episode_0065

“…Yes?”

I was dumbfounded by the Magic Tower Master’s sudden proposal.

I had considered numerous possibilities,

but this proposal was completely unexpected.

That’s natural.

Because I’m seeing this person, the Magic Tower Master, for the first time.

“Hmm? Did you not hear properly? I told you to become my disciple.”

However, there’s a high probability that this person knows me well.

Didn’t they try to monitor me using a Guild guide in the first place?

What’s the purpose?

What kind of person are they, anyway?

“Well, if you don’t want to, fine. There are countless mages who want to become the Magic Tower Master’s disciple.”

The Magic Tower Master clicked their tongue and wore a disappointed expression.

Their actions are similar to an elderly neighbor, but their expression and gestures are so solemn that I can’t adjust.

“First, let me hear the reason. Isn’t this the first time you’re seeing me today?”

“No, I’ve been looking into it for a while now. Because you’re the Card Mage of the current era.”

“…”

Considering that the Blue School Head also knew about me, I figured the Magic Tower Master would definitely know too.

If so, the Magic Tower Master is someone who at least knows my identity.

“Exactly what is this ‘Card Mage’?”

“Curious?”

“Yes.”

“Then become my disciple.”

Become a disciple in exchange for information.

Something feels strange.

“Of course, you won’t trust me. Because I tried to monitor you. But right now, is there any force that isn’t watching you? And who you’re with…”

The Magic Tower Master swallowed the rest of their words.

Clearly, the Magic Tower Master seems to know about Noah, the Apostle of the Evil God.

With just that, I could draw one conclusion.

“Are we free because countless forces are keeping each other in check?”

“That’s right. But that balance is slowly going to break now.”

“And that’s why entering a suitable force would be helpful.”

“Are you really not thinking of becoming my disciple? Your mind seems to work better than I thought.”

“I’ll think about it first.”

Anyway, the choice is mine.

I don’t know how the situation will unfold in the future, but at least I should have some time to think.

“…Alright.”

Ting!!

The Magic Tower Master flicked their hand, and suddenly a small scroll was in my hand.

“This is a scroll with a magic circle drawn on it that teleports you to this room. Of course, you shouldn’t come anytime you want, as I also have personal time. Don’t come when the scroll is red.”

“Understood.”

“Oh dear, I’ve held you up for too long!”

The Magic Tower Master waved their hand.

Immediately, the surrounding scenery began to mix randomly.

When I came to my senses, I had arrived somewhere in the Magic Tower.

21st floor.

The Blue School was right before my eyes.

*

The Magic Tower has numerous schools, each granted about 3 to 5 floors of space.

Of course, among the many schools, there are a few renowned ones.

The Blue School is included among them.

One of the powers-that-be within the Magic Tower, almost among the top five.

That is the Blue School.

There’s a stereotype that schools primarily research magic tailored to their color.

They say that’s only the case for schools with deep and long histories.

There are many schools named differently, not by color.

For example, the Pegasus School, or the World Tree School.

Among them, the Blue School, where water and ice mages gather, had research labs, various books, and even the ceiling was frozen.

While a mage was guiding me, there were times I had to dodge ice that suddenly flew at me.

“Is this the usual atmosphere of the Magic Tower?”

“It seems to differ by school, doesn’t it? Our School Head is quite free-spirited. They go into the Labyrinth quite often among the School Heads. So, discipline isn’t strictly maintained.”

“Indeed…”

I somewhat understood.

If the leader is away often when they have time, it seems the overall atmosphere would inevitably become loose.

But then, wouldn’t someone else usually maintain discipline?

Clang!!!

The mage who guided me opened the door without even knocking.

Isn’t this impolite?

I was startled, but the mage who opened the door and the Blue School Head didn’t seem to think much of it.

“You’re here?”

“…Yes.”

I turned my head and saw that the mage who had guided me was nowhere to be found.

The door had closed already.

“Sit here.”

I sat down in the seat the Blue School Head guided me to.

And as soon as the Blue School Head, who sat opposite me, moved their hand,

tea came out of a small teapot that was boiling far away and was beautifully poured into a teacup.

I immediately drank a cup.

I tasted a slightly bitter flavor.

“You caused trouble as soon as you arrived, didn’t you?”

“…I apologize.”

It’s natural to apologize to the person who invited me after causing a bit of a disturbance.

No matter how much the Magic Tower Master glossed over it.

“It’s alright. The Red School originally has many hot-blooded fellows. Perhaps only such fellows are suitable for fire magic in the first place.”

The Blue School Head took a small sip of tea.

Then, they slowly put it down and began to speak seriously.

“As you might have guessed from what you heard a little yesterday, the black card has appeared.”

“…Is that truly so?”

“Lord Othlus recovered it from the Leviathan’s body and brought it. It’s likely in the hands of the Crown Prince now.”

So that’s why the Knight Commander intervened when the Blue School Head talked about the black card.

