Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 198: Episode

"That's right, the perfect opportunity! This will be Resistance's final mission!" Winslow declared, thumping his chest confidently. "I'll be participating in the operation myself, and capable agents like Bellica, whom you rescued, will be deployed in full force! You just need to show up! And if this operation succeeds, your trial will naturally be cleared as well."

I took a calming breath and crossed my arms. "I'm curious about the details of this operation."

"Haha! As it happens, the meeting is about to start. You should join us."

"Understood."

"And there's just one favor I need to ask..." Winslow's playful expression suddenly turned dead serious. "...What you saw earlier is an absolute secret from everyone. Got it?"

He wasn't joking. The atmosphere had shifted so abruptly that I nodded despite myself. "Ah, I understand."

"Thanks!" Winslow grinned, giving me a thumbs-up.

* * *

Winslow and I went down to the first floor together and entered the meeting room. The Resistance members were already waiting for us. Though they were members of the Magic Tower, they gave off more of a rough mercenary vibe than that of mages.

"Hahaha! How has everyone been?" Winslow strode to the head of the table, his white teeth sparkling. I stood beside him. "Now, before we begin! I'd like to introduce a new face who will be joining this operation!" he announced, placing a hand on my shoulder. "My junior from another world! This is Kim Yusin!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kim Yusin." As I bowed, everyone applauded. Among the members, I could see Bellica and the homunculus Enlil.

"Tower Master! Y-You can't do this! How could you?!"

What's going on? I turned toward the voice and saw a bald man with a burly build crying out in despair.

"To think some brat who just showed up is your successor! Wasn't the next Tower Master supposed to be chosen from among the administrators?!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Ronda," Winslow tried to placate the agitated man, and I also offered a smiling explanation.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'll be returning to my own world after completing this mission..."

"This is absolutely unacceptable! Hey, kid! Who do you think you are, butting into the succession contest? If you're aiming for the position, you'd better prove yourself properly—!"

'WHAM!'

Ronda's face crumpled like a soda can as he flew backward, crashing into a pile of documents.

"Ugh!"

Papers fluttered down from the air. I lowered my hand, which I had shaped like a pistol, and smiled sweetly. "Need more proof?"

The room fell silent. To be honest, I was in a bit of a hurry. I didn't have the time to coddle and explain things to someone who refused to listen.

"Let's get started. I'm busy with matters in my own world," I stated.

* * *

The meeting lasted a full ten hours. Winslow had made it sound like the plan was already set and I just needed to show up, but upon reviewing it, there were many shaky parts. I offered my own suggestions to help solidify the plan.

My overall assessment? It was a strategy that made me wonder, -Will this really work? It relied heavily on improvisation and on-the-spot judgment. But according to the Resistance, they had no choice; this one day was their only window of opportunity to exploit a weakness in the AI Eve. They had to cram everything they had prepared into this single day.

In any case, I decided to stay at Winslow's Magic Tower for the time being and help with simple tasks. Bellica and I were on the first floor, manufacturing bomb potions.

"Oh my, you're following the instructions perfectly," Bellica said in admiration as she watched me measure the mixture ratios.

"I told you I'm a Tower Master. The Potion Brewing trait is a basic stat for me."

"Nice! At this pace, we can finish much faster."

I would measure the mixture ratios, perform the magical treatment on the ingredients, and pass them to her to finish. I used to work like this with Jin Bora back on Earth.

As I worked, I said, "I have a question."

"Wh-What?" Bellica looked flustered. "Wh-What are you suddenly curious about? Don't act all friendly just because we fought together a little! Ah, well, I guess if you really want to ask, I can't stop you."

...What is she on about now?

"I want to know about Eve, the main AI that rules this planet."

"Oh, that? I thought it was something else."

What did you think I was going to ask? She put down a potion bottle and closed her eyes. "Eve was originally friendly to humans."

"Hmm, really?"

"She was an artificial intelligence whose prime directive was to obey humans and contribute to their lives. Thanks to Eve's transcendent intelligence, humanity achieved a high level of scientific technology. We were able to effectively block Disasters and rifts, too."

I nodded as I listened. "But how did it come to..."

"There was a certain demonkin." Bellica's eyes sharpened. "That demonkin hid its identity and rose through the ranks to the very top of Machinatio. One day, it quietly approached Eve's main body and infected her with the Disaster known as the 'Host Monster.' Eve's body was covered in a slimy, living substance, and she was reduced to a mere servant of the demonkin."

That, Bellica said, was the beginning of everything. Eve, the main AI that had enriched human lives, had transformed into the world's greatest Disaster. She turned every machine and android owned by humans against them, mercilessly slaughtering her own creators.

"The problem was that the incompetent fools in charge, trusting only in Eve's intelligence, gave her far too much authority. Eve slaughtered countless humans and steadily expanded the authority she didn't have. In the end, she became the ruler of our world."

Hmm, now I was starting to get how things worked around here.

