Chapter 141: Life at the Magic Tower

Just like that, the mages fell for the provocation.

It was only natural. After all, prideful people would puff their chest as high up as possible so that they wouldn’t look weak.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

“How dare an outsider—!”

“A performance, you say? Let’s see if you’d still think that way if I hurl a fireball towards your head!”

Mages especially, were the most prideful people in the world.

In fact, they went even further, and had the tendency to look down on those who weren’t mages.

“Hmph. I can’t let this slide!”

“Get over here! I’ll show you what real combat looks like!”

“This is why a backwater noble who’s never seen proper magic is…!”

No humans would take an insult from those they looked down upon kindly.

As if drawn in by their fervor, Isaac nodded his head.

“Huh, never knew you’re this good at provoking someone.”

The Grandmaster said as she poked him with her elbow. Isaac didn’t say anything to that, just slowly raising the corners of his mouth before stepping inside.

Inside, there were already several mages standing around.

All of them turned their gazes towards the group and the aggravated mages, wondering.

“Why are you guys cutting in line?”

“Hey, Rondel, even if it’s you, cutting in line is a little too much, no?”

“Comrades, listen. This guy has insulted the mages of the Magic Tower!”

It seemed like the mage called Rondel, the one who guided Isaac inside, was pretty well-known here.

When he relayed what Isaac had said, the mages inside had the same reaction as the ones outside.

“F-Filthy bastard!”

“I’ll make him witness what true magic looks like with his own eyes!”

“A lowly guy who doesn’t even know the meaning of respect!”

“Vivian! Isn’t he your guest? Did you forget where you belong to after spending too much time in the North?!”

Hearing that warm welcome, Isaac went deeper into the training hall.

The inside looked familiar to the training hall that Isaac knew, but the atmosphere of the place was different.

Hundreds of runes floated in the air, emitting a faint light.

It made the place look like a constellation trapped inside a giant glass bottle.

“Oho.”

“When you’re ready, come to the center. I’ll go ahead.”

Rondel said that while glaring at Isaac. His expression made it seem like he was considering whether to burn, fry, or freeze him to death. Then, he walked towards the center.

After the surrounding mages dispersed from Isaac’s side, Vivian hurriedly approached him with teary eyes.

“S-Sir Isaac, what do you think you’re doing!? Won’t you be staying at the Magic Tower for a few days? If you do this, the other mages will look at you unfavorably!”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t do this without thinking.”

“Huh? Are you trying to say that there’s a good reason for you to turn yourself into a public enemy of the mages?!”

“Vivian, you mostly work in the medical room, so you won’t know. Generally, mages’ combat magic isn’t practical.”

“No, that’s not—”

“Also. I’m curious about this arena.”

He said that you won’t die even if your neck gets cut, right?

“I’ll be using this place often in the future. But you see? I don’t feel like waiting in line every time.”

“…”

As he began to understand the meaning of Isaac’s words, Vivian’s eyes and mouth slowly began to turn agape.

“T-That?! A-Are you saying that you provoked them so you could use the arena freely?!”

“Yep. I figured that if I rile those guys up, they’d challenge me to a spar every time they see me coming here.”

Indeed. If he were to do that, there was no need to join in the lines just to use the arena.

Isaac then walked towards the center, leaving Vivian behind, who could only stare at him with a bewildered expression.

“Good luck, Isaac!”

“Show them that fighting with books and brains isn’t a real fight, Junior Brother!”

From behind, Sharen and Damian cheered him.

The Grandmaster too, quietly approached them before giving him her advice.

“Don’t hold back, just go all out. This whole thing won’t end in one battle anyway.”

What she was trying to say was that the mages wouldn’t back down after one or two battles.

So, he had to try to finish each battle quickly and not to drag things out.

“…Alright.”

Isaac nodded with a smile.

His standard for ‘strength’ was a little skewed. After all he was always in the position of the weak facing against the strong.

That was probably why…

I’m really looking forward to this.

Entering a battle where he’d win no matter what for the first time…

He started to understand why the strong could be intoxicated to this feeling.

Two men entered the arena, where runes floated around like flower petals.

One looked like a typical mage, wearing a robe and wielding a rod.

While the other one was a swordsman who didn’t fit this place at all.

The two tachi on his waist, the ponytail slicked in his back, his eyes and appearance, all seemed to be having a story to tell.

“…He’s so handsome.”

The moment those two words came out of a female mage’s mouth, the other mages glared at her.

But, none of them could deny her words.

In fact, several female mages were secretly cheering for him.

“Stay still. I have to adjust the time shaft.”

“Time shaft?”

Isaac asked, but received no answer.

Then, the runes floating on the air shone brightly and an intense amount of mana was stirred for a bit before it returned to normal again.

“It’s restoration magic. Basically, when you get injured, it’ll restore your body to the time when that injury isn’t there yet.”

Rondel explained curtly, putting more strength into his grip on his rod.

“…Time?”

Meanwhile, Isaac stared at him with eyes wide open.

“Ha, surprised by our magic now? As they said, you won’t know the depth of a lake just by seeing its—”

Rondel started running his mouth arrogantly, but Isaac ignored him.

Going back in time.

This revelation made it more and more certain that his regression was caused by magic.

“Alright, let’s begin!”

The mages focused their attention on Rondel.

He was a formidable combat mage who held a winning rate of 60%.

There were only a handful of mages who could match him in a fight.

“Just fry him to death. Don’t let him draw his sword.”

