Chapter 32: Tower Master's Personal Disciple?
Leon headed towards the Central Magic Tower where Laidra was waiting, tilting his head at the bronze-colored structure under construction on one side of the Central Plaza.
Although only the upper body had been built so far, it looked familiar somehow.
Especially the attire.
...Isn’t that the General Disciple uniform? Are they making such a large statue of a General Disciple?
No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t make sense.
Continuously tilting his head, he ascended the Central Magic Tower.
Leon encountered Laidra in a conference room with a long table.
The muscular Elder with long white hair was staring at Leon with his arms crossed.
Leon, who was trying to hide his nervous feelings, thought it would be more natural to show his nervousness.
Laidra, who had been staring at Leon expressionlessly, blurted out.
“Tell me what you want.”“...Pardon?”
Unlike his emotionless expression, it was quite a generous statement.
“You saved the promising talents of the Magic Tower, so you should rightfully receive a reward.”
Is he not going to ask how I survived?
Leon observed carefully and said.
“No... I’m grateful just to have survived like this...”
Laidra raised his hand to stop Leon’s words.
“But first. Did you awaken your Mana because you gained an opportunity in the Lair?”“Yes... and then I was captured by the Witch...”“I’ve already heard about that. But why didn’t she kill you?”
Leon noticed why Laidra hadn’t asked about his survival.
He thought Leon could have survived in the Lair because he was captured by the Witch.
Berford must have reported it.
He thought Berford was only focused on the Witch, but it seems he knew.
Did he pretend not to know even though he knew?
Since that was what Leon considered a normal Mage, he didn’t feel disappointed.
“As I was running away from the scorpions, I got caught up in a teleportation Magic Circle...”
Leon began to tell the story he had prepared in advance.
“There, I found an Elixir and drank it. Then I lost consciousness, and as soon as I came to and went outside, I encountered the Witch.”“Elixir? Hmm...”
He scanned Leon’s body.He was using Scanning Magic.
Leon continued his story, pretending not to notice.
No matter how much he would get examined, the fact that he was a 1st Grade Apprentice wouldn’t change.
Bima’s Bracelet, which was B+ Grade, was an Artifact that worked even in the Early Stage of Insight.
C-Grade is Arcane.B-Grade is Mystic.A-Grade is Insight.S-Grade is Transcendence.
However, if a + is added to this Grade, it can affect the next Beginner level.
And it was just 1st Grade.That was important.
Because that was a level that an Insight Grade Mage could overlook without much concern.
“Was it just one Elixir that you drank?”“Actually, there were several... but I lost them when I encountered the Witch. It was too much for someone like me.”“Why didn’t that Witch kill you?”“Shamefully, as soon as I discovered the Witch, I took out the Elixir and begged for my life. She took me deeper into the lair when everything started shaking...”
Leon continued speaking, pretending not to know that the reason the Witch didn’t kill him was flimsy.
“The Witch just took you along?”
As expected, Laidra interrupted Leon’s words again.
“Yes... I’m not sure why she didn’t kill me.”
Leon feigned ignorance.
The Witch would know the reason.
Of course, Leon knew the real reason too.
It was because of the Magic Orb.
But there was no way Laidra would know this.
Leon calmly continued speaking.
“Anyway, after the other Mages disappeared into the teleportation Magic Circle there, a very intricate Magic Circle appeared in the Lair.”
Laidra nodded slightly, seeming to know about the teleportation Magic Circle.
“Seeing that, the Witch was about to kill me, but I also got caught up in the teleportation Magic Circle and survived.”
Laidra looked at Leon’s burned arm.
“It’s impressive that only one of your arms was injured when the Witch’s Magic touched you.”“The teleportation Magic Circle suddenly activated, and the other Mages had warned her not to use big Magic there...”“Hmm...”
Laidra’s gaze deepened.Leon put on the most innocent expression he could muster.
Even if the excuse for the Witch not killing him was flimsy, the stories about the teleportation Magic Circle and the Elixir were all true.
If Berford had reported about the Witch, he would have also reported about the teleportation Magic Circle.
It would be a problem if he suddenly had the idea to check my constitution...
A constitution check was completely unrelated to their current conversation.
Laidra had no reason to bring it up.
There had never been a case of someone’s constitution changing after drinking an Elixir.
If he were to suggest a constitution check in this situation, it would mean he had been suspicious of Leon for quite some time.
“There probably isn’t anyone else who encountered that Witch and survived. Well, other Mages have already survived encountering that Witch... you were especially lucky.”“Hearing your words, Tower Master, I realize how lucky I truly was.”
Leon let out a sigh of relief.This was also sincere.After all, he had tricked and escaped from an Insight Grade Witch who tried to kill everyone she saw.
