The Tower of Trials Content officially came to an end. The decision was made to redirect all resources towards the upcoming TRPG session.There were several people from Murim to simulate, but the biggest challenge was the cost of running all the new modules. This limitation made me restrict the participants to just one. I felt like two would overload it.
So, what was the new module?
It was called the 『Enlightenment Support Device』.
Murim was a world that thrived on enlightenment; without a protagonist who attained it and pressed forward, something essential felt missing. Yet, enlightenment wasn’t something one could achieve on a whim.
A stage could be created as many times as necessary.
It is a day before a public sparring match against Éminence Grise1 , with his girlfriend, pride, and fate all on the line—setting up such a scenario was easier than flipping a coin. But what if the player failed to achieve the necessary enlightenment in that crucial moment?
It’s not as if I could just let Éminence Grise win and deliver a bad ending, nor could I have a deus ex machina to resolve everything suddenly—that would render the entire experience meaningless.
That was why I developed a module that enhanced enlightenment. It was still in its early stages, so its functions were limited...
For now, it could only estimate the amount of time required until the user broke through the next wall, gauge the necessary amount of stimulation, and recommend suitable martial arts to be learned.
I just needed to use that analysis to craft an appropriate event for the protagonist.I digress, but the Enlightenment Support Device cannot calculate Metamorphosis.
In all honesty, I initially tried to create a Metamorphosis Support Device. But when I tried doing the calculations, it felt like my head would explode long before I could complete it. The human heart contains endless variables.
I could give them a nudge, but I had no idea how the results would turn out.
The modeling was complete, and I had a rough concept in mind.
The curtain had fallen on the Great Wars Between the Orthodox and Demonic, with the Orthodox Faction's Masters and the Heavenly Demon destroying each other. The Demonic Cult had retreated to their stronghold in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, while the Orthodox Faction, although heavily damaged, had managed to survive.
Ruined buildings, adults vanishing without passing down their martial arts, the Unorthodox Faction exploiting the chaos to flourish... There were countless problems, but at least they survived.
Had they failed to stop the Heavenly Demon, the very name of the Orthodox Faction would have been erased.
Thus, twenty years passed after the Demonic Cult faded into the shadows of history. The Orthodox Faction managed to stabilize in its own way. A new order was established. However, an unsettling rumor gradually began to circulate.
A horror story that the Demonic Cult had returned.
And during this, the player encounters a beautiful lady being pursued by remnants of the Demonic Cult...
Perfect.
All that was left was to start the session. If Envers was the player, I would stick with the basic story development. If Luna was the player, I could steer the narrative toward ‘The Demonic Cult wasn’t actually that bad’.
I was hoping the players would give me an answer soon⋯⋯.
Shake shake shake.
My legs trembled unconsciously. When I quietly asked, "Do you wanna play TRPG?" yesterday, Luna dragged Envers away, saying they needed some time to think it over. In my past life, this kind of response had about a 50 percent chance of meaning, 'Nah I’m good~'.
Was it really a roundabout way of saying no?
No, no way. They⋯⋯ seemed genuinely interested in martial arts. A tour of a star system named Murim, where people constantly practiced martial arts.
Did I not sell it well enough? Maybe I should have provided more details about Murim to capture their interest. Would things have turned out differently if I had mentioned the elegant outfits called Qipaos2 or used more lewd bait?
I explained it as Illusion Magic, using data extracted from the Heavenly Demon as a basis, but was that too much MSG? Should I have simply said it was a virtual reality experience based on my imagination?
Or was there too little MSG? Maybe I should have presented it with a more gripping concept, like needing their help to prevent the end of the world?
Or should I maybe have just said I was running a genre around tower climbing⋯⋯?
Pink-Haired Lesbian suddenly became a human vibrator, repeatedly tapping my shoulder. Was she trying to cheer me up?
“There is no need to be so nervous. If the students don’t want to do it, please open a dating sim for me, Mr.Crazy Wizard. I think three heroines would be perfect.”
She wasn’t trying to cheer me up, she was pushing for her own desires. I raised my voice hearing her boldly asking for a harem.
“You told me you were on the side of pure love!”
“It’s just Illusion Magic. Just data at the end of the day. Just like how you wouldn’t use a single cup to symbolize pure love, I have no desire to impose true love onto mere objects. Please prepare heroines by chest size.”
“......If the Murim session falls through.”
“Yahoo.”
Pink-Haired Lesbian was absorbing modern culture at a frightening pace. Yesterday, hearing her say, “Onii-chan, if you don’t wake up now, you’ll be late,” made me wake up in a panic.
She already had high combat strength, but once she combined that with her newfound understanding of various genres, how was I supposed to keep up? Was there really no way to avoid losing to the Pink-Haired Lesbian?
The scariest part was that I⋯⋯.
