The Elder Seat
Lim Dojun spent his time in the Dragon Heart dungeon deep in thought.
I need to obtain the Dragon's Body and the Dragon Heart as soon as possible.
It was the only way to stabilize a body that could go berserk at any moment.
Yet no one knew where such things might be found.
He had already collected a few items imbued with the Dragon's Body, bringing his total to roughly two percent. The Dragon Heart fragments had been nothing short of overwhelming luck.
Even with ten points in Luck Potential, I can't keep relying on fortune alone.
He would have to act and hope luck followed. Praying to the heavens while doing nothing was not an option.
The easiest path was to build a faction.
Just as the Rodonos House had once found Dragon's Body artifacts for him, he needed forces that would move according to his will. Expanding his influence outside was difficult and time-consuming, but there was a simpler route.
Once he reached Elder rank, he would gain the authority to operate his own private organization. He could simply command them.
Under normal circumstances he would never have considered the Elder position so soon, but since a vacancy had opened, why not try?
“Hah. Seriously, Jun? You mean it?”
Delcrein looked incredulous.
Have I spoiled my disciple too much?
To treat the Elder seat so lightly—such arrogance! He wondered if he had praised the boy's talent too highly.
Yet when he thought it over, it made sense. Even the Tower Master had personally come to witness Dojun's talent and expressed admiration. It was only natural the boy would grow confident.
Very well. It seems I must finally wield the rod of love for my disciple.
Other masters complained daily about having to beat their students, yet he had enjoyed an easy time until now. Perhaps this was the moment to guide his disciple onto the right path.
He had always kept the rod of love beneath his desk for such occasions, though he had hoped he would never need it.
Before using it, however, he wanted to gauge his disciple's exact progress. Still holding the rod in one hand, Delcrein asked,
“We'll have a serious talk later, Jun. But first, tell me—how many intermediate spells have you mastered? And the secret art you first learned?”
“All of them.”
“…All of them? Every intermediate spell and the secret art?”
“Yes.”
“What about your proficiency?”
“I believe my proficiency is sufficient.”
“…Then show me.”
Delcrein remained half-skeptical. He could hardly believe the boy had mastered everything in just a few months.
In truth, Dojun had finished in a single day, but Delcrein had no way of knowing that.
Flames, water, wind, and ice bloomed around him.
With a casual wave of his hand, small elemental spells rose around Dojun. The tiny energies transformed into spectacular forms—a miniature firestorm, a water giant, a spear of wind, a dragon of ice. The shape-shifting from each element was nearly perfect.
“……”
Delcrein’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Even if he cast the spells himself, he doubted he could achieve such flawless control.
Dojun then demonstrated his cold magic once more.
“As you know, Master, the secret art I learned is Blue Enhancement. It amplifies ice-attribute spells.”
The ice dragon roared and exhaled a breath that turned into hail, driving into the floor. Though the miniature dragon’s power was scaled down for the room, the magic contained within was formidable. Throughout the display, Dojun remained perfectly composed, his casting and mana consumption stable.
“What do you think?”
“…Ahem. Ah, it’s excellent. Truly excellent.”
“Thank you. You mentioned you had something to discuss earlier?”
“Oh, that?”
Delcrein smiled warmly.
“It’s nothing important. I simply wanted to express how proud and moved I am by my first disciple’s remarkable achievement.”
He quietly set the rod of love back down, grateful it would not be needed after all.
They said a genius’s time flowed differently from ordinary people. He had not realized his disciple had grown this much.
A single Elder seat had opened in the Blue Magic Tower. Since the rank directly below Elder was Branch Leader, official notices were sent to every branch.
The message asked each branch to recommend any mage worthy of the Elder position. Normally, branch leaders recommended themselves, as they were the strongest mages in their branches.
“Hmm? The Bellangs branch recommended someone other than their own leader.”
“Jun… wasn’t that the talented fellow from before?”
In the Elder meeting at Blue Magic Tower headquarters, the Elders examined the list of recommendations and tilted their heads in confusion.
Dojun’s name was already known among them. They had been looking forward to him as a promising junior, yet here he was, suddenly appearing on the list.
“Did Branch Leader Delcrein make some kind of mistake?”
That was the only explanation they could accept. How could a first-year mage from the tower possibly challenge for an Elder seat? While a mage’s strength was not strictly determined by years of study, there were still limits.
“We should contact the Bellangs branch again. There must have been an error.”
