Dark Fantasy Normalized-Chapter 59

So Lisir kept quiet.

Even without Meltas’ warning, his reaction wouldn’t have been much different.

“I’m the one you’ve been desperately searching for! Yes, me, the one you were just ignoring! I’m that Kim and Choi you’ve been gossiping about! So, what now?”

Lisir wasn’t bold enough to enjoy creating such dramatic situations.

Especially when the people involved held power and status far beyond his own.

Above all, those two people made him uneasy.

Enna, Master of the Blue Tower, exuded a frosty aura as if advertising, “I’m steeped in ice magic.”

Rassiel, Master of the Green Tower, radiated elven elegance as if declaring, “I’m an elf.”

There’s no need for an investigation—just having a conversation with them felt like being interrogated.

Of course, from an objective standpoint, this was a rare opportunity.

The attention of Mage Tower Masters was something to be cherished unless you were their peer. If any other student from the Gray Tower were in Lisir’s position, they’d probably leap at the chance, saying, “I’ll dedicate my life to the Gray Tower, but let’s talk first.”

And yet, Lisir decided to reject their attention.

His past experiences had shown him how conservative and exclusive the mages of the towers could be.

Even the fact that he had reached the fourth rank wasn’t fully believed in his current state. If he openly revealed his accomplishments, it was obvious it would turn into another “Gerhen situation.”

“What’s your family’s lineage again?

Which school of magic do you belong to?

Who’s your master?

And you expect us to believe you’re that talented?”

“Ah, what lovely weather. Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Lisir had only just raised the Gray Tower’s goodwill toward him to a “favorable” level. Winning over the other towers could wait.

With that decision made, Lisir naturally feigned disinterest.

Noticing Lisir’s evasiveness, Meltas smiled faintly and addressed Master Enna.

“Master Enna, I regret to say this after you’ve come all this way for our tower, but I don’t think we can accommodate your request. The person in question is reluctant to meet with outsiders at this time.”

“Even if that outsider is the Master of the Blue Tower?”

Mages of the towers took immense pride in their affiliations, which often translated into disdain for outsiders. And in this context, “outsiders” meant anyone not from their own tower.

In other words, even other towers were included in this disdain.

“Would someone who interacts with your Gray Tower really refuse to meet with me, the Master of the Blue Tower?”

That was the implication behind Enna’s words. One corner of her mouth curled up, displaying a subtle, aggressive confidence.

In reality, the Blue Tower’s reputation exceeded that of the Gray Tower. The Blue Tower mages were more active in external affairs, while the Gray Tower had a stronger academic focus.

Under normal circumstances, Meltas might have taken the bait, even knowing it didn’t signify actual superiority. No matter how much they prioritized magic and scholarship, social status wasn’t something they could entirely ignore.

But Meltas was different this time.

“Even if that outsider is the Master of the Blue Tower,” he said, recalling Lisir’s earlier actions and feeling a surge of satisfaction.

As the two exchanged tense gazes, a calm voice cut through the atmosphere.

“Enough. I’d like an answer to my question now.”

Rassiel stepped in, unperturbed, as if the petty rivalry of humans was of no concern to him.

“...”

“...”

With the air of an elf who operated on a higher level than the squabbling mages, the tension between them dissipated.

“The person in question may have a different opinion. Stop being stubborn and deliver my message,” Rassiel said.

Enna left with those parting words, leaving Meltas visibly worn out.

“Are you referring to the blue wolf spirit loitering near the Alchemy Hall?” Meltas asked, turning to Rassiel.

“Yes.”

“In that case, I suggest you consult Master Didoa. Perrin, that spirit, is particularly fond of her.”

Before Meltas could finish, Rassiel was already walking away.

Now, only Meltas and Lisir remained.

Lisir chuckled softly and remarked, “It seems like the mages of the towers don’t get along too well.”

“As you’ve seen, each tower has distinct traits and tendencies. It’s no small effort to maintain harmony.”

“Well then,” Meltas said, changing the subject. “First, let me thank you on behalf of the tower for cooperating with this investigation despite the discomfort.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. What are friends for?”

“...Please refrain from such casual remarks in front of the other Masters. They might lose their composure.”

