Performance Test (2)

Twenty senior mages of the Mage Tower. Each one represented a different school of magic. Naturally, they didn't get along particularly well. Mages were prideful by nature, after all—that alone was reason enough. These seniors competed fiercely for the position of chief mage. The chief mage of the Mage Tower: in each generation, only the mage at the absolute pinnacle could claim that seat.

In that sense, the current generation's seniors actually got along decently enough. All thanks to their common enemy: Chief Mage Marcelo.

"Tch. I knew he'd cause trouble eventually."

"He's always holed up in his lab—his senses must've dulled."

"It was absurd from the start, wasn't it?"

In the Crystal Hall—the space where the regular conference had been held—the twenty senior mages had gathered. The reason they chatted while hiding their true feelings was simple.

"Joint research with an adventurer? What nonsense is this?"

To challenge Marcelo's decision. His grave misjudgment. To drag him down from the chief's seat and leave it vacant.

The odds of success were overflowing. Especially since it involved an adventurer.

"Heh. Must've had nowhere else to turn, huh?"

Back when Arcana was just a game—before the worldviews interfered—adventurers had been enigmatic beings. They wielded the power of immortality, reviving even after death.

But here, in the adventurers' world, that immortality was gone. Their one remaining possibility had vanished.

"Even if that incident happened at the regular conference, we still don't know the truth, do we?"

"Exactly. Maybe that flailing adventurer just stumbled into the results of some pie-in-the-sky research!"

"And it's utterly unbelievable anyway. An adventurer understanding magic?"

Senior healing mage Bellie Yusia kept her mouth shut quietly. In the Crystal Hall, a space utterly devoid of wind.

Tremble—

For some reason, her dangling light-green curly hair quivered faintly. Bellie was barely suppressing a burst of laughter.

Ah, hilarious. Do they really think that'll work?

It wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠admiration for the adventurer, Lee Hoyeol. Bellie still didn't fully trust him either.

But Marcelo was different.

The founder of theoretical magic. He didn't discriminate between schools or even magic passed down from outside the tower. Marcelo had systematized that vast array of magic into the discipline of theoretical magic.

Thanks to that monumental achievement, he'd risen to senior mage—and immediately claimed the chief's seat.

All their yapping won't scratch that legacy.

No matter how coveted the chief's position was.

Deep down, they knew it too. No amount of scheming would unseat Marcelo through legitimate means.

So they'd bet their lives on this opportunity.

Bellie withdrew her sneer and glanced around.

...Especially that one, more than anyone.

Matis Din Karl of the black magic school. He'd be grinding his teeth the hardest. The man who'd dragged black magic—treated like demonic arts—up to its current status. Consensus held that without Marcelo's meteoric rise, Matis would be chief mage now.

Well, sure. If we're talking hypotheticals.

Bellie shrugged lightly.

It was about time.

The noisy chatter grew louder.

"This might make it hard to even enter on time, huh?"

Right, as they said—the proof of qualification had already begun.

Joint research with the chief mage demanded treatment equal to the chief. And that, in turn, required rigorous qualification proof.

Honestly, for an adventurer? She didn't expect him to pass.

With them all gnashing their teeth like this.

Just look at that firmly shut door. Triple-layered seals from different schools of magic. Even Bellie had to admire it.

Marcelo might manage, but...

For her or most other seniors, breaking those seals would take considerable time.

In that sense, the qualification proof was already a failure—the outcome was plain as day. The appointed time was almost up...

"...?"

That was when the first seal released.

No, the sound didn't stop there.

Clack—! Clunk—!

The triple seals unraveled in an instant. The three senior mages who'd cast them recoiled in shock.

"I-Impossible!"

"...He broke that so quickly?"

"...No way. Marcelo? Is it Marcelo?"

The door swung open.

But Marcelo wasn't there.

A lone silhouette stood in the backlight.

In that moment, a memory flashed in Bellie's mind.

...No way?

A story from Cley Odia, skilled mage of the healing school.

—Bellie, Senior Mage. Suppose... just suppose. Someone approached me without an invitation...

That would mean they'd pierced the Tower Master's illusion magic, right?

Cley wasn't one for idle chatter. So Bellie had pressed her.

Was there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such a person?

—Silver hair... Ah, no! Forget I said that.

She hadn't finished, but Cley had definitely said it.

Click—

The man emerged from the backlight.

Bellie's eyes widened.

"!"

His hair was unmistakably silver.

The Crystal Hall.

I hadn't expected to return here so soon after the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠regular conference.

And to prove my abilities, no less.

I scanned the gathered faces. Twenty, just as the quest stated.

Truly senior mages—their auras were ferocious, one and all.

Comparing the pressure they exuded...

Every one outstrips Harcon Kingsguard.

Harcon was level 600.

So what levels were these mages?

It really drove home the Mage Tower's caliber.

But.

Click—

Like it or not, I strode to the center of the Crystal Hall, basking in their gazes.

Then I spoke.

"It seems someone tampered with the door."

As if deeply offended.

The source of my displeasure was clear.

I desperately wanted to clock out...!

Conference, Yusra Archipelago, now back to the Crystal Hall for another.

I'd snatched a brief nap in the lab, but that hardly eased the exhaustion wracking my overworked body.

And amid all that, this quest popped up.

Even if I'm used to proving myself, isn't this schedule absurdly formal—no, inhumane?

Does the Mage Tower have no labor laws?

"I am not so idle as to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠indulge your childish pranks."

Overtime is the worst...!

