Chapter 76
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Mage Tower's Mage (6)
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Kyle the flatfish getting knocked down and rising again in an endless loop.
That was a rough one-sentence summary of the original novel Academy's Tenacious Mage, the backdrop of this world.
In the early parts of the novel, it was because Kyle's own magic skills were downright abysmal.
After he'd grown to a certain point and become resilient enough to shrug off most incidents in the mid-game, it was assaults from the Black Mages.
At first, those Black Mages popped up one or two at a time, just enough to create a bit of tension.
The episode where they truly started flexing their presence, swarming out in the open like cockroaches, was the hatching of the hellish magic beast, Nebula.
I stared piercingly through the glass window at the egg placed on the platform far across the stage.
Irregular gray spots mottled across its pitch-black shell.
A slightly cracked corner, as if it'd bumped into something.
And above all, the faint, haze-like ripples of shadow wavering around the egg.
'Just like how it was described in the novel.'
To hatch the magic beast Nebula required a massive amount of a mage's mana.
The only places teeming with mages were the Mage Tower or the Academy, after all.
Starting something at the Mage Tower, packed with hundreds of advanced mages, would be suicide, so naturally, they targeted the softer Academy.
In the original story, Kyle does manage to deal with the Black Mages somehow.
But he falls just one step short of stopping Nebula's hatching.
So who handled that Nebula?
Who else? The Ashen Witch, the Academy's designated cleanup crew.
In other words, me, after all my hard work.
By the way, Nebula's egg was originally at the Mage Tower, huh.
I had no idea how it ended up here, but talk about perfect timing.
"Alright, 20 gold coins! We've got 20 gold coins! Any more bids? Anyone?"
If I snag that thing and turn it into an egg tart, I won't have to deal with the hassle later.
"Student Lunaris? Didn't you say earlier you weren't interested in buying anything?"
Raymond, the department head beside me, asked with a puzzled look.
"I did, but I absolutely need that one."
I replied casually as I waited for the gavel to fall.
Who'd burn 20 gold on some mystery egg? It'd fall to me easily...
"30 gold."
Just as I was letting my guard down, a robed mage seated in a corner of the general seats below the stage suddenly raised his paddle and upped the bid.
"Oh! Bidder 145, 30 gold!"
"...Tch."
My head throbbed, and I found myself rubbing my forehead without thinking.
No way... Buy that? Seriously?
"Will you continue bidding, sir?"
The attendant asked me cautiously.
I let out a quiet sigh and nodded.
"Yes. 30 gold and 1 silver..."
"Apologies, but the minimum bid increment for this auction is one gold coin."
"...Then 31 gold."
No sooner had the attendant relayed it to the stage than the host's voice boomed out.
"Ah~ 31 gold from VIP Room 3!"
"40 gold."
The price doubled from the starting bid in an instant.
What the hell...?
"41..."
"50."
"...51."
"60."
"61..."
It doubled again, becoming triple in no time.
The auction was on fire from the jump, whistles and cheers erupting from below the stage.
"Student Lunaris, why not call it quits? In my expert opinion, it's not even worth 20 gold."
Raymond, the department head, even grabbed my shoulder to try and stop me.
"Whatever hatches from that might be a mystery, but it's still just a magic beast egg. And unknowns? Nine times out of ten, they're duds when you crack 'em open."
"..."
"How about buying something else instead? If you're into alchemy, I can get you a beginner's kit separately..."
"No. I have to get that one."
Still, who the heck keeps jacking up the price?
Just curious? Or some deranged collector?
It was then, as I scowled down at the bidder.
"100 gold."
The robed mage finally pushed it into the hundreds.
"Ooh! Bidder 145, 100 gold! 100 gold!"
...Ah, now I get it.
How Nebula's egg from the Mage Tower ended up in the Black Mages' hands.
They won it at auction.
Just like this.
'No clue how a Black Mage infiltrated the Black Mage-hating Mage Tower, but...'
Thinking about it, it wasn't that weird.
The train to the Mage Tower had been terrorized right on schedule by a magic beast controlled by a Black Mage, after all.
Hiding one's identity wasn't impossible if they put their mind to it.
"Sir, will you raise it further?"
The attendant asked me, tense-faced.
I gazed through the glass at the deeply hooded robed mage and spoke in a low voice.
"200 gold."
