?11-14 minutes 21.07.2022
Eugene hadn’t spent the whole two years solely within Sienna’s Hall. Even though it wasn’t as long as the time he had spent in Sienna’s Hall, he had also stayed on the eighth and sixth floors for quite some time.
The eighth floor held the Hall of Scorching Heat and the sixth floor held the Hall of Space.
If Eugene had been a bit greedier, he might have even wanted to spend some time in the Hall of Heavenly Punishment on the seventh floor and the Hall of Icy Chill on the eighth floor. But instead of needlessly spreading himself thin, reaching for this and that, Eugene had decided that he needed to concentrate on a few chosen topics.
The fire magic on the eighth floor was relatively simple yet powerful. Although the difficulty of the magic varied depending on how he wanted to control the flames, as long as he could first ignite some flames, he would be able to cast spells of sufficient power.
Flames on their own were just that powerful, volatile, and destructive. However, the flaw of fire spells was that they required an absurd amount of mana. And the Hall of Scorching Heat on the eighth floor stored the spells of the one who was the most powerful Fire Wizard in all of magic’s history.
Eugene held a personal interest in the Blink spell on the sixth floor in the Hall of Space, and he also needed to learn spatial magic to use the Cloak of Darkness properly.
The fruits of his study on the eight and sixth floors had proven more than adequate.
“So you’re finally out.”
A voice greeted Eugene as he stepped onto the first floor of Akron.
A middle-aged wizard who had been seated there got up to meet him. He waved his hand at Eugene while pasting on a friendly smile that seemed a touch too enthusiastic.
“Was there something else you needed from me?” Eugene asked exasperatedly.
This was Trempel Vizardo. As the Commander of Aroth’s Court Wizards, he had shown himself to be extremely interested in Eugene.
Strictly speaking, Trempel’s blatant attempts to curry favor was also a way of conveying Crown Prince Honein’s friendly intentions. Since their first meeting with Eugene, they didn’t hide the fact that they wanted to pull him closer.
“Sir Eugene, I’m always asking you to come and have a meal with me, but since you are so busy, we haven’t eaten together even once, have we?” Trempel asked chidingly.
Eugene replied, “I’ve already eaten.”
“Even though I’ve heard that you haven’t been out of Akron in the last nine hours? There’s no way Sir Eugene isn’t aware of the rule that eating and drinking are not allowed in Akron,” Trempel confidently declared.
It looked like the director must have spilled the beans.
Eugene glanced at the closed door to the director’s office before replying, “It’s just that I ate a bit too much at breakfast. If I had at least been able to move my body around a bit more actively, I would have digested it all already, but since I’ve just been sitting and reading, I haven’t been able to digest anything.”
“You’re saying that you weren’t able to digest anything after nine hours?” Trempel asked skeptically.
“What’s so hard to believe? In any case, let’s put off getting a meal until next—”
“Again with the next time? Sir Eugene, I didn’t want to say this, but… I’ve heard ‘next time’ so many times that it feels like those words are getting stuck in my ear.”
“I simply don’t have an appetite right now.”
Although Trempel’s gaze grew piercing, Eugene didn’t change his reply. It was obvious what this old wizard was trying to talk to him about. Promising him an important position in the Court Wizards and such….
Aroth’s Court Wizards Corps was considered one of the best Magic Corps on the entire continent. The treatment the members received was correspondingly excellent, and many wizards wished to become a member. Though no matter how prestigious or impressive it might be, in the end, it was still a military force, and during a time of peace like the one they had now, it was just another public office.
‘Do they think I’m crazy?’ Eugene scoffed to himself.
Eugene was only nineteen-years-old. He didn’t want to get tied down somewhere so soon. And among all his choices, he especially disliked the idea of joining a military force.
No matter how peaceful the world was, an army was still an army. Although it would be easy to rely on the names of the Lionheart Clan and Crown Prince Honein to get by in the hellish hierarchy-based system that was an army, Eugene still wouldn’t be able to live as freely and as comfortably as he did now.
‘Why is he trying to avoid such a great opportunity?’ Trempel thought to himself as he felt frustrated. ‘Could he truly have accepted an offer from somewhere else?’
Such thoughts caused Trempel to become nervous.
Eugene was currently the disciple of the Red Tower Master, Lovelllian. Although the position of a Tower Master wasn’t hereditary, if Eugene’s talent was paired with Lovellian’s teachings and the influence of the Lionheart clan, he would be sure to rise to the position of the Red Tower Master.
Trempel couldn’t allow this to happen. Aroth’s Towers of Magic and the Royal Palace might be in a cooperative relationship, but they weren’t truly of one mind. Trempel wanted to drag Eugene into the Court Wizards Corps by whatever means necessary. If he could achieve that, it would be easy for them to obtain the cooperation of the Lionheart clan with Eugene’s background….
‘There’s no way it could be that old fogey, Jeneric,’ Trempel decided.
Jeneric Osman was the Green Tower Master.
Trempel didn’t believe that geezer could have swayed Eugene. Just think about it. When Eugene first arrived in Akron two years ago, Jeneric and the Head of the Wizards Guild had been the only two to oppose granting Eugene an entrance pass until the last moment.
