Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Magic Genius with Korean Patch
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"A guest here to see me?"
Someone who had gone out of their way to visit him all the way at the White Magic Tower.
No proper candidates came to mind other than Bolton, at best.
"If your schedule allows, would you like to meet them right away? They've been waiting about a week."
"Uh... sure, why not."
Jeon nodded at Knect's question, agreeing to meet for now.
He had just arrived, but thanks to taking his time on the journey, he wasn't particularly tired.
"Then we'll prepare a reception room right away."
And so, the meeting between Jeon and his unexpected guest was arranged immediately.
The venue was the White Magic Tower's reception room.
Not the main tower, but a separate space for receiving external visitors. To Jeon, it felt somewhat similar to the visitation rooms he'd seen during his military days.
Of course, it was far more luxurious than those, with private rooms, but the overall vibe was strangely reminiscent.
'But who could it be?'
Even as time was set and he headed to the reception room, Jeon couldn't guess who the guest might be.
He'd asked Knect, but the guest hadn't wanted to reveal their identity, so he hadn't gotten any prior notice.
Thus, he entered the reception room to meet this mystery guest, and the moment the staff guided him and he opened the door...
"Ah, there you are."
"You finally made it!"
"Huh?"
The two people waiting inside turned to look at Jeon in unison.
Jeon, faced with them, froze with a dumbfounded expression for a moment.
And who could blame him?
"Lena and... Sir Risar?"
These two, who should have been back in Silvermont territory, were waiting for him in the room.
"It's so hard to even see your face! I've been waiting a whole week!"
Lena planted her hands on her hips and thrust her chest out proudly as she watched Jeon stumble to process the situation.
Just from the pose alone, she exuded enough confidence and pride to pass for a general.
'...What the heck?'
They had come to see him, sure.
But why was she striking such a haughty, almost arrogant pose?
And her face was full of that same smugness.
'She must have accomplished something... Hm, she grew a bit taller?'
Like Jeon, who was in the middle of his growth spurt, Lena was too.
Indeed, in just over three months apart, she'd grown quite a bit.
But that wasn't reason enough to strut like this.
Given her personality, she wouldn't brag about height unless she surpassed his.
So, that left...
"Wait... no way...?"
"You got it! I reached 4th Circle!"
He hadn't expected his hunch to be spot on.
Before leaving Silvermont, Jeon had told Lena—who wanted to follow him to the White Magic Tower—exactly that.
'Come after you reach 4th Circle.'
But 4th Circle wasn't that easy a milestone.
Up to 3rd, talent alone could carry you, but beyond required insight alongside it.
'I figured it'd take at least a few years.'
Yet here she was, achieving it in mere months.
"For real?"
"Of course!"
"After you left, Lady Lena trained incredibly hard."
Lena answered proudly to his double-check, and even Risar chimed in from the side.
Lena might fib or joke occasionally, but Risar wasn't the type for that.
So yes, Lena had truly reached 4th Circle.
'At this rate, she's on par with Ralph, no problem.'
When Jeon first met Lena, she was 14.
A year had passed since, making her 15 now.
A 15-year-old 4th Circle Mage?
Even her 3rd Circle was rare for her age group.
4th was outright unparalleled.
"Heh heh heh."
Her smug expression and chuckle made it all too believable.
As Jeon marveled at her achievement...
"So, Jeon! What about you? Did you reach 4th Circle too?"
Now Lena turned the question on him, her eyes sparkling.
That competitive streak toward him clearly hadn't faded.
"Uh... I'm still at 3rd."
Jeon answered honestly.
He didn't feel competitive anyway—only Lena did—and not reaching 4th didn't make him weaker than her.
But that was just his perspective.
"Heh heh heh, I see? Heh heh heh, just as I thought."
A victor's smile slowly spread across Lena's face upon hearing he hadn't.
'...Well, look at you.'
Seeing her so smug stirred a unfamiliar spark of rivalry in Jeon.
'I was already on the verge of a breakthrough anyway...'
