◈ Episode 105. Leaving the Tower
- Mantra Mine Magic Tower.
Its sole social venue, the Floating Garden.
The skilled mages chatted among themselves.
“Has everyone filled out their applications?”
A desire to explore the unknown.
To the mages of the Magic Tower, the world outside the Magic Tower.
Reality was an object of curiosity.
Until now, they had turned away from it because there had not even seemed to be a possibility of leaving the Tower.
“Ah! Of course, I mean the application to leave the Tower.”
To think leaving the Tower had become possible.
Now they felt they understood why the senior mages had so often been absent lately.
They must have been holding meetings about leaving the Tower. Answers poured out in response to the question.
“Of course I filled one out. The problem was deciding on the period…”
“How about we quietly share our periods among ourselves?”
“……
Is that all right?”
“What’s the harm? At the very least, ours shouldn’t overlap!”
“True. I suppose that’s how we raise our chances, even a little?”
The problem was that even filling out the application itself was not easy. Writing down the reason for leaving the Tower was not difficult.
After all, they had written reasons to the point of exhaustion even within the Magic Tower.
The issue was the period.
“They say any application that doesn’t fit the schedule will be rejected.”
That was right.
The period for leaving the Tower had to match the person in charge’s schedule.
The problem was that the person in charge had not announced that schedule.
“It’s not as if we’re guessing answers on an exam.”
As they looked over one another’s applications.
Someone let out a sigh.
“……
To be honest, I do wonder if I really need to go out.”
“That’s because of the person in charge, isn’t it?”
“Everyone’s thinking the same thing. Aren’t you?”
And who was the person in charge of leaving the Tower?
The co-chief mage, Hoyeol.
Perhaps realizing her mistake, the skilled mage hurriedly continued.
“Of course, I do think he’s incredible. Just how many mages must have filled out these applications to leave the Tower? Even just looking through them all must be an enormous effort. But… even so, entering a rift alone with Chief Lee Hoyeol is…”
It was an extremely burdensome thing.
They had heard plenty through rumors, after all.
Hoyeol’s notoriety, that was.
Soon, their gazes poured toward Cle.
“That’s right. Cle, you have experience, don’t you?”
“……
Pardon? Experience?”
“Why are you so surprised? You know, you spoke one-on-one with Chief Lee Hoyeol during the academic conference’s preliminary verification. I heard more than one mage ran out of the Topaz Hall crying back then… How was it for you, Cle?”
……
How was it?
Swish, swish—
Cle stirred the teacup round and round with her teaspoon.
Then, with some difficulty, she opened her mouth.
“……
I was fine.”
“What?!!”
“Of course, better than I was worried it would be!”
Cle had made up her mind.
Even if the other skilled mages avoided Hoyeol, even if they shuddered just hearing his name! At the very least, she herself must not show such an attitude.
Yes, because Cle had not forgotten what Hoyeol had said to her.
-“A rather interesting approach.”
-“There appear to be no leaps or flaws in the logic or process, so what is needed must be results.”
-“Devote yourself to your research with confidence.”
The cultivation method for elixir herbs.
Because the one who had recognized the potential of that research was none other than Hoyeol.
At Cle’s ambiguous reaction, the skilled mages nodded.
They exchanged meaningful glances.
“Ah, so that’s why…”
They pointed to the period on Cle’s application.
“You set the date this tight, Cle?”
“Pardon? That was just because I thought it’d be better to get it over with…”
“As expected, Cle cares more about faces than personalities, huh?”
“……
What? What’s that supposed to mean, you?!”
“Aaagh! Cle, are you pinching my side?!”
Whether she was happy or sad, Cle’s reactions were dramatic, which made her fun to tease.
For the sake of that fun, at least.
It would be nice if Cle’s application to leave the Tower were approved.
“But no matter what, wouldn’t the seniors’ departures take priority over ours?”
That was not only what the skilled mages thought.
The senior mages were also thinking the same thing, if only implicitly.
The senior mage of fire magic, Vensh William.
“Good. It doesn’t overlap with any other seniors’ schedules. Perfect.”
Vensh thought of the application to leave the Tower he had submitted.
The purpose was simple.
The period was as tight as possible.
Because his real purpose lay elsewhere.
“Just how did he subdue that monster, the Fire Dragon?”
What Vensh was curious about was what had happened inside the rift.
No matter how much Lord Senios had sacrificed himself.
Ice magic and fire magic were polar opposites.
‘Chief Lee Hoyeol must have played some role as well.’
Vensh wanted to hear the story of that day from Hoyeol.
Was he not uncomfortable entering a rift alone with Hoyeol?
After accompanying Senior Matisse, what could he not do?
“……
Of course, I am worried.”
The memories of accompanying Matisse crept back into his mind.
He had not said a single word, Senior Matisse…
However.
If it meant hearing the story behind that day, he would endure it.
