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The Great Ancient Wizard, Harvest Ingredients (3)
Evan, who had collected all the loot, went straight into the Necklace World.
“Zero!”
As soon as Mirole, who was training the repetition movements not far away, saw him, she ran to him with her ears flapping.
“I’m glad you’re all right.”
“I told you that I’d be fine.”
“Oh, Master. I was just preparing dinner. I’m glad you’re not late.”
When Mirole tried to creep into Evan’s arms, Maybell, wearing an apron, appeared.
“This evening’s menu is eel, which is good for stamina.”
It seemed like she demanded to pay for waiting. Evan had no choice but to nod and smile.
“I’ll go take a bath for now. I sweated a little.”
“Zero sweats…!?”
Mirole became shocked at Evan’s words even though she hadn’t known him for that long. It was funny to see her stroking his body as if he had been hurt.
“I’m really okay. Of course.”
“Don’t come out too late!”
After greeting the three witches who were training their magic nearby, he headed to the hot spring he made. There Leo and his son Lian were.
“You’ve come; no wonder it was getting noisy outside.”
Leo spoke leisurely with his head sticking out of the water. Evan first washed his body with water, then he went into the bath with a pout.
“You didn’t worry about me?”
“I haven’t worried about you since the last battle at Sherden. Anyway, the water here is amazing. I think it’s better than the Brotherhood Bathhouse.”
“Of course, I’ve upgraded this place a lot more.”
Leo must have been in this bath all afternoon. He wondered if he was dizzy, but when Evan was looking at him, there was a little boy who was next to him that approached.
“Hyeong, I’ve become so strong!”
After looking at Lian’s body, even though he was still young, the balance and development of his body were quite different from before he started training. It wasn’t possible for a direct change in the body in one day with regular training or level-up. Still, Lian had done such a difficult thing as an all-master.
Evan patted his head and sat next to him.
“Yeah, let’s try harder from now.”
“Okay!”
“If I knew how strong Lian would become, I wouldn’t say that. To be honest, I’m thinking about stopping his training.”
“We still have a long way to go. Considering that Lian can’t raise his level inside of the dungeon, we need to make up for the difference.”
Leo and Aria were too soft on their child’s education. You couldn’t get to the pinnacle of this magic world like that!
“Are you going to train him to be the best?”
“I’ll leave that to the Devil and the Demon King, but something like that?”
“What the hell!?”
After taking a shower, Evan had a meal with Maybell, Mirole, Leo’s family, and the witch sisters. The problem was that there was only an eel in front of Evan’s and Leo’s eyes, and Evan, who exchanged eyes with Leo, nodded and silently ate.
“The Demon Realm…I wish we could help god.”
After hearing roughly about the environment Evan and his party were in, Sharay murmured with a gloomy complexion. Their power was still weak. It was growing very fast, but it was unthinkable to dare to step into that world.
“God Oppa, we want to be strong, too.”
Arpa, the green-eyed girl, acted cutely in front of Evan. But since the girl looked like Redine, Evan’s mother, he was a little scared to see her like that. Whether she knew his mind or not, Arpa pointed at Lian, who was eating, and talked to Evan while grumbling.
“He’s getting stronger in just one day. Is there any way we can do that? I want to get stronger and fight alongside god Oppa. I can do anything, god Oppa, if you want.”
“Arpaaaaaaa! You shouldn’t try to sacrifice yourself!”
Sharay, the girl with sky-blue eyes, jumped to her feet and shouted.
“God, let me do what Arpa has to do. I will accept all the wishes of god with my own body!”
“The Unnies are saying strange things again.”
While Arpa and Sharay were talking nonsense, only Naz, the child with red eyes that resembled Belois, was eating calmly. To be honest, Evan liked her the most. But given that she may be Belois’s ancestor, he could never bear a strange heart…
Then he suddenly remembered.
“Oh, there is.”
“What? Finally, my body…”
“No, not that.”
Evan cut off Sharay’s nonsense.
“It’s a trick that the Demon Tribe used, and I thought you could develop it into magic and use it.”
“I don’t even know what magic is yet.”
“That’s why it’s even more possible. Wizards with a hardened mindset will never be able to do it.”
Sharay, Arpa, and even Naz, who was still eating, were curious.
“Let’s get together after eating. I’ll tell you more about it.”
“No.”
Maybell stepped in and spoke firmly.
“Not tonight. Do it tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Maybell’s eyes glaring, Evan nodded without resistance. Only Sharay’s spirit was burning while watching Maybell, but she couldn’t do anything.
* * *
The next morning. Evan called out the three witches as promised. Maybell, who handled magic, and Aria, who was sort of like family, were also there.
“The kind of magic the Demon Tribe uses is—”
Evan first gave an explanation of the Demon Tribes’ work from the 60th to 66th floors of the tower. It was a curse that made the target vulnerable conditions and using the soul to bind the enemy. Of course, there were many problems with using it. Sacrifice was a prerequisite, a vicious trick with a soul, and so on.
“But if you change it well, I’m sure you’ll be able to make it useful.”
“Constraint…curse…”
“…”
“Yeah, I think I know something…”
As soon as Sharay and Arpa heard it, they looked up to see if they could feel it, while Naz tilted her head with a look of ignorance.