It was understandable why the Head of the Wizards Guild had taken such a position. Although it may have also been due to a question of fairness, there were surely personal feelings involved as well. The black wizard who had gotten close to Eward had been a member of the Wizards’ Guild. Though Balzac, the Black Tower Master, had been able to profess that he had had nothing to do with the incident, this left the Head of the Wizards Guild in a position where he couldn’t say the same.
In Aroth, where the power lay firmly in the hands of the Towers of Magic, the strength of the Wizards Guild couldn’t help but be diminished. Most perceived the Wizards Guild to be made up of a bunch of amateur wizards who weren’t able to join one of the Towers of Magic, and unfortunately, they couldn’t really deny the reality of this.
But if that was the case, why had Jeneric also opposed it?
The answer was simple. Because the one who had recommended Eugene was Lovellian.
Three hundred years ago, when the Wise Sienna had served as the Green Tower Master, two of the three disciples that she had taken had remained in the Green Tower of Magic, while the remaining disciple transferred over to the Red Tower of Magic.
These days, Aroth’s many wizards revered the Wise Sienna as their great master. However, Jeneric and Lovellian were the only ones who could legitimately claim to be part of Sienna’s line of succession.
The two of Sienna’s disciples who chose to remain in the Green Tower of Magic got married, had a child, and passed down their magic onto him. This child was the former Green Tower Master and Jeneric’s father.
There was no way that Jeneric’s family would be on friendly terms with the Red Tower of Magic. According to them, the third disciple’s audacity to leave the Green Tower of Magic where their master had taught and take root in a different Tower of Magic bordered on blasphemy.
Jeneric had inherited this line of succession through his blood and hated Lovellian even more. If Lovellian didn’t exist, then only Jeneric would be able to claim the legitimacy of the inheritance Sienna had passed down to her disciples. This would grant his bloodline a power that could not be ignored in this magical kingdom that worshiped Sienna.
So Lovellian’s very existence could be considered a thorn in Jeneric’s eye. This annoyance, Lovellian, also happened to be on excellent terms with the Patriarch of the Lionheart clan. Due to this, Lovellian had even taken the Lionheart’s eldest son into the Red Tower and given him special treatment. When that eldest son was caught doing something foolish, the adopted son of the Lionheart’s family had been sent to replace him.
That was why Jeneric had taken the opposing side on that issue. But after Lovellian took Eugene as his disciple, Jeneric began paying Eugene renewed attention. There was truth in the saying that in most cases, the other person’s share always seems bigger. So out of jealousy, Jeneric hoped to somehow persuade Eugene to leave the Red Tower of Magic.
Apart from the Green Tower of Magic and the Court Wizards Corps, many others were interested in Eugene.
The White Tower of Magic, Melkith, who had had the Cloak of Darkness taken from her for a whole nine years, hoped to somehow persuade Eugene to allow her to borrow Wynnyd again. Or, if not that, she hoped to at least convince him to return the Cloak of Darkness. But these materialistic desires weren’t the only reason she was paying attention to him, as Eugene had shown that he could freely control mid-level wind spirits.
As for the Black Tower of Magic, although it wasn’t openly stated, rumors had spread among the Tower Masters that Balzac was interested in Eugene. Due to the incident with Eward, the hostility between the Lionheart clan and the Black Tower of Magic had only deepened, so it seemed that Balzac somehow wanted to improve their relationship.
Only the Blue Tower of Magic was showing complete indifference to Eugene.
Trempel decided to change the subject, “…Ahem, Sir Eugene. Well… is your thesis going smoothly?”
“Yes, it is,” Eugene replied curtly. .
“If you wish, I can help you review it,” Trempel eagerly offered. “Of course, I’m fully aware that your teacher, the Red Tower Master, is already in charge of your review. However, the more advice you receive, the better, right?”
Eugene started to reject him, “Although I’m grateful for your offer—”
“Hold on. Don’t refuse just yet. It feels a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but in the end, isn’t the Red Tower of Magic specialized in summoning magic? Not only am I good at summoning magic, but I’m also capable in battle magic. After all, it’s not like I’m the commander of the Court Wizards for nothing.” Trempel quickly added, “My advice is sure to be different from the advice given by the Red Tower Master, who specializes in summoning magic.”
“Though that might be the case, it’s not like Sir Trempel knows what kind of thesis I’ve been preparing, right?” Eugene asked doubtfully.
That’s because the only one you’ve shown it to is the Red Tower Master. These words threatened to escape Trempel’s throat, only for him to swallow them back down with a gulp.
Trempel laughed, “Ha ha…. I might not know what it is, but I can find out just by reading it, right? I’m just as keen on the guidance of juniors as any of the Tower Masters. I also regularly publish theses with the Magic Society of Aroth, and I’ve reviewed the theses of my juniors on many occasions.”
“I’m grateful for your offer, but really, it’s fine,” Eugene rejected him once more. “Sir Trempel, If I accept your offer after having already gotten to this point, I’m afraid that I would be committing a great disrespect to my teacher, Master Lovellian.”
𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