I started thinking it was normal for me to lose to the Pink-Haired Lesbian. As I slowly lost ground in our power struggle, the balance of power was about to shift completely.
This couldn’t continue. Where was the catalyst for a comeback⋯⋯?
I asked the person who knew Pink-Haired Lesbian the best, with a serious expression.
“Hey, Pink-Haired Lesbian. Do you have any weaknesses?”
“Did you just ask me that question?”
“You’d know your own weaknesses well. And no, I’m not asking about your erogenous zones.”
“I’m ticklish. Not talking about my erogenous zones.”
As we whispered back and forth...
Slam!!
My laboratory door burst open with a loud bang. Red hair fluttered as the intruder entered with a spoonful of audacity—it was the Red Tower’s wizard and master of cloth drying, Selvier.
Her expression had a mix of 30% suspicious, 10% rage, 40% frustration, and 20% of an unknown emotion.
“You!!”
“Oh, Lil’ Red Tower, welcome. Why the long face?”
“Envers became an alcoholic! After seeing that Heavenly Demon or Black Demon or whatever⋯⋯!! Did you perhaps do something weird?! Niolle is also-”
“No my player──!!"
I jumped up from my seat and screamed.
How could my Martial Artist Guy turn into a drunkard? I can’t accept that future. I hurriedly threw on my hood and rushed out of the laboratory.
“Lead the way! And explain everything, without leaving out a single detail⋯⋯!"
“⋯⋯?? Alright for now. So, to backtrack a bit, there’s a place called the Academy’s Black Market⋯⋯."
Selvier whispered to me about things that had been happening outside of my view.
===============================================================
After the Tower of Trial Content ended.
The Magic Circle by the entrance had been demolished, but the building itself still stood. The Envers party often visited the place, and held their meetings there.
They had grown close while climbing the tower and had become friends.
Selvier dropped by, bringing freshly baked bread in a basket. Luna was focused on refining her martial arts, but Envers remained absent. Selvier frowned as she asked.
“Where’s Envers?”
“Drinking.”
“Again?”
“Again.”
Ever since meeting the Heavenly Demon, the kid has been under a lot of stress.
At some point, he had started drinking straight from the bottle, and always kept it close by. Selvier had seen someone like that once at the Magic Tower—someone who despaired after hitting the wall of their own lack of talent.
A few days later, his whereabouts became vague. Selvier had some ideas about where he might be lurking. Either a bar or the Academy’s black market.
Haah. Selvier let out a deep sigh.
“I really don’t get it.”
“Agreed.”
“Isn’t hitting a wall a good thing? You just have to keep pushing until you break through it someday. The act of trying alone holds value!”
“Half agree.”
Luna slowly nodded. Both Selvier and Luna were the type to not be easily discouraged when faced with obstacles, but the two of them had subtle differences.
Selvier had learned from her childhood friend not to fear the wall. In life, walls would inevitably appear before you, but they didn’t define who you were.
As long as you kept hitting the wall, you could always be someone cool. That was why—Selvier never stopped trying.
Like an out-of-control locomotive, she would keep pushing whether the wall broke down or not.
Luna, however, had a different perspective. She enjoyed the wall itself. She would pick up a brush to paint on it, chip away at it to carve a sculpture, or mark how much taller she got.
To her, a wall was no different from a giant canvas. And eventually, a handhold for her to climb over would appear, and before she knew it, she would have already scaled it.
For someone who finds joy in the process, stress doesn't exist.
Selvier and Luna put their heads together and pondered. How could they solve Envers’ Qi Deviation?
“First, we need to get him to quit drinking. Stop him from dwelling on dark thoughts, and carve into his bones that anything is better than just sulking.”
“Resume the climb. Give him long-term challenges. That’s the solution.”
The Sun and the Moon offered slightly different solutions to the same problem.
===============================================================
The Crazy Wizard crossed his arms and slowly nodded.
“So you’re saying that’s why we’re heading to the black market?”
“Yes. I believe that's where he is. Our first priority is to get him out of there.”
“The environment is important⋯⋯ that's the right call. A healthy mind thrives on a healthy routine. We should start by cutting off his drinking, feeding him properly, and ensuring he gets good sleep.”
“I know that too, you know?”
Even a normal person would crumble in an unhealthy environment. Even I would have come to the same conclusion. The Crazy Wizard thought as he raised his inner estimation of Selvier by three points.
It was very much, how should I put it, in line with my own thinking.
“And speaking of which, uh…… That Black Market place. I’m getting a really bad feeling about it.”
“Bad feeling?”
“Yes. It has a similar smell to my hometown.”
“Hometown… your hometown? Hmm.”
The Crazy Wizard seemed to sink into deep thought. In his mind, the suspicious evidence he had encountered on his way home started to piece together, like the human trafficking situation.
