If an Explanation is Needed (1)
Mage Tower. The atmosphere was far from ordinary.
"I'm already getting worried..."
"I wonder how many will be wiping tears this time."
"I'm just gonna skip this conference. I don't have the confidence."
Was it the pressure of the approaching regular conference? Not wrong, but not quite accurate.
What the proficient mages truly feared wasn't the regular conference itself.
It was the pre-verification in Topaz Hall that came before it.
Swoosh—
As they climbed and descended the Mage Tower's stairs, their gazes naturally turned toward Topaz Hall.
The proficient mages couldn't forget the sounds that had emanated from there.
"My stomach still churns just thinking about it..."
And rumors without legs grow legs of exaggeration.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"No, the Mage Tower ghost story...!"
"Ghost story? This ain't a school. What weird crap are you on about now?"
"It's not weird! I definitely heard it myself! The proficient mages were talking! They say every time the regular conference nears, these mournful wails just won't stop coming from Topaz Hall."
It was overkill even for the rookies.
Players found everything in the Mage Tower unfamiliar.
Moreover, apprentice mages had little to do with the regular conference.
So it was only natural they didn't even know pre-verification happened in Topaz Hall.
Thanks to that, the ghost stories spread like wildfire among the players.
But despite the rumors, no one could verify if they were true.
Floating Garden.
"...Wait, is that for real?"
"Huff huff, of course!"
Linne, the proficient mage panting heavily. Jibril, another proficient mage, grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol is skipping pre-verification? Really? Is it confirmed?"
"Hey. Jibril, give me a sec to catch my breath..."
"This is serious, Linne!"
"I-it's true! I just confirmed it on my way here!"
There was a reason Jibril was grilling Linne.
She wasn't the type to get scared off by pre-verification.
Yes, it was because of Hoyeol.
"It's impossible by my common sense!"
The weight of the Grand Mage.
Lee Hoyeol had shouldered that weight entirely.
Just look at how he personally signed countless tower exit requests amid his packed schedule of critical duties.
And now, that Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol was skipping pre-verification?
"There must be a reason."
Jibril murmured meaningfully.
"...What on earth could it be."
That would make him skip pre-verification?
Separate from Jibril's concerns, a few proficient mages' faces lit up.
Lee Hoyeol, the Grand Mage who had brought tears and storms to the Mage Tower.
Skipping pre-verification this time?
"Isn't this our chance...?"
"...Changed my mind. Heading to apply for verification now."
"Damn, good call applying for pre-verification with the resolve to shatter."
But it was a massive misunderstanding.
Hoyeol's absence meant he had prepared someone to fill his spot.
A chilling wind, not tears and storms, blew through Topaz Hall.
A gloomy voice echoed down the Mage Tower corridors.
"Next, proficient mage Andante Ruth."
Yes.
Senior black mage Matis Din Karl.
He, whom even the other senior mages (well, just Bensy alone) feared.
Was filling in for Hoyeol.
"I pray you do not disappoint me, Andante."
For the proficient mages, it was a mountain beyond a mountain...
*
Contradiction.
No word captured my current feelings better.
"Hm."
The green tea cookies, bought on half-price sale.
They tasted fine, but not quite satisfying.
It wasn't dissatisfaction with the cookies.
One of the Grand Mage's duties: liberation from Topaz Hall pre-verification.
Thanks to the quest from the Tower Master, no less.
"A profound pity."
...Get your subject straight, Grandfell.
Anyone hearing that would think I was bummed about the green tea cookies.
Of course, this sentiment was regret over missing pre-verification.
This damn sense of responsibility.
Anyway, such a weighty Grand Mage duty.
I didn't just dump it on anyone.
"I trust you shall bear it well."
I entrusted my spot to Matis.
Marcelo already had more than enough on his plate.
Matis, the previous top candidate for Grand Mage.
He could more than cover my absence.
"I shall repay Your Excellency's trust."
Matis rarely ventured out anyway.
Now he was handling pre-verification for the first time at my request.
In that sense, I owed Matis a cup of tea.
I murmured.
"The Mage Tower still harbors too many unnecessary procedures."
No matter the quest.
Grandfell wouldn't foist his burdens on others without good reason.
So why ask Matis for pre-verification?
The Mage Tower's regulations.
"This time, we shall adhere."
Yes. No choice but to follow, Grandfell.
You know it's weird too.
Conference participants handling pre-verification themselves.
'That's beyond nosy—it's absurd.'
Speaking of, a regular conference presentation.
Truly, what a fate.
I checked the quest window.
You who have achieved noble magical feats.
Prove your achievements at the regular conference.
And announce the founding of a new school of magic.
─ Present Reversal Magic at the regular conference.
(In Progress)
From the moment he turned into a cat out of nowhere, I knew!
