The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 35

Heavenly Empire

“The Blue Magic Tower has prepared a total of three events. Nobles and mages can participate in all three, those who have donated more than 10 gold coins to the tower can participate in two, and commoners can participate in one.”

“…”

Raelle admired the audacity of the mage who delivered such a statement with a smile.

However, Reina, standing beside Raelle, nodded calmly.

“Raelle, it looks like we only need to do one.”

“… I guess so.”

Seeing Reina accept this so readily, Raelle realized that this kind of discrimination was commonplace.

Raelle was once again disappointed by the discriminatory practices prevalent in this medieval fantasy world.

“I want to do the lottery.”

“Don’t worry. The only event offered to commoners is the marble lottery.”

“Oh! Lucky! Raelle, hurry up and apply. I’ll do yours too.”

“…”

Raelle blinked, observing the mage engaging in a friendly conversation with Reina.

‘Perma… that’s definitely Perma.’

Raelle trusted his instincts.

The powerful aura he sensed momentarily could only emanate from the Tower Lord.

‘But if he’s appearing like this, how will he make a bet with me?’

He was puzzled, but he quietly listened to what the mage was saying.

“The rules of the marble lottery are simple. If you draw a marble, you can make a bet with one of the mages in charge of the marble. If you answer the quiz given by the mage correctly, you will receive a prize befitting the challenge.”

Regardless of Raelle’s concerns, Perma continued the explanation with a bright smile.

As he channeled magic power into the magical device beside him, a container filled with numerous marbles began to spin.

“I’ll do it right away! Raelle, you’ll do it too, right?”

“… Hmm.”

Raelle hesitated, deep in thought.

He might be standing at a significant turning point right now.

Perma, the strongest mage in the Empire and the owner of the Blue Magic Tower.

Becoming allies with him could create a substantial butterfly effect [a small change that can have large consequences].

‘… Really? Is becoming friends really that significant?’

Until now, Raelle believed that getting involved in the world’s affairs would inevitably lead to something dangerous.

The unpleasant experiences he had endured living in a medieval fantasy for 25 years clouded his judgment.

‘But the butterfly effect is unavoidable.’

The repercussions of even the smallest actions are inescapable, regardless of one’s desire to avoid them.

Raelle had already entered the flow of the world.

He had come too far to be content with the position of captain of the guard and spending his days playing with the children at the orphanage.

‘Since my life is already screwed, I have to join if I can’t beat them.’

Raelle was already connected to the future saintess and the next emperor.

If he could also secure the support of the Blue Magic Tower, he might find a glimmer of hope in his messed-up life.

If he held three strong connections, he could use one to climb to a better position.

“Raelle? Are you going to do it or not?”

“Of course, I have to do it. Please take care of me. I enjoy these kinds of bets.”

“Oh, I see. Then, the elf over here will go first.”

Perma channeled magic power into the magical device on the table.

The container filled with marbles spun around, and a copper-colored marble fell out.

“What is this?”

The marble had ‘Lower Mage Cherry’ written on it.

Soon after, a female mage approached from behind.

“Ah, hello. I’m Cherry.”

“Hi! What kind of bet are we doing? I can answer anything about magic!”

“I’m a lower mage, so I can only do dice gambling…”

“Huh?”

Raelle chuckled as he watched Cherry and Reina’s conversation.

Somehow… he had a premonition about the marble he would draw.

“Next is the male’s marble.”

A golden marble fell from the spinning container.

It was a shiny, golden marble that looked expensive to everyone.

At the same time, the eyes of the mage who saw the marble widened.

“T, this can’t be… You’ve drawn the Tower Lord!”

“What?! The Tower Lord!”

“Lord Perma is appearing!”

The mages around him also began to express their surprise.

Raelle thought as he watched the scene.

‘What the hell are these mages doing…’

Thinking about it, in the original story, they forcibly pushed magic onto the main character.

It felt strange to actually witness it firsthand.

At that moment, Reina, upon hearing that the Tower Lord had appeared, glared and stood next to Raelle.

“This is a scam! You give me a lower mage and Raelle the Tower Lord? Don’t you know who this human is? The hero of District 4 who defeated the lieutenant demon…! Ugh. Ugh…”

Raelle silenced Reina, who was starting to cause a scene.

She seemed annoyed that she had drawn a lower mage while Raelle had drawn the Tower Lord.

“If you don’t want to give a prize, just say so! You’re just taking money with dice gambling! You don’t know how scary it is to make Raelle angry!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

… She’s already been ripped off by Cherry.

Raelle sighed and looked at the information desk.

The mage who was providing guidance had disappeared, and a powerful magical aura began to build in his place.

Whoo-oong-

Before he knew it, a middle-aged mage was standing in front of Raelle.

“It’s the Tower Lord!”

“Lord Perma!”

The surrounding mages chanted Perma’s name.

However, the mage in front of him had his eyes fixed on Raelle.

“To draw the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s marble, you’re quite lucky.”

Raelle frowned at the pressure Perma was emitting.

A tremendous amount of magic power filled the surrounding space, and the power contained in his simple words resonated in the air.

“… Nice to meet you. I’m Raelle.”

“Thank you for participating in the Blue Magic Tower’s event. You know the details, right? If you make a bet with me and win, I will give you a reward befitting the challenge.”

“I understand.”

As Raelle nodded, a piece of paper fluttered down from the air.

“Since you don’t seem to be a mage, I’ll cut you some slack. It’s a light quiz.”

Raelle took the paper and examined it.

“[In certain areas, there’s an anomaly where time fluctuates unpredictably. This makes it difficult for mages to accurately predict the flow of time, leading to unexpected outcomes. Mages refer to this phenomenon as the ‘Crossroads of Time’… ]”

Raelle blinked, rereading the passage.

