Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 301
Chapter Title: Return to the Magic Tower (2)
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"Oh..."
Oliver let out an involuntary sound as he glanced back at the students following him.
For some reason, during his leave, there must have been some emotional shift. Aside from Felix, the students who had previously lacked any motivation were now all still running after Oliver.
Of course, a few had fallen behind, but that was just due to exhaustion. They weren't lacking in drive.
Oliver kept observing the students trailing behind as he ran.
Until the watch in his pocket chimed, that is.
Beep. Beep. Beep... Beep. Beep. Beep... Beep. Beep. Beep.
As the chime sounded from his pocket watch, Oliver gradually slowed his pace to a stop. The students following him either halted in place or collapsed right there on the spot.
'As expected, most of them have pretty low stamina.'
Oliver thought this as he looked at the female student whose face was beet red and who was gasping for breath, or the male student sprawled out flat, panting heavily.
As Oliver had assessed, and as Terence had assessed, most of the students had poor stamina. Even so, Oliver was quite satisfied with the current situation.
And for good reason. Before, they would stop at the slightest shortness of breath. Their stamina was still lacking as always, but now, at least, they showed some willingness to push through.
Compared to their previous lack of motivation, the situation had improved dramatically.
"Um, excuse me..."
As Oliver called for a break to catch his breath, one student raised a hand.
"Yes, go ahead."
"What training comes next? There's still some time left..."
Oliver checked his watch. Just as the student said, there were about twenty minutes remaining.
"Thank you for pointing that out. Let's rest for three minutes, then move straight into strength training. Thanks to everyone keeping up so well, we can do a proper test now."
Oliver said this enthusiastically.
Until now, the students hadn't followed properly, so he couldn't even check or train them adequately.
However, unlike Oliver, the students looked disappointed.
"Um... Could we move on to mana training instead?"
"Mana training?"
"Yes... Like checking sequential mana flow, or adjusting it, something like that..."
The student trailed off subtly, eyes filled with expectation. And not just any expectation, but one backed by some certainty.
Oliver had a rough idea of what they meant.
"In my opinion..."
***
The class ended a few minutes early, and Oliver stood straight in front of the upper-floor training room, waiting for Kevin.
Moments later, the training room door opened, and a group of students emerged.
It felt like just the other day their first class had been, yet here a whole semester was ending. They came out looking much neater and less fatigued than Oliver remembered. They even seemed invigorated.
It was truly impressive. Just a short while ago, they had been utterly exhausted, covered in soot and sweat. Compared to then, their growth was unrecognizable.
The students exiting the training room spotted Oliver, who had returned to work after so long, and looked at him in surprise. Oliver greeted them politely.
A few responded half-heartedly, but an equal number returned his greeting with their own semblance of courtesy.
Like Yarelli from the Scardi Branch, Felix from the Gaia Branch... and, surprisingly, even Derek from the Agni Branch was among them.
'Less negative emotions than before. Their self-esteem has recovered quite a bit.'
After seeing them off, Oliver entered the training room.
Inside, as usual, was Kevin tidying up the room with mana.
"I'll handle the cleanup from now on."
"It's faster if I do it."
Kevin finished the cleanup in an instant, as if to prove his point. Handling with mana what would take multiple people was only natural.
"I know, but it's my job..."
Ignoring Oliver, Kevin put away the cleaning tools, slung his jacket from the rack over his shoulder, and headed into the hallway.
Naturally, Oliver followed.
"...Derek's back in class."
"Yes, I saw."
"You actually convinced him... How'd you do it?"
"I asked him for a favor and made a bet."
"A bet?"
"Yes. He seemed to have a lot of questions for me, so I said if he beat me in a spar, I'd teach him. But if he lost, he'd attend classes and take the final exam."
"Clever. Not easy to get someone to accept a bet like that."
"I don't know the reason, but he seemed angry at me, so I suggested it then. Angry people turn out to be surprisingly easy to persuade."
"Ah..."
Kevin let out a sound of full understanding.
It was something anyone could grasp after even a brief chat with Oliver.
"How was Derek?"
"...He seemed a bit down, but aside from that, his skills have improved. Well, more precisely, his skills haven't changed much, but his stance has gotten a lot better."
"Stance?"
"Yeah. Whether it's pride or arrogance in his branch, he had this bad habit of trying to end things with high-output magic at crucial moments. That's fixed now. Just the right spells at the right timing... Did you advise him?"
Oliver nodded.
After their third spar, Derek had asked about his issues with a detached attitude, as if he'd let something go. Oliver had answered accordingly.
He told him his skills were excellent overall, but he had a tendency to go for big techniques in decisive moments.
It wasn't bad, but obsessing over it limited his actions and opened him up to counters.
