90% of Humans Are Right-Handed

I didn’t exactly stab with the intent to kill. Lancart didn’t have the intention to actually kill me, and I didn’t necessarily need to kill Lancart. My skewer was merely a means to reach him.

However, if I didn’t give it my all, I wouldn’t reach.

No, even if I gave it my all, I wouldn’t reach.

The world of the right-handed even controls the flow of mana. My card is a precise blueprint, transforming into a skewer with just a small injection of mana. But in this right-handed world, even that slight amount of mana is subject to interference.

My skewer, which should have been straight, was bent to the right, merely grazing Lancart’s cheek instead of piercing it. *Pshht*, droplets of blood scattered, swept away by the right-handed world.

‘I’ve been interpreted? By a being of concept?’

That single opportunity was gone. Lancart, feeling the pain in his cheek, reflexively raised his arm.

‘Right arm.’

The world of the right-handed centers around Lancart’s body. The most volatile and impulsive core of a storm in the world, and it was being swung, aiming for me.

Because the right-handed world only contains a rightward spin centered on Lancart, any movement or magic originating from Lancart is amplified, riding the rightward flow. In contrast, movements approaching from outside of Lancart inevitably contain a leftward flow, which is canceled out before it can even arrive.

The Grand Magus of the Green Tower’s unique mana technique is a conceptual one-way street, but Lancart’s unique mana technique is a consequential one-way street. Hundreds of strands of storm, with his fist as the epicenter, drastically warped, then encompassed my body in a glancing blow.

Just before the storm engulfed me, I pushed off the ground, curling my body up.

The stolen unique mana technique was meaningless. The tangled storm rapidly compressed between Lancart and me, then was momentarily released, blasting my body away. Spinning, I crashed onto the ground with my back first. I bit down on my teeth at the shock coursing through my entire body. Thanks to telepathy, I don’t feel dizzy, but I can’t help but stagger.

‘He floated in the air, not resisting the flow, rotating himself to cancel out the rightward spin? Not only that. He jumped along the same trajectory as my right fist, the core of the right-handed world. He completely understood my power!’

Fighting Lancart always ends like this. Even though I stole and used his unique mana technique, the difference in power is this great. If Lancart added a touch of white magic to this, I wouldn’t be able to resist at all. Seriously fighting him is nothing but a loss.

But I have to fight now. Because that’s what Lancart wants!

‘The one solving the problem is more advantageous than the one posing it. With just a single clue, even the most complex tangled web can be unraveled. But, why? Huey has interpreted me, so why haven’t I been able to interpret Huey yet?’

“Is the test over? Or is this a real fight? Tell me quickly. So I can decide my attitude.”

It was around the time I righted myself, glaring daggers at Rankart, that the shock seemed to register on him. Almost immediately, he backpedaled.

‘The human king? Impossible! A being of Conception…that’s the very world of the right-handed! Can’t be left-handed!’

“…Ah, sorry. Huey. I seem to have momentarily…erred.”

Rankart dispelled his Unique Mana, the tempest he’d unleashed dissolving into errant wisps. Mages all across the floating city cried out, casting wind spells against the sudden maelstrom, but Rankart paid them no mind, striding right up to me.

“Impossible. Right. The one who bested me couldn’t possibly be the one being interpreted.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I told you I am.”

“It’s just…the Queen of Humans is that woman. It was my mistake, jumping to conclusions and assuming you were her based on that alone.”

Though, when you think about it, ‘Sister’ *is* closer to being the Queen of Humans than I am. Still, I *am* a king!

Well, that’s beside the point. To Rankart, even *this* was just a means to an end. I growled, low in my throat.

“A mistake? More like intentional, you son of a b*tch.”

Rankart visibly flinched, his eyes darting around. I kept the skewer leveled at him, my gaze a burning brand.

“You catch even a whiff of something and try to drag me into the world of the right-handed? Why? Didn’t work with tests or knowledge, so now you’re testing my emergency response skills? Got a new meta, did we?”

