Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Sixth School
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“A sixth school?”
“Yes. Very few in all of Granada know of it, but the sixth mana root serves as a measure of one's aptitude for the sixth school. And that is the single greatest reason I took you as my disciple.”
*‘A sixth school? Does such a thing even exist?’*
Even Lee Si-woo, whose knowledge rivaled that of a seasoned mage thanks to Harman's wisdom, had never heard of a sixth school.
And that wasn't all.
Hadn't even Kenyon, the master of the Senior Magic Tower, been unaware of it?
“However, this is the first time I've seen a sixth mana root in person. That's why I couldn't help but be surprised when I saw your scan results.”
Lee Si-woo couldn't suppress a hollow laugh at Autoreu's words.
The man who claimed to know of the sixth school had never seen a sixth mana root before?
Something didn't add up.
“That’s strange. Didn’t you say you were one of the few who knew about the sixth mana root and its school?”
“I did. To be precise, I should say this is the first time I’ve seen a *pure* sixth mana root.”
Lee Si-woo’s eyes sparkled as if he was starting to understand.
“Don’t tell me, Master… you’ve confirmed the existence of the sixth mana root through some other method, and have been using it all this time?”
“Heh heh, a sharp disciple always pleases his master.”
Pleased by Lee Si-woo’s quick-witted response, Autoreu smiled benevolently, like a grandfather watching his grandson’s antics.
But the smile was fleeting. Wiping the grin from his face, Autoreu spoke.
“First, let me apologize.”
“What? Apologize? To me?”
“I knew the private police's schedule in advance. That's why I went out of my way to find you and bring you here. Yes, to be frank, this was all a stage I set to test you, to sound you out.”
Lee Si-woo, who hadn't considered that possibility, gave a bitter smile.
He wasn't so much bitter about being tricked as he was disappointed in his own naivety for not suspecting Autoreu.
If he couldn't even see through a simple ploy like this, he wondered how he would ever navigate the treacherous path that lay ahead.
“I see. Well, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience… but thank you for telling me, even if it’s late. I will take this as a lesson and be careful not to make the same mistake again.”
Autoreu patted him on the shoulder and said.
“I know you must be upset. That's why I'm being so cautious. Human relationships are like porcelain; once cracked, no amount of care or effort can make them whole again. So I hope you won't hold this old man's scheme against me.”
As Autoreu spoke with such open honesty, Lee Si-woo decided not to hold on to his resentment.
Not only had the man confessed to his own scheme, but Si-woo also felt that Autoreu had been considerate of him from the very beginning.
Furthermore, the results from using his Talent, Antenna, which allowed him to perceive emotions as colors, weren't bad either.
The colorful aura emanating from Autoreu's emotions was blue, signifying tranquility.
No matter how he twisted it, it wasn't the emotional state of someone who meant him harm.
“Not at all. Since you only met me today, it’s perfectly reasonable for you to gauge what kind of person I am. I completely understand, so please don’t worry about it.”
“…I don't normally try to size people up. It's a very rude thing to do. However, I had to test you today because the magic of the sixth school must never fall into the hands of someone who disregards life.”
Lee Si-woo didn't show it, but he was filled with doubt.
If what Autoreu said was true, then he was unsuitable in many ways to learn the magic of the sixth school.
After all, few were as prepared as Lee Si-woo to disregard life for their own gain and position.
As if seeing through Si-woo's inner thoughts, Autoreu continued calmly.
“Of course, I can't say you're a perfect fit. I agonized over it for a bit… but in the end, I decided to accept you. If I had no experience, it might be different, but I have a precedent for accepting a gray character like you.”
“A precedent… you mean your first disciple?”
“Yes, that one. Didn't I tell you? You and he are quite similar in many ways.”
“If I’m that similar to him, I’d like to meet him once.”
“You can't. He's already dead.”
The reply was gentle, devoid of any particular emotion.
But Lee Si-woo, chiding himself for his insensitivity, quietly bowed his head.
“…My apologies.”
“Heh heh, it's fine. It's all in the past. Now, enough with the trivialities… Since we seem to have made up our minds, let me tell you something. Regardless of whether I pass on my magic to you, you have a critical problem.”
“A critical problem…?”
“There is no mana technique in the Senior Magic Tower suitable for someone with six mana roots like you. And it's not just our tower, is it? You probably wouldn't find one even if you searched all of Granada.”
That was something Lee Si-woo had already been worrying about.
Mana techniques were meant to be learned according to one's mana roots, but no matter how much he searched Harman's knowledge, he could find no technique for someone with six.
“I was already pondering that myself… If one doesn't exist, won't I have to create it?”
Autoreu shook his head.
“I acknowledge your grand ambition, but it's impossible. Creating a mana technique is no simple feat, and since you're not a typical case, it's highly likely that conventional magical knowledge won't apply.”
“Then… does that mean I can't learn a technique? But if that's the case, I'll never be able to advance, will I?”
“That's right. Heh heh, which is why I find this so strange. No matter how I think about it, our meeting seems to be no ordinary fate. I can't be certain, but… I think I know where you can find a technique that suits you.”
Surprised, Lee Si-woo asked again.
“There’s a technique that suits me? Where is it?”
“The Forbidden Area.”
As Autoreu mentioned the Forbidden Area, Jin’s words flashed through Lee Si-woo’s mind.
*-There are ancient ruins in the basement of the Senior Magic Tower, designated as a forbidden area by Kenyon to keep anyone from entering. Go there.*
Autoreu's gaze, as tranquil as the surface of a lake, rested on Lee Si-woo as he continued.
“Others believe the Tower Master found the ruins, but the truth is different. I was the one who found them, and it was because of an incident that very day that the ruins were designated a forbidden area.”