Perhaps sensing my frustration, a few flinched.

I fixed them with a stare and continued.

"If you've wasted my time with such foolishness."

I just want to go home.

"I shall hold you formally accountable."

And pour scalding tea on you.

"!!!"

Three reacted especially sharply.

Why the theatrics? Before I could ponder, the quest window blinked.

And a response came.

"...We withdraw our objections to Chief Mage Marcelo's decision. We acknowledge Adventurer Lee Hoyeol's qualification for joint research."

I thought, naturally:

Yes, about time.

Who was the 'someone' who'd etched a mark in Arcana history?

For the media, nothing beat that gossip fodder. No need to own up to anything since nothing was confirmed.

They could spout whatever—for ratings. As sensationally as possible.

"It's gotta be Skal."

"Player ranking 1st, Skal?"

"Yeah. Would a guy like Skal settle for some island treasure? He's playing the mysterious type—pretending he didn't even slay that colossal evil."

Skal was the obvious pick for many.

But that theory had a fatal flaw.

"Dude, if Skal took it down, his level would've jumped."

Right. Skal was still level 406. Too small a gain for slaying something nearing level 650—the incarnation of Gluttony.

That left another prime suspect.

"Nah, it's definitely the Lionheart Knights."

Highest probability by far.

And Lionheart had witnesses.

"It was like a flash of light! Smashing skeletons and charging ahead!"

Level 650. Impossible for players.

But the empire's strongest, Lionheart Knights? Maybe.

Plus, they had allies.

"Gaon, Berserker, and even Lee Hoyeol. With that firepower, they might've pulled it off. Especially if Harcon went all-in."

Speculation and debate narrowed it down.

Lionheart Knights and players uniting to fell the colossal evil, incarnation of Gluttony.

Frustrating, knowing the truth.

"Ugh. Can't even show 'em this. Damn it!"

Infuriating.

I did it.

Thud thud!

Nam Taemin pounded his chest watching TV. Only his brother empathized.

"They're letting their imaginations run wild in the weirdest direction. What'd we even do? In the end, Hoyeol took down the colossal evil alone."

Nam Cheolmin had footage of that day's truth—through Taemin's view.

Even rewatched endlessly, it stunned.

The colossal evil faltering at Hoyeol's approach. The skill barrage that followed.

An overwhelming battle like nothing before.

Cheolmin nodded. "I get how you feel."

"Right! You got possessed by that imp too."

"Yeah. I was probably like that. The imp was terrified. Guess imps or colossal evils make no difference before Hoyeol."

Finally: Crowning the reawakened king. Unveiling Yusra's truth.

Taemin deepened his voice, mimicking Hoyeol.

"The time has come to right your wrongs, nameless king. Kyah."

This was drama. Epic cinema!

As the footage ended, Taemin wailed again.

"...Ugh, no other epic like this!"

Only we could see it. Forced to endure the wild theories.

Simple reason.

"Gotta endure the frustration. No choice."

The footage revealed Hoyeol's full power. Can't release without permission.

Cheolmin added, "Still, might come in handy later. Good thing few eyes saw it."

Aside from Lionheart. Only Taemin and Leoni Bellucci witnessed Hoyeol vs. colossal evil.

Both had ordered their guilds to retreat early.

"Yeah. Better not create regrets from the start."

Owed Hoyeol big again. What'd we contribute?

Hoyeol gave the chance to join Yusra Kingdom's reconstruction.

Thanks to him, Taemin and Gaon got the precious [Yusra Kingdom Reconstruction] quest.

Only way to repay: Dive in.

"Let's really grind hard, bro."

Everything has give and take.

We'd only taken so far. Someday, we'd give back.

Mid-vow, Taemin muttered.

"...That kid better keep her mouth shut, right?"

"Ah, my ear itches."

Scratch scratch—

Leoni scratched her innocent head. Scratching wouldn't untangle her messy thoughts.

Damn it.

She chucked the remote irritably.

"Not watching."

Flipping channels for something fun.

Everywhere: Yusra Kingdom talk.

That day's truth. Who slew the colossal evil.

Leoni slumped on the sofa, lips curling slyly.

"...They know jack."

I know everything. What really went down.

A smug superiority she hadn't realized crept in.

Precious, in its own way, to her.

"Sis, you really won't spill?"

"What?"

"You told us to bail, then what happened?!"

"Dunno. Me neither."

"Ugh, unfair!!"

She wouldn't even share with her guildmates—like sisters.

"What the hell happened to score a quest?!"

Leoni just puffed up proudly.

But her mind stayed tangled.

Quest progress would boost Berserker's influence and ranking naturally.

Good for a guild master, purely speaking...

...But doesn't this make me owe him again?

Would she end up buying him tea...?

Musing, Leoni murmured unwittingly.

"...Wonder what he's up to."

"What else? Sis, what time is it? Sleeping."

"...Wh-What? Who? Who’s sleeping?!"

"Who else? Lee Hoyeol."

"Wh-What?! No! What do you know?! Shut up!!"

Drip drip—

Sweat drops fell.

...I still wasn't asleep.

Intended to crash right after washing up.

My body refused.

Awakened to my frailty.

Even slaying the colossal evil alone.

Without Lionheart Knights and other players? Impossible.

Solo, I'd never reach it—swarmed by skeletons, mana exhaustion.

That fact.

My chest's pride couldn't accept it.

Only after confirming did I.

Thud—

Collapse like I'd fainted.

...Damn black history.

Trying to overcome it, but I'll die first...!

I barely opened my status window.