The Mage's City (3)
To understand the history of Arginel, one first had to know the history of the founding emperor. Long ago, there was an age when monstrous beings of alien form ruled supreme. Humanity had become slaves to violence, bowing their heads to the oppressive heavens above. In such a world, one man harbored doubts. He questioned whether this realm—where gods frolicked freely while humans held their breath and watched their every move—was truly just. So the man created a single spell. And then, with one sword, he ended the age of myths entirely.
The one who had split the heavens with that blade was the founding emperor of the Ethernor Empire and humanity’s savior. But the important part was this: when the first emperor set out on his heaven-cleaving quest, several companions had stood beside him. The Incarnation of Hope, the Daughter of the World Tree, the Apostle of Sloth, the Faceless Shadow, and the Foolish Sage. Arginel had grown from the tower where the Foolish Sage spent his later years.
I gazed up at the golden tower that seemed ready to pierce the sky. That spire was none other than humanity’s ivory tower, the pinnacle of knowledge—the Golden Magic Tower.
The core members of the Golden Magic Tower were those who inherited the magic of the Foolish Sage, Theon Igros, forming the Igros School. The tower’s most distinctive trait was its extreme isolationism. Even after the founding emperor ended the mythic age and the world faced crisis after crisis, the Golden Magic Tower had always locked its gates and shut itself inside. Some cursed them as selfish bastards who only cared about themselves, but regardless of public opinion, people still flocked to knock on those doors today.
“Image really is everything, isn’t it? Honestly, there’s no particular reason for people to swarm a place just because it’s called the Golden Magic Tower.”
The Foolish Sage had been a companion of the founding emperor, so great was his legacy. Even though the Golden Magic Tower that succeeded him must have transformed countless times over thousands of years, people still gathered. If I ever built my own tower, I decided, I would have to establish it by saving the world first.
Besides the Golden Magic Tower, Arginel housed countless other towers. So what exactly was a magic tower? Simply put, it was a gathering of mages united by a single goal. Suppose the objective was something like “I want to twist the fate of the stars.” Some people would sympathize with that goal, while others wouldn’t. When those who shared the vision came together to discuss it, establish feasibility, and devise implementation methods, a magic tower was born.
Well, that was the dictionary definition. Reality was quite different. After all, only a tiny fraction of people actually joined a tower out of genuine sympathy for its goal. Why? Because “twisting the fate of the stars” really was the Golden Magic Tower’s objective, and who could even guess what that meant or how one might accomplish it? You might have a vague idea, but it still sounded absurd, didn’t it?
Therefore, most mages knocked on the doors for other reasons. Image, history, influence, the level of the mages it housed, the number of spells it possessed. Or perhaps the strength of the tower master who stood at its peak.
After settling into a suitable inn with my companions, I sat at a table and ordered some mead. Leon spoke.
“How about visiting the Blue Tower?”
The Blue Tower pursued the goal of “developing magic beneficial to humanity,” and it was primarily led by the Croft School. The reason the relatively new Croft School had become the tower’s core so quickly was simple. The tower master was one of Adelian’s children.
The Blue Tower, huh.
“Do you believe Sir Adelian would be there?”
“It seems you don’t think so, Lady Ruina.”
“If I were betting, I’d wager on no.”
From my perspective, the Blue Tower was the place where Adelian was least likely to appear. Why? Simply based on the personality I had heard about him so far.
“Excuse me.”
At the sudden voice, we all turned our heads. Ferant was cautiously raising his hand.
“What is it, Sir Ferant?”
“Why are you looking for Sir Adelian?”
“I have something to ask him. Do you happen to know where he is?”
“No.”
Then why butt in? What a ridiculous fellow. More importantly, why was he still here with us? Aren’t you going to leave, Ferant?
“Lady Ruina. I don’t know why Sir Ferant booked lodgings with us either, but if you make that kind of expression, you’ll hurt his feelings.”
“Was it that obvious? I’ll be more careful next time.”
I drained the mead and continued.
“In the end, all the information we have is ‘head east,’ correct?”
“That is correct.”
“In times like this, we return to basics.”
“Which means?”
“Let’s each do as we please?”
When had we ever operated in a systematic fashion? Following our hearts and acting individually was best. Leon nodded at my words.
