Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 171: Episode

"Alright, Shimhee. Let’s try Metamorphosis one more time."

"Yes!"

I was in the Magic Tower’s front yard, overseeing the Fourth Floor Team’s training. Shimhee closed her eyes and focused. In an instant, muscles swelled over her body, transforming her into the brawny, hulking Andras. Immediately after, the Gigantification and Strength magic circles activated, flowing through her legs. They began to swell and lengthen, becoming sturdy and muscular as they planted firmly on the ground. I deployed a Shield magic circle behind her as a target, and she charged forward, shattering it.

"Okay!"

At my signal, Shimhee reverted to her human form, panting heavily.

"You’ve improved a lot since Tanzania. Your augmentation magic has become much smoother."

"Th-thank you!"

"There’s just one thing to work on."

I held up a finger. "With Metamorphosis, transformation speed is everything. This is especially true for someone like you, who doesn’t maintain a monster form for long but transforms only for combat."

"Ah, yes!"

"Honestly, your transformation speed itself isn’t bad. The problem is the extra step of casting magic circles ’after’ you transform. You need to speed up the entire sequence."

"What should I do?"

"Start casting the magic circles at the same time you transform."

"Huh?"

Her eyes widened.

"You need to unify the pattern of your transformation with the pattern of the magic circles." I clapped my outstretched palms together.

"I-I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand."

"Think of it as a single, memorized sequence. The Metamorphosis process follows an order: torso, head, arms, then legs, right? Magic circles are also divided into a base, a field, runes, and formulas. You have to bind them together into one fluid pattern."

Listening to my explanation with a dazed expression, she asked, "Is that even possible?"

"Of course. In Erendel, battle mages developed a system to reduce casting time for support magic in the field, where spells are cast simultaneously with physical movements. It’s called ’Action Groove.’ Here’s how it works..."

As expected, Shimhee’s training took the most time. Even in Erendel, there were no records of ’transformation-specialist mages.’ It was a discipline I had to build with her from the ground up, so some trial and error was inevitable. Still, if we could perfect this system, she might one day become the most powerful Metamorphosis user in the world. Furthermore, if we could apply our theory to other Metamorphosis users, it would help cultivate the Magic Tower’s public image as an institution that developed combat specialists, not just non-combatants.

"Alright, shall we go for one more set?"

"Yes!"

"Yusin! Shimhee!" Eunsol came running over, a tray with two glasses of tomato juice in her hands. "Bora said to drink this!"

"Oh, I was just getting thirsty. Thanks, Sol."

"One for me, too? Thank you!"

Jin Bora was handing out juice to the other members of the Fourth Floor Team, who were sprawled across the grass. When our eyes met, she waved enthusiastically. She had been learning to cook lately and was becoming quite the homemaker.

’Alright, let’s see.’

I took a sip of the tomato juice, ice cubes clinking inside.

...Sweet. Classic Jin Bora.

"Did you have some juice, Sol?" Shimhee asked gently.

"Yep! I had some inside!"

"Want some of mine?"

"It’s okay! I’m full!"

"Oh, Sol, look! A grasshopper!"

"A grasshopper!"

Eunsol started hopping across the grass, chasing it. As I sipped my juice and watched her play, Bora came running over.

"Yusin! How’s the juice? What do you think?" Getting feedback on her cooking seemed to be her new favorite thing. I smiled.

"You could sell this. It tastes like something from a cafe."

"Hohoho! That’s because it has a secret recipe... huh?"

"...Hm?"

Jin Bora trailed off and looked up. Something unexpected was fluttering down from above.

"...Snow?"

Snow was falling from the sky. Jin Bora blinked.

"Isn’t it too early for snow?"

I silently held out a finger. A snowflake drifted down and landed on the tip.

"...We’re screwed." The snowflake was warm.

