Please, Just Read It

Please just read this!

Chapter 17

City of Magicians (2)

[Ah, we’ve arrived.]

Wilhelm.

A cold city where snow falls all year round.

Located at the northern tip of the Empire, this city is also home to many magicians.

It’s a place where numerous schools and several mid-tier towers have taken root. Mercenary recruitment offices that require magicians can also be found everywhere.

This city, which usually sees a lot of foot traffic, was now packed with crowds.

And rightly so, as the Selection Test of the Five Great Towers was set to take place here soon.

‘How fascinating.’

Riley said, looking around.

‘I’ve never seen such an advanced city before.’

[Indeed.]

Unlike the system where everything was the same, Wilhelm had changed tremendously over the past 300 years.

I slowly surveyed my surroundings. The scenery of a dramatically developed city entered my view.

It’s no wonder it’s the center of magic and magical engineering; small machines puffing steam are scurrying about everywhere.

Buildings stretch long between the streets.

There’s no sign of uniformity, and among the chaotic structures, the occasional explosion can be heard. The screams of magicians failing their experiments add to the noise.

Yeah.

Though the exterior has changed a lot, the overall atmosphere of the city remains the same.

[So, have you figured out the way?]

‘Um, well…’

Riley responded awkwardly, glancing around.

‘…I have no clue.’

As you know, the purpose of Riley and me coming to this city is to take the Selection Test for the Five Great Towers that will be held in a week.

To apply for the exam, we need to go to the “Selection Test Management Office” located somewhere in Wilhelm to go through various paperwork…

But already, we faced a problem before that step.

[This sucks. The city has changed so much that I can’t find my way around either.]

The entire street is covered in haphazard buildings.

Not only that, various magical engineering machines block the pathways everywhere, making it easier to get lost.

This entire city feels like one giant maze.

Because of this, despite having gotten a map of Wilhelm from a general store, Riley and I were struggling to find our way.

[Why doesn’t the map show the location of the Selection Test Management Office?]

To make matters worse, even Riley’s “Pathfinding” couldn’t reveal the way.

Both of us were essentially newbies in Wilhelm.

Among the many buildings detected by magic, we couldn’t tell which one was the Selection Test Management Office.

‘There are about 10 places presumed to be the management office. All of them are relatively neat buildings, and access for the general public is restricted…’

Riley continued to explain.

‘…The problem is, those places might not be the management office, but rather the branches of schools or offices of mid-tier guilds.’

[Ugh.]

It was a truly frustrating situation.

So do we have to check all 10 of those places one by one?

[I should have just followed that nosy old man.]

‘I told you to do that a long time ago.’

[That’s true, but I didn’t want to be next to an old man who keeps nagging. I wanted to get away as soon as possible.]

Even now, the old man’s nagging echoed in my ears.

“Low-level magicians should go train at a school! Don’t you realize your life is precious? I’ve seen a few magicians like you who lost their lives taking the Selection Test without knowing better,” and so on…

Honestly, I appreciated his genuine concern for Riley, but hearing that for hours was driving me crazy.

‘I should have stuck with that magician, even if it meant putting up with the nagging. I didn’t believe that Magician would know the way so confidently.’

[Hey.]

I shot back immediately.

[Honestly, who would’ve thought Wilhelm would change this much in 300 years?]

‘Are you saying you thought nothing would have changed in that time?’

[Why? The system was still the same.]

‘That’s a special case regarding the system. It’s the Empire’s symbolic city, so it must have preserved its environment as much as possible to maintain tradition, right?’

[…….]

You make a fair point.

I had no counterarguments left.

“Are you newcomers to Wilhelm?”

Just then, a man’s voice chimed in, interrupting our conversation.

Turning my gaze, I saw a man smiling and looking at Riley.

His baggy robe suggested he was a magician active in Wilhelm.

The faint magical aura swirling around him supported this assumption.

It was clear.

That man was a magician.

And a low-tier one at that, positioned somewhere in the mid-range.

“Usually, newcomers to Wilhelm struggle a lot finding their way. No matter how much they look at the map, many people can’t navigate the maze-like city.”

“……”

“Pathfinding magic is useless here. The residual magical energy from experiments and research interferes with navigation spells. It’s truly a headache of a city.”

He chuckled.

“Truly a headache of a city.”

[…….]

I silently listened to the man’s words.

He had a peculiar accent.

He emphasized parts of his speech unnaturally, suggesting he might be from the southern region, known for its dialect.

He might not even be from the Empire at all.

[Anyway.]

Putting the accent aside, to summarize the man’s words simply:

1. Wilhelm is very complicated to navigate.

2. Because of that, even with a map, the likelihood of getting lost is high.

3. Due to the residual magical energy in the air, “Pathfinding” doesn’t work.

Yeah.

Most of that was true.

But I found it hard to agree with the last point.

[You say “Pathfinding” doesn’t work?]

Well, who knows about other magicians, but Riley’s “Pathfinding” was definitely working just fine in Wilhelm.

What does it matter if there are all kinds of residual magical energies interfering with navigation spells? Riley’s mana affinity cuts through all that interference.

In the first place, Riley’s “Pathfinding” wasn’t something to compare with other magicians.

She used a much more delicate and elaborate method.

However, as I mentioned before, we had our own issue.

Among the various buildings detected by Riley, we couldn’t tell which one was the management office.

“Isn’t there another way to find the path?” Riley asked.

With a bright smile, the man answered.

“Well, asking someone nearby for help could be one way to go. Just ask someone who looks nice.”

