Chapter 203
Fwoosh!
At last, a flame flared to life in my palm.
Not a skill.
A phenomenon created purely through my own Energy.
[You have acquired the Sorcery skill.]
[‘Sorcery’ (B-Grade) is absorbed into ‘Thousand Skills’ (A-Grade).]
[The Sorcery skill disappears.]
》That’s right. That’s it, you rascal.
The Elder nodded.
》Whether it’s magic or Sorcery, the essence is the same. It’s about applying the Energy you possess to create supernatural power.
He was right.
In the end, Eldrin’s ritual spells,
Olena’s water magic, and Dana’s healing were all results born from how they used their own Energy.
That was precisely the essence of the Ten Thousand Arts the Elder had spoken of.
》You brat, what you need now is to build proficiency.
The Elder floated over and settled beside me.
》And when it comes to building proficiency, there’s no better method than absorbing what someone else has painstakingly built over time. Go to the Magic Tower. Go there and thoroughly absorb the magic they’ve accumulated over countless years. Do you understand?
===
It had already been a week since I submitted my application to the Magic Tower and began training.
I could now perform basic Sorcery.
The twelve hours I had with the Elder were spent entirely on training.
The rest of the time, I rested and learned about the culture and history of this world from the Great Thief.
‘A world ruled by the Magic Tower Lord.’
And inside the secret room of the Magic Tower that Bone Five had once visited, there were definitely traces like these:
[Magic Path World.]
[Traces of the 4th Magic Tower Lord, ‘Eloise’.]
[Management Target Number One.]
[Caution is advised, as this is the room of the worst Magic Tower Lord in history, a legend in her own right.]
The 3rd Magic Tower Lord and the 4th Magic Tower Lord.
What did that imply?
‘It’s too obvious.’
Having already gone through quite a few Special Dungeons,
I could easily guess what this dungeon wanted.
The Special Dungeons I activate resolve the lingering regrets of a world’s absolute ruler.
Sunny.
Dmir and Eldrin.
Kayden and Dana.
They were all the same.
‘Which means.’
This place must be a world from before the Magic Tower Lord named Eloise had appeared.
And.
[Stage: The Magic Dropout]
[Enter the Magic Tower and find the magic dropout.]
Could it be that the ‘magic dropout’ this mission referred to was Bone Five, and at the same time, the Eloise who would later become the worst Magic Tower Lord?
That was my guess for now.
And there was one more thing.
[Using the skill, ‘Summon Skeleton Lord’ (S-Grade).]
[Consuming 10 Energy.]
[Beep!]
[Error!]
[10 Energy is restored.]
[‘Bone Five’ cannot appear in this dungeon.]
Seeing Bone Five completely excluded from this dungeon only made me more certain.
‘I need to find Bone Five’s past and resolve its regrets.’
As for what those regrets were,
I would have to see for myself.
===
“You pass!”
The elder before me, a man named Alpen, smiled in satisfaction.
“…Pardon?”
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
I just made fire appear in my palm, and that was an instant pass?
So that Great Thief really had been telling the truth.
》Hoho, you said your name was Hoon?
“That is correct.”
》I was a little worried, but for you to be able to create fire without a spell, you must be a very skilled individual! Mwahahaha!
“……”
This man.
He gives off the same vibe as Jang Daewoong hyung.
That unique aura only a complete lunatic could have.
And on top of that—
‘This man… he’s incredibly strong.’
The Magic Tower really was the Magic Tower.
Compared to him, the Great Thief felt like nothing more than a street thug.
This place was crawling with people who possessed overwhelming power.
Even Alpen alone was strong enough that facing him head-on would be troublesome.
“Heh heh, you’ll be assigned as the professor in charge of F Class. Hey, is Silvia there?”
“Yes, Elder.”
“He’s a new hand… no, a new professor. Please explain everything kindly to him. And make sure to give him a proper overview of the Magic Tower.”
“Understood!”
===
Silvia was a Mage and one of the professors at the Magic Tower.
The class she oversaw was D Class.
The Magic Tower classes ranged from S to F, making seven levels in total.
When students first entered, they started in C Class.
The top students nearing graduation were placed in S Class.
And the more they failed, the lower they dropped, until they eventually ended up in F Class.
“Professor Hoon?”
“Yes.”
“Your living quarters are on the 10th floor. Your research room is on the 40th floor. For the detailed layout, there’s a guide here, so please refer to it.”
She handed me a document.
I quickly accepted it.
“Please take time to familiarize yourself with the Magic Tower’s layout during your adjustment period. You may begin teaching tomorrow.”
The structure of the Magic Tower was similar to Oxford.
No, to be honest, it was so identical it was practically a carbon copy.
Well, that must be why Bone Five knew about the hidden passages.
‘Ah, Bone Five.’
I needed to find Bone Five first.
“Ah, Professor Silvia!”
“Yes, what is it?”
She answered.
“By any chance, is there a student named Eloise in the Magic Tower?”
“Eloise?”
Her expression shifted slightly.
Does she know something?
“Are you making jokes the moment we meet?”
“Pardon?”
My eyes widened.
This woman—what was that supposed to mean all of a sudden?
“There’s no way a magic professor wouldn’t know of the Ducal House of Eloise. No matter how precious professors are, I am your Sunbae in this field. Please show some respect.”
“Ah.”
So Eloise was a family name, not a given name.
And a ducal family, at that.
I scratched my head.
“Please understand. I’m from the countryside, so there’s still a lot I don’t know.”
I had tried to learn about the culture here, but a single week had been too short.
“…You really didn’t know about the Eloise family?”
