The Legend’s Unforeseen Reality

Deep within the solitary Ancient Zhi Forest, a lonely, towering spire stood sentinel, home to an equally solitary mage. No one knew the reason for his presence there, nor the purpose that drove him; he simply stood atop the ever-growing tower, gazing at the expanse of stars above, a ritual he had maintained for a decade.

This was the opening to a legendary tale, one familiar to every young wizard at Green Magic Academy.

“Principal Douglas, what happened to the wizard after that?”

“Ah, Green, he…”

“Spread your legs, don’t resist. It’s not like you’ll lose a limb just by letting me look.”

A sixteen-year-old gray-haired noble girl was wrestling on a plush carpet with a delicate, timid young boy, whose beauty was captivating.

The boy, as lovely as the most tender, dew-kissed maiden, nonetheless met her gaze with an expression of resolute defiance, as if ready to face death.

“I’d rather die than yield! You little brat, don’t you know what’s good for you? Offending a High-Tower Wi—oooooh~”

The girl pressed her entire weight onto the boy, her alluring scent a dizzying haze as she unceremoniously lifted a silken, jade-like foot to cover his mouth, delicate silver threads stretching taut and shamefully along the edge of her foot.

In their compromising position, the girl’s excited cheeks flushed with the thrill of uncharted discovery, the gateway to a new world reflected in her hazy, deep-blue pupils, and her delicate gasps peaked with the accelerating rhythm of her heartbeat.

“Let me access it! Let me see what gender you truly are! Isn’t it common knowledge that practice leads to truth?”

Without further ado, she yanked down the boy’s last line of defense.

…

The true beginning of the story, however, must rewind to half a month prior.

In the 147th year of the Holy Calendar, Rhine Green continued his solitary work on the construction of Babel Tower. The spire now soared far beyond a hundred zhang, its form shrouded in swirling mists, so tall that its summit was often lost to sight.

Below, a bustling throng of magical beasts gathered, diligently collecting various building materials from the forest, contributing brick by brick to the tower’s ascent.

Over the past decade, the tower had grown from its initial seven stories into a colossal pillar reaching for the heavens, as if destined to become a unique unit of measurement for the distance between earth and sky.

The only inhabitant of this place was a single, silent wizard.

At that time, the name Green had already resonated across both eastern and western continents, with all people fearing the mage’s unparalleled mastery.

To the surprise of both the Holy Church and the Magic Council, the renowned Green had once again chosen to vanish, and this disappearance had lasted for a full decade.

He had not secluded himself for deeper study, as the legends claimed, awaiting the opportune moment to reappear and astound the world.

Rather, he had long grown indifferent to all earthly matters. Standing atop the tower, looking down, he felt as though he was gazing upon the mere detritus of the material world.

Rhine was quite simple; he harbored only one modest dream:

To build the tower ever higher, reaching into the heavens, so that he might observe the starry night sky with greater clarity.

To ascend to a height beyond the flight limits of troublesome dragons and birds, thereby claiming the celestial dome entirely for himself.

The starry sky, ah—

The turning of day and night, the song of a myriad stars, a beauty transcending the mundane world!

From the Magic Council of the Eastern Kingdoms to the Norman Royal Family of the West, from the vast frozen seas of the South to the boundless ice barriers of the far North, all bowed before the splendor of the cosmos, acknowledging their own insignificance.

Yet, this was ultimately a lonely endeavor. He desired no one to disturb him, but also felt an intense longing to share his thoughts and converse with others, which led him to develop the peculiar habit of writing in a diary and talking to himself:

“I, Rhine Green, a forty-something senior shut-in from the magic research department.”

“All year long, I haven’t done anything truly heinous. No arson, no setting mountains ablaze; I’ve simply holed up in this high tower in the deepest mountains, never venturing out.”

“The local magical beasts have all been tamed by me into obedient Pals, diligently working. Even passing adventurers can slap them around a bit without them daring to bare their fangs in retaliation, all because I don’t eat human flesh, and certainly not anything pre-digested.”

“My daily diet remains nutritionally balanced, and I insist on cooking my own meals: spicy unicorn rabbit, braised magic crystal pork, sun-dried dragon lizard hide… these are just a few of my signature dishes.”

