Ch.263Chapter 263 – Heading to the Magic Tower

To become an honorary member of the Magic Tower, one had to visit the tower in person.

It was somewhat inconvenient that they wouldn’t recognize someone as an honorary member just by sending a letter.

“Do I really have to go to the Magic Tower?”

“There’s no way around it. Registration as a tower member happens by infusing your mana into the crystal pillar that supplies mana to the tower, so the person becoming a member must visit in person.”

Sister Regina’s explanation made it sound like going to a government office to get fingerprinted and make an ID card.

The fact that a proxy couldn’t go and the person themselves had to register in person, that is.

“I’ll be going then.”

“You’ll be fine on your own, right? Be careful not to get hurt.”

I’m almost thirty years old now, but to Sister Regina, I must still look like a child.

Well… she’s lived for at least a hundred years, so considering the age difference, I suppose I am a child…

It feels a bit strange to be treated like a baby when I’m nearly thirty.

“Marquis Pathos Severio. I’ve come to escort you.”

This time, the Magic Tower sent someone to pick me up.

Where’s Cheon Hyeryeong, you ask?

There’s a major event at the Heavenly Demon Sect headquarters in the Eastern Continent that she had to attend, so she’s away for a while.

If someone were to ask if I feel anxious without my bodyguard Cheon Hyeryeong, I’d say yes, a little.

But unlike before, I now have a reliable self-defense weapon—a .45 caliber automatic pistol.

A .45 caliber pistol has enough killing power against someone who can’t use mana, even if they’re armed, and it can cause significant damage even to mana users if used in a surprise attack.

However, if a being powerful enough to withstand that appears, Cheon Hyeryeong would sense their energy from afar and instantly appear before me using her Heavenly Demon Dimensional Step to blow them away.

If it were anyone else, it might be impossible, but Cheon Hyeryeong could do it.

“We’re departing now. Hiyah!”

Anyway, once I boarded the carriage prepared by the Magic Tower, the driver called out and the carriage began moving forward.

How many minutes had passed since the carriage departed?

The carriage had arrived in front of the Magic Tower.

“Marquis, we have arrived. You may disembark now.”

“Thank you.”

I greeted the driver who announced our arrival and stepped out of the carriage.

As soon as I got out, I saw a large crowd gathered in front of the Magic Tower.

“Marquis Pathos Severio’s!”

“Becoming an honorary member of the Magic Tower!”

“We sincerely welcome you!”

And these people, upon confirming that I was getting out of the carriage, set off celebratory fireworks and began a grand welcoming ceremony.

“Hahaha. Marquis Pathos Severio. Thank you for visiting the Archenium Magic Tower once again.”

A man stepped forward, took my hand, and greeted me with a handshake.

“I am Zern Meyer. I chair the Supreme Council of the Archenium Magic Tower.”

I wasn’t sure what the Supreme Council of the Magic Tower did, but judging by the name alone, it seemed like a gathering of the highest-ranking people in the tower.

“Pleased to meet you, Chairman Zern Meyer.”

“Hahaha. Well then, let’s go inside. We can discuss the details once we’re in.”

“Very well.”

I followed Zern Meyer into the Magic Tower, accompanied by the enthusiastic welcome of the tower’s people.

Passing through the entrance and going inside, I was able to observe the interior of the Magic Tower, which I hadn’t seen properly before.

The inside of the tower was structured with a spiral staircase winding around a massive crystal pillar in the center, connecting the upper and lower floors.

In other words, it was a cylindrical structure with a hollow center.

“Now, this way please! This enormous crystal pillar you see is the ‘Core Stone,’ which supplies mana throughout the entire tower, supports the structure, and enables all the tower’s functions to operate.”

Core Stone… a term that reminds me of an item from a certain game…

“The method to register as a tower member is simple. When you place your hand here, the Core Stone automatically reads and records the mana in your body. Then you’ll be recognized as a member of the Magic Tower.”

