Chapter 170: Tower Master (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 170: Tower Master (5)
The old dream I had for the first time today was just that—a dream.
For now, reality came first.
Thus, I decided to shift the direction of my magic based on the anomaly the Tower Master had identified.
"This is what I found."
Fortunately, under the guidance of the Tower Master—who at least knew how to operate magic tools—the magical recording played on a loop.
"Do you see anything strange?"
In the scene repeating over and over, I was getting one-sidedly pummeled by the Tower Master.
"Man, you're really taking those hits like a champ."
"Please, be quiet for a second."
"You still haven't found it?"
"...Did you find it, sir?"
"Of course."
Dammit.
The Tower Master found it, and the High Elf found it.
I was the only one left in the dark.
I could almost hear the lamentations of the past Boradori. Just as I was starting to wonder if I really had no talent for magic...
"I'm sorry."
Surprisingly, our resident High Elf apologized with a look of genuine sincerity.
"For what?"
"To be honest, back at the Academy, when you said your sword catching fire was magic... I thought it was a psychological tactic to trigger a mage's rage."
"......?"
"After some time passed, I just thought you had a trash personality."
"......?"
"But... you were actually serious, weren't you?"
"......"
How unfair. I had always been serious.
But why was she bringing this up now?
"He really doesn't know."
"It appears so."
Seeing the two of them whispering so solemnly made me realize there really was something I was missing.
"Lad, do you know the difference between a sword and magic?"
"It's the difference between Leon and Dale. How could I not know?"
"Keep that in mind and watch."
At their prompting, I stared silently at the projection.
"Ah."
And then, I realized.
"Every time you use sword energy..."
"You extinguish the fire and ice."
It was a subconscious habit. I naturally assumed that when I used a sword, I wasn't using magic.
"You aren't a mage yet."
"And that isn't magic."
Since it was pure mana, there was no reason not to use it.
"Just like using sword energy... the flames..."
I drew my sword and channeled fire-attribute mana. As I naturally formed sword energy...
"It works, but..."
The flickering flames solidified, turning into a crimson sword energy that looked as if it had been frozen in time. The dynamic movement of the fire vanished, but the heat remained exactly the same.
"......"
"......"
Watching this, the Tower Master and Yerisha fell silent.
"Is this..."
"Magic...?"
Hey, you're the experts I called in to verify this.
"How can you not know?"
At my remark, the two of them replied with looks of utter grievance.
"You keep bringing us stuff like this..."
"How are we supposed to know...?"
Apparently, it was my fault.
Following the fire, I created cold energy using the same method.
"Oh."
Perhaps due to the nature of the attribute, the cold felt much sharper than the flames.
"Is this... actually magic?"
The Tower Master and Yerisha were scowling as they watched.
"In the sense that the mana has been stabilized, it possesses the characteristics of magic."
"But the same can be said for sword energy or Aura. Your argument implies that the moment a swordsman realizes sword energy, they become a mage."
"That is true, but isn't Elven spirit magic also classified as a branch of magic?"
"That's just us humoring humans because they insist on it. We have our own unique method called spirit arts."
"But still..."
The Tower Master and the High Elf entered a full-blown debate while looking at my 'magic.'
The topic: Is this crap actually magic or not?
They were experts worthy of recognition in the magic community—a Tower Master and a High Elf.
However, considering one was the Leon Tower Master and the other was a High Elf who knew nothing of orthodox magic, the meeting didn't exactly inspire confidence.
Still, I stayed quiet for two reasons.
First, both were overwhelmingly stronger than me.
Second, my knowledge of magic was even lower than that of a magic wannabe.
Furthermore, this was Leon, the Kingdom of Knights. It was a tragic reality, but there was no one in this country who knew more about magic than these two.
And so...
"Let's just test it for now."
"I suppose we have no choice."
I was forced into the role of a lab rat, following the orders of the Tower Master, who stood up and drew his sword, and the nodding High Elf.
And so...
"Can you increase the output further?"
"Try increasing the size, too."
"Hmm... is there a reason you insist on using dual swords every time you use that?"
"It's obviously for show. Does a mage carry multiple staves just because they use multiple attributes?"
After silently performing every request they threw at me...
"At this level..."
"We could probably insist it's magic and get away with it."
I managed to earn the title of 'Lower-tier Mage' from the two of them.
—Prince Ellen Leon of the Leon Kingdom reaches Sword Master status!
"......?"
Three days later, I received the news that Prince Ellen had become a Sword Master.
"......And that's how it happened."
"What do you mean, 'that's how it happened'..."
I had stormed into the Commander's office the moment I heard the news, but he wasn't there. I occupied the office for half a day until the Commander finally returned, carrying luggage as if he'd just come back from a trip.
"...You didn't know? I was on a 'dojo-crushing' tour across the Leon Kingdom with the Sword Emperor and Lady Irin."
"You actually did that?"
It seemed the Sword Emperor and the Ancestor were thoroughly enjoying the Leon theme park.
"But why did you go, Commander?"
"Believe it or not, I am officially a Royal Guard."
"I'm asking why you had to go..."
"The King of Leon was coming along. There was no way I wouldn't follow."
"......"
Our King... he went along with that?
