Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 324 : Dog (1)
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Upon reaching the explorer camp, Alon found himself bombarded once more with waves of grateful thanks.
Overwhelmed by the attention, he quickly departed the site and headed directly for the Mage Tower, with two full weeks slipping by in the process.
“We’ve made it at last—”
As Penia gazed toward the far-off silhouette of the Mage Tower and voiced her relief, Alon responded.
“Never imagined I’d visit the academy so frequently.”
“Can’t argue with that. Still... was skipping the stopover truly fine?”
“What stopover are you referring to?”
“The Principality of Luxible. You mentioned intending to drop by at least once, yet we barreled right through to here.”
A bit tardily, Alon remembered that exchange and gave a nod.
She had a point.
Back when he first hit the campsite, he’d pondered swinging over to the Principality of Luxible.
After all, the Ronovelli Jungle lay near Luxible.
Yet, a casual rumor picked up upon arriving in Kaslot swayed Alon from making the trip.
“Hey, heard the latest?”
“Nope, missed it.”
“Aw, come on. Just shooting the breeze here.”
“Ahem. Alright, spill it.”
“Word is, they’re gearing up something big in the Principality of Luxible.”
“Gearing up? For what exactly?”
“Rumor has it they’re quietly mustering troops. Not sure on the details, but it sounds chaotic over there.”
“Troops? They gearing for war or what?”
“Eh, probably not that dire, but that’s the buzz floating around.”
Having caught wind of this chatter repeatedly over his two-day stay in Kaslot, Alon opted against heading to Luxible.
He figured barging into a bustling principality without solid cause wouldn’t sit well.
“Though, that troop rumor’s likely bogus anyway.”
Naturally, Alon didn’t swallow the tale hook, line, and sinker.
He understood the old saying about smoke signaling fire, yet fresh experience had shown him firsthand how tales twist out of shape.
“They did seem swamped, though.”
In response to Penia, Alon offered a curt answer before swiftly shifting to another overheard whisper from Luxible.
“They claimed three mighty fighters perished in Ashtalon.”
Soon enough, though, Alon learned that particular rumor had been warped.
Based on intel from the information guild.
Apparently, the trio of warriors who’d accepted a job in Ashtalon had merely dropped off the radar, sparking the mangled story.
Nevertheless, doubts lingered in Alon’s mind about the true events in Ashtalon, prompting him to commission extra details from the guild.
“I’ll uncover the truth shortly.”
Brushing the notion aside for now, Alon smoothly pivoted to fresh conversation.
“Reckon they’ve unraveled at least one extra spell by this point?”
Penia shot back without delay.
“Mmm, I’d bet they haven’t wrapped it all up yet.”
“For real?”
“Yep, the jump from first-tier to second-tier magic isn’t massive... but hierarchical magic packs a ton of data, making it tougher to crack.”
Penia tacked on, “We’ve barely pinpointed two phrases from the first tier ourselves,” prompting Alon’s nod.
“Fair enough.”
“Even so, this speed’s downright remarkable.”
As Penia noted, the breakthroughs in decoding hierarchical magic outpaced all forecasts.
They’d unearthed two phrases in a mere two weeks.
“From here, though, it’ll ramp up in difficulty.”
“You referring to locating the sentences?”
“Exactly. The final phrase should surface fast, but piecing sentences together? That’s pure drudgery.”
Alon could only concur with the evident truth.
Hunting down even those three phrases had strained their vision to the limit.
Heinkel had warned them that sentence-hunting proved even more exhausting.
How much time drifted by as Alon mulled this over?
“Marquis, if you’d kindly dismount.”
“Sure thing.”
No sooner had they pulled up to the Mage Tower than Basiliora vanished into the ring like he’d been poised for it, and Alon strode inward alongside Penia.
The instant they stepped in to greet Heinkel.
A sea of mages left him momentarily dazed.
This hour shouldn’t have featured any mages.
“Penia, has the academy meeting kicked off already?”
“Huh—nope? That’s still ages away...”
Penia replied, equally baffled.
She paused to stroke her chin, as if jogging her memory for oversights, then dismissed it with a headshake.
Alon, Penia, and Evan lingered there, gawking at the throng of mages.
“Oh? Marquis Palatio’s arrived!”
A voice piped up.
And then—
“??”
Silence blanketed the area in a flash.
The lively hum of voices hushed so abruptly that Alon stood rigid.
What’s unfolding?
What just occurred?
Confusion barely let him scan the surroundings.
“Marquis Palatio?”
“He’s actually here?”
“Where is he—where—”
“Ah, right over there.”
“Gasp—!”
Like they’d anticipated this exact instant, a multitude of stares locked onto Alon simultaneously.
Before a single word could escape him—
“Marquis Palatio! Come instruct us at the Red Mage Tower, we beg you!”
“Marquis! A quick chat at minimum!”
“Exchange session! We need an exchange session!!”
“Or merely one spell showcase!”
“Was that last spell you cast truly Light?!”
Faced with the mages charging like frenzied beasts, Alon felt utterly swamped.
***
“Whew—”
“You alright, Marquis?”
“I’m good. You saved my skin back there.”
“Aw, stop it—”
Ultimately, Penia’s intervention allowed Alon to break free from the mage horde.
Despite her long tenure with House Palatio, her regular academy presence might explain it.
The merest flicker of her ire sent the mages scattering like waves before a gale.
Alon fleetingly remembered the mages’ frantic retreat at Penia’s slightest glare.
“Hmm~ This could spell trouble ahead. The Tower Masters ought to show up shortly.”
“Tower Masters...?”
