The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 93 - The Tower of Illusions (3)

After learning that I was from another world, Kaiden, with the curiosity typical of a mage, often asked me to tell him stories about Earth.

This world follows the classic setting of medieval fantasy.

There’s mysterious magic, and non-human intelligent species roam freely, but compared to Earth\'s civilization, it’s utterly primitive.

Highly developed science becomes indistinguishable from magic, and Earth\'s technology far surpasses the magic level of this world—aside from dimensional gates.

A single missile is more powerful than most offensive spells, and no matter how noble an emperor may be, the average citizen of South Korea enjoys a more comfortable and prosperous life.

Frankly, if a single division of the South Korean military were to come over, they could conquer the continent in no time.

For a mage like Kaiden, the idea of Earth\'s civilization must have been utterly shocking.

I had become so accustomed to Earth’s stories that I recounted them without much thought, but Kaiden listened to them intently, especially taking a great interest in virtual reality—what we know as VR.

"You’re saying it’s possible to create a world that doesn’t exist and make it seem real? By tricking all five senses?"

Since the night Kaiden left the capital over the drawbridge ten years ago, I hadn’t heard anything about what he’d been up to.

I had assumed Kaiden would have joined the Empire’s Magic Department.

In addition to his quick thinking, Kaiden is a combat-specialized mage who can wield extremely destructive offensive magic.

Considering that, I thought it was natural that he would end up in the Magic Department supporting the Imperial Army, not somewhere like the Tower of Illusions, of all places.

Of course, it’s not that illusion magic is without value, but compared to other useful schools of magic, its practicality is somewhat limited.

But when you think about it, it’s strange—why wouldn’t magic that can deceive the five senses be considered useful?

The problem is that research on this field of magic is woefully underdeveloped.

To begin with, very few mages even enter the Tower of Illusions, and compared to other straightforward forms of magic, it’s an incredibly complex field. At most, they’ve only managed to create something akin to a hologram.

Even the people of this medieval fantasy world wouldn’t believe the poor quality of it.

But Kaiden, the magic prodigy, had joined the Tower of Illusions, and now, here before me, was a living, breathing replica of Earth.

It’s so vivid and clear that I could almost believe I had returned to Earth itself.

Geniuses are geniuses, no matter where they go or what they do.

"Everyone, this way."

As Kaiden raised his hand, the traffic light turned red, and all the cars came to a sudden halt.

Watching this, I became curious. I had never explained traffic signals or road laws to Kaiden.

"That? I deduced it."

"Deduced?"

"It’s a world where cars are in use. Given that they’re iron carriages, they must be dangerous. It stands to reason that there would be some sort of system to manage them."

Is this guy crazy or what?!

Kaiden leisurely crossed the street and took a seat at an outdoor cafe table by the roadside.

The table was small, so the kids sat at one, while I sat with Orendi and Kaiden at another.

After placing our orders, the drinks arrived, and I took a cautious sip.

It was delicious. This really tasted like coffee. Wait, hold on.

"Is this real?"

"It depends on how you perceive it, Dian."

"The taste, the aroma, even the way it goes down are all spot on, but since we’re at the Tower of Illusions, it still feels fake."

"Then let’s say that only the taste, aroma, and texture are real."

"In that case, isn’t it basically real? That’s all there is to coffee."

"Then it must be real."

While we chatted, Orendi was scribbling furiously in his notebook, muttering to himself as he wrote down everything Kaiden said.

"This is unbelievable… to be able to hear Sir Kaiden’s words inside Sir Kaiden’s illusion magic… this is really crazy…."

Like a deranged fan writing in blood, Orendi suddenly snapped to his senses and looked at Kaiden.

"Ah, greetings! My name is Orendi! I’m sorry for the late introduction!"

Orendi shot up from his seat, bowing so low that his forehead nearly touched the teacup.

"I’m currently serving as the Magic Response Professor at the Imperial Academy! It’s a great honor to finally meet you, Sir Kaiden, someone I’ve always deeply admired!"

"Nice to meet you, Professor Orendi."

As Orendi grabbed Kaiden’s outstretched hand, a burst of flowers bloomed and scattered in the air like foam, disappearing before they even touched the table.

"This is unbelievable… This is on such a high level… How on earth did you do that?! Please, teach me even a little!"

"Alright."

Kaiden pulled out a napkin and began scribbling complex formulas on it with a pen.

