Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Purchasing the Golden Magic Tower
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I planned to buy the Golden Magic Tower, a place that now had no affiliated wizards since its school had collapsed.
The Golden Magic Tower could be called the symbol of the venerable metal school wizards.
To put it simply, the metal school was a gathering of wizards focused on crafting magic tools.
According to Nob AI, in the distant past, it had been so prestigious that it rivaled the Red Tower and the Blue Tower, but its downfall was a natural progression.
There was no reason for wizards who loved developing magic tools to cling to the metal school.
The hell tank I made was a Flame School magic tool, and the culture vat for growing blue mold was a Life School magic tool.
As you can see from this, magic tools weren't the exclusive domain of any one school.
If you wanted to make magic tools, you could join any school.
Unlike other towers with clearly defined directions like war or biology, the metal school was obsessed solely with "inventing magic tools."
Impressive magic tools like record orbs, communication orbs, and golems did emerge from the metal school.
But like how a game with too much freedom has a higher entry barrier than one with guides,
The lack of a defined field meant its wizards inevitably moved inefficiently.
Wizards who wanted to make war machines went to the Flame School, and those exploring life went to the Blue Tower.
Even with little merit to begin with, without results, they couldn't get funding, making opportunities to pursue their dreams fewer than in other towers. It was famous for that.
Inflow of new members kept dwindling.
The decisive blow came after demons seized over 80% of the mithril production sites, the core of magic tool crafting.
『Sad tales are circulating in the magic world that we'll no longer see metal school wizards at the academy.』
Yeah. It was truly a story you couldn't listen to without tears.
With precious mithril becoming even scarcer, the magic tool industry was bound to decline.
What kind of metal costs 10 billion per kg in this world? It's not antimatter.
The mithril alloy used in the hell tank I built was called mithril alloy, but the proportion of other metals was overwhelmingly higher.
『If we compare it to modern drink labels, it'd be like '3% real fruit.'』
Anyway, with mithril prices skyrocketing, magic tool production itself became difficult.
Commercialization was impossible altogether. Looking at the Red Tower melting steam tanks to make hell tanks, the metal school's revival chances were close to 0%.
My grand goal of "turning this world into a dopamine-overflowing, stimulating place" was hard to achieve right now.
But.
Nothing is impossible in this world.
Especially not for me, with Nob AI's full-throttle support.
"I'll get straight to the point. I want to buy the Golden Magic Tower."
I met alone with the old man who was legally the tower's owner.
It was so dilapidated that the name felt embarrassing even to call it the Golden Magic Tower—plating and all crumbling away.
Dalpi arranged the meeting on short notice, saying to pull the iron horns while hot, and fortunately, he was favorable toward me.
"Every place and object has a fitting owner. I believe this tower rightfully belongs in the hands of Marquis Sephirond, a genius to whom the title is not the least bit undeserved..."
The old man, who called himself a nameless wizard, said he intended to sell the tower.
However.
Though it now looked shabby, the history within held value that couldn't be ignored, so he asked my reason.
"I devoted my life to the metal school as a wizard of meager talent but produced no results. I inherited the last tower lord's will to revive the school, but it was mere flailing of an old fool."
The old man confessed that he had stopped research ten years ago and now just mechanically cleaned the tower's interior.
"I think it's time to let it go, but before that, may I boldly ask what made you resolve to do this? It's very important to me."
The old man's expression was resolute.
'Reasons, huh...'
Unlike the exterior, the tower's interior sparkled.
He must have cleaned this vast space alone all this time.
It wouldn't have been easy with his aged body.
I could tell he harbored considerable affection and attachment to this tower.
"Hmm."
It wasn't anything grandiose.
My goal was ultimately to create as many means as possible to fill this world with dopamine.
Just like the movies I popularized this time.
I could invent things alone, but to commercialize them properly, I needed others' help.
In other words, I had to recruit wizards somehow.
The best way to attract skilled wizards was to make them members of a magic tower.
Even though it was now defunct, I thought leveraging the deep history and recognition of the metal school as one of the magic world's schools would be a huge help.
The answer was clear.
But rather than stating the plain facts,
It might be better to wrap it up a bit.
Even though we just met today.
I wanted the old man with that heavy, serious expression to smile in satisfaction.
That way, my conscience would feel at ease.
"The inaugural Golden Magic Tower Lord once said at the Second Imperial Conference: 'What changes the world is not living beings, but the objects they create.' This became a maxim for later inventors and is passed down as symbolizing the metal school. I deeply agree with those words."
I calmly explained that I would create various inventions to revolutionize the world from now on, and that achieving this great undertaking from the metal school—which symbolized and framed invention—was most fitting, which was why I sought this private meeting.
"......"
I gauged the old man's reaction.
"Yes."
The old man's eyes were red.
Watching him wipe away tears gave me a strange feeling.
Was it that moving? Anyway, if he's satisfied, okay.
"This old man can now die without regrets. Yes. A magic tower is a place for those who pursue truth and strive for transcendence. It's right for you to take it."
As the last remaining metal school wizard and proxy tower lord, he said he would bequeath the tower to the one to carry on the legacy.
Huh?
Wait, bequeath?
He was giving me this vast land and sturdy, if rundown, tower for free?
"Originally, this tower is for metal school wizards. Though I used my own money to legally acquire ownership to maintain it, now it's proper to pass ownership along with the tower lord position to the most capable one, per tradition."
The old man said it was fortunate he could give me the tower before fully retiring from his life as a metal school wizard, and he pocketed his sleeves modestly.
I was the type who wouldn't feel burdened or refuse even if someone offered a fortune in thanks.
Thank you. I gladly accepted.
This must be the feeling of a full stomach without eating.
***
In a year and a half, Etila had achieved dazzling growth.
Stimulated by Ester, her magical talent had fully blossomed, beyond mere "progress."
She held her own in a magic mock battle against Red Tower Lord Erps, and her skill with Cross Blend—the masterpiece hailed for opening new horizons in the magic world—had sharpened even further.
She had already graduated from the academy early.
Just two weeks ago, she succeeded in elucidating the reproduction of absolute zero, one of the seven millennium problems plaguing the magic world.
With Ester vanished from the magic world, Etila was now the top prospect.
Had he not appeared, she would have claimed the title of the greatest genius in magic history.
Her value soared to the heavens, with love calls from magic towers and research institutions alike.
But Etila remained steadfast.
She gazed at the newspaper.
【The Genius's Splendid Return.】
【The 15-year-old boy who made the hell tank and antibiotics has now come of age, bringing movies to the world.】
After staying quiet post-banquet, Ester had begun moving.
He unveiled the new invention called the camera and created something called movies, sweeping the kingdom.
'I thought my neck would snap from waiting...'
Etila's lips curved up.
She was certain.
A genius who shattered common sense wouldn't just fade away meaningless like that.
Etila thought she couldn't beat Ester in other fields.
But in magic, with relentless effort, she could catch up.
She too was a genius acknowledged by all.
Her magical aptitude was now at its absolute peak.
Deep down, a rival was something to surpass.
"This time's Babel seems to have Lord Ester participating as well, miss."
This time, she vowed, she would defeat him with magic.