WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 49: Mage Tower
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The Magic Tower.
Along with City Hall, it was the group that wielded the greatest power in this vast Labyrinth City.
Hundreds of mages capable of casually burning several remote territories to the ground belonged there, and Masters were high-ranking mages who led those extraordinary people.
“Um...”
“Heh. Fine. Lead the way.”
Just as planned.
“Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for sparing me! Sob!”
What was this? Why was he even crying?
Startled by Widen’s behavior, I followed him into the Magic Tower.
‘What will the inside of a real Magic Tower be like?’
Well, my impression of the Magic Tower I’d been looking forward to seeing was that it was bleak, loud, and busy.
KABOOM!
Inside the vast stone structure, ominous explosion-like noises rang out nonstop from tightly sealed rooms marked with numbers, like prison cells.
“Gyaaaah! Masteeer! How am I supposed to revise a paper on phase-change calculation formulas in one day?!”
Mages carrying thick books and stacks of documents wandered around like mindless zombies, muttered to themselves like madmen, or held heated debates.
“If a Red Drake fought a Blue Drake, who would win?”
“Fire melts ice, so obviously the Red Drake.”
What caught my attention was a debate no man could resist.
“No, it’s the opposite. Ice freezes fire, so the Blue Drake wins.”
“What nonsense is this pathetic frost mage spouting? Elemental superiority naturally belongs to the thermodynamic output of the fire element! Heat cancels out the properties of ice!”
“Hah! You might be revered in cities and territories, but you useless bastards in the Labyrinth sure talk big for people who know nothing! Extreme Frost freezes the atmosphere that acts as fire’s medium and cuts it off faster!”
“Bullshit...”
“Enough! How can the distinguished mages of the Magic Tower try to settle something so childish with a fight?! Intellectuals who seek truth should compete with logic!”
“Hm. A Drake’s strength depends on its age and environment, and it also differs by sex. To begin with, the premise...”
“What if the Drake is a Mutant?”
“Now you’re just dragging it out.”
“Since the mood has been ruined, I propose a new topic for debate. Who wins, five hundred goblins or one ogre?”
“Interesting...”
“Oh, that’s a difficult one.”
[The Magic Tower. They thirst for the pursuit of new knowledge more than anyone in this stagnant world. At first glance, they may seem to waste time and resources on useless matters, but progress and innovation are found in places no one can predict.]
‘Just as expected, they’re all crazy.’
I shook my head.
The wandering mages conducting research in the laboratories outside weren’t normal either, but the people inside the Magic Tower were no better.
Was this what graduate school felt like, working in a professor’s cotton field?
‘These people are humanity’s greatest minds?’
‘Of course a Blue Drake would beat a Red Drake!’
It wasn’t because I was a frost mage. Absolutely not.
“Please follow me.”
I followed Widen, forcing myself to ignore the urge to jump into that debate.
Ah, the floating stone at the center of the building that rose into the sky was quite fascinating in person.
It looked like a medieval elevator.
“The Magic Tower has thirty-two floors in total. The thirty-second floor is where the Tower Lord resides, while the thirty-first and thirtieth floors are where the Masters of each school reside. Below that are the laboratories of each school, along with the quarters and private rooms of their mages.”
As we moved, Widen kindly explained every little detail.
It was as if he were certain that I, a wandering mage, would join the Magic Tower.
“To use the floating stone, board it, hold this stone tablet, and think of the floor you wish to visit. Ah, there are gravity-control spells and slime traps on every floor, so please be careful. You can’t commit suicide by jumping.”
That sounded like something horrifying had slipped into the explanation... Anyway, I got it.
“I see.”
Widen and I boarded the floating stone and went straight up to the thirty-first floor.
The floor where the Masters of each school lived, high-ranking mages called sages, was quiet unlike the other floors. It had only a few rooms and seemed incredibly spacious.
The Astrafe School.
Widen drew a deep breath before an antique door engraved with a lightning pattern, then carefully knocked.
