Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I Installed a Dating App and Girls from Another World Became Obsessed with Me.

Episode 8: Introduction (2).

In modern times, and even more so in the past, knowledge of magic was almost exclusively the property of a specific class.

-Magic is for wizards, and wizards are the chosen ones.

Just like now, wizards in those days were fanatics steeped in elitism.

And the one who shattered that ideology was the first Magic Tower Master.

Hundreds of years ago, he founded the Magic Tower.

He gathered talented individuals from all over the world and taught them magic, and those wizards, in turn, gathered dozens or hundreds of disciples and taught them magic.

Starting with one accomplished wizard teaching dozens of apprentice wizards, the Magic Tower grew its influence.

Even now, wizards were valuable personnel, but in the past before the Magic Tower was founded, there were even fewer wizards.

This was because there were many old-fashioned and stubborn people who took for granted the principle of “one person transmission, non-person transmission,” as often said in martial arts novels.

Of course, even after hundreds of years, knowledge of magic was still an area that ordinary people couldn’t learn.

The Magic Tower only opened its knowledge to certified talents, not indiscriminately to the general public.

Because of this, the Magic Tower was criticized by some groups for only teaching magic to the privileged class, but just as you shouldn’t give a knife or gun to a child, the first Magic Tower Master’s firm belief that magic should only bloom in the hands of the verified was spread throughout the Magic Tower, so it was a pointless argument.

As a result, it was difficult to find information about magic even on the internet, known as the sea of information.

Offline, there were a few books sold, but they only covered very basic knowledge.

To give you an idea, it was like buying a book titled “Challenge: Build a Phone by Yourself!” but all the book taught was soldering.

It was basically like, “If you can use magic, try it.”

The prices were also very high. One 200-page book cost about 700,000 won.

It was blatant profiteering. Of course, it wasn’t strictly fraud, as writing a book about magic by a non-wizard was considered a serious offense, but since there was nothing to gain from buying and reading such expensive books, it felt like fraud to the readers.

Magic, unlike other certifications, couldn’t be learned through online lectures or academies.

All that existed were empty books costing tens to hundreds of thousands of won per volume. Yet, many people bought these books, wanting to become wizards.

It was understandable.

Even a 2-circle wizard was treated like a noble in underdeveloped countries.

I also dreamed of becoming a wizard once.

Even a war orphan like me could gain wealth and fame if I became a wizard. What greater magic could there be?

Of course, you couldn’t become a wizard just because you wanted to. There was the reality of the situation.

Those without talent couldn’t enter the Magic Tower.

It was a childhood dream I had half given up on.

“Magic…?”

“Yes, if it’s okay with you, Hyeon-u.”

My head was blank.

Learn what? Magic?

Me??

“Th… you don’t have to feel too burdened. If you learn magic, Hyeon-u, analyzing the barrier will become much easier.”

Naturally, finding something to replace a holy relic isn’t easy.

Moreover, it was not just an ordinary barrier but one maintained by the World Tree’s mana.

In fact, completely breaking it is impossible. Therefore, creating a small passage for two people to escape is the most realistic option. However, it was hard to pinpoint what materials were needed for even such an effect.

For ordinary cooking, the ingredients were obvious.

Recipes were everywhere, and even without a recipe, you could get a feel for it by chewing, tearing, and tasting it a few times.

But what about the local food of indigenous people living in the middle of a jungle? Even a Michelin 3-star restaurant’s head chef couldn’t readily name the ingredients.

The best option was to pile up mountains of potentially useful materials and reproduce it through various experiments.

“It will probably be a big financial burden for you…”

I didn’t want to burden him any further, the one who came like a ray of light to this place where no one had ever visited.

A wizard’s ability was profitable.

I didn’t know how much it was in his world, but in war, wizards were irreplaceable forces.

Therefore, they received enormous compensation.

Iris decided to teach him magic, hoping it would help him to some extent, though she wasn’t sure how.

However.

‘All the money Hyeon-u works hard to earn will be spent on materials…’

How was this relationship any different from telling him to learn magic and bring materials?

While she comfortably taught magic here, he would have to work hard.

‘I’m sorry, Hyeon-u…’

Her conscience pricked her heart.

She felt like she had become a bad woman.