“Huey, Huey. Calm down. It’s not like that, I swear.”

“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when the friend who sticks to me like glue is playing the role of examiner, measuring every single one of my abilities? You did the same thing back in the Military Nation, didn’t you? Complaining that it was unpleasant to be evaluated by someone dumber than you. Do you think you’re superior to me?”

“It’s not like that. Being around the self-proclaimed elite of the floating city…I guess it rubbed off on me a bit. I forgot what you were like and just kept…”

Ugh. Now he’s blaming the environment. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache blooming.

Why does he do this? Simple.

If he doesn’t periodically reaffirm my superiority, he can’t accept his own defeat. He deliberately tests me, trying to overvalue the person who defeated him. It’s like a lover constantly testing their partner to confirm their love.

If he were a woman, it might even be cute. But seeing a hulking man acting like this just makes me want to puke.

“I took your words about being the human king at face value, that’s all. Anyway, let’s set aside the minor issues for later.”

“Says the guy who *caused* the issues. Living the easy life, aren’t we?”

“More importantly…a Queen of Humans has appeared. Does our policy remain unchanged?”

No. If this guy were a woman, he would be a much bigger problem. I’m grateful you’re just my friend, you son of a gun.

I ran a hand over my face and spoke.

“It’s changed a little. I’ve decided to climb the Dragon Gate.”

“The Dragon Gate? Why bother with something so…insignificant?”

“I have to confront the Demon King. To that end, I’m receiving tutelage from the Master of the Azure Tower.”

Rankart tilted his head, repeating the question.

“What could that woman possibly teach you?”

“The floating city has its own customs and rules, doesn’t it? I have to learn them. It’s not like I know white magic all that well.”

“That woman might know White Magic, but she doesn’t know you. I could teach you better.”

“Just mind your own business.”

There’s no merit in learning from you when I could learn from the Avant-Garde or the Azure Tower Lord.

“It’d be much better to learn at the Crystal Tower, build some connections. What was *Nunna* even doing?”

“Gathering people.”

Gathering people? More likely, people were gathering on their own accord.

It’s not like *Nunna* would, or even needs to, gather people herself. But the Great Jungle lacks proper nations and is full of tribes longing for a united country. To them, *Nunna* is their only hope, someone worth pledging their loyalty to.

“I don’t know what *Nunna’s* planning.”

“Why ask? The Human King is a concept. Not even right-handed, just the right side itself. Her actions are no different from other banal beast-kings.”

“Let me rephrase. I don’t know what humanity is going to *make* of her.”

My words seemed to ignite some inspiration because Runcart found something pleasantly perplexing to ponder and fell deep into thought. Gave him a mental chew toy, he’ll be gnawing on that for days. I ran a hand through my hair, dishevelled from the commotion, and said,

“Clean up the mess you made. I already have too much to do. Don’t want to be bothered because of your antics.”

“Yes. Of course, Huye. I would never trouble you.”

Runcart nodded emphatically and immediately amplified his voice with magic, barking at the witnesses.

“Did you hear? Fix this. Secretly.”

That b*stard. That’ll just make it spread even further.

*

Runcart didn’t really need to threaten them. A more pressing concern arose than the common tale of the mad mage Runcart unleashing his unique magic in a rampage.

The Human King. News of a representative for all humanity greatly shook the Floating Citadel.

What kind of being is the Human King? What abilities do they possess? Can they use magic? If they *can* learn magic, what heights could they reach? Tower Lord? Demon King? Ah, surely not.

The Floating Citadel wasn’t small, but being closed off, news traveled fast. Within a single day, stories of the Human King spread throughout the entirety of the citadel, filling every tower and street with the subject.

The Human King. The Human King. The Human King.

A mage walking down the street, sitting at a table, surrounded by light-formed avatars, looking grim, heading to a Master at the Magic Tower to seek their council.

