Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

EP.32 The Tower Master’s Personal Disciple?

As Leon headed to the Central Tower where Raidera was waiting, he noticed a bronze-colored structure under construction on one side of the central plaza and tilted his head in curiosity.

Although only the upper body was completed, it looked familiar.

Especially the attire.

‘…Isn’t that the common disciple’s uniform? Are they really making a statue of a common disciple that big?’

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t understand.

Shaking his head repeatedly, he ascended the Central Tower.

Inside a conference room with a long table, Leon faced Raidera.

The muscular old man with long white hair was staring at Leon with his arms crossed.

Trying to hide his nervousness, Leon realized that showing his tension might actually be more natural.

Raidera, who had been staring at Leon expressionlessly, suddenly spoke.

“Tell me what you want.”

“…Pardon?”

Contrary to his indifferent expression, his words were quite bold.

“You saved the promising talents of the tower, so you deserve a reward.”

‘Is he not going to ask how I survived?’

Leon, trying to gauge the situation, spoke.

“No, just being alive is reward enough…”

Raidera raised his hand to stop Leon’s words.

“Before that. Did you awaken your mana because you gained an opportunity in the lair?”

“Yes… and then I got captured by the witch…”

“I already heard that part. But why didn’t she kill you?”

Leon realized why Raidera wasn’t questioning his survival.

He assumed that Leon had survived in the lair because he had been captured by the witch.

‘Berford must have reported it.’

Leon had thought Berford was only focused on the witch, but it seemed he knew more.

‘Did he pretend not to know even though he did?’

Leon wasn’t disappointed because that was what he expected from a typical magician.

“I got caught in a teleportation magic circle while running away from a scorpion…”

Leon began to tell the story he had prepared in advance.

“I found an elixir there and drank it. Then I lost consciousness, and when I came to, I encountered the witch.”

“An elixir? Hmm…”

Raidera scanned Leon’s body.

He was using a detection spell.

Leon continued his story, pretending not to notice.

No matter how much he was scrutinized, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was at Apprentice Rank 1.

The B+ grade Bracelet of Hidden Magic was an artifact that could deceive even Insight-rank detection.

C-grade was Arcane.

B-grade was Mystic.

A-grade was Insight.

S-grade was Transcendence.

However, if a grade had a +, it could affect the next lower rank as well.

And it was only Rank 1.

That was important.

It was a rank that an Insight-rank magician could easily overlook.

“Was the elixir you drank the only one?”

“There were actually several, but… I was robbed by the witch when I encountered her. It was too much for someone like me.”

“Why didn’t the witch kill you?”

“Embarrassingly, as soon as I saw the witch, I took out the elixirs and begged for my life. When the cave started to shake, the witch took me deeper inside…”

Leon continued speaking, pretending not to know that the reason the witch didn’t kill him was flimsy.

“The witch just took you with her?”

As expected, Raidera interrupted Leon again.

“Yes… I don’t know why she didn’t kill me either.”

Leon feigned ignorance.

‘The witch would know the reason.’

Of course, Leon knew the real reason.

It was because of the Orb.

But there was no way Raidera could know that.

Leon calmly continued his story.

“Anyway, after the other magicians disappeared into the teleportation magic circle, a very intricate magic circle was revealed in the lair.”

Raidera nodded slightly, indicating he knew about the teleportation magic circle.

“Seeing that, the witch tried to kill me, but I got caught in the teleportation magic circle and survived.”

Raidera looked at Leon’s burnt arm.

“It’s remarkable that only one arm was affected by the witch’s magic.”

“The teleportation magic circle suddenly activated, and the other magicians had warned against using large spells in that place…”

“Hmm…”

Raidera’s gaze deepened.

Leon put on the most innocent expression he could muster.

Even if the excuse for why the witch didn’t kill him was weak, the story about the teleportation magic circle and the elixir was entirely 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 decided to check my constitution…’

Checking his constitution would be a completely separate issue from the current story.

Raidera had no reason to bring it up.

There had never been a case where consuming an elixir changed someone’s constitution.

If Raidera suggested a constitution check in this situation, it would mean he had been suspicious of Leon for quite some time.

“No one has survived an encounter with that witch. Well, other magicians have already survived meeting her… You were particularly lucky.”

“Listening to you, Tower Master, I realize just how lucky I was.”

Leon sighed in relief.

This was also sincere.

He had managed to escape from an Insight-rank witch who usually killed anyone she saw.

‘If I meet her again…’

Leon quickly dismissed the unsettling thought that sent shivers down his spine.

“Then don’t be unnecessarily modest and tell me what you want.”

Leon felt he needed to say something to end the conversation, so he spoke up.

“Then… I’d like to train seriously. Although my talent is meager, since I gained this opportunity, I want to diligently pursue the path of magic.”

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, Raidera burst into laughter.

Leon, who had been about to ask for an extension of his training period, didn’t know how to react and just stared at him.

Raidera waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh, I wasn’t mocking you. I didn’t expect you to say you just want to focus on training. I thought you’d at least ask for your arm to be healed.”

Raidera chuckled mid-sentence.

For some reason, his face looked sinister.

“Well, that little one from Mardelia will take care of that.”

“…”

“Don’t you have any grander wishes?”

Leon tried to decipher Raