CH 181

Impossible? What bullshit was that?

“Excuse me… this is the Magic Tower, right?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, that is correct,” Pellos replied.

“Did you just say it’s impossible?” Siegfried asked in disbelief.

Pellos fixed his glasses and replied, “I think I did.”

“How? This is the Magic Tower, right?”

“We can’t perform miracles just because we’re a part of the Magic Tower. I guarantee you that even the Tower Master will not be able to remove that seal,” Pellos said with absolute certainty.

The Tower Master of the Magic Tower and the Magician’s Guild was the Great Wizard known as Violet, and this Great Wizard was a member of the Five Star Heavens just like Betelgeuse and Shakiro.

“Are you telling me even the Great Wizard cannot unseal this?” Siegfried asked with his eyes widened.

“That is correct.”

“But why?”

“This object was created approximately two thousand five hundred years ago, and it seems that this was created toward the end of Emperor Gran Cabrio’s reign judging by the intricate symbols here…” Pellos replied while comparing the ancient symbols on the ark with the ancient encyclopedia in his hand.

“That should be correct since this came out from Gran Cabrio’s tomb.”

“The problem is… the spell is too complex, and these engravings are written in ancient texts, so there are no magicians that can solve this. The only person who can unseal this magic is…” Pellos hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The previous Tower Master of the Magic Tower, the Archmage, Daode Tianzun Elder-nim…”

Daode Tianzun was known as the Ultimate Magician and was one of the Grandmasters on the continent. He was also known as the venerable Heavenly Lord of Dao and its Virtue.

“Where can I meet Daode Tianzun Elder-nim?” Siegfried asked.

“I have no idea… It has already been twenty years since Daode Tianzun Elder-nim was last sighted.”

“…”

“I’m sure that he is still alive, but even his disciple—the current Tower Master of the Magic Tower—has no idea of his whereabouts.”

“Are you saying he is missing…?”

“Not really, you might be able to find him if you were to turn over every rock on the continent.”

“Huh? How can I search for him when I don’t even know what he looks like?”

“That is why I am telling you that it is impossible.”

“Hey, owner punk,” Hamchi suddenly said. He pointed at a portrait behind Pellos and asked, “Don’t you think you’ve seen that face before?”

“Hmm?”

“Look closely. I think it looks like someone we know…”

“Someone we know…?”

‘Huh?’

Siegfried decided to ask Pellos, “Who is that person over there?”

“Can’t you tell? That venerable being is the previous Tower Master of the Magic Tower and the Archmage, Daode Tianzun Elder-nim…” Pellos grumbled in response.

“Okay, have a nice day,” Siegfried said. He bowed and took the ark with him away.

“Where are you going?” Pellos asked.

“I thought you said you cannot unseal this?”

“Y-Yeah, I did…”

“Then, I’m going to someone who can unseal it.”

“But only Daode Tianzun Elder-nim can unseal that…”

“Yeah, you already told me. Anyway, have a nice day.”

Siegfried exited the Magic Tower and headed straight for his airship.

“Were you able to accomplish your objective, Your Majesty?” Brigadier General Crown asked.

“I’m not sure how to respond to that,” Siegfried replied.

“Pardon me…?”

“Let’s take off for now.”

“Should we head for Proatine?”

Siegfried shook his head and replied, “No, we set course for the Twin Sprout Village.”

His next destination after the Magic Tower was back to the Twin Sprout Village.

***

Siegfried finally arrived in front of the Percival Magic Academy and knocked on its old door.

Knock! Knock! 

“Who is it?”

The old magician, Percival, peeked out the door.

“Huh? It’s you, Tae-Sung.”

“Yes, it is me. However, I am not Tae-Sung anymore but Siegfried.”

“Ah! You told me you changed your name, right? My goodness, my age seems to be catching up with me that I keep forgetting things…”

“May I come in?”

“Certainly.” Percival opened the door for Siegfried and Hamchi before asking, “What is the matter? It hasn’t even been a day since you left, no?”

“I wanted to ask a favor,” Siegfried replied as he placed the ark on the table.

“Hmm?”

