It was not over.
The damage had spread through the entire “passage.”
The work time was far shorter than expected, but the scale of the Mana Storm’s damage did not allow that to mean much.
“Next.”
Jin-woo immediately moved to the adjacent section.
The inner part of the A-1 passage.
It was a section where the temperature-control circuit and mana distribution lines were tangled together.
Burn marks and cracks remained here and there, and some circuits had melted down entirely.
[Internal mana circulation realignment required.]
“Of course it’s not going to end easily.”
Jin-woo opened the wall surface and lifted the Magic Engraver again.
《Tool Sense assists you.》
Scratch.
Scratch.
Blue lines continued, and the severed circuits meshed together again.
One section.
Then another.
The work continued without pause until his arms grew heavy and the sensation in his fingertips dulled.
By the time he no longer knew how much time had passed—
[Internal environment stabilization progress: 32%.]
Lumina’s report came.
《Magic Tower Stability: 26%》
Only then did Jin-woo loosen his stiff wrist and breathe out at length.
“This place is done for now.”
The A-1 passage was enough at this level.
Jin-woo rose and headed straight to the A-2 corridor.
This side was not exactly normal either.
“Damn Mana Storm.”
This was why the Arcanists had cursed so much in their journals.
Whenever a Mana Storm passed, Magic Engineering devices were always the first to die.
Jin-woo rolled up his sleeves.
“All right, all right. Let’s keep going.”
***
For several more days after that.
Jin-woo stitched the passages back together as if grinding himself into them.
[DAY -30 ended.]
[Survival EXP accumulates.]
Only then did Jin-woo realize how long he had been moving.
“Ngh… finally done.”
Jin-woo rotated his stiff shoulders and breathed out at length.
All the way to the A-3 corridor.
The repairs on the main passages inside the Magic Tower were all complete.
Fortunately, the Transmutation Core device and the purification device had not suffered major damage.
Their functions could be restored with only inspection and simple repairs.
《Magic Tower Stability: 33%》
《Unstable state maintained.》
“Still… we’re definitely short on iron.”
If he had to continue repairs on this scale, it would be hard to endure from now on.
[Affirmative.]
[Iron reserves decreased.]
[Additional resource collection required.]
“I know.”
Jin-woo rubbed his chin and fell into thought for a moment.
“There are about two methods.”
[Listening.]
“First, raid the Goblin settlement.”
[Recommendation level: low.]
[Iron purity of Goblin equipment: below average.]
“I know. I can melt down old weapons and armor and extract it, but… the efficiency is poor.”
With Magic Tower Stability unstable right now, it was not an easy option.
“The second is the first-floor dungeon.”
[Checking records….]
[Record damaged]
Jin-woo shrugged.
“If I can just find that place, I won’t have to worry about iron for a while.”
[Location information incomplete.]
[Precise coordinates cannot be confirmed.]
“That’s the problem.”
Jin-woo breathed out shortly.
“I remember hearing its location… but it’s been too long, so I can’t quite get a feel for it.”
It seemed he would have to hurry up and make that “medicine.”
With that, even old memories could be revived.
‘I’ll have to go out to collect materials after all….’
“Lumina. How’s the internal environment?”
[Internal environment stabilization progress: 62%.]
[Below the standard value of 80%.]
“That’s definitely low….”
Breathing was a little harder than before.
The air he inhaled did not fill his lungs all the way.
Thick, sticky air—blocked somewhere.
“The mana circulation… is strange.”
[Agreed.]
[Internal mana flow imbalance continues.]
Jin-woo slowly nodded.
“I worked on all the passages and major devices….”
His gaze naturally turned toward the A-3 area.
The repairs were complete, but strangely, whenever he entered this section, his breathing became more stifled.
Both the airflow and the mana response were subtly misaligned.
“It’s here.”
Jin-woo stopped in front of the wall.
Outwardly, it was an ordinary stone wall.
But when he brought his hand close, he felt a familiar sense of mana resistance.
