Swoosh—

Aside from the monsters lurking in the shadows, the sight wasn’t much different from the night before.

However, that wasn’t why Ian, leaning out of the carriage door, paid no attention to the surroundings. His gaze was sweeping over Miguel and Nasser, seated side by side on the driver’s bench.

"You can see it over there, my lord."

Unaware of the meaning behind Ian’s stare, Nasser spoke casually, pointing toward the left, the side opposite Ian.

Yet Ian's gaze did not shift immediately.

He glanced at the one-armed priest who had escaped a death that once seemed certain, only to carry the weight of guilt for the rest of his life, and at the brown-skinned squire who looked destined to end his own atonement in death.

After giving them both one last look, Ian finally turned his attention to the horses pulling the carriage.

"How are the horses holding up?" He asked it as casually as ever.

Among the warhorses the princess had provided was Moro.

The road was rough, and to preserve the others’ stamina, Moro and Nila had been taking turns helping pull the carriage.

Grr...

Moro snorted as if in answer and glanced back. Its eyes showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever. The two warhorses beside it, heads lowered as though intimidated, made the contrast even clearer.

"As you can see, Moro’s doing most of the work," said Nasser.

"It had monster meat last night, didn’t it? It clearly has energy to spare," Miguel added.

By now, both of them seemed to have completely lost any discomfort about Moro being a demonic warhorse.

Ian was about to nod when he turned to the right instead. Another set of hoofbeats was approaching from beside them.

"Not tired, Ian?"

It was Nila, coming down from behind, and Mev, seated in its saddle.

"I’m fin—" Ian began answering casually as he turned to her, but then he paused.

For a fleeting moment, the faint smile on her face overlapped with the one he had seen in the vision.

"What? Is something wrong?" Noticing his expression, Mev blinked and asked, brushing her face with the fingers of her plated gauntlet.

Ian blinked quickly and shook his head as if nothing had happened. "No. It just looked a bit dangerous."

Nila was walking right along the edge of the narrow cliff path in the valley. One misstep and it would tumble straight down the slope.

Snort!

Nila whipped its head around to stare at him almost immediately. Its eyes looked downright offended, as if shocked by Ian’s lack of faith.

Mev chuckled softly and stroked the horse’s thick mane.

"As if Nila would make a mistake like that, Ian."

"Of course not. I meant if it were any other horse," Ian answered lightly, avoiding Nila’s gaze.

Nila snorted again, and a clicking tongue sounded from behind them.

"Really nice to see you wasting time like that, Ian."

It was Thesaya, who had just stepped out from the opposite door.

Shaking her head slightly, she climbed ‌onto the carriage roof like a squirrel.

"Come up here, Ian," said Mev.

As Ian clicked his tongue, Mev gave an awkward smile and held out her hand. "You’ll see better from the saddle."

Ian immediately took her hand and swung himself up behind her. If he hesitated even a little, Nila would probably feel offended again.

As if to prove a point, the horse didn’t wobble in the slightest.

Ian wrapped one arm around Mev’s waist and looked toward the front left.

"Ah, yes. Just like we heard," Thesaya added from above.

Beyond the gently curving ridge of the valley, a dark peak had come into view.

"Looks like it," Ian replied, fixing his gaze on the mountainside. Halfway up, a gray-white rock jutted out like a bird’s beak. It was small enough that you’d only notice it after looking carefully.

"Since the ridge continuing behind it on the left is steeper, I think we should head that way," said Nasser.

"That’s what it looks like to me too. There are more peaks beyond it. Hopefully the path continues," Miguel added with a nod.

"I’m sure it does," Nasser said confidently. "Mages hate physical hardship more than anything."

"That’s a very biased thing to say, Half-Ear—true, but still," Thesaya snorted in mock reproach.

Of course, Nasser didn’t even pretend to be apologetic. Stretching as he clasped both hands behind his neck, he continued, "Either way, they’re hiding much deeper than I expected. Not somewhere particularly conspicuous, either."

"That’s exactly why they chose it. Who hides somewhere obvious?"

"True enough." Nasser nodded easily and let out a quiet laugh. "Still, just looking at it makes my heart race. Finding even one magic tower is a goal for many Purifiers."

"I have no idea how that could possibly be exciting," Miguel muttered, shaking his head.

Thesaya cut in. "Was it really impossible even with the Great Church’s information network?"

"Of course. There were no clues at all."

