Dark Fantasy Normalized

58 – The Talk of the Town (2)

Rishir didn’t know much about the Gray Tower.

He didn’t know exactly which spirits dwelled in it,

or exactly which mages resided there.

‘Could they be talking about me?’

Even so, he vaguely understood.

The master of the mystical spirit.

Some hotshot at the 5th Circle while still so young.

Enna and Ratziel were, without a doubt, referring to him, the Kim and Choi they mentioned.

-It’s only me, Rishir, the greatest b*stard in history to have graced this tower.

Not that he wanted to boast like that.

There’s, you know, context and flow to things.

-Don’t try to seduce those two.

Rishir remembered Meltas’s significant remark before he started his investigation.

He’d thought they were recognizing his fatal charm with awe, but it seemed like, in a situation like this, it was more of a “don’t go ‘oh hey that’s me, what’s up'” kind of warning.

So Rishir remained quiet.

It wouldn’t have made much difference even if Meltas hadn’t spoken up in the first place.

“The person you’re desperately searching for is right here!”

“Yeah! The guy you just snubbed, that’s me, Kim and Choi!”

“So, what’s your next move!?”

Lisir wasn’t bold enough to enjoy orchestrating such a provocative situation.

Especially not when the other party possessed power and status that dwarfed his own.

Above all, those two… they were unnerving.

Enna, the master of the Blue Tower, radiating a frigid aura, as if advertising, ‘I’m steeped in ice magic.’

And Lassiel, the master of the Green Tower, with an elven vibe, as if advertising, ‘I’m an elf.’

There’s no investigation, really.

Talking with those two, it’s just one long interrogation.

Of course!

Objectively speaking, it was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.

The attention of two Tower Masters, no less.

Unless you were a Master yourself, you couldn’t help but be drawn in.

Right now, if any other student from the Grey Tower were in Lisir’s place, they’d be thinking, ‘I intend to spend my life at the Grey Tower, but hey, let’s hear what they have to say.’

Even so.

Lisir decided to refuse their attention.

A series of experiences had shown him how conservative and exclusive the Tower mages were.

In his current state, where they didn’t even believe he was a 4th Circle, revealing anything would just be another ‘Situation: Gerhen’ unfolding.

*What did you say your family was?*

*What did you say your school was?*

*Who did you say your teacher was?*

*And you think you were born with such talent?*

*Crrraaak.*

“Ah, what a fine day it is. Looks like it might rain.”

He’d just barely managed to raise the Grey Tower’s affinity to ‘favorable.’

Raising the affinity of other Towers could wait.

Having reached that decision, Lisir naturally looked away, feigning disinterest.

Meltas, vaguely aware of Lisir’s psychology, gave a bitter, inner smile and spoke to Master Enna.

“Master Enna. I apologize for saying this to you, after you’ve come so far to our tower, but I don’t think we can grant that request. The person in question is currently reluctant to meet with any outsiders.”

“Even if that outsider is the master of the Blue Tower?”

Mages of the tower held absolute pride in their affiliation, and that often led to disregard for mages from other towers.

By ‘outsider’ here they meant ‘everyone except our tower’.

Which meant other towers were also targets of disdain.

‘You’re someone who fraternizes with your Gray Tower, yet you would refuse a meeting with me, the master of the Blue Tower?’

That was the implication behind Enna’s actions.

One corner of her mouth curved up subtly, revealing an aggressive ease.

In fact, in the world’s eyes, ‘Blue’ outranked ‘Gray’.

This was because Blue mages were far more active in the public eye than Gray mages.

Gray was more akin to an academic institution,

while Blue leaned more towards an interest group.

Under normal circumstances, Meltas, despite knowing that this didn’t signify superiority in terms of group or magic, would have been baited by Enna’s provocation.

Even if they valued magic and academia above all else, they couldn’t be completely indifferent to the value of social status.

But the Meltas of now was different.

“Yes. Even if that outsider is the master of the Blue Tower.”

Meltas said, feeling a sense of vindication as he recalled Rissil’s actions moments ago.

As the two were exchanging strange glances,

“Enough of that, I’d like an answer to my question now.”

Rassiel interjected between them as if nothing had happened.

As if human squabbles were none of his concern.

“…”

“…”

The domineering gait peculiar to elves, a step above the arrogant mages of the tower.

The tension that had been hanging between them fizzled out.

“The person in question might feel differently. Don’t be stubborn, and pass on my words.”

Enna left with that pronouncement.

Then Rassiel, with a look, prodded him once more.

Meltas responded with a weary tone.

“Are you talking about that mysterious spirit, the blue wolf that’s been lurking around the alchemy workshop?”

“Yes.”

“Then, you should ask Master Didoa. Perrin, that kid, is quite fond of Master Didoa.”

Before Meltas could even finish, Ratziel had already turned his back and was moving his feet.

That left Meltas and Lisir alone in the space.

Lisir let out a “heh,” a dry laugh.

