Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 324 : Dog (1)
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Upon reaching the explorer camp, Alon found himself bombarded once more with waves of grateful thanks.
Overwhelmed with awkwardness, he quickly departed from the camp and headed directly for the Mage Tower, marking the passage of two full weeks.
“We’ve made it at last—”
As Penia gazed toward the far-off view of the Mage Tower and voiced her relief, Alon responded.
“Never imagined I’d visit the academy so frequently.”
“Can’t argue with that. Still... was it truly fine to skip stopping by?”
“You mean which place?”
“The Principality of Luxible. You mentioned intending to drop in at least once, yet we rushed right here.”
Alon remembered that instance a bit tardily and gave a nod.
She had a point.
Back when he first showed up at the campsite, he had pondered over heading to the Principality of Luxible.
After all, the Ronovelli Jungle lay near Luxible.
Yet, Alon chose not to proceed due to a certain rumor that caught his ear upon arriving in Kaslot.
“Hey, heard the latest?”
“Nope, missed it.”
“Aw, come on, buddy. Just chatting here.”
“Ahem. Alright, spill it.”
“Word is, they’re gearing up something big in the Principality of Luxible.”
“Gearing up? For what exactly?”
“Rumor has it they’re quietly mustering soldiers. Not sure on the details, but it sounds chaotic over there.”
“Soldiers? Sounds like war preparations?”
“Eh, probably not that extreme, but that’s the talk floating around.”
This chatter kept popping up over the two days Alon lingered in Kaslot, so he opted against visiting Luxible.
He figured barging into a bustling kingdom without solid grounds wouldn’t sit well.
“Though, that soldier rumor’s likely just hot air.”
Naturally, Alon didn’t swallow the rumor wholesale.
He understood the saying about smoke signaling fire, yet he’d lately witnessed how swiftly tales could twist out of shape.
“They did seem swamped, though.”
Regardless, Alon offered Penia a quick answer before musing briefly on yet another Luxible rumor he’d caught wind of.
“Apparently, three mighty warriors perished in Ashtalon.”
Soon enough, though, Alon discovered that particular rumor had been warped.
Based on intel from the information guild.
Those three warriors who’d accepted a mission in Ashtalon had merely lost touch, sparking the mangled story.
Even so, Alon harbored doubts about the true events in Ashtalon, prompting him to commission extra details from the guild.
“Guess I’ll uncover it shortly.”
Alon pushed the notion aside promptly and shifted to a fresh subject with ease.
“Reckon they’ve unraveled at least one additional magic spell by this point?”
Penia jumped right in with her take.
“Mmm, I bet they haven’t wrapped it all up yet.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, the gap between first-tier and second-tier magic isn’t massive... but hierarchical magic packs such dense info, so cracking it must be tougher.”
Penia tacked on, “We’ve barely pinpointed two phrases from the first tier ourselves,” prompting Alon’s nod.
“Fair enough.”
“Even so, this speed is remarkably swift.”
As Penia noted, the decoding of hierarchical magic advanced far quicker than anticipated.
Within a mere two weeks, two phrases had been unearthed.
“From now on, though, it’ll ramp up in difficulty.”
“You referring to locating the sentences?”
“Exactly. The final phrase should surface soon, but piecing together sentences feels like endless drudgery.”
It was a plain truth that left him no option but to concur.
Hunting down even the three phrases had strained their vision to the brink.
From Heinkel’s accounts, unearthing sentences proved even more arduous.
How much time elapsed while Alon pondered this?
“Marquis, if you’d kindly step aside.”
“Sure.”
No sooner had they reached the Mage Tower than Alon watched Basiliora vanish into the ring as though poised for it, and he proceeded inward alongside Penia.
The instant they stepped in to confer with Heinkel.
A sea of mages left him momentarily dazed.
This hour wasn’t meant for any mages to be present.
“Penia, has the academy meeting rolled around already?”
“Huh—no? It’s still quite a ways off...”
Penia replied, equally baffled.
She stroked her chin briefly, as if jogging her memory for oversights, then dismissed it with a head shake.
As Alon, Penia, and Evan lingered there, gawking at the throng of mages.
“Oh? Marquis Palatio’s arrived!”
A voice rang out.
And then—
“??”
Silence blanketed the area in a flash.
The lively murmur hushed so abruptly that Alon stood rigid.
What’s unfolding?
What triggered this?
He scarcely managed a puzzled scan around.
“Marquis Palatio?”
“He’s actually here?”
“Where is he—where—”
“Ah, right there.”
“Gasp—!”
As though anticipating this very instant, innumerable gazes locked onto Alon simultaneously.
Before Alon uttered a word—
“Marquis Palatio! Come join us at the Red Mage Tower and instruct us, please!”
“Marquis! At minimum, let’s chat it over!”
“An exchange gathering! We need to organize one!!”
“Or merely a single magic showcase!”
“Was that spell you cast before truly Light?!”
Faced with the mages charging like frenzied beasts, Alon felt utterly swamped.
***
“Whew—”
“You alright, Marquis?”
“Yeah, I’m good. You saved my skin.”
“Aw, stop it—”
Ultimately, Penia’s intervention allowed Alon to break free from the mage horde.
Despite her extended time with House Palatio, Penia’s regular academy attendance likely explained it.
The mages scattered like parted waves at the first glimpse of her ire.
Alon fleetingly remembered the mages’ frantic retreat the moment Penia flashed a sliver of menace.
“Hmm~ This could spell trouble ahead. The Tower Masters ought to show up shortly.”
“Tower Masters...?”
“Yep. That Light magic’s ripple effect was enormous. Notice how they clustered back there, all casting Light magic?”
