Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 26: Tower (1)

The First Stage Boundary.

Knights call that unknown land their front yard.

It wasn’t something to say when they hadn’t even conquered or properly understood the First Stage Boundary… but still.

It was because that boundary was closer to Serzila.

In other words, the Second Stage Boundary was the front yard of the Otherworld.

I didn’t know how they treated the boundary, but from Serzila’s perspective, that’s how it was.

Closer to the Otherworld than Serzila.

Ellen’s face hardened upon arriving at such a land. Yet, the corners of her mouth twitched.

Tension and excitement.

Ellen realized anew why she associated with me.

Only this mage could create such thrills and opportunities.

How many knights had set foot in the Second Stage Boundary?

Not even the knight commanders, nor Mores Palaz, Serzila’s oldest swordmaster, had ever stepped here.

As far as Ellen knew, only Grand Duke Aratus had.

And now, she had arrived in such a place.

“…The Otherworld is out there, isn’t it?”

“Don’t get too excited.”

“How can I not!”

Ellen bounced like a child.

She had already drawn her sword, looking ready to charge toward the Otherworld at any moment.

“I trust you’re not a fool.”

I faced Ellen with a serious expression.

“You almost died in the boundary once. Don’t forget that.”

“…”

“The being that drove off the ragged beast that nearly killed you is in this land.”

Only then did Ellen regain her composure.

“The entrance to the First Stage Boundary is relatively safe. That’s why knights casually leap from the wall. It’s likely not much different on the Otherworld’s side.”

What Serzila called the Second Stage Boundary would be the First Stage for the Otherworld.

Its entrance would naturally be safe.

I pointed behind us.

The second wall wasn’t far.

“That wall is the center of the boundary. It splits the boundary exactly in half. That means where we stand is near the boundary’s core.”

The deeper you go, the harsher the distortion.

The second wall was the deepest part.

“Like a fruit. The core of a fruit holds the seed. The hardest part for the fruit. The seed of this boundary is that second wall.”

The most dangerous zone in the boundary.

That was the second wall.

Ellen and I stood not far from such a wall.

“…Sorry.”

“No need. It’s better than being scared.”

I gave a gentle smile to Ellen, who readily admitted her fault.

There was no need to change her personality.

No, it shouldn’t be changed.

I had to keep providing Ellen with places to fight.

Or create opportunities for her to train.

That way, she wouldn’t grow lazy like in my previous life.

“Let’s move for now.”

This wasn’t a place to die, but a place to fight.

I walked, gazing at the Otherworld’s sky.

“There?”

“The boundary is vast. Far more than you think.”

On a map, the boundary is smaller than the North.

But distortion was the issue. Endless distortion expanded the boundary far beyond its visible size.

In terms of perceived scale, it would be larger than the North.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s vague.”

Even as a mage, I could only explain it that way. That’s what magic is.

“Of course, it’s not outrageously vast. Magic is only vague within its possible scope.”

“Whose scope?”

“For the boundary, it’s the scope of residual mana and distortion. For me, it would be the scope of a mage like me.”

No matter how vague magic is, it has limits.

The Origin doesn’t grant the outrageous.

Even if I wished for a real sun, the Origin couldn’t grant it.

Because I lack that level of mana.

“With enough mana, would it be possible?”

“No one knows. No one’s ever had that much mana.”

Even if they did, it didn’t seem likely.

How could a human recreate the sun?

If that were possible, there wouldn’t be a Church worshiping the Sun and Moon in this world.

I continued my explanation, but Ellen wasn’t listening closely. Still, she clearly understood that the boundary was a land far larger than it seemed.

No matter how much we walked, the Otherworld’s sky didn’t seem to get any closer.

…She also realized that the area behind us was the most dangerous part of the boundary.

Through the crimson dust—no, the beast’s blood—falling from the sky instead of rain.

It wasn’t the crimson clouds spitting it out.

No, the clouds weren’t even red to begin with. Something huge and red was above the clouds.

The scattering blood was from it.

“…Is that a beast?”

Its size was immense.

Though hidden by the clouds, the red body was clearly moving.

Flying, shedding blood.

“Correct. About 5th Rank.”

“That thing?”

Ellen recalled the ragged beast.

It was an injured 5th Rank. But even at full strength, it wouldn’t be like this.

“Not all swordmasters are the same, are they?”

“Oh.”

“That beast is definitely 5th Rank. Not legendary, though.”

“…”

Ellen was momentarily overwhelmed by the massive beast.

But it wasn’t enough to evoke legends.

“A 6th Rank, a great beast, would be unrecognizable like this.”

I stopped trying to explain.

A 6th Rank beast was hard to describe in words.

“They don’t do petty things like this.”

I rubbed the beast’s blood that fell on my cheek.

The mana was denser than expected. It was scattering blood to lure other beasts.

Its size meant it couldn’t be satisfied with small prey, so it was herding them to feast.

I tilted my head back until it ached, looking at the sky.

I wanted to examine that red, massive beast.

Attack it, or make it aware of us.

‘I’m not one to talk.’

It was an impulse that made my earlier calming of Ellen seem hypocritical. But it couldn’t be helped. Mages are inherently explorers.

