Jin-woo reflexively asked back.
“Did you just say ‘return’ is possible?”
[Affirmative.]
“How?”
This time, he asked while swallowing his breath.
“……Really?”
[Multiple ‘Magic Towers’ exist within the Tower.]
“……Multiple?”
Jin-woo’s eyes widened.
[Affirmative.]
[If you ‘open’ an upper-floor Magic Tower, you can return to the current Magic Tower.]
For a moment, Jin-woo’s expression stiffened.
“What do you mean, there are multiple Magic Towers? I’ve never seen a facility like that.”
The ninetieth floor.
Until he saw that, even the term ‘Magic Tower’ had not existed.
[Upper-floor Magic Towers are not recognized until ‘Administrator’ authority is activated.]
[The moment the first-floor Magic Tower was activated, the linked barriers began releasing sequentially.]
“……So.”
Lumina’s explanation was short, but the puzzle pieces were enough.
Jin-woo moved his eyes as he organized the flow in his head.
“The first floor has to start running before the next one opens.”
[Affirmative.]
[A special barrier recognizable only to a Temporary Administrator or Full Administrator is active.]
At that moment, all his questions were answered.
That was why he had not seen them before Regression.
The Magic Towers that existed on the upper floors
were not facilities just anyone could find.
‘Administrator.’
Not an area permitted to those who climbed the Tower, but to those who could ‘use’ it.
Jin-woo quietly exhaled.
“…This is a completely different structure.”
Even if he climbed to the upper floors, he now had a reason he did not need to abandon the Magic Tower.
And at the same time, the significance of this Magic Tower rose by another level.
“Then which floors have Magic Towers?”
[Record damaged.]
[Unable to retrieve Magic Tower location information.]
“It was abandoned for so long… of course the records wouldn’t remain.”
It meant the location information had been lost along with them.
“If I climb up later, I’ll have to find them myself, won’t I?”
[Magic Tower beacon can be crafted.]
“There’s something like that too?”
[Affirmative.]
[A signal Magic Engineering device that indicates the ‘direction’ where a Magic Tower exists.]
[Blueprint can be loaded.]
“No.”
Jin-woo shook his head.
‘When the day comes that I need coordinates, that blueprint will be my lifeline.’
For now, it was enough to know that such a thing existed.
He still had not completely turned this Magic Tower into a base.
Leaving was premature.
“Forget that. For now, let’s make the Transmutation device first.”
***
CLACK, CLACK—!
Jin-woo fitted the final part of the Transmutation Core device into place.
The sound of metal interlocking rang through the Main Room.
《You have used Magic Engineering.》
He immediately began the circuit work.
Following the blueprint, he chose only the necessary lines and connected them.
These were circuits he had drawn a few times as tests, then erased completely.
So this time, his hands remembered first.
SCRAPE.
SCRAPE.
The Magic Engraver moved busily.
Once the circuits were complete, this time he engraved the magic circle.
With a special solution mixed from Mana Crystal Fluid and Ritual Ash, he engraved the magic circle around the core.
[Magic circuits are extremely sensitive.]
[An error of only 0.01 mm may lead to operation failure.]
Lumina left a short warning sound.
“I know. Right now—be quiet.”
Jin-woo raised his concentration.
《Tool Sense assists you.》
The skill helped him.
His trembling hand stilled, allowing him to engrave the magic circle with precision.
Whirr—.
The friction sound continued for a moment, and soon the work was finished.
Jin-woo took one step back and looked at the device.
The form of the Transmutation Core device was finally complete.
“Whew… is this enough?”
The device was complete.
There was no reason to stop.
“Lumina. How does it look?”
A brief silence passed.
A faint light spread from the wall of the Magic Tower, then wrapped around the device.
[Analysis beginning.]
The light slowly moved along the circuits.
The frame, the magic circle, down to the core base.
It scanned everything without missing a part.
[Structural stability confirmed.]
[Circuit connections normal.]
[Magic circle engraving within error range.]
[Transmutation Core device operation conditions fulfilled.]
Only then did Jin-woo exhale.
“Still… it isn’t perfect, right?”
[Affirmative.]
[Current configuration is in a temporary completion stage.]
[Possibility of reduced output efficiency and stability exists.]
Jin-woo nodded.
With the materials he had now, this much was the limit.
“Enough.”
For now, this was enough.
All that remained was activation.
“Lumina. What can I refine?”
[At the current stage, only ‘refinement (quality homogenization)’ is possible.]
[‘Conversion (resource substitution)’ is impossible due to insufficient output stability.]
“What else?”
[Output unstable.]
[Impossible.]
“Tsk… I figured.”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue, but there was no great disappointment on his face.
He had not expected it to be all-purpose from the beginning.
‘Even this is enough.’
He picked up one Mana Stone he had prepared.
It was a Mana Stone from the first floor, with a rough surface and uneven mana.
Jin-woo slowly pushed it toward the Transmutation Core.
Vwooom—!
The device responded with a low hum.
Light spread from the center of the core like a pulse.
[Transmutation Core Magic Engineering device activated.]
[Refinement success rate: 90%.]
[Energy rearrangement beginning.]
The entire Transmutation Core device trembled faintly.