* * *

"And now for our next story. After a long period of peace, a new Disaster is expected to strike the Korean peninsula. Scholars have observed the abnormal phenomenon of warm snow accompanied by irregular mana fluctuations. This phenomenon has been observed in South Korea, North Korea, Japan, China, and parts of eastern Russia. Unlike a Classic Gate, this is a five-nation Disaster, though it does not extend to Southeast Asia. The leaders of each nation have held an emergency summit! Centered on China, whose territory is most exposed, the ’East Asian Disaster Joint Front’ has been established. The member nations have resolved to cooperate closely to defeat the disaster and minimize casualties. Scholars have advised the public to focus on their daily lives, as this disaster is not expected to create a crisis on the scale of the Labyrinth Dungeon."

"What a load of bullshit," I muttered, watching the news on my laptop. "It’s a new disaster. How the hell would they know if it’s dangerous or not?"

"I know, right?"

In the first-floor golden Lobby, Jin Bora, Na Daeyong, and I were watching the broadcast from a sofa. I clicked my tongue.

"Looks like sixth-floor trial is on hold for now."

"Aww, that’s a shame. What a pity," she said, a bright smile plastered on her face.

"...You know your expression and words don’t match, right?"

"Hehe! It’s not like you could have done it right now anyway."

That was true. A rather tricky ’condition’ for sixth-floor trial stood in the way, a detail I would explain later.

"Where’s Seojin?"

"He’s searching Erendel’s archives for records of similar Disasters. Ea is helping him."

"Ugh, of all things... a Disaster that can’t be pinpointed by mana coordinates just had to pop up in Korea."

"Master! Could it be a Disaster unique to Korea, like the one in Africa?"

"It’s possible." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Perhaps because of all I’d experienced, I felt a sense of composure despite the tension. The power and authority I wielded now were on a completely different level from when I was just a provisionally licensed hunter getting pushed around by certified rank-5s. I felt confident I could achieve something significant this time.

’Bring it on.’

Wiping the taves monsters off the face of the earth was an impressive accomplishment, but one achievement alone wasn’t enough to become a certified rank-2 hunter. I would use this Disaster as a stepping stone to reach that rank.

* * *

The Republic of Korea’s Emergency Disaster Response Committee, or simply, the Emergency Committee, was the nation’s highest-level council, convened whenever a national-level Disaster struck. The President of South Korea, the head of state, was present, as were the Minister of National Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chiefs of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. In addition, the guild masters of the top ten guilds in the Republic of Korea were in attendance.

1st - Unix. 2nd - Phantom. 3rd - Snow. 4th - Blackguard. 5th - Ayla. 6th - SG Company. 7th - Tartanos. 8th - NIX. 9th - Red Dragon. 10th - Guardian Korea.

The Korean hunter world had changed significantly. The perennial number two, Unix Guild, had leveraged the full support of its parent company to recruit numerous top-tier hunters and secure territories overseas, claiming the top spot by sheer scale. Snow, previously fourth, had also risen one rank to become the third-ranked guild. Of course, besides the guilds, three management agencies were also participating, including Garam, now the undisputed leader in its field. In this gathering of titans, the civil servants swallowed nervously, cautious of their every move.

"President Park Jeongyang is now entering!"

Everyone in the conference room rose. The President of the Republic of Korea, Park Jeongyang, was the supreme commander of the armed forces and held the authority to appoint the Hunter Association President. He was, without a doubt, the most powerful man in Korea.

"Thank you all for gathering here despite your busy schedules!" Park Jeongyang greeted them with an affable smile. At his gesture, everyone sat.

"Hmm."

As he surveyed the room, his eyes fell on a conspicuously empty seat in the center.

"Whose seat is that?"

"Ah, that is..."

The nation’s president’s power was certainly immense, with one exception.

"Sorry, I’m late."

The strongest hunter in the Republic of Korea. A great hero revered not only in Korea but across the globe. The world record holder for the most high-level dungeon clears. The red-haired woman, who had arrived even later than the president, strolled leisurely through the conference room. Then, as always, she sat, crossed her legs at an awkward angle, and folded her arms.

"Are we starting or what?"