Nasser shrugged and looked toward her.

"Even during the era when mage towers were being built competitively, the mages already didn’t get along very well between factions. Yet when it came to the decision they made after building their towers, it seems they all agreed."

"They killed everyone who knew," Mev said quietly.

Nasser glanced at her and smiled. "And burned every record related to it."

"If everyone died, how did anyone find out about that?" Miguel asked with a grimace.

Nasser shrugged again. "Speculation. They claim the towers recruited people in complete secrecy and placed binding prohibitions on them, so of course nothing would become known."

"Like they’d go through all that trouble." Thesaya scoffed.

Nasser nodded in agreement.

Then he began recounting various covert operations the Great Church had carried out over the years to locate hidden Magic Towers—stories he had either heard from his seniors or witnessed firsthand.

Everyone listened with keen interest except Ian.

Staring at Mount Nosnel, he was once again turning the foresight over in his mind.

The future he had seen this time had grown a little hazy, but unlike before, it hadn’t completely faded from memory. Thesaya’s voice still rang vividly in his ears, especially her words about how saving everyone would be impossible.

If that desire itself is the trap...

He had reached a dead end. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn’t bring himself to give up on anyone. Every person he had seen in the vision was someone precious to him in one way or another.

Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to simply accept the future as it was.

First things first... I need to reach the max level as fast as possible.

Ian admitted that it had been arrogant to think he might not need to become a White Mage.

He had to gain power by any means necessary, though there was still the problem of whether he could earn the remaining experience in time.

Maybe that’s why I saw that vision earlier.

Ian calmly went over the memory again instead of letting himself grow anxious. He didn’t bother regretting that he might not have skipped the Southern DLC region so easily.

Even if he went back, he knew he would make the same choice.

"If that’s only what you know, there must have been far more secret operations in reality."

When Nasser finished his story, Thesaya let out an impressed murmur.

She watched him shrug, then added, "As expected, the Great Church wants to wipe mages off the face of the world."

"Coincidentally, it’s true that most of them are obsessed with evil research. Of course, the Red Tower protested quite strongly..."

"After meeting them, I realized it wasn’t for moral reasons. They just hate impurities mixing into their flames. Their ultimate goal seemed to be surpassing sacred fire."

"What?! They have such arrogant, blasphemous ambitions?" Miguel frowned deeply at Thesaya’s reply. He seemed genuinely offended, judging by his expression.

"Well, either way... to me, what the Great Church is trying to do doesn’t look much different from the magic towers," Thesaya said with a crooked smile, glancing aside. "Not every mage is corrupt, like Ian and me."

"I recall that you once had a time when you were a demon yourself, Elder. Of course, Sir Ian is the descendant of a legendary White Mage, so he would be an exception... though you both seem to have a few inconvenient secrets that would cause trouble if revealed."

"You’re sharper than usual today, Half-Ear," Thesaya answered with a snort.

"Thank you for the compliment, Elder."

"Nasser’s right. I’m no exception either," said Ian.

Thesaya froze. A moment later, Miguel and Nasser turned to him at the same time.

"You’re not?"

"The White Mage isn’t the virtuous figure the legends make him out to be. He’s a selfish and calculating spellcaster."

After glancing from Mev to Thesaya, Ian added, "Meticulous enough to lay a trap for a descendant who might not appear for centuries to come."

"A... trap?" Thesaya blinked in confusion. It was the first time she had heard the details about the White Mage.

Ian smiled faintly, looking at Mev as her eyes widened in the same way. "Yes. The power of the bloodline was bait. If a descendant came of their own accord, the real goal was to seize their body and resurrect."

"Good heavens..."

"Lu Entre, have mercy."

Not only Thesaya but also Nasser and Miguel stared with their mouths slightly open.

Ian kept his gaze on Mev’s trembling eyes and tilted his head. "Of course, I won. Anyway, that’s what mages are like—from the very beginning. And I’m not much different, inheriting that blood."

He finally turned his gaze away and looked toward Mount Nosnel. "I’m planning to kill every spellcaster hiding somewhere beyond that mountain, and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest."

"That... that’s different. The ones hiding there are corrupted, disgusting creatures who conduct horrible research and experiments," Miguel stammered.

One corner of Ian’s mouth curled slightly higher. "Which just made the decision easier for me, conveniently enough."