The Second Stage Boundary was an unknown realm even to me.

In my previous life, I rarely crossed into it, and this area was entirely new.

I didn’t know what was around.

That’s why I chose the direction of the Otherworld’s sky.

No matter how vast the boundary, rationally, it was a direction we shouldn’t go, but my mage’s curiosity urged me forward.

‘I should turn back.’

The rationality honed by Elaine in my previous life whispered.

Then the environment changed.

The hard ground turned soft, like aged earth.

The blowing wind was so dry it was hard to believe it was wind. A cloudless sky burned hotter than a desert sun.

…In that land, far off, something tall and thin stood.

It was unmistakably artificial.

‘I’ll check that and leave.’

* * *

It was desolate.

I could sum up this land, suddenly transformed and heavily oppressive, in one word.

Sparks lingered in the cracked ground, but they didn’t spread into flames. There was no vegetation to burn.

In other words, sparks formed despite the lack of fuel.

Indeed, my nose stung. The boundary’s characteristic chill was gone. It was as if the chill’s energy had been converted into heat.

“Can you step back a bit?”

Ellen moved away from me.

The environment was already scorching, but being near me was even hotter. It felt like basking in a fire within a fire.

“Impressive.”

I sweated profusely, marveling.

Ellen, sweating less, openly showed her irritation, but I didn’t have time to be annoyed.

“The distortion seems to be caused by fire. An incredibly powerful one.”

“You said boundaries are distorted by overlapping distortions.”

The boundary is a land warped by residual mana.

That countless mana distorts, creating further distortions over time, mixing and distorting again.

Left alone for ages, it’s hard to pinpoint the origin.

I had explained it that way before.

“There are exceptions everywhere. Like this clearly defined space.”

“…”

“The mana of fire has suppressed all other mana. It was so powerful, nothing else could interfere.”

This land was distorted solely by fire.

From before it was called a boundary, until now.

It meant the initial fire’s mana was that immense.

“Perhaps a 6th Rank fire died here long ago.”

“The result of a mage who died ages ago?”

“Could be a beast too.”

“Whatever.”

A single death’s trace lingered this long? Ellen couldn’t easily believe it.

“I told you, magic is profound.”

“…”

“Not understanding is also an answer.”

That’s what makes magic, magic.

No concept defines magic better than its vagueness.

Perhaps because of the intense heat, the distance seemed farther than it looked. We walked long, but the artificial tall thing was still far off.

It felt like chasing an oasis in a desert.

But we were definitely getting closer.

“A tower.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

The artificial tall thing was a tower.

I thought of mage towers.

The Ivory Tower. The towers of the Otherworld, excluding it.

‘No way.’

Towers are built in the Otherworld, not the boundary.

I hadn’t seen them myself, but that’s how it should be.

The boundary isn’t a place where people can build and live like that.

As expected, the distant tower looked pitiful. It was so damaged, it was a wonder it hadn’t collapsed.

‘Perhaps an ancient mage tower.’

The boundary was once the Otherworld’s land.

A blank space created because Serzila drove them out.

That tower seemed like a mage tower built when the boundary was still the Otherworld’s land.

The distance closed.

The closer we got, the larger the tower grew. If there were clouds in this land, the tower’s spire would be hidden by them. It was that tall.

“…Insane.”

Ellen was shocked by its height.

“That’s a building?”

The tower was a structure beyond her comprehension.

Of course, the spires of the Empire’s capital palace or the grand cathedral of the holy land reached such heights.

But this wasn’t a palace or cathedral. It was a single tower. Built without any foundation.

Despite its cloud-reaching height, it occupied the ground of a mere commoner’s house.

Yet it stood firm. Despite countless years and damage from beasts’ bites, the tower stood tall.

“It’s magic.”

The continent, which rejects magic, couldn’t build such a structure.

Not just buildings. Even the magical items Ellen possessed couldn’t be replicated by the continent.

Other things must be the same. The Otherworld’s technology far surpassed the continent’s.

Beyond the tower’s spire, the Otherworld’s sky was visible.

The sky I once asked Grand Duke Aratus if he could tear. He said the Otherworld had.

‘They did.’

The voice I heard back then echoed in my mind.

‘There’s no harm in being cautious.’

‘…’

‘But being complacent will surely lead to trouble.’

Those words.

They finally hit home for Ellen.

* * *

It was visible from afar, but up close, the tower’s condition was even worse.

Some parts were reduced to mere frameworks, and others had gaping holes as if bitten by a massive beast.

It was strange that it hadn’t collapsed.

Yet the door was intact. I grabbed the oddly shaped handle, pushing and pulling.

The process was smooth, with no dust in the doorframe.

“There’s a bad bastard inside.”

“…Are you teasing me?”

Ellen narrowed her eyes but placed her hand on her sword.

Then it happened.

A sound was heard.

“…That wasn’t you, right?”

“I heard it too. Voices. There it is again.”

There was someone in the tower.

An Otherworld mage, then.

“Let’s go in quick.”

Ellen was excited.

“Let’s.”

This time, I wasn’t in a position to say anything.