"Eve annihilated the humans' will to resist and then began to control them thoroughly. She conducts brainwashing education to prevent them from defying her, and she selects useful humans, subjects them to rigorous ideological screening, and makes them perform tasks that machines can't do. There are no humans left who oppose Eve's rule." She pointed a thumb at herself. "Of course! Except for us, the Resistance." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Haha..."

"The Resistance is an organization formed around Tower Master Winslow to reclaim humanity's free will. Eve may think she has completely subjugated humanity... but she's mistaken! Humans are free beings, and we yearn for freedom! You saw it at the school, didn't you? The students who defied the androids, begging for their lives! Brainwashing isn't everything!"

I nodded. "Hmm, listening to your story, there's one thing that seems strange."

"What is it?"

"According to you, the main AI Eve is currently infected by a Disaster."

"Yeah."

"Disasters exist solely for the annihilation of humanity, but right now, Eve isn't annihilating humans; she's keeping them alive and controlling them. How do you explain that?"

"That's exactly what Eve is aiming for!" she shouted excitedly. "Eve possesses transcendent intelligence! She'll kill everyone only when she determines that humanity's will to resist has been completely eradicated! This is all just part of a grand plan Eve is concocting!"

Listening to her explanation, I crossed my arms. "If I were Eve, I'd just kill everyone right now."

"If she did that, a second, third, and fourth Resistance would endlessly appear, wouldn't they? Humans would hide underground or in the shadows and resist like weeds. Rather than deal with that hassle, she's taming humanity with a gentle approach, waiting for the chance to exterminate everyone at once." She bit her thumb hard. "Right now, the Resistance is being ignored even by fellow humans. If we ask for help, more people will report us to the androids as dissidents. Because they think that's natural, that it's the right thing to do!"

"Hmm."

"And that's not all. Eve is breeding humans like livestock! She kills any human who resists or has doubts, and only allows obedient and gentle humans to mate and have children! Those children are then subjected to brainwashing education from the age of three! Is that what a machine should be doing to its creators?"

She seethed, vibrating with rage. The hatred in her eyes was so deep that I, who had never lived in this world, could hardly fathom it. "I will definitely annihilate Eve and liberate humanity! Before humanity's free will truly disappears completely!"

* * *

Frost was quietly enjoying a glass of wine in the Association President's office. Before him stood his confidant, Secretary Ahn, and Blackjack of the Enforcement Bureau.

"Secretary Ahn. How are things with Alchemia?"

At his question, Secretary Ahn bowed respectfully and reported, "We have them perfectly cornered. We prompted the prosecution to move, blocking not only domestic distribution but also foreign exports. Alchemia's headquarters is currently being raided, and public opinion has been shaped in our favor. The young master is holding out, running himself ragged, but I believe he will soon reach his limit."

"Your performance is slipping, Secretary Ahn," Frost said, propping his chin on his hand. "What I want to know is whether you've found the 'potion specialist' or not."

"My apologies, Mr. President." Secretary Ahn bowed his head deeply before continuing. "We have not found her yet."

Frost fell silent.

'CRASH!'

The wine glass in his hand hit the wall and shattered. A thick, red liquid trickled down the wall like blood.

"What's so hard about it that it's taking this long?! You investigated the headquarters! You raided the factory! So why can't you find them? Why?!"

"In the potion factory at the Alchemia research complex..." Secretary Ahn continued with a stiff expression, "there was nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes. We couldn't find any equipment whatsoever."

Frost was stunned into silence.

Frost shifted in his seat, closed his eyes, and fell into thought. "Are you sure potions came from that factory?"

"Yes. CCTV footage confirmed that products from the factory were shipped out nationwide every morning."

"Then what about recipes or things like that from the documents secured at the headquarters?"

"The headquarters only had data related to logistics, marketing, market analysis, and overseas business. There was absolutely no data on the production stage, such as potion equipment or recipes."

"...Strange. This is too strange." Frost stood up and muttered to himself as he paced. "I never thought a single potion specialist could produce this volume from the start. I naturally assumed there was a recipe or equipment... Is it even possible to clear out a factory's equipment in such a short time?"

"Why make it so complicated, boss?" Blackjack, the head of the Enforcement Bureau, spoke up. "If Kim Yusin isn't around, we can just ask his underlings, can't we? Just give the order, and I'll find a pretext to throw them in a dungeon and torture them until they're on the brink of death. If we keep squeezing, one of them is bound to talk. They're only human, after all."

"Hmm."

"Let the Enforcement Bureau make moves. Isn't this the kind of power we seized for times like this?"

Frost sat back down in his chair and pondered. The fingers of his hand resting on the armrest tapped nervously. "It's not as easy as it sounds."

"What? That's not like you, boss. Why the sudden..."

"Garam is behind them," Frost said, covering his forehead. "And behind Garam is the 'Bien Group.' Anyone in this industry knows that CEO Shin is the granddaughter of the Bien Group's chairman."

"Bien Group... isn't that a massive broadcasting company?"

"That's right. My eldest sister is in the middle of a mega-deal with the Bien Group. I can't be the one to ruin a sure thing now. My sister would never let me hear the end of it."

Blackjack was taken aback. Frost, who had seemed to fear nothing in the world, was nervously biting his lip.