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Chapter 368: Unidentified Zone (3)

People don’t really know this, but just as the taste of water differs from region to region, the nature of the wind also varies in countless ways.

Saaah.

“…….”

That was why he knew the moment he stepped into the rift.

The wind brushing against his cheeks was far too familiar.

Oscar slowly lifted his head and gazed up at the dazzling, pure-white, unfinished tower.

‘The White Tower, only half built.’

The place where he stood was the entrance to the forest where he had first met Master Ado.

Back then, it was before even the outdoor training grounds had been constructed, so the area was overgrown with weeds.

‘I miss it.’

The days he had trained together with Master Ado passed through his mind.

After being nagged nonstop for two whole days, when he finally got up, his legs had been so numb he couldn’t feel them.

Pfft.

Letting out a small laugh at the memory, Oscar suddenly wiped the smile from his face.

“…….”

Then he slightly turned his body and looked behind him.

Because he could feel his master’s mana.

As expected, an elderly man appeared from within the forest.

It was exactly the same figure as in his memories.

‘……I expected this, but it still feels a bit unpleasant.’

Fighting that version of his master didn’t sit well with him.

But this was the first and last request his master had left behind.

To erase all the spaces where his shameful past remained intact.

‘Here I go.’

Oscar steeled his resolve and was about to unleash the Spatial Slash he had practiced for the past hundred days—

“I sensed someone’s presence and came to check. As expected, someone was here.”

“……!”

Startled, Oscar unconsciously took several steps back.

Up until the previous rifts, his master’s words had always been converted into incomprehensible sounds.

But now, suddenly, he could hear them perfectly clearly?

The master, who had been watching Oscar’s stiff expression, spoke again.

“Are you alright? Your face has gone pale—seems you were quite startled.”

“…….”

The moment he heard that voice, his chest tightened for no reason.

Though it had been a short time, Master Ado had taught him a great deal.

After barely steadying himself, Oscar carefully opened his mouth.

“Master… do you perhaps remember me?”

“…….”

This time, his master fell silent instead, quietly stroking his beard.

Then, after a moment, he spoke honestly.

“My apologies. I am a kind of thought-form left behind in this rift. Based on the point at which I was created, I have no memory of ever taking anyone as a disciple.”

“……I see.”

The master who remained at Starlight Mountain had also referred to himself as a thought-form.

It seemed the timing of their creation differed, and their memories were not shared with one another.

Well, the master at Starlight Mountain had waited there for hundreds of years for a successor.

“A disciple, you say… I see. So this task was entrusted not to just anyone, but to a disciple.”

The master’s thought-form, wearing a self-deprecating smile, continued.

“What is your name?”

“Oscar Crucian.”

“A fine name. Oscar, if you have indeed learned magic from me, could you show it to me?”

At those words, Oscar carefully used spatial magic.

Blink, Subspace, Twist… and finally, even Spatial Slash.

After witnessing them all, the master’s thought-form showed a surprised expression.

“To have achieved this much at your age—truly remarkable.”

“It is all thanks to having met a good master.”

“It seems my original self was blessed with a good disciple. That is fortunate—truly fortunate.”

The master’s thought-form, looking genuinely relieved, spoke again.

“In that case, have you perhaps heard anything about the spaces left within the Magic Tower?”

“Yes. You said they were spaces containing your shameful past, and asked that they be erased.”

“A shameful past… that is not entirely incorrect.”

With a bitter expression, the master turned his body and suggested,

“Shall we walk for a moment?”

“Yes.”

As they entered the forest, shade fell over them and a cool breeze began to blow.

Walking along the silent forest path, the master’s thought-form asked,

“Could you tell me how you came to form a master-disciple relationship with my original self?”

“That’s not difficult.”

Oscar nodded readily.

First, that he had been the 17th Tower Master.

Then, that he had awakened in the body of a younger Oscar and gone to Starlight Mountain to meet the Sage of Stars.

There, after being nagged for two days straight by the master’s thought-form, he learned spatial magic.

And finally, how they formed a master-disciple bond before parting.

After hearing everything, the master’s thought-form burst into hearty laughter.

“Your storytelling is excellent. I was so engrossed I nearly lost myself in it.”

“Thank you.”

“And now I am certain. You are indeed the rightful successor of Ado Vail.”

At those words, Oscar smiled gently as well.

“Is that so?”

“Listening closely to your story, it seems the thought-form that remained at Starlight Mountain was likely the final one created by the original. Though called a thought-form, the original must have long since died, so it would not be wrong to consider it as the person himself.”

After pondering for a moment, the thought-form lightly patted Oscar on the shoulder.

“Disciple.”

“……!”

Hearing that word in the familiar voice he knew left a deep resonance.

“Hm, I see. So this is what it feels like. I always wished to take on a disciple, but never found someone suitable. At least this way, I can finally resolve that lingering regret.”

Oscar couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Of course, since it was a thought-form based on the same person, it was natural—but the personality was so similar to his master’s.

“As you already know, this place is a rift in space.”

“Yes. This is my fourth time entering a rift.”

“I thought as much when I saw you use Spatial Slash.”