In fact, though Oliver had seized the tonfa and taken control, Derek had given him an opening by preparing a big spell in that critical moment, allowing the counter.
A mana-infused slash would have been more threatening.
When Oliver pointed that out, Derek nodded as if enlightened.
"So that's it."
"Pardon?"
"I had the students spar each other, and Derek performed well. Even after eight straight matches, he subdued his opponents easily without tiring much. Thanks to ditching that bad habit."
Kevin's face lit up with satisfaction. After all, he favored that fighting style.
"You even convinced Yongke. Halfway strong ones are tricky to persuade."
"I just asked. Didn't really convince him. He was just ready to accept it himself."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Seems like a lot happened while I was on leave."
"The Magic Tower looks calm on the surface, but all sorts of things brew underneath."
"I agree. Which is why I'd like some advice."
"Advice?"
"Yes."
Oliver replied and recounted what had happened in his class earlier.
Many students had shown enthusiasm and followed the training well, but at the end, they had asked expectantly about mana flow training.
"I don't know the details, but they seemed to want the method Felix received."
"Everyone's perceptive... What'd you say?"
"Pretended not to know and said we'd start with stamina training first."
"Reaction?"
"Not good."
"Obviously. Why take the hard, boring path when there's an easy one?"
"But isn't that what makes it valuable? For now, I plan to have those lacking basic stamina do endurance training, and only fix the absolutely necessary parts of their mana flow... Is that okay?"
"Didn't your master permit it?"
"Yes. But he said not to abuse it. And with so many students, if you help, rumors might spread more. Is that alright?"
"Didn't know you were such a good listener."
Kevin said teasingly. It wasn't wrong.
Whether due to circumstances or personality, Oliver intended to keep a low profile in the Magic Tower but occasionally drew attention.
Like his first spar with Derek, or the Mountain Face incident.
Of course, it wasn't just Oliver's fault. Kevin and Merlin had put him in those situations.
Unaware of that, Oliver apologized first.
"Sorry. I try, but I keep messing up."
"...What do you want to do?"
"Pardon?"
"Want to try your teaching method on the students you're in charge of?"
Hearing the question, Oliver paused to think, and just as he was about to reply, they arrived at the professor's research room.
Kevin opened the door, revealing Merlin sitting at the professor's desk, casually reading reports.
"You're back?"
***
Merlin greeted them as if it were his own seat.
So naturally, despite having been away, that Kevin and Oliver reflexively replied before they knew it.
"Hello, Master."
"Welcome back, sir."
"Yeah, I'm back. Got a bit lost, took longer than expected. But your reactions are so lukewarm. Your master's returned after so long."
"I'm glad."
Oliver said in his usual flat expression and tone, and Kevin followed suit.
"I'm glad too. Though seeing you barge into my research room without permission and read reports makes me more annoyed than glad."
Kevin meant every word. A truly honest master-disciple bond.
"Two things to say."
"First, give up. Masters have the right to barge into disciples' private spaces, disrupt their peace. It's real."
Kevin's displeasure grew.
"Second, this report isn't yours. It's your fellow disciple's."
Merlin pointed at Oliver.
Come to think of it, the report looked familiar. It was the one provided to the Moirae faction about Eve.
"How did you find it?"
"In the drawer."
"Ah... I mean, the drawer was locked. How'd you get it out?"
Merlin pulled out a large bundle of keys from his pocket. So many that they jingled with every movement.
"I told you before, right? I've secretly installed devices all over the Magic Tower to appear cool and pop up unexpectedly anywhere... Same principle. I carry every key to open any lock in the tower. A drawer is nothing."
"...Didn't you say that was a joke?"
"...This is a joke too."
It didn't sound like one at all, but Oliver let it slide.
"Anyway, apologies to both of you. For barging in, taking your seat, reading the report. No plans to change, but sorry."
Thanks to Merlin's mana barrier, Oliver couldn't read his emotions, but it seemed sincere.
Sorry, but no intention to fix it.
Kevin seemed to know that too.
"Is that how you apologize?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I said I won't do it again."
"True."
"See? And I had to visit because of the rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Yeah. That fixer Dave took down a famous druid in Randa, showing off all sorts of fun tricks... Like not just handling the World Tree, but even contacting and soothing Eve."
Kevin, hearing about Eve for the first time, looked shocked as he glanced at Oliver.
Oliver asked.
"Sir, have you been back long?"
"Surprisingly, I just arrived today. How many times have I told you? I have plenty of people whispering stories to me."
"Ah..."
"And I'm curious about the rest."
Merlin shook the report Oliver had written, showing keen interest.
"What'd you say to the angry Eve?"
"Nothing much. Just asked her to hold on a little longer."
Oliver replied calmly, as if it were no big deal.