Chapter 628: I Challenge You to a Magic Battle
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 628: I Challenge You to a Magic Battle
They say extremes meet. I came to realize the truth of that saying during my time in the Floating Castle.
The Floating Castle, suspended high in the vast sky, and Tantalus, eternally falling in the Abyss. The two couldn't be more different.
The Floating Castle, where the most renowned mages of the great Mage Federation gathered.
Tantalus, where the arrested criminals of the humble Military State were gathered.
They were literally worlds apart, yet I felt a similar sensation in both places.
It was the feeling of being isolated.
Study, study, and more study. As the Blue Tower Master’s disciple, I was living a life no different from a prisoner's. I attended the Blue Tower Master’s classes at set times, then did my supplementary studies by reading in the archives, which were crammed with books. If a spot opened up in a workshop, I would sneak in to experiment with magic.
I didn't even have time to eat. All I did was pour food crystals into a bowl and slurp them down.
There was no time to slack off, either. The Blue Tower Master was paying close attention to me, checking my progress at every moment. If I stagnated even slightly, she would ask if something was wrong. I had to struggle just to keep from falling off this treadmill.
“Incredible. I see why Lankart praised you as a genius. You mastered the theory of crystal structures in three days and even applied it to design a Highcrystal?”
That's because you're watching me like a hawk! If my progress slows even a little, you immediately start grilling me, so what choice do I have?
“Your structural analysis is perfect. To exaggerate a bit, you're on par with me. There are people who are exceptionally good at analysis, but you’ve surpassed that level.”
The truth is, I didn't analyze it myself; I just read the Blue Tower Master's thoughts and recited them. But I guess if that counts as analysis, so be it.
“Crystal structure theory, structural analysis, Highcrystal design, magic circle application. It’s only been a few days since you started, yet you’re S-rank in all of them. I, the Blue Tower Master, guarantee it. However…”
But even I, who received such praise, had a weakness.
The Blue Tower Master spoke, her voice filled with pure curiosity.
“Why does a genius like this have no mana-sensing ability? My disciple, have you perhaps been neglecting your training?”
“You’ve been watching me, you know that’s not it! No matter how hard I try, it doesn’t improve!”
My ability to sense and control mana was abysmal.
What was the point of reading knowledge and epiphanies with my mind-reading if this damn hardware of mine couldn't keep up? I needed the help of other sensory magic tools just to detect mana, and I barely had enough mana to activate a magic tool, let alone cast a spell.
I’d felt a bit stronger recently and had my hopes up, but it seemed my mana hadn't increased. Would it kill my stats to grow in a more balanced way?
“I know. I’ve seen with my own eyes how hard you’ve worked despite your talent. It’s just that the imbalance between your knowledge and your mana is perplexing.”
“Imagine how perplexing it is for me! I know the concepts, I know how to apply them, I even have a feel for it, but I still can’t do it!”
“Do you have a black mage who holds a grudge against you? Could you be cursed?”
“Huh? Am I cursed?”
“If you were, I could have at least removed it. Unfortunately, judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem to be a curse.”
“Is my talent so pathetic it’s comparable to a curse?!”
“Don’t despair. It is none other than I who is teaching you.”
The Blue Tower Master patted my despairing shoulder comfortingly.
‘What a curious case. Anyone else might have just said, “What a shame,” and moved on, but a genius of my caliber cannot overlook such an imbalance. There’s something unnatural about Hughes.’
It might not be unnatural, but I had a hunch. I asked the Blue Tower Master.
“Master. You said you were with the intelligence agency, right?”
“Yes. Your master also holds the title of Director of the FIA. Do you have a question? I’ll tell you now, I can’t reveal any classified information.”
“It’s closer to statistics than classified information. What’s the percentage of the Gifted among the people of the Mage Federation?”
“That just barely avoids being classified.”
‘I wouldn’t tell anyone else, but I have the right to speak, and my disciple has the right to hear. Hmm.’
Once again, the Blue Tower Master formed a graph out of crystals to show me.
“Statistically, the probability of someone born in the Mage Federation becoming one of ‘the Gifted’ is about 1%. That’s several times higher than in other nations. The rates for mastering mana control and mana sensing are 3% and 5% respectively, but they aren’t independent, as mastering one often leads to awakening the other naturally.”
“So I’m on the ‘ordinary’ side, then?”
“For an ordinary person, you’re still able to control and sense mana. That’s what’s so strange.”
‘Of course, now that you’ve caught my eye, I will uncover the solution to this puzzle as well.’
He was arrogant, but his intentions were positive, which made him seem like a decent person. The Blue Tower Master came to her own conclusion and handed me three blue crystals.
“It might be an issue of mana capacity, so next time, I’ll look for a way to supplement that. Now, that’s all for today’s lesson. Read all of this by tomorrow.”