If I encounter her again...
Leon quickly dismissed the ominous thought that made him shudder just imagining it.
“Then, don’t be unnecessarily modest and tell me what you want.”
Leon opened his mouth, feeling he needed to say something to end the conversation.
“Then... I, I want to train in earnest. Although my talent is meager, since I’ve gained this opportunity, I want to diligently pursue the path of Magic.”“Hahahahaha!”
Suddenly, Laidra burst into laughter.Leon, who was about to ask for an increase in his intensive training period, didn’t know how to react and just stared at him silently.
He waved his hand.
“Ah, I’m not laughing at you. I just didn’t expect you to say you just want to focus on training when I asked what you want. I thought you’d at least ask for your arm to be healed.”
Laidra stopped mid-sentence and grinned.For some reason, that face looked somewhat lewd.
“Well, that little Mardelia will take care of that.”“...”“Don’t you have any grander wishes?”
Leon tried to understand the intention behind Laidra’s words.
Was this really asking him to say something more, or was it telling him to stop here, knowing his place?
“Someone of my status...”“Hmm, a man should have some ambition.”
He even subtly pressured him.It really seemed like he was genuinely asking him to say more.
But Leon had nothing more to say here.He didn’t want to make a bigger proposal and arouse Laidra’s suspicion unnecessarily.
“I lack experience, so I’m not sure what to say.”“Are you telling me to give you whatever I want?”“That’s not what I meant...”
He held out two fingers in front of Leon.
Leon’s mouth clamped shut.
This person... he never listens to others until the end.
Leon hid his disgruntled expression and listened to Laidra’s words.
“I’ll give you two choices.”“...”“One is to leave your General Disciple status and become my Personal Disciple.”“A Personal Disciple?”
Leon hid his complicated inner thoughts and put on an expression of surprise and joy on the surface.
He couldn’t be entirely happy as he couldn’t grasp at all why Laidra would take him as a Personal Disciple.
“Do you like it? But it’s not as good as you might think. I’ve never had a Personal Disciple, nor did I ever intend to have one.”“Then...”“Do you know what else this means?”
Leon, whose words were cut off again, forced a smile and shook his head.
“I’m not sure.”“I’m not particularly interested in your talent, as I have no real intention of taking on a disciple. There won’t be any support or special authority. It’s merely adding your name to a list. However, you’ll be free to train all day without interference. In essence, I’m granting your wish.”
Leon was surprised by this proposal.Although Laidra said no authority would be gained, as he mentioned, the fact that no one would interfere even if he trained all day was a privilege that only the Tower Master’s Personal Disciple could enjoy.
“The other option is to receive a Reward in Mana Stones for your actions. However, I wouldn’t really recommend it.”
Leon understood it very well.
What would happen if rumors spread that a General Disciple had obtained a large quantity of Mana Stones?
It was obvious it would lead to some not-so-good results.Laidra wasn’t the type of person to meticulously solve each problem.
Considering Laidra’s offer to merely list Leon as a Personal Disciple without support, it was clear that even if Leon accepted, Laidra would likely continue focusing solely on his own training.
“Then in the end, there’s only one choice, right?”“Are you not satisfied?”“How could that be? It would be an undeserved honor for me to become the Tower Master’s Personal Disciple, even if only in name.”
Leon had no intention of mentioning that he wanted to learn his Magic.
Glory’s Thunder was a Magic that Leon could use quite effectively at the Arcane Grade.There must be higher-level Magic of his.
However, if he said he wanted to learn Magic, it would give a reason for Laidra to conduct a constitution check.
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Rather, this lack of interest was better for Leon.
“Hmm... are you really satisfied with just that?”“Yes, I’m sincere.”“Then you may go.”
Leon bowed his head deeply and stood up.
“We’ll see if that’s what you really want as time goes by.”“...I’ll do my best to progress diligently.”
Leon turned around and left the conference room.
...Something feels off.
It seemed unnecessary to say such a thing at the end, but it wasn’t a particularly strange thing to say either.
Anyway, what mattered was that it passed without any major issues.
Even if Laidra felt suspicious of Leon and decided to watch him, by the time he noticed anything, Leon would be in a different state than he was now.
As long as it’s not right now when I’ve greatly depleted my power trying to escape from the Witch.
Leon, who had returned to his personal room, pretended to recuperate for a day, then headed to the Training Room to raise his consciousness to the Arcane Grade in earnest.
No, that’s what he was going to do.
If it weren’t for the person who came to his door.
“You refused when I asked you to become my disciple.”“...When did you return?”
Arpina stared down at him intently with her red eyes.
“And now what? The Tower Master’s disciple?”
Translator's Note
I'll be removing single quotes from inner monologue/thoughts. Just a heads-up.