“This is an ark created two thousand five hundred years ago during the reign of Emperor Gran Cabrio. No one in the Magic Tower is capable of unsealing it. They said that only the venerable Daode Tianzun Elder-nim would be able to unseal it.”

“S-So?”

“What do you mean, so? I am here to seek help from the venerable Daode Tianzun Elder-nim. The Venerable. Daode. Tianzun. Elder. Nim.”

Siegfried came here because the venerable being in the portrait in Pellos’ office and Percival looked a hundred percent identical.

‘This is crazy… they say that things are always right under your nose. I guess they weren’t lying…’ Siegfried was astonished.

Who could have known that the NPC he had met three years ago in some backwater rural village would turn out to be the great and venerable Daode Tianzun—the Heavenly Lord of Dao and its Virtue?

However, the truth also made Siegfried realize that he had indeed been an untalented piece of trash who was only good at wasting oxygen. After all, even Daode Tianzun himself had judged him to be talentless.

At the same time, Siegfried was awed by Deus’ ability to turn trash like him into what he was today.

“Hoho… Daode Tianzun you say…” Percival chuckled and said, “Siegfried, I think there’s some sort of misunderstanding here. Why would a great being like Daode Tianzun run an academy in a backwater rural village?”

“I have no idea. How can I read your mind? In fact, if I may ask, why are you teaching snotty little kids in this backwater rural village, Daode Tianzun Elder-nim?”

“Hoho! I already told you that I am not,” Percival said with a smile.

“Then, I dare you to say—Daode Tianzun is a son of a bitch,” Siegfried challenged with wide eyes.

“W-What?!” Percival exclaimed in disbelief.

“Go ahead—Daode Tianzun is a son of a bitch,” Siegfried stared into the old magician’s eyes.

“D-Daode… Tianzun…” Percival trailed off.

“Is a son of a bitch,” Siegfried urged him on.

“Is a son of a…”

“Son. Of. A. Bitch.”

“Son of a b…”

“Good, keep going. You just have to say bitch now.”

“Son of a bit—Urgh…”

“Daode. Tianzun. Is. A. Son. Of. A. Bitch.”

“Daode Tianzun is a son of a—Argh…!” Percival screamed and exclaimed, “I can’t do it! I can’t…!”

“Aha~ You’re Daode Tianzun~”

“I’m not…!”

“Sure~”

“I just can’t bring myself to curse the name of someone great and venerable like Daode Tianzun Elder-nim!”

Ssseuuuu…!

Siegfried suddenly unleashed a wave of green fog toward the old magician’s face. His high skill proficiency allowed him to control his radioactive energy accurately.

“Cough! Cough!” 

However, Percival simply started coughing after being exposed to the green fog.

He didn’t show any reactions aside from coughing.

[Percival]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 50]

[Affiliation: Percival Magic Academy]

[Position: Dean]

[Class: Magician]

[Title: Old Magician in a Backwater Rural Village]

Surprisingly, he didn’t get affected by the green dragon’s radioactive energy despite only being a Level 50 NPC. In fact, the green fog failed to deal even a single digit of damage to him.

“W-What are you doing?! How dare you use the green dragon’s radioactive energy on someone else’s face?!” Percival exclaimed in anger.

“Pfft!” Siegfried smirked.

“OH MY GOD!” Percival flinched after realizing something.

“I think that is the end of your old magician in a backwater rural province cosplay, Daode Tianzun Elder-nim.”

“N-No! I was born with high resistance to poison! I also have an artifact for poison resistance, so…”

Percival tried to come up with a bunch of excuses, but he stopped after seeing Siegfried’s eyes.

The certainty in Siegfried’s gaze showed that he had no doubts that Percival was Daode Tianzun.

“How did you find out?” asked Percival—no, Daode Tianzun.

Siegfried couldn’t help but smirk. He ended up being correct.

Percival was indeed the great and venerable Daode Tianzun.

***

“How did you know? Looking like the person in a portrait is one thing, but it shouldn’t be enough for you to be so sure as you are right now,” Daode Tianzun asked.

“You are correct, Elder-nim. After all, there are a lot of lookalikes in this world,” Siegfried replied with a smile.

“Then, how?”

“I became sure of it because I noticed that Elder-nim was too normal.”

