Purpose of Hydra Corp.
This was the first time Ortes had spoken directly about it, but among the board members, this topic had already come up several times.
Why had a powerful magician like Carisia come to Etna City?
Once a great city, it was now nothing more than a declining frontier.
To unify the city and accumulate wealth?
That’s laughable.
Carisia, who had effortlessly defeated two existing Tower Masters of Etna City, certainly didn’t need to go through the trouble of unifying the underworld and forming a new company to amass riches.
As for honor, that too was irrelevant.
A magician as powerful as her might even receive recruitment offers not just from ordinary towers, but from Proper Towers.
‘You never know.’
Arabel considered the possibility that such a formidable magician hadn’t “come” to the city, but rather had been “expelled.”
The possibility that she chose Etna City as a place to hide and regroup after losing in a power struggle within her tower.
However, there was a problem with this hypothesis. How could a magician of Carisia’s caliber, who possessed lieutenants like Ortes, have been defeated and forced to flee?
Only an extremely limited number of magic towers could host such a level of conflict.
Unfazed by Arabel’s anxious gaze, Ortes continued his speech.
“We will become the new king.”
Not the hereditary ruler of a nation. In a world where gods who once blessed royal bloodlines have long disappeared, and rulers of old have faded into history, the governing structure has long been reorganized around the Ten Sages and magic towers.
The elite Proper Towers. Among them, only ten can truly be called ‘kings.’
The ten magic towers that possess the legacy of the Wizard King – the Ten Sages.
They needed no elaborate names like Leranian or Torres. Their simple titles based on colors and attributes spoke volumes of their histories.
Because all towers using those elemental magics were under their dominion.
The lineage of these ten towers, direct disciples of the Wizard King, was passed down in poetic form.
The beginning with White Light.
The division of heaven and earth with Yellow Lightning.
The gathering of heat into Red Flame.
The binding of cold into Azure Ice.
The mixing of all things with Jade Wind.
The pooling of oceans into Blue Water.
The shaping of earth with Violet Soil.
The stirring of life with Green Wood.
The sharpening of blades with Silver Iron,
And the heralding of the end with Black Darkness.
The declaration of becoming a new king. Carisia’s light magic. All the board members thought of the eldest of the magic towers, the Tower of White Light.
“Most of the Tower Masters of the Ten Towers preserve the lineage of the Wizard King’s disciples. Could Carisia possibly be the illegitimate child of the current Tower Master of White Light?”
Though rare, there have been instances in the long history of magic when ownership of the Ten Sages has changed. Such conflicts are often likened to the battle between a king and a usurper, or a royal succession.
‘If a new usurper challenging for the throne is my boss…’
While Arabel pondered what instructions to give to the Information Guild members, Ortes made an announcement that surpassed all their expectations.
“Of course, we’re not talking about the boring story of stealing one of the Ten Sages.”
This time, Carisia definitely smiled. The board members who witnessed her flawless smile felt a chilling sensation as if cold air was wrapping around them.
“I believe you know, Geryon. The Tower Master of Pythos Tower. Caike.”
The narrative returned to Geryon, who was captured as a prisoner. He felt both bewilderment and fear.
The most powerful of the three towers in Etna City. The urban legend about Pythos Tower’s secret weapon.
“Is there still someone who believes in that superstitious rumor? It’s been decades.”
Even among the eight veteran leaders who knew Etna City inside out, few fully understood what Geryon was talking about.
Arabel, whose job required her to collect any and all rumors about the city. And…
“…”
Only Bertrand, the elderly dwarf who had lived in Etna City for a very long time and also served as the Guild Master of the Miners’ Guild.
They noticed Ortes’ gaze briefly passing over them. It was clear that Ortes wasn’t clumsy enough to fail at something as basic as maintaining eye contact.
‘A warning, or perhaps advice.’
Either a caution against rash actions or a suggestion to reveal everything they knew. The way he controlled people with just gestures was impressive. Arabel revised her assessment of Ortes from suspicious to downright cunning.
“If it’s not just a rumor?”
“Hah!”
Geryon laughed in disbelief, momentarily forgetting he was a captive. Though the weight of his arms feeling lighter reminded him of reality, his skepticism remained unchanged.
“You would know, wouldn’t you, old man Bertrand. The reason why Etna City is declining.”
