The Training Camp (1)
"Come in."
The man who entered the room at the Vice Tower Master's invitation was tall, with his back held ramrod straight.
He looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties, but he was surely older than that.
The mana radiating from him was considerably deep and weighty.
'A 6th-level mage of the Red Tower.'
Oscar could roughly guess why the man had come.
'They said the magic towers were dispatching 6th-level mages to hunt down the Mage Hunter.'
It was probably connected to that.
The Vice Tower Master smiled warmly and spoke up.
"Welcome. I am Hamel Grimwiz, Vice Tower Master of the White Tower."
"Thank you for responding to such a sudden request. I am Karim Pernian, a 6th-level mage of the Red Tower."
The man bowed his head with courtesy, though without a trace of servility, then stole a glance at the two others in the room.
For a moment, his face seemed to ask who exactly they thought they were, sitting in on this meeting.
But once he confirmed their youthful faces, he lost interest entirely, sparing them not even a glance.
"It seems you had a prior engagement."
"Yes, we were in the middle of receiving an urgent report. Since it concerns you as well, Master Karim, please have a seat."
At the mention that it concerned him too, Karim showed a flicker of surprise as he took his seat and asked, "It concerns me... might this be about the Mage Hunter?"
"Exactly right. You came to the White Tower to share information on the Mage Hunter, so you should see your duty through."
The Vice Tower Master delivered the news short and sharp.
"The Mage Hunter is dead."
"...!"
At the utterly unexpected news, Karim's eyes widened slightly.
"You mean they've already been put down?"
"Yes."
"Who on earth could have... Could it have been the Yellow Tower?"
"The White Tower."
The Vice Tower Master went on with a gentle smile.
"The two people seated here are the ones who killed the Mage Hunter."
"...These two?"
Only then did Karim turn his gaze back toward them, and this time his eyes were heavy with unmistakable disbelief. After a moment's thought, he asked carefully.
"Honestly, I find that hard to believe. The Mage Hunter is a duo that has hunted down even 5th-level mages of the Red and Yellow Towers."
"Heh heh, I completely understand your skepticism."
The Vice Tower Master nodded and looked toward Oscar. Judging by his expression, he wanted Oscar to explain the details, so Oscar gave a full account of what had happened.
Once the explanation was over, Karim murmured, "A pair of two... a trap-hunt using a magical tool called the Name Card, was it..."
"They were both 4th-level mages, but they weren't as strong as the rumors made them out to be."
"I imagine not. Vermin with no family to speak of, let alone a tower."
His offhand response offered a clear window into the kind of man he was.
'...A textbook bloodline supremacist.'
The sort who believed only the chosen few born into noble houses could truly master magic.
Incidentally, those were the very people who had despised his past self more than anyone.
'I suppose I can see why. A back-alley orphan went and became the greatest mage in the world.'
He wondered whether those people had felt even a shred of gratitude when he had died alongside the Great Emperor.
"By the way..."
Only now did Karim Pernian's gaze finally turn toward them.
"Who might you two be?"
He certainly didn't waste any time asking.
Oscar and Kilian answered in turn.
"Oscar Crucian, a 3rd-level mage of the White Tower."
"I am Kilian Lockwood, a 4th-level mage of the White Tower."
At those names, Karim's eyes widened a touch.
The pair before him were, after all, the fastest-rising mages across every magic tower as of late.
But his interest lay with only one of them.
"So you're the current head of House Crucian. A pleasure."
Blatantly ignoring Kilian, he extended a handshake to Oscar alone.
The intention behind it was obvious, but this was still a guest from another tower.
"Yes."
The instant their hands clasped briefly, mana flowed in through Karim's palm.
'Trying to gauge my level, are you?'
Oscar scoffed inwardly.
'A hundred years too early.'
At the same moment, Karim's expression stiffened slightly.
As a 6th-level mage of the Red Tower, he had met countless mages of every affiliation over the years, and thanks to that experience, he had always been quite confident in his ability to read an opponent's caliber. This was the first time something like this had happened.
'What is this?'
He could read nothing at all.
It felt like staring into a bottomless abyss so deep that its end could not be seen.
'I can't read it? And from a mere 3rd-level mage, no less?'
As he strained his bewildered mind to somehow make sense of the situation, the Vice Tower Master's voice sounded at his ear.
"You must be tired from such a long journey. Feel free to stay the night before you go."
"...No, thank you."
Karim shook his head and slowly rose from his seat. Even in that moment, his gaze lingering on Oscar showed no sign of drifting away.
