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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 140: The Inflection Point of Pure White (1)
"……."
"……."
The atmosphere in the conference room, where every single mage of the White Tower had gathered, was devastating.
No matter what people had said before, they had always taken pride in being one of the Four Great Magic Towers.
But now, that pride had been tarnished.
“I’m sorry. I have no excuse.”
Moby Dixon, the representative of the 6th-level mages, bit his lip as he apologized.
Final ranking: 6th place.
Although the Green Tower and Purple Tower were below them, those towers were categorized as Mystic Magic Towers.
In other words, the fundamental concepts of magic they dealt with were significantly different from those of the mainstream Magic Towers.
This meant that among the main Magic Towers sharing a common foundation, the White Tower had ranked last.
“No, it’s okay. It couldn’t be helped.”
Sasha forced a smile and shook her head.
As much as they hated to admit it, this was the current reality of the White Tower.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried their best or that they had been lazy.
‘It was simply a matter of color.’
A battle where the deciding factor was which color of Magic Tower one belonged to.
That was all.
With the White Tower’s core knowledge and magical expertise having been lost, they had long fallen behind the other Magic Towers.
Though Sasha said it was fine, she looked at the ranking board with slightly gloomy eyes.
<Night of the Mages Ranking Status>
1st place: Yellow Tower – 8 points
2nd place: Red Tower – 7 points
3rd place: Blue Tower – 6 points
4th place: Black Tower – 5 points
5th place: Blood Tower – 4 points
6th place: White Tower – 3 points
7th place: Green Tower – 2 points
8th place: Purple Tower – 1 point
Now, only the schedules for the 5th-level and 4th-level mages remained.
With the White Tower already in 6th place, overturning the rankings seemed nearly impossible.
‘If only we had at least secured 5th place…’
If they had, they might still have had a chance to perform well in the last two rounds and aim for 4th place.
That way, they could have at least maintained the dignity of being one of the Four Great Magic Towers.
"……."
A deep crease formed between Sasha’s brows as she sank into thought.
For a brief moment, the idea of withdrawing from the competition altogether crossed her mind.
‘No, let’s do the calculations first.’
Shoving aside her negative thoughts, she started running the numbers in her head.
‘For the White Tower to finish in 4th place overall…’
They would need to place at least 4th in both of the remaining rounds.
Realistically speaking, 1st to 3rd place would be dominated by the other three Great Magic Towers.
But there was one major problem.
‘…If the Black Tower places 4th and 5th once each in the remaining rounds, they secure 4th place overall.’
Even if the Black Tower placed 5th in both rounds, they would still end up with 13 points—tying with the White Tower.
In that case, a tiebreaker match might be necessary.
After running through all the possible calculations, Sasha let out a quiet sigh.
‘It’s practically impossible.’
Expecting the White Tower, which was already considered weaker than the Black Tower, to take 4th place twice in a row was unrealistic.
In short, rather than focusing on performing well themselves, they were in a situation where they could only hope that their opponents underperformed.
Perhaps because everyone had reached the same conclusion in their heads, a heavy cloud of gloom hung over the entire room.
"Hmm."
Just then, Oscar, who had been carefully studying the ranking board, suddenly spoke.
“This is definitely not going to be easy.”
“……Who doesn’t know that?”
Veronica responded curtly, just as—tap, tap!
Oscar summoned a magic rod and tapped it against the word ‘1st place’ on the ranking board, as if emphasizing something.
“For us to win, we need to place 1st in the next two rounds. That’s the prerequisite.”
“Hah. That would be nice, but it’s easier said than… Wait, prerequisite?”
Maxim, who had been responding instinctively, suddenly paused, as if he had misheard.
Oscar, looking completely calm, nodded and replied.
“Yes. If we want to win overall, that’s the prerequisite.”
“…Win? Overall?”
Everyone froze in shock.
Weren’t they just struggling to break into the top four?
Why was he suddenly talking about winning the whole competition?