“No. I’ve lived in the mountains with only my grandfather since I was young.”
“Hmm. A noble from the mountains…?”
Silvia looked at me skeptically.
Then she let out a quiet sigh.
“If you’re asking how many students belong to the Eloise family, there are exactly thirteen.”
“Thirteen of them…?”
That family really had a lot of children.
“Yes. Since they are the children of a ducal house, they are all under special management. They’re spread across the various classes.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Thirteen.
Bone Five was among them.
And since the mission described it as a failure, there was a high chance it was in the F Class I had been assigned to.
“Hoo.”
This worked out well.
I would look for Bone Five when I entered class tomorrow.
‘But.’
What exactly was I supposed to teach?
“I can tell exactly what you’re thinking, so just take it easy.”
Silvia said that with a bitter smile.
“If it’s F Class, there’s nothing to teach. Just manage the kids properly.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll understand once you see them tomorrow.”
===
The next day.
“Hoo.”
Standing in front of the F Class classroom on the 15th floor of the Magic Tower, I took a deep breath.
》Heh heh, are you nervous?
the Elder asked.
‘Like I’ve ever taught anyone before.’
》Didn’t that woman tell you? That all you have to do is manage them well.
‘Don’t you know that makes it even harder? And it’s a whole room full of dropouts.’
In other words, all the troublemakers of the Magic Tower had been gathered here.
‘Well, whatever.’
Anyone watching would think my real purpose was to teach.
Clank!
The moment I flung the door open and stepped inside—
Murmur, murmur.
Around thirty students were whispering among themselves.
“He’s here.”
“Who’s that? That guy?”
“They say he’s the new professor who just arrived.”
“Really? He’ll be gone again soon.”
“Aigoo, the Magic Tower faculty. Looks like they dumped another innocent Mage on us.”
“Keke, poor bastard.”
The classroom was chaotic.
Even though there were things called desks and chairs, someone was snoring away on top of a table at the back.
Another student was sitting on a desk in a completely delinquent posture, not caring at all whether I had entered.
In one word,
》What a complete mess. Tsk tsk.
a disaster.
It was bad enough that even the Elder clicked his tongue.
What was even more surprising was that Silvia had said F Class had a capacity of one hundred students.
That meant the other seventy had skipped class altogether.
‘Wow.’
So this is what dropouts look like.
Suddenly, I remembered what Silvia had told me.
There will be a promotion evaluation in one month.
What you need to do, Professor, is teach them and move them up to E Class, but…
To be honest, no one expects anything.
Just make sure they don’t cause any trouble.
Still, among them are nobles from very high-ranking families.
‘Promote kids like these?’
Why should I?
There was no need.
My only goal was—
Tap, tap!
“Attention.”
When I smacked the desk, around a third of the students looked up at me.
Ah, I’m deeply moved.
At least about ten of them were paying attention.
Of course, there was no goodwill in their gazes.
As children of noble families, they were looking at me with the kind of arrogant expression that said, let’s see what you have to say.
“Nice to meet you. I am Baron Hoon.”
I introduced myself first.
“I am the professor who will be in charge of you from now on.”
I paused for a moment and met each student’s eyes one by one.
Eloise, Eloise, Eloise…
To be exact, I was looking for Bone Five.
However,
Bone Five was not here.
As Bone Five’s master,
I could tell at a glance whether it was them or not.
And besides,
[Stage: The Magic Dropout]
[Enter the Magic Tower and find the magic dropout.]
The mission completion message still hadn’t appeared.
In that case, I had no reason to stay here.
“From now on, all classes will be self-study. Anyone who wants to play may play, and anyone who wants to sleep may sleep. Of course, any student who has questions or wishes to learn is welcome to visit my research room at any time.”
“……?”
Question marks practically floated over the students’ heads.
What?
Are you disappointed because I gave up so easily?
Grin.
I smiled and immediately walked out of the classroom.
“What the.”
“He’s just leaving? Seriously?”
“…?”
I could hear the murmuring behind me, but I kept walking.
‘First.’
I needed to find Bone Five.
And only one place came to mind.
‘The archives.’
[Caution is advised, as this is the room of the worst Magic Tower Lord in history, a legend in her own right.]
The secret room hidden at the very top of that bookshelf.
I planned to search there first.
===
F Class.
The classroom the professor had just left.
“……”
A student stared coldly at the door.
His dark blue hair and snake-like sharp eyes made him look even more sullen.
The male student’s name was Andrew.
He was a child of the Ducal House of Patrick and was known as the heretic of the Magic Tower.
“Boss, boss!”
Several students approached him.
Every single one of them was a well-known delinquent.
“What are we supposed to do about that professor? Don’t you think he’s kind of an asshole?”
“Right! No matter how much we ignore them, how can he just walk out like that?”
“He looks like he’s from some backwater family. Does he really think he can look down on us?”
Andrew Patrick was not actually at the level of F Class.
He possessed magical skill great enough to rise to S Class at any time.
However, he had refused to cooperate with the Magic Tower’s education, and after various disciplinary actions, he had ended up as one of the dropouts.
“Andrew, honestly, that professor is weaker than you, isn’t he?”
“You should teach him a lesson!”
“……”
Andrew remained silent.
His gaze was still fixed on the door.
‘That professor.’
Something about him was different.
All the professors Andrew had met until now had been half-baked fools.
All they knew how to do was panic.
‘He’s awfully composed, isn’t he?’
That made him curious.
Was that composure just a bluff, or was he actually strong?
Could this professor withstand his bullying as well?
‘This should be fun.’
The corner of Andrew’s mouth curled upward in a sneer.