Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: First Day at the White Magic Tower
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-Long time no see.
A massive silver body filled the lodging room.
Among them, eyes the size of walnuts turned toward Jeon.
"It's been... a while."
-You seem to have pushed yourself pretty hard.
As the massive Silver said.
Jeon had squeezed out not only the mana in his body but even the mana from the artifact to manifest Silver, leaving him drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, like someone who had just run a marathon.
'I nearly collapsed like last time.'
Fortunately, he had left just enough mana to maintain his consciousness.
Otherwise, he would have collapsed from mana depletion, just like after the battle with Zarka.
"By any chance... what portion of the main body did I summon this time?"
-It's hard to say exactly, but... it feels like about a tenth.
A tenth.
To think manifesting just a mere tenth would drain him this much.
-...It doesn't look like you can maintain this for long. So, get to the point.
And as the massive Silver said.
Jeon knew full well that even operating his mana cultivation technique at full capacity, maintaining this state was extremely taxing.
So, without adding any more words, Jeon cut straight to the main topic.
"By any chance, is there any newly accumulated will?"
-Hm.
At Jeon's question, the massive Silver closed its eyes for a moment.
It seemed to be concentrating to connect with the consciousness in the intact main body.
-No, there are no newly accumulated wills yet.
"That's... really fortunate."
No newly accumulated wills meant that none of the Silvermont mages had died yet.
Though he had pushed himself to the limit, he had obtained meaningful information.
'Now, I need to cut the mana connection...'
Just maintaining it felt like it was sucking all his energy dry, so Jeon prepared to end Silver's manifestation.
The massive Silver seemed aware of this too, and looking at the exhausted Jeon, it opened its mouth one last time.
-It seems you're just on the verge of reaching enlightenment.
"...Yes?"
-This experience of manifesting me to this extent will be a great help to you.
Even as the massive Silver slowly dispersed into the air, the words it left behind made Jeon tilt his head slightly.
He couldn't quite grasp what it meant right away.
And honestly, he didn't have the leeway to ponder it now.
"...Forcing a summon like this... really takes it out of you."
With all his energy drained, he felt like he could collapse and sleep right then.
Still, unlike the fight with Zarka, he had prevented total mana depletion.
So Jeon didn't pass out on the spot.
Plus, back then there had been someone to look after him, but now he was completely alone.
"Ugh."
Gathering what little strength he had, Jeon finally managed to shower, change his clothes completely, and then collapse into bed to sleep.
After finishing his meal with Knect, he had a total of three days of leisure before starting work at the magic tower.
And during those three days, aside from manifesting about a tenth of Silver, all Jeon did was stay in his lodging and rest.
'I didn't expect the aftermath to be this bad.'
Especially that day—he had forced himself to shower, change clothes, and sleep, only waking after over twelve hours of deep slumber.
And the aftermath didn't end there.
Ravaged by intense hunger, he had a hearty meal at the lodging's restaurant, only to be overcome by fatigue again and fall back asleep.
'I didn't pass out, but it wasn't much different from then.'
So for the past three days, all Jeon had done was eat, sleep, and recover.
The silver lining was that his condition was better than ever thanks to it.
"First day on the job."
Feeling the sensation of commuting to work for the first time in a while, Jeon unwittingly frowned.
Of course, it wasn't like he hadn't worked since coming to this world.
When he first arrived in this world.
He had rolled on the ground as a slave day in and day out, and he had even contracted with Silvermont as an interpreter and translator.
But neither job had fixed commuting hours, so he had never truly felt the vibe of heading into an office like this.
Now, heading to the magic tower as an apprentice, memories of his internship days in his previous life naturally surfaced.
Regardless of those feelings.
Jeon's footsteps diligently headed toward the magic tower.
His expression even resembled that of any office worker, but Jeon wasn't paying attention to that.
Thus, he arrived at the main gate of the white magic tower.
While everyone else bustled in with hurried steps toward the tower, Jeon stood there, looking around.
"They said someone would be waiting at the main gate."
Knect had said that since registration wasn't complete yet, they would station someone at the gate to guide him.
Jeon was scanning the area to find that person.
"Huh? That person...?"
"Hm? What's up?"
"What's that? Huh? That kid...?"
"Golden hair, and just the right height they mentioned... It's a perfect match, right?"
As he stood there for a bit, gazes began turning toward Jeon one by one from the surroundings.
And just as murmurs started to build.
"There you are!"
Someone came rushing up to Jeon's side.
A woman with long brown hair braided into one strand and wearing round glasses panted heavily as she hurried over, hands on her knees catching her breath.
"You're Jeon, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"I... got the directions wrong! Sorry!"
She must have run incredibly hard.
Even a mage, who had better stamina than an average person, was gasping for air.
"Shall we... head inside first?"
"If... you're tired, you can catch your breath before we go in."
Jeon offered considerately as she spoke in broken gasps, unable to connect her words smoothly.
But she brightened at his suggestion, only to glance around as if remembering something and shake her head.
"No! I'm... fine! Let's go in right away!"
The people around who had witnessed her arrival now fully realized Jeon's identity.
If they lingered even a little longer, it might escalate from murmurs to a full crowd swarming him.
So she calmed her ragged breathing as much as possible and guided Jeon inside.
"Alright, then... if you say so."
Since she insisted she was fine, Jeon had no more to say and followed her lead into the gate.
As they walked a short distance and her breathing steadied a bit, she suddenly turned back with a bow and a greeting.
"I was in such a rush guiding you that I couldn't properly introduce myself. Nice to meet you! I'm Tasha from the dispatch team."
"Ah, yes. I'm Jeon."
Receiving her sudden greeting, Jeon gave an awkward smile.
'Anyone would think I'm the superior here.'
Actually, her slightly scatterbrained personality or sudden greetings weren't the issue.
But from her speech to her actions.
Her overall demeanor treated him like a superior, which felt utterly strange to Jeon.
'Why is she acting like this?'
He was just an intern— an apprentice—so she had to be at a higher position no matter what.
He couldn't understand why she was being so deferential.
"I'll explain the rest on the way."
"Ah, sure."
Of course, he couldn't exactly ask Tasha here and now, 'Why are you going so overboard?'
So Jeon decided to follow her guidance for now.
"Most people think of the main tower building when they hear White Magic Tower, but the main tower mostly houses research facilities. Other work happens in the surrounding buildings."
With that, Tasha guided Jeon to the registration building.
"I've handled everything that could be done in advance. You probably just need to read and sign a few times."
As Tasha said, at the building, he received his magic tower ID with just a few signatures.
"The magic tower ID is essential for moving between buildings or visiting specific labs or executives' offices, so please carry it at all times."
"Got it."
"Normally, we'd give a brief tour of the White Magic Tower interior after registration, but Knect instructed me to take you straight to the dispatch team office once registered. I'll guide you there now."
Leaving the building, Tasha headed toward the main tower.
Following her, Jeon reflected that she now seemed like a completely different person from the one who had rushed over from afar earlier.
'I thought she was super scatterbrained at first...'
Her frantic run, panting without catching her breath, belated sudden greeting.
Her first impression had been quite clumsy.
But watching her guide now, she seemed quite—no, very meticulous.
Anyway.
Following Tasha's guidance, Jeon finally entered the magic tower's main building.
And the sight that greeted him right away drew a short exclamation.
"Wow."
Since coming to this world.
The finest facility Jeon had seen was the Silvermont mansion.
But the main tower's interior boasted facilities on an entirely different level.
'Even compared to buildings from my previous life, it wouldn't fall short.'
It was impeccably clean, but more than that.
The ceiling height was extraordinary.
Even on the clearly divided first floor, it felt like entering a massive dome with its soaring height.
And from the floor to the distant ceiling above.
No part lacked magical craftsmanship.
In terms of completion, it didn't seem inferior at all to modern architecture from his previous life.
"Our dispatch team office is on the fifth floor. This way."
And furthermore.
Where Tasha led him, something very familiar appeared in Jeon's eyes.
'An elevator?'
The essential facility from his previous life for going between floors.
Something almost identical welcomed him.
With five on each side wall—a total of ten elevators lined up—it even made him wonder if he had returned to Korea.
"The White Magic Tower is one of the top places in magical engineering among all magic towers. This elevator was the first one we developed."
To think they had even developed elevators.
"...Impressive."
During his slave days and life in Brea Village, he had thought of it as a barbaric medieval era.
But the pinnacle of magical engineering rivaled the modern world.
'Isn't this the true wealth gap?'
With magic and money, it seemed nothing was impossible.
As Jeon internally marveled at the elevator.
The one carrying him and Tasha arrived at the fifth floor.
And the first sight upon the elevator doors opening.
"You're Jeon!"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Edhok!"
"Do you remember my face!? I'm Collin, the qualification exam proctor!"
"Hey! I was first!"
"Hey now! Don't push! I got here first!"
"Me first!"
Numerous middle-aged men filled the space in front of the open elevator doors.
'...What the hell is this?'
And their enthusiastic courtship(?) activities.