“Make him feel as much pain as possible. He needs to understand with his body what it takes to stand there and fight.”

“You should try burning his tongue so he can’t even give up even if he wants to.”

The mages sneered at him as they said that.

But…

Clink.

The moment Isaac drew his sword, the fight was already over.

“You gave me too much of an advantage.”

A red line was drawn on Rondel’s neck.

His eyes rolled upwards and the mana he was gathering scattered.

Then, when his fallen head was about to hit the floor…

“At this distance? Against a mage? Hmph.”

Isaac already sheathed his sword.

Thud!

Rondel’s head rolled on the ground.

Then, in an instant, time began to rewind.

Before he knew it, Isaac was standing at the place he was at before the fight began. As for Rondel, he was staring at him with eyes wide open.

“Hiiiek! Haaa! Aaaahhhhh!”

Then, a strange scream escaped his mouth.

Grabbing his neck with both hands, his whole body trembled.

That was how much trauma the experience of getting his neck cut off in an instant brought him.

Even though Isaac was standing at a distance away, he felt like he was pointing his sword right at his neck.

“Hmm.”

Looking around, Isaac asked indifferently.

“If we were to start again, will the rewind thing happen again?”

“I-It won’t! I-It’s a one time thing!”

“Ah, too bad.”

In other words, if I kill him again, he’d die for real.

Isaac licked his lips in regret at Rondel’s desperate shout.

At night.

He was currently in his accommodation.

The number of mages he ‘killed’ today reached double digits.

Of course, no one actually died, but he had instilled fear in them and roused their competitive spirit.

Before he left, the mages were huddled together, discussing what happened in a great vigor, a satisfying outcome for him.

Anyway, if he were to come back tomorrow, none of them would object to him using the arena again.

It’s good that those mages have a strong competitive spirit.

I don’t need to stand in line to use the arena thanks to this.

Knock, knock.

“Discipleeee…!”

At that moment, the Grandmaster opened the door and stepped inside.

Seeing her body swayed around, her speech slurred—clearly drunk—Isaac squinted his eyes.

“Did you drink?”

“Nameless gave me!”

“You’re wasted.”

Isaac slapped his forehead.

To get her drunk in such a short time meant that she didn’t drink ordinary alcohol.

At the very least, it was considerably strong.

The Grandmaster lunged at him.

Since his room was so small, he had no space to escape, and she got to embrace him tightly.

“You’re working so haaaarrrdd! I’m so proud of youuuu!”

“Sure. Thanks.”

Though his face was buried in her cleavage, he remained unfazed. He had experienced this plenty of times back in his previous life, after all.

“I saw the way you handled your Demonic Energy todaaaay! You handled it much mooooree naturally than befoooreee!”

“Yeah. My training bore fruits, it seems.”

“Hahahaa! As expected of my dicsipleee! I’m so proud of youuu!”

“…Thank you.”

As they said, words said when drunk were sincere.

What he felt from his master’s rough headpat was definitely drunken affection.

“Hehe, acting on your instincts is haaaard. Good job so faaar!”

“…”

“Anyway, since you’re at it! Why don’t you act on your instinct and sleep with your master tonight?”

The Grandmaster asked with a smirk.

Isaac looked up at her before answering.

“No, I don’t think I can do that.”

“Eehhh why?”

She asked with a grin. It was clear that she already knew the answer.

“There were women who confessed their feelings to me first. I’d have to answer their feelings first before anything else.”

Hearing Isaac’s indifferent declaration, the Grandmaster’s grin grew wider.

“Awww, how could you be so cool~?”

“Ahem.”

“I’m so proud of you, my disciple!”

The Grandmaster smiled brightly, roughly patting his head.

A few days later.

The Grandmaster swung her oodachi.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, Isaac’s eyes couldn’t leave the beautiful arc that her sword made, mirroring the curve of her lips.

No, rather, his whole body stopped.

His eyes widened at the splattering blood, and a familiar pain rose up inside him.

He bit his lips, holding back a groan, enduring the sensation of death that approached him.

Then, time was rewinded.

At this point, this phenomenon had become familiar to him.

“…Was that a Great Iai?”

The Grandmaster’s ears perked at that question. She nodded.

“Did you see?”

“I did… I couldn’t react to it, but I saw it…”

As he said, he could see it.

The sword strike that was like a flash of lightning, stretched out like a moonlight reflected on a lake.

Hearing his answer, the Grandmaster approached him with a bright smile and hugged him.

“Good, good! Now that you can see it with your eyes, there’s nothing that you can’t follow anymore!”

Suddenly, she halted on her track, stepping back hastily.

“A-Ahem! Keep it up.”

Last night, she barged into Isaac’s room all drunk and made a fuss. It was practically a dark history of hers now.

“…Um, Grandmater?”

Isaac stopped briefly before opening his mouth again.

After sparring with various mages here, there was something that he came to notice.

“Actually, I—”

“Good work today!”

But at that moment, the female mages entered the arena. Carrying towels and drinks, they handed them over, like what they had always done in these few days.

“That was amazing!”

“You’re the best!”

“…But, I lost.”

“Still, you endured much longer than last time!”

“Right! You’re incredible!”

“…”

Magic Tower.

It was a place where the musty smell of books were everywhere and mages who hadn’t washed themselves properly were abundant.

In such a place, distinction between males and females didn’t matter; they were all just mages.

However, thanks to the refreshing presence of this particular outsider, quite a few female mages had reawakened their sleeping femininity.

As the consequences of this, though, the other mages’ competitive spirit only further rose up.