◈ Episode 217. Class (2)
Marcelo Simuard.
The possessor of a talent coveted even by the Demon King that had been parasitizing the Simuard family. Nothing stood in the way of that innate genius. Among the continent’s magical families, such rumors even circulated.
“They said he was one of the greatest geniuses even in the Simuard family……”
“Indeed, his talent isn’t something that can be confined to one family!”
“He has the talent to aim for a senior position in the Magic Tower.”
As magical families, they knew better than anyone what kind of place the Magic Tower was. Yet they were not merely evaluating him as someone who could enter the Magic Tower, but as someone who could seize a senior position.
One might have called it an exaggeration.
But no such objection arose.
It could not.
“To think such a boy has mastered the magic of every mainstream branch!”
Around the age of twelve or thirteen.
Marcelo could freely manifest the magic of the twenty branches that supported the Magic Tower.
Mainstream magic, up to the intermediate level.
There was no way such a Marcelo would be held back from entering the Magic Tower.
“Is that frail-looking boy the child of Simuard?”
“Oho.”
“To chat idly over an apprentice… What unfamiliar reactions you all have.”
In the Magic Tower, apprentice mages were treated like chicks.
They could not belong to a branch, nor did they have any ability to prove themselves. But Marcelo was an exception. From the time he was an apprentice mage, he drew the glares of countless seniors.
‘A talent beyond comparison.’
‘Covetable, but dangerous.’
‘……
He might even threaten my position.’
A mere apprentice mage being kept in check by senior mages?
Unthinkable in the past, and unthinkable even now.
No, it was unprecedented in the history of the Magic Tower.
Some had even breathed sighs of relief.
“We should be grateful we aren’t of the same generation as him.”
No matter how outstanding his talent was.
The Magic Tower was not an easy place.
Even if Marcelo could threaten their positions.
It would take no small amount of time.
Of course, such complacency.
“……
Simuard passed the preliminary verification?”
“He hasn’t even chosen a branch yet, has he?”
“Don’t tell me he completed his research while still an apprentice!”
From apprentice to adept.
As if he had merely been waiting for promotion.
It vanished thanks to Marcelo, who passed the preliminary verification and stood at the regular conference.
From that point on, Marcelo became a rival to the seniors.
“It depends on which branch he chooses.”
“One of our positions will be in danger.”
“This is absurd……”
However.
Marcelo exceeded expectations once again.
He did not choose.
He created.
『Theoretical Magic』.
A completely new branch.
One said to have changed the history of magic.
From then on, things unfolded as known.
Theoretical Magic advanced all magic by one stage, and Marcelo was recognized for that achievement, becoming a senior mage. Then, surpassing the strong candidate Mathis, he ascended to the position of chief.
It was the birth of the youngest chief to ever accomplish the greatest feat.
That day, Marcelo attended the Round Table Conference as chief.
He encountered the Tower Master for the first time.
And he faced it.
“Hm. You look like a sickly little brat, utterly unable to bear the weight of the chief’s seat. It is not too late even now. Why not return to the position of senior and tend to that body of yours first?”
“……!”
The “wall” that had blocked his path for the first time in his life.
That wall, the Tower Master, was harsh only to Marcelo.
Even before Theoretical Magic, his attitude remained the same.
“Magic is not something that can be unraveled in lines of text, boy.”
“Theoretical Magic is what makes that possible. And please refrain from calling me boy when I am well past adulthood.”
“Is that so? Understood, Marcelo, boy chief.”
“…….”
The Tower Master nitpicked Marcelo over every little thing.
It was fortunate that everyone in the Magic Tower except the Tower Master knew Marcelo’s talent. If not, it would have been an insult severe enough to make him relinquish the position of chief and leave.
Yugwid had swallowed her laughter at the sight.
“To think the Tower Master had such a twisted side as well.”
Including herself.
All mages deviated from the bounds of normality.
As stated, that applied to Marcelo as well.
To put it simply……
The Tower Master and Marcelo were twisted only toward each other.
“Are you aware? That is what people call nitpicking.”
“How insolent, boy chief.”
“Changing the word order does not change the meaning contained within.”
“Understood, chief boy.”
“…….”
No one would have imagined it.
That in the exalted Magic Tower.
The Tower Master and the chief mage would be having such childish exchanges on the top floor.
However, the parallel lines between the two, which seemed as though they would never meet, were one day abruptly severed one-sidedly.
“……
Tower Master?”
