Rising Fame

The increase in his fame.

The resulting surge in achievement points.

It was naturally a good thing, but Lim Dojun's first reaction was unease.

'Did this get out in some weird place again?'

The last time his fame had earned him achievement points, it turned out the news had reached the Pope's ears. That was why anxiety came first.

'...Well, there's nothing I can do about it anyway.'

The rumors were already spreading. What could he possibly do to stop them?

Lim Dojun decided to save these achievement points for later and returned his focus to the book he'd been reading.

One volume was the Blue Magic Tower Secret Art - Blue Flow.

He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been reading it with intense concentration, and complete mastery was now close at hand. Fully understanding it wasn't easy, which left him somewhat disappointed, but once he finished the book the skill would register, so there was no major issue.

Beside it sat another book he planned to read immediately afterward—a new advanced magic tome.

Lim Dojun's hands as he touched the volume were exceptionally careful.

'This single book cost me a ridiculous amount of contribution points...'

Through carrying out missions for the tower, capturing members of the Extreme Martial Cult, and toppling the Baran House, he had accumulated an enormous reserve of contribution points. Yet advanced magic was so expensive that he'd been forced to spend the majority of what he'd gathered.

Now he understood why the Elders created their own factions and constantly roamed outside the tower. You needed contribution points for everything!

Even after becoming an Elder, the reality was that you had to work even harder. Still, it wasn't bad.

'With this, I should be able to do something like the Tower Master.'

The falling ice meteor that Valteon, the Tower Master, had demonstrated. Replicating it was out of the question. The man was supposedly at the threshold of Grand Mage, and the word "monstrous" came to mind unbidden.

What Lim Dojun had focused on wasn't the spell's destructive power, but its ability to distinguish friend from foe. During that battle the ice meteor had struck quite ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠close to him and Olivia, yet the two of them had suffered almost no damage.

He had wondered how such precise control was possible, and the answer lay within advanced magic. The spell called Domain Domination allowed the caster to freely rewrite the rules within the area affected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by their magic—who received damage and who was spared, which zones took heavier hits and which remained untouched.

Since every advanced spell shook the very fabric of space, Domain Domination was practically mandatory. After all, a mage who swept away their own allies could hardly be called competent.

'It's basically an essential spell... yet they price it this outrageously?'

Frankly, the tower deserved every complaint it received. This was clear proof of how obsessively the Blue Magic Tower worked its mages to the bone. Still, the fact that he could obtain it with contribution points was a relief, so Lim Dojun continued devouring the text with fierce concentration.

"Whoa. Isn't Jun way too famous now? He's even in the newspaper."

"Jo Difel. You should call him Elder Jun."

"Ah, right. It hasn't rolled off the tongue yet, so I slipped up."

Jo Difel clapped a hand over his mouth and glanced around nervously to see if anyone had overheard. Fortunately, the lounge contained only the three of them—Jo Difel, Casian, and Gunter.

They had been reading the kingdom newspaper, and the headline dominating the front page had immediately caught their attention. The article below detailed how the new Elder of the Blue Magic Tower had obtained evidence of collusion with evil factions, the major events that would follow, and how bright the tower's future now looked. The piece filled the entire page.

"I knew from the start that he was cut from a different cloth..."

"An Elder now, though. It's going to be even harder to see his face."

Because the tower had never made an official announcement about Lim Dojun's appointment, lower-class mages like them had remained unaware. They had simply assumed he was too busy to meet. To learn he had become an Elder and caused such a massive incident came as a shock.

Jo Difel let out a sigh.

"Then what should we do about this?"

He held up a single potion. The orange liquid inside was the result of months of tireless research.

It was an improved version of the Dragonian Body Stabilization Potion. After creating the original, he had studied additional ancient documents and refined the formula. Since Lim Dojun had provided both the critical drake scale and the research materials, Jo Difel felt obligated to deliver the finished product. Yet he worried that such a modest result might seem trivial.

These experiments helped Jo Difel improve his alchemy, but to outsiders the potion likely appeared completely useless in the current era.

"We should just discard it. Elder Jun isn't our junior anymore. It would be rude to bring him something like this."

"But... Elder Jun really liked the previous research results."

The memory of how thrilled Lim Dojun had been last time made it difficult to simply throw the potion away.

"Then shall we take it to him?" Gunter suggested from the side.

"With Elder Jun's personality, he won't throw us out. If we say we've come to show him the results of our hard work, I doubt he'll mind."

"...You think so? Plus, it's a good excuse to visit him while he's recovering."

"Right. They said he's hospitalized, so we can use this as an excuse to drop by."

They weren't strangers, after all. Why not go see him?

With that decision made, the three of them set off.

Mercenaries hired by the Blue Magic Tower stood guard outside Lim Dojun's hospital room. Lately, an endless stream of visitors had come to see him.

Even before the official announcement, people had sensed his impending promotion and flooded him with sponsorship offers. Now that his name was known throughout the kingdom, the attention had only grown. People hoping to form any kind of connection, factions trying to get close, and those simply looking for handouts...

True to his personality, Lim Dojun had rejected them all.

-Only allow entry to those bringing ancient relics or treasures—especially anything connected to dragons.

He was willing to meet anyone who satisfied that condition. Otherwise, he had no desire to have his magic study time interrupted. As a result, not a single visitor had actually laid eyes on Lim Dojun; every one had been turned away.

"We've come to visit Elder Jun..."

