Riel's Wrath and the Magic Debate
I couldn't help but marvel as I watched Zeon and his group safely break through.
"Pretty impressive."
To think I'd get excited over a guy. The last time I was this thrilled by someone's talent was with Riel. Even though I'd deliberately pushed them to the absolute limit, I never imagined they'd notice it right away, convince the mages stationed there without hesitation, and carve open a path.
‘Hmm... So this is why people raise disciples?’
Suddenly, I felt like I could somewhat understand my old master's feelings. For a kid who had taught himself magic using my introductory book to show this level of ability? It went beyond pure magical talent, and I could only laugh.
‘I feel like kidnapping him right now.’
Setting aside the original purpose, I wanted to shove him straight into the tower without any more tests and cram knowledge into that head of his until he screamed for mercy. But I decided to hold back a little. Instead, I thought about messing with the remaining kids, but...
‘Let’s drop it.’
I'd already seen something valuable, and since I'd raised the difficulty, I'd end it here this time. There were tests left anyway.
The Magic Tower's entrance test has quite a few stages. Nearly ten of them, to be exact. It starts with the first test and gradually increases the difficulty, but 115 people were eliminated in the first test alone, and 120 more failed the second. Out of 365, a whopping 235 were gone, leaving only 130. Even after digging through the history of every Magic Tower entrance test, there had never been this many failures. And that was just in the first and second tests.
Naturally, the massive variable of the Archmage's participation was behind these results. In the first test, even if it was only for a brief moment, he had dropped a lightning bolt on every single examinee. In the second, by solving the problem quickly and raising the difficulty from the start, he caused significant time loss. On top of that, he altered the maze structure, which was why 120 people had failed. All of this happened because the Archmage himself had joined, complaining that this quarter's test level was too weak.
Obviously, after seeing these results, Riel called for me with a face that was anything but smiling. And so I, dragged into what felt like the 'Room of Truth' from a modern crime noir film...
"You crazy son of a bitch!!!"
Was grabbed by the collar by Riel and shaken violently. Naturally, knowing my own fault, I offered no resistance and simply flopped around like one of those inflatable tube men you see in front of stores.
"Ugh..."
"Two hundred people? Are you kidding me right now? It's only the second test and two hundred are eliminated. Does that make any sense to you!? Hey!? You damn insane Tower Master!? Won't you say something? Huh?"
"Hmm..."
Even while being shaken back and forth, I swallowed a thoughtful groan. Then, as if something had just occurred to me, my face lit up and I spoke in a bright voice.
"Isn't it all good if the outcome's good!? If 130 people made it through that storm, it must mean this batch has quite a few decent ones, right?"
Yeah. Absolutely.
When Riel saw me nodding like that, she shouted.
"You son of a bitch...!"
With an expression on the verge of tears, she shook me with all her strength.
"Do you have any idea how much work the Magic Tower is handling right now!? Our staff is already tiny, and with the business projects we're expanding, we need at least ten times more people! Yet whether it's tower duties or business matters, I'm the one solving almost everything! You know that, right!?"
"I know... pretty well..."
"Ah, so you do know. Then why the hell did you do this? Did it feel that refreshing to fail all the newbies? Not caring one bit about the fact that we need to replenish personnel. Tower Master? Do you really want to die?"
Riel's tearful eyes blazed with fury. Faced with what looked like an imminent explosion, I became completely meek, like a child who had done something wrong standing before his mother. Even with my collar still grabbed, my eyes darted around. I was busy avoiding her gaze, but she continued in a voice heavy with rage.
"What's the point of bringing in a huge budget if I'm the one doing all the work! We're already short on hands! And more than anything, you've been wandering around doing who-knows-what lately! Because the Tower Master isn't working, I'm stuck handling everything! If you were at least doing magic research, I could understand! But that's not even it! Where the hell have you been!? If you've got a mouth, answer me!"
"S-sorry."
"Does saying sorry fix everything!? If you kill someone and say sorry, does it just get overlooked!? Huh!? Is that how you think it works?"
"Even so, that's going a bit..."
"What did you say?"
For a moment, I flinched at the killing intent in her eyes. My mouth twitched like I was about to apologize immediately, but I had my own points to make.
"I can yield on anything else, but I can't compromise on the test difficulty. That's the identity of the Magic Tower. You know that too, Riel."
"..."
Riel closed her mouth for a moment.
"Even if I admit the previous ones were too difficult. This time, it really can't be helped. That's why we came to an agreement. Instead of drastically lowering the difficulty, I'd adjust it myself. And honestly, these first and second tests were actually on the easier side compared to previous exams. You won't deny that, will you?"
"That's true, but..."
"Our Magic Tower recruits outstanding mages. Not a large number of people. After ten years together, you know that better than anyone."
With my continued persuasion, Riel's anger gradually subsided. There was logic to my words, after all. From the beginning, the Magic Tower was never about recruiting many people but about recruiting the excellent. Moreover, although I had intervened, these first and second tests weren't that difficult compared to previous quarters. The fact that so many had still failed simply meant that among this large batch, there were many subpar mages. At least overall.
Above all, Riel—who knew better than anyone the meaning behind why I had established the Magic Tower—could no longer rebuke me. She simply nodded her head slightly.
After getting a severe scolding from Riel, I returned to the test site. The moment I entered, Zeon spotted me and approached.
"I knew you'd pass too, hyung."