“Master Castlelight. It’s Widen.”
“You fucking idiot!”
A curse immediately came flying through the door.
“You know there’s only one day left, right?! If you don’t find him by then, you’d better get ready to have a coffin made...”
“I-I brought the person you spoke of!”
...
The vicious swearing stopped at those words, and the door opened a moment later.
An old man stood there in an antique robe with a white base and bright yellow patterns. His thick eyebrows jutted upward like lightning, making him look like he had quite a temper.
“Are you Ian?”
I remembered the old man’s epithet.
‘Thunder Castlelight.’
The schools within the Magic Tower were largely divided by affinity.
Fire, earth, wind, water-Frost, Lightning, Arcane, alchemy, and more.
This old man was the master of one such school.
He was an expert in lightning elemental magic, the strongest affinity in anti-personnel combat.
‘So this is a grand mage.’
He hadn’t even cast a spell, yet the crackling energy spreading around him made my skin tremble.
“Come in. Make yourself at home. Go on.”
Unlike how he treated Widen, Castlelight welcomed me warmly.
“Then I’ll be on my way...”
“Where are you going? Bring us some lemonade.”
“...Yes.”
The room was neatly arranged with all kinds of research materials and equipment. Once I sat on the sofa, Castlelight took the seat across from me.
“Here you are, Master Castlelight.”
Widen set down two glasses of lemonade. Castlelight raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as if dissatisfied.
“Where’s the ice?”
“I-I’ll make it again!”
He was treating him like a servant.
Could he do that to a mage from another school?
‘Well, I suppose that’s fitting for a mage with a temperament as difficult and fiery as lightning.’
Gulp. Gulp.
“Ah, lemonade really is the finest drink. Its sharpness feels like it wakes up the brain and spinal cord. Don’t you think?”
Castlelight downed the lemonade in one go and set the glass down with a smack.
The sharp zing I hadn’t felt in a long time made me shudder as well.
“Ahh. It’s damn good.”
Mm. The perfect balance of sourness and sweetness.
It was a delicacy I hadn’t experienced since coming to this primitive medieval world. It was too expensive to buy in the city.
“Hoho, you know good taste. Want another glass?”
“Yes.”
“You heard him. Bring more.”
“Sniff.”
I took another sip of the lemonade refilled with someone’s tears and asked,
“Why were you looking for me? You’re the Master of a school, so you must be an incredible mage...”
I already knew, but I acted as if I didn’t.
“Year 1421. August 12th. You used Laboratory Twelve sometime in the afternoon, correct?”
The Magic Tower was the only organization in this world that recorded and distributed the year and date.
Thanks to them, scholars could keep records, and Expedition Party members could calculate the Contraction Period.
“I don’t remember the exact time, but I did use Laboratory Twelve recently. I conducted some research related to various elements, including Lightning, Frost, and Arcane.”
“Oho.”
Castlelight exclaimed in admiration, then spoke.
“This is why I called you. Those studies you conducted. How did you come up with such brilliant ideas? I heard you’re a wandering mage from some village, not a noble or from an established family.”
I set down my glass and thought.
I could guess why Castlelight had summoned me.
I also knew how I should handle this, and what I could gain from it.
“Well, that’s because...”
“Because...?”
The old man’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, scholarly passion, and a thirst for knowledge.
There was only one thing I could say to a grand mage admired by countless other mages.
“Because I’m a genius.”
...
A brief silence fell.
“Crazy...”
Widen, holding a tray, stared at me as if I were insane. Castlelight’s thick eyebrows twitched as though he were angry.
But a moment later, the silence broke.
“Hahahahahaha!!!”
Thunderous laughter filled the room.
“A genius? You’re calling yourself a genius? You dare say that in front of me? Hahahaha!”
Bang! Bang!
The grand mage of Lightning laughed hard enough to slap the table, then looked at me and spoke with clear fondness.
