Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 195: Episode

Minerva and I defeated every monster that had surrounded the island. As I knelt on one knee, panting, she smiled gently and patted my back.

"Good work."

"You too!"

I felt like I had been firing off sixth-order spells in a trance. The wind-based Wind Sagittarius couldn't kill the nagas in one hit, so I switched to Flame Taurus midway through. It didn't matter; the lesson was about layering magic circles, and my stats had risen significantly.

"Well, it's time to part ways."

I was startled by her words. My body was already becoming faint, starting to disappear.

"Let's make our farewell a cool one! Don't look back, just go. Got it?"

"Yes, I understand."

"It was a short time, but I had fun, Yusin."

As she spoke, tears were already welling in her eyes.

'…You said to be cool about it.'

To cry right after saying that… she was truly a kind-hearted person. I couldn't say, "Let's meet again." This was the last time. I would never see her again. In the original timeline, she was already gone.

Instead, I said, "I won't forget you."

At my farewell, she smiled brightly even as tears streamed down her face.

"Goodbye."

[You have cleared the second trial.]

[Moving to the next world.]

* * *

As I drifted through pitch-black darkness, sensation returned to my body.

'This is the third world.'

The emotional weight of my parting with Minerva was heavy, but I composed myself. I had to finish this sixth-floor trial as quickly as possible and rescue Hong Yul.

'Hooo.'

Steeling my resolve, I slowly opened my eyes.

This time, I saw a ceiling, not a sky. LED lights brightly illuminated the room. I was lying in a bed next to a refrigerator and a desk. On the desk was a monitor that looked like a computer, though its design was slightly different from what I knew.

'…What, am I back on Earth?'

I got out of bed and looked around. It was a small room, cramped with just a single bed. The window showed a dense forest, and I could hear birds chirping. Curious, I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

'…Don't tell me.'

I pressed a button at the bottom of the wall. The forest scenery and the window vanished, leaving a bare wall. It was just a screen.

'Not a single window.'

What kind of place was this? I decided to investigate.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be Erendel, right?"

-I agree, Tower Master.

On the desk, I found a mobile phone. When I pressed the power button, a state-of-the-art holographic UI appeared. I tapped the user information.

'Jance? So that's my name.'

My face was in the photo, so I assumed that was my name. I was starting to get a feel for this. It seemed I had to play the role of a person named Jance in this world. Age seventeen, affiliated with Polis, and a high school student. On a hanger, there was even a school uniform.

'Oh, this is getting interesting.'

Searching for clues in the small room felt like being in an escape room. I tried to connect to the internet. Fortunately, I could read the local language without any trouble. My first priority was to find this world's Tower Master, so I searched for "Tower Master" on a portal site.

[Censored Search Term.]

[No search results for "Tower Master" will be displayed.]

"…Censored?"

'Well now, this is getting interesting.' I quickly immersed myself in this world. Why would the ruling class block searches for the Tower Master? I tried various queries, but it seemed impossible to find information about the Tower Master online.

"Ea. Can you try?"

-Understood. I will interface using visual and tactile magic.

Two magic circles appeared above the phone. Without my intervention, the screen began to scroll on its own. For some reason, Ea seemed excited.

-Tower Master.

"Oh! Find something already?"

-I checked the schedule app. It seems you have to go to school. The current time is 07:00. Your first class is at 09:00.

"Really?"

I scratched my head. I doubted I really needed to go, but to gather information, it seemed best to go with the flow and act as Jance. I was also curious about this place.

'Wow, it's been a while since I've worn a uniform.'

I put on the uniform. It was a one-piece, white suit that clung to my body. As soon as I put my legs in, it automatically adjusted to a perfect fit. After dressing, I stored my hunter suit in my subspace pocket.

'Let's go!'

I finally stepped out of the room. There was no need to wander; the hallway was full of people in the same uniform. This place was a school dormitory. I followed the other students outside.

'…Whoa.'

The moment I saw the view, my jaw dropped.

'Is this the future?'

Against a dark sky, a dazzling, neon-drenched metropolis stretched out before me. Strange flying vehicles zipped through the air, and a self-levitating train sped along a straight track with a whoosh. It was a magnificent sight, like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Looking up, instead of a moon or stars, there was a single, massive city satellite. I could see people moving about on it, too.

"Who's blocking the way?"

"Coming through. Please move."

Oops. I must have been blocking the entrance. I bowed in apology and fell in with the flow of students.

'A world with such advanced science. They had this level of technology and still lost to a disaster?'

Lost in thought, I looked down. The drop was dizzying. We were hundreds of floors up. The people here didn't just live on the ground; they lived in the sky. We were on about the 100th floor, with another 200 or 300 floors above us.

I had experienced a ruined world and an ocean world, but the atmosphere here was completely different. Everything was fascinating.

'Oh, is that a cliff?'

Up ahead on the students' route was a sheer drop. A fall from 100 floors up would be certain death.

-Tower Master. This seems to be the terminal.

Ea was right. A flying platform approached us. Peculiar-looking robots directed the students into two lines. The platforms arrived two at a time, and one person boarded each.