“What? You want me to read all of this?”
“Yes. A day should be enough for you, right?”
“No way. These are Grimoire Crystals. Each crystal contains the knowledge of an entire book.”
The pinnacle of crystal magic, the Grimoire Crystal. Information from a single page of a book was crystallized and then stacked layer by layer. When illuminated by the White Tower’s light magic, the text would appear on a screen.
With this, not only text and images but even practical magic could be stored in the crystal and reproduced. In terms of conveying knowledge, it was truly optimal.
…However, it wasn’t very good for me.
Because I gained knowledge by reading people, not books!
“Introduction to Mana Amplification? Can’t you just teach it to me, Master?”
“Introduction to Mana Amplification is the most basic of basics. It’s also a necessary theory for you to increase your mana. If I were to lecture on the basic courses as well, a whole day together wouldn’t be enough for you and me.”
“I wouldn’t mind being with you all day.”
“Don’t be cheeky. Do you know how precious my time is? You’re already monopolizing almost all of my free time.”
The Blue Tower Master feigned anger, but she didn’t seem particularly upset. She was the type who enjoyed being bothered. Why else would her hobby be picking up promising simpletons?
“Of course, it would be faster if I taught you everything myself. But mana amplification isn’t that difficult, so do this as supplementary study.”
“Sigh. Yes…”
“You’ve reached the 5th floor in just a few days. It’s easier to climb the lower floors, but even considering that, it’s a remarkable achievement. You should be proud. Now, then. You should get going. There are people waiting for you.”
At the clear dismissal, I took the Grimoire Crystals and left the Blue Tower Master’s room.
I appreciated the encouragement, but that wasn’t the problem. I looked down at the heavy crystals and grimaced.
Self-study?! I can’t do self-study!
I’m not stupid. I am the King of Humans, and the hallmarks of humanity are high intelligence and the ability to learn. Even having lost all my power, ‘learning’ itself is one of my specialties.
But it’s such a pain.
Books are made of rigid text, and to make the knowledge my own, I have to break down and digest each sentence.
In contrast, when I read someone’s mind, I can absorb their techniques and epiphanies whole. I’m much more efficient when someone teaches me.
The Blue Tower Master is a self-proclaimed, bona fide genius. When I read a genius, I become a genius. But when I read a book, I can only become a run-of-the-mill prodigy.
Sigh. What should I do…? Do I have to rack my brain and study? I really don’t want to.
I was slowly walking down the Crystal Tower with heavy steps.
I heard a buzz of voices. The tower’s corridors weren’t very wide, but today they seemed unusually crowded.
This was the 4th floor, a level where the mages of the Crystal Tower studied and conducted research. There was no reason for so many people to be in the hallway.
As I walked on, wondering about it…
“Hughes, disciple of the 4th floor. I challenge you to a duel!”
A mage in blue robes stepped in front of me and blocked my path.
What’s with the sudden duel?
As I stood there, bewildered, the small-statured mage pointed his staff at me and shouted.
“You, who dabbled in black magic, got to become the Master’s direct disciple, bypassing all of us! A commoner from the Lower World, talented enough to be taught by the Master at your age? I refuse to accept it!”
“Excuse me? Are you implying that the Blue Tower Master’s judgment is flawed?”
“O-of course not! You must have deceived the Master with some cowardly trick!”
“So you’re saying the Blue Tower Master couldn’t even see through my trickery?”
“No, that’s not it! Master! That’s not what I meant!”
He’s fun to tease.
Seeing the flustered mage at a loss, a colleague came over and whispered something to him. Only then did the mage’s fighting spirit burn behind his glasses.
“I am Avant-garde, disciple of the 5th floor of the Crystal Tower! Let us compete with knowledge!”
“Well, I have no reason to refuse, so I accept…”
Was this the person the Blue Tower Master mentioned was waiting for me? He must have expected some hazing. I relaxed my hands and slowly observed my opponent.
A duel? Against a mage from the Floating Castle?
If this were the Lower World, I would never agree. I would have found a way to get out of it or compromise. If all else failed, I’d surrender.
But duels in the Floating Castle are a little different.
It’s difficult for mages to fight each other directly. They can accumulate power based on how much they prepare, and their offensive power is astronomically higher than their defense. If they were to use attack magic at full power, it would likely cause a large-scale disaster. There was a reason the Mage King intervened when a fight broke out between the Tower Masters.
No matter how powerful a mage is, they are still human. Even the Gifted will die if they are seriously injured. One has to be a mage capable of freely using unique magic to be suited for combat.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Wait! Crystal set. Do, re, mi…”
So, in the Floating Castle, when mages wanted to settle a score, they agreed to fight in a more civilized manner instead of engaging in mutually assured destruction.
A magic quiz battle!
