Chapter 74

# Chapter 74: <Contrary to Intentions>

Kale looked at On, Hong, and Raon.

‘Why is this happening?’

He asked with his eyes, but the three only shook their heads with a sigh.

“Huuu.”

At that moment, the sound of crying could still be heard. What could be so sad that it made someone cry like that? Kale looked at Mueller again.

Dwarves and ratkin were naturally short. Mueller, who had inherited this trait to an extreme, was even smaller than both dwarves and ratkin.

He looked like a fairy tale dwarf. Moreover, his appearance was round and cute, making anyone, regardless of gender, feel a protective instinct towards this small person.

However, Kale was not pleased.

"Poor thing."

On and Hong approached Mueller with their tails wagging, showing a sympathetic expression. The closer they got, the more Mueller trembled. Now, he was even covering his mouth and crying.

"…He really looks pitiful."

Kale snorted inwardly at On’s words.

Pitiful?

He was thirty this year, born into a family of tower designers, and had enjoyed all the privileges and luxuries that came with it.

Moreover, he had hidden away out of fear, and despite knowing the final defense of the tower, he did not use it. He had to reveal himself, and out of fear of death, he ignored his father’s last words.

If he hadn’t, the Mage Guild might not have fallen so far.

Of course, it was a good thing for Kale.

Though he appeared to be a young and cute boy, inside was a thirty-year-old who knew everything about the world and prioritized his own safety.

Naturally, this was better for Kale.

“Huuu.”

Kale was starting to get tired of seeing a grown man cry. He tried to act affectionate but gave up on the pretense.

“Hey.”

At Kale’s call, Mueller flinched. He glanced at the iron rod in Kale’s hand and trembled. He thought his life was about to end here.

Thud, thud. Something was placed in his lap, which was still huddled against the wall. It was a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk, thrown by Kale from his magic pouch.

Mueller’s eyes flickered. He looked at Kale cautiously. Kale’s face was slightly annoyed.

“Eat.”

At the command, Mueller hastily bit into the bread. Kale, watching Mueller eat the tear-soaked bread, had a strange premonition.

‘…This seems a bit too suspicious.’

His intuition was not good. It seemed overly suspicious.

He had heard that dwarves’ technical skills and ratkin’s meticulousness and secrecy combined to make the best designers and architects. How could it be—

“T-Thank you.”

Why does he give off such a suspicious vibe?

Kale felt a creeping unease. Regardless, On, Hong, and Raon approached Mueller with sympathetic expressions, intending to shield him from Kale, who seemed scary.

However, contrary to their intentions, Mueller was not even tasting the bread. A pureblooded ratkin and a dragon.

At that moment, a chilling sound reached his ears as he stopped eating.

Thud, thud. Kale tapped the wall with the iron rod. It was a casual action without any particular thought.

He looked at Mueller, feeling uneasy but decided to take him along.

The Hennithus territory had many sculptors and technicians in various fields, especially in architecture, due to the presence of quarries. Therefore, Mueller had his uses.

“Do you want to live?”

Kale’s low voice echoed. He was slightly annoyed by Mueller’s attempt to cry again.

Thud, thud.

Tapping the wall with the iron rod, Kale calmed himself. Since Mueller was timid, he needed to be treated gently. Kale smiled kindly and asked Mueller.

“Do you want to live?”

Mueller nodded very vigorously, so much that bread crumbs flew. Satisfied with this intense reaction, Kale spoke more calmly.

“Then listen to me. Got it?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Eat the bread first.”

Mueller started eating the bread very quickly. Satisfied with the speed, Kale asked the rat casually.

“Do you know the treasure room of the tower master?”

Thud. The bread in his hand fell. Kale spoke kindly.

“The bread fell. Pick it up.”

Mueller hurriedly picked up the bread. He was still huddled against the wall, surrounded by Kale, On, Hong, and Raon.

“You know, right? There’s a separate room for the tower master. A room truly for the tower master.”

The 20th floor was not the true room of the tower master. The tower was not an easy building.

Confusion clouded Mueller’s eyes. How did he know about this? It was a story passed down only in the tower master’s and designer families.