“You make it sound like a guide explaining safety precautions in a danger zone.”

“In any case,” Meltas said with a sigh, “I’ve troubled you enough already. Let’s move on to the final matter. Lisir, as I mentioned before, our tower wishes to appoint you as an honorary mage. What do you think?”

There was no need to think. The honorary mage position offered maximum rights with minimal obligations. For someone like Lisir, who had no intention of exhausting himself with formal mage duties, it was the ideal role—a clear upgrade from his previous hopes of a supportive role.

“I think it’s fantastic.”

“That’s... not the answer I was expecting, but I’ll take it as a positive response. The induction ceremony will be prepared faster than you expect, so be ready.”

Meltas extended his hand.

“Lisir, it’s an honor to have you as part of our tower.”

“The honor is mine,” Lisir replied, shaking his hand.

Both of them laughed heartily.

***

Back in my quarters, I was reviewing my plans for the future.

The previous goal of "establishing myself in Bondales" was now just a matter of time, thanks to my appointment as an honorary mage of the tower.

With that milestone secured, my objectives had entered a new phase.

"Overload…"

With rights come responsibilities.

The status I had achieved within the Mage Tower was rooted in my magical capabilities.

To maintain this position—and, ideally, to elevate it—I needed to recover my magical abilities and growth rate as quickly as possible.

Sure, for now, people were saying, “Oh, Lisir, do whatever you want!” But if this continued for months, or even a year?

It wouldn’t take long for our Lisir to become their Lisir.

Thus, what I needed was to completely overcome the overload and restore my magical foundation—in other words, enhance my body to its full potential.

Thankfully, I already had a solution in mind.

I took a deep breath, recalling the moment I used the Blue Breath technique to stabilize the sudden growth of my mana.

I checked my body.

Most of the mana that had surged during that time had been absorbed into my body, despite my injuries and the fact that I had hastily learned the Blue Breath as a temporary measure.

Now, though…

With my injuries fully healed and my mastery of the Blue Breath intact, what would happen if I attempted the same process?

“I can do it.”

I was confident I could perfectly control the rapid growth of mana that would follow stabilization.

With that, I reached a conclusion:

"Stabilization… I need as much of it as possible."

I didn’t know how far I needed to enhance my physical abilities.

After all, I had no idea how far my mana would grow.

So I had to train my body to the utmost.

Beyond sufficient—to the point of excess.

I set the standard for this “excess” to match my magic.

If my magic was at level five, then my martial ability needed to reach level five as well.

A sort of “dual class,” if you will.

This was far more inefficient than even Pien and others had feared.

Dual class? In modern terms, that was a surefire way to ruin a character.

Boost two primary stats? Might as well hit the delete button.

Still, with my survival on the line, I was prepared to endure the inefficiency.

"Sure, I’m a mage, but if I don’t increase my strength, I’ll die."

Thus, what I needed now was as much stabilization as possible.

From past experiences, stabilization had always been followed by a surge in mana growth.

The only lingering question was:

"What was that during the Gerhen fight?"

I hadn’t used the power of stabilization against Gerhen.

It was unlikely that the stabilization process had acted without my knowledge.

After all, Gerhen had displayed no trace of external interference.

He had grown into a pure bastard entirely on his own, without the aid of dark magic.

So maybe—

Stabilization wasn’t limited to purifying external anomalies.

"Stabilization of villains?"

That was the conclusion I arrived at.

The stabilization of anomalies.

The stabilization of villains.

Both shared a common goal of eliminating factors that caused negative influences around them.

Looking back, this pattern had been present in previous stabilizations as well.

Pien, who once sought to claim an entire family as her thrall, now carried the restriction of never using mind control on innocent people.

The succubus who charmed others into submission had become an ordinary human.

Tulan and the mage-maid, once dark mages, had been reduced to mere criminals A and B.

"This is it."

I nodded, my thoughts coalescing into a clear direction for the future.

"I’ll use my honorary mage status to actively seek out targets for stabilization."

Amid the burning determination, the first thing that came to mind was the orb Perrin had coughed up for me.

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I rummaged through my neatly organized belongings in the corner of the room.

“Found it.”

It was a perfectly clear orb, so transparent it looked like a bubble of air suspended in space.

