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Chapter 108
In a dark room with no windows, three large doors glowed with different lights, giving off a mysterious and somewhat terrifying feeling.
Short phrases in different languages appeared above each door.
Was it written by magic?
The problem was…
“…Why can I read all of them?”
I stared at the doors with unease.
They read: [You fool], [Unlucky one], and [Blessed]. It was impossible to pretend I didn’t understand.
With a cautious thought, I opened the Blessed door, and three more doors appeared in the next room.
Once again, elegant letters appeared magically, but the sentences were longer this time:
[Whoever opens this door is the biggest fool in the world.]
[Open this door and become bald.]
[Blessings lie ahead.]
“Bald? How could there be such a cruel curse…”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the magical energy emanating from the sentences felt unpleasant.
“But seriously, why can I even read this?”
Come to think of it, ever since I remembered my previous life, I had never had trouble reading anything.
Even when I had grabbed piles of books in the library, I didn’t feel the slightest difficulty reading…
‘Oh, come to think of it, I never actually learned languages properly.’
Had I somehow been “patched” with language skills?
Feeling uneasy, I opened the door of blessings. There wasn’t really a blessing, but it led to the next room.
I wanted to lose quickly, but the curses on the doors became increasingly blatant, cruel, and vicious, making it impossible to reach for them.
‘This script… I know it. It’s Soberean.’
As the sentences grew longer, the languages used became more complex.
From ancient divine language, the foundation of sacred magic, to Celone, the language used in the basics of magic circles—both appeared.
Yet I could read even those easily.
“Hm.”
I guess this is where I should be eliminated.
I was staring at the cursed sentences, wondering which to choose, when I heard: click.
A door opened, and instinctively, I turned around. I saw bright pink hair.
“Ah.”
“Uh.”
It was Chloe.
Why was she here?
Maybe because I didn’t expect to meet anyone here, I blinked blankly. Chloe, however, greeted me first.
“Hi?”
“Hi.”
She was so sociable.
Her bright smile made me smile back without thinking—and then I felt a jolt.
Even though I felt a sense of closeness from having read the novel, the encounter still made me uneasy. That was probably just me being pathetic.
‘If I were Chloe, I’d act naturally without hesitation.’
She’s a sunny protagonist type.
Her bright, straightforward personality, her unruffled, unshadowed demeanor—it was enviable.
I’d never felt envy or inferiority in my life…
But for some reason, standing next to Chloe made my shoulders tense.
“Did we meet at the palace last time?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“I’m Chloe.”
“Arelrin.”
Yes, it was this kind of open, immediate friendliness that struck me.
I think I’d felt something similar with Pession before.
“I was really surprised! My teacher told me to try this out, and I didn’t expect to meet someone here!”
Why is she so friendly with someone she’s only met twice? Is it natural?
I’d need at least three encounters to greet someone first—she was completely different.
I wanted to be like her.
‘If I had that kind of personality… could I have been loved by my mother…?’
A fleeting thought made me smile faintly.
It was meaningless now, but the memory of my unworthy self rattled inside me like a leftover shadow.
It’s fine. Even like this, Mehen liked me.
“I came here with my friends.”
“Oh, I see!”
Chloe smiled beautifully. Her smile was like the whole world brightening.
“This means we can feel magic here! Maybe I can become a wizard.”
“Really?”
Facing someone who seemed like an ideal type I could never become—even if reborn—felt strange.
Is this the kind of person I wanted to be?
“Are you a wizard?”
“Yes, yes. I met my teacher last winter, and now I’m in the apprenticeship period.”
Chloe talked animatedly about meeting her teacher, even though I hadn’t asked.
Was I even allowed to hear this?
I felt a strange sensation, maybe because it was my first time talking with Chloe up close.
It was a distant admiration I hadn’t felt before.
I remembered reading about this kind of personality and wishing I could be like that.
‘But…’
Now I knew.
The suffocating days spent trying to match my mother’s ideals, and the exhilarating moments when I was recognized as truly myself.
“Oh, sorry! Was I boring? I got too excited—I didn’t expect to meet a friend here.”
“It’s okay.”
“Really? Arelrin, you’re really kind.”
Chloe blushed and said shyly.
“And you know, meeting like this is such an incredible coincidence, so I’ll tell you a secret.”
“A secret?”
“If you find the secret room here, you can get an amazing treasure! And you might even get a chance to become the Great Wizard’s apprentice!”
“So that’s why you came in?”
“Yes. My teacher said opportunities like this only come once in a thousand years and sent me here.”
Naturally, I stood with Chloe in front of the doors. She asked,
“Which door are you going to choose?”
“I’m thinking.”
Whether I’d be eliminated or not.
“Can I choose first?”
“What if I just follow you?”
I asked in surprise, and Chloe smiled brightly.
“Once a door opens and closes, it changes to another. You don’t have to worry about that!”
“Okay, then you go first.”
“This one! I can feel huge magical energy here.”
Without hesitation, Chloe opened the door.
“See you later!”
As she said, the door closed, and the sentence changed:
[Sanctify us through truth.]
“Hm…”
Mentions of truth… this must be the correct one.
“But still, it bothers me.”
I turned sharply.
At the far end of the room, a door with a subtle presence caught my eye.
No wonder.
‘[Save me]—what exactly does it want me to save?’
There was no handle, but when I touched it, the door opened as if it had been waiting. I swallowed nervously.
Stepping inside, I frowned at the completely new space—different from anything I had seen so far.
“Huh? This place really feels like….”
Mage Tower, 1st Floor Lounge
The children huddled together, waiting for just one person.
“When will Arel come out?”
Pession drained a newly purchased drink. It was sold in the Mage Tower and tasted like stars exploding in the mouth.
“Yeah, Arel is taking a while.”
“Maybe she has magical talent after all?”
The twins, who joined late, had already entered and been eliminated at lightning speed.
Above the heads of all the eliminated, words floated in the continental common language.
Above Pession: Fool,
Above Harun: Idiot,
Above the twins: Blockhead.
The words blinked like special effects.
Ciel grumbled.
“Ugh, how long will this float around?”
Pession shrugged.
“They disappear once you leave the Mage Tower. It’s so people can distinguish eliminated participants. There are so many who don’t accept it and want to try again.”
“Annoying.”
Once Arelrin came out, I’d make sure to erase these unpleasant words too.
As Ciel glared at the floating words above his head, suddenly…
Rumble rumble rumble.
The Mage Tower shook.
“Huh?”
Was it an earthquake?
Everyone froze.
Ta-dan, tan-tan, tan tan!
A lively melody rang out from somewhere, and everyone’s eyes widened.
At the same time, the Mage Tower suddenly became chaotic.