“…It’s a barrier.”
It was not the first time.
He had already opened the Magic Tower’s internal “sealed walls” several times with Administrator Authority.
However.
“In this location?”
There was no reason for a barrier to exist in this section.
“Lumina. Check authority for this wall.”
[Checking….]
[Entry possible.]
[Temporary Administrator (C) Authority satisfied.]
“As expected.”
Jin-woo breathed out shortly and pressed his palm against the wall.
Vwoong—
With a familiar vibration, the stone wall slowly split apart as if it were a folded structure.
Inside.
The air was clearly different.
Mana formed a steady flow and gathered toward the center of the space.
“…This is.”
A device completely different in form from the Magic Tower’s existing structure.
Intricately tangled circuits and crystal structures formed a huge ring at the center.
[Unregistered structure confirmed.]
[Analyzing function….]
[Estimated as mana circulation auxiliary device.]
[Core structure for Magic Tower internal environment stabilization.]
“A circulation device.”
Jin-woo slowly breathed in.
“…So that’s why it was hard to breathe.”
Magic Tower Stability, 33%.
What had originally gone up to 38% was not recovering.
‘Is this because of the circulation device?’
At that moment—
[Internal mana flow rapidly changing.]
[Circulation device output unstable.]
Jin-woo’s eyes narrowed.
“…What?”
The ring shook faintly.
Dark-red light began seeping between the circuits.
[Warning.]
[Residual Mana Storm detected]
[Runaway possibility — high.]
Jin-woo reflexively threw himself forward.
“Lumina, close the barrier again!”
But—
[Response delay.]
[Residual mana interference—control impossible.]
[No device response.]
The entire space began to ring low.
Ruuuumble….
Jin-woo gritted his teeth.
‘…It’s too late to close it.’
And then—
from the center of the circulation device, a mana wave unlike anything he had ever seen erupted explosively.
The air tore apart, and his lungs screamed first.
‘This isn’t a storm.’
RUMBLE—!
The entire Magic Tower shook as if twisting.
The sensation of the air being crushed tightened around his lungs, and even inhaling grew increasingly difficult.
Jin-woo gritted his teeth.
“Damn it….”
Mana that had run wild at the center of the circulation device was surging.
The dark-red flow covered the entire ring and pressed down as if trying to tear the device structure itself to pieces.
[Warning.]
[Time until mana circulation critical point — 12 seconds.]
‘12 seconds.’
Jin-woo reached out, then stopped.
At this speed, it would not be a “repair”—
it would be a “last will.”
The barrier was not responding.
Only one thing remained.
Force it to hold.
‘There’s only one way.’
His gaze fixed on the central ring.
Not repair, but “forced stabilization.”
The Perk, “Enhancement.”
Originally for equipment—
But just now, he had confirmed that it could be used on devices too.
‘This isn’t restoration.’
‘I raise the output curve and push the collapse threshold back.’
‘Not a cure, but emergency treatment.’
If he failed—
‘My lungs will tear before the Magic Tower does.’
One chance.
It was a shame to use it, but.
[Time until critical point — 7 seconds.]
Hesitation was a luxury.
“Here goes.”
The moment his palm touched the ring—the metal pulsed.
Enhancement.
As the Perk activated, the mana inside his body reacted explosively.
《Target: Device.》
《Enhancement applicable.》
A moment later.
《Circulation Magic Engineering Device Enhancement +1》
《Effect: Mana stabilization enhanced》
The circuits inside the ring lit up all at once.
CRAAAAASH—!!
The entire device spat out light as if exploding.
A blue flash spread along the ring structure and began forcibly rearranging the circuits that had been on the verge of collapse.
Twisted lines were forced to connect, and the structure that had been tearing apart meshed back together.
[Warning.]
[Circulation Magic Engineering Device output rapidly increasing.]
[Internal mana pressure limit exceeded.]
“Hold…!”
Jin-woo gritted his teeth.