“Let’s do some research together. It’s definitely interesting. It would be easier if we changed the constraint into a catalyst.”
Everything in the world was an equal exchange. The easy-to-know magic, which sacrificed substances instead of imposing restrictions, was also a representative field of witches. Evan brought this up because he knew it, too.
“I think I know. I’m sure it’s related types of magic that fill the world.”
“I think it’s about the inside, not the outside, Sharay?”
The two girls finally started the discussion with words that Evan couldn’t quite understand! Evan looked blankly at the two and was a little relieved at the sight of Naz, who looked similar to him.
“Let’s first practice.”
“Okay.”
That way, a training course was added to the witches’ daily life. Evan once checked whether they wanted to go to the World Tree Forest, but the answer was no. He was also satisfied with the answers they gave because he liked to refine the skills first and then level up.
“Then I’ll come back when it’s time to sleep.”
“See you later, god. If you need a sacrifice, I’m always ready…”
“Well, I don’t need it.”
At this point, he lightly ignored Sharay’s declaration of sacrifice, which was considered an approach. He went back to Demon Realm with his party.
“You’ve broken it very well.”
Leo sweated coldly as he saw the tower that collapsed in the process of fighting the Imugi, or the earthworm. Evan nodded.
“It’s a better place without it. As I got out of here, I somehow thought it might not be just one of its kind.”
“Hmm?”
“So, my next goal is to find a new tower and break it down. Maybell, can you do it?”
“The magic pattern that this tower has is unique. So, I think it’s possible.”
Maybell, whose stock price had been breaking the upper limit since she entered the Demon Realm, once again made a trustworthy expression. But before finding the tower, there was something that fell into her senses.
“Oh… Master, a large number of Demons are coming this way.”
“Is it because I broke the tower?”
“Well, it’s a pretty formidable mix of energy…”
As soon as they spoke, they appeared.
―I finally found him!
The head of the Demons there shouted cheerfully. The demon had very big muscles.
―If you capture that Succubus, Mr. Dagero will reward us greatly!
―Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
―Succubus! Succubus!
―Capture the Succubus! Kill everyone else!
Thousands of muscular demons were flocking towards them. When the party’s eyes turned to Maybell, she quietly avoided them. It was the moment when the fierce battle with Samma Dagero came to an end.
* * *
By the time she reached the 30th floor of the tower, Elizabeth had first realized something unusual. The traps and monsters that appeared were getting stronger, but it didn’t matter much. The problem was Eir, who was growing every step of the way.
“Eir, why are you so big?”
“I don’t know.”
Eir had already caught up to Elizabeth’s height by 10 centimeters and shook her head with a still innocent look. The expression showed a child’s appearance, but her body was growing up.
“The Demon Tribes appearance changes according to the Dark Magic, baby.”
Rose watched her grow rapidly and said it with a happy but worried look.
“So you don’t have to worry at all. The growth of the Demon Tribe is closely related to Dark Magic.”
“I see!”
“It just bothers me that Bernard isn’t able to see you grow up.”
Illoin as well. Perhaps she would blame her again for having grown up because of Rose. It wasn’t her intention to be brought to the Demon Realm, but Rose was just embarrassed because it was right to be blamed for Eir’s expedited growth.
“As for combat, it’s only natural that it’s better to fight with an adult body than a child’s body.”
That’s why strong Dark Magic was the catalyst for the body.
“There’s nothing we can do about this already. Kids, let’s go further up.”
“Let’s go!”
35th floor, 40th floor, 45th floor, 50th floor. By the time they challenged the 60th floor, Eir was already fully grown to look the same age as Elizabeth.
“I’m the same height as Liz!”
“Wooo…I’ll get bigger, too!”
“No, what if you actually get bigger?”
From the 40th floor, Elizabeth alone couldn’t break through the tower. However, thanks to Eir, who had been strengthened by accumulating Dark Magic, and Rose, who gave help little by little when she was really having a hard time, she was able to reach the 66th floor somehow.
“Wow, I think a lot of people died here.”
“But it’s very quiet.”
Only the scars that proved a fierce battle were carved here and there on the floor, but nothing living moved. The center of the room was a column with a dark color, and atop it was a red gem with an enchanting glow. A gem that looked just like the blood vessels that Eir absorbed from the dead enemy.
“If I absorb that, I think Eir will be bigger than me…”
“Wow, I’ll absorb it!”
“Not yet.”
Rose, who had remained still until then, stopped the two little girls for the first time. There was a twisted smile around her mouth.
“There’s something hidden in there like a parasite.”
“Parasite?”
“Bugs?”
“Is it dirty?”
“…”
Rose, the former Mahwa Queen, was very slightly hurt and depressed by the innocent comments of the little girls. However, she soon recovered her momentum and puffed her chest vigorously.
“You don’t have to worry about the bugs because mommy will catch them.”
“Yes, Rose, I like it!”
“Yes.”
The gem stuck in the pillar where she reached rose into the air without any resistance. Rose could feel it. Only Rose could feel it. There was a Demon hiding in there waiting for their prey.
“Let’s hear more about the Demon Realm now.”
―This energy…no way, a queen!
The Demon spoke in astonishment, but the voice didn’t extend to the outside of the tower. Rose’s magic was already in control of the area.