Like a larva curled up inside a chrysalis.
The Tower Master had been trapped within a sphere of mana.
It was no one’s doing.
“It is certainly the Tower Master’s mana trace.”
The Tower Master had done it himself.
Marcelo could not understand.
He could not accept it.
The Tower Master, the only wall that had blocked him.
It meant he could no longer break down that wall with his own strength.
But perhaps time was medicine.
As the years passed, Marcelo finally admitted it.
“I was ignorant.”
That the Tower Master had accurately seen the shortcomings of both himself and Theoretical Magic.
Recalling his conversations with the Tower Master, Marcelo further developed Theoretical Magic. Waiting for the day he would meet the Tower Master again, the day he would prove himself to the Tower Master……....
I realize it once again.
‘Mages are all missing more than a few screws!’
Marcelo had not simply respected the Tower Master.
To put it simply.
A twisted sentiment that said if the Tower Master was to be defeated, he would be the one to defeat him with his own hands.
If even that were to be reduced to a single word, it would be “love-hate”……!
“I apologize for following you without informing you, sir.”
There is no need to apologize, Marcelo.
As I always say, the more reinforcements, the better.
It is just that, in good conscience, there are not many reinforcements I can drag along. Am I not the one getting swept into atrocious difficulty because of all the bubbles that got stuck to me while I struggled?
‘Honestly, if I followed my heart, I’d like to order a full mobilization.’
From the Giant Alliance to the Lionheart Knights.
I want to rely on dependable reinforcements.
But even now, aside from a select few, none would be able to face the Tower Master and remain unharmed.
Especially on the player side, it would be annihilation.
‘Of course, Jesse is an exception.’
Jesse, the Tower Master’s disciple and the object of his favoritism, is treated as an exception, so she is excluded.
Marcelo has joined in as well.
But there is no need to worry about Marcelo.
Putting aside his abilities, I’ve never seen it before.
“I will take responsibility for this through proper procedure after returning. However, I have a reason I cannot retreat. The story I just relayed to you.”
Marcelo looking that motivated.
How intense must it have been for emotion to be felt even through telepathy?
I nodded.
“I understand, Marcelo.”
Now that Marcelo has joined as well.
This is no longer a class solely for Jesse’s sake.
Me, who will learn the Archmage’s magic by watching over his shoulder.
And Marcelo, who wishes to prove his growth to the Tower Master.
It has become a battlefield where each person’s circumstances are entangled.
“Apprentice Mage Jesse Heinness.”
“Yes! I’m listening, Chief Marcelo!”
“I ask your understanding as well.”
“Ah, yes! It’s fine! I’m not really sure what this is about, though!”
I had not accurately revealed the Archmage’s identity.
Perhaps because of that.
Jesse seemed to be guessing that Marcelo had some connection to the Archmage.
Of course, Marcelo was in the same position.
‘He still hasn’t realized that the Tower Master is unconscious.’
……
No, does he even know in the first place that the Tower Master was the Archmage? Considering how the identities of the previous Archmages before the Tower Master were not widely known, the chances were low.
Jesse was a peculiar case whose identity as the Archmage was known because she was an adventurer.
‘It’s tangled beyond measure.’
For now, I swallowed a sigh.
‘This means I’m the only one with a heavy heart again.’
The saying that ignorance is bliss has never felt more fitting……!
“Wow, to think all of this was illusion magic!”
Jesse truly believes this is just a class.
“It has been so long since our reunion, yet you do not even answer.”
Marcelo is speaking to the Tower Master’s shell.
The only one who knows all the tangled circumstances.
Is me, in an extremely serious situation.
However, I could not show it.
Leaving aside Grandfell’s pride.
There was no time to do so in the first place.
[The Tower Master’s body appears.]
“!”
An appearance message.
What it meant was simple.
Everything until now had been nothing more than a warning.
The scenery manifested by illusion magic slowly began to clear away.
Soon, it converted into pure mana.
And in that state, it immediately ignited.
Marcelo ground his teeth.
“You truly do not understand the situation, do you?”
The founder of Theoretical Magic.
Marcelo, who had established all mainstream magic into theory.
Naturally, that meant he understood the relationships of magic that devoured and were devoured.
More accurately than anyone.
Marcelo immediately spread a barrier of water.
“Water against fire……!”
Jesse said that.
But it is not such simple magic, that thing.
Considering the effort that went into the interference process.
It was no different from manifesting three high-level spells at once.
Chiiiiik─!