Feeling the intimidating aura of the guards, Jo Difel, Casian, and Gunter asked their question with slight hesitation. Blue Magic Tower mages would not normally be intimidated by mere mercenaries, but these men were the direct gatekeepers of an Elder's room. Caution was only natural.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"Are you personally acquainted?"

"...We do know each other."

Gunter's voice lacked its usual confidence. Now that Lim Dojun was an Elder, had he already forgotten about people like them?

"Please wait a moment. I'll inquire inside."

Since they were mages from the same tower rather than ordinary guests, one of the mercenaries stepped inside. A short while later, permission to enter was granted.

When they walked in, they found Lim Dojun had set his advanced magic tome aside.

"The three of you. What brings you here?"

"Elder, please speak comfortably with us."

"I'm more comfortable this way."

Lim Dojun waved a hand dismissively. After all, they were all his seniors who had joined the tower before him. Seeing his unchanged attitude, the three felt a small wave of emotion. Lim Dojun was still the same person they remembered.

With a touch of warm sentiment, Casian spoke first.

"It's nothing special—we just wanted to check if your body is alright, Elder."

"I'm perfectly fine. I don't have any real injuries."

Lim Dojun shrugged. Of course, that was a lie. There were no visible wounds, but inside his body was in chaos. Overusing dragon soul magic and breaking through the grand barrier had left everything in disarray. Even now his left hand remained stiff. He was continuing the stabilization process, but it was far from easy.

"That's a relief."

Gunter spoke and gave Jo Difel a light nudge. Jo Difel stepped forward almost comically.

"Um... Elder. This is an improved version of the potion I was researching before. You sponsored my last project and seemed pleased with the results, so I brought it."

"?"

It was the improved Dragonian Body Stabilization Potion. Both Gunter and Jo Difel thought to themselves that the result seemed rather useless. With no Dragonians around, what need was there for body stabilization? It was merely a tool for raising alchemy proficiency—completely pointless in daily life.

"...This is an exceptionally fine result!"

But Lim Dojun's reaction was completely different. His eyes sparkled. The last time he had consumed this potion, the effects had been quite good. And now it had been improved on top of that!

'I was just worrying about when I'd be able to properly digest what Lady Olivia gave me.'

The Rodonos House and Olivia had taken the lead in pursuing the Baran House, and before departing they had delivered the promised compensation—two accessories containing dragon bone. However, he could not absorb them in his current state. Absorbing them while his body was unstable could lead to unpredictable consequences.

With this potion, the situation changed.

'Since it's been improved, the effect should be stronger than before... perhaps it could even restore my body to full condition right away?'

With that thought, Jo Difel suddenly looked like an entirely different person in his eyes.

"Senior. Do you intend to continue this line of research?"

"Yes. During the last ruins expedition I obtained a great deal of Dragonian-related data. Continuing this research should significantly raise my alchemy proficiency."

Jo Difel spoke with genuine conviction. Many mages avoided research that brought in no money, but for a low-year mage like Jo Difel, improving his own skill mattered more than anything. Even if the path was thorny, he was willing to walk it.

Lim Dojun smiled with satisfaction.

"In that case, I'll provide proper sponsorship. Please continue your Dragonian research. I'll start you off with one hundred gold coins."

With the collapse of the Baran House, both the Blue Magic Tower and Lim Dojun had become the primary contributors. Thanks to that, they had received a substantial reward. Even taking only a fraction of that contribution in monetary form made a hundred-gold sponsorship trivial.

"...Pardon?"

Jo Difel's jaw dropped. Even he considered the research unremarkable, yet Lim Dojun was offering such a huge sum? With support like this, he would no longer need to force himself through dangerous missions just to fund a single experiment.

"Is it too little?"

"Ah, no, not at all...!"

Jo Difel's throat tightened with emotion, and he could not continue.

Lim Dojun turned his gaze to Casian and Gunter as well.

"While we're at it, how would the three of you like to join my school?"

A school. Once one reached Elder rank or higher, they could form their own faction. That was the term used for such groups. There were attack magic schools, defense magic schools, and others—some belonging to multiple Elders, some created by a single Elder.

"My school will primarily focus on exploring ancient ruins. Especially those connected to dragons."

Lim Dojun's school, named the Jun School, had the explicit goal of investigating dragon-related ruins. To ordinary mages it would not be a popular choice. Who would willingly choose difficult exploration and investigation work?

"I'll join!"

"Me too!"

Yet Jo Difel and Casian answered instantly. They had already experienced how standing beside Lim Dojun caused all sorts of benefits to fall into their laps, and they had just witnessed it again. For Casian especially, this was the exact school she had longed for. Gunter was not particularly enthusiastic, but he decided that serving under Lim Dojun would be tolerable.

"Please take good care of me from now on."

Lim Dojun looked at the mages who had joined his school and gave them a warm smile.

"Then shall we set out immediately?"

Jo Difel spoke first. If he appeared lazy and Lim Dojun reduced the sponsorship, it would be disastrous. He wanted to demonstrate his sincerity through action right away.

"Hey, what are you even asking? Of course we should go. Elder! Get well soon—we'll head out right away!"

"We'll report back with results later!"

Casian and Gunter seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to share the same thought. The three announced they would take on a ruins-related mission from the tower and depart on their own. If the exploration succeeded, the results would naturally make their way to Lim Dojun as well.

'So this is what they call auto-hunting.'

He was lying in a hospital bed, yet things were progressing on their own. Becoming an Elder had been an excellent decision.

After the three left, Lim Dojun thought:

'Let's see how much this raises things this time.'

He took out the potion along with the two accessories he had received from Olivia.