But was this safe? The platform was so small it seemed one wrong move would send me plummeting.

After a short wait, it was my turn. The male student with parted hair next to me gave a slight bow to the guide android before stepping onto the platform with a blank expression.

'Why bow to a robot?'

Unsure, I followed his lead and carefully settled onto the platform. It felt more stable than it looked; a magnetic force seemed to hold my feet in place.

'Whoosh!'

The aerial platform moved forward. A quick glance down was still dizzying. I was soaring through the air, 100 floors up, on nothing but a small platform.

The architecture was also strange. Buildings branched off other buildings like trees, with smaller structures connected to them. Even at this height, the main doors of the buildings were wide open, and people on platforms would glide right into the shops they wanted to visit.

-Tower Master. May I provide the information I have gathered on this world?

'Yeah. Of course.'

-The name of this world is Machinatio. As you can see, it is a world with advanced science and technology. Here, humans and androids coexist.

'Hmm.'

-This world also has rifts and disasters, but they are effectively contained by their overwhelmingly advanced technology. The city is protected by a massive energy barrier, and monsters die instantly upon contact. This is a case where technology has suppressed a Disaster.

From the sound of it, this world was better equipped to handle Disasters than any other.

'But the fact that the trial passed to Earth means this world eventually fell, right?'

-Affirmative. It is a mystery how this stable planet collapsed. I also attempted to investigate the Tower Master, but…

'But?'

-Most of the information was blocked. The internet here is nothing like Earth's. It is extremely controlled, limited to small, work-related communities for human use. I have confirmed the following censored words.

Ea displayed a holographic screen before my eyes.

[Tower Master]

[Magic Power]

[History]

[Rebellion]

'This planet gets more suspicious by the second.'

-Indeed. I am currently modifying a smartphone app to build a makeshift hacking tool to breach their internet security. I will inform you when I have results.

Creating a hacking tool in a world with a completely different system architecture? Ea's competence was beyond words. While she gathered intel, I would have to adapt and find information about the Tower Master on my own. School seemed like a good place to start.

Just then, the platform arrived at its destination. We stepped off onto solid ground. The male student from before once again bowed his head to the guide robot as he passed.

'What is with that guy?'

"Halt."

The android called out to me.

"What is it?"

'Beep! Beep!'

A red light flashed on the monitor on the android's head.

"Registration number K-5,330,580. 5 points deducted. Failure to respond to an android's summons according to protocol."

"…What?"

"I will give you one more chance, human."

I looked at the horrified male student. "Hey. What is this robot saying?"

'Beep! Beep!'

"Registration number K-5,330,580. 10 points deducted. This human has failed to respond to an android's summons twice. Cognitive awareness questioned."

"A-Aaaah!"

The student screamed and fled.

…Something about this situation feels very wrong.

"Registration number K-5,330,580. Ideology is suspect. Respond according to protocol."

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Just then, a female student who had arrived on a platform behind me ran over, her face a mask of urgency.

"Human registration number D-7,157,854! Bellica, age seventeen! I apologize!"

She dropped to her knees before the android and shouted. Then she glared at me.

"Hey, you idiot! What are you doing?! Apologize!"

She grabbed the back of my head and slammed my face to the ground. It hurt. Still, I stayed down as she knelt again. "I'm sorry! My friend just arrived in this city and isn't used to the rules! I will educate him properly!"

"Registration number K-5,330,580. Entry into Polis confirmed one week ago. The statement of D-7,157,854 is deemed reasonable."

"Thank you!"

Other students murmured as they passed us, prostrated on the ground.

…What in the world am I doing this early in the morning?

"However, the ideology of K-5,330,580 requires verification. Four hours of re-education will be conducted after school."

Bellica's expression hardened.

"I-Isn't that too harsh a punishment…"

"D-7,157,854. Do you, an exemplary individual, also oppose our will?"

"N-No, I do not! I'm sorry!"

She slammed her head to the ground beside me. I saw her grit her teeth.

Only after the android gave us permission to leave could we resume our walk to school.

"Hah."

She let out a sigh, brushed off her clothes with a cold expression, and started walking. I quickly ran up beside her. "Thanks for sav—"

My words caught in my throat. I hadn't gotten a good look at her in the chaos, but I had almost called her by the name of someone I knew. She looked exactly like Jin Bora.

"Did you grow up in the mountains or something?" she asked, glaring at me. "The rules are similar in every Polis."

Her personality was completely different, though. I smiled and scratched the side of my head.

"It's not like that. It's complicated."

"…You must be the transfer student, Jance."

I filed away the new information. I was a transfer student. I hadn't been here long.

"How did you know?"

"I'm on the student council, so I heard about it. More importantly, don't ever pull a suicidal stunt like that again. If you're going to, do it where I can't see you. It's a pain."

"…Was what I did that bad?"

"You'd have nothing to say if the android had issued a summary execution order and shot you in the heart."

A machine issuing a summary execution order for a human.

-Tower Master.

'Yeah.'

Now I was certain. This was a world where machines had conquered humanity.

* * *