“Then I will visit the Blue Tower.”
“Leon to the Blue Tower. What about you, Chris?”
“I’m going to create a play!”
“Which means you’re going to make money. And you, Muran?”
“…I’m going to purchase various reagents for Lady Ruina’s training.”
“Good.”
Noa would practice magic at the inn, so only my decision remained.
“I’ll wander around Arginel as a whole. Even if Sir Adelian is in this city, I suspect he’d be sprawled in a pub drinking heavily. Assuming he enjoys alcohol, of course.”
“Understood.”
Gulp. After finishing every drop of mead and all the smoked meat, I stood and spoke.
“See you later, then.”
Once outside, I surveyed the street teeming with people. It truly befitted the empire’s most advanced city. Humans swarmed like ants. There were far too many—couldn’t we remove at least half of them? I folded my arms.
First, well. Let’s just wander around appropriately.
I strolled through the streets. All sorts of magic tool shops, bookstores, magic research societies, and mage clubs came into view.
…Mage club? What exactly did they do here?
A chess club was where you played chess. A reading club was for reading, and an art club was for discussing art-related topics. But a mage club? What was this place? A spot for discussing magic? Then why not call it a magic club? Or a place where mages gathered to socialize? But there were already plenty of those—schools, towers, and the like. There didn’t seem to be any need for yet another club… What was it?
As I tilted my body in puzzlement, Jerry answered.
“It is a kind of combat club.”
“A combat club?”
“Yes. It is a place where mages engage in real-combat magic battles.”
“Is that allowed? It seems dangerous.”
“The club operator is an eccentric high-ranking mage. It possesses protective facilities that are hard to believe for a mere club.”
“How interesting.”
“I was surprised when I experienced it before as well.”
A dueling club for mages. It piqued my interest. It was an interest unrelated to Adelian, but how could a person live doing nothing but work? Sometimes you needed hobbies too.
I stepped inside the mage club. At the center was a ring, surrounded by spectator seating—a structure that strongly evoked an underground fighting arena.
I shifted my gaze to the ring. Two mages were already dueling inside.
Boom. Magic exploded. A mage in a white robe, flames floating around him, pressured his opponent. Flames sliced through the air, and in response the black-robed mage pressed his hand to the ground.
Rumble. Rocks surged upward to block the spell, then took shape. The form of a knight wielding a sword.
At the rock knight’s appearance, the white-robed mage traced one of the flames drifting in the air with his finger. Immediately the flame followed the finger’s path, transforming into a band that rapidly circled the caster. The white-robed mage repeated the motion. One band, two, three… They kept increasing.
It was obvious he was preparing something, and no fool would simply watch. The black-robed mage summoned several more rock knights and issued a command. The rock knights charged forward.
Deciding he could prepare no further, the white-robed mage released the bands of flame. They spun at high speed and spread in all directions. The rock knights touched by the bands were sliced cleanly in half. Of course the bands that struck the knights vanished, but the white-robed mage had prepared more than one. Multiple bands of flame engulfed both the rock knights and the black-robed mage.
At the same time—
Bang! Fireworks burst.
I lifted my head to look above the ring.
Winner: White!
So that was the system. I understood now.
That said, I muttered quietly.
“It’s all good, but both of them are quite lacking in magic applica—”
“Application isn’t bad, but everything else is garbage—”
At the sudden voice I closed my mouth. The other party did the same. When I turned my head slightly, a blonde woman entered my view. The woman with golden hair and golden eyes stared at me for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the ring. I quickly lost interest in her and focused on the ring again.
The next mages came out to duel. It was a water-element mage versus a fire-element mage. As it was a classic matchup, the battle was quite spectacular. However.
I stroked my chin.
“Those two have decent magic, but their application is—”
“You call that magic? I’d love to meet whoever taught them.”
The blonde woman snapped fiercely. I was shocked. Her words were far too harsh. What if the magic itself heard her?
The blonde woman frowned and continued.
“I came because I heard it was a good dueling club, but they’re all below standard. This is exactly why you can’t trust the words of mediocrities. Tsk.”
Clicking her tongue, the blonde woman stood and disappeared somewhere. It seemed the mage club had failed to satisfy her, but I liked it, so I asked Jerry.
“How do I go about dueling here?”
“Head over there. Follow me.”