[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 384: The Story After (16). [Side Story 16]

The capital of the Denian Kingdom.

Its people were bustling about, carrying various devices and scattering throughout the capital.

“Move quickly! This has to be finished before nightfall!”

Swordmaster Maximus stood on a platform, directing them.

At the command of the great Swordmaster, the people worked even faster.

Someone approached his side.

“Is everything going well?”

“You’ve come, Your Majesty Barbosa.”

Maximus bowed respectfully.

Barbosa, King of the Denian Kingdom, stroked his chin as he gazed over the capital.

“How is the progress?”

“It is nearly complete.”

People were installing various devices across the city.

Streetlamps were being raised one after another, and in the very center of the capital, a towering structure like a giant tower was rising.

From the tower, long cables stretched into the air as if connecting something.

Maximus spoke.

“If there are no major issues, it will be completed before nightfall.”

“That’s a relief.”

“…Your Majesty. I don’t mean to doubt, but…”

Maximus’s face held hesitation.

“Is this really possible?”

His tone implied worry that all their work might be for nothing.

Barbosa gave a bitter smile, unable to fully deny it.

“I heard it from the Tower Master himself, but honestly, I don’t know. With my shallow knowledge, I can’t imagine it working.”

[Do you doubt me?]

A quiet voice rang behind them.

Barbosa and Maximus flinched and spun around.

“Ma—Master! Tower Master!”

[You children’s minds have already grown rigid. The world changes and moves forward. What will you do if you’re already this inflexible?]

The Tower Master chuckled.

Though neither man was young, to the immortal lich, they were as infants.

Barbosa hurriedly explained.

“N-no, that’s not it! It isn’t that we doubt you…”

[Enough. It is natural to question such an unprecedented undertaking.]

He waved his hand.

[Preparations seem about done. Let us begin.]

“Yes, Tower Master. We are truly grateful.”

Barbosa bowed deeply.

“To think you would grant our kingdom the first use of your newly created magic…”

Everything being prepared was to activate the Tower Master’s magic.

The new magic of the mighty Tower Master—if applied to the Denian capital—would elevate the kingdom’s stature immeasurably.

[Don’t thank me too much. As you said, we don’t yet know if it will work. If it fails, the spell could explode.]

“…What?”

Explode?

Across the entire city?

Barbosa’s face went pale.

“Tower Master?”

[If something happens, I’ll do my best to contain it. Don’t worry too much.]

“Y-your best…?”

He hadn’t said it wouldn’t explode.

Barbosa’s complexion drained of all color.

Night fell.

Darkness engulfed the world.

The faint glow of cheap artifact streetlamps gave little comfort.

In the midst of the darkness, the Tower Master snapped his fingers.

[Magitech—activate.]

An Eleventh-Class spell surged forth.

The massive tower in the city center roared to life.

Whirrrrr!

Mystic energy coursed through the tower, flowing into the intricate devices and producing results.

And then—

Blink.

The top of the tower lit up like a lighthouse.

It shone like a giant bulb.

Soon, one by one, the streetlamps throughout the city blazed with brilliant light.

Unlike the weak ones before, these shone brightly.

In the endless dark, the Denian capital alone gleamed like day.

“Ooooh!”

“Ahhhhh!”

The citizens cried out in awe.

The Tower Master whistled.

[It worked without issue.]

“Thank goodness…”

Barbosa wiped cold sweat from his brow, then looked at the radiant city in wonder.

“…Unbelievable. It’s real.”

The fact that the city lit up wasn’t, by itself, shocking.

At his level, the Tower Master could have conjured such a result with a snap of his fingers.

But Barbosa’s eyes shone as if witnessing a miracle.

Because the tower was not an artifact.

It was a machine, a complex device that received mystic energy and output light.

“I heard your explanation, but I still don’t quite understand. What was the principle again?”

[Normally, mystic results are fluid. To use artifacts, one must be able to handle mystic energy directly.]

That was why mysticism had always been the power of the chosen few.

But the Tower Master had found a way to fix mystic output.

Using knowledge from Ketal, he had created a generator that stored mystic energy and outputted it as a stable result.

Mysticism was no longer only for the gifted few—it became a benefit for all citizens.

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[For now, we only produced light. But with development, much could change.]

He imagined generating heat to warm homes, extending lights to roads beyond the capital, even building the “trains” Ketal had described.

[Interesting indeed. Perhaps I should form a new school of study.]

The Tower Master’s voice was thrilled, his scholarly passion ablaze.

Whirr…

The generator gradually quieted, then the lights went out.

Darkness returned, and the people groaned.

Barbosa turned to the Tower Master in alarm.

“Tower Master?”

[The mystic energy has run out. Maximus, if you charge it, it will work again. Any who can wield mysticism could recharge it. Have the kingdom’s mages replenish it regularly.]

“Yes.”

Maximus nodded, channeled mystic energy, and the city lit again.

The crowd gasped in wonder.

The Tower Master, however, muttered calculations.

[The conversion efficiency is poor. I’ll need to improve storage methods.]

Then a voice called from behind.

“So this is it?”

The Tower Master turned with a smile.

[You actually came. I doubted you’d bother, despite sending word.]

“How could I miss something this fun?”

Ketal grinned.

“Good to see you, Tower Master. King Barbosa. Maximus.”

“Lord Ketal!”

“You’ve come!”

Barbosa and Maximus bowed deeply.

Where once they might have been wary, now they treated him like a god—for he was one.

Citizens, realizing who had arrived, also bowed with reverence.

Ketal answered their awe with a smile, filling them with emotion.

He gazed at the central tower.

“So that’s your generator?”

[Yes. I combined your knowledge with my magic. It’s still unstable and costly, but it works. With refinement, it will be useful.]

“Hm.”

Ketal studied the tower with a peculiar look.

The technology of Earth was seeping into this world.

Though he despised Earth, his mood wasn’t unpleasant.

‘Feels like steampunk.’

The fusion of magic and science—a fantasy genre in itself.

He had no reason to reject it.

“And what will you do next?”

[First, improve efficiency. For now, it can only power simple devices. Then, form a new school to train mages in this field.]

He envisioned nurturing mages, spreading them across the continent, and advancing the technology.

[Unlike normal magic, Magitech requires no innate talent—only understanding of theory. That will open doors to countless new minds.]

“You seem happy. That’s good.”

[How could I not be? A new form of magic has been born. The world will change—advance—more than ever before, even beyond the days before the Demon Lord and otherworldly invasions.]

Magitech was that significant.

The Tower Master turned to Ketal.

[And it’s all thanks to you.]

Ketal had saved their world, shared knowledge, and changed their future.

The Tower Master sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Ketal only smiled and shook his head.

“I should be the one grateful. Thanks to you, every day is fulfilling.”

As they shared warm words, a strange noise rattled from the central device.

A burst of smoke hissed out.

“Tower Master! Something’s wrong!”

Maximus cried.

[Overheated. It needs repairs.]

“In that case, I’ll take my leave. Good luck.”

[Very well. …By the way.]

Before Ketal departed, the Tower Master asked playfully.

[Are you enjoying yourself?]

Ketal smirked knowingly.

“I am. Very much so.”

[That’s good. May you remain happy, then. Now, off you go—you’re a busy man.]

The Tower Master chuckled.

Ketal gave a faint laugh and leapt away.

In an instant, he crossed the continent and landed before a home nestled in the Elves’ sacred forest.

The door opened.

Brown hair fluttered, and golden eyes widened at him.

“You’re back? Ketal?”

“I’m back, Arkamis.”

Ketal smiled warmly as he stepped inside.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]