The room fell into a brief silence, as if a sudden rainstorm had swept through.
The one to finally break it was Sasha.
“Oscar, do you seriously think it’s possible for us to win?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But this isn’t something we can achieve just by doing well ourselves. Since we already placed 6th in the first round… the other Great Magic Towers would have to make major mistakes for us to even have a chance.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Even if by some miracle the White Tower placed 1st in the next two rounds, the remaining top spots would likely still be taken by the Red, Yellow, and Blue Towers.
That would mean, when the final scores were tallied, the White Tower—dragged down by its 6th-place finish—would still end up behind them.
“Hmm.”
Oscar put on a thoughtful, almost elderly expression before speaking again.
“In my experience, luck doesn’t come to those who just sit and wait. It goes to the ones who take the initiative.”
“…So, what exactly are you suggesting?”
“The 5th-level match is a dungeon escape challenge. That’s one where we do have to hope the other Great Magic Towers mess up. But the 4th-level match is different.”
Survival Simulation.
A massive virtual arena where all eight Magic Towers’ mages would enter at once, competing to survive.
“In other words, we can create eliminations ourselves.”
“But that would only be possible if we’re stronger than the other Great Magic Towers… Ah!”
Sasha trailed off before suddenly gasping.
Anyone else might not have realized it, but she knew.
She knew exactly what kind of person Oscar was.
Her eyes sharpened as she asked,
“Can you really make it happen?”
“If we take 1st place in the next round, I’ll make sure we win the whole thing—no matter what it takes.”
A brief, incredulous silence followed his declaration.
Most of the room responded with awkward chuckles, as if to say, What in the world is he talking about?
Only a select few—those who truly knew him—had uncertain yet intrigued expressions.
[Crackle… Crackle…]
Just then, an announcement rang out from the speakers hastily installed across the artificial island by the Imperial Palace.
[We will be conducting a dungeon escape practice match starting in 30 minutes. The order will proceed in descending rank order, with each team participating once. All participating mages, please assemble on time.]
“The meeting seems to be over for now. Let’s move.”
Sasha naturally concluded the meeting and stood up.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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* * *
“Wow….”
“It’s really big….”
The mages of the White Tower let out words of admiration as they arrived at the special arena on the artificial island.
Of course, for the special operations members who had to clean the entire place, it was a different story.
“But something’s missing.”
“The arena and the audience seating are huge, but the center looks way too empty.”
Indeed, the spectator stands were large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.
This was likely proof that the Night of Mages had once been a grand event.
‘And it’ll only get bigger.’
The Empire’s goal was to elevate the event’s prestige until these stands were completely filled with mages from all towers.
As he sat down, Fran stared blankly at the arena and asked,
“No matter how I look at it, it seems too empty. Is this really an arena?”
“They wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“Maybe walls will rise from the ground?”
“That’s possible, but I think…”
It was obviously an illusion.
If the current Violet Moon was involved, filling that space with a dungeon would be a trivial feat.
‘And the current Violet Moon is actually here.’
He had caught glimpses of them while coming and going.
Wearing veils was a signature trait of theirs.
“Oh, they’re entering.”
At that moment, the ten 5th-level mages of the Yellow Tower, who had secured 1st place in the previous event, stepped into the arena.
After receiving their assigned positions from the imperial guide, they stood still for a brief moment.
“…!”
“What the….”
In the blink of an eye, the arena transformed.
It now resembled a labyrinth.
There was no detectable flow of mana, no tremors in the ground—nothing.
“Did you see that? Walls just appeared out of nowhere.”
“I felt no tremors at all. What on earth is that…?”
“It’s an illusion.”
Oscar, who had responded briefly, couldn’t help but admire it.
‘The current Violet Tower Master is certainly impressive. Even more so than the previous one.’
The previous Violet Moon had been an old man named Danpalus.
Oscar knew this because he had been the one to witness his final moments.