“As the man at the apex of the Ancient Zhi Forest’s food chain, I still maintain the good habit of eating an apple a day. It’s just a pity that the land here is cursed; the apples it produces have a terrible taste and even grow teeth to bite people.”

“Without grapes, the winemaking industry here has, regrettably, declared bankruptcy.”

“I also play poker and chess against myself. The poker cards are magically duplicated, and the chess pieces are all hand-carved by me from wood.”

“Should I ever re-emerge into the world, no one could possibly rival me in either of these games, though they haven’t quite caught on in this world yet…”

…

“I have been observing the Big Dipper for several years now. The Northern Dipper, guiding the direction of my soul, seems to have my reflection within the starry sky rotating alongside its stars.”

“Tian Shu. I don’t know why the voice from the stars calls her by this name, but it’s beautiful, isn’t it? Among the Big Dipper’s seven stars, I’ve always felt she is the most brilliant, and also the most solitary.”

“That voice also offered me a suggestion: Green’s Tower should have a resounding name. ‘Babel Tower’ would be perfect.”

“My Green-brand telescope has undergone dozens of iterations, and the minerals in this small forest can no longer satisfy my needs.”

“Observatories, perhaps they possess research materials in this field… hah, but it’s far too much trouble. I’m simply too lazy to correspond with those ‘bugs’.”

“Speaking of which, how old am I exactly now? Perhaps in my forties, I haven’t kept careful track. The tower still isn’t high enough… I suppose I’ll die in five years, succumbing to some hereditary illness I don’t fully understand.”

“Fortunately, the great Mr. Green has also delved into the study of souls. My only trusted friend says that the magic essence body he crafted is almost at the foot of the tower…”

“Ah, it’s already here? Never mind, climbing up and down is quite bothersome. I’ll consider changing bodies when I’m closer to death.”

…

“I have a strong premonition that Babel Tower’s height is about to breach a critical threshold. The clearer view above is so close, I can no longer tolerate the wait! What are those magical beasts below doing?”

“Overtime! They absolutely must work intense overtime!”

“Before half my body is in the grave, I must witness this miracle with my own eyes!”

…

“I admit, perhaps I’ve been a bit too eager for quick results. Plans often fall short of reality; such is the way of the world.”

“—Those magical beasts have revolted and stopped working!”

“They refuse to work!”

“It’s all my fault for being too focused on the heavens above, neglecting to maintain the enchantments around the tower. I actually allowed them to break through the blockade.”

“The soul imprints on the magical beasts have a controllable range of 1500 meters. I usually rest at the top of the tower, which is why I gave them the opportunity to escape.”

“Let me take a look through the telescope. Ah, our poor neighboring ducal territory has been utterly devastated. To think, this magical beast tide was actually triggered by me…”

“But I absolutely refuse to admit it’s my primary responsibility!”

“Didn’t you have regular beast tides every year before I moved here? After only ten years of peace, your army has fallen into such a deplorable state!”

“Fortunately, after the first wave of attacks, they quickly held their ground. Oh, it’s a knight order. Wait, are those Divine Retribution Knights?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. It is, after all, a ducal territory of the Norman Empire; it wouldn’t make sense for them to have no strength.”

“I’ll reassess the losses. If the magical beasts have run off, I’ll just catch another batch. However, I’m truly too lazy to bother with breeding; ‘sustainable fishing to the last drop’ is a phrase that has come and gone. After all, I’m not a devil; once the tower is finished, I’ll simply set them all free.”

…

“What’s wrong with the people from the ducal territory? Are they out of their minds?!”

“What’s with the army gathered in front of the forest? Didn’t the Norman witch hunt outside already end?”

“Can’t we just continue living happily as peaceful neighbors?!”

“Damn! Damn! Damn! Even the Divine Retribution Knights are here! Babel Tower’s enchantments were just breached; it’s too late to repair them now.”

“They outnumber me; it’s one against a hundred. While I’m confident I could cut down ninety-nine of them, Divine Retribution Knights are indeed formidable opponents.”

“So, if a tiger doesn’t roar, you think it’s a sick cat, huh?! It’s time for the formidable Mr. Green to re-enter the world!”