At that moment, Kale’s voice reached his ears again.

“And the 4th basement floor. Can you get in there?”

Kale could see the shock on Mueller’s face. The tower was known to have 3 basement floors and 20 above-ground floors.

He felt a strange sensation as Mueller, trembling in fear, looked at him with a question of how he knew all this. It made him feel like a kidnapper or a blackmailer, though he had no such intentions. Instead, he planned to save Mueller and provide him with a safe haven.

Kale smiled patiently and calmed the trembling rat.

“First, if you do as I say, I’ll let you live.”

Of course, he couldn’t let him go free. He needed to take him and put him to work. Kale saw Mueller’s hurried response.

“I’ll do anything.”

The ratkin hybrid spoke with intense sincerity.

“Good.”

Kale responded to that sincerity.

Mueller felt deep fear as he looked at the terrifying ratkin, the even more terrifying purebloods, and the black dragon.

“Then finish the bread and guide me to the 4th basement floor.”

“But to get there, we need mana—”

Before Mueller could finish, a pouch was handed to him. It contained several mana stones. Mueller hastily finished the tear-soaked bread.

Surrounded by Kale’s group, he had to go down to the 3rd basement floor.

At the 3rd basement floor stairs, there was only a door leading to the 3rd basement floor, and no stairs leading further down. But with the mana stones, Mueller approached the wall and manipulated something, and soon a mechanical device appeared.

Creak—

With a small sound, a cave appeared. It was a cave leading to the 4th basement floor.

“Lead the way.”

Excited, Kale commanded, and Mueller mechanically led the way. The cave sloped gently downward. The dry and comfortable cave was illuminated by luminescent stones, making it not dark.

4th basement floor.

Only the tower master, secret researchers, and Mueller from the designer family knew about this place. After descending a long way through the cave, Kale finally faced a small door.

“…There’s an alarm magic device.”

As Mueller hesitated, Raon stepped forward. With a light flick of his paw, the small door opened. Naturally, there was no alarm sound. Mueller was shocked, but Kale entered the room alone.

‘Found it.’

He found the first treasure.

What was hidden in the tower?

The largest was the two secret studies conducted in the tower.

The names of the studies were simple.

A mana storage device using the principles of ancient power.

The reason for the development of magic resistance.

The research that the mad Herol desperately wanted, and the research that eliminated the greatest strength of the tribes.

“Amazing.”

In two large circular tubes, the research materials were secured with multiple layers of security.

The tribe members who revered ancient power and the Herols who hated magic but desired it. How much joy would they have felt upon discovering these research materials?

‘But that won’t happen now.’

The joy was Kale’s.

Kale approached the large sphere in the center of the tubes containing the research materials.

Inside the transparent sphere, like a giant egg, a seed was wrapped in several shimmering liquids.

“Human, this looks interesting!”

The black dragon Raon approached the egg. He pressed his face against the glass surface of the egg, watching the seed in the shimmering liquid.

Kale stroked the back of the dragon’s head and asked.

“Do you want to try raising it?”

“Is that okay, human?”

“Yeah, but if you raise it, I’ll take it.”

“Alright!”

Even at the age of four, he readily accepted the offer, despite the condition of giving it away. Kale smiled warmly and continued.

“Let’s take everything here.”

“Of course! I’m curious about everything!”

He might need to build a laboratory for them later. Knowing the value of the seed and the research materials, Kale couldn’t help but smile.

“Mueller.”

“H-Huh, you even know my name.”

Kale approached Mueller, who was crouching at the entrance, unable to enter. Mueller alternated his gaze between the documents and the large egg disappearing into the subspace by the black dragon and the approaching Kale. His pupils were shaking.

“Let’s go to the tower master’s room now.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Raon.”

“What is it, human?”

“Set up alarm devices here. And create a few magic traps.”

The 4th basement floor will appear when the tower collapses.

Tunka and the Non-Mage Guild will gain strength from this. Of course, Kale wanted to prevent that.

‘But then they might self-destruct faster.’

It’s not his problem, is it?

Kale watched Raon