Chapter 10 : The Witch (1)
“Constructing magical power is akin to creating a new heart. There’s a reason people call it a magical heart.”
In the end, Leoden had no choice but to acknowledge me and took a step back for now.
Of course, knowing his personality, I couldn’t predict when he might test me with something strange again.
“If the method were the same, I could help you, but since a witch’s way is completely different, all I can do is observe. Go ahead and try.”
Still, he sincerely taught and helped me.
One of those ways was observing me as I constructed a new kind of magical heart.
Though he claimed observation was all he could offer, even that alone was immensely helpful.
After all, others can often see what we ourselves cannot.
“Controlling magical power on your own is a challenging task.
Magic, in the end, is just manipulating power based on memorized formulas.
That’s why creating magic is hundreds of times harder than simply using it.”
The magical power I gained upon entering the tower, as he explained faithfully to the basics, felt like a new limb suddenly sprouting from my body.
With a fully developed sense of self, consciously handling it is incredibly difficult.
It’s much easier for someone younger to adapt.
Of course, this doesn’t particularly apply to me, as I’ve been constantly working with magic without a moment’s rest.
“Even if you repeatedly fail, don’t dwell on it too much. That’s how it’s supposed to be. While your talent is exceptional, it will still take at least a month just to get a feel for it.”
“Understood.”
This time, I didn’t particularly refute his words.
No matter how familiar I am with magic, I am now treading a completely different path.
There’s no shortage of opportunities to falter or get confused.
There’s no reason to be overconfident.
“Focus your power, gather it in one place, and give it a consistent rhythm.”
Closing my eyes, I directed all my attention to the unique power residing within me.
I gathered the power scattered throughout my body into one place and established a steady rhythm to prevent it from dispersing.
This was the fundamental principle of creating a magical heart.
However, unlike in the past, I directed the power to my lower abdomen instead of letting it work naturally like my own heartbeat.
“What… is this?”
I was startled by an unfamiliar sensation I had never experienced before, and my concentration began to waver.
My womb trembled. It sounded absurd, but I couldn’t explain it any other way.
“So witches and black magic… there’s such a thing?”
“I didn’t take her in for no reason. But it will undoubtedly be a difficult and arduous path. More so because it’s a path she must carve out on her own.”
That evening, unable to adapt to that bizarre sensation, I ultimately failed to form the new magical heart within a single day.
I resolved to try again after a night of rest.
As usual, I overheard Eden and Leoden conversing among themselves, unaware that I could hear them.
“Eden, you should start preparing to quit your job soon. As soon as she establishes the magical heart, you two will begin the work of climbers.”
“Climbers?!”
“How long do you plan to keep wearing yourself out with work? Now that you’ve learned black magic, you should start putting it to use.”
Though Eden was taken aback by the sudden mention of “time,” Leoden sighed deeply, as if entirely serious.
“Even if it’s just a small taste, you’ve had some experience with the work. As her senior, guide her and start with simple, easy missions one by one. If both of you feel the work suits you, then begin climbing the tower in earnest.”
For many, the goal of entering the tower is singular, though often forgotten or abandoned:
To ascend the tower and see its end.
At the end, where no one has yet reached, lies everything one desires.
Those who fail to achieve that are merely failures in the eyes of the tower.
Harsh as it may be, the tower’s system only lends its power to those who ascend it.
“Don’t become a failure like me.”
Leoden repeated the words he once told me to Eden.
Under the guise of training disciples, Leoden, who spent his time in the lower levels, was also a failed climber.
Had he been granted more power, would he have continued climbing the tower?
It was a question I couldn’t ask him, not in the past and not now.
“Am I getting too comfortable already?”
Though their conversation ended, my thoughts swirled, keeping me awake.
In this new body, during my climb, I had experienced moments of unprecedented ease.
That comfort unsettled me, making me question whether I was softening too soon.
My goal is to climb the tower again by any means necessary, accomplish the feats I left undone, and punish the traitors.
Such resolve isn’t something that could falter over a sensation I had never experienced before.