There was a high chance it wasn't just a normal village. If this black market carried the same stench⋯⋯ it might be something far more serious.
He even sensed a strange twist of fate. The Wizard rolled the die in his hand and braced himself.
Seeing this, Selvier asked with concern.
“......By the way, Are you sure it's alright to come without the other professors? I get not wanting to make a big fuss, but... what if we're attacked?”
“Do not worry. I am…… Strong!”
“But you said you couldn’t reach Metamorphosis.”
“The notion that Metamorphosis decides everything in battle, is a very outdated mindset⋯⋯."
The Wizard was prepared. And, of course, he had a contingency plan. A lone butterfly fluttered quietly nearby.
Selvier eyed the Crazy Wizard skeptically, but ultimately trusted that he had something prepared and left it at that. After all, he had demonstrated countless numbers of strange things in his classes.
Illusion Magic pushed to its absolute limits, leaving even students who had achieved Metamorphosis bewildered.
His skills were more than proven by now, and a small number of students even speculated, "Hasn't he already reached Metamorphosis but is pretending to be a LWHHS (Loser Who Hides His Strength)?"
They walked through a damp tunnel.
The Wizard wiggled his eyebrows. There was no reason for the tunnel to be this damp. If this was an artificially created environment, he could think of a few traps.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Step step. After the sound of footsteps echoed for a while, a tight-knit community came into view, and the path ahead opened up slightly. The area was filled with rundown buildings and secretive facilities.
When they entered the secret bar, a hooded woman greeted them with a slightly nasal voice. Her eyes quietly swept over the Wizard.
“Oh my, you've brought a customer this time⋯⋯?"
“Hey, have you seen….. Envers? He’s the guy that was with me last time.”
“Hmm, I haven’t seen him.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Selvier fell into slight panic. She suspected the woman was lying, but her answers had been too calm. There were no visible signs of deception.
Meanwhile, the Crazy Wizard snapped his fingers and spoke.
“.....Lying? I couldn’t do such a thi⋯⋯."
“I can hear heartbeats even from 30 meters away. I’m not in the mood for games. Just be honest. Where is my player-to-be?”
“......It was the customer’s request. That boy specifically requested that he did not want to meet anyone.
Without a word, the Crazy Wizard brushed past the woman and went up the stairs to the second floor. He returned moments later, carrying a knocked out, red-faced Envers.
The Wizard spoke without even glancing at the woman.
“Let’s go.”
“......Yes, professor.”
“I’ll be waiting for your next visit….. Dear Customer.”
The Wizard walked out without responding. Selvier hesitated, glancing back and forth between the woman and the Wizard before hurriedly following him outside.
The woman watched them leave with interest... and then smiled.
The trap was set. The boy wouldn’t be able to escape it.
===============================================================
Damn it.
“Ah fuck, it’s a succubus that one. Not a particularly strong one, though.”
“What?!”
Selvier gasped in surprise, quickly covering her mouth with her hands. She anxiously glanced back, worried about a shadowy figure following them.
I spoke up in an attempt to give her some peace of mind.
“She’s a succubus, and we’re not being followed. He⋯⋯ got caught by some sort of charm. It's obvious. She probably cast a suggestion spell on him while he was drunk. As expected, I didn’t catch all of them.”
“.......Just what is happening at the Academy?”
“Some tough guy is preparing for a summoning ritual or something. Lil’ Red Tower—if you see any suspicious magic circles while walking around, report it.”
“.....A Summoning Ritual⋯⋯?"
She seemed shocked by the dark forces lurking within the Academy. Honestly, I was too. What kind of school has a secret underground facility?
The circumstances lead me to believe that this was the work of Black Wizards. There's no way a rogue succubus is just running a bar in the Academy's basement.
It was possible to destroy it right then and there.
However, I felt it would just result in them cutting their losses, so I decided to leave a bit of leeway. That succubus⋯⋯ she marked me with some kind of chemical. Something like the Scent of Ten Thousand Mile Pursuit from Murim.
It looks like she wanted to invade my dreams, but that would mark the end of her life as a succubus. I dare you to try.
I’ll extract every bit of information and root you out completely.
As we emerged from the tunnel, I tossed Envers onto a chair outside the Academy and turned to Selvier.
“I’m leaving him here. Something urgent came up. Take care of him mentally, please. I’ll give you a reward.”
I wanted to handle Envers’ mental care myself, but with this new development, it would be more effective for a classmate to help him.
“......I was planning to do that anyway.”
“Here, I’ve written down everything about his family’s situation on this note. Use it as a reference.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯??"
Selvier’s expression turned to one of confusion, as if to ask, "How do you know that?"
I didn’t bother explaining.
1. An éminence grise or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity. This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man of Cardinal Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France.2. Cheongsam or zansae, also known as the qipao and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the qizhuang, the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people.