The dwarf stroked his beard. There was no particularly powerful magician, no irreplaceable specialty. Or maybe because it was far from the paradise of magicians, Elysion…
There could be many reasons, but from the perspective of someone who had spent over a hundred years mining in this city, there was only one reason why Etna City was fading.
“Etna Mountain is cooling down.”
The cooling of the volcano that had been Etna City’s lifeline. Originally, the miners here made their living by extracting fire-attributed magic stones formed by accumulating the energy of the volcano.
But now, as the production of magic stones was decreasing, the volcano itself was also cooling down.
“Pythos Tower did something to Etna Mountain. They siphoned off the mountain’s essence to prepare some special magic. While rumors were rampant, our Miners’ Guild investigated thoroughly and found no magical devices installed outside the volcano.”
“Caike is condensing Etna Mountain’s magic power to create a new Sage!”
Geryon shouted dramatically. His expression soon turned bitter.
“I too was once misled by that rumor and tried to overthrow this city. Caike, was he ever an ordinary person? A standout figure who was originally a disciple of Red Flame before being recruited by Silver Iron…”
Geryon cautiously glanced at Carisia. She showed no reaction to his gaze, her eyes focused on Ortes instead.
“The monster who single-handedly took control of Etna City’s top tower. Just like your boss.”
At the memory of being defeated by Carisia, Geryon lowered his head. But he quickly raised it again, his confidence stemming from what he had discovered through his own efforts.
“But this much I know for sure. There is no artificial Sage in Pythos Tower.”
“Not from the start.”
“That guy Caike isn’t even in this city.”
Currently, Pythos Tower was operating unmanned.
The master of Etna City’s largest tower was absent.
Alright, so far everything went as expected.
Bertrand, who had worked as a miner in the Etna Mountain vein for almost his entire life, and Geryon, who had competed with Pythos Tower for influence.
These two were supposed to play the role of opponents claiming that there was no artificial Sage in Pythos Tower.
However, I knew that the “Sage of Pythos Tower” actually existed.
More accurately, it wasn’t really worthy of being called a Sage.
How should I put it?
A Sage-hopeful? Sage trainee? Sage (pending promotion)?
The two defining characteristics of a Sage are immense mana and latent memories. Simply touching the door of a Sage can increase a magician’s maximum mana capacity and grant knowledge of spells they’ve never heard of.
The Tower Masters of the Ten Towers, directly connected to the Sages, wield near-infinite mana and can use the Wizard King’s techniques.
Caike’s Sage in Pythos Tower couldn’t do that. This was due to the limitations of Caike’s own knowledge in inscribing magical formulas.
However, thanks to the long-term siphoning of Etna Mountain’s mana, while not infinite like a true Sage, it had accumulated what appeared to be an enormous amount of mana.
Of course, this was information I knew because Baegmun used it in the original 2077 return of the Wizard King.
Baegmun used it as follows:
“Just blew it up?”
It was used as an explosive device to completely vaporize Etna City. Its power was beyond comparison even to a nuclear bomb, requiring antimatter bomb-level description.
It was a trap prepared to k*ll the protagonist when their conflict reached its peak. When this plan failed, using Hydra Corp headquarters as bait, Baegmun personally risked his life to confront the protagonist.
In other words, if this could be used for something other than a bomb, it would eliminate one reason for Carisia to d*e as she did in the original story.
Smiling toward the board members, I said,
“No. Caike is in Etna.”
Arabel was the one who noticed the incongruity in Ortes’ words.
“Etna? Not Etna City?”
As if waiting for this question, Ortes began speaking.
“Yes. Caike is in Mount Etna.”
“But…”
Bert couldn’t find a title to address Ortes. Though he had never officially received any position within Hydra Corp,
it was obvious that he was the second-in-command.
“You may call me by name.”
As if reading his mind, Ortes encouraged him. Bert reluctantly pronounced the name.
“Ortes. Our Miners’ Guild has already surveyed Mount Etna multiple times. We only found the gradually fading flames.”
“Of course. That’s what you found where you surveyed, Director Bert.”
“Are you saying there are places the Miners’ Guild hasn’t investigated?”
“Let me explain more precisely. Caike is inside Mount Etna.”
Ortes looked around with a chilling smile. Only Carisia, untouched by that smile, wore a satisfied expression.
“We will extract Caike and take over the artificial Sage.”
His gaze turned toward Geryon.
“And your role begins at that point.”