He pointed his thumb at himself, grinning warmly.

He was implying he would guide us himself.

‘What should we do?’

[Well.]

He didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

[You choose.]

The options were two.

Either follow the man or ignore him and try to find our way on our own.

‘Hmm.’

Riley pondered for a moment before making a choice.

‘Let’s follow him.’

[If that’s what you want.]

Hearing my response, she smiled and spoke to the man.

“Then, excuse us.”

“Of course! Where’s our little lady headed?”

“To the Selection Test Management Office.”

“Ah! The Selection Test Management Office!”

The man grinned widely.

“I know it! Of course I do! By the way, little lady, you’re planning to take the Selection Test this time, are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Impressive at such a young age! I’m still far from it.”

The low-tier magician gave a goofy smile.

His silly grin and clumsy accent created a somewhat comical atmosphere.

‘He seems friendly.’

[Yeah, he does.]

Riley was right.

He did seem friendly.

Of course, there’s a significant difference between being ‘friendly’ and merely ‘looking friendly’…

Riley and I were perceptive enough not to miss that nuance.

*

Squish-squash─.

“Well, since it’s your first time in Wilhelm, let me explain… Since it’s such a big city, Wilhelm is divided into several districts, you know?”

“Yes, yes.”

“There’s the lively district ‘Upper Herm’ where the central schools are located, ‘Middle Herm’ where merchants and trading companies exchange magical tools, and ‘Lower Herm’, the biggest slum in the Empire where dark magic research occurs in secret…”

The journey continued.

The man kept talking, but he wasn’t saying anything worth listening to with full concentration.

Riley was vaguely responding, letting his words drift in one ear and out the other.

Squish, squash─.

“Lower Herm, often referred to as the den of darkness, is where various illegal experiments are conducted under the guidance of dark magicians. It’s an area above the law, even the Inquisition can’t simply lay a hand on.”

“……”

As we went further inside Wilhelm, the people diminished.

The alleys became denser, and the paths grew rougher.

Despite being bright daylight, high buildings overshadowed the surroundings, making it feel dark.

It felt like walking in the middle of the night.

If not for the lights scattered around the tightly packed forest of buildings, I would have surely been blind even just a step ahead.

“Well, anyway, that’s how the organization alliance of Wilhelm was formed. It’s a federation that manages all the schools and mid-tier towers in Wilhelm…”

“Excuse me.”

Riley interrupted the man’s enthusiastic explanation.

He looked puzzled as he turned to her.

“Yes? Was there something you wanted? Did you become curious listening to me?”

“I have a question.”

Of course, it wasn’t a question about the strange alliance he was talking about.

“How much longer till we get there?”

“Yes? Ah, to the Selection Test Management Office? Hmm, if we walk 15 more minutes from here…”

“No. Not that.”

Riley smiled brightly.

“I’m talking about the spell you’ve been casting on me since earlier.”

“……”

The man’s expression turned icy in an instant.

His friendly smile morphed into a chillingly blank stare in less than three seconds.

A spell.

Yeah.

The man had been casting a spell on us since we first met.

“Did you notice?”

He spoke in a cold voice.

His peculiar accent had vanished entirely.

It was never a dialect; it was merely a part of the spell he used to bait Riley.

“Of course I noticed.”

“……Since when?”

“Since the beginning.”

The man’s brows furrowed. No matter what, Riley continued.

“I noticed your words had peculiar emphasis all over when we first met. You acted like you were using a dialect but were infusing magic into your speech, right?”

“……”

Commonly known as ‘Incantation’, this technique is the very first step to casting a spell.

And the man was casting a spell on Riley, pretending to use a dialect with his peculiar tone while layering it with his ‘Incantation’.

“Isn’t that right?”

“Ha, haha…”

The man burst into laughter.

It was not a warm smile overflowing with friendliness.

“…Hahaha!”

His laughter was maniacal.

The man truly started to laugh like a madman.

“Wait, you followed me even knowing all that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The man was casting a spell related to ‘Paralysis’ on Riley.

Had she fallen for it, Riley would have met a terrible end.

Her body would have been paralyzed, and she could have been sold as an experimental subject to a dark magician hidden in Wilhelm, or sold to an illegal slave trader, or used for unspeakable purposes, and so on…

Well, such things weren’t uncommon in Wilhelm.

This city, where the pursuit of knowledge is fierce, often hosted illegal experiments quietly.

Typically, children like Riley were used as subjects for such studies.

The man’s intention to abduct Riley was likely based on this.

Despite knowing all the circumstances, the reasons we decided to follow him were as follows:

-What should we do.

-Well.

He didn’t look particularly dangerous.

-You choose.

“I followed you despite knowing everything for the reason?”

“……”

“It’s because you didn’t seem particularly dangerous.”

To be more precise.

I felt it wouldn’t be too risky for Riley to fight that guy.

Thus, we had chosen to follow him.

Just to gain some real-life experience.

“Ha, you’ve grown arrogant just because you reached the entry-level of low-tier at such a young age.”

“……”

“Okay. I’ll teach this arrogant little magician a lesson today.”

The man growled.

“……No matter how low-tier, the gap in skill can be as vast as heaven and earth. Keep that in mind.”

Upon hearing that, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

What?

No matter how low-tier, the gap in skill can be as vast as heaven and earth?

[Right.]

Although it was technically correct.

So…

Riley is the heaven.

And that jerk is the earth.

Now it was time to show him the difference, just as he said.