Autoreu closed his eyes, as if reminiscing about the past.
“I obtained the magic of the sixth school from those ruins, and in exchange, I had to lose my first disciple. Furthermore, it was there that I saw a clue to a mana technique for handling six mana roots. Therefore, you must find a way into those ruins. Only then will you be able to obtain everything you desire.”
“But the ruins are a forbidden area that no one can enter, right? How can I, someone who just joined the tower, possibly get in?”
In truth, this was the biggest problem.
It was a distant prospect for Lee Si-woo, a mere novice mage, to enter the ruins, the tower's forbidden area.
Moreover, Autoreu, known as the washed-up elder, had next to no influence within the tower.
In many ways, it seemed nearly impossible for Lee Si-woo to enter the ruins.
Fortunately, however, Autoreu was able to provide some direction, even if it wasn't a complete solution.
“As far as I know, Kenyon periodically recruits laborers for his research in the ruins. Hmm… Considering the dangers of the ruins, he's certain to recruit mainly humans, and I'm sure more than a few of them die. If you look into that, you might find a way.”
With Autoreu now mentioning the ruins after Jin, Lee Si-woo also made up his mind.
He concluded that no matter how dangerous, there was no room for him to advance unless he visited the ruins first.
“Understood. I will find a way into the ruins, by any means necessary.”
***
The forbidden area in the basement of the Senior Magic Tower.
An ancient ruin that had stood firm since before the great city of Granada was built.
In fact, it was so old that it was more accurate to say the magic tower had been coincidentally built atop the ruins rather than the ruins being in the tower's basement. Today, this place was unusually chaotic.
“All but one of the laborers died?”
A 3rd Circle mage, responsible for the ruins' security, answered Kenyon’s question.
“Yes. During their work, the laborers came face-to-face with ‘the eye’...”
Kenyon, looking somewhat impatient, cut the head of security off.
“Enough with the nonsense. You said there's a survivor, didn't you? Bring him here at once.”
At Kenyon’s command, the head of security scurried off and brought back the sole survivor.
Upon seeing the laborer, Kenyon covered his nose and turned his head away.
A foul stench, as if he'd soiled himself, filled the air, and his limbs swayed continuously like a broken toy.
What was more tragic was that where the laborer's two eyes should have been, there were only dark pits—nothing at all.
Seeing the unscarred sockets, as if the man had been born without eyeballs, Kenyon muttered.
“His soul and intellect devoured by the eye… Tsk, so he survived this time too, but wasn't chosen? A pity.”
The head of security cautiously added.
“He has lost his sanity, just like the survivors before him. He will likely harm himself repeatedly and eventually take his own life, just as the others did.”
Kenyon waved his hand, as if he couldn't bear to look at the survivor any longer.
“Get him out of here. And replenish the laborers from the slums as soon as possible. No matter how many die, keep sending them in, and then send in more. Understood?”
The head of security bowed low, as if to say he would never disobey, and replied in a loud voice.
“I’ll take care of it immediately.”
Leaving the head of security behind, Kenyon left the ruins, grinding his teeth.
*‘I envied Autoreu, who once dominated battlefields with his might, and I stopped at nothing to investigate him, wanting to become just as strong. And eventually, I found out. Autoreu obtained a Forbidden Art in exchange for sacrificing his disciple in the ruins.’*
Upon learning this, Kenyon had immediately headed to the ruins.
He had expected to receive a boon from the ruins, just like Autoreu.
But nothing happened, and Kenyon’s pride was deeply wounded.
He had thought he failed to obtain the boon because his own aptitude was inferior to Autoreu's.
*‘But that wasn't it. Aptitude had nothing to do with the conditions for meeting the eye.’*
Through long research of the ruins, Kenyon discovered why he couldn't encounter the eye, while Autoreu could.
It was because he hadn't overlooked a seemingly trivial fact.
Autoreu was a half-elf, born of a human, and his first disciple was human.
*‘The eye only appears before humans, or those who have inherited human blood.’*
Since then, Kenyon had sent countless humans into the ruins under the guise of excavation for research.
It was all so that if someone chosen by the eye appeared, he could steal their boon from them.
*‘Tsk, it would be great if I could just steal the Forbidden Art from Autoreu, but of all things, I had to make that damn pact with the previous Tower Master...’*
The previous Tower Master, who had been particularly fond of Autoreu, had feared that the jealous Kenyon might harbor ill intentions. He had used the position of Tower Master as leverage to demand a mana pact.
He had been concerned that Kenyon might torture the now-crippled Autoreu to steal the Forbidden Art.
And his measure had been appropriate.
If not for that pact, Kenyon would have done away with Autoreu long ago.
*‘Thanks to that, I couldn't lay a single finger on Autoreu. One wrong move, and I'd lose my circles and become a cripple myself as the price for breaking the pact. It was annoying… but no matter. Humans are a dime a dozen. Eventually, a human chosen by the eye, just like Autoreu, will appear. They must.’*
When that day came, he would obtain the Forbidden Art of the ruins, completely conquer Granada, and dream of leaving this narrow, backwater continent to enter the central continent.
***
A few days later, Lee Si-woo headed to Slum District 17.
He sat down on the street like a homeless man and took a coin from his pocket.
It was the 1-cent commemorative coin that Roben had given him as a gift.
About five minutes after Lee Si-woo began silently flipping the coin with his thumb.
A man with his hands stuffed in his pockets approached with a swagger and spoke to him.
“Who're you?”
Catching the coin as it spun in the air, Lee Si-woo said.
“Roben sent me.”
When Lee Si-woo mentioned Roben, the man’s eyes glinted with interest as he gestured for him to follow.
“So you're the benefactor. Tsk, come this way. I don't know what brings you here, but if you came in person, it's probably not something I can handle on my own.”