“Huh?”

“My master told me that a Master will undergo a qualitative physical transformation.”

“That’s already a known fact…”

“And he also said that a Master becoming a Grandmaster will have to go through another transformation, which will allow them to erase their presence as they wish.”

“Presence?”

“I heard that they could hide their presence so well that you won’t even notice them even if they’re sitting right in front of you. It was then that I realized that I did not feel even an ounce of mana from you, Elder-nim.”

It was exactly as Siegfried said. He couldn’t feel a single ounce of mana from the old magician, which made it seem as if he possessed zero mana.

“I mean, it is impossible for a magician not to exude any mana even if they are old and working in some backwater rural village, right?”

“Ehem…”

“They say too much of anything is bad for you, right?”

“Ah… it seems I overlooked that part…”

“But why would an Archmage like you stay in a place like this?” Siegfried asked.

“That’s because the workings of this world got too tiresome and troublesome for me. I no longer felt any drive nor passion for greater heights, so I decided to just immerse myself in small things and be content with them,” Daode Tianzun replied with a smile.

“I’m almost two hundred years old now, and I have already experienced anything and everything a human could possibly experience. Not to mention, I already have an outstanding disciple as my successor, so what else could I want?” he added.

“I see…”

“I want to live my life in peace, so please don’t tell the Magic Tower about my whereabouts.”

“I will keep it a secret, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, as a token of your appreciation for me keeping this as a secret… May you kindly take a look at this chest?” Siegfried said with a business-like smile and pointed at the ark with both hands.

“I thought you said that I was a son of a bitch?” Daode Tianzun said with squinted eyes.

“…” Siegfried didn’t know what to say.

“As much as I find you to be insolent, I’ll take a look at it for old time’s sake.”

Fortunately, Daode Tianzun wasn’t petty enough to hold grudges. Perhaps it was also the reason that he was satisfied with living in a backwater rural village.

“Hm, let’s see…” Daode Tianzun muttered. He drew a magic circle the size of his palm and started inspecting the ark. Green rays shot out of Daode Tianzun’s eyes, and the rays seemed to be scanning the ark.

“Ehem!”

“How is it? Can you do it, Elder-nim?” Siegfried eagerly asked.

“I can, but…” Daode Tianzun trailed off…

Siegfried already knew from experience how this sequence would play out, so he immediately asked, “I just have to go get a few things, right?”

“That is correct.”

“What do I need to open this?”

“You will need three things to open this chest.”

“What are they?”

“First, a magic circle from a powerful magician. I can handle that.”

“Then, what about the other things?”

“The second is the music sheet of the song that used to be sung by the Ancient Empire’s Royal Orchestra, the Aria of the Sun King, and lastly, we will need a male singer who can perfectly sing that song,” Daode Tianzun replied.

Ding!

A quest notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Requiem]

[You will need to prepare the following things and bring them to Daode Tianzun to open the Ark of the Ancient God.]

[Reward: Class Change Scroll – Hidden Class 009]

[Progress: 50% (1/2)]

[Music Sheet – Aria of the Sun King]

[Male singer who can perfectly sing the song ✓]

Thankfully, half of the quest objectives had already been completed.

‘Wow… He’s going to help me out again,’ Siegfried thought.

He already had a perfect male singer in mind.

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“But why do we need the music sheet and a singer?” he asked.

“Actually, the chest contains the soul of a woman…” Daode Tianzun muttered.

“What?!”

“She met a tragic end after getting buried alive with Emperor Gran Cabrio’s remains in a sacrificial burial…”

“That crazy fucker…”

Siegfried ended up cussing after hearing the words sacrificial burial.

The sacrificial burial was a special ritual where a living person was buried alongside a deceased person of higher standing. They would then become the latter’s attendant in the afterlife.

It was probably one of the most despicable ideas that humankind had ever created.

“There was a very horrible incident two thousand five hundred years ago,” Daode Tianzun said.

“A very horrible incident?” Siegfried muttered in response.

“Let me show you.” Daode Tianzun waved his hand.

Whoosh!

A video projection appeared in front of Siegfried, and it depicted the memory of a young woman from two thousand five hundred years ago.