“I did.”
Indeed, he’d observed it plainly.
Even while yielding passage to Penia, mages from the five towers yelled “Check out my spell!!” and unleashed nonstop Light incantations en route.
Alon had the sensation of a star parading down a grand walkway.
Though he’d never craved such an experience...
‘Any regular mage would react similarly. I’d probably flip out too without prior knowledge,’ Penia remarked softly as they reached the library.
[Oh, you’ve arrived?]
Heinkel greeted them with a casual hand wave, treating it like everyday routine.
[A month already, eh? Wrapped up your tasks?]
“Yes, I’ve accomplished my initial goals.”
[Research update?]
To Heinkel’s next query, Alon provided a concise status report.
“Hmmm~ So two phrases decoded? And the hand seal for Light magic located?”
“Precisely.”
“What about the full ‘Light’ spell in practice?”
“...It’s intensely demanding. Truth be told, my mana struggles to sustain it.”
“Does it leave you totally depleted after a single cast?”
“Spot on.”
Heinkel hummed contemplatively and nodded.
“I’m dying to witness Light firsthand, but first, our research advancements.”
“Progress on second-tier magic?”
Now Alon inquired, and Heinkel paused briefly before responding.
“Straight up, it’s challenging. Over the month you were gone, I only isolated one phrase.”
“At this pace—”
“I get it, not speedy. Oh, wait. Truthfully, without the ally you dispatched, it would’ve dragged even more.”
“Is the leap from first to second tier truly so vast?”
Alon anticipated a gap, but Heinkel’s evident strain caught him off guard.
She affirmed with a nod.
“Enormous gap. Extracting key info from magic follows the same steps, but pinpointing phrases turns far more intricate.”
“Like how?”
“Hmmm~”
Heinkel pondered briefly on phrasing it, then gestured as if struck by insight.
A sheet of paper drifted forth.
“...This is—”
“A blueprint. Ancient one.”
She unfurled the highly intricate blueprint before Alon.
“In simple terms, cracking your first-tier magic resembles this blueprint. Second-tier, however...”
She gestured once more, overlaying another blueprint atop it.
“See here. First-tier needs just one blueprint, but second-tier demands stacking multiples like this to reveal a phrase.”
With the blueprints combined, a fresh pattern materialized in view.
Alon nodded in apparent comprehension, eyeing the elaborate, tightly woven design.
[No need to fret. It’ll take time, but interpreting the blueprint seems feasible.]
“Really?”
[Yep—for the moment, that’s my view. Oh, incidentally, how long’s your stay?]
“Here at the Mage Tower?”
[Yes.]
Alon mulled it over before answering.
“Likely a week. Got a couple more questions in mind.”
[Perfect. Rest up today, and perhaps demonstrate the magic tomorrow?]
“Got it.”
With that agreement sealed, they concluded their talk.
***
Descending to the first floor, Alon spotted a long-absent familiar visage.
“Long time no see! Marquis Palatio...!”
“Tower Master?”
It was Celaime Mikardo, master of the Blue Tower.
He drew near with his typical warm grin, exchanging a quick hello with Penia too.
“How’ve you been!”
“Doing great. But what wind blows you here...?”
As he replied, Alon abruptly recalled Penia’s prior mention of incoming Tower Masters.
Celaime’s face lit up as he enthusiastically hailed him.
“Naturally, for your Light magic! Didn’t anticipate crossing paths quite like this.”
“Ah.”
“Might I ask for a demo?”
“A demo?”
“Indeed, of Light magic. I’m eager to behold it personally.”
Celaime pleaded with earnest eyes.
Alon wavered briefly, then recalled his prior intent to show the spell to Heinkel regardless.
Right as he prepared to consent—
“tsk-tsk—”
A crisp tongue snap drew his gaze.
A woman clad in green stood there, her face etched with frosty disdain.
“Oh, Sharan Foranu. You’re here as well?”
Through Celaime’s remark, Alon pieced together her identity at last.
She featured sporadically as a player ally in Psychedelia.
Among Tower Masters, she stood out as the grand mage who’d edged nearest to ninth tier in life.
While Alon mentally sifted this data, she fixed him with an unabashed hostile stare.
“Had to come. All thanks to somebody’s absurd fabrications.”
—so she declared.
***
Deep within a blood-drenched forest.
A lone man lingered amid leaves stained crimson.
His look struck an odd chord.
Languid and indolent, his empty gaze held dual pupils in each eye.
Purple strands wafted about his form, drifting without purpose.
Perched limply on shattered cocoon remnants, as if devoid of all wants, “Sloth” vacantly tilted his head skyward.
Under the midnight canopy. The Milky Way sprawled overhead.
A tapestry of stars, large and small.
Certain ones gleamed with exceptional vigor.
As if bent on illuminating the world like daylight, the heavens blazed in splendor.
“Sigh~”
The man, who’d been silently contemplating that lofty vista, exhaled a deep, burdened breath.
“I hate it.”
He whispered.
“I hate it.”
He whispered once more.
“I haaaate it—”
Endlessly, the man kept whispering.
Like chanting an incantation, he voiced his raw frustration over and over.
Suddenly, he bowed his head low.
He rose unsteadily, swaying without vigor.
Crack—crackle crackle—!
The fractured cocoon underfoot dissolved swiftly and feebly.
Concurrently, it drew into his frame.
Crack—crackle!
Darkness encroached upon his surroundings.
Like claiming new ground, the shadow crept steadily outward.
Observing this display.
“But still—”
The man murmured through his listless eyes.
The embodiment of Sloth.
“Even then, it falls to me.”
He breathed out, nearly a sigh.
“For... this is my obligation.”