The light flowing along the circuits circulated in a steady rhythm.
‘It’s running.’
Jin-woo held his breath and watched the process.
A moment later—
[Refinement complete.]
[Material loss rate: 15%.]
The outlet attached to the side of the device.
A kind of release gate opened, and something flowed out from within.
Ssssh.
It was white powder.
“……This is.”
Jin-woo lightly pinched the powder with his fingers.
“……Mana Stone powder?”
But it was a little different.
“No, this grain… is different.”
In terms of form alone, it was not greatly different from what he had been grinding and making by hand until now.
But the sensation transmitted through his fingertips was completely different.
Mana was spread evenly through it.
It was consistent, with no unstable parts.
That was why proper device Enhancement had been difficult on the first floor.
Jin-woo let the powder run between his fingers.
The particles were uniform.
There was no disorder.
‘This is… different.’
A completely different sensation from the Mana Stones he had handled until now.
Jin-woo’s gaze naturally returned to the Transmutation Core.
‘If I can keep producing this.’
It was not only the purification device.
Every part he had been unable to touch until now would change.
He could raise the entire Magic Tower up by one level.
‘The problem is… how long it can endure.’
“Lumina.”
[Analysis complete.]
[Mana Stone powder.]
[Grade: E.]
[Impure mana components confirmed removed.]
[Distribution uniformity increased.]
“E-grade….”
Jin-woo murmured quietly.
It was not as if a completely different material had appeared out of nowhere.
But it was clearly ‘one level higher.’
[Refined state good.]
[Transmutation Core normal operation confirmed.]
Jin-woo silently looked down at the powder.
The sensation of mana remaining on his fingertips was clearly different from before.
Jin-woo nodded.
The experiment was a success.
‘E-grade Mana Stone powder….’
It was a quality that could not come from the first floor.
With this much, his options changed.
‘I should work on the purification device first.’
If he used this powder, he could raise the purification efficiency.
Energy consumption would decrease too, and the maintenance time would increase.
The difference between F-grade and E-grade was clear.
And now, the means to create that difference was right before his eyes.
Jin-woo looked at the Transmutation Core and slowly exhaled.
“Now… it’s finally starting to run.”
The Magic Tower had begun to operate.
***
Jin-woo silently stared at the Transmutation Core for a while.
The light was pulsing steadily, but that did not mean the burden lying beneath it had disappeared.
‘It’s running well. But….’
It was still too early to call it perfect.
A refinement success rate of 90%.
And a loss rate of 15%.
They were not simple numbers.
This device was still operating with no leeway, close to its limit.
‘If I run it recklessly, it’ll definitely cause trouble.’
Jin-woo felt it instinctively.
This was not an万能 device.
If he wanted to use it properly, he had to set standards.
“Lumina.”
[Awaiting response.]
“If I keep running the Transmutation Core in this state, how long can it hold out?”
A brief silence.
It was Lumina’s calculation wait time.
[Continuous operation is not recommended at the current output standard.]
[Stable operation standard: once per day.]
[At more than 500g, the core resonance value fluctuates.]
[Backflow into the Magic Tower circulation circuit is possible.]
“Really? Then what about Remaining Energy?”
[Remaining Energy: 52%]
“It dropped by 12%.”
64 before activation.
52 after activation.
Just from the numbers, Jin-woo realized how ‘expensive’ the device was.
“As expected.”
Jin-woo gave a short nod.
It was true that the Magic Tower had begun to run.
But for now, it was not yet at the stage of ‘operating’ it, but the stage of ‘handling’ it.
‘I can’t get greedy.’
What he needed now was not expansion, but stability.
Jin-woo lowered the Transmutation Core’s output by one level.
The pulse of light slowed slightly.
At the same time, the entire Magic Tower felt somewhat calmer.
“That’s it for today.”
He would not touch it any further.
For now, this was enough.
He slowly looked around the Main Room.
It was still full of things it lacked,
but at least it was no longer an anxious space like before.
‘Now… it’s finally in a state where I can hold out.’
Jin-woo turned toward the bed.
His body was tired, but his mind was actually clear.
What he had to do tomorrow was already decided.
The purification device.
Now it was time to work on that.
That was when it happened.
Ding—!
A familiar notification sound rang out.
Jin-woo reflexively raised his head.
《Requirements fulfilled for crafting an advanced Magic Engineering device.》
《Administrator Contribution evaluation beginning.》
“…Now?”
At the moment fatigue was rushing in, the system slipped precisely through that gap.
《Evaluating….》
《Output stability, structural completion, and survival contribution reflected.》
《Evaluation complete.》
《Temporary Administrator Grade increased: D → C》
For a moment, Jin-woo said nothing.
“…C.”
It did not end there.
《You have repaired a resource refinement device necessary for survival for the first time.》
《Survival EXP accumulates.》
《Magic Tower Stability: 38%》
After he made the Transmutation device, Survival EXP and Magic Tower Stability increased.
38%.
It was lacking, but for now, it was enough.
“Now, what I have to do is decided.”
Jin-woo unconsciously turned his gaze.
On one side of the Main Room, there was still a “sealed panel” he had not even touched.
‘The purification device. And… that door.’