Recruiting Talent (3)
It had already been a week since the interviews began.
In that time, I had interviewed seventy applicants.
More than a third of them seemed suspicious enough to be spies, and there were plenty whose compatibility was downright miserable.
And yet, even among them, I had managed to uncover people with real talent.
Young men like Carlos, who had come to the interview on the first day with nothing but a pure, earnest hunger to grow stronger, and mages like Alberte, who carried stories of their own.
“Tower Lord, it’s time to announce the results. Who are you going to choose?”
Lia asked, holding the list of applicants in both hands.
I unfolded the notes I had organized over the past week.
Beside each applicant’s name were their compatibility, current circle, and the likelihood that they were a spy.
“First, we cut anyone suspected of being a spy. And anyone with compatibility below sixty. How many does that leave?”
I asked Lia.
“Um... fifteen.”
Fifteen. If I included Lia and myself, that made seventeen in total.
At that point, we’d finally become the size of a proper small magic tower.
“Let me see the list.”
I took the roster Lia had prepared.
Albert - compatibility 92, 4th Circle, damaged mana circuits
Sophia - compatibility 98, no circle, age 15
These two stood out immediately.
Alberte possessed an extremely high magical affinity, but he had been a tragic genius whose growth had stopped when his mana circuits were damaged.
Even so, as a 4th Circle mage, he could become an important asset to our tower right away.
Then there was Sophia.
She was only fifteen and had no circle yet, but her compatibility was an astonishing 98.
The fact that she had never properly studied magic before was actually an advantage. It meant I could teach her our way from the ground up.
A child with a bright future.
If I raised her properly, she would become an enormous force for our tower.
And then...
Carlos - compatibility 82, 1st Circle, self-taught
Mira - compatibility 78, 2nd Circle, noble-born
Thomas - compatibility 71, 1st Circle, blacksmith’s son
These three caught my eye next.
Carlos was a hard worker who had reached the 1st Circle on his own, through sheer effort. Mira came from nobility, so she might be useful for understanding that world. As for Thomas, he was the son of a blacksmith, which meant he might have a knack for crafting magical tools.
The remaining ten were all more or less ordinary, with compatibility hovering around sixty.
“Good. Let’s take all fifteen as disciples.”
“Then I’ll do that. I’ll deliver the news and gather everyone here in your office.”
“Yes. Please do.”
After Lia left, I sat by the window and fell into thought.
Fifteen disciples.
It was a small beginning, but these people would become the future of our tower.
Sophia, especially, could become a monstrous asset if I nurtured her correctly, and Alberte, too, could become an immediate force if I found a way to repair the damage to his mana circuits...
Could there be a way to treat him?
I searched to see if there was any magic that could restore mana circuits, but nothing particularly useful turned up.
Just then, the door opened and Lia stepped inside.
“Tower Lord, the successful applicants have all assembled. They all look like they can’t believe this is happening!”
“Then tell them to come in.”
A moment later, the fifteen new disciples entered in a line.
Alberte stood at the front, followed by Carlos, Mira, Thomas, and even the young Sophia.
Expectation and tension mingled on every face.
“Congratulations. From this moment on, you are all official disciples of the Fusion Magic Tower.”
At my words, a few of them nearly cheered before clamping their mouths shut.
They still seemed too tense to fully relax.
“First, I want to make something clear. Our tower is still small and shabby. We don’t have flashy facilities, and we don’t have money to burn. But there is one thing I can promise.”
All eyes fixed on me.
“If you work diligently, no one here will be treated unfairly, and each of you will receive opportunities suited to your talent. And...”
I paused and looked over each of their faces in turn.
“You’ll gain the strength to survive the crisis that’s coming.”
“A crisis?”
Carlos asked carefully.
“A Dimensional Rift. It will open soon, and we need to be ready for it.”
Murmurs broke out among the disciples.
Most of them looked confused at the term Dimensional Rift, but Alberte alone had gone stiff.
“Alberte, when you were in Vilheim, had you ever heard of a Dimensional Rift?”
Alberte slowly nodded.
“Yes, Tower Lord. Twenty years ago, when I was working in Vilheim’s archive of ancient texts, I saw references to it in old manuscripts. Records said monsters from another dimension poured out and laid waste to the continent.”
His words drained the color from the others’ faces.
“T-that can really happen?”
Sophia asked in a trembling voice.
She was only fifteen; it was only natural that she would be afraid.
“The signs have already appeared. An abnormal mana wave was detected on the empire’s eastern border, and a Prism Spectrum was observed as well.”
At that, Alberte drew in a deep breath.
“Then... it really is beginning?”
“Yes. But we still have time to prepare. And I have no intention of letting any of you die.”
I reached into my desk drawer and took something out.
It was a Mana Amplification bead, one I had prepared back at the Vilheim Magic Tower.
“Does anyone know what this is?”
The disciples shook their heads. But Alberte’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me... the rumored Mana Amplification spell?”
“That’s right. If you receive this magic, your mana capacity will increase permanently. I intend to cast it on all of you.”
