◈ Episode 23. I Raise an Objection (1)『From this moment on, the Magic Tower’s regular conference will resume.』The symbol of the Republic of Korea, the Magic Tower.
Not merely a place used for portals.
I had resolved to stop by properly one day.
The reason was simple.‘There is not [Skills] there,
but 『Magic』.’Just like the portals.
There was magic there that could properly make use of Granfell’s talent.
But a regular conference, of all things.Even setting aside the ten-year gap.
Though I was mainly using magic now,
my class had always been Demon Hunter.‘What’s a regular conference supposed to be?’Naturally, I had no choice but to lack information
on how the society of mages operated.
But it didn’t matter.
“I was just about to stop by anyway. How convenient.”
It wasn’t as if this was a personality that would go around acting timid, was it?
Even if it was the unfamiliar Magic Tower.
Like a model on a runway.
I had a feeling I would be able to walk around with confidence.
A regular conference.
I didn’t know what I could gain there, but I certainly wouldn’t lose anything.『His innate magical talent was such that he could imitate most magic simply by seeing it.』Count Ascurra.
Rank 4, Jesse Hainess.
Now that I had realized my own shortcomings from watching those two,
I was in no position to be picky about hot or cold rice.
“I’ll have to prepare.”
From this moment on.
That meant it wouldn’t be strange for the regular conference to begin at any time.
A personality that lived and died by formality and procedure.
For me, tardiness was an act that could never be tolerated.
I immediately began preparing to go to the Magic Tower.
Well, even if I called it preparation……
Clatter—“Procrastination is a bad habit.”
There was nothing more to it than washing the dishes.*The Magic Tower.
Klee, an Adept Mage, pulled her robe low over her head.
It was to hide her excited expression.‘My heart is pounding……!’After the Magic Tower was summoned into the world of adventurers.
They had focused on identifying the cause.
Thanks to that, the Magic Tower had not been functioning properly.
And in the midst of that, the regular conference was resuming.
It was a decision made by the higher-ups, including the Tower Master, so as nothing more than an Adept Mage, she could not know the reason.‘Did they discover something? I’m looking forward to it.’But she, too, was a mage of the Magic Tower.
Because pure inquiry into magic took highest priority,
she couldn’t help but look forward to the regular conference.
The role Klee had been assigned today was to guide the adventurers, or more precisely, the invited adventurers.
It wasn’t particularly difficult.‘They’re all people who know enough to know.’This was none other than the Magic Tower’s regular conference.
It was a conference where, at minimum, only Adept Mages—and only after thorough verification—could present the results of their research.
Naturally, not just anyone could be invited.
“……
The Magic Tower is especially crowded today.”
From atop the staircase embroidered through the air.
Klee looked at the crowd gathered in front of the portal.
Most of them were adventurers.
She detested noisiness, but……
It couldn’t be helped.
“Well, the Yusra Archipelago has been discovered, after all.”
The Yusra Archipelago.
That name appeared several times even in old books related to magic.
Supposedly, it had been an extremely wealthy kingdom in the past or something.
“I hope they brought back some decent magic tools.”
The treasure island of legend.
But was Klee not a mage of the Magic Tower?
It was only natural that her interest would lean toward magic tools rather than gold and jewels.
In any case, it was nearly time for the regular conference to begin.
“As expected, there really isn’t much for me to do.”
It must all be thanks to the illusion magic, right?
Klee lightly shrugged her shoulders.
The players could not see her doing so.
As stated, it was thanks to the illusion magic cast over the Magic Tower on the day of the regular conference.
The Magic Tower’s regular conference.
As befitted its reputation, the results presented there were outstanding as well.
Maintaining confidentiality regarding them was essential.
This was also why only those who had been invited could attend the conference.‘Without an invitation, not only I, but no one would easily notice this staircase and come up it.’Of course, there was a special regulation regarding that.
If someone saw through this illusion magic,
they could observe the regular conference even without an invitation.
But wasn’t that practically a regulation that existed in name only?‘It’s the Tower Master’s illusion magic, no less!’It made no sense that someone who had reached that level would not have been invited to the conference.
Klee’s shoulders became even more filled with pride.