A magic circle embedded with seven jewels materialized in the air. Avant-garde slowly moved her staff, touching the jewels sequentially according to a musical score. Clear notes spread out, forming a chord.
Avant-garde confidently presented the meticulously crafted magic circle and shouted.
“A Musical Scale Magic Circle! This is ‘Staff Notation,’ the base magic circle of the Pythagorean school, which constructs magic in the form of a ‘musical score’! I will cast a basic crystallization spell with it, and you have to find the error!”
Each time the music was completed, ice would form a crystal in the center of the magic circle… but it would collapse just before it was finished. This was because Avant-garde had deliberately created an error.
And finding that error was his quiz.
‘I know that arrogant bastard lacks mana-sensing abilities! If so, there’s no way he can figure out this Staff Notation, which requires delicate mana sensing…!’
Yeah. He was right. If this had been a problem from a book, I might have had to think for a while.
But.
‘There’s no way he’ll notice that I changed the clef midway through drawing the Staff Notation!’
“You changed the clef midway through. That’s why the crystal is warping and collapsing before it’s complete.”
“Gasp! How did you know that?!”
There’s no way to get a question wrong when it comes from a person. Unless the person asking doesn’t know the answer themselves.
As if to congratulate me on the correct answer, the magic circle burst with a pop. Avant-garde was showered in the remnants of blue mana and fell backward. Her face was filled with astonishment.
“Staff Notation is a magic circle that was abandoned over 30 years ago for its complexity. How did you recognize it…?”
“Not only did he sense the mana, but he also grasped the flow of the Staff Notation?”
“No way. There’s a limit to genius…!”
Ah, this is easy. I wish every duel in the world was this peaceful. I wonder if the Sanctum would consider adopting it?
‘There’s no way a simpleton from the Lower World would have studied such a complex magic circle! How did he know? Don’t tell me he deduced it backward by watching the ice crystal form?’
“That was a pretty obvious trap. The way the ice crystal was forming was strange from the start. It was clear it was collapsing due to the inconsistency between the first and second halves.”
“As I thought…!”
“And if you were going to change the clef, you should have changed the crystal’s mana midway through as well. The tone and the magic don’t match.”
Murmurs of admiration flowed from the crowd. I could hear them muttering that the Blue Tower Master’s judgment wasn’t wrong, and that while I was a damn pain in the ass, they had to acknowledge my talent.
I also heard a worried whisper about whether I was a reincarnation of that bastard Lankart. I had no idea what he’d done to earn such a reputation.
“…Impossible! I spent three days and nights agonizing over that one Staff Notation problem…!”
Anyway. Avant-garde, was it?
To be a mage of the Floating Castle was to be a bona fide genius. A complete genius, born from the best environment and ample support provided to the talented of the Mage Federation.
The knowledge possessed by a single person like Avant-garde would likely exceed that of all the mage officers in the Military State combined. That was more a problem with the Military State’s overly standardized education, but still.
Alright. I choose you.
“But it was an impressive magic circle. Staff Notation seems to have the advantage of being excellent for mana amplification through chords, in exchange for being intuitive and complex. Am I right?”
“…Uh, yeah.”
“A senior who can handle Staff Notation must have mastered mana amplification, then.”
“I did get an A+ on it…”
I didn’t ask for your grade, are you trying to show off? In any case, she was the talent I was looking for. I held out the Grimoire Crystal and extended my hand to Avant-garde.
“Senior Avant-garde. I ask for your teachings.”
“Huh?”
“I want to learn the Introduction to Mana Amplification. It’s essential for me to supplement my mana, and I need your help, senior.”
“Huh? Introduction to Mana Amplification? That’s a basic I learned back on the 2nd floor…”
“It’s precisely those basics I need help with. My learning is shallow, so I need someone to fill in those gaps.”
“W-why me…?”
‘Teaching a monstrous genius will only make me look pathetic! No way! I don’t want to be laughed at by a genius…!’
“Because I won the duel. And demanding ‘knowledge’ is the prize for victory, isn’t it?”
“Ugh!”
“That’s settled, now come with me. I have to read this entire Introduction to Mana Amplification by today. Please stay by my side and explain it until I’m done.”
Since the duels were like this, the rewards for victory were also limited to knowledge or magic. I couldn’t decide if it was befitting of mages or just peacefully out of sync with their madness.
I like it. For now.
I had acquired a good grimoire… no, a good mage. She would read the Introduction to Mana Amplification beside me and explain what she understood. I dragged Avant-garde toward a nearby research lab.
‘He’s been learning magic for days, and he’s still studying?’
‘He’s not just a genius, he’s a diligently insane one. To respectfully call someone less capable than him ‘senior’.’
‘Is he really Lankart’s friend? He’s so different from that guy.’
I left the other mages’ thoughts behind me.