“Hmm.”

Following Zern’s guidance, I approached the Core Stone.

As I got closer, I could hear a faint humming sound.

“I think I hear something coming from the Core Stone.”

“Oh, you have keen ears! The Core Stone contains an enormous amount of mana and uses it to power various functions of the tower. That’s why the Core Stone always produces a subtle sound due to the vibration of mana flowing in and out.”

Zern’s explanation was clear and concise.

“Now, please place your hand on this stone tablet.”

“Understood.”

I placed my hand on the stone tablet that Zern pointed to.

The tablet began to glow, and a mirage-like haze started to rise from my hand.

“The Core Stone is examining your mana. It will take at most two minutes, so please remain still.”

Just as Zern said, after about two minutes, the haze disappeared, and the tablet returned to its non-glowing state.

As I removed my hand from the tablet, Zern approached the Core Stone.

“Hmm. The registration has been completed successfully. With this, Marquis, you are now a member of our Archenium Magic Tower!”

“Hooray!”

“Welcome!”

…? What’s this? Why are they so happy?

“Finally, this tower can be repaired!”

“We’ve been patching it up with maintenance magic, never knowing when it might collapse, but now it can finally be fixed!”

Ah… so that’s why.

I realized why the magicians were welcoming me so enthusiastically.

It seems that maintenance magic doesn’t fix things perfectly.

Well, magic isn’t omnipotent after all. If magic could do everything, they would have cured baldness long ago.

As I made sense of the magicians’ reactions in my own way, I looked at Zern.

“So, when would be a good time to proceed with the tower repairs?”

“Hehe, you could do it right away if you wanted, but the tower isn’t about to collapse just yet. So I’d like you to join us at the banquet we’ve prepared while we talk. Let’s discuss the details there.”

In summary, he’s saying this isn’t the place to talk about it, so let’s meet separately at the banquet hall to discuss.

It seems the possibility of the tower collapsing isn’t completely non-existent.

If there were no chance at all, they wouldn’t have invited me, and if the risk of collapse was too high, they would have asked me to start repairs immediately.

I accepted Zern’s proposal and moved to the banquet hall with him.

“In public, people often call us magicians madmen or lunatics. Do you know why?”

“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve heard such rumors.”

“Hahaha. Indeed, Marquis, you truly have an open mind.”

No, I’m telling you this is the first time I’ve heard such rumors?

But Zern seemed to want to believe otherwise.

If that’s the case, it would be polite for me to go along with it rather than being tactless.

“In fact, it’s somewhat natural for such rumors to arise about magicians. This is because we magicians always pursue powerful magic.”

“Powerful magic, you say?”

“Yes, that’s right. For example, the magic we were researching this time was an improvement on an existing spell called ‘Explosion,’ aiming to increase its explosive power while concentrating the direction of the explosion to enhance its effectiveness.”

This was exactly the same as what Sister Regina had told me, so I was well aware of it.

“This magic was being developed to break through increasingly hard bedrock as one goes deeper underground, to secure new ore veins, but…”

Zern didn’t finish his sentence, but I knew what he was trying to say.

That an accident occurred due to a mistake during the magic experiment, resulting in casualties.

I also knew that the entire tower was in danger of collapse due to the impact of the explosion.

“When I visited last time, the tower shaking was also due to the aftermath of a failed magic improvement experiment, I presume.”

“Shamefully, that’s correct.”

Zern surprisingly readily admitted the failure of the magic development.

“We are still continuing our efforts to improve the magic, but since the entire tower is in danger of collapse, we’re focusing on establishing and revising the theory.”

“You’re not conducting actual tests?”

“It’s too dangerous. While it might be unavoidable for participants in an experiment to die due to their own mistakes, if the tower collapses, even those not involved in the experiment would be in danger.”

I nodded at Zern’s words, but I was quite surprised by the reality that magicians truly don’t spare even their own lives for the sake of magic.