“It seems the mages of the towers don’t get along too well?”

“As you’ve seen, each tower has such distinct personalities and tendencies that it’s a struggle to have them all getting along in harmony.”

Alright then.

Meltas, shifting the mood, spoke to Lisir.

“First, for your willingness to cooperate with the investigation even in this uncomfortable situation. On behalf of the tower, I express my thanks, Lisir.”

“Oh, we’re all on the same side, aren’t we?”

“…I implore you, please refrain from using that tone in front of the other Masters. They might lose their minds.”

“…You’re speaking like a guide giving safety precautions in a dangerous area.”

“…Regardless, it seems I’ve already bothered you enough, so I shouldn’t take up any more of your time. I’ll bring up the last remaining matter promptly. Lisir. As I mentioned before, this tower wishes to appoint you as an honorary mage. What are your thoughts on this?”

There was nothing to think about.

The position of honorary mage was one that provided maximum rights with minimal obligations.

For Lisir, who was sure he would die from exhaustion if he had to fulfill the duties of a formal mage, it was the best possible position, a clear upgrade from his previously desired supporter role.

“I think it’s awesome.”

“An unexpectedly different answer, in another sense. Well, I’ll take it as a positive response. The appointment ceremony will be prepared surprisingly quickly, so you’d better prepare yourself mentally.”

Meltas extended a hand to Lisir, saying:

“Lisir. It is an honor to have you become a member of our tower.”

“It is an honor for you to feel honored.”

They grasped hands, and simultaneously broke into laughter.

***

Back in my lodgings, I was reviewing my future plans.

My previous goal of ‘establishing myself in Bondales’ was, at the point the honorary mage position at the tower had been confirmed, practically just a matter of time.

Now my goal had entered a new phase.

‘Overload…’

Rights come with corresponding responsibilities.

The status I’d carved out from the magic tower stemmed from my magical ability.

To maintain this position and, moreover, to advance, I needed to regain that magical power and growth rate as soon as possible.

Right now, because I’ve shown results, it’s all ‘Oh, our Ricir, do whatever you want,’ but will this kind of treatment last a month, a year?

It’s nothing for *our* Ricir to become *your* Ricir.

Therefore, what I need now is to perfectly conquer the overload and restore the foundation of my magic—

That is, to sufficiently strengthen my body.

Fortunately, I already had a solution prepared in this regard.

“Hah…”

Taking a deep breath, I recall

the moment I’d managed the sudden surge of mana with the previous Azure Breath.

I then check my body.

Most of the mana that had increased back then had already been absorbed into my body.

Despite the overload’s injury remaining as it is, and even though I’d hastily mastered the Azure Breath as a temporary measure.

So, then, now.

What would happen if I did the same thing, with the injury fully healed and having already mastered the Azure Breath?

“I can do it.”

I was confident that I could perfectly control the rapid surge of mana that would come after normalization.

And so, I reach one conclusion.

‘Normalization…I need as much normalization as possible…’

I don’t know how far I need to strengthen my physical abilities.

Because I don’t know how far my mana will grow either.

So, I needed to train my body as much as possible.

Beyond sufficient, to an excessive degree.

I set the standard of that ‘excess’ to be ‘on par with magic.’

If my magic is currently level 5, I’ll raise my martial arts level to 5 as well.

A so-called dual class, if you will.

It was an even more inefficient endeavor than the people, including Pien, had worried about.

It’s called a dual class, but these days, the industry calls that a gimp.

Raising two main stats? Get the character delete button ready.

But, because it’s a matter of my own safety, I was prepared to bear that inefficiency.

‘I *am* a mage, but I’ll die if I don’t power up, y’know?’

So what was needed was as much normalization as possible.

Based on past experience, growth in magical power always followed normalization.

There was just one thing nagging at me here.

‘What the hell happened with Gerhen back then?’

I hadn’t used the power of normalization when I fought Gerhen.

It was unlikely the power of normalization activated without me knowing.

Because I hadn’t felt even a sliver of a foreign presence coming from Gerhen.

Gerhen was just a purebred b*stard who’d grown strong without the aid of dark magic.

So maybe—

This normalization isn’t limited to ‘purifying foreign energies.’

‘Normalization of villains…?

That was the conclusion I’d reached, in my own way.

Normalization of foreign energies.

Normalization of villains.

The two were in accord in the sense they removed factors that had negative influences.

And on top of that.

Looking back, it applied to all the normalizations I’d seen so far.

Pien, who tried to bring an entire family under his dominion, became bound by the restraint of not using mind control on innocent people.

The succubus who bewitched people, turned into an ordinary human.

Tulan and the maid black mage also saw their original plans thwarted and were reduced to simple prisoners A and B.

‘This is it.’

I nodded, locking my thoughts into place.

My course of action was starting to become clear.

‘I’ll use my position as an honorary mage to actively seek out normalization targets.’

In the midst of my burning motivation, the first thing that sprang to mind was—

None other than the bead Perin (spit) out at me.