For no reason, it felt as though she herself had become an amazing mage……
“They won’t be able to hear my voice either, right?”
I should take this opportunity to talk to myself a lot.
The silent Magic Tower.
At times, it felt as though cobwebs were forming in her mouth.
Click—It was then.
“……?”
The sound of shoe heels.
More precisely, the sound of someone climbing the stairs.
Klee, her robe pulled over her head, tilted her head.‘……
All the invited adventurers should have already arrived.’Including Jesse Hainess.
She had guided the invited adventurers to the place where the conference was being held.
Above all, since Klee herself had been in charge of guiding them, there was no mistake.
Then who in the world was that man?‘……
Maybe I’ll know if I see his face.’He might not be an adventurer.
Klee slightly lifted her robe and looked at the man.
Silver hair.
Black eyes.
And a long, draping coat……?
No, judging by his attire alone, he was definitely an adventurer.
Klee, who had been relaxed, began to panic.‘W-was there some mistake?!’Did I check the invitation list wrong?!
Klee took a parchment out from inside her robe and checked it.
“……
There aren’t any newly added adventurers?!”
Then who in the world is that person……?
To Klee, the man spoke.
“I wish to observe the conference.”
“Th-that…… could you show me your invitation?”
“Unfortunately, I do not have such a thing.”
“……
Y-yeeeees?!”
Wait, that made no sense.
He climbed the stairs without an invitation and spoke to me?
That was no different from saying he had seen through the illusion magic!
Klee shook her head over and over inwardly.‘No matter what, he couldn’t have precisely seen through that it was illusion magic.’Yes, it was an incantation cast by the Tower Master himself……
“More importantly, this is excellent illusion magic.”
“……
H-heeeek?!”
Klee was shocked once again.
Excellent illusion magic, he said.
Not only had this man seen through the Tower Master’s illusion magic, he was evaluating it?
“Indeed, it deserves praise.”
Th-the Tower Master deserves praise……?‘Th-that must be a joke, right?’Klee looked at the man who had somehow approached right in front of her.
An utterly serious expressionless face.
A gaze that seemed to look down on her—no, on everything.
From that, she could be certain.
This was no joke.‘There was someone like this among the adventurers?’Why has someone like this only appeared now……?
A development she had not expected in the slightest.
Flustered, Klee’s vision spun.
But she still had to do what she had to do.
Klee barely managed to continue speaking.
“……
In accordance with the regulations, I will guide you to the venue.”...
So this was the Magic Tower’s regular conference?
Even the entrance process is no joke……!
I marveled as I climbed the stairs.‘Illusion magic. But it isn’t a simple illusion.’Click—As could be seen,
I was able to step on the stairs and climb them directly.
Just how incredible a level of 『Magic』 this was.
If not for Granfell’s setting as an unparalleled talent,
I would never have realized it.
You could tell just from the words that came out of my mouth.
“Indeed, it deserves praise.”
That was high praise among high praise.
It would be an insult to these stairs to compare them to Jesse’s [Heavenly Punishment].
However, that was entirely a matter of mana.
I made a rough calculation inwardly.‘If my mana reaches around 1,000…….’Wouldn’t I be able to cast something similar?
Because the moment I saw it.
Exploration, interference, manifestation.
I had accurately grasped the structure of this illusion magic.
Of course, it came with the absurd premise of having a thousand mana.‘That means I’d have to be level 1,000, doesn’t it?’But there was no discouragement.
The regular conference had only just begun.
I followed behind the robe that had been twitching since earlier.‘I might be able to compensate for my weakness at the conference.’With that expectation in my heart.*Crystal Hall.
It was the space inside the Magic Tower where the regular conference was held.
Its vast size made it impossible to believe it was inside the Magic Tower.
The floor, the walls, the ceiling.
Even the spectator seats.
This space, made entirely of crystal, seemed to further heighten the mystique of magic.
But even that was only impressive for a day or two.
“……
I’m bored.”
Jesse Hainess voiced her complaint in a small voice.
Then her conical hat stirred.
-Disciple. At least during the conference, do not fall asleep.
“……
I’ll try. Uhaaam—”
-At least endure until Marcelo’s turn!
The nagging of her conical-hat master.
Even that had to be occasional for her to at least pretend to be frightened by it.