“Besides, if he isn’t a branch leader, he needs at least two recommendations from that rank or higher. He only has Delcrein’s.”
It clearly looked like a mistake. Just as the Elders were about to dismiss it, a voice spoke.
“I’m a little late.”
Tower Master Valteon appeared at the meeting.
“Tower Master.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Valteon placed a single sheet of paper on the table.
“Here. My recommendation for Jun’s Elder candidacy.”
“……”
If the candidate was not a branch leader, two or more recommendations from branch-leader rank or higher were required. Dojun already had Delcrein’s, so he needed one more. Now Valteon himself had brought a recommendation bearing his own name.
As the Elders stood stunned, Valteon spoke first.
“Any objections?”
“N-no… Tower Master!”
“I know what you’re all thinking. But let’s wait and see.”
Originally, Delcrein had planned to ask his own master, Discipline Elder Keon, for a recommendation. Instead, Dojun had boldly written directly to Valteon requesting one. Even the usually expressionless Valteon had laughed in disbelief upon receiving the letter.
The boy had already astonished him with his talent, then surprised him again by riding off on a drake. Now he had provided entertainment. So Valteon had gladly written the recommendation.
Excessive confidence is common among geniuses.
And such geniuses usually grew after being thoroughly humbled. Some crumbled after a single setback, but that only meant their limits had been reached. Valteon was willing to write the recommendation to help this talented junior grow.
And… if he truly has reached Elder level, that would be even better.
It would mean the promising sprout he had been watching had already become a great tree.
The Elders who had never met Dojun still looked unconvinced, but those who had seen him—Valteon and Keon—felt a spark of anticipation.
While the Blue Magic Tower headquarters buzzed over Dojun’s Elder challenge, the man himself had decided to begin studying advanced magic.
Through Dragon Soul Magic, he had raised his intermediate spell proficiency to the highest level, and his mana reserves were sufficient. He was ready to move forward.
“Hah…”
Even Dojun had to sigh bitterly before the wall of reality.
I never expected advanced magic to require contribution points.
Advanced magic could not be learned from a single book. There was a foundational advanced magic framework, from which countless specialized branches extended. The various fields of study mages pursued all began here.
Each one required deep study, and every piece of knowledge demanded contribution points. The cost for advanced magic knowledge was enormous.
At least I earned quite a lot this time…
The Dragon Heart dungeon’s records had been well preserved, and Casian had copied everything, yielding a massive amount of contribution points. Even after splitting them equally three ways, the total far exceeded what he had accumulated before. Yet obtaining a single advanced magic tome would consume nearly all of it.
Even for secret arts beyond the one initially provided, additional contribution points would be required.
If you wish to obtain the Blue Magic Tower’s knowledge, then work as a Blue Magic Tower mage!
That was the tower’s stance.
You have learned the skill ‘Advanced Magic Fundamentals.’
Learning the fundamentals of advanced magic did not take long. After locking himself in the training room and focusing on the thick tome for two straight days, the skill registered immediately.
Afterward, Dojun left the city.
He had spent too long cooped up, and he also wanted to test his new magic.
It was a dark night. In a deserted forest outside the city, Dojun came to a stop.
Low-level magic produced simple projectile forms. Intermediate magic allowed shape transformation based on elemental attributes. At the advanced level, one infused willpower into elemental power to influence space itself.
Dojun brought his hands together as if in prayer. He held an amplification stone, reversing its cold-absorbing property to release an outward explosion.
A radius of several dozen meters in the middle of the forest froze solid. Grass, tree roots, and tiny creatures—everything within the space turned to ice.
It’s similar to a Dragon’s Domain.
He had done something similar on Earth when raiding a criminal organization—projecting mana and will to transform a space into a Dragon’s Domain, then unleashing powerful ice magic through sheer intent.
It was impressive that advanced magic allowed something comparable.
And from here, I can also incorporate the Dragon’s Domain.
The surrounding space was already under his control through advanced magic. He expanded the Dragon’s Domain using Dragon Soul Magic as its base.
With a light clench of his fist, he drastically amplified the cold within the space.
Since there were no enemies present, the visible change was minimal, but combining advanced magic with the domain turned the area into a pure white hell.
“Hoo.”
As Dojun exhaled a breath of cold air, a voice spoke from the darkness.
“…Cough. How long have you known?”
A ripple appeared in the empty space between the trees, and a short-haired woman stepped out.