"As far as I know, the position of King isn't one that allows for such leisure..."
"He said it was a realm of politics. By accompanying the Sword Emperor—an idol to all swordsmen—he could improve the public's perception of the King of Leon and..."
"His Highness... he certainly has a way with words."
"It was the first time in my life I'd seen such a thing."
I suppose a King is a King for a reason. He usually didn't show that side of himself, but he seemed to work hard when it suited him.
However...
"The Queen wouldn't have allowed it, surely?"
In the royal palace, the Queen was more trusted than the King himself. She wouldn't have let this slide easily. If he went anyway, it meant one of two things: either he did it without thinking about the consequences, or...
"...I'll just say we might need to select another royal instructor soon."
It meant he had abandoned everything and negotiated.
"I see..."
It seemed His Highness had chosen the latter...
While the addition of another royal descendant was a joyous occasion...
"Did Prince Ellen go as well?"
The matter at hand was more urgent, so I decided to pray for His Highness's soul later.
"He did..."
"So, he gained enlightenment while watching the Sword Emperor's dojo-crushing tour?"
"That might have been a factor, but the actual enlightenment came from something else."
When I asked how such a catastrophe occurred...
"He fought Lady Irin."
It seemed that damn lizard Ancestor was the culprit.
And so, I sought out the Ancestor, who had just arrived.
"Did you lose again?"
"......"
Silence.
She couldn't even make excuses like she did with Daisy.
"You got wrecked so hard you can't even make an excuse!"
At my exclamation, the Ancestor shouted back with a tearful face.
"...No, how am I supposed to win when Aura starts flying out of nowhere?!"
That was true. But still...
"Do you have any idea how I feel right now?!"
"What are you talking about?!"
I worked so hard to beat him once in grades, and now she'd gone and awakened Prince Ellen as a Sword Master. Of course, she didn't do it on purpose, but as the victim who had to deal with him, I had every right to complain!
"Make me a Sword Master too, then!"
"It's not something you can just make because you want to!"
"I guess so. If you could, you wouldn't be losing all the time..."
"Hey, I'm not a swordsman! I inherited my mother's blood more strongly—I'm of a magic bloodline!"
Claiming to be of a magic bloodline while shouting about being a Leon... how absurd...
"......?"
Come to think of it, she was right. Even at the Academy, the moment she was pushed back in a sword fight, she'd immediately resort to magic. A truly mage-like behavior.
"What? Why? You got a problem?!"
The moment I realized that, I shut my mouth and drew my sword.
"Y-you're pulling your sword just because you have a problem?!"
Ignoring the compliment that I was acting like a true Leonian, I showcased my magic to the flustered Ancestor.
"Flame Magic."
"You, that again..."
"Fire Sword."
"......?"
I used the magic that was different from before—the magic recognized by the Leon Tower Master and the High Elf.
Would this descendant of a Dragon, whose bloodline was hailed as the origin of magic, recognize this as magic?
"Mmm......"
The Ancestor stared at the fire-attribute sword energy on my blade with a dubious expression for a long time. So, I showed her my ultimate move.
"Ice-Fire Sword."
"......"
A technique where the energies of fire and ice were combined—a skill that even the Tower Master and the High Elf had evaluated as "definitely magic."
"......Hmph."
After watching my demonstration for a long time, the Ancestor finally spoke after much deliberation.
"I wondered what you were doing with Yerisha while everyone else was following us... so you were learning magic?"
"......!"
She called it... magic...
The words "magic" had clearly come from the mouth of a Dragonkin, a descendant of the masters of magic. This meant my magic was now as good as being engraved in history—it was recognized as traditional magic.
My efforts to defeat Prince Ellen had been acknowledged by the future Tower Master of Leon!
"......But what's the point!"
Thud!
I slammed the ground and slumped in despair.
"What's wrong with him now..."
The future Tower Master muttered as she watched me, but no one could understand my pain.
Another three days passed.
During that time, I had my magic reinforced by the future Tower Master, the former future Tower Master, and the current Leon Tower Master. I had reached a level where I was perfectly recognized as a mage.
And then, the fated hour arrived.
"Adam."
If I had been perfectly recognized as a 'mage' by the past, present, and future Tower Masters...
During that same period, Prince Ellen had been perfectly recognized as a 'Sword Master' by three other Sword Masters: the Sword Emperor, the King, and the Commander.
...One of us barely got rid of his 'beginner' tag.
The other became a 'Master.'
Life felt incredibly unfair, but there was nothing I could do.
My opponent was the man Boradori had recognized as a RoFan male lead candidate and the swordsman with the greatest talent in the RoFan world. He was a human weapon whom even the Demon King had admitted could win in a sword fight if given a similar weapon, despite Daisy being decked out in a legendary sword and set items.
"Let's fight."
However, I also had my pride as an instructor.
In the beginning, I was a being chosen solely to lose, and thanks to someone's insane talent, I had unexpectedly been put in a position where I had to win.
But as a royal instructor, as Ellen's friend, and furthermore, as a swordsman... I had no intention of continuing to lose.
"Come at me."
Thus, I accepted Ellen's request without hesitation.
"...Shit."
I got absolutely wrecked.
I knew it already, but damn, Sword Masters are strong.