Ever since the Kairon Dungeon incident.
Jeon had sensed something elusive in the realm of mana and space, expanded further by meeting a grand mage.
But regardless.
Bragging 'I'm basically at 4th Circle too!' right now would just sound lame with her standing there.
"Heh heh heh... Looks like I'm still one step ahead!"
"Congrats."
All Jeon could offer was a plain congratulations.
"You better step it up!"
Lena raised her nose high, basking in the moment with a triumphant grin.
Of course, it didn't make her look ugly.
His rivalry stemmed purely from pursuit of magic improvement; he didn't see her as a rival.
To him, she felt more like a young niece.
'She's seriously impressive, though. How'd she break through?'
Curiosity struck: how had she reached 4th Circle?
He himself had hit the threshold via massive experiences, but Lena in Silvermont likely had fewer such moments.
Yet at her age, she'd done it.
"That's a huge accomplishment. Probably no one your age has reached that level."
"Ehm, really?"
"Yep."
"But I heard the tower's full of geniuses."
Lena puffed up at the praise but shrank a bit mentioning the tower.
True, it was packed with them.
'Ralph goes without saying... Tasha's 4th at her age qualifies as genius too.'
Even among those Jeon knew, young Ralph and Tasha had impressive levels.
Lena's was no less.
"Don't worry, almost no one's on your level."
"R-Really?"
Lena's shoulders straightened again at his words.
'Reached 4th and grew taller, but still the same kid.'
Jeon chuckled seeing little else changed.
"What? Why're you laughing?"
"Just... nice."
Tower life wasn't bad, but everyone was a decade older, so even if mentally similar, no one to treat casually.
Not like with Lena and Risar, bonds built over time.
Seeing someone he could relax with, even with an age gap, melted his subconscious tension.
"What does that mean?"
"It's a good thing."
Anyway.
They'd met sooner than expected, but over three months apart meant plenty to catch up on.
"How've you been?"
"Long story."
From leaving Silvermont, Haswell events, journey to the tower, and tower life since.
The bundle of tales was enormous.
"I've got stories too!"
"Haha, yes. You've trained hard and endured the trip here, miss."
Lena had plenty too, not as much as Jeon, but enough to talk all day.
The three lost track of time, sharing stories animatedly.
"Goblins using magic?"
"Yeah, no joke. Nearly died."
So many stories, Jeon's tales hadn't even reached the tower yet after hours.
But the endless chatter halted at a knock on the reception room door.
Knock knock.
"Is Master Jeon inside?"
Too loud?
The sudden knock and voice made the lively trio flinch inwardly.
Jeon, addressed, cautiously approached the door.
"Ah, yes. Sorry, were we too noisy?"
Apologizing preemptively as he opened it, feeling bad for disturbing others.
"Pardon? No, not at all."
The person outside waved it off.
"Ah, then...?"
Not noise—time up maybe?
Those thoughts vanished upon seeing them.
'That outfit?'
A pristine white robe embroidered with silver thread and patterns, a gem-shaped silver emblem at the neckline center.
Jeon knew one person in the tower who wore that.
"...Vice Tower Master?"
The tower's number two.
Confirming the attire and face, Jeon froze.
Lena and Risar inside were speechless at the bigwig's sudden appearance.
Only the Vice Tower Master could speak.
"My apologies for interrupting your meeting, but the Tower Master wishes to see you, Master Jeon. Does your schedule allow?"
His words delivered further shock.
"...The Tower Master wants to see me?"
Jeon snapped out of it, asking back.
The Vice Tower Master nodded.
"Yes. If now's inconvenient, we can reschedule."
"Uh... well..."
Jeon glanced at Lena and Risar.
They nodded vigorously—go ahead.
Hard to refuse when the number two personally delivers the number one's request.
"My schedule's free."
"Excellent. Shall we go now?"
Jeon waved goodbye to Lena and Risar.
Then followed the Vice Tower Master to the tower's pinnacle, where the Tower Master resided.