I rummaged through my neatly gathered belongings in the corner.

“Found it.”

It was a bead that was more than clear, practically transparent.

Like an air bubble blooming in the atmosphere, or something.

-Cough. Cough. Cough.

Suddenly, the image of a wolf hacking up a hairball, slick with saliva, flashed in my mind.

“Hmm…”

To be honest. I’m not expecting much.

If someone could feel anticipation from this production process, they’re about to accomplish something huge.

‘Well, at least it came out of my mouth.’

Still, there’s the effort that went into making it –

I took a deep breath and swallowed the bead whole.

Then I went and sat on the edge of the bed, closing my eyes.

Focusing all my nerves solely on my body.

To prepare for any potential changes the bead might bring.

“…Huh?”

In an instant.

My eyes snapped open.

I urgently looked down at myself.

“Wh-What the hell…?”

My body was glowing.

And not a subtle glow either, it was straight up radiating light, emitting it at a luminous level.

Enough to make adventurers exploring dark dungeons cry out, “Damn, if only we had Lysir…!” in regret.

“…!”

Soon after, I closed my eyes again.

Something unusual was happening inside my body.

***

────────────────────

[Title: Holy shit, I can’t believe my eyes LOL]

Content: Is this really a spirit core?

It raises *three* stats? LOLOLOL

This is basically 3 level-ups, right? LOL

So now I understand why they say to stat farm first when you hit those level roadblocks.

– : Dude, its name is practically screaming “Nuke”;;;

-[OP] : That was the *nuke*, lmao ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– : Wait, what kind of nuke gives you *three* stat boosts?

-[OP] : The mid-tier Rock Spirit, Dubada’s core, yeah ㅇㅇ

– : Dude; You went and boosted the rock spirit’s affinity, leaving the female wind, water, and wood spirits untouched

– : Forgive me, but are you perhaps… exploring the… *multi-faceted* applications of same-s*x excretory organs?

-[OP] : I’m just stat grinding, you shits ㅅㅂ

– : But mid-tier spirits are at least level 40-something, right?

Don’t you need to be 20 levels higher just to unlock conversation keywords?

-[OP] : Yeah, so do it when you hit a level wall ㅇㅇ

– : Spirit masters unlock conversation keywords at the same level, though ㅇㅇ

– : Wow, so a mid-tier core gives you *three* stat boosts

– : Then how many stats does a high-tier spirit core give?

-[OP] : Are there even high-tier spirit cores?

– : High-tier spirits in this game = either all dead or boss-ified

– : Agh ㅋㅋㅋ

– : Eating one of those will mess you up ㅇㅇ;

– : Wasn’t that Sylph boss in the south of Bondales a high-tier spirit too?

– : ㅇㅇ

– : Is that “Wailing Wind” you get after killing Sylph a core?

– : I think so? It gives you +5 agility when you eat it

-[OP] : Ohh, I’m heading there now

– : You’re probably not even strong enough to take down Sylph if you’re just starting to stat grind?

– : Sylph is level 63

-[OP] : Agh ㅅㅂ

────────────────────

────────────────────

[Title: Ah FUCK, SHITTY AS HELL ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Body: That fucking End Wolf, what is he ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– : You ate it, lmao ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– : KYaaaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

-[Writer] : What the fuck, you useless b*stards, HAHAHAHAHA

– : Well, who told you to just go picking up random shit people give you?

-[Writer] : But you said to eat the spirit core that comes from defeating a Sylph!

– : That wasn’t a Sylph, that was the Doom Wolf, dude.

-[Writer] : No, shit, it’s the same type of spirit boss that comes *after* the Sylph

-[Writer] : It’s only natural to think that the spirit core from this one would also raise my stats, isn’t it?

– : You still don’t know how this game works?

-[Writer] : No, I-

-[Writer] : Is there any way to undo this?

-[Writer] : A five point drop to all my stats is fucking insane, right?

– : Of course, it can be fixed.

-[Writer] : How?

– : Just raise the affinity of other spirits and stat grind.

-[Writer] : Yeah, I’m quitting.

– : But, what if the Doom Wolf hadn’t been corrupted?

Would that spirit core actually have given +5 to all stats?

– : A single +5 stat boost from an advanced spirit? Is that possible?

– : Looking at the lore, it could be the case.

────────────────────

***

────────────────────

[All Status Ailments Removed]

[All Resistances Greatly Increased]

[All Stats Greatly Increased]

[New Trait Acquired]

────────────────────

***

As the mage tower slowly began to bathe in the sunset.

A group of priests, led by High Priest Barodros, came to Lysir’s residence.

To check his condition one last time.

“…Come in. Don’t be alarmed.”

The answer to the knock.

The priests’ expressions grew serious.

Could something have gone wrong in the meantime?

They hurriedly opened the door and entered the room.

“…Oh, Lord God.”

The moment they saw Rishir, the priests made the sign of the cross, placing their palms on their left chests, and murmured.