Park Jeongyang flushed and cleared his throat, not bothering to hide his discomfort. But Hong Yul, seemingly oblivious, was busy yawning. The meeting began. A Disaster analyst explained the situation.

"This Disaster is a new type, one we have never encountered before. If you’ll direct your attention to the screen."

The analyst presented an analysis of atmospheric mana flow and other abnormal phenomena.

"As you can see, mana in the stratosphere is converging into a vortex. The flashing yellow light is similar to the White Christmas Disaster, but the crucial difference is this: the mana is manifesting in a form unlike a typical gate-type Disaster."

"...Hmm."

"After requesting cooperation from the United States, we found only one Disaster with strong similarities: the ’Immortal’ Disaster, observed in Mexico six years ago. That event was also preceded by the strange phenomenon of warm snow."

"Then isn’t it the same type of Disaster?"

"It’s almost identical, but the preliminary signs are slightly different. Please look at the screen."

As the explanation dragged on, Hong Yul glared.

"God, you talk too much. Just get to the point!"

"Y-yes! My apologies."

The analyst quickly advanced the slides.

"Ultimately, our predictions must be based on past records. The U.S. Disaster Observation Department has judged this disaster to be a variant of Immortal and has informed us that the response methods will likely be similar."

Immortal was a highly unusual disaster. A dungeon gate didn’t open to release monsters. Instead, a single, massive, and indestructible monster made of mana—dubbed ’Immortal’ would appear. To counter it, humanity had to divide its forces into two teams: a defense team to hold back the Immortal, and an assault team to enter the dungeon it emerged from and clear it from within. Only when the boss monster inside was defeated would Immortal finally vanish.

"Sounds doable," she said. "It’s just like a dungeon gate, isn’t it? Clear it before things get out of hand, and it’s over."

"Th-that’s correct. But this is just the profile for the original ’Immortal.’ No one knows what new variables this Disaster might introduce."

"Hmph."

In contrast to Hong Yul’s relaxed reaction, the guild masters seemed bewildered.

"An indestructible monster..."

"I can’t even imagine it."

A normal dungeon just had to be cleared within a time limit. This Disaster, however, involved a massive monster actively destroying cities and infrastructure in real-time. Moreover, Disasters on Earth had a tendency to grow more difficult over the years. Everyone assumed this would be far harder than the incident in Mexico.

"Apologies for the interruption!"

The door opened, and an agent from the Disaster Observation Department entered. To burst into a meeting of the Emergency Committee, where Korea’s most prominent figures were gathered, meant he had an urgent report. He whispered to the analyst while handing him a data slate. The analyst nodded and displayed the new information on the screen.

"A report just came in! The Disaster has moved past the preliminary stage and into the gate formation stage."

A murmur rippled through the room.

"...Already?"

"Disasters are developing faster these days."

"Next is the data showing the gate manifestation points."

The screen changed to a map of the Korean peninsula marked with red dots.

"As you can see, there are a total of fourteen locations within the country. Scholars have determined that the gate formation stage is also very similar to the ’Immortal’ Disaster."

"Still, it’s a relief it’s not a completely new type of Disaster."

"Yes. You can begin discussing and assigning defense points immediately."

The Emergency Committee immediately launched into a detailed discussion. The atmosphere was dominated by two figures.

"May I say a word?"

It was Frost, guild master of the number-one guild, Unix, and a certified rank-2 hunter.

"This disaster prioritizes attacks on densely populated cities. Therefore, we can predict the Immortal’s path by considering the gate locations and the size of nearby urban centers."

He had a clean, gentle appearance and a persuasive voice, carrying himself more like a businessman than a hunter.

"Naturally, the strongest defenses should be placed before the gate, with secondary and tertiary lines established according to the distance between the city and the gate. While our defense forces hold back the Immortal, the main forces of the Top 10 guilds can focus on clearing the dungeon..."

"There he goes again, spouting bullshit."

And the other figure.

"Why the hell do you get to decide that?" Association President Hong Yul’s face soured as she retorted.

* * *