◈ Episode 24. I Will Raise an Objection (2)
Marcelo doubted his own ears. ‘……
Unnecessary steps?’ The true power of the Magic Tower, the Chief Mage.
That was a position one could never climb to easily.
Nor could it be easily protected.
Ability, of course.
To hold on to the position of Chief.
One had to constantly show results. ‘Is he saying there’s a problem with the exploration process?’ Naturally.
Marcelo took great pride in his position as Chief Mage.
And yet, what?
There were unnecessary steps in the exploration process? ‘And from an adventurer, no less……?’ What’s more, the one who had pointed it out was an adventurer.
Even the senior mages who coveted the Chief’s seat kept their mouths shut.
An adventurer ignorant of magic.
How could he possibly raise such a question?
The Crystal Hall.
“This is trouble.”
“Knowing Marcelo’s personality, he absolutely won’t let that slide.”
“More importantly, who on earth is that man? I’ve never seen his face before……”
It was only natural for the audience to stir.
After all, it was no different from throwing cold water on an excellent presentation out of nowhere.
Marcelo would surely explode soon.
Turning into a viper who spat venom at anyone, whether senior or skilled mage……
“……
May I hear the reason you think so?”……
Wait, what was that answer?
The audience was shaken.
They thought it was nonsense.
They thought he was merely nitpicking for no reason.
They had been certain Marcelo would explode.
For him to react like that meant……
“……
Was that perhaps a question with some merit?”
A quiet voice suddenly drifted out.
Marcelo answered inwardly. ‘I have no choice but to admit it. There are unnecessary steps.’ It was because of the discrepancy.
Science, a concept entirely different from magic.
He had fused those two concepts to manifest a new spell.
That process was terribly inefficient.
Even Marcelo himself had spent months clinging to it just to manifest this paltry sphere of flame.
In truth, even now that he had asked back, Marcelo still could not accept it. ‘That is an unavoidable limitation.’ However, no matter how lofty Marcelo’s pride was.
He too was a mage of the Magic Tower.
Being criticized at a conference?
More than such trivial shame.
The exploration of magic, of its essence, came first.
That was why he had asked the man.
Marcelo’s question.
At it, the audience’s gazes focused on the man.
The players who had been watching silently began to whisper.
“……
Hey, hey, wait. Isn’t that Lee Hoyeol?”
“You only noticed now? You think there’s another silver-haired concept freak like that?”
“See? I told you he was one of ours. But what was that about an alchemist and all that crap? Just looking at him, you can tell the nobility of our mage class oozes from his body……”
“Hey, let’s mind our manners during the conference.”
Manners.
And wasn’t this in front of Hoyeol, no less?
At those words, the players quickly shut their mouths.
Of course, Jessie had long since ignored the cone-hatted man who had been speaking to her, and was sitting with her back straight.
Her hands were even gathered over her navel in an extremely polite posture.
Pouring attention.
“……
Damn. This would give me stage fright even if I didn’t have it.”
“If it were me, I’d stutter. Seriously.”
“I’d just bite my tongue.”
Moreover, those sending him unfriendly gazes were all remarkable mages of the Magic Tower.
It would have been natural to shrink back.
But not even the “t” of tension could be found in Hoyeol.
Hoyeol was still seated in his crystal chair.
There was no change in his upright posture either.
That Hoyeol answered.
“I, too, have experienced that discrepancy. Chief Mage Marcelo.”……
Experienced it?
No, before that, the fact that he himself had felt a discrepancy.
How had he realized that?
Marcelo was flustered.
Soon, words that seemed to comfort him followed.
“But it is all right.”
“……?”
Whoosh—soon, flame rose from Hoyeol’s palm.
That flame spun and transformed into a sphere of flame.
Identical in appearance to Marcelo’s.
“……!!!”
At that sight, the Crystal Hall fell into shock.
Of course, Hoyeol himself calmly finished speaking.
“To use centrifugal force in the interference process. The process was immature, but the result is not bad. It was an excellent presentation, Chief Mage Marcelo.”*
Fwoosh—
A sphere of flame spinning above my palm.
I swallowed a sigh. ……
So it could be used like this.
Ignition, which I had avoided using simply because its mana efficiency was poor.
But when centrifugal force, science at an elementary school level, was added, its mana efficiency increased dramatically.