There may be no arrows that can be fired infinitely, but there were gums that can be chewed infinitely. The Human King was a good conversation starter to put on the mage’s lips. ‘*Nunna*’ was truly a kind King, considering mankind in this regard too.

“I must write a thesis on the Human King! This will be the theme of the next conference!”

Even the Crystal Tower, renowned for its immutable and steadfast scholarship, couldn’t escape this atmosphere. Dozens of mages halted their research, gathering in small groups to begin searching for information on the Human King.

It was hardly an atmosphere for teaching or learning. The Azure Tower Lord, his hand resting on a magical tome crystal, gazed intently at me and asked,

“If I recall, you came from the Origin Tree, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. Didn’t Shay explain that?”

“He did explain. However, if there had been even a single word about a Human King in that explanation, I doubt I would be so surprised now.”

“Shay hadn’t spoken of the Human King, then. Some discretion, at least… or not.

I saw my sister awaken, but Shay didn’t witness her emergence. He knows she’ll revive someday, that it’s imminent, but not that she opened her eyes and stretched. No need to mention a subject he knows little about.

“What I saw was an ancient druid, two thousand years old, cultivating a tree to resurrect the Human King. I was imprisoned there with Shay, but I don’t know if the Human King truly rose.”

The Azure Tower Master narrowed her eyes, questioning.

“Really?”

*’An archaic druid imprisoned you for no reason, and then, coincidentally, the Human King appears…? A lie even I would see through. A little unpleasant, that.*’

Clever, she is. I’ll have to reveal some of it, then.

“We were sacrifices to resurrect the Human King. Kidnapped by Nevida on our way to all nations. Unable to just wait for death, we set the Root Tree ablaze to escape. Afterwards, we were rescued by Rankart.”

“And you just happened to be Rankart’s friend. What a small world, hm?”

“That was a true coincidence. It wasn’t as though I asked Rankart to come. The Floating City is unfamiliar to me as well. Luckily, I met someone as generous as the Azure Tower Master.”

Why would I reveal everything to someone I barely know? My eyes met the Azure Tower Master’s for a moment. I smiled at her.

*’A commoner, perhaps mistreated in the Floating City, but Hughes must have been a notable talent in the lower realms? To reach Nevida’s tree… a figure of considerable importance. I’ll have to investigate.*’

The Azure Tower Master straightened her robes and rose. It was supposed to be our lesson time, but she was preoccupied with news of the Human King.

“Apologies, disciple. The Descent is in three days, I should be focused on your training. But I’m afraid I’m too busy and must leave. I won’t be seeing you often.”

“A pity, but unavoidable. The Human King is an issue that warrants the attention of all five Tower Masters.”

“…Who told you there was to be a meeting of the Tower Masters?”

“You prepared a curriculum tailored to just before the Descent, only to suddenly become busy. That would mean a newly emerged issue. Which must be because of the Human King. And surely they wouldn’t convene such a meeting with only one Tower Master present.”

Deduction isn’t your exclusive skill. Though, granted, I read her thoughts.

*’Indeed. His intellect would allow for such deductions. I’m more accustomed to analyzing than being analyzed. I must admit, it is disorienting.*’

A subtle smile touched her lips. As she left the room, the Azure Tower Master left a last comment.

“The world is changing. The Floating City must adjust its attitude. I hope you rise through the ranks. If a commoner like you ascends to the Floating City, it might change as well.”

I watched the Azure Tower Master leave and pondered for a moment.

The Azure Tower Master was always like this. Keenly interested in those from the outside, offering help to stay in the Floating City, even teaching. A person dreaming of change, no less.

But the Floating City itself seemed stable, peaceful. Even to my liking, even now.

The problem must be outside, then?

The exalted city only those chosen can ascend to, The Floating City.

The time has come to look beyond this place, towards the Magic Federation occupied by the bulk of the population.

Until the Descent, three days hence.