“I like you even more!!! Ian, was it? You! Become my disciple!”
Ah.
My popularity was something else.
Smiling, I brushed aside my bangs.
‘The plan worked!’
Magic was an academic field that devoured an enormous amount of money as its level rose, regardless of its complexity.
Dozens of gold coins.
Even the massive sum I earned during the last expedition could disappear after only a few experiments.
‘In the end, obtaining new spells or strengthening existing spells will only become harder.’
But if I became a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower, I could receive research funding.
On top of that, I would gain access to all kinds of knowledge and rumors that a wandering mage or low-ranking Expedition Party member could never reach.
Connections with the mages who held great influence in this city would be a bonus.
‘I’ll skim off the Magic Tower’s tax money, learn stronger spells, and head for the higher floors of the Labyrinth more easily!’
The bait I had thrown when I conducted magic experiments in the Magic Tower’s front yard last time.
That plan was finally gaining momentum.
No, I had caught an enormous fish.
‘Who would’ve thought a grand mage would personally try to recruit me?’
Looking at my excellent sponsor, no, the grand mage, I put on a shocked expression.
“Excuse me?”
* * *
He was younger than expected in person.
Had he only just become an adult?
And what the boy said was utterly ridiculous.
Hehe.
Everyone who entered the Magic Tower had been called a genius or prodigy by those around them.
But once those proud people entered the tower, they soon realized how small their world had been and how they had been frogs in a well.
Yet Castlelight quickly realized that this silver-haired brat before him was a true genius.
“How long has it been since you awakened as a mage?”
“About two months.”
“And you already have ten spells? On top of that, you have Lightning Arrow and Ice Spear?!”
“That’s impossible...”
Widen shook his head in disbelief.
“Show me!”
“Sure.”
Crackle!
Then Lightning flashed before their eyes, followed by a spear of Frost.
‘This one is the real deal!’
Castlelight’s eyes widened as he watched the various spells pouring from Ian’s hands.
Triple Masters, who handled spells of three affinities, were special people said to have received the blessing of the God of Magic. There were even a few in the Magic Tower.
Yet the more affinities a mage could wield, the harder it became to achieve greatness.
That was why Triple Masters in the Magic Tower were effectively treated as failures.
But none of that applied to this silver-haired brat.
He learned ten spells in less than two months?
And he was only fourteen?
What was with the clarity and stability of these spells without even using catalysts?
His potential was enormous.
Castlelight realized Ian was a more exceptional raw gem than he had first thought.
‘The research and spells he showed before are proof enough that he isn’t lying.’
Of course, the Magic Tower was filled with mages more skilled than this boy.
But this child would soon trample every last one of them and climb to greater heights.
It was the intuition Castlelight had gained from his own experience as someone called a once-in-a-generation genius since childhood.
‘I want him.’
Castlelight licked his dry lips and shouted at Widen.
“Another glass of lemo-nade!”
“Yes, yes!”
After draining his lemonade, he urged Ian with unusual impatience.
“What do you say?”
The Master of an entire school had personally asked him to join the Magic Tower. No, he had asked him to become his disciple.
Any ordinary wandering mage would have danced with joy and agreed immediately.
But this insolent brat was truly exceptional.
“Hmm, may I think about it for a moment?”
He actually dared to consider Castlelight’s proposal.
‘He’s cautious.’
‘He knows his own value.’
‘Calmness and intuition. Those are also virtues a mage must possess.’
‘That makes me want him even more!’
Just as Castlelight tapped his foot anxiously...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone knocked on the laboratory door.
“What is it? Which bastard is being so damn rude...”
Castlelight, about to roar in anger, flinched.
“Master Castlelight. It’s me.”
“...!”
“I heard an interesting guest had arrived. Hoho.”
It was because of the voice from outside the door, and the unsettling mana he could sense.
Fuck.
Those hyenas had come to steal my precious gem!
Alarm bells rang in Castlelight’s head.
Footnotes:
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