Ch.37Meeting Place (1)

“She’s not responding…”

Seria pouted as she looked down at her MagicPad while lying on her bed.

‘To think she’d be this rude…’

She might have let it slide for a day or two, but after sending one final message that wasn’t even opened, she couldn’t help but feel she was being deliberately ignored.

This wasn’t just anyone—it was the head of another Magic Tower sending a formal request to meet. How could someone so blatantly ignore that?

What made it worse was that she couldn’t even complain about being “left on read” since the message hadn’t been read at all. This left Seria feeling utterly frustrated.

‘Could she really not be able to read it…?’

That’s the question that came to mind at this point.

She’d heard that many things were changing at the Blood Tower these days.

In the midst of all that, becoming the top administrator of the Aether Tower must mean she’s busier than ever before.

When she thought about it that way, it seemed somewhat understandable, but…

‘Still, this is too much.’

Who was she, after all?

She was a great mage known to the world as the hero who vanquished the Demon King, and the glorious head of the Green Tower.

She didn’t deserve to be ignored by a fellow Magic Tower head.

‘This is my chance…’

This was her opportunity.

With everyone’s attention focused on the unprecedented situation of the Blood Tower head becoming the top administrator of the Aether Tower forum, she planned to secretly take action.

By the time anyone realized what was happening, she would have already met with the Blood Tower head, had a heart-to-heart conversation, and returned.

When the furious Council of Elders asked why she went to meet the Blood Tower head, she would say she couldn’t stand by while someone pushed Eterna aside to become the top administrator. Those stubborn old folks would have to accept that explanation.

But simply barging in for a meeting would be impolite.

For an elf who valued courtesy, that was unthinkable.

Naturally, the message she sent wasn’t directly asking for a meeting, but rather seeking permission to meet. She believed she had shown all the courtesy she could.

But what was she supposed to do when the other party wouldn’t even look at her messages?

‘I’m running out of time.’

The topic was gradually cooling down.

If she kept dawdling, attention would shift back to her, and if her attempt to sneak away was discovered, troublesome situations would surely arise.

She didn’t want that to happen.

‘Ugh, whatever! Why should I care what the Council of Elders thinks?!’

It was frustrating.

Even though she was young—at least compared to them—she couldn’t forgive how they tried to control her as if she were a puppet.

At this point, she’d just go for it.

‘I need to ask about Vladimir!’

That was the most important thing.

She needed to ask about Vladimir from the child who had directly claimed to be Count Vladimir’s descendant.

She didn’t know how long vampires could live, or whether he was still alive or not, but…

Seeing his descendant emerge and become the Blood Tower head made her worry that Vladimir might be dead… That anxious thought kept nagging at her.

‘Until I find out for myself…’

She absolutely had to ask.

With that determination, Seria stormed out of her room.

She headed toward the mage at the Teleport Station she had arranged in advance, making sure the Council of Elders wouldn’t notice.

* * *

“Things are going smoothly.”

I chuckled with satisfaction.

Unlike when I first became the top administrator, when complaint posts were flooding in, the heat around this topic had died down considerably.

That was only natural.

After I personally appeared and explained everything, what more was there to discuss?

The fewer complaints about me becoming the top administrator, the better, so this was welcome news.

‘I wish we could start discussing the Greatest Magic Tower Tournament soon…’

The Greatest Magic Tower Tournament.

The sooner many mages became interested in this tournament, the more preparations would be made, and the Blood Tower would gain a foundation to soar.

No matter how grand a tournament might be, if the participants weren’t serious, how much impact could it really make?

Since I was staking everything on this tournament, it wasn’t ideal that mages from other towers weren’t showing much interest.

[Shouldn’t we be seriously preparing for this Greatest Magic Tower Tournament?]

[Didn’t they say there would be a tournament? When is it?]

[Our tower has already started preparing lol]

“That’s good.”

Fortunately, the topic seemed to be gradually gaining traction, so there was no need to worry too much.

‘I should refine the Blood Strengthening Art a bit more… First, it would be good to have all Blood Mages create wounds in advance and maintain them.’

While increasing the power of Blood Magic itself was good, it would be pointless if one couldn’t use it quickly.

Opponents wouldn’t wait for you to cast your magic.

For mages, casting speed and application methods were just as important as firepower.

It’s no coincidence that fire magic is highly rated in combat.

Fire is extremely lethal to living beings, so even somewhat carelessly cast fire magic guarantees a certain level of power.

Even mages with superhuman abilities get injured when they come into contact with fire without preparation.

That was common sense.

Even trained knights get burns if they touch fire unprepared.

How much worse would it be for mages who haven’t trained their bodies?

That’s why fire magic inevitably demonstrates incredible power.

Just think about why another word for power is “firepower.”

Anyway…

‘I can refine the Blood Strengthening Art a bit more… I’ll call this one Blood Maintenance Art.’

The name sounds a bit off, but it’s not incorrect.

An art for maintaining blood—that explains it perfectly.

“Blood Maintenance Art… the name sounds strange.”

“What…”

I gaped at Irina’s honest assessment.

I hadn’t expected Irina to openly express dissatisfaction.

If someone like Irina says it’s no good, I should probably think of another name, but nothing suitable comes to mind, which is truly a crisis…

I’m not good at naming things anyway…

“Anyway, summer is still some time away, so before then, I need to refine the Blood Strengthening Art and prepare to teach… um… basic Blood Magic.”

It’s coming soon.

Basic Blood Magic so easy even a monkey could learn it like eating cake! Something that allows anyone, regardless of talent, to easily extract and store blood with enough effort.

Just doing that would have the amazing effect of lowering both the casting speed and entry barrier for Blood Magic.

As I was chuckling to myself, imagining future Blood Mages praising me…

“M-Midir! We have an emergency!”

“Huh?”

An emergency?

What could possibly be such an emergency at the Blood Tower to cause such a commotion?

I opened the door to greet Razak, wondering what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

He had never knocked on my office door so loudly and urgently before.

Not once, ever.

“Hmm?”

See, even Irina was speechless!

“The, the Red Tower head…”

“The Red Tower head?”

“Ignius has come to the Blood Tower!”

“Uh…”

Well, so what…

“What’s the big deal about that…”

So what if another tower head visits…

“He says he’ll drop a meteor on the Blood Tower if you don’t come out right now!!”

“I’m going right now.”

That’s unacceptable.

“What’s with him? Did he come to pick a fight?”

“No, it’s…”

“What is it? I’ll go right away, so just explain.”

“Well…”

Even as we headed to the reception room, Razak wore an expression of someone struggling with whether to speak or not.

What on earth is he calling me for?

‘I don’t think I did anything to make the Red Tower hold a grudge.’

I’m sure I didn’t…

“Um… don’t be surprised when you hear this.”

“Just tell me already.”

“He says he wants to have a proper duel with you. That’s the exact message.”

“…”

Really?

“He says he’ll drop a meteor if you don’t accept.”

“He’s completely insane…”

I’d heard about the Red Tower head’s temperament on the forum.

I thought it was just a joke.

It was real?

I’m speechless.

“…”

By the time I arrived at the reception room with an expression that had moved beyond disbelief to enlightenment…

“Finally, you’re here. I thought you’d accept.”

The Red Tower head was sitting confidently with his legs crossed in the chair meant for the Blood Tower head, welcoming me.

“Oh.”

Okay, I get it.

You’re dead, you bastard.