Chapter 169: Tower Master (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 169: Tower Master (4)
To put it simply, the High Elf’s boast about "seeing me after this" never came to fruition.
“……”
“You got absolutely wrecked, didn't you?”
That was because I had been beaten so thoroughly by the Tower Lord that our resident High Elf’s lips were twitching in a suppressed smirk.
“You haven't completed the magic yet.”
Despite my efforts, I hadn't managed to finalize the spell.
Of course, that was only natural. Learning magic in a single day? Even for a transcendent genius, that was a tall order.
The problem was…
“Still, I saw potential.”
Just as the Tower Lord said, the potential itself was there. And because of that…
“Come back tomorrow.”
“…Yes, sir.”
If there had been no potential at all, that would be one thing. But since there was, I had to see it through. Thus, I decided to study magic at the Tower until it was time to return to the Academy.
Of course, the "magic training (physical)" was the real issue.
-
In terms of pure swordsmanship, I was obviously superior to the Tower Lord.
However, that didn't mean the Tower Lord was lacking in skill. I mean, he is the Tower Lord, after all. Even if the Leon Magic Tower followed a system different from typical mages, he still had to look the part. You don't just stumble into the position of the Leon Tower Lord.
But still…
“Wait, why is he so good with a sword…?”
“That’s because…”
“If you say ‘Because it’s Leon,’ I’m actually going to hit you.”
“But it’s the truth, so what do you want me to do?”
The fact that he was weaker than me didn't mean he was bad at swordsmanship. Even like this, his pure skill and swordsmanship were still ranked second… well, first, based on the midterm results.
He was one of the few elites handpicked from the continent’s finest talents, recognized and supported by the Leon Royal Family. Even if he leaned more toward the mage side of the human-to-mage ratio, it was still bizarre to see a mage clashing swords like this.
And setting all that aside, the Tower Lord’s raw skill was only slightly below that of the Minor Sword Emperor. It was such a narrow margin that he could probably hold his own against Sososo in a pure sword fight.
When a man like that swung a blade wrapped in White Flame—the same flame that had once vied for supremacy against the Sword Emperor’s Aura—the sword energy of a mere "weak" swordsman like me stood no chance.
The Tower Lord said to me:
“They say magic has elemental affinities, but sheer firepower overwhelms everything.”
His words reminded me of the teachings of a certain "Dragon Father" from my past life, who claimed that Haki alone surpassed all.
“A battle between fire and ice? Some say fire melts ice. Others say cold consumes flame.”
Who is right? The Tower Lord didn't care.
“Do you think my flames look like they’d be consumed by the cold?”
The shimmering White Flame blazed before my eyes. If I said no, I felt like I’d have a donut hole punched through my gut right then and there.
“It could happen, though,” the Tower Lord added. “If I were to meet a mage stronger than myself. Such a thing is possible.”
He didn't harbor the delusion that he was the absolute strongest. That was why he had to keep pushing himself to grow.
“And there’s no rule saying you won't become that person,” he said.
“Me?”
“If not, then whatever.”
“……”
“But if you can’t do it, you’ll just have to keep getting hit.”
Since I could handle both fire and ice, the Tower Lord was implying that I could win if I just became stronger.
“So, let’s get right back to it.”
“……”
The problem was that he preferred to do his talking with his fists.
After a week of this, the Tower Lord slightly shifted his approach.
“Originally, magic is difficult to master through practical experience alone.”
“……”
The words “You’re telling me this now?” almost jumped out of my throat.
However, the Leon Magic Tower was a den of monsters where the weak had no right to speak. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If I came to the Tower to become a mage, I had to follow the Tower’s laws.
“Therefore, it is time for theory.”
Since I hadn't completed the magic despite a week of violence—I mean, training—the Tower Lord moved on to theoretical lessons.
“……”
“……”
“You said we were doing theory. What are you two doing?”
I was trying to concentrate because he said we were starting the lesson, but the teacher wasn't teaching. I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud, so I stayed quiet. Surprisingly, the Tower Lord, who was quite respectful of his elders (despite their appearances being the exact opposite), explained his silence to the senior.
“As the Tower Lord of the Leon Royal Magic Tower, I have studied many things… but this is a first for me.”
“……I suppose it is.”
“So, I am currently contemplating how to break this down into a theoretical framework.”
“……”
Excuse me, Tower Lord. You’re the one who called me here for theory…
“Then shouldn't you have prepared in advance?”
Our elder voiced my question perfectly, but the Tower Lord replied:
“This is a first in the history of modern magic. How could I establish a theory without the subject present?”
“…That’s true.”
And just like that, she nodded in agreement.
“A first in modern magic? It’s not like magic swordsmen don't exist.”
Though they weren't mainstream, there were plenty of eccentrics who took the unusual path of the magic swordsman or magic fist fighter. What was more surprising was that our Tower Lord insisted he was a traditional mage despite his combat style… but he said so, so let’s just leave it at that.
“A magic swordsman is either a swordsman who learned magic or a mage who learned the sword. Theoretically, it’s to compensate for a swordsman’s lack of long-range and AoE attacks, or a mage’s weakness in close-quarters combat, but…”
“Honestly, don't they just do it because it looks cool?”
“Most people do, yes.”
For a so-called dual class, very few ever managed to bring both skills to a high level. Most were mediocre, neither here nor there. One of the "Golden Generation" problem children in the RoFan was a magic swordsman who was actually good at both, but that was only possible because he had the RoFan Male Lead Buff. Even with that buff, he barely had any screen time in the original work or now at the Academy.
He was supposed to get more focus during the Border Count Arc after graduation, when the Demon King wakes up and the demons start their full-scale invasion. In other words, unless he was in his own element, even a Male Lead candidate was so unremarkable as a magic swordsman that it was considered a poor choice.