As you can see, I could maintain ignition for a long time even with a small amount of mana! ‘I was right to come.’ It was not just Chief Mage Marcelo’s sphere of flame.
The spells presented at the conference were all remarkable.
Of course, there were many spells at a level that I could not manifest with my pathetic mana. ‘But I’ve left them all in my head.’ I felt certain that as long as my mana could support it, I would be able to manifest them immediately.
In that sense.
I could not help but offer high praise at the end.
“It was an excellent presentation.”
Above all, I felt a sense of kinship with Marcelo.
I had suffered quite a bit from that sense of discrepancy too.
Like science and magic.
Two completely different concepts.
[Skill]
In order to convert them into 『Magic』.
The memory of staying up several nights in a row was still vivid.
Yes, no matter how amazing the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower was, he must have suffered for at least several days, right?
I could tell just by looking at that gaunt face.
“W-We will take a short break and then resume the conference!”
It was already break time?
I was still looking at the sphere of flame above my palm. ‘Will this mana efficiency be maintained even when manifested on a larger scale?’ If so, wouldn’t I be able to fight a little less miserably?
I was thinking that.
When someone approached me.
A skeleton……
No, it was Chief Mage Marcelo. ‘……
What is it?’ I flinched inwardly.
Because it had been weighing on my mind.
In any case, it was as if I had pointed out the results of his research.
At a major event like the regular conference, no less.
“Do you have business with me, Chief Mage Marcelo?”
Of course, even if I wanted to show it, I could not.
This body.
This mouth had ended up being so arrogant, so what could I do?
But Marcelo’s following words were unexpectedly polite.
“Adventurer, Lord Lee Hoyeol.”
Marcelo addressed me with proper formality.
Then he asked respectfully.
“Would you be willing to participate in my research?”
At that moment, my vision flickered.
[Quest: Marcelo’s Research]
The Magic Tower’s Chief Mage, Marcelo.
In order to reach magic that has advanced to another dimension.
He wishes to work with you. ─Accept Marcelo’s proposal. (In progress)……
A quest on top of magic?
I thought once again.
I was right to attend the conference.*
The Yusra Archipelago.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
A clear sky.
A blue sea.
Even the pleasantly gentle breeze.
That alone was enough to make one excited, as if arriving at a resort.
“Unni, doesn’t it kind of feel like the Arcana days?”
“Back then, when it was full of dreams and hopes. Brings back memories~”
“If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve brought a bikini.”
An island of legend.
The scenery of the Yusra Archipelago was also truly legendary.
Hadn’t it been said that every single thing about the Yusra Archipelago could not be compared to anything in the world?
Indeed, starting with its natural scenery, it was more beautiful than most resorts.
“What do you mean bikini? You’re distracting me. Shut up.”
Of course, Leoni was a berserker who knew nothing but fighting.
It was too much to expect that kind of sentiment from her.
On the brilliantly shining sandy beach.
Leoni stood with one leg cocked, looking crookedly at the portal.
“There’s a shitload of them. For real.”
Players?
It was only natural that they would gather.
What kind of place was the Yusra Archipelago?
From the past, when Arcana was nothing more than a game, it had been a treasure island everyone sought.
The truth would only be known once it was opened up.
But it was not strange for guilds and players of this scale to gather on expectation alone.
“Yes, I am currently at the Yusra Archipelago.”
The reporters who came to film the Yusra Archipelago and the players were, well, only natural too.
“I didn’t expect that.”
But who would have thought even NPCs would flock here? ‘No, should I call them Arcanians now?’ In any case, even those summoned from Arcana had gathered in the Yusra Archipelago.
Even if they had no interest in monsters or rifts, it seemed they were interested in treasure.
“Ah, my head hurts.”
Another truckload of competitors had been added……!
Leoni’s head throbbed.
Even a quick look around showed that remarkable NPCs had graced the place with their presence.
“The Lionheart Knights. The Shadow Mercenary Corps. Oh? The Explorers’ League too? Every single one of them just loses their minds when it comes to treasure.”
If there was one silver lining in this misfortune.
It was that the mages of the Magic Tower were as consistent as ever this time as well.
What kind of group was the Magic Tower?
A group where each individual mage possessed unimaginable combat power.
In the past, it had even been said that when the Magic Tower moved, the order of Arcana changed.
There had even been a joke that the mages of the Magic Tower focusing only on research was for the sake of balance.