He didn’t particularly like admitting it, but the idea of staining his hands with human blood rather than monsters no longer stirred anything inside him.

Even if they weren’t corrupted, it likely wouldn’t have changed much.

"So from now on, don’t follow my plans blindly."

Ian looked around at the group, each of them wearing a different, complicated expression.

"Don’t sacrifice yourselves for me. Don’t risk your lives for my sake either. Nothing is more precious than your life. Remember that."

"Does that include this plan?" Thesaya asked, one corner of her lips curling slightly.

Ian nodded without hesitation. "Of course. If you’re not comfortable with it, you can leave anytime. We’ll have to abandon the carriage halfway anyway."

"Sorry to ruin the mood... but that’s awfully generous of you, Ian."

Thesaya’s lips twitched as she turned to the others.

"After telling us everything up to this point, you’re giving us another chance to choose at the very end."

"Indeed. Any spellcaster I know wouldn’t have been this honest about it." Nasser nodded in agreement.

Mev, who had been watching Ian with eyes full of quiet thoughts, finally spoke as well.

"I agree. You’re different, Ian."

Without taking her eyes off Ian, whose brow twitched slightly, Mev added, "If they weren’t corrupt, you would’ve chosen a way that didn’t involve killing them."

"Exactly. Even if you had business with them, you’d probably try threats or negotiation instead." Thesaya shot a glance at Nasser and smiled. "You’ve spared far too many people already for anyone to deny it."

"I’m not sure why you’re looking at me when you say that, but I agree," Nasser said.

"Right. The fact that I’m still alive is proof of that." Miguel nodded along after him.

That alone was enough to draw a faint, bitter smile from Ian.

In truth, most of those choices hadn’t come from conscience. They had simply been decisions of necessity.

After a moment, Ian swallowed a sigh and met their eyes. "I meant what I said. Remember it."

"Alright."

"Got it."

Miguel and Mev both nodded.

Meanwhile, Nasser, still watching Ian, let a curious smile spread across his lips. "Then this operation must be quite dangerous. You didn’t even say things like that when we were heading to face an archdemon."

"Spellcasters are swarming down there. And we have no idea what might be waiting beneath." Ian clicked his tongue softly as he answered.

He had entered the Gray Magic Tower in the game before, but he hadn’t explored every area.

The real nightmare had been the demonic realm beneath Larmut, and when he reached the tower afterward, he had only wandered briefly before retreating.

In the first place, the quest he’d received had only asked him to uncover a little of the secret hidden within Larmut.

And clearing the Demonic Realm alone had already pushed his patience past its limits.

The client, clearly one of the princes, hadn’t been insane enough to ask him to conquer the tower as well. Instead, he simply paid him generously and warned him to keep quiet.

"By the way, didn’t you say we don’t actually know where the entrance is?" Miguel asked, scratching his beard.

Ian snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "That’s right. Don’t worry. I’ll find a way somehow. You just focus on locating the lake."

"Let me say this now," Thesaya cut in, looking around at the group. "Nobody try anything clever. Just keep your heads down and your mouths shut."

Her gaze lingered especially on Miguel. Under the master liar’s stare, he instinctively drew his head in.

"Whatever happens, leave everything to Ian." She shook her head lightly and turned to Ian with a playful smile. "Actually, to Lord Ivan, the corrupted gray mage who inherited his master’s will. Got it?"

Ian’s eyes narrowed automatically. It was obvious she was looking forward to the ridiculous role he was about to play. And she wasn’t the only one.

"My heart’s suddenly beating faster."

"Indeed. Dark mage Ivan..."

Nasser and even Mev were nodding along.

Miguel’s chuckle followed. "Guess I’m the only one who’s seen him before. Brings back memories... heh..."

"Just focus on finding the path." Ian’s cold retort made Miguel instantly turn back to the front, lips tucked in.

Nasser did the same, though the smile never left his face.

"I’m looking forward to it, Ian," Mev whispered then, placing her hand over the back of his hand where it rested around her waist. "I’m sure that role will suit you very well."

Ian’s brow twitched again.

Mev winked at him and turned forward, her hand still resting on his.

Ian let out a quiet, helpless laugh, shifting his gaze toward Mount Nosnel, now fully revealed ahead.

"If you need my help, just say the word, Ian. If we’re going to deceive a nest of spellcasters, the story can’t have even a single weak point," Thesaya added in a smug tone.

Ian pretended not to hear her at all.