chapter_0051

Chapter 50 : Master of the Magic Tower, Nella Oracle

The ideal haven for wizards located in the western continent, the Magic Tower.

A place known as the line that separates elite wizards from amateurs, and home to the greatest wizard in history, Nella Oracle, the master of the Magic Tower.

However, a day in the Magic Tower did not flow as busily as one might think.

The fundamental purpose of the Magic Tower was the pursuit of magic and new teachings, essentially a place of learning, so it was only natural that things were not too hectic.

The first- and second-class wizards, known as professors, taught their respective fields, while the lower-class wizards, ranging from third to sixth class, learned under their guidance.

Among them, those dedicated to crafting magic focused on mass-producing and selling artificial breast milk and communication devices across the continent, while other wizards sought knowledge from higher-ranking wizards about the magic they wished to learn.

Since every day was simply another day of learning, it couldn’t really be called a busy life at the Magic Tower.

Beep, beep—

And at the very top floor of the Magic Tower.

The tower master, Nella Oracle, who was researching magic there, raised an eyebrow at the sudden ringing of her communication device.

“Hm?”

Nella rarely contacted the outside world, so it was uncommon for someone to call her first.

After all, there were very few people who even knew how to reach her communication device in the first place.

So, when she turned her head and saw the name displayed on the device, she let out a small “Ah.”

[Kael]

“So it’s you… Now that I think about it, I did send you a request, didn’t I?”

The caller was none other than Kael.

Seeing the name, Nella finally remembered that she had sent a designated request to Kael earlier that morning.

Having received rare news that a group of dragons was migrating south from the northern continent, she had reached out to Kael, hoping to obtain dragon materials.

“But why is he calling me?”

Even though she had added a note stating that she would meet him in person in two days, the unexpected call made Nella feel slightly uneasy.

Was he calling to reject the request because he had no intention of accepting it?

There wasn’t really any reason for Kael to refuse.

For Kael, hunting a group of dragons wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

However, if Kael did refuse, Nella had no one else suitable for the task.

She could hire a large number of mercenaries, but there was no need to explain how much weaker they were compared to Kael.

Perhaps only a Platinum-rank mercenary could barely match Kael’s level.

Anyone below that wouldn’t have the finesse required for hunting dragons, which would greatly reduce the quality of the dragon materials she could obtain, making the idea of hiring mercenaries completely unappealing.

But in the end, she hadn’t even answered the call yet.

Worrying over nothing wasn’t Nella’s style, so she pushed her concerns aside and accepted the call from Kael.

Beep.

“Yes, Master. It’s been a while. What’s the reason for your call?”

[Ah, Nella. It has been a while. I was wondering if it would be alright for another mercenary to handle the request you sent me.]

“…Another mercenary?”

At least he wasn’t calling to outright refuse the request.

Nella felt a brief sense of relief, but Kael’s next words left her puzzled.

‘Master should know exactly why I specifically requested him…’

Kael, of all people, should understand why Nella had chosen to request him personally.

She wanted to obtain as many dragon materials as possible without damaging them.

That’s why she had chosen Kael, someone with the necessary skills, for the job.

Yet now, he was asking if it would be okay for another mercenary to handle the request.

Nella felt a moment of unease but suppressed it, knowing that Kael wasn’t the type to say pointless things.

She asked carefully, “Who exactly are you referring to?”

[Ah, I was thinking of assigning the task to my daughter, Elia. She’s a Gold-rank mercenary, and I can vouch for her skills.]

“…Your daughter?”

The mercenary Kael was referring to was none other than his own daughter.

Upon hearing that, Nella quickly searched her memory for information about Kael’s daughter.

“If I remember correctly, isn’t she only twenty years old? How did she become a Gold-rank mercenary?”

[There was a special test held by Martin today where she personally challenged him and won. That’s how she became a Gold-rank mercenary.]

“She beat Martin? Wait, you mean the Martin I know?”

[Yeah, that Martin. The troublemaker from the past, who’s now the Mercenary Guild’s leader.]