He still vividly remembered returning Danpalus’ body to the Violet Tower after he perished during an operation.
‘Wait, that means… the current Violet Moon is his disciple?’
He vaguely recalled her being a rather reserved girl.
Her skills, however, were outstanding.
If Danpalus had been alive to see this, he would have been proud.
At that moment, a massive holographic monitor appeared above the arena.
“Oh, so they’re showing the interior like this.”
“I never imagined Violet Tower’s illusions could be used in this way….”
“Wait a minute. Those guys are actually touching the walls? They have substance?”
“...That’s no longer just an illusion, is it?”
That was the terrifying aspect of the Violet Tower.
Their illusions and fantasies were so perfectly crafted that they were indistinguishable from reality.
On the screen, the 5th-level mages of the Yellow Tower appeared visibly shaken by the towering walls that had suddenly materialized.
[The practice match will begin in 10 seconds.]
[10.]
[9…]
However, as soon as the announcement played, their expressions sharpened.
The one who seemed to be their leader shouted,
“Split into three groups. The team led by Deva will use the left-hand rule, while the team led by Lydian will use the right-hand rule to navigate the walls and attempt an escape.”
“Understood.”
“See you later.”
In an instant, six mages dashed in different directions.
‘That’s the Four Great Towers for you….’
Despite being thrown into an unexpected situation, their judgment was swift and composed.
Meanwhile, the main team immediately tested whether they could climb the walls.
The result was failure.
Once they reached a certain height, a powerful mana repulsion forced them back to the ground.
“Hm. So climbing isn’t an option….”
“Oh? The treasure chests contain hints about the exit or items that aid in escape.”
“That’s useful information.”
The mages in the audience began taking notes, recording the strategies and insights provided by the first team.
They now understood why the practice match existed.
‘The average skill level of participants has to be high.’
‘This isn’t a structure where someone can win simply by luck.’
‘If anything, teams ranked lower in the previous event have a slight advantage.’
The labyrinth contained numerous traps.
Monsters were a given, but there were also mechanisms triggered by stepping on certain tiles or pulling wires.
Additionally, taking the wrong path could lead to an underground area that forced them to restart from the beginning.
The Yellow Tower’s mages, having split into three teams, made a total of 38 attempts before finally reaching the exit.
[The Yellow Tower has cleared the practice match.]
[Final record: 1 hour, 20 minutes, 28 seconds.]
As the illusion dissipated, the Yellow Tower’s mages reappeared.
Their faces showed clear disappointment in their performance.
‘But this is just a practice match.’
In fact, playing early and watching the remaining matches from the waiting room might actually be more beneficial.
For instance, simply watching without participating—like the Green Tower—wouldn’t be as helpful.
‘The most ideal placement would be around 4th or 5th place.’
This way, they could test their theories after observing others.
At this point, Oscar was once again frustrated by their 6th-place ranking.
Clicking his tongue, he crossed his arms and continued watching the other matches.
‘Thanks to the Yellow Tower, the clear times are dropping fast.’
The Red and Blue Towers, who played next, both finished in the early 40-minute range.
The Black and Blood Towers followed with solid times of 47 and 53 minutes, respectively.
‘Now it’s our turn.’
Then, after a brief wait, the White Tower’s practice match concluded.
[The White Tower has cleared the practice match.]
[Final record: 1 hour, 12 minutes, 57 seconds.]
The White Tower mages in the audience let out deep sighs.
“That guy, Verdi, still hasn’t fixed his bad habits.”
“I heard it’s not something that can be fixed. Apparently, it’s a congenital defect.”
“In that case… this lineup has no chance of taking first place.”
The reason for the abysmal clear time was obvious.
One of the 5th-level mages had severely lacking skills.
As the mages shook their heads and extinguished any remaining hope, only one person—
‘That guy….’
Oscar, watching the mage on the screen biting his lip with a look of despair, had a different thought.
‘I think I can fix him.’
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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