too difficult.

 

I got up from my spot and briefly checked the magic book the old witch had left behind.

 

To escape from the menial tasks starting tomorrow, I needed to quickly form a magic core and circle.

 

There would be nothing wrong with looking ahead.

 

“Let’s see. First is feeling the mana in the atmosphere. That’s already solved.”

 

Just because I had lost my memories didn’t mean I had lost my senses. I could feel mana as naturally as breathing.

 

“Gather that and form a mana core in the heart, is it.”

 

Various lengthy techniques were written, but that was the essence of it.

 

As a test, I gathered mana and collected it in my heart. Just as I was about to attempt forming a mana core due to the surprisingly smooth movement.

 

Something moved inside my heart.

 

Another energy, different from mana or magic power, that I didn’t know when it had been there, gradually grew in size from within. It devoured the weak mana I had gathered like crazy. And then…

 

“What is this.”

 

A mana core…

 

No, something similar to it had been created. A circle that somehow felt cold was a bonus.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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