Since Nella rarely paid attention to outside news unless it was related to magic, she knew little about Elia.

The only thing she was aware of was the question she had just asked—her age.

If she had been in contact with Enoch or Zenre, she might have heard about it, but since she hadn’t, this was the first time she was learning that Elia was a powerful individual.

If anyone else had heard this, they would have immediately dismissed Kael’s words as nonsense.

After all, who would believe that a twenty-year-old girl had defeated Martin, one of the strongest warriors on the continent?

However—

“She beat Martin at that age… That’s certainly an incredible talent.”

Since Nella herself was someone born with overwhelming talent, she could easily accept Elia’s story.

After all, if someone had talent, it wasn’t an impossible feat.

This was the difference in reaction between those who had experienced overwhelming talent and those who hadn’t.

After considering Elia’s skills, Nella hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“If you trust her enough to assign her the job, then I suppose I can trust her as well… But will she really be okay on her own?”

[Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll be going with her, along with Ruina.]

“Oh, in that case, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Even if Kael trusted his daughter, Nella was still concerned about sending a twenty-year-old alone to handle the dragon hunt.

However, Kael’s reassurance immediately put her worries to rest.

‘If those two are going as well, then there’s nothing to be concerned about.’

With Kael and Ruina accompanying her, there wouldn’t be any unexpected dangers.

And as she thought about that, another idea suddenly came to Nella’s mind.

She turned to Kael and asked, “Hmm… If it’s alright, may I come along as well?”

[…What? You want to come?]

“What is that rebuttal? It sounds as if I’m some kind of shut-in mage who never leaves the magic tower because I’m too focused on magical research.”

[Well… isn’t that actually true?]

“I do go out when I have things to do!”

Of course, most of the times she left the magic tower, it was for magic-related matters.

But regardless, Nella herself did not consider herself a shut-in mage who only buried herself in research.

The other mages of the magic tower would shake their heads at this claim, but that was what she insisted.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.

The reason Nella wanted to follow this time was none other than the fact that her current research subject was ideal for testing on a young warrior like Ellia.

Thus, she requested to accompany Kael.

And Kael had no reason to refuse that request.

[Sure, having you come along wouldn’t be a bad thing. With you around, Ellia will be much safer.]

“Ah, thank you for allowing it.”

[No need for thanks. Then, see you in two days, Nella.]

“Yes, I’ll see you in two days, Master.”

With the conversation ending on the note of meeting again in two days, the communication was cut off.

Nella then hummed a tune and walked back toward the flask of liquid she had been researching just moments ago.

“I wonder what kind of results will come out?”

Shaking the potion she would soon get to test in two days, Nella smiled.

Above the southwestern skies of the continent.

There, a group of more than a dozen dragons flapped their wings in unison.

Whoosh, whoosh—

If even a single bird were to fly nearby, it would be instantly swept away and killed by the sheer force of their wingbeats.

However, to a biologist or researcher well-versed in dragons, this would be a puzzling sight.

Dragons were born powerful beings.

So why were these dragons flying so frantically in a group?

And if someone had the opportunity to take a closer look at their faces, they would soon understand the reason.

“Grrrrr….”

“Krrrukk…!”

Even as they gasped for breath and continued flying, the dragons’ faces were filled with fear.

Dragons rarely displayed expressions, so it wasn’t easy to tell, but these dragons were undoubtedly terrified.

Right now, these dragons weren’t migrating south due to nesting or territorial shifts.

They were moving south from their original homeland in the northern continent for one reason only—

Something unknown was terrifying them to this extent.

“Grrrrr….”

To explain in more detail, the dragons were fleeing from the monstrous masterpiece created by Worst.

They could not remain in the same place as “that thing,” even for a moment.

And far behind the fleeing dragons, the very being responsible for their southward retreat, a creature as grotesque as could be imagined, was soaring through the sky.

“Kyaoooo!!!”

A chimera, created by its master, flying to hunt and kill dragons under its master’s command.