A wave of startled gasps swept through the disciples.
“You are my disciples now. If you grow stronger, the tower grows stronger.”
I looked at Alberte.
“Especially you, Alberte. Your damaged mana circuits... this magic won’t be a perfect cure, but it may still help in some measure.”
A glimmer of hope lit Alberte’s eyes.
“Is that true?”
“And one more thing. Alberte, I’m appointing you as the tower’s chief mage.”
Next came the matter of putting everyone in order.
“What? Chief mage? Me?”
Alberte stared at me in confusion. The other disciples began to murmur in surprise as well.
But my decision was already made.
“You’re a 4th Circle mage, and you have experience from Vilheim. More than that, you have real talent. Your mana circuits may be damaged, but your experience and knowledge alone are enough to lead the other disciples.”
“But Tower Lord, I’m a failed mage. My growth stopped after the accident twenty years ago...”
Alberte said it with self-mocking bitterness, but I shook my head.
“Failed? No. You were unlucky. And now you have a new chance. In our tower, we look at the present and the future, not the past.”
I swept my gaze across the other disciples.
“Does anyone object?”
No one did.
In fact, Carlos stepped forward first.
“I support it. Lord Alberte’s knowledge and experience will help all of us.”
“I agree too.”
“Me too...”
“And Lia, my valued disciple. You will be appointed Special Advisor. You’ll be in charge of the tower’s operations and administration.”
Lia’s eyes widened.
“M-me? But I...”
“A magic tower needs more than magic to run. Lia, you stayed until the very end even when this tower was at its worst, and no one knows its circumstances better than you do. Above all, you’re someone I can trust.”
For a moment, tears like fat beads of rain gathered in Lia’s eyes.
She had spent her whole life being ignored because of her lack of talent, so a position like this had likely never even crossed her mind.
“Thank you, Tower Lord!”
“Now then, I’ll begin with Mana Amplification. Alberte, you first.”
Alberte stepped forward, and I handed him the Mana Amplification bead.
Then he looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Tower Lord, do you mean for me to cast this?”
“Yes.”
Of course, I couldn’t exactly admit that I wasn’t yet a 4th Circle mage and couldn’t cast it myself.
There was no need to lose face.
“...I’ll try.”
Even if his mana circuits were damaged, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use magic at all.
It simply meant his total mana was lacking.
Alberte took a deep breath and attached the bead to his old wand.
Then he slowly began to chant.
At first, his mana surged in unstable ripples.
The flow was uneven because of the damage to his mana circuits.
“Ugh...”
Even so, Alberte did not stop, though pain twisted his face.
Whoooosh——
At last, he completed the casting, and gray mana began to spread around him.
Blue light burst from his body, and a wave of mana rolled outward.
The casting of Mana Amplification was complete.
“...”
Alberte remained silent for a long time.
Wonder, shock, and hope all tangled together on his face.
Then, slowly lifting his hands to inspect them, he spoke in a voice trembling ever so slightly.
“I can’t believe it... For the first time in twenty years, my mana is flowing this freely.”
Tears welled in Alberte’s eyes.
“My mana capacity has also increased by nearly threefold. And even more astonishing is...”
He opened his palm, and a small flame flickered to life.
It was stable. Bright. Clear.
“It seems a new route has formed, one that bypasses the damaged circuits. It hasn’t fully healed, but now I...”
Overcome with emotion, Alberte could not finish.
For a man who had suffered all his life because of damaged mana circuits, this moment must have felt like a miracle.
“I think I may be able to grow again. The 5th Circle, perhaps even beyond that...”
Listening to Alberte, I fell into thought.
So Mana Amplification can affect damaged mana circuits too. That’s an unexpected side effect.
Was this a hidden feature?
Magic tower management games contained plenty of hidden elements.
Taking in disciples was one of the game’s major systems, after all.
The disciples’ abilities and potential for growth were the key to the tower’s development.
So it made sense that such a core mechanic had hidden depth to it.
...I got lucky.
Still, the fact that Alberte’s mana circuits had partially recovered through Mana Amplification was something I truly hadn’t expected.
Who knew it could do that?
Meanwhile, the other disciples applauded in admiration.
Sophia, especially, had eyes shining like stars as she exclaimed, “That’s amazing! Can I get it too?”
“Of course. But for you, Sophia, we’ll start with the structure of your mana circuits.”
“Oh...”
Sophia’s eager expression wilted as she stepped back, looking disappointed.
I turned back to Alberte.
“Alberte, now you’ll need to cast Mana Amplification on the other disciples. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Tower Lord. I’ve already grasped the method from that experience. If I use the new route that’s formed, I should be able to manage it. Although the bead has become inactive...”
He seemed to be referring to the cooldown.
“When the bead becomes active again, judge for yourself and cast Mana Amplification on the disciples. Understood?”
“Yes! Understood.”
“And you’ll also be teaching the disciples. Can you do that?”
“Yes! Leave it to me.”
After all, what kind of game would it be without auto-farming?
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