Of course, Vensh’s worries amounted to nothing.
Sssrk—
All of a sudden, writing appeared on the parchment.
Vensh’s eyes widened when he checked it.
“……
R-rejected? Mine?!”
Because the application to leave the Tower he had submitted had returned.
At the same time.
Bellier could not help clicking her tongue once more.
“Senior Mage Bellier! My application to leave the Tower passed!”
Cle had surely written her application for the same date as Vensh William… Yet Cle’s application had passed over his.
Bellier recalled Marcelo’s words.
-“……
In addition, Chief Lee Hoyeol added that the applicant’s rank would not be considered in the judgment.”
To think he had meant that sincerely.
Then again, even the elder mage, Lord Senios, had formally requested permission to leave the Tower from Chief Lee Hoyeol.
And had said he received that permission.
Bellier smiled.
“The timing worked out well, Cle.”
By the way…
At this rate, from now on, the competition to leave the Tower would become even fiercer, regardless of whether one was a senior, skilled, or apprentice mage. In that sense, she felt she should prepare in advance as well.
Bellier spoke subtly.
“In order to pass those exacting standards, how did you… Wait a moment, Cle. Could you perhaps tell only me, just a little, how you wrote your application to leave the Tower?”
*
I realize the weight of a chief.
What sort of work is there so much of?
But I cannot complain.
‘I brought all of this on myself with my own loose tongue.’
All departures from the Tower proceed according to my schedule.
In order to take responsibility for the words I had spoken.
I handled the increased duties of a chief.
Of course, it was not as if I had flapped my mouth for no reason.
After all, everything is a give-and-take.
I recalled the update details.
‘The recommended level is a whopping 550.’
The new rifts updated along with Muon.
The recommended level of those rifts was comparable to [Predator’s Swamp].
Thinking back once more on what happened in [Predator’s Swamp]…
‘If I hadn’t received help from the three guilds at the end.’
Far from sprouting the World Tree’s seed.
It would not have been strange if I had been trampled by the monsters.
As someone who was only level 377.
‘Soloing a level 550 rift without [Natural Enemy Relationship] is still too much…’
In other words, it was still a burdensome recommended level.
However, I was no longer alone.
Yes, because I held full authority over departures from the Tower.
‘It couldn’t be more reassuring…!’
That meant I could enter rifts together with the mages of the Magic Tower.
Yes, ever since I first entered the Magic Tower.
Hadn’t I been dreaming of this very day?
However, there is always a gap between dreams and reality.
If I had my way.
I would have approved every half-decent application to leave the Tower.
And cleared rifts together with countless mages.
But according to strict procedure.
I rejected numerous applications.
I put down one application that was especially careless.
“You still have not come to your senses, Senior Mage Vensh William.”
If you write “promoting friendship” as your purpose, I’ll just approve it for you, will I! Yes, the application to leave the Tower that I had approved according to procedure was one for now.
[Cle Odia]
The purpose of leaving the Tower was to gather elixir herbs needed for research.
Just as I had gathered Four-Color Mistletoe.
Elixir herbs could be gathered in rifts.
It was a sufficiently convincing purpose.
Moreover, I held Cle’s “cultivation method for elixir herbs”—
the potential of that research, in high regard.
‘To be honest, even one skilled mage is a reassuring ally.’
Thinking of it that way.
I even began to feel that it was fortunate instead.
After all, imagine if Vensh had accompanied me into a rift.
‘……
Would any monsters even be left?’
The senior mages had cleared over a dozen rifts in an instant.
Hadn’t I indirectly confirmed their military might?
It truly is fortunate.
At this rate, they might have burned even my crumbs of profit to ashes.
This is why people must live fairly and impartially according to procedure.
My self-praise lasted only a moment.
Because I would be entering the rift tomorrow.
I opened a book.
‘Now that I have witnessed the realm.’
For me, for Granfell.
It was no different from gaining a new goal.
Of course, as always.
Rustle—
I read magic books as part of my daily routine.
Click—
And consumed elixir herbs brewed as tea.
But the meaning contained in those actions was different.
At least I myself knew that.
If until now it had been no more than a struggle to keep from sinking.
[Due to the effect of the elixir herb, “Red Moonflower,” your Intelligence increases by 1 point.]
From now on, it was a struggle to move forward.
...
[Mantra Mine - Mining District 1]
[Recommended Level: Lv.550]
[Collapse Progress: 1.8%]
“Wow. So this is a rift.”
Cle pulled her robe down low and let out an exclamation.
In truth, her exclamations had not stopped for some time now.
The huge buildings, the people in unfamiliar clothes—everything must have been a sight she was seeing for the first time.
But it was still too early to be surprised.
‘Inside the rift is another level entirely.’
A landscape where reality and the Arcana Continent were mixed together.
As soon as we entered the rift, Cle was clearly startled.
“……
It’s somehow amazing.”
