Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: A Rude Welcome
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After packing a few personal belongings, Lee Si-woo arrived at the Senior Magic Tower with Jin.
He had originally planned to leave Jin behind, but Jin stubbornly insisted on coming along, even digging up a rule somewhere that stated members in groups of two or less could bring a roommate.
“You’re not a child. You don’t have to stick with me all the time.”
Having woken from a deep sleep in the taxi, Jin rubbed his eyes and whined.
“I am a child. I get scared when I’m alone.”
Lee Si-woo asked back, his face a mask of disbelief.
“Don’t give me that childish crap. Are you insane?”
“I’m kidding. It’s just boring when I’m alone. So don’t even think about leaving me behind. If I get bored, I’ll just start setting fires everywhere.”
Jin’s eyes rolled back in his head as he mimed setting things ablaze.
Embarrassed, Lee Si-woo smacked the back of Jin, who was acting like a madman in the middle of the street.
“Ugh, it’s fine. As long as I’m not bored, this sting… I think I could learn to enjoy it?”
Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue at Jin’s increasingly slick attitude.
“You’re driving me crazy. Are you going to keep saying such cringey things? Knock it off. I might actually leave you behind.”
When Lee Si-woo didn’t play along, Jin pouted.
“Tsk, no fun at all.”
“Whatever. What’s the real reason? You didn’t even follow me to the selection trials last time.”
Jin straightened his posture and spoke.
“Videos from the selection trials are circulating, so Summoner Elim has probably noticed your existence by now.”
“…I more or less expected that.”
“You expected it. That’s why I’m coming with you. Elim is incomparably more dangerous than some silly selection trial.”
“Hmm… And you can stop him?”
“I can’t.”
At that confident reply, Lee Si-woo narrowed his eyes at Jin.
“If you can’t stop him, why are you coming?”
“To keep you from being lonely on your path.”
It was impossible to tell where the sincerity ended and the jokes began with this guy.
But one thing was certain: Jin was coming along because he was worried. And because Si-woo was sure Jin would be a great help in a pinch, he decided to let it slide.
Of course, the price for his cheeky remarks had to be paid.
*Smack!*
After getting hit on the back again by Lee Si-woo, Jin writhed and squirmed.
Perhaps because they had been spending so much time together lately, there was no longer a hint of awkwardness in their banter.
Still, a sliver of vigilance remained deep in Lee Si-woo’s heart.
He knew himself better than anyone, and he knew it wasn’t normal for him to be unconsciously opening up to a complete stranger like Jin.
‘Strangely, I feel at ease when I’m with him. But… I don’t know why. Why on earth do I feel such a sense of familiarity with this guy? It’s never happened before.’
Pushing his suspicions aside, Lee Si-woo completed the security procedures to enter the magic tower.
A moment later, an elf mage came out to meet him.
“You’re Lee Si-woo?”
The elf mage spoke to him informally from the get-go. Lee Si-woo’s eyes quickly scanned the mage from head to toe.
From his gray robe, he was a 2nd Circle mage. The fact that he knew his name suggested he’d been sent from above as a guide.
Quickly concluding that there was nothing to be gained by provoking him, Lee Si-woo smiled without any sign of displeasure.
“Yes. I’m Lee Si-woo. It’s a pleasure to meet you, senior.”
“Senior… cut the crap. I don’t raise monkeys as my juniors.”
The elf mage’s tone reeked of condescension toward Lee Si-woo, a human.
Jin shot a chilling glare at the elf, but he kept quiet after Si-woo nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.
“Then how should I address you?”
“You don’t need to know. We won’t be seeing each other again after I tell you what you need to know.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The elf mage strode forward, and Lee Si-woo and Jin followed quietly behind.
Like a disinterested tour guide, he began to explain the tower.
“There are various facilities on the first floor of the tower. A convenience store, a bathhouse, things like that. There’s more, but find them yourself. As long as you have eyes, you won’t have trouble finding anything.”
Just as he said, the first floor of the tower, with its long corridors lined with shops, was reminiscent of an underground shopping arcade.