Oscar asked what he had been curious about all along.

“In the previous rifts, I couldn’t understand your words at all.”

“That would be the case. There is no need for those closing this space to converse with the earlier thought-forms.”

“Then does that mean that this time, conversation was enabled because it is necessary?”

“As expected, you are quick to understand.”

The thought-form nodded.

“I am a thought-form that exists to evaluate whether the one attempting to close the rift is qualified.”

Qualified?

Oscar tilted his head.

“Isn’t this enough to qualify? I am trying to carry out your final request.”

“Of course, in that sense, you are more than qualified. But do you know this? The rifts within the White Tower have a simple purpose. At their core, they are the memories that Ado Vail wished to erase. Moments so painful that he wanted to forget them, sealed away.”

“……What?”

He couldn’t quite understand.

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After all, in the rifts he had experienced, his master had seemed incredibly happy.

Seeing that expression, the thought-form nodded as if he understood.

“It must be hard to grasp. He must have seemed very happy.”

“That’s right. Watching him live sweetly with his wife, I thought he was embarrassed by leaving such memories behind, which is why he asked me to erase these rifts.”

“Have you ever observed what the thought-forms within those rifts do, all the way to the end?”

Oscar shook his head.

“I only figured out that time repeats within the rifts, so I focused on closing them as quickly as possible.”

“I see. If you had stayed out of it and simply watched from a distance, you would have understood.”

The thought-form briefly explained.

“In the first rift, Silvarin Lake, the two finally became lovers. In the second rift, the seaside, they became husband and wife. And in the third rift, the desert… there, the original lost his other half due to a mistake.”

So there had been such a story.

Oscar made an awkward expression.

“I didn’t know.”

“That’s understandable. Those are not scenes you necessarily need to witness.”

“Then why did you wish to erase such happy moments?”

“Because they were painful.”

The thought-form wore a bitter expression.

“After losing his wife, the original fell into a severe heart demon. It was a madness he could not shake off for decades. In fact, it only worsened over time, to the point where he even came to fear himself. Though he tried to build the Magic Tower—his late wife’s dream—and carry on her legacy, he became terrified that he might destroy everything with his own hands and kill those dear to him.”

“…….”

“So, to remove the heart demon, he erased the very existence of his wife from his memories.”

The moments when he had been happiest—when he met his wife.

Those were sealed away within his memories and the rifts of space.

“After erasing his wife’s existence, the original’s madness likely faded, and he lived a stable life before passing away.”

“……In fact, Master, you are remembered even by later generations as an excellent Tower Master.”

“That is good to hear.”

As Oscar reflected on what he had just been told, he frowned.

“But if that is true, there is one thing I don’t understand.”

“What is it?”

“You said the rifts left in the White Tower contain your shameful past, and asked me to erase them. But if what you said is true… those are memories you wished to forget, not a shameful past.”

“……You are indeed perceptive. You grasp the essence well.”

The thought-form nodded. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“The ‘shameful past’ the original spoke of refers to the rift on the 44th floor—the one you must close.”

So his master’s shameful past lay there?

Oscar asked,

“What exactly is in that place?”

“……What would a great mage who has reached the highest heights find shameful?”

The moment he heard that, Oscar understood.

Because he himself had once been a great mage who reached the feat of Level 9.

“The shameful past you spoke of… is the state of having fallen into a heart demon.”

“Precisely. It is the wall—and the mountain—you must face.”

The thought-form nodded.

“Have you ever experienced failure in the previous rifts?”

“The first one. I believe I was Level 5 at the time, and I got utterly beaten.”

“Then this will be quick. You must have failed dozens of times, yet not lost your life.”

“Yes. I could just try again.”

“Be careful. I cannot guarantee the same for the 44th floor.”

“…….”

That warning felt chilling.

After all, his opponent would be his master in a maddened state, consumed by a heart demon.

Naturally, it would not be easy to close the rift in a single attempt.

“Are you saying I could lose my life?”

“It is not impossible. It is, quite literally, a heart demon itself.”

“What level would it be?”

“Level 9. But since he is not in his right mind, having fallen into madness, his effective level would be significantly lower. If you have cleared the third rift, you should be at the early stages of Level 8, so as long as you keep your wits about you…”

The thought-form trailed off.

His eyes wavered, and he rubbed them with the back of his wrinkled hand.

“It seems my eyesight is failing. I can only see seven mana circuits in you.”

“I am Level 7.”

“……And yet you have already cleared the third rift? No, how is that even—”

The thought-form, looking shocked, soon let out a hollow laugh.

“Hah, I cannot tell whether this is good or bad.”

“So the 44th floor rift is beyond me right now, isn’t it?”

“If your wish is to fall into a heart demon, I won’t stop you.”

“……Then that sounds entirely bad. Is there anything good about it?”

“As I said, I exist to evaluate qualifications. As you are now, you clearly fail. I cannot permit you to challenge the 44th floor rift.”

Tsk.

Oscar clicked his tongue, and the master’s thought-form gave a faint smile.

“However, I can help you grow.”

[Translator - Night]

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