‘No matter how many times I read it, I don’t understand a word.’

‘Crossroads of Time? What nonsense is that?’

Just then, Reina, who stood beside Raelle, glanced at the paper and exclaimed,

“Huh? Isn’t this one of the Magic Tower’s notoriously difficult problems?”

“…A Magic Tower problem? Is it related to magic, then?”

“Not necessarily. The Magic Tower is a place dedicated to the study of magic as a discipline. In that pursuit, you need to understand things that aren’t directly related to magic.”

“Oh… Reina, you’re quite the brain, aren’t you?”

Raelle read the paper again, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make sense of it.

‘But that’s okay.’

Raelle placed her hand on the Hahoe mask [a traditional Korean mask] in her arms and infused it with magic.

‘Tia.’

Raelle had a chance to get advice from the dragon in exchange for 500ml of blood.

‘Are you calling me already? That’s faster than I anticipated.’

The fragment of consciousness contained within the mask burrowed into Raelle’s mind.

*

The Blue Magic Tower Lord, Perma.

He enjoyed betting and gambling.

The common thread between the two was the intense, fleeting pleasure they provided.

For him, who dedicated himself to the heavy and serious discipline of magic, the momentary thrill of gambling and betting was like an addictive drug.

The reason Perma was interested in Raelle was similar.

From the moment he witnessed Raelle pierce through his barrier at Eric’s tavern, Perma couldn’t stop thinking about him.

He had become a new source of stimulation in Perma’s otherwise monotonous life.

‘He’s definitely not a mage. The revealed magic power is at the Expert level… How on earth did he see through my barrier?’

Even now, with Raelle standing before him, Perma felt a surge of intrigue.

What secrets could the man protected by the Empire’s giant be concealing?

‘If he can’t show anything, I might be disappointed.’

‘Can you solve it?’

Perma smiled.

Fortunately, Raelle had accepted the bet he proposed.

‘It’s a problem I’ve been grappling with for over two months. I’d be happy if you could even grasp the underlying concept.’

‘I don’t expect much.’

The difficult problem Perma prepared was closely tied to the fundamental laws of the human world, making it understandable even to those unfamiliar with magic.

Even if he only understood the intention behind the problem, the Magic Tower Lord would be happy to become Raelle’s friend.

“You said you’d give me a reward if I solved the problem, right?”

“That’s right. If you solve this problem… I’ll grant you one wish that the Blue Magic Tower can fulfill.”

“One wish…”

Raelle nodded and consulted Tia in her mind.

‘Tia, what do you think?’

‘Crossroads of Time… It’s simply magic colliding with a large concentration of magic stones. Why did they give such a fancy name to magic stones?’

‘Magic stones? It’s not like mages are idiots; wouldn’t they know that?’

Raelle couldn’t comprehend Tia’s words.

Magic stones were already deeply ingrained in the lives of people in this world.

Most magical tools utilized magic stones, and the magic tools Raelle used also relied on them.

‘It’s natural that you don’t know. Humans are using magic stones like fuel, but magic stones are not just stones containing magic power. Magic stones are stones where the magical flow of the world, which fluctuates periodically, has accumulated over time. If things like seasonal changes, lunar phases, or unusual astronomical phenomena cause magical reactions with magic stones…’

‘Wait a minute. Hold on.’

Raelle shook her head, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information.

Even if he tried to understand it now, it would only give him a headache.

Even though Raelle had completed the regular education course, he had no desire to delve into the laws of this world.

‘Can’t you just tell me the answer that the Magic Tower Lord would be satisfied with?’

‘That’s simple. Move your magic power like this.’

Raelle manipulated her magic power according to Tia’s instructions.

Though he was ignorant of magic, with the dragon’s consciousness assisting him, he could draw a simple magic circle.

“Raelle. What kind of magic is that…”

And Perma’s eyes widened as he watched the magic circle materialize from Raelle’s hand.

It appeared to be a simple magic circle, but the power contained within was incredibly profound.

Village, city, country, continent, world.

The magic encompassed the principles of this world and the essence of existence.

Natural elements such as earth, wind, fire, and water. And the changes of the seasons that interact with it, the birth and death of life, growth and decline, the energy of the world and the flow of life.

Perma was now gazing directly at the world’s core.

“Ah, ah…”

A sigh escaped from Perma’s lips.

The simple question of the Crossroads of Time was not the real problem.

Raelle had posed an even higher-dimensional question.

It was as if he was saying, ‘Are you testing me with something like this?’

‘Tia, the Magic Tower Lord’s reaction is strange?’

And Raelle sensed that something was amiss and questioned Tia.

‘Mages who witness dragon magic usually react like that. But he’s the Magic Tower Lord, so he’s not going crazy right away.’

‘What? Shouldn’t you not show dragon magic? I’m human?’

‘You told me to convince the Magic Tower Lord, right? This is the fastest way?’

‘…’

Only then did Raelle realize that something had gone terribly wrong.

This crazy dragon didn’t understand the human world at all.

“Wait a minute. Magic Tower Lord.”

He tried to rectify the situation belatedly, but it was already too late.

“I lost… How vast the world truly is…”

Perma was already shedding tears copiously.

Raelle had shaken the foundation of the magic he had been studying for his entire life in an instant.

He had delivered a great shock to himself, who was intoxicated with the trashy title of the Empire’s strongest mage.

This is magic that transcends the realm of humans.

There is only one being in this world who can wield this kind of magic.

‘Dragon…’

Perma finally discerned the identity of the noble protected by the giant of the Empire.

“Ah…”

And Raelle squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of Perma looking at him with respectful eyes.