While Iris’s worries deepened, Kang Hyeon-u was struggling to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising.

Magic, magic!

And taught directly by an 8-circle archmage!

There couldn’t be a greater opportunity in the world. Even a novel would be criticized for lacking coherence.

If he received instruction and became a high-ranking wizard someday, Iris’s escape would be easily resolved.

Nevertheless, there was a concern.

“…But, don’t you need exceptional talent to become a wizard?”

It was not something to brag about, but I was already deemed talentless by a wizard dispatched from the Magic Tower back in sixth grade.

The talent required for magic was extremely innate, so for me, who had already been stamped as talentless in elementary school, becoming a wizard was practically an impossibility in the eyes of society.

“You don’t have to worry too much. If it’s Sir Hyeon-u, I’m sure you’ll be able to learn it quickly.”

“Iris-ssi…”

Iris held my hand tightly and gave me a bright smile.

Beyond her green eyes, shining so clearly even in this dark place, I could see a hint of trust towards me.

I thought I was past the age of craving someone’s recognition or praise, but experiencing it firsthand felt strange.

It was a bit embarrassing, but definitely not an unpleasant feeling.

“Please take good care of me in the future.”

“Yes!”

I felt confidence surging from somewhere.

Even considering the time before and after the Magic Tower was built, becoming a wizard’s direct disciple was extremely rare.

Even the professors at the Magic Tower didn’t consider the students they taught as disciples.

While modern society doesn’t make much of a distinction between students and disciples, the wizarding world was different.

For a wizard, a disciple was like another self, someone they could entrust with everything.

It was even more natural to pass on their magical knowledge, as well as their assets like cash, real estate, and stocks. Occasionally, a wizard who loved their children would divide their inheritance between their disciple and child in a 7:3 ratio.

Of course, the disciple got 7, and the child got 3.

Anyway, back to the main point, if you were to ask if you couldn’t learn magic unless you became a wizard’s direct disciple, that’s another story.

To get straight to the point, you could become a wizard.

As I said before, entering the Magic Tower was the first way, and the second was through paying your way.

There were many wealthy people among wizards. No, it was harder to find someone who wasn’t wealthy.

There were various reasons for this, including the fact that wizards were irreplaceable manpower, and that becoming exceptionally smart among already smart people amde you a wizard.

And many wealthy people with immense fortunes had hired wizards to teach them, becoming wizards themselves.

Of course, very few of those who took such classes actually became wizards. If you had talent, there was no better environment for becoming a wizard than the Magic Tower. It was similar to how there were few decent people among those who were homeschooled instead of being sent to school.

Well, there were some talented golden spoons who became wizards through private tutoring for strange reasons like not wanting to send their children to the Magic Tower.

Of course, it was harder than a dragon rising from a ditch.

The important thing here was that most wizards who were hired to teach had no affection for their students.

They just worked as much as they were paid, that was about it.

In that regard, Kang Hyeon-u was extremely lucky.

Wavy platinum blonde hair and eyes that looked like emeralds set in them. Beauty that would have made a medieval sybarite faint from praising for a week. The super-class elven beauty, an 8-circle archmage, was giving him one-on-one private tutoring.

And with great affection.

However, if you were to ask if that was pure affection, well?

‘Phew, that’s a relief…’

Iris told a small lie to Kang Hyeon-u and herself.

She said the reason for teaching him magic was to interpret the barrier, but her true feelings were a little different.

He would leave her someday. He had no choice.

He had his own life, so he couldn’t stay here forever.

So, Iris’s aim was to create a reason for him to have no choice but to return here.

Learning, whether it be academics or anything else, had no end.

The same went for magic, it’s not something you could finish learning in a day or two. Rather, learning one thing made you curious about two or more things.

She was confident.

No matter how different the world was, she was sure that finding a teacher as good as her would be a distant dream!

‘If I’m with Sir Hyeon-u, even if I spend my whole life teaching magic here…’

Her eyes, looking at Kang Hyeon-u, were shining eerily.

Like a beast hiding in the bushes, looking at its prey.

Kang Hyeon-u shivered at the unknown chill, but he couldn’t quite figure out the cause.

And so, a somewhat distorted master-disciple relationship was established in the dark cave.