CRUNCH!
Mana flowed backward.
A pressure like his heart was being crushed in a fist.
The inside of his body burned.
His finger joints spasmed as if they were about to bend backward.
“Uaaaagh—!!”
His body trembled as if convulsing.
The Magic Tower’s outer wall was struck once again.
CRACK—!!
He heard the sound of a crack forming somewhere.
[Barrier Stability: 43%.]
[Rapidly dropping.]
Then—
《Magic Tower Stability: 27%》
“Damn it…!”
Jin-woo shattered a bottle and poured it over the core nucleus.
HSSSS—!!
The Mana Crystal Fluid evaporated, forcefully suppressing the unstable mana flow.
[Energy output exceeds 120%.]
[Circuit damage accelerating.]
“I don’t care if it breaks! Just hold for now!”
CRAAAAASH—!!!
As if pouring in one final blow, the storm struck the entire Magic Tower.
The barrier warped.
As space twisted, mana collided as if exploding.
Jin-woo’s vision went white.
His ears rang, and his consciousness grew distant.
[Output threshold reached.]
[Barrier collapse risk.]
《Magic Tower Stability: 23%》
“Not yet—!!”
Jin-woo squeezed out the last of his strength.
He still did not have any mana-related skills.
But he had the experience of surviving and climbing all the way to the ninety-eighth floor.
Countless mana runaways, countless broken circuits, and the senses he had learned with his body within them.
Max-level Magic Engineering was—
not a skill, but a habit.
“I’ll control it.”
He forcibly bound every mana circuit in the Magic Tower into a single flow.
“Hold…!”
And—
CRASH—!!
With a thunderous roar, the wave of mana slowly began to scatter.
The vibration of space subsided, and the air that had twisted as if being torn apart slowly stabilized.
Silence.
The sound of metal rolling and falling somewhere far away.
Only then did Jin-woo collapse.
“…Ha.”
It was a sound closer to a sigh than a breath.
[Barrier operation ended.]
[Survival confirmed.]
[Barrier Generator severely damaged.]
[Reactivation impossible.]
“I survived….”
Jin-woo leaned his back against the floor and gasped roughly for breath.
His fingertips trembled, and his entire body was soaked with cold sweat.
“If I survived… that’s enough.”
[Agreed.]
Lumina’s voice was still calm, but this time, there was a strange sense of relief mixed within it.
Jin-woo slowly closed his eyes.
Only after the Mana Storm had passed did he realize it.
‘Really….’
Before he knew it, he lay back.
‘I almost died.’
***
Several hours passed.
Jin-woo slowly opened his eyes.
“…What?”
His throat was bone-dry.
His entire body felt as heavy as a lump of lead, and a faint numbness still lingered in his fingertips.
“Did I fall asleep?”
He searched his memory.
The Mana Storm.
The barrier.
And the mana control he had dragged up at the very end.
“Well… I did overdo it.”
In the process of binding the flow of the mana circuits into one, he had truly squeezed out every bit of strength he had.
To the point that even breathing had been difficult.
“……I’m alive, right?”
The moment he muttered without thinking.
[Consciousness stability confirmed.]
[Life signals within normal range.]
[Overload aftereffects remain.]
[Estimated time until recovery: approximately 3 hours.]
Lumina’s voice immediately followed.
“Whew.”
Jin-woo breathed out shortly.
Then he checked the Magic Tower Stability.
《Magic Tower Stability: 20%》
《Stability recovering.》
It had been close.
If the Mana Storm had been even a little stronger, he would have received a penalty.
“Looks like I really am alive.”
[Survival judgment standard: comprehensive analysis of heartbeat, respiration, nerve response, and remaining mana.]
[Current state: alive.]
“Thanks. For confirming.”
[Reporting is my duty.]
[…Additional confirmation. Complete.]
Its tone was still dry.
But this time, the answer was unusually fast.
Jin-woo tried to raise his body a little, then laid his back on the floor again.
“…I really thought I was going to die.”
[Judgment matches.]
[Barrier Generator damage rate: 93%.]
[Reactivation impossible.]
[Magic Tower structural stability: maintaining critical line.]
“But it held.”
For a trial this severe—
the Tower had to pay the price.
Ding!
《Successfully survived Mana Storm.》
《A large amount of Survival EXP accumulates.》
《Level rises.》
《Current Level: 12》
“…Wow.”
Jin-woo breathed out one beat late.
It felt as if his heart was only now catching up to the fact that he had survived.
The numbers showed the weight of the disaster.
His Level.
It had jumped by a full six stages.
‘That’s how close I really came to dying.’
This Mana Storm was not a simple natural phenomenon.
It was a judgment the Tower had brought down to sort out the survivors.
If there had been no barrier—
by now, he would have scattered as ash.
“That really was close.”
[Affirmative.]
“How much energy is left now?”
[Remaining Energy: 5%]
Jin-woo laughed briefly.
“Saying we held… means there’s almost nothing left.”
Just once.
Blocking the Mana Storm even once had required an enormous amount of energy.
Before the Regression, he had been lucky.
Because he had been inside a dungeon.
This time was different.
Now, this Tower was throwing it at him head-on.
‘The Barrier Generator….’
Jin-woo could not continue speaking for a moment.
“It’s done for.”
[Damage caused by core overload]
[Magic circuits and important components damaged]
Lumina’s bleak report continued.
And that was not all.
[Magic Tower damage rate: 75%.]