A feeling came over him as if not his fingertips, but his very nerves, were burning away.
Pain tore deep into his brain like an electric current.
The circulation ring trembled as if screaming, and the entire space rang like an explosion.
“Urgh…!”
However—
the dark-red residual storm mana was pushed back.
In its place, a proper blue current filled the ring.
The runaway mana aligned into a steady orbit, and the entire device structure began finding a new balance point.
[Output stabilization progress — 63%.]
The ring’s vibration dropped by one tone.
[78%.]
The dark-red afterimage snapped apart like a thread.
[91%.]
The ring contracted once, as if taking a great breath.
And—
[Output stabilization complete.]
[Circulation Magic Engineering Device status — stable.]
THUD.
The ring’s vibration stopped.
The air settled into order, and the inside of the Magic Tower fell into a brief silence.
Only after a long while did Jin-woo breathe out roughly.
“…This time, I really survived.”
Only after confirming that sensation was returning to his fingertips did Jin-woo let out his breath.
His hand was still shaking.
Jin-woo clenched his fist and forced the trembling down.
Then, belatedly, the calculation rose in his mind.
‘…Enhancement. I was originally going to use it on the Transmutation Core.’
But.
In that moment, there had been no answer other than that choice.
Jin-woo slowly breathed out.
“……It was the best choice.”
And then.
Ding!
《Successfully suppressed Circulation Magic Engineering Device runaway.》
《Survival EXP accumulates.》
He gained EXP.
But the real change came next.
[Circulation device operating.]
[Current output: 12%.]
Vwoooong—
With a low and soft vibration, the air changed.
“Ah….”
The stale air that had been pressing down and clinging to everything disappeared.
The faintly fishy stench lingering in the air scattered as if it had been a lie.
The breath he inhaled filled his lungs deeply and coolly.
[Internal environment stabilization progress: 89%.]
“It’s definitely different.”
His body reacted first.
The tension in his muscles eased, and the pressure that had remained like a headache disappeared.
“Energy consumption?”
[Expected consumption: 2% per hour.]
Jin-woo frowned.
“It won’t last long.”
Then, suddenly.
“……Wait.”
Jin-woo recalled the Perk information.
“The rest of the Enhancements all go to you.”
《Circulation Magic Engineering Device Enhancement +2》
[Consumption: 1% per hour.]
“…It decreased.”
Jin-woo laughed softly.
“This much, we can handle.”
Ding!
《Circulation Magic Engineering Device repair confirmed》
《Magic Tower Stability: 40%》
At the same time as the fallen Stability recovered, it reached 40%.
And—
《Magic Tower Stability buff granted.》
《Leaving Post Penalty mitigated.》
《Mana Recovery Efficiency increased》
A buff was granted.
Leaving Post Penalty mitigation was good.
‘With this, even if I go out to collect resources, I can reduce the burden a little.’
And the Mana Recovery Efficiency Increase was good too.
“Lumina.”
Beep-
[Linkage with main fuel tank confirmed.]
[Mana consumption decrease detected.]
“How much?”
[Daily Mana Stone consumption: 20 → 18]
A saving of two Mana Stones.
And mana recovery was not something that applied only to the Magic Tower.
‘Me too.’
Jin-woo clenched his fist.
The mana he had used just now to endure the impact of the Circulation Magic Engineering Device was recovering.
Faster than usual.
‘This works.’
This buff could be used.
Jin-woo lightly tapped the outer frame of the circulation device.
The metal that had been cold was now subtly warm.
A living machine.
The Magic Tower’s lungs.
And—
Jin-woo’s lifeline.
“Hold well.”
At that moment—
regret abruptly lifted its head.
“……Still.”
What if.
What if that Enhancement had gone into the Transmutation Core?
The Mana Crystal Fluid he could refine in a day.
Refinement speed.
Precision.
Every value would have risen by one stage.
“Heh….”
Jin-woo laughed briefly and shook his head.
“…Next.”