Chapter 214 - Episode Nine - High Elf Sorcerer, Devin (2)

I look at the large hole in the ceiling.

The height to the hole is roughly thirty meters.

Right next to the hole, there is a staircase leading to the second level.

Until a while ago, the staircase leading to the second level was interrupted in the middle and led to a kind of distortion of space, but it seemed to continue on to the ceiling normally, perhaps because the magical power of Altamir, which had been filled with the loss of the effect of the boundary covering the first level, was leaking out.

This must have been the original form.

I look around again in one level.

It’s not the same as it was just a few minutes ago, and the goblins that lived in it are nowhere to be seen, but standing in a daze among the plants and trees growing on the brick floor.

The blue sky, which used to stretch far and wide, is now blocked out by brick walls.

The landscape that would have been preserved for nearly a hundred years was completely damaged by my careless blow.

“…… T-Then, let’s go to the next floor.”

I was about to head for the stairs, but Mea grabbed me and held me back.

“This is definitely a bad idea! The seal of Altamir has been absolutely weakened! The first level is a wreck! Let’s apologize! Let’s go home and apologize to Lark-san! Mea will apologize with you!”

“I, It’ll probably be fine. Because there are seven levels, you know? I’m thinking that they tried to seal Altamir up high to prevent her magic from interfering with the outside world. I’m sure those things are built a little higher, and it’s like a one-story margin of error.”

“Is, is that so……?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. The guy who made it felt like he could cut corners at least one floor and it would be fine, so he made it brittle.”

“Uh-, hmmm …… Mea is not too familiar with magic and if Abel says so, then maybe it is …… no, but ……”

While Mea and I chatted about this and that, the goblins saw us off as we made our way up to the second level.

The first level was full of F-class monsters, but the second level was full of E-class monsters.

Although I’m not so wary of the magical beasts themselves, I should be prepared to see what kind of traps they have.

The stairs were designed to be unfriendly, with the steps being at a disgusting height and requiring you to lift your feet accordingly.

I held my feet occasionally, resting as I climbed toward the top.

The goblin cart had saved my energy, and it was tough, but I managed to get through it.

“Hiu …… hiu …… hiu ……”

“Abel, are you okay? Your knees is trembling, you know.”

Sitting on the step, breathing hard, Mea wiped the sweat from my forehead with her handkerchief.

I take Mea’s point and turn to my own lap.

“…… It’s even scarier than I thought. I think I may have been taking Altamir a little bit easy. Two levels is the limit.”

“Shall Mea carry you?”

“No, that’s a bit too much …… I’m worried about what people will think of me or not ……”

As expected, I have pride.

If someone saw me like that, I would not be able to forget about it for half a year.

“I’ll be fine! This place is off-limits, isn’t it?”

“Uh, hmmm …… but ……”

People do not go through ……?

Then there is no problem?

“I could ask for help in a pinch.”

“Yes! Leave it to Mea!”

Mea happily agreed.

I wonder if Mea has a lot of things to think about, like this.

As we walked up the stairs with Mea supporting us after our break, she turned her head toward the top of the stairs, squinted, and then turned back to me.

“The first level is the meadow and …… what’s the second level like?”

“The second level, huh…… The magic beast is an E-class at best, but the view is quite spectacular, according to the book.”

“Spectacular? The first floor was beautiful too, but ……”

“No, no. They say it’s not comparable at all. Reflected light shimmers here and there ……”

“Light!? What is it like? What is it like? Like water, ice, and so on……?”

Mea’s eyes sparkle.

“It’s just around the corner, and it’s going to be fun to see when we get there. If you’re that concerned about it, you can go up the stairs first. The second level shouldn’t be too dangerous yet.”

“Since we’re already near, Let’s go together. Ah! Look, it’s next. It’s all over……”

The second level of the witch’s tower at the top of the stairs was a bleak brick labyrinth.

Magic beasts such as a large rat and a fogg stopped on the spot as if stunned, and looked around in a frightened manner.

There were large holes in the floor and ceiling of the labyrinth.

Or rather, it was after the penetration of my Abel ball.

I glanced over to Mea.

Mea was looking around the labyrinth with a stunned expression, when she suddenly thought of something and turned her attention to me.

I quickly turned my head away.

“I-It’s a lot different from the rumors. Well, this is the kind of thing that gets exaggerated, so it can’t be helped.”

“What are you trying to deceive me for! As, as I thought let’s apologize! Let’s apologize to Lark-san! If you don’t want to apologize, you can say that it was all done by Mea, but let’s just go back for now to report!”

“No, you can’t do that.”

Mea needs to take care of herself a bit more.

“But this is really bad, isn’t it? There are a total of eight levels, right? Already a whole quarter of the tower is undermined.”

It’s true that the spatial magic and wards that were applied to the second level following the first level, as Mea said, seemed to have lost their effectiveness in the aftermath of the Abel ball.

“…… Our objective is to have a explore at the tower, but with the second level in its current state, it doesn’t look like there’s anything worth looking around for. For now, let’s head to the third floor.”

I take my wand from my pocket and point it at the floor near the big hole in the ceiling.

“Turn to Dirt”

The light from the wand illuminates the vicinity of the sighting point.

The bricks on the walls and floor shatter and mix with the debris, turning to earthiness.

I continue, waving my wand again.

“Dirt, form, stairs”

The soil piled up and made up the steps.

After the shape was completed, the density was increased more and more to create a strong earthen staircase.

Unlike the original staircase in the tower, my own staircase was kindly designed with low steps.

“I should have broken down and rebuilt the staircase once. Okay, let’s go.”

“The interior is being redecorated again…… I wonder if it’s OK to do so… ……”

“It’s okay. It’s not necessarily the case that the tower’s hierarchical wards seal off Altamir. That’s just my theory. And now I’m reminding myself that if the warding is so fragile, it would not have been able to play such an important role as a seal.”

“But Abel’s “fragile” can’t be trusted ……”

On the way up the stairs leading to the third level, Mea repeatedly anxiously compared the hole in the floor with the hole in the ceiling.