"I'll rest in the car on the way back."
"...You're taking a taxi all the way back to the Red Tower from here?"
Nobles of the Red Tower certainly did seem to have money to burn.
That taxi fellow cost an obscene fortune just to get to Baran.
When Oscar clicked his tongue and asked, Karim tilted his head. "A taxi? What are you talking about? I mean my private vehicle, of course."
"A private... vehicle?"
"High-ranking mages of the Red Tower are each provided with a personal car and a driver for private use."
"..."
Now that's something to be jealous of. The White Tower doesn't have anything like that?
When Oscar glanced sidelong at the Vice Tower Master, the old man chuckled softly and slyly averted his eyes.
"Travel safely. I hope our next meeting brings better news."
"Yes. I hope for the same."
"Vice Tower Master, if you don't mind, I'd be happy to escort Master Karim to the tower entrance."
"Hmm?"
At Oscar's words, Vice Tower Master Hamel's eyes went round.
That's not like him at all — why the sudden change of heart? The question bloomed plainly across the old man's face.
"You don't mind, do you?"
"Well... go right ahead."
The two men left the room and headed straight for the mana elevator.
Wearing a pleased expression at having been offered an escort, Karim remarked casually, "I seem to recall exchanging greetings with your father at a few social gatherings."
"...Did you?"
"He boasted so endlessly about his son's talent. Having seen you today, I can understand why."
When Oscar turned his head, Karim was smiling gently as he patted his own shoulder.
"The Red Tower always welcomes outstanding talent. All the more so for a gifted mage like yourself."
"Outstanding, gifted mages, you say..."
Oscar faced him and asked with a pleasant smile, "Do you mean someone like Lloyd Schultz?"
The reason Oscar had volunteered to escort this insufferable man was simple.
Karim Pernian was the first Red Tower mage he had encountered since inhabiting young Oscar's body.
He could not afford to pass up a precious chance to gather information about his first disciple.
"...Lloyd Schultz?"
At the name, Karim's brow furrowed as though an insect were crawling across his skin.
"No. I'm not talking about some rootless orphan. To put it in simpler terms... I mean a mage with a proper pedigree and talent, like yourself."
"But I heard his talent is enormous. The Red Tower Master himself took him on as a disciple, didn't he?"
"Talent alone cannot seize everything. His limits are plain to see."
Oscar could guess how Lloyd was being treated within the Red Tower now. But this much information wasn't enough.
"Is Lloyd Schultz doing well?"
"...You seem remarkably interested in him."
Displeasure flickered across Karim's narrowed eyes, and Oscar simply shrugged.
"Surely you know what they call him at our tower?"
"I don't. What do they call him?"
"The Bat. The Traitor. The Opportunist. Things along those lines. I was curious whether he'd been living high on the hog since transferring to the Red Tower — though apparently not."
Reading the relish Oscar had deliberately laced into his words, Karim let a deep smile spread across his face.
"Ah, if that was your intent, then worry no more. He's an outsider even within the Red Tower itself. As proof, he can barely set foot in the main tower and keeps getting shuffled off to wander the battlefields."
"...Well, that's a fitting punishment."
Despite the words that left his mouth, Oscar's heart ached terribly.
You foolish boy.
He had left the White Tower, so he should have been happy — yet the thought of him eating cold stares in a place full of strangers made a corner of Oscar's chest tighten with sorrow.
"It seems we get along rather well, you and I. Any interest in transferring to the Red Tower? A man who will one day be Count Crucian — I could arrange a special place for you in the faction I belong to."
"I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm afraid it would be difficult right now. I have quite a lot on my plate."
Oscar answered with a smile to the very end.
Merely leaving a connection open with a high-ranking mage of the Red Tower would prove useful someday.
"Really? A shame. Once your business is finished, contact me anytime."
Karim nodded as though it were a matter of no consequence. He might very well have already convinced himself that Oscar was recruited.
Ring!
The moment they stepped out of the elevator and exited the tower, a harsh shout erupted from somewhere near the entrance.
"Say it again. I dare you!"
Wondering what was going on, Oscar looked over — and in front of a robed mage of the Red Tower stood two familiar faces.
Both of them were his students.
"What are you so angry about? I was just stating facts."
"Facts, you say?"
"Yes. I excelled at the Academy from the very start, and thanks to that I was the first among my class to reach 4th level after joining the Red Tower. Meanwhile, your grades were always mediocre, so I suppose that's why you ended up somewhere like the White Tower, still stuck at 3rd level. Is there a single word in what I said that's wrong?"
