My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

There wasn't uch for me to do whilst waiting for Lud to return to the Guild.

If it were necessary, it would be easy for me to force him to take me to the Magic Tower whenever I wanted. In fact, the only reason I was even bothering to wait for him in the first place is because, at least for now, it would be better to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

At least until I figure out how strong a transcendent is.

Most of all, there are still many things I need to experiment with in regard to Reality.

The more I discover and find out about its capabilities, the more questions that pop up and possibilities that sprout. Just like the renowned Dunning-Kruger effect, I thought I had it sorted once I realised the essence of it, but I only continue to get reminded of how little that actually meant the more I use it.

It's getting to the point where I'm beginning to doubt whether the essence of reality I thought I had discovered, wasn't actually its true essence at all.

Because it seems to be that the more I discover about reality, the stronger my power of manipulating reality grows. Once I had this thought, I instinctively realised.

When the time comes that I realise said 'true essence of reality', my Reality will have reached its peak.

So, before then, I don't want to make any rash or hasty moves.

Incidentally, I asked around the Guild, but because transcendents are practically legendary beings, it seems to be extremely rare that someone has actually seen one in person.

Of course, there are countless rumours, but I'm not confident in forming a plan based on pure hearsay.

Instead, it would be easier and more reliable to just meet one myself.

Since my next destination is the Magic Tower, I suppose I can make a judgement after examining the power of the Archwizards as they are said to be equal in strength to the transcendents.

After that, I intended on heading to the World Tree, but after hearing the receptionist's story about the Demon King and the Hero, I'm beginning to reconsider.

Apparently, because the Demon King is said to have just revived again after 50 years of slumber, humanity will begin to feel threatened by the demon army once again.

In fact, because they are already at risk of being overrun by Nightmares, humanity may well be in the most cornered state it's seen in a long time.

According to the receptionist, all of that means one thing.

The Hero will be summoned soon.

Since then, I've also heard rumours about it even just walking down the street. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but I wouldn't be surprised if the empire itself is perpetrating these rumours about the Hero in order to raise citizen morale and lift spirits.

Anyway, if the rumours are true, and the Hero really is summoned, then my plans might change.

Depending on the power of the Hero, also known as the hidden Thirteenth Transcendent, I might not have to travel all the way to Alfheim for the World Tree.

The Hero is a long-time saviour of humanity, so there is no doubt that he would help me if he could; the only question that remains is―does he have the ability to help me?

Since the Hero is on par with the Demon King, and the Demon King is one of the few transcendents whose power meets the requirements to return me to Earth, at least according to the knowledge I've accrued thus far...

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Therefore, the Hero, too, should be equal in that respect.

In summary, it's only a logical assumption based on the information I have, which in and of itself isn't absolutely reliable due to being heavily influenced by assumptions.

However,

Assuming that everything I've been told is true, it means the Hero should theoretically be able to help me return to Earth.

And if that is the case, there may not be a need for me to resort to the World Tree.

Thus, I decided.

From the rumours I've overheard whilst idling in the city, the Hero will be summoned sometime in the next month.

I will set off the day after tomorrow with Lud, who shall bring me to the Magic Tower.

I'm not yet sure how long I will spend inside the Magic Tower, but it will take around a week to arrive there by carriage as, unfortunately, Lud is incapable of casting teleportation magic.

Although, I suppose if he were, he never would have almost died in that attack by the Nightmare in the middle of the Corrupted Plains.

In any case, after travelling to the Magic Tower, I will meet the Archwizards whether they like it or not, and that will hopefully allow me to gather an understanding of how powerful a transcendent is.

Once that is done, I will utilise the teleportation magic of the mages there to instantaneously travel to Gamma, the empire's capital where the Hero is said to have been summoned since before its founding, and end my business in this primitive Otherworld for good.

Of course, I can't expect the process of returning to Earth to be simple in any capacity, as it took the combined efforts of two Concepts, one of which has undergone an awakening of sorts, as well as an evolved Yuu Shimura to open the gate that banished me here for but a few moments.

The Hero is going to need to be extraordinarily powerful to replace those three, but thankfully, that shouldn't be necessary.

Assuming I've attained a greater understanding by then, my Reality should no doubt be able to do as good a job as the three of them combined.

Soon enough, some dirty bastards like them won't be able to even reach my toes.

❖─────❖─────❖

The next day, Lud returned to the Guild and received my message. I told him to meet me at a certain tavern at a specific time in the evening, where he accepted my request to take me to the Magic Tower, as I had expected.

"I cannot guarantee they will accept you, and even if you somehow make it in, gaining an audience with one of the Archwizards isn't something easy even for those on the tower's 10th floor."

"Still, you saved my life, so I will try my best and do what I can for you."

"Like I said, I'm a mage of the 6th floor. It isn't that high, but it isn't low either, so my words hold at least a little bit of weight up until there."

"I should be able to persuade them to take you to the 2nd or 3rd floor, but any more than that will probably be a no-go."

"After that, the rest is up to you."

With such a sincere warning, I made a mental note of it and we parted to rest for the night. The moment dawn struck, we gathered at River's Western Gate, hired a carriage, and departed from the city.

Just like sleep, food and water were no longer necessities for my body if I just used Reality, but I did indulge in them anyway.

In regards to the former, I occasionally found myself craving a moment of respite from my mind's ceaselessly wandering thoughts, and as for the latter, it was simply difficult to break away from the habit of semi-consistent eating built up over 17 years.

It would also make others suspicious if they never saw me eating or sleeping, so I thought it for the best in that respect, too, if I wanted to remain inconspicuous.

Fortunately, Lud had a bag magically engineered with something called 'subspace magic', allowing him to carry a certain amount of things without the physical burden.

It was something I still found hard to comprehend as it defied all known laws of physics I had known until now.

Still, since it was created through magic, I relented my burning curiosity and reluctantly accepted that I might never figure out the intricacies.

Not after Truth left me, that is.

If it were like before, I could simply ask something like 'on what principle does this function?', and would receive a fitting answer, but well...

In any case, as that was no longer possible, I could now only rely on the uncertain knowledge of others to uncover the secrets of this Otherworld.

And at this moment, the only person who could answer my questions was Lud, the mage bringing me to the Magic Tower.

Since it would take approximately one week to arrive there by carriage, I decided to use that time to prepare by first asking things I was curious about and then experimenting with various things regarding Reality.

Most of my queries were magic-related, as it was the one thing I felt most necessary to acquire at least a semi-reliable understanding of whilst in this Otherworld.

Especially so since I am on my way to meet the Archwizards.

One of the most interesting things I learnt was that magic could be taught to practically anyone with a basic level of talent so long as they put enough work in and had the smarts for it.

In fact, Lud even offered to teach me some on the way there, but I declined.

Naturally, if it were me from before, I would have accepted the opportunity immediately because I was so weak in terms of physical strength, but I felt no need for that any more.

With Reality, it made no difference if I could cast some petty magic or not.

Because, even if I could, I wouldn't ever need to.

Glacial Incarceration?

Hellfire Ignition?

There is no point in any of it.

If I want to freeze something I say 'freeze'.

If I want to burn something I say 'burn'.

There was also the argument that because magic as a study was quite complex it would take a long time for me to achieve any sort of considerable progress, and that is something I frankly do not care for.

Instead, I decided that using my time to learn more practical things was sensible.

Being taught various intriguing qualities about magic that only an esteemed mage of the 6th floor of the Magic Tower would know.

Practising using Reality in ways I hadn't fully explored until now.

Like this, a week passed quickly, and before I knew it we had arrived at the Magic Tower.