A landscape where a forest of buildings and a mine were mixed together.
There was no way such a landscape could be normal.
It looked as though buildings had grown like stalactites inside a massive cavern.
Even for me, this was my first time seeing such a bizarre rift…
Seeing as [Natural Enemy Relationship] did not activate.
I suppose even demons did not want to mess with this place.
Of course, it was only natural that I could not show such inner thoughts.
I spoke calmly.
“Mantra Mine. Are you aware of the threat factors that appear here?”
“Ah! If it’s Mantra Mine, I have heard the name. Only that at first it was thought to be an ordinary mine, but that turned out not to be the case. So as for the threat factors…”
“Commit them to memory.”
I recited the threat factors.
In other words, the list of monsters that appeared in [Mantra Mine - Mining District 1]. All of it was only because I had confirmed that information through the update details.
Unable to know that fact, Cle nodded with a serious expression.
“……
They are all troublesome threat factors.”
It was a fair answer.
Because all the monsters that appeared in Mantra Mine had the [Ghost] attribute. That was why the mine had been abandoned in the first place.
After all, physical attacks did not work on monsters with the [Ghost] attribute.
‘To defeat them, magic or buffs are necessary.’
But it must have been that there was no value in mining this place if it required that much effort. Well, it was not important. As I said, they could be sufficiently dealt with through magic.
‘More importantly.’
As planned, I summoned the nymph.
As for the summoning process, I had already learned it when we formed the contract.
Soon, the nymph appeared in midair.
“In accordance with the contract, I have answered your call.”
……
Hup.
I heard the sound of someone hurriedly covering their mouth.
The fact that I had contracted with a spirit was known only to Marcelo. From Cle’s perspective, it might have been unexpected. But was there really a reason to be that surprised?
‘Spirit studies exist in the Magic Tower to begin with.’
Yet, as if to mock that thought.
I, too, flinched inwardly.
……
What is this?
The nymph’s appearance had somehow become even more splendid. No, it was not merely her appearance that had grown more splendid… The aura of {Nature} she radiated was clearly different from before.
As expected, was it because she had been influenced by my pride?
The nymph hid nothing.
That nymph spoke politely.
“There has been a slight change in me due to the influence of the World Tree.”
……
The World Tree!
That’s right. I had grown the World Tree through the nymph’s ability.
Even I had received a reward for making the World Tree sprout.
It was only natural that Nymph, the one directly involved, would receive that reward as well. I was slightly surprised, but as expected, I did not let it show and said,
“That, too, must be a natural change.”
“Indeed. I knew you would have anticipated it.”
No, I had not anticipated it before seeing it.
Of course, I was in no position to refute an overestimation.
I asked Nymph,
“Did you witness my arrangements?”
“Of course. I have much to tell you regarding them.”
“I see. Then let us hear that story first, slowly.”
The actions of the Goddess Church on the Arcana Continent.
There were things I wanted to ask.
But everything had its proper procedure.
First, I received Nymph’s report.
And then I flinched.……
Something that significant was happening on the Arcana Continent?...
To think Chief Lee Hoyeol had contracted with a spirit.
More than that, to think spirit summoning was possible within a rift.
And to think the Chief had known that fact in advance.
Klee had never even imagined it.
After all, spirits were beings that only an extremely small number of mages could witness and form contracts with. It was only natural to be surprised that Chief Lee Hoyeol, an adventurer, had summoned a spirit.
“……
Hup!”
However, enough to make her cover her mouth.
Klee had another reason for being shocked.
Yes, Klee, too, was a full-fledged Adept Mage of the Magic Tower. ‘Even if they were contracted spirits…….’ Naturally, she had seen spirits before.
Not only the spirits of the Adept Mages of the Spirit Studies School.
But even the Fire Drake of Senior Mage Feiyan Lot.
But what in the world was that spirit? ‘The aura it gives off is different!’ It was not a matter of the aura being great or small.
Klee was, after all, a mage of the Healing School.
Since she had no deep knowledge of spirit studies, she could not express it well, but. ‘How should I put it? It feels somehow on a completely different level from any spirit I’ve seen until now……?’ Yes, it felt noble and elegant.
As though that rank was revealed even in its appearance.
Its form was flawless.
It was an even greater shock than when she had first seen the Fire Drake.
Klee cautiously guessed. ‘Could it be a high-ranking spirit, or perhaps even higher?’ Shake, shake— No matter what, it could not be higher than a high-ranking spirit, could it?
After all, Feiyan’s Fire Drake was a high-ranking spirit.
However, Klee’s guess soon crumbled.
Because of the conversation Hoyeol and Nymph were having. ‘……
Th-the World Tree?’
‘And what is this arrangement……?’
‘N-no! As if that weren’t enough, dwarves?!’ How could they exchange such incredible stories.
Without changing their expressions at all?
As expected, both of them were definitely far more amazing than I had thought!