However, the number of people next to his human-sized attachment doll had increased. Two mages—a man and a woman—with distinctive blue hair, both ice specialists. They were the arrogant pair who had chattered during the first test that it was too easy. At the time, when I was raising the difficulty quite a bit, I hadn't paid them much attention. Now that I looked, they seemed familiar somehow. More than their faces, it was their unique presence.
"Is your master Ermia?"
"Hm?"
"You know our master?"
The two tilted their heads. Seeing them nod, I unconsciously nodded back.
‘No wonder they felt similar.’
Being ice specialists and having that unique presence—the two really took after their master.
"We had some connection in the past."
"Connection? Well, since Master is a wandering mage, she probably has quite a few ties."
"Hmm. Connection, is it really a connection?"
If I were to nitpick, we hadn't been on particularly good terms. It was nearly ten years ago, but it wasn't a relationship good enough to call an actual connection.
‘It's from so long ago, too.’
If my memory served me right, back then I was even crazier than I am now. Like a rabid dog. I know some nobles call me a mad dog these days, but that's only because they don't know what I was truly like in the past. The current me is actually mild by comparison. The me from over ten years ago was a far worse mad dog. Ermia was someone I had encountered back then.
So it was quite unexpected. I never thought her disciples would be taking the Magic Tower exam. That prideful woman actually allowed them to test for the tower where I was the head?
‘Has that much time passed?’
Perhaps her emotions toward me had faded considerably. Still, it didn't really matter. There was no one who would dislike talented individuals wanting to join the Magic Tower.
It was while we were having various conversations like that when Riel, who had appeared at some point without me noticing, shouted in a loud voice.
"We're about to begin the third test soon. If anyone feels it's too difficult and impossible to continue, please raise your hand."
No one raised their hand. Instead, they all strengthened their resolve. Some were even burning with competitive spirit.
"The third test is simple. You just need to engage in a Magic Debate with the Magic Tower's mages."
The 'non' here referred to the counterpart to 'sword debate' for swordsmen. Sword debate—a type of sparring conducted entirely through verbal exchange. A method of sparring where participants shared insights into each other's martial studies. And the same concept existed in the world of magic.
‘Because I created it.’
In truth, there hadn't been anything like sword debate in the magic world. Mages were practically a different species from those lunatics who claimed they could converse by clashing swords. While sword-obsessed maniacs all craved combat, magic was fundamentally centered on research and exploration. Even if someone was obsessed with magic, they weren't obsessed with fighting like swordsmen. Moreover, unlike swordsmanship, magic didn't significantly raise one's realm simply through accumulating combat experience. There was some effect, of course, but not nearly as much as with swordsmen. Therefore, the concept of verbal sparring didn't exist.
But I viewed this sword debate in a very positive light. The idea of exchanging insights through words without actual fighting was incredibly appealing. Above all, wasn't it cool? A duel with words. I don't have much knowledge about wuxia so I'm not familiar with martial arts, but the duels that unfolded in each other's minds at the end of those splendid, elegant sentences filled with enlightenment really struck a chord in a man's heart.
So I brought the same concept to magic. Named Magic Debate. It meant discussing magic formulas with the mouth. I had considered other names like Magic Discourse, Magic Theory, or Magic Talk, but the only one that stuck as perfectly as 'sword debate' was this. Thus, I named verbal magic sparring as Magic Debate, and announced this concept to the world while changing the very paradigm of magic.
‘I didn't expect it to be the third test.’
Generally, I knew all the entrance test contents, but the only one whose exact placement I knew was the maze I had personally placed second. In short, deciding the order was entirely up to Riel's discretion. But typically, Magic Debate was placed later. Since it was quite difficult even among the tests, it served as the final sieve. The fact that it was starting at the third test already showed a clear determination to weed people out quickly.
"From now on, you'll be divided into a total of ten groups. However, since the noise would overlap, we'll set up barriers around each group, so you can't switch once assigned. Now then... come forward!"
When Riel clapped, ten mages appeared. To be precise, they were all mages from our Magic Tower. Naturally, they were all familiar faces, but the three who stood out particularly were Lark, Andel, and Iris. So those three had come out.
The three particularly special mages within the tower. Andel's expression was calm to the point of being emotionless. Lark looked incredibly annoyed. Iris wore a confident smile.
"These are ten mages affiliated with our tower! Simply move to whichever of these ten you wish to have a Magic Debate with! I'll give you roughly five minutes, after which changes are no longer allowed. Then, begin!"
Around 130 mages began moving in an orderly fashion. I scanned them briefly before heading toward where Andel stood.
"Oh! Hyung! Let's go together!"
Zeon followed behind me while looking around excitedly. He seemed quite thrilled that multiple tower mages—and elite ones at that—were personally participating in the Magic Debates.
"You don't have to stick with me. You can pair with whoever you want."
"That's true, but... that person looks the most outstanding somehow."
"I agree. He's really calm, but that somehow makes him feel even more unapproachable."
"People like that exist sometimes. A restraint they don't show outwardly."
Before I knew it, Ermia's disciples who had stuck close by added their comments one by one.
"Do as you like."
As I chuckled, Riel explained the key point of this test.
"Also, there's only one way to pass this exam: winning the Magic Debate against your opponent! Even if you don't win, if the examiner judges that you've reached a passing level, they can still pass you. So give it your all!"
It was saying there was no need to be completely discouraged by losing, but since the third test was the Magic Debate, it essentially meant more than half would be eliminated here. The standards would clearly be very strict. It wasn't particularly important to me, though.
I looked at Andel across from me. Our eyes met for a moment. He looked at me as if asking what I was doing, but I simply smiled back.