Cough. Cough. Cough.

The image of the wolf gagging up that saliva-drenched hairball flashed in my mind.

“Hmm…”

To be honest, my expectations weren’t high.

If someone could feel anticipation after witnessing that production process, they’d have to be truly special.

“Well, at least it came out of its mouth and not the other end.”

Still, considering the effort that went into making it…

I swallowed the orb in one gulp.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I closed my eyes and focused all my attention inward, preparing for any changes the orb might bring.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, my eyes flew open.

I glanced down at my body in a panic.

“What… What is this?”

My body was glowing.

Not just faintly shimmering, but outright radiating light to the point of being blinding.

The kind of light that would make adventurers exploring dark dungeons mutter, “Damn it, if only Lisir were here…”

“…!”

Quickly, I shut my eyes again.

Something unusual was happening inside me.

***

────────────────────

[Title: Holy Sh*t, I Can’t Believe My Eyes LOL]

Content: Is this really a spirit core?

How the hell does it raise three stats? LOL

This is basically a three-level jump, hahaha.

: Now I get why people say to grind stats when you hit a level wall.

OP: Dude, it’s called a “core” for a reason, lol.

: Wait, that core? LOL

: What kind of core boosts three stats?

OP: It’s the core of a mid-tier rock spirit, Dubada.

: Seriously? You ignored the wind, water, and tree spirits—who are all female—and raised the rock spirit’s favor?

: Respectfully, are you exploring alternative uses for a male spirit’s biological functions?

OP: No, damn it! It’s stat grinding!

: But mid-tier spirits are usually around level 40, right?

Spirits require you to be at least 20 levels higher to unlock dialogue keywords.

OP: That’s why you grind during level walls, duh.

: Spirit tamers can unlock keywords at the same level, though.

: Wow, but still, a mid-tier core boosts three stats!

: So how much does a high-tier spirit core boost?

OP: Do high-tier spirit cores even exist?

: High-tier spirits in this game are either dead or bosses.

: Damn it, LOL.

: And eating one will mess you up, obviously.

: Wasn’t the boss Sylph from southern Bondales a high-tier spirit?

: Yeah.

: Doesn’t she drop the “Wailing Wind”? Is that her core?

: Probably? It boosts agility by five, doesn’t it?

OP: Oh wow, heading there now.

: If you’re just starting stat grinding, you can’t beat Sylph.

: Sylph is level 63.

OP: F*** my life.

────────────────────

[Title: Oh My God, What the F* LOL]**

Content: What’s with this “Doomsday Wolf” bastard LOL

: So you ate it, huh? LOL

: LMAO!

OP: WTF is wrong with you people?! LOL

: Who told you to pick up random stuff from others?

OP: You said to eat the spirit core from Sylph!

: That’s not Sylph; it’s the Doomsday Wolf.

OP: But it’s the spirit-type boss that comes after Sylph!

OP: Isn’t it natural to assume the spirit core it drops would boost stats too?!

: You still don’t understand this game?

OP: Oh, come on!

OP: Is there no way to fix this?

OP: Losing five stats across the board is absolute bulls***!

: Of course you can fix it.

: Just raise favor with other spirits and grind stats again.

OP: Fine, I’m quitting.

: But what if the Doomsday Wolf hadn’t been corrupted?

Would its spirit core raise five stats instead?

: High-tier spirit cores usually boost a single stat by five, so maybe?

: Considering its lore, it might have been possible.

────────────────────

────────────────────

[All status ailments have been removed.]

[All resistances have greatly increased.]

[All attributes have significantly increased.]

[A new trait has been acquired.]

────────────────────

As the Mage Tower was slowly bathed in the hues of sunset,

High Priest Barodros and his retinue of clerics arrived at Lisir’s quarters.

Their purpose: to conduct one last check on his condition.

“…Come in. Just don’t be alarmed.”

At the sound of Lisir’s voice, the clerics’ expressions grew grave.

Could something have gone wrong in the meantime?

They hurriedly opened the door and entered the room.

“…Oh, Great Divine One.”

The moment they saw Lisir, the clerics instinctively placed their palms over their hearts in a sacred gesture, muttering under their breath.