The Tower Master was sly as hell.
Mastering the "postpone and pile on" tactic.
Founding a school was daunting enough.
'At least it's better than next Tower Master...'
I was even thinking such weak thoughts unbidden.
What conference presentation for my fate?
'If it were some monumental achievement, maybe.'
Reversal Magic.
It was literally just doing things backward.
'Found a school and present it? Come on...'
But the Tower Master, and Marcelo too, were dead serious.
Suddenly, Marcelo's flushed, excited voice resurfaced.
"By regulation, to ascend to Tower Master, one must prove achievements and contribute to the Mage Tower. Your Excellency's Reversal Magic more than suffices for contribution points. It is magic on a level incomparable to the theoretical magic I founded."
No, I have zero ambition for promotion, Marcelo?
I'd love to ditch this quest.
But after hearing Marcelo, I got hooked despite myself.
'...Contribution points.'
That means [Relationship] and [Influence], right?
Human nature is sly.
The urge to max everything out.
And surging alongside, my greed as Lee Hoyeol.
'Max it out, unlock the [Authority] function...'
Does that mean I can toy with the Mage Tower as I please?
Suddenly, my resolve upon first entering the Mage Tower resurfaced.
Yes, if that day comes.
Freely use the magical artifacts piled in the Mage Tower.
I vowed that, back then.
Of course, this pride wouldn't tolerate uprooting the tower for personal gain...
I've seen it in Yusra Kingdom, in Muon.
High [Relationship] and [Influence] only bring benefits.
'Alright, let's do it.'
Truth be told, I'd decided positively long ago.
The problem? Mindset alone doesn't solve it.
How the hell do I present it?
'Even Marcelo and the Tower Master didn't get it.'
No matter how kindly I explain.
Will the mages at the conference understand?
And that's not the end.
Knowing Grandfell, he'd go further.
"No magic is more intuitive than this."
Worried he'd scold the audience for not getting it.
That's why I was doing my utmost.
Preparing the presentation in earnest.
"Yet, they shall comprehend."
Besides, the Mage Tower wasn't the old, closed-off one.
More players would attend as mages.
My every move would spread worldwide via players' fingertips.
'...Please, no embarrassing crap.'
What a bizarre life.
Reversal Magic, nothing special.
Yet founding a school with it in the Mage Tower.
Calling it the Bubble School wouldn't be off.
Embarrassing even now.
Scribble scribble—
Now, package this bubble as convincingly as possible.
Before the vast Crystal Hall audience.
Gild my bubble, in other words.
I slashed the quill pen, swallowing a groan.
...The green tea cookies taste especially bitter.
*
The day of the regular conference.
Mages checking the schedule were stunned.
"Th-the last slot...?"
"Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol's presentation?!"
"That's why he skipped pre-verification!"
"What? Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol is presenting?!"
Jibril, Cley, and the proficient mages couldn't hide their shock.
Not just Grand Mage of the Mage Tower—Lee Hoyeol held so many roles.
Cley was genuinely awed.
"Truly amazing. Inspiring, even."
Methods to cultivate magical herbs.
Cley had felt the pressure preparing her regular conference presentation.
Pre-verification aside, standing at the Crystal Hall podium had cluttered her mind endlessly.
"I couldn't stop thinking about my research even while eating or sleeping... But Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol prepared his presentation while handling other duties?"
Silent Linne seized the opening.
"No. Strictly speaking, that's not right, Miss Cley."
"...Pardon?"
"He didn't participate in pre-verification this time, right? Oof?! J-Jibril?! Wh-why pinch my arm all of a sudden?!"
Jibril glared at Linne with contempt.
"At proficient mage level, you should know the Mage Tower regulations, Linne. Do you really think it's common sense for a presenter to verify others' research?"
"...Ah."
"That remark was a bit hasty, Mr. Linne."
Even Cley piled on.
As Linne shut up, Jibril's expression turned serious again.
"It'll surely be an incredible presentation—from the Grand Mage!"
Apprentice mages.
Players thought similarly.
The conference hadn't even started.
Yet player communities overflowed with conference posts.
For real? Grand Mage Lee Hoyeol presenting?? Whoa
Gonna smash the finale epic fr lol
Lips twitched, but no one dared speak carelessly.
Plenty of time before opening.
Yet all senior mages were seated in Crystal Hall.
Someone whispered.
"...Definitely not an ordinary presentation."
Even elder mage Yugweed.
Thus, the regular conference began amid inflated, bubbly expectations.
...
In the end.
This regular conference's impact was unprecedented.
Not just magical achievements.
Beyond the Mage Tower, to the masses.
Etching Reversal Magic into everyone's minds worldwide.
Yes.
It started with a small commotion.
The final slot.
The moment Hoyeol took the podium.
Someone murmured softly.
"...Claudi?"