Even so, it was insufficient.
Water having the advantage over fire was only true when their levels were somewhat comparable. A conflagration that devoured everything would evaporate even water.
“Tch.”
To think such a word would come out of Marcelo’s mouth.
That truly isn’t a common sight.
In any case, I cannot stand by with my arms crossed and merely observe forever.
Because I have clearly realized it through this.
The fact that the Tower Master’s body is unmistakably going berserk.
“This has gone too far.”
It must be the dissonance caused by the separation of consciousness and body.
‘I cannot even guess what that interference process is.’
Even the Tower Master must not have been able to manifest it perfectly.
Regardless of the arrangements left behind by his consciousness.
The body was merely rampaging.
So from now on, this could no longer be called a class.
What I had to say was already decided.
“As chief, this is a class I cannot approve.”
……
I did open my mouth boldly.
But even Marcelo’s magic, which took advantage of elemental compatibility, had been crushed. Even if I put forward the [Blessing of the First World Tree], I might not be able to handle him with magic alone.
He has a circle just as I do, after all.
In the end, I have no choice but to go all-out from the start.
I immediately prepared to manifest the Anomaly.
As expected, the most efficient would be reversal magic.
However, if I reverse elemental magic, it will merely return to pure mana.
‘The Tower Master will interfere with that mana again.’
No matter how much he is the Tower Master, his mana is not infinite.
If he has consumed this much mana, a burden must surely come upon his body.
Illusion and fire magic.
In terms of mana consumption, they were among the highest-ranking spells.
‘Do you think I’ll do something that benefits you?’
To bring down an Archmage, one must be meticulous.
With the [Blessing of the First World Tree] active, it would be fair to say my mana regeneration was at its maximum. I would push forward with mana superiority.
But then.
“……!”
“……
Huh?”
Marcelo and Jesse flinched.
Because an anomaly had been detected in the Tower Master’s body, from which no change of emotion, not even consciousness, could be felt. A streak of blood was flowing down from the corner of the Tower Master’s mouth.
Did she recognize it because she had experienced it?
Jesse looked at me and said.
“That’s definitely mana exhaustion, isn’t it……?”
Meteor Strike.
Illusion.
And now fire magic as well.
After manifesting them consecutively.
It would be shameless to think his body would be fine.
At this point, I will declare it coldly.
Tower Master, your plan.
Seems to have failed spectacularly.
“I cannot accept this.”
A twisted admiration.
But Marcelo certainly respected the Tower Master.
Because the Tower Master had been the only one to see through his shortcomings.
“For what reason……?”
Marcelo’s pupils trembled.
He had thought he could finally receive acknowledgment from that Tower Master.
But the Tower Master would no longer be the Tower Master he knew.
I opened my mouth.
“Jesse Heinness.”
“Yes, I’m listening!”
“I must convey unfortunate news.”
“……
Ah, I was going to tell you something too, actually!”
No voice could be heard from the cone hat.
Jesse relayed those words.
I could sense it.
Something was happening inside the cone hat as well.
But it was all right.
Because this class, which had done nothing but wound everyone, would end here.
I continued speaking.
“Your class will end here.”
“Yes! I accept!”
“However, remain focused until the end.”
“……
Yes?”
“I, as chief, will take responsibility and finish this class.”
Meteor Strike.
Illusion magic.
And even the current fire magic.
Watching the highest-level magic the Tower Master manifested, I realized something.
Apparently, just as I had blurted out with my own mouth.
I had reached a realm from which I could dare look down upon the “realm of the transcendent.”
‘The realm of Anomaly.’
In other words.
“There was nothing to learn from your manifestation.”
“…….”
“Did I not say it? Everything has changed.”
A mere fire spell like this.
Could be offset even with the Anomaly of freezing, its reverse compatibility.
[『Absolute Zero』]
Jjeojeojeok!
In an instant.
The entire area chilled to the point that breaths poured out in white clouds.
I looked at the Tower Master and said.
“As of this moment, I will begin my class.”
“I will not take questions during the lesson.”
“Because the one answering will not be me, but you, Tower Master.”
Good grief, you sure hold a grudge, Grandfell.
In that sense, brace yourself, Tower Master.
I was the one who brought the Magic Tower to tears with preliminary verification alone.
My first class will absolutely not be easy!
...
A swirling vortex of surging mana.
The elder, Yugwid, who arrived belatedly.
And all twenty senior mages witnessed it.
“Truly, Chief, you are……!!”