"Why you insolent little..."
"Sylvia, let it go."
Having observed the scene for a moment, Karim began walking over with brisk, deliberate steps.
As the two men approached, the Red Tower mage recognized Karim and hastily bowed at the waist.
"Have you finished your business, sir?"
"Yes."
Karim swept his gaze over the pair standing with the man and asked, "What's going on here?"
"Nothing at all, sir. I ran into some friends from my Academy days and we were just catching up."
"Oh? Friends, you say. Children of which houses?"
"Ah, well... they're commoners."
"...Commoners?"
Karim's brow furrowed at once, and he let out a sigh.
"Hoo. Leo Brühlt, how many times have I told you? Even a single word exchanged should be reserved for people worth the exchange. People, for instance, like the head of House Crucian standing here. I believe I'm a few years your senior."
As Karim introduced him naturally, Leo gave a quick bow.
"A pleasure! I am Leo Brühlt, a 4th-level mage of the Red Tower."
"...I'm Oscar Crucian."
Receiving the greeting with only a slight nod, Karim chuckled and went on.
"I've been taking this boy around here and there because I want to give him some real combat experience. He was the first graduate of this year's Academy class to reach 4th level. As the second son of Viscount Brühlt, his talent is decent enough... but as you can see, he still has plenty of rough edges. It would have been lovely if he'd taken after you."
"I see."
By then, his students had already ceased to exist in Karim's eyes.
The moment he learned they were commoners, they had become not even worth a thought.
"Ah, there's my car. We'll be off, then."
Oscar bowed toward Karim.
"Yes. I look forward to seeing you again."
"Next time, let us talk from a better seat, among people more befitting you."
With a gentle smile, Karim Pernian climbed into a luxurious vehicle alongside Leo Brühlt and drove away.
Oscar stared at the spot where they had vanished, then asked, "Frustrated?"
His students — Benjamin and Sylvia, who had been standing dumbly behind them this whole time — nodded.
"...Yes. I'm frustrated."
"I could put up with being looked down on myself, but he dismissed the entire White Tower along with us. It's irritating."
"Nothing to be done. That's where the White Tower stands right now."
At Oscar's matter-of-fact tone, Sylvia's lips pushed out in a pout.
"Senior, doesn't talk like that make you angry at all?"
"Of course it makes me angry. Furious, even. But what difference would it make if I huffed and puffed about it?"
He turned to Sylvia and continued.
"The world is full of people who judge and discriminate based on nothing but birth, status, and affiliation. Do you know the only way you two can stand tall in front of people like that?"
Sylvia pondered for a moment before answering, "Skill?"
"Exactly. Skill. Overwhelming skill so complete that every other condition becomes a footnote."
At his words, both students' faces darkened.
"But... that guy is already a 4th-level intermediate mage. He's stronger than us, too."
"It's not fair. Nobles get every kind of support imaginable from childhood while they learn magic in the first place."
"Honestly? The starting line is different. But so what?"
Oscar shot back the question with a nonchalant look.
"The world was never a fair place to begin with. Change doesn't begin with complaining about that fact — it begins with accepting it and facing it head-on."
Accept reality and face it.
As Benjamin turned the words over in his mind, he spoke up carefully.
"Compared to the children of noble houses, we lack talent, and we came to magic later in life. The White Tower's current situation, too, is hard to call good next to the other Four Great Towers. So how are we supposed to become better mages than them?"
"That's obvious. You make use of the one area where the White Tower holds an overwhelming advantage over the other Four Great Towers."
"An area where we're... overwhelmingly ahead of the other towers?"
"The White Tower has something like that?"
When the two asked with wide eyes, Oscar flashed a confident grin.
"Me. Search the entire continent and you won't find an instructor better than me."
"..."
"..."
Both of them wore expressions like they'd bitten into something foul — clearly skeptical, but it didn't matter.
He would simply show them.
Show them what a mage who had once been the strongest in the world could produce when he put his mind to training students.
"On the way back, post an official notice on the tower board."
Oscar spoke with his trademark air of overflowing confidence and composure.
"In three days, a training camp will be held for every 3rd-level mage in the tower. Tell them all to attend — without a single exception."
"...A training camp for 3rd-level mages, mandatory attendance for all. Understood."
"It starts in three days — and when should we write that it ends?"
In response to Sylvia's question, Oscar replied as though the answer were the most obvious thing in the world.
"When every last one of my students reaches 4th level."