Jesse replied in a sleepy voice.
“Honestly, even if I listen, I don’t really understand.”
Magic was, after all, nothing more than skills.
Skills that activated as long as you learned them, consumed mana, and shouted.
But exploration, interference, and whatnot.
Why did they all explain things with such difficult words?
“If it wasn’t a quest, I would’ve skipped out.”
Among players, Jesse was called the mage among mages.
But even for her, the level of the Magic Tower was too high to keep up with.
It simply did not intervene.
The level of the Magic Tower and its mages was such that they could be called the strongest in Arcana without shame.
Jesse stretched as much as she could.
“Until Marcelo. That’s what you said, right?”
Marcelo.
She knew very well who he was.
After all, Jesse had often come and gone from the Magic Tower while carrying out mage class quests.
Excluding the Tower Master and the elders.
He was Marcelo, the Chief Mage, said to be the real power of the Magic Tower.
“The real genius isn’t me. It’s him.”
Genius.
One of the many titles used to refer to Jesse Hainess.
But Jesse did not like that nickname.
What kind of genius couldn’t even properly understand a single conference presentation?
She did read through all sorts of skill books and magic books every day,
but acquiring unfamiliar knowledge was not easy.
-The concepts are merely different. One day, the day will come when you understand.
Just as the conical hat stirred as if comforting her,
the long-awaited presentation by Marcelo finally began.
Long legs.
A gaunt face.
Cheekbones that stood out because of it.
Crystal Hall.
The man standing at the center.
Marcelo began to lay out the research results he had accumulated.
“The Magic Tower was summoned to the world of adventurers for some unknown reason. In truth, it is not only the Magic Tower. This is likely only the beginning. Worldview interference is occurring even at this very moment.”
Worldview interference.
That was what the Magic Tower called new updates.
Jesse, who had been listening quietly, had her eyes sparkle.
“Revealing the reason will require much time and focus. However, the Magic Tower will not give up. I hope today’s presentation will become the signal flare for that.”
The title of the presentation was Fusion.
As befitted such a grand title, its contents were shocking as well.
“Science. It is a new concept that exists in the world of adventurers. I saw possibility in that science. The possibility of advancing magic even further.”
To think he would bring up science.
Jesse was startled.
Weren’t magic and science unable to coexist?
Because without realizing it, she had held such a prejudice.
In that sense, Marcelo was definitely a genius from the very idea itself.
He was also an excellent presenter.
Science.
Once a concept they knew appeared, the players, including Jesse, were drawn into the presentation.
“However, our approach to that fusion must be cautious. Fusing two completely different concepts, putting aside whether it is easy or difficult, may bring about unknown variables.”
As Marcelo said that,
he manifested magic.
A sphere of flame bloomed above his palm.
They could tell.
That was an advanced magic formed through the fusion of magic and science.
“Of course, in that process, we will have to seek cooperation from you adventurers.”
At those words, the players murmured.
“……
What, isn’t that basically saying he’s giving us a quest?”
“Whoa, damn, it was worth enduring the boredom. Seriously!”
“Do you know how rare quests are these days?”
Unconcerned by the small commotion,
Marcelo continued speaking.
“Then, lastly, I will take questions.”
Silence—Who would dare ask a question?
The mages of the Magic Tower, and the players as well.
There was no question they could offer Marcelo.
After all, magic and science.
It was only natural that their understanding of two completely different concepts would be lacking……
Swoosh—“?”……
Huh?
Jesse doubted her eyes.
Someone raised a hand.
Then he spoke.
“May I raise a question?”
The dignity that seeped from his manner of speaking.
It was a voice Jesse could never forget.
“Really fascinating magic……! No, I Hoyeol!”
Yes, the one who had raised a question was Hoyeol.
Hoyeol and Marcelo’s gazes collided in midair.
When Marcelo nodded, Hoyeol asked.
“I believe there is superfluity in your exploration process. What do you think, Chief Mage Marcelo?”
“……!!!”……
At this rate, wasn’t this practically an interrogation?
And of the real power of the Magic Tower, the Chief Mage, no less.
The atmosphere froze in an instant.
But for some reason,
Marcelo’s reaction was anything but ordinary.