“Then didn’t the Empire want the information not to be released?”

“It’s only a matter of time anyway. The Crown Prince knows that too, so they didn’t specifically provoke me.”

“I see.”

“Did you know? Already, [Divers], the deep-level explorers’ group, has gone to the 5th floor. They say they’ve already obtained the second black card.”

Divers.

As soon as I heard those words, the face of the deep-level explorer I encountered at the auction house came to mind.

Surely, deep-level explorers could beat the Leviathan without necessarily needing to lift the statue’s curse.

“Is this the first time the Leviathan has been caught in the history of the Labyrinth?”

“No, this is the important part.”

“?”

“The fact that there’s a strategy to defeat the Leviathan means countless explorers have already caught it. It’s a fact revealed by the Red Skull Clan, unable to withstand the Imperial Family’s pressure. However, the black card has never appeared until now.”

Indeed, I could find information about when the cards appeared in books, but I didn’t know there was something like that behind it.

“Then what on earth is the black card?”

“You, do you happen to know how the cards appeared?”

At the Blue School Head’s question, I recalled the history book I read in the library.

“If I remember correctly, I heard that cards appeared at regular intervals. The sky-blue card appeared 500 years ago, they said.”

Tap, tap.

The Blue School Head suddenly tapped their left wrist with a finger.

I immediately looked at my left arm.

My deck was there.

“The appearance of a Card Mage. Usually, a new card was created each time.”

“Does that mean…”

“As you said, the sky-blue card was a card that didn’t exist until a few hundred years ago. Since a higher-level card has appeared, the next stage of the Labyrinth will likely open up soon.”

I stared at my deck unintentionally.

Kaman.

He definitely said he was the last Card Mage, so he must be the Card Mage from 500 years ago.

“Did the Magic Tower know all this information?”

“Not just the Magic Tower. Young mage. Do you know why the vested interests have been maintained for hundreds of years in a world where superhumans exist?”

As soon as I heard the Blue School Head’s words, I understood.

This world isn’t as foolish as I thought, and the fact is I’m already within everyone’s grasp.

“Information control…”

“Just like the explorers who hide high-level Labyrinth information as much as possible. Everyone works diligently to not lose their glass.”

The bitter tea in the teacup subtly shakes.

“Anyway, with the appearance of the black card, the world will slowly begin to change. I don’t know where you’ll align yourself or what choice you’ll make. But it would be best to choose carefully.”

The Blue School Head put down their teacup and stood up.

“Since you’re here, would you like to look around a bit?”

“…That’s alright.”

My mind is complicated right now, so I feel like I need some time.

“Well, do as you please. You can already move freely within the Blue School with just that pass, so it’ll be good for clearing your head. My disciples can all use ice magic to some extent.”

Creak.

Just then, someone opened the door and came in.

It was the mage who had guided me.

Surely, she wasn’t listening the whole time?

Perhaps she’s a higher-ranking person than I thought.

“Then, please guide him.”

“Yes!”

I emptied the remaining tea in the teacup and stood up.

“…Alright for now. Thank you for the hospitality.”

“Alright, I hope we can see each other again.”

I came out of the office as if being chased.

If I stayed there, I felt like my mental power would be sucked dry.

“Haa…”

Seeing me sigh deeply, the mage tilted her head, and then said.

“Then where would you like to see first?”

“Uh…”

“Please call me Naia.”

“Naia-nim, please do as you wish.”

“Then please follow me.”

Naia took the lead and began walking down the corridor.

I followed behind her, watching her fluttering blue hair.

*

They said I learned a lot of new knowledge today,

but another piece of common sense was added.

Why Hans and other explorers find mages difficult and value normal mages highly.

Why Grace struggled so much to catch me and why Kairek, a barbarian, tried to be with me even while hiding his identity.

“Isn’t the ice penguin cute?”

“All my papers are soaked!!!! Which son of a bitch managed the magic circle…!!”

“Try the absolute zero ice cream!”

“I’m slipping!!!!!!”

“What on earth are you doing?”

“I want to sleep…”

“If you do this, you can make grapes into wine, you know?”

“How to collapse the Labyrinth City’s economy with rapid freezing. Don’t you want to know…”

“The tree is floating away!!!!”

“I sense something from the Red guys’ things in the sub-space, you’re not one of their lackeys, are you?”

Anyway, they’re just crazy people.

Of course, there wasn’t an atmosphere of looking down on wandering mages like Haban and Laila, but.

My energy was already drained, and this is just so, so tiring.

In the end, I declared defeat in just 10 minutes.

I want to go home.

I conveyed my opinion to Naia, but.

“You seem to have looked around enough.”

“Oh, it’s not over yet.”

Naia grabbed my wrist and froze it with ice.

I couldn’t react to what happened in an instant.

Surely she’s not trying to capture me like this?

All sorts of bad thoughts came to mind, but.

She simply continued the pure guidance.