"...Pardon? 200... Are you sure?"
"Yes. 200."
I couldn't lose face to a Black Mage, of all people.
The moment the number left my lips and reached the host via the attendant.
The robed mage below whipped around.
Beneath his deeply pulled hood.
His shadowed gaze locked straight onto me through the VIP room's glass.
As if he could see me, he stared me down.
He rubbed his stubbly, bearded chin, then suddenly smirked, curling the corner of his mouth.
And with his lips, he mouthed one syllable at a time, sending me a message.
Found. You.
The instant I grasped it, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.
"Excuse me, attendant."
"Yes! What is it?"
"I heard the VIP room glass is one-way. No one outside can see in, right?"
The attendant nodded vigorously at my words.
"Yes, exactly. It's enchanted with advanced blocking magic—no one outside can see inside."
"Hmph... Is that so?"
I propped my chin, staring fixedly at him—at the beard on his chin, specifically.
"Can't see, yet he saw anyway..."
As I muttered to myself, the host's voice thundered from the stage like a war horn signaling the start of battle: thud, thud, thud—sold!
"Congratulations, sir. How would you like to handle payment?"
"...Oh, right."
His words hit me like a bucket of cold water, snapping me alert.
Come to think of it, I hadn't brought a single coin.
200 gold?
...Where would I even get that?
I turned creakily toward Raymond, the department head, sending an SOS.
"Uh... Student Lunaris?"
But he was sweating bullets, looking just as awkward.
"It's not that I don't have gold, but... it'd be tight buying the Book of Subtlety. This is awkward."
"..."
Now that I thought about it, the department head had never really been helpful.
"Or instead of the Book of Subtlety, I could buy this...?"
"Then coming to the Mage Tower was pointless."
At my words, he cleared his throat awkwardly and asked the attendant.
"No checks? Or payment after the auction...?"
"Sorry, elder. House rules: payment immediately upon winning the bid."
The attendant shook his head apologetically.
"Too many times folks bounced with bad checks and ruined auctions... We can't make exceptions."
"Come on! Surely my reputation warrants some leeway? Don't you know who I am?!"
"Even for VIPs and elders, one exception leads to fairness complaints and chaos."
"Tch—always so inflexible..."
Since they lived off credit, the attendant bowed repeatedly, asking for understanding.
Even the great Raymond couldn't budge it.
"Now what..."
"If cash is short, you could collateral something valuable."
The attendant suggested cautiously, noting it was a huge favor.
Hmm, collateral...
I pondered briefly, then spoke.
"Hey, can I put something up for auction on the spot?"
"Pardon? Auction it?"
The attendant blinked in surprise.
"If it's verifiably rare, sure, but what is it?"
"Oh, I'm making it now. Just bring me a wizboard? Something big enough to hold plenty."
Hey, I'm a VIP—surely they can fetch a notebook.
"Huh? Oh, got it. I'll check."
As the attendant tilted his head curiously and left, Raymond narrowed his eyes at me.
"Student Lunaris? What exactly are you planning?"
"Oh, nothing much."
I tapped my temple.
"Just selling this."
"Hm?"
Soon, the attendant returned lugging a hefty wizboard.
"We had one left over—brought it."
"Thanks."
I swung my arm, coiling ambient mana around my right hand.
Then, without hesitation, I infused it into the wizboard.
With each flick of my fingers, trails of starlight mana etched formulas, forming characters across the surface.
"Hm, writing out the theory is kinda tricky..."
My magic relied heavily on intuition and sensation.
Like, do it roughly like this and it'll turn out that way...
Distilling it into formulas and spells was a headache.
But it wasn't impossible; it started shaping up as I wrote.
"...!"
Raymond, who'd been watching arms crossed, had eyes widening by the moment.
"N-No way, what you're writing right now..."
Soon turning to shock.
"...Theory on utilizing natural mana?"
"Yeah, well... It's just the absolute basics."
At my reply, the attendant beside us gaped.
"N-Natural mana utilization...!"
As a Mage Tower mage first and auctioneer second, he grasped it instantly.
Good—saved me the explanation.
"Hm—about this much, I guess."
I dusted my hands and waved the wizboard—no, the fresh-off-the-press grimoire—in front of the attendant.
"This counts as rare, right?"
He trembled like an aspen and nodded frantically.
"I-I'll fetch the manager... No, the host!"