"First, you’ll need a rotation matrix. This allows an object to move on a two-dimensional plane. In this equation, θ represents the angle of rotation. The first value in the first row is the cosine of the angle θ, and the second value is the negative sine of θ. The first value in the second row is the sine of θ, and the second value is the cosine of θ. Using this matrix to rotate a point will result in the point rotating counterclockwise by the angle θ."

"Oh, I see."

"Next is the translation matrix. This matrix moves an object by a certain distance on a two-dimensional plane. The translation matrix T(x, y) is as follows. Here, x and y represent the distance to be moved along the x-axis and y-axis, respectively. The third value in the first row is the distance along the x-axis, and the third value in the second row is the distance along the y-axis. The remaining values are set to 1 or 0 to maintain the coordinate system after the transformation."

"I understand."

"Next is an optics formula. In optics, the refraction of light is critical. When light moves from one medium to another, its speed changes, altering its path. The formula to explain this phenomenon is as follows. Here, n1 and n2 represent the refractive indices of the first and second media, respectively, and θ1 and θ2 represent the angles of incidence and refraction. This formula is used to calculate how much light is refracted when crossing the boundary between two media."

I didn’t understand a single word of what he was saying. But Orendi was nodding furiously, his neck about to break from the effort, while he rapidly jotted down notes.

He was so absorbed it seemed like his head might fall off from his neck at any moment.

Kaiden went on, explaining sonic equations, expansion matrices, affine transformations, optical interference, sound wave refraction, acoustic impedance, and so on.

Once mages start talking about magic, they get so absorbed that there’s no end to it.

The kids were staring blankly at the city’s scenery, so I relaxed, enjoying my coffee and the atmosphere, reminiscent of Earth.

The sound of car horns, phone ringtones. Suits, ties, glasses, laptops. Square, towering buildings and countless signs. Traffic lights, airplanes cutting across the sky.

Kaiden’s illusion magic really has reached its pinnacle.

"My apologies, Dian."

At some point, Kaiden had finished his explanations and bowed his head slightly.

Orendi was flipping through his thoroughly filled notebook, muttering to himself like a madman.

"So, are you done?"

"Yes. You mentioned you needed my help. Could you tell me specifically what it is?"

"I need to kill some people."

Kaiden remained silent, waiting for me to continue.

"The Imperial Security Office is hosting a competition. It’s for evaluating the Special Task Force. They said they’re going to use dummies as the enemy forces."

"I understand. Considering the purpose of the evaluation and the need for fair judgment, they can’t use real people, but merely pretending to kill would compromise fairness."

"Ha, as expected, you’ve already figured it out. Anyway, I was pondering the problem when I heard that you were at the Tower of Illusions."

"You want me to create an evaluation field that mimics real combat using illusion magic?"

"Can you do it?"

"Of course."

Kaiden answered without hesitation.

"I can control the environment, the structures, even the placement and reactions of the enemy forces, all to your specifications."

"Great. Could you perhaps show me a sample…."

Before I could finish my sentence, the scenery around us shifted like a kaleidoscope in an instant.

"What the—?!"

As the tables and chairs disappeared, the kids screamed and jumped up in surprise, and Orendi almost fainted, gasping for breath.

"This is a miracle! It’s the power of a god!"

We were no longer on the bustling street but standing in a dimly lit corridor.

Judging by its appearance, we seemed to be simulating an infiltration of the Imperial Palace’s interior.

Ahead, a single palace guard stood with his back to us.

"Go ahead."

I looked down to find a heavy dagger in my hand.

"Step lightly. His senses are just like a real person’s."

Following Kaiden’s advice, I moved quietly, creeping up behind the guard.

The guard was breathing softly, humming a low tune as if he were a living person.

I clamped my hand over the guard’s mouth and stabbed the dagger repeatedly into his side. Blood gushed out like a waterfall.

The warmth of the blood was so real it was eerie.

"KYAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Merilda let out a piercing scream.

"A-a person was just killed!"

"Get a grip, Merilda. It’s all an illusion."

Knightley, trying to calm Merilda down, looked pale. It was probably the first time either of them had witnessed someone being killed right before their eyes.

"A true professional, a real expert."

Hindrasta, however, watched with interest as I subdued the guard, a fascinated expression on her face.

As the guard took his last breath, Kaiden approached and asked,

"So, what do you think, Dian? Will I be of use to you?"

Looking down at the collapsing guard, I replied,

"It’s so realistic that it makes you feel guilty. I’ll talk to the Palace and have you set up the evaluation field for the competition."

"If it’s to help you, Dian, I’ll do anything."

Kaiden smiled and bowed his head.