“To be blunt, isn't the only reason you’re trying magic because fire and ice come out of your sword and you figured you’d give it a shot?”
“I mean, yeah.”
“It’s just an escape.”
“……”
Yerisha’s sudden jab stung, but I honestly had no comeback. Because it was true.
“Honestly, I don't think it’s your fault,” the Tower Lord said. “I know what is expected of a Royal Instructor. But realistically, it makes no sense for a member of the royalty to become a Sword Master at that age.”
Since the Tower Lord had clearance regarding the instructor position, he knew what my duties were.
“To begin with, I believe there have been barely more than ten cases in history where an instructor was allowed to win. And yet, this generation has two such cases.”
At a glance, Senior Lucia’s situation with Princess Hestia seemed similar. However, Senior Lucia had reached a point where she could win at least three out of ten matches against the Princess. It meant Hestia had been stuck at a wall for that long, but the gap between them wasn't insurmountable to begin with.
But in my case, even though I had a head start, I had been caught up to and overtaken in an instant. Furthermore, it was as if he had received some strange RoFan Male Lead Buff at this Academy and had managed to dig a small crawlspace through the wall.
It might look like just a small hole, but being able to see what lies beyond makes a massive difference. Whether you squeeze through that hole, use it as a starting point to blast a larger one, or use the gaps as handholds to climb over—once you’re on the other side, it’s over.
“So, trying something new isn't a bad thing. Even in our Tower, we suggest learning how to use weapons once a mage hits their limit with strength training.”
“I’m telling you, normal mages don't do strength training in the first place…!”
Yerisha made another comment lacking "Leon sensitivity" in response to the Tower Lord’s matter-of-fact statement.
“Therefore, you must be prepared,” the Tower Lord said calmly, but with a very serious expression. “Prepared to develop a new form of magic!”
In short, he was telling me to be a lab rat.
“…Aren't I doing that already?”
Since that’s exactly what I’d been doing for the past week, I didn't think much of it. More importantly…
“By the way, is it okay to talk about the instructor stuff in front of an outsider?”
“……?”
“I mean, this woman has nothing to do with Leon.”
“……If she’s here, isn't she an involved party?”
“She just followed me because people kept barging into her room.”
“……!”
For the first time, the Tower Lord’s expression changed. How should I put it? It was the look of someone who had made a grim resolution.
“It can’t be helped, then.”
“Wh-what?!”
The Tower Lord, who didn't look particularly gentle to begin with, stared at her with an expression that suggested he was about to bury a body. Yerisha immediately reverted to her "loser" mode.
“…If you can defeat me in a fight, I will ask you to keep this a secret.”
“Why would I?!”
“In exchange, if you win, I will give you the position of the Leon Kingdom’s Magic Tower Lord!”
“No, I mean, why would I want that?!”
“Oh.”
Was the long-held dream of the Leon Royal Family finally coming true?
“What do you mean, ‘Oh’?! I don't even know magic!”
“With spirit magic, you’d already be an Archmage in our kingdom…”
“I told you to stop using your kingdom as the standard?!”
Unfortunately, it seemed the Leon Kingdom’s long-held dream would need a little more time.
And so, the training at the Leon Magic Tower continued. First, I had to follow the training regimen of the Tower’s mages.
“A sound mind dwells in a sound body. Magic is the same. The sounder the body, the easier it is to use magic.”
“According to that logic, every mage except those in Leon has placed a massive restriction on themselves…”
Yerisha complained about the Tower Lord’s teaching, but it wasn't that difficult for me since it was the same way I usually trained at the palace.
And it was the same after that.
“?”
And after that as well.
“??”
And even after that.
“???”
Wait, this is just…
“This is exactly the same as the Leon Royal Knight training method.”
“…Now that I think about it, Lord Alteon took the Royal training methods and used them to teach the mages. It’s only natural they’re the same.”
I was dumbfounded by the Tower Lord’s "oops" expression, but I let it slide.
“However, it will be different from here on out. Solely for you, I plan to experiment with things I discovered while rewatching your spars several times.”
“…Does the Leon Magic Tower even have recording magic tools?”
I could only shake my head at Yerisha’s surprised tone.
“Of course we do.”
“I guess so. The manufacturing method for those was released publicly, after all…”
One of the reasons Archmage Belarus was so revered was that he released the copyrights for magic formulas and magic tool blueprints that could benefit the public for free. Because of that, mages sold tools related to those spells at low prices to honor Belarus’s legacy.
Yerisha nodded as if that explained it, but…
“You still lack Leon sensitivity.”
“…I don't think I’ll ever have that until the day I die.”
“We obviously just bought them.”
“You bought them? Even I, who doesn't know how to make magic tools, could make one just by following the blueprints.”
“Oh. As expected of the future Leon Tower Lord.”
“Since you can live for at least a thousand years, the Royal Family will love it.”
“Shut up! I said I’m not doing it! And you, have some pride as a Tower Lord! Why are you trying to give your job away?!”
“But I realized something through my spar with the Sword Emperor. I don't have enough time to train properly because of my duties as Tower Lord…”
“So you’re just openly admitting you want to pass the buck?!”
A mage who could build things just by looking at a blueprint was a top-tier, Grade 1 mage in the eyes of the Leon Royal Family. And her lifespan might even exceed that of the country itself? If they just threw research funds at her, there was at least a chance of improving the Tower.
The dreams of the latest continental trends—teleportation, airships… they could finally come true.
“ I’ll treat you well.”
“I’m not doing it!”
“I, too, will manage the subordinates with all my heart and soul.”
“I said no!”
Leon Tower Lord, High Elf Yerisha.
As of today, that became my new long-held dream.