A legion of a hundred heavily armed knights stood poised before the towering black spire that pierced the clouds. Even unspoken, the oppressive presence of the sky-reaching tower was palpable.

Looking up, its end was nowhere in sight; calling it a spiraling path to the heavens would be no exaggeration.

Ferocious clawed birds nested on the tower’s edge, over five hundred meters high; the carbonized scorched earth beneath their feet bore traces of dragon’s breath; and the ubiquitous, intricate magical patterns adorning the tower’s body further accentuated its unshakeable, chaotic aura.

“Demon Lord”—the only fitting descriptor.

“Your Excellency, we’ve reached the base of the tower, and there’s been no resistance at all. Isn’t that a bit…”

“There’s no need to rush. I am here.”

A knight commander, his face etched with a stern expression, cautiously posed a question to the leader:

“Your Excellency… are we truly going to wage war against an evil High-Tower Wizard?”

The silver-patterned armor reflected a piercing cold light, as the golden-haired man stood in solemn silence, his entire being like a sheathed, razor-sharp sword.

“This magical beast tide was directly provoked by him, and if left unchecked, it will sooner or later become a grave threat to the ducal territory.”

“Most importantly, the mental state of wizards is often unstable. We are unaware of the tower lord’s intentions, and even less so of the nature of his research within the tower. The ducal territory’s high tower has become an open secret, and in recent years, our scouts have continuously monitored the forest for magical fluctuations, yet have never detected any signs of teleportation magic. This means…”

The Divine Retribution Knight’s calm, dark eyes gazed distantly towards the tower’s summit:

“After enduring a decade of unyielding solitude, this wizard has long since lost his mind.”

The knight commander sighed, realizing His Excellency’s meaning was quite clear:

If not now, when?

Atop the towering spire, the wicked mage and the Divine Retribution Knight stood in mutual confrontation.

“Sir, I truly have no way to deal with you, but—”

Clad in tattered black grand wizard’s robes, the disheveled Rhine conjured a black-patterned orb of light from thin air in his right palm. Purple magnetic particles shimmered around it, revealing within their depths the images of knights locked in a bloody battle with mechanical golems inside the winding staircase.

A mocking expression surfaced on his face, and his tone turned chillingly sinister.

“Fighting on my home turf has never been a wise decision. At my command, your comrades will turn to ash, becoming a part of Babel Tower. Retreat now, and in my magnanimity, I shall consider this incident null and void.”

Upon hearing this, the Divine Retribution Knight remained silent, solemnly and slowly removing his helmet to reveal a handsome, fearless, yet weathered face.

Abruptly, he reached for the second longsword hanging at his waist, his actions a silent vow of determination.

“From the day we became knights, we have long since ceased to fear death.”

No sooner had the words left his lips than the sword was unsheathed!

Space solidified, time fractured, and a dazzling silver-blue light surged forth with unwavering resolve. Accompanied by the clang of golden drums, intricate patterns of light spilled from the empty sheath.

“In the name of Divine Retribution, in the name of the Holy Covenant, in the name of Norman—”

‘Divine Retribution: Dustfall’

Just as a flicker of astonishment crossed Rhine’s face, his expression froze, as if sliced and preserved.

Half a breath later, his body was cleanly severed from his left shoulder to his right hip, with streams of starlight emanating from the severed edges.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Rhine smiled, nodding faintly.

“You’ve won. Your sword embodies justice.”

He quietly released the orb of light in his right palm.

“I shall temporarily return the lives of your subordinates. In exchange, I require you to carefully preserve my experimental equipment. Do not send anyone to tamper with them, otherwise… something truly terrifying will occur.”

“If you’re interested, feel free to take a look around the basement at the bottom of the tower.”

Thus, the High-Tower Wizard’s life dissolved into scattered starlight… The End.

Not a chance!

Half an hour later, within a transparent glass jar, a pair of deep black eyes opened in the basement.

The exquisitely beautiful youth in the glass jar regained the breath of life, gazing down from above at the heavily wounded Divine Retribution Knight.

“Rhine” couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile.

“Hehehe, the story has only just begun, Ducal Territory—Cavendish, my impeding threat.”