“Phew—”
And of course, she could not leave out the one-man-army monster either.
Above all, there was a high chance that Skal would appear in the Yusra Archipelago this time.
Rank 1, Skal.
His absurd strength.
As a fellow ranker, Leoni knew it well. ‘……
Ah, one more in addition to Skal.’ Lee Hoyeol too.
This is hopeless.
Leoni let out another sigh.
“Still, we’ve got to get something.”
Right, she would not be the only one worried about the competition.
Around the portal.
One could tell by the subtle currents flowing between players and guilds.
That they were all keeping one another in check.
She could not fall behind.
“……
Unni, why are your eyes like that?”
“Those bastards are glaring at me like they’ve got a problem.”
“Maybe they’re just looking because you’re cute?”
“Cute, my ass.”
It was the moment Leoni raised eyes that were already crooked even higher.
Vrrr—
On her pale wrist.
Her smartwatch vibrated.
Leoni answered the call.
“Yeah. The conference is already over? You’re coming right away?”
Guild ranking.
They had risen one step from 21st to 20th.
It was not strange for the Berserker Guild to have a guild member invited to the Magic Tower’s regular conference.
That was right.
What was strange was what the guild member told her.
“……
What? Lee Hoyeol put the Chief Mage in his place?!”
—Ah, unni! Seriously, clean up your language! He didn’t put him in his place, he criti.
cized him.
“Same thing, damn it. So did he get destroyed? Get cursed out?”
Seriously, no matter how great you are.
You have to choose who you act tough in front of.
They said he had defied the Magic Tower, and the Chief Mage at that.
Leoni swallowed a snicker.
“I knew it from the moment he got petty over food. I did.”……
This unni really holds a grudge.
The guild members stuck out their tongues for only a moment.
Then Leoni was shocked.
“Wh-what?! He acknowledged it? The Magic Tower’s Chief Mage did?”
Those rude bastards accepted criticism?
It was something she could not imagine at all.
But the surprises were not over yet.
“On top of that, he even received a qu-quest……?”
At that moment, Leoni could not help but imagine it.
A monster.
That monster appearing in the Yusra Archipelago.
With the Magic Tower at his back.
A horrifying image……!
Shudder—
Leoni got chills.
This was no time to be standing around!
She quickly ended the call and said.
“We’re going for a lightning finish. Everyone, get ready!”
And news of that Hoyeol.
Did not reach only Leoni.
“Yeah. I’m listening.”
“……
Lee Hoyeol?”
“So that bastard really was a mage.”
The guild members who had likewise attended the regular conference.
The expressions of those who received the breaking news from them began changing moment by moment.
“……
What did you say? He got a quest from the Magic Tower?”
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Is that information certain!”
“He bowed his head right in front of him? Does that even make sense……?”
“Hyung…… What do we do?”
Lee Hoyeol of Seoul.
From the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
He was completely changing the atmosphere of the Yusra Archipelago.*
Naturally, I accepted Marcelo’s request.
[You have met the conditions.]
[The reward will be granted.]
I did not know what it was, but it was a quest.
A quest that some people could not do even if they wanted to.
An linked quest, at that!
Besides, if it was a quest from the Magic Tower, I thought the reward would be useful too.
After all, if I could obtain even one item related to mana regeneration, that would be a gain. ‘By the way…….’ Where am I being dragged off to right now? ‘And where is the reward?’ I followed behind Marcelo toward the upper floors of the Magic Tower.
Even the stairs were extraordinary.
Float—
When I stepped out into the air, the marble floating there supported my foot.
Is this an amusement ride or what?
Damn, if it had been me in the past, I wouldn’t have been able to take a single step.
Truly.
“Thank you once again for your cooperation.”
A wooden door likewise floating in midair.
In front of that old-fashioned door.
Marcelo continued speaking to me.
“This is the laboratory that you, Adventurer Lord Lee Hoyeol, will be using.”
Could it be that this laboratory was the first reward of the quest?
To me, Marcelo added.
“If there is anything you need for your research, please tell me.”……
Truly unprecedented treatment.
If I dared to guess.
Was I perhaps the first player to be assigned a laboratory in the Magic Tower?
But calmly.
I regarded that excessive treatment as only natural.
I answered.
“Then I shall request the items I need right now.”
On the desk.
I swept the pen across the parchment. ────── 1. Magic tool related to mana regeneration……. ────── With absolute confidence.