“Basically, the Magic Tower scouts people with magical talent, brings them in, and trains them for a long time. They’re commonly called internal personnel, but well, we don’t particularly care about that.”

“I thought the Magic Tower looked down on all wandering mages.”

“If that were the case, they wouldn’t have brought in external personnel in the first place. Of course, I’ve heard that some schools use external personnel to do tasks they don’t want to do themselves. Representatively, the Red School, or the Red School, and the Red School.”

One thing I’ve felt since earlier is that the Blue School generally dislikes the Red School. You could even say they are hostile.

“Haa… What I want to say is that the Magic Tower has a basic education system that turns ordinary people who know nothing into mages.”

“Could I hear about it?”

I was curious about that anyway.

Since I can sense and read mana, I was wondering if I could use magic directly.

“Of course.”

Naia dragged me somewhere.

A room with an atmosphere like a university lecture hall.

A bookshelf filled with strange magical tools, which could be either experimental equipment or teaching materials, caught my eye.

It was clear at a glance that this was the place Naia mentioned for teaching promising young mages.

“Then, the teacher is coming in.”

When Naia opened the door, a male mage entered.

It was a familiar face.

Because it was the person who showed me the ice penguin while I was passing through the Blue School earlier.

“I am Penguin Master.”

Without even giving his name, he placed an ice penguin on the podium and said.

“Do you know penguins? Penguins are animals observed on ice islands far to the south of the continent…”

“Stop. Penguin Master. You must fulfill your duty.”

When Naia stopped him, the Penguin Master tightened his awkwardly tied necktie and began to move water.

“I heard you’re a wandering mage and know nothing. I’ll teach you right from the beginning.”

Wandering mage.

But the words the Penguin Master uttered didn’t contain the hatred and contempt that Haban had shown.

If Kairek had joined the Blue School…

Just as that thought crossed my mind,

the Penguin Master seemed to spread his senses, and mana swept over my body.

“…?!!!”

Mana immediately began to press down on my body intensely.

I spread my senses to counter it.

But I was swallowed up in an instant.

Is it a difference in capability?

Memories of being back-traced by the black mage on the 2nd floor vividly came back.

“Still, you know how to do it? You’re Emperor Penguin level.”

“Emperor… what?”

“It means you’re great.”

Naia translated the words of the Penguin Master, who was hard to understand.

“Originally, wandering mages use magic using their own senses and methods. So, there are many cases where they can’t even do this most basic task of reading mana.”

“Since you succeeded in reading it even a little while I was pressing down, I can only say you’re great, just like an Emperor Penguin!”

The Penguin Master smiled with a kind face.

Just a moment ago, he was fiercely attacking me.

Looking at the fact that the status window didn’t appear, it seems there was no killing intent.

“Generally, mages use magic in two ways. By drawing a magic circle or by simply using magic.”

“I know.”

“Among those, you’ll know how to use a magic circle. The ridiculous act of an Emperor Penguin engraving magic circles on their body caused a sensation in the Magic Tower.”

I fought on the 5th floor by engraving magic circles on my body and using them as needed. It seems that was surprising even to other mages.

“That’s right! How did you do that? Are you doing it now?”

Naia suddenly approached me, pulled up my sleeve, and checked my bare skin.

“It’s not there.”

“Isn’t that dangerous in the Labyrinth City?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Naia returned to her original spot in an instant.

“So, how did you do that?”

“I don’t know either?”

I answered honestly, but

the mages who heard me seemed to think differently.

“Indeed, it’s right to hide one’s own magic. When my Giant Penguin magic was leaked…”

“That’s enough. Don’t go off on a tangent again. Penguin Master.”

“Haha, my mistake.”

Watching the two exchange banter, I sighed deeply.

Seeing that, the Penguin Master immediately moved his fingertips as if drawing a magic circle and said.

“Usually, it’s typical to learn magic circles and then move on to general magic. Now, draw a magic circle.”

“…Yes?”

I can’t draw one right now.

“Just a moment.”

The moment I was about to pull a card from my deck,

the Penguin Master sent a small ice penguin to stop me.

“Surely you can’t use magic circles without that?”

The two looked at me with dumbfounded expressions.

They immediately gathered and started whispering.

“It’s really strange magic. The School Head seemed to have a rough idea of what it was.”

“Does that mean it’s magic that can only be understood by a Great Penguin?”

“Ahem. Well, let’s learn from the very beginning then.”

“I will meticulously teach the Emperor Penguin!!”

Well, it seemed like I somehow got past that.

I started learning magic from Naia and the Penguin Master.

As expected, the theory was difficult.

Still, I listened intently.

But…

“What on earth is going on?”

The Blue School Head, who came into the classroom, had a look of disbelief.

That’s natural.

Because the Penguin Master had collapsed.

With a happy expression on his face.

“I’ve discovered a genius penguin!!!”

I ended up listening to the lesson too diligently.