“Yep. That Light magic’s ripple effect was massive. Notice how they clustered back there, blasting Light spells?”
“I caught it.”
Indeed, the sight was vivid.
Even while yielding passage to Penia, mages from the five towers hollered “Check out my spell!!” and unleashed endless Light bursts en route.
Alon had the sensation of a star parading down a grand aisle.
Though stardom was the last thing he craved...
‘Any regular mage would flip similarly. I’d have done the same without prior knowledge,’ Penia remarked offhand as they reached the library.
[Oh, you’ve arrived?]
Heinkel greeted them with a laid-back wave, treating it like everyday routine.
[A month already? Wrapped up your tasks?]
“Yes, I’ve tied off the initial objectives.”
[Research update?]
To Heinkel’s probing, Alon delivered a concise status report.
“Hmmm~ So two phrases decoded? And the gesture for Light magic locked down?”
“Spot on.”
“What’s the full ‘Light’ spell like now?”
“...It’s intensely draining. Truth be told, my mana’s stretched thin after a single cast.”
“Drains you dry in one go?”
“Precisely.”
Heinkel hummed contemplatively and nodded.
“Dying to witness Light firsthand, but first, our research rundown.”
“Progress on second-tier magic?”
Alon inquired this round, and Heinkel paused briefly before responding.
“Straight up, it’s grueling. In the month of your absence, I snagged just one phrase.”
“At this clip—”
“I get it, not speedy. Oh, yeah. Truthfully, without your referred ally, it’d have dragged even more.”
“The gap between first and second tiers that stark?”
Alon anticipated a disparity, but Heinkel’s evident strain caught him off guard.
She affirmed with a nod.
“Vast chasm. Pulling key data from spells stays consistent, but pinpointing phrases turns labyrinthine.”
“Like how?”
“Hmmm~”
Heinkel pondered phrasing it, then gestured as memory struck.
A sheet of paper drifted forth.
“...This is—”
“A schematic. Ancient vintage.”
She unfurled the wildly intricate schematic before Alon.
“In essence, cracking your first-tier magic mirrors this single schematic. Second-tier, however...”
Another wave, and she overlaid a second schematic.
“See here. First-tier needs one layer, but second-tier demands piling multiples like so to unearth a phrase.”
Overlapping the schematics revealed a fresh pattern to their view.
Alon nodded in apparent comprehension, eyeing the elaborate, tightly woven design.
[No need to fret. It’ll consume time, but decoding the schematic seems feasible.]
“Really?”
[Yep—for the moment, that’s my take. Oh, and your stay duration?]
“Here at the Mage Tower?”
[Correct.]
After a beat of reflection, Alon answered.
“Likely a week. Got a couple inquiries pending.”
[Solid. Rest up today, perhaps demo the magic tomorrow?]
“Agreed.”
With the arrangement sealed, their talk concluded.
***
Descending to the first floor, Alon spotted a long-missed familiar visage.
“Long time no see! Marquis Palatio...!”
“Tower Master?”
It was Celaime Mikardo, master of the Blue Tower.
He drew near with his trademark warm grin, tossing a quick hello to Penia too.
“How’ve you been!”
“Doing great. But what draws you here...?”
As Celaime replied, Alon suddenly recalled Penia’s prior mention of incoming Tower Masters.
Celaime’s face lit up as he boisterously hailed him.
“Naturally, your Light magic lured me! Didn’t figure on crossing paths so soon, though.”
“Ah.”
“Mind granting a demo request?”
“A demo?”
“Affirmative, the Light magic. I’m itching for a firsthand glimpse.”
Eyes pleading, Celaime fixed on him.
Alon wavered briefly, then recalled his prior intent to showcase it for Heinkel.
Right as assent formed—
“tsk-tsk—”
A crisp tongue snap drew his gaze.
A green-clad woman stood there, face etched in frosty disdain.
“Oh, Sharan Foranu. You’re here as well?”
Thanks to Celaime’s remark, Alon pieced together her identity.
She featured sporadically as a player ally in Psychedelia.
Among Tower Masters, she stood as the grand mage who’d edged nearest to ninth-tier in life.
While Alon sifted these details mentally, she kept her hostile stare unabated.
“Had to come, all thanks to someone’s absurd fabrications.”
—or so she declared.
***
Deep in a blood-drenched woodland.
A lone figure loomed amid leaves stained crimson dark.
The man’s look was downright odd.
Languid and listless, his empty gaze held dual pupils in each eye.
Purple strands wafted lazily around his form, drifting without purpose.
Slumped atop shattered cocoon remnants, devoid of any drive, “Sloth” stared vacantly skyward.
Under midnight’s veil. The Milky Way sprawled overhead.
A tapestry of stars, large and small.
Some gleamed with exceptional fervor.
As though bent on bathing the world in solar blaze, the heavens blazed with glory.
“Sigh~”
The man, who’d been silently contemplating that lofty expanse, exhaled a deep, weary breath.
“I hate it.”
He murmured.
“I hate it.”
He repeated softly.
“I haaaate it—”
Endlessly, the man intoned the words.
Like chanting an incantation, he voiced his raw frustration over and over.
Abruptly, his head dipped low.
He rose unsteadily, devoid of vigor.
Crack—crackle crackle—!
The shattered cocoon underfoot dissolved swiftly and feebly.
Simultaneously, it drew into his frame.
Crack—crackle!
Darkness began claiming the vicinity.
Like claiming domain, the shadow crept steadily outward.
Observing this spectacle.
“But still—”
The man, eyes dulled, whispered.
The embodiment of Sloth.
“Even then, it falls to me.”
He breathed, sigh-like.
“For... this is my obligation.”