[Major functions: passage circuits / purification device / Transmutation Core damaged.]
Red warning text took over his vision.
As if the Magic Tower itself were screaming all at once.
[A-1 passage magic circuit connection faulty.]
[A-2 passage abnormal signal detected.]
[Purification device component replacement required.]
[Transmutation Core – major component damaged.]
“…Damn it.”
The Magic Tower had half-collapsed.
He had crossed one crisis.
And immediately, the next mountain rose before him.
“The mine?”
[Stabilization frame emergency operation]
[Mine collapse rate decreased.]
Only then did Jin-woo properly breathe in.
“……Still, this survived.”
[Affirmative.]
That, at least, was good news.
The Mana Stones mined from the mine were important fuel.
If he lost even that, he might have to consider the worst-case scenario.
“Ngh… I have to fix everything….”
There was a problem.
Materials were lacking.
Mana Crystal Fluid and powder could somehow be managed.
The problem was iron.
Iron to make Magic Engineering circuits.
It was gone.
Until now, he had melted down rusted pickaxes or unnecessary parts to use.
Now, even that had reached its limit.
“I burned through almost all the iron fixing the Barrier Generator.”
That was when it happened.
Ding!
An alarm sounded.
《Settlement complete》
《Survival bonus reward granted.》
‘…So it wasn’t over yet.’
The moment his Level rose by six, Jin-woo had thought that should be enough.
But the Tower was always one move above human standards.
‘Equivalent exchange.’
The Tower was strict about this principle, at least.
However, its standard was not human, but the Tower’s.
“Reward.”
After a short silence—
《Perk Grade increased》
《Perk: Enhancement LV. 2 (Transcendence)》
《Equipment Enhancement: maximum 2》
《Device Enhancement: limited unlock》
“…Device Enhancement?”
《Magic Engineering device Enhancement possible after ‘core module’ restoration》
《Number of devices available for Enhancement: 1》
“What is this… Perks can level up too?”
Jin-woo was startled.
He had expected some kind of reward, but he had never imagined it would give him a reward that raised his “Perk” Level.
Without hesitation, Jin-woo thought of his most worn-out piece of equipment.
His shoes.
He immediately attempted Enhancement.
《Shoes Enhancement +2》
《Enhancement Effect: Durability slightly increased and restored》
Jin-woo looked at his shoes.
He had worn them for so long that they had been completely worn out.
There had even been several holes in them.
Those shoes were now intact.
“Usable.”
Jin-woo enhanced his clothes too.
《Target: Equipment.》
《Enhancement applicable.》
A moment later.
《Clothes Enhancement +2》
《Effect: Durability restored and Defense slightly increased》
His clothes returned to their original state too.
He could not yet feel the option of Defense slightly increasing, but.
‘Not bad, is it?’
He had already been worrying about how to get new clothes.
With this, he felt as if he could hold out.
‘If it really came down to it, I was going to enter the Goblin settlement and bring back a few sheets of leather….’
It seemed he would not have to do that.
Only after enhancing his clothes too did Jin-woo catch his breath.
Perk: Enhancement.
Now it could be used on devices as well.
“One device, huh….”
Jin-woo stroked his chin.
There were many things he wanted to enhance.
‘If I enhance the Barrier Generator… it’ll block the Mana Storm better than now, right?’
But the next Mana Storm was in 30 days.
With that much time, he could raise the Barrier Generator’s Repair Rate further, so pass.
‘Then it’s either the Transmutation Core or the purification device….’
Since he could only choose one, it gave him trouble.
The priority was the Transmutation Core.
Decision made.
…That was when it happened.
RUMBLE-
The Magic Tower trembled.
“Lumina?”
[Mana circulation problem occurred.]
[A-1 area, fire occurrence probability increasing.]
“What’s the probability?”
[Rising trend. Currently classified as ‘danger.’]
“Ngh….”
It seemed he had no time to sit and think deeply.
There was only one thing he had to do now.
“First, repairs.”
He had to move.
In order to survive.
***
The aftermath of the Mana Storm was worse than expected.
[Internal temperature unstable.]
[Internal air pressure fluctuation detected.]
“Tch….”
Jin-woo clicked his tongue briefly.
With the mana circulation disrupted, the internal environment of the Magic Tower itself had become unstable.
‘If I leave it alone, it’ll get worse.’
Jin-woo moved immediately.
He began working on the A-1 passage, where the risk level was highest.
[Magic Engineering assists you.]
When he tore away the wall surface, black smoke rose.
It was the residue of burned circuits.
‘As expected.’
The magic circuits were severed in multiple places from the impact of the Mana Storm.
Jin-woo took out the Magic Engraver.
‘…I need more hands.’
There was no reason to hesitate.
《Magic Engraver Enhancement +2》
《Enhancement Effect: fine-work correction increased.》
‘Good.’
The tip of the engraver trembled faintly as fine mana condensed.
Jin-woo released the strength from his wrist and slowly drew a line along the severed circuit path.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The blue-light circuit connected again across the wall.
‘It’s definitely different.’
Before, this was work that would have made him hold his breath and redraw it several times.
But now, his hand found the path first.
A moment later.
[Magic circuit connection stabilized.]
[A-1 passage – function restoration complete.]
Ding!
《Magic Tower repair confirmed》
《Magic Tower Stability: 22%》
《Stability recovering.》
Jin-woo breathed out lightly.
“One done.”