“Something like this… is nothing.”
Steeling myself, I endured the overwhelming and foreign discomfort gathering in my lower abdomen.
Everything is just a means to an end—black magic, sorcery, and even this new body I inhabit.
Lost in concentration, I finally came to my senses in the early hours of the morning, drenched in sweat.
“Ugh…”
Wincing and dry-heaving, I lifted my trembling hand to pull up my shirt and lower my skirt, revealing the writhing sensation in my abdomen.
“Better this than covering my entire body in grotesque tattoos to compensate for lacking magical power.”
Contrasted against my unblemished white skin, a vivid, dark crimson mark glowed faintly on my lower abdomen.
This symbol, akin to a witch’s insignia, was the source of the magical tattoos that black mages etch onto their bodies with blood and agony.
But this wasn’t the end.
“I created it… the heart of sorcery, the witch’s symbol, in just a single day!”
After eating, resting, and recovering my strength,
I sought out Leoden and informed him that I had created the magical heart.
His eyes widened in disbelief, almost popping out of their sockets.
“Having experienced it firsthand, I now understand the power of this method.”
“Th-that… What is that exactly…?”
It’s impossible to fully grasp this power through mere records without experiencing it oneself.
Leoden swallowed dryly, urging me for an answer.
Even he, who had spent countless years immersed in research and academia, couldn’t fully comprehend this power.
“I’ve restructured it into a complete magical organ at the cost of sacrificing its original function. The heart cannot be replaced—without it, a person cannot live. But thanks to this, I should be able to cast much stronger spells without any external assistance.”
“What a paradoxical power. You’ve sacrificed the ability to create life—a force akin to divine authority—to house magic that takes life instead.”
Hearing my response, he muttered as if in disbelief.
Honestly, my initial reaction hadn’t been much different from his.
It was the kind of power that explained why witches recorded in history were all legendary beings.
“Still, it seems this structure lacks the rapid circulation and recovery ability that forming it in the heart would provide, so you’ll need to be cautious.”
“…Understood.”
It wasn’t without its drawbacks.
As Leoden mentioned, the advantages one could achieve by forming the magical heart in the actual heart were absent.
It was no coincidence that records often mentioned witches’ obsession with methods of magical recovery.
A magical heart created in the womb had an incredibly slow natural recovery rate.
“I’ll just make another one.”
However, I planned to overcome even that.
Through a method only I, a black mage living my second life and having already reached a pinnacle once before, could employ—a crazy act of creating an additional magical heart.
It was something so extreme that, if discovered, I would be interrogated about my identity.
I had to proceed secretly, without even telling Leoden.
“Later this afternoon, when Eden returns, I’ll explain again, but I’ll tell you now: though it hasn’t been long since you started learning, I think your basic preparation is complete. Now, as you wish, try working as a climber and get a taste of what this tower is truly about.”
As he mentioned last night, Leoden finally granted permission for me to start officially working as a climber once I completed the magical heart.
It meant challenging the trials the tower had prepared, achieving feats, and reaping their rewards.
“You probably already know this, but it’s not easy for us to operate in the open.”
When explaining the climber work, he spoke with a dark expression, as if exposing his own vulnerabilities.
“The weight of the crimes and karma accumulated by those who bear the name of black mages is immense. Even I, at one time, had no hesitation in committing taboos.”
The belief in upholding a line had originated with Leoden, but now I said nothing and simply listened.
After being betrayed once, I no longer harbored expectations for anything in this world.
Even those who might take a liking to me based on my appearance would likely feel nothing but contempt if they learned I was a black mage.
“Even if you become a great witch, there’s a high chance you won’t receive the same treatment as today’s powerful figures.”
“I don’t care.”
He looked at me as if to ask if I was truly fine with it, but I merely smirked.
None of it mattered.
What truly mattered was having power, as that was the essence of this world.
Even fake friendships and false loyalties could be earned if you held power.
I had already seen that truth for myself.
Even the noble heroes revered by the masses would grovel before the black mages they despised if they needed power.
So if necessary, I’ll crush them underfoot.