From a flower shop to a bookstore, a convenience store, and restaurants.
As he looked around the various facilities on the first floor, Lee Si-woo asked.
“Where do we eat and sleep?”
“You sleep in the dorms and eat in the dining hall. And you have a smartphone, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Turn it on. You should have a message telling you to install an app.”
As he said, when Si-woo turned on his phone, there was a message to install a ‘Quest’ app.
“A quest?”
“I don’t know how a monkey and a wandering mage like you got into the tower, but the Senior Magic Tower has no need for useless bastards who can’t even pull their own weight and contribute nothing. That’s why we have the ‘Quest System.’”
“The Quest System…?”
“Numerous quests are posted on the app, from contract killings of the tower’s enemies, research on elixirs or magic that can contribute to the tower’s development, gathering ingredients for elixirs, to donating wealth. All members of the tower are obligated to complete at least one quest a month.”
“What if I can’t complete a quest due to unavoidable circumstances?”
“Expulsion after three warnings. In other words, you’re kicked out.”
“Does the difficulty of the quest matter?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just one is enough. However, a nobody like you with nothing to your name will have to work hard on quests. The tower issues coins for completing quests, and you can use them to learn magic or receive research materials.”
Lee Si-woo asked in a puzzled tone.
“I can understand research materials, but isn’t magic something you learn from a master?”
The elf mage twisted his lips into a sneer and mocked Lee Si-woo.
“Just because you’re in a master-disciple relationship, is there any reason for a master to just hand over their knowledge to you? In mage society, knowledge is power. Only those who have paid a fair price are worthy of it… Tsk, the tower’s standards are slipping because of freeloaders like you. You idiot.”
Although the elf mage treated him with constant hostility, Lee Si-woo just shrugged, not reacting sensitively.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t offended, but he had no intention of making an enemy out of petty anger when he didn’t even know the elf’s name or background yet.
However, what the elf mage needed to understand was that Lee Si-woo was not the type to let such treatment slide without reason.
He was simply sizing up his opponent for now.
“Anyway, so I need these coins for my master to teach me magic, is that it?”
“That’s right, so work hard to earn them. You monkeys have nothing, so you’ll have to work your bodies to the bone.”
As the elf mage relentlessly belittled him, Lee Si-woo went beyond being offended to being utterly dumbfounded.
It seemed the elf mage had no idea that Isabelle was backing him.
If he knew, he wouldn’t be treating him so poorly.
That point bothered Lee Si-woo.
Anyone with a shred of sense would have at least gathered some basic information about the person they were guiding.
Lee Si-woo spoke softly.
“I understand. I’ll do my best from now on. By the way… since this is my first day at the tower, I need to unpack my things. Could you please tell me where my room is?”
“We’re almost there anyway.”
A moment later, upon arriving at a dormitory in a corner of the first floor, Lee Si-woo’s expression soured for the first time.
The place the elf mage had guided him to, calling it a dormitory, was no better than a flophouse back on Earth.
A mattress lay in a moldy room, barely five pyeong in size.
Seeing a clothes hanger strewn about instead of a wardrobe and a worn-out blanket, Lee Si-woo pressed his thumb firmly between his brows and spoke.
“…You expect two of us to live here?”
The elf mage spoke with a look of sheer amusement.
“Judging by your expression, you don’t seem to like it?”
“Of course I don’t. I’m not a beggar, and my circumstances aren’t so dire that I have to live in a hole like this. Besides, if the conditions are this poor, why would you even tell me to bring a roommate…”
The elf mage cut Lee Si-woo off and shot back.
“Right, you must be upset. Out there, you could hold your head high as a mage and even monkeys would praise you, but in here, you’re nothing. But what can you do? This is your place here.”
The elf mage poked Lee Si-woo’s shoulder with his index finger.
“A human mage who just entered the tower. A wandering mage at that, who knows where you’ve been rolling around. For all I know, you could be from the Racists, right? So just stay cooped up in here. We need time to verify your identity.”
Lee Si-woo scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression and let out a deep sigh.
Even a 1st Circle mage was still a highly skilled individual in this society.
So, even as a newcomer to the tower, a minimum standard of living should have been guaranteed.
But a crappy room like this?
It was clear the elf mage was playing games with malicious intent.
He hadn't expected him to cross the line this blatantly, no matter how much he disliked him. The man’s hatred for humans seemed quite severe.
At this point, although he didn’t want to cause trouble on his first day at the tower, it seemed he had no choice.
“Excuse me, I need to make a quick phone call.”
“What, a call? You insolent little…”
Ignoring whatever the elf mage was saying, Lee Si-woo took out his smartphone and called Isabelle.
Before the phone could ring more than a few times, Isabelle answered.
Her voice, on speakerphone, echoed around them.
-What is it, punk?
“Isabelle, the room I’ve been assigned seems a bit strange. I’m sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but I’d appreciate it if you could come and check it out.”
At the name ‘Isabelle’ that came out of Lee Si-woo’s mouth, the elf mage froze like a statue.
As the elf’s eyes darted around, his mind clearly racing, Isabelle unleashed a torrent of curses at Si-woo.
-Has this bastard lost his mind? You think I’m someone who comes and goes at your beck and call…?
“Oh, so you’re coming? You’re the best, Isabelle. Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”
Lee Si-woo said his piece and hung up.
He knew that with Isabelle’s personality, provoking her like this was more effective than trying to persuade her; she’d come running immediately.
When Lee Si-woo abruptly ended the call, the elf mage smirked.
He thought Si-woo was bluffing, just dropping Isabelle’s name.
“What a pathetic little trick. It’s too late for you to do anything about it. The room assignment is already done. A nobody like you can’t change it now.”
“Are there other dorms besides this one?”
“Hmph, of course. How could a zoo for a monkey like you be the same as the quarters for the tower's prodigies? What would that do to our reputation?”
Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue at the elf mage’s bottomless hostility.
He could understand it in the pit, a place where those with nowhere further to fall gathered, but he hadn't realized racial discrimination was so blatant in the magic tower, a gathering place for stellar figures.
“What is it about me that you dislike so much? Don’t you think this is a bit much?”
“Much? No, you’re the one who’s being too much. If you’re human, you should live it up in the city like a human. What scraps are you hoping to pick up by coming to the magic tower? It just makes things uncomfortable for everyone. So please, get lost. Live a decent life outside, where you belong. Please. The sight of your face makes me sick to my stomach.”
The elf mage acted as if he had met his mortal enemy, but Lee Si-woo, judging that it was impossible to reason with him, let his tirade go in one ear and out the other, starting a conversation with Jin instead.
“Jin, what are you doing over there?”
“Hyung, this is actually pretty comfortable to lie on. It’s so soft.”
As Jin spoke, lying with his legs crossed on the mattress in the moldy room, Lee Si-woo poked him in the side with his toe and chided him.
“Hey, get up already. Why are you lying there, it’s filthy.”
“Ah, what’s the big deal? My legs hurt from all the walking.”
“Stop being a baby and get up. It’ll be a pain to do the laundry if your clothes get mold on them.”
“Anyone hearing that would think you do the laundry. I’m the one who does everything from the dishes to the laundry and cleaning, you know?”
“…That’s because you do it all before I even get a chance.”
As the two of them talked as if he wasn't there, the enraged elf mage pointed a finger and shouted.
“You bastards! Are you really ignoring me? Are you all tired of living? Should I make this your grave?”
No sooner had the elf mage’s curses ended than a cold voice echoed from behind him.
“Whose grave? Yours?”
At the sound of that familiar, unforgettable voice, the elf mage whipped his head around.
Sharp, upturned eyeliner and purple lips.
The tower’s number one troublemaker, ranked first every year on the list of people in the Senior Magic Tower you should never cross.
Isabelle stood with her weight on one leg, looking at him with an indifferent gaze.
She spoke to the dumbfounded elf mage who was staring at her.
“What are you staring at, you motherfucker? Relax your damn eyes.”