The Seven Towers.
Seven attributes of magic.
And the seven Demons trapped in the Demon World.
For those quick to catch on, the implication is clear.
Ah, so clearing each tower unlocks one seal at a time!
The problem lies in the increasing difficulty as you ascend each tower.
By the time you reach the top, you’ll face entities so powerful they might as well be SS-rank.
And only by defeating them can you gain access to where the Four Saints reside.
This implies that the Four Saints won’t open the door sealing the Demon World unless those who wish to enter can at least surpass the enemies they defeated 500 years ago.
It’s a reasonable demand.
Even the Four Saints deemed entry into the Demon World impossible, leading them to seal its gates.
Had the Four Saints possessed the power to invade and conquer the Demon World as a team back then, humanity would have already terraformed it, transforming it into something unrecognizable.
Yet, the thought of those who wish to cross into the Demon World being unable to defeat enemies—even illusions—vanquished by the Four Saints half a millennium ago?
Frankly, such individuals lack the qualifications.
Not only are they unworthy of challenging the Demon World, but they don’t even deserve to approach the Four Saints.
However, if someone were to clear all seven towers and even overcome the Four Saints?
At that point, even the Saints would have to acknowledge them. After all, they’d be stronger than the Saints themselves. The decision to enter the Demon World would then rest with their successors.
This Seven Star Trial was created with such a thought in mind.
Although accessed through a mental world like a fairy tale, it’s deliberately obscured and forgotten, allowing future generations to live comfortably without knowledge of the Demon World.
Of course, from the demons’ perspective, the Four Heroes’ actions, manipulated by Heaven, are maddening. But what can they do?
The Demons lost their influence over the Middle World long ago, and the heroes of the surface now consider the laws and commandments declared by the heavens as divine truths.
Because this place was created with a reverent and virtuous purpose, no special privileges exist for those who enter.
Even if one of the Four Saints’ descendants were among them.
Even if such a descendant didn’t fully realize their lineage or entered the trial through an unusual method.
[Hey, can you hear me?]
Floating in the air was a “bun” with a golden-brown exterior, dusted with white sugar powder, and filled with rich green matcha cream.
“Yes, I can hear you. But why are you in the form of a bun?”
[You think I’m a bun?!]
“Yes, Instructor. …I was expecting something like a mascot or a doll.”
Yunia pointed at the Mont Blanc in the air and glanced at me.
“Instructor Kadisha’s ‘avatar’—are you sure this is okay?”
“It’s perfect, as it’s also flying emergency rations.”
[Flying emergency rations?!]
Though Instructor Kadisha shouted in protest, she couldn’t perceive her current form.
Just as a person needs a mirror to see their own face, Instructor Kadisha could only observe through the “eyes” of the Mont Blanc.
[Hah. What does it matter what I look like? The important thing is that I’m connected. Can you hear me clearly?]
“Yes, perfectly.”
[Until Phoenix explained this, I wasn’t sure if this was real. But now that I’m here… So this is the trial space created by the Four Founders?]
“That’s correct.”
I lifted Kadisha Mont Blanc, turning it slightly.
Likely, her magic tablet displayed what the Mont Blanc’s front view captured.
[The Seven Towers… Do they represent the Philosopher’s Stone? Or the constraints of seven magical attributes? Or perhaps the Seven Demon Towers?]
“Humans can only manipulate seven magic attributes, so it’s likely that. It’s not so much a connection but more about shared origins.”
[Is that speculation?]
“I don’t know everything. I just piece together what I’ve learned.”
Even I, someone who has delved into lore down to the details found in obscure in-game items and even corrected errors in specialized videos, didn’t know everything.
“It’s uncertain if this was built on the foundation of the Philosopher’s Stone, conjured by an illusion master, or a completely separate world that our souls have been abducted to. Nothing is clear.”
The only certainty is that clearing the seven towers will activate the central platform here, combining the sealed seven attributes into one and opening a path forward.
I placed one hand on the Mont Blanc and traced a groove in the white floor with the other.
“Can you see this groove?”
[A magic circle?]
“Yes. Though it appears flat, it’s a seven-layered magic circle. Perhaps it’s something like this?”
I reached forward and conjured a new mana bread.
“Wow!”
“This color combination is quite striking.”
“Is that also mana bread?”
“It’s technically a cake you can make, but yes, mana bread.”
A rainbow cake—layered with vibrant colors and white cream in between.
“Maybe it’s structured like this.”
I peeled away the red layer, exposing an inscription carved into the bread.
“A bird…?”
“If there’s a pattern, it might look like this.”
The symbol of a phoenix—a fiery, immortal bird escaping from purgatory.
Although I used a cake for demonstration, if this symbol were etched on a grand iron door or embedded in the floor of a massive structure, all of us would have instantly recognized it as a seal.
“And this is what we need to do with it.”
I gently folded the red sheet of mana bread I had made and swallowed it in one bite.
As expected, it tasted just like the cakes I’d had before. I quickly gulped it down and, with a snap of my fingers, disposed of the rest of the mana bread.
The others weren’t ready yet to see the other inscriptions hidden within the illusionary cream—like the seven ‘Beasts’ engraved inside.
For now, the most they might notice is the wolf’s face inscribed on the green sheet, but that’s for later—after we conquer the Green Tower.
“Now then, shall we proceed with a question?”
I pointed at each of the seven towers.
“Which tower should we tackle first?”
“…”
Yunia cautiously raised her hand, looking between me, herself, Ludmila, and Evangeline. Her gaze lingered on Ludmila before she spoke with conviction.
“The Yellow Tower.”
“Why?”
“Because wind is advantageous against earth.”
The Yellow Tower Yunia pointed to immediately brought to mind barren wastelands, deserts, and sheer cliffs.
“And since Ludmila, the strongest among us, excels in wind-element attacks, it makes sense to start with the Yellow Tower.”
[That’s a sound judgment. Elemental advantages are crucial.]
Instructor Kadisha voiced no objections.
It was basic magical knowledge, after all.
Even Evangeline didn’t express disagreement.
“What do you think?”
“Correct. That’s the right answer.”
“…?”
“What’s wrong, Miss Yunia?”
“Nothing… It’s just that your reaction, Phoenix, seems a bit…?”
Yunia tilted her head, staring at me intently.
“Like you’re settling for a good answer, even though it’s not the best one?”
“That’s not true.”
“It kind of feels that way, but I won’t press you on it. I doubt you’d answer even if I did.”
“…”
It seems easier to read emotions here in this mental space.
But she’s wrong. It’s not the second-best choice—it’s the third.
If I were to rank them from first to seventh, the Yellow Tower—the tower sealing earth-element mana—would be third.
By the elemental advantage strategy, it makes sense. Our party, with its strong wind element, would have an edge against the earth-element Beasts likely lurking in the Yellow Tower.
“Are you sure it’s not one of those situations where the outside is yellow, but inside it’s full of fire-element Beasts advantageous against wind? Like what we’d expect in the Red Tower?”
“That’s highly unlikely. Red is fire, yellow is earth, blue is water, and green is wind. If they switched these intuitive colors, they’d deserve every bit of backlash they’d get.”
That would violate the unwritten rules of the RPG industry.
However, there are reasons for the first and second rankings that Yunia can’t yet understand—and I can’t explain.
Second Choice: The Green Tower, Wind Attribute.
[Hnyaa.]
We have the Wind Demon, who holds absolute authority over all wind-element Beasts.
First Choice: The Red Tower, Fire Attribute.
And I am Phoenix.
I can’t tell them, but as soon as we enter the Fire Tower, I can clear it with a single sentence.
– Then die.
Absolute command authority.
In other words, the ‘Demon’s order’.
- Climb the tower, clearing it by repeating “Die, die, die” to every foe.
- Raid each Beast one by one, leveraging advantageous elemental attacks.
If you ask which method is easier, the first is obviously simpler. But what matters to us isn’t just the result—it’s the process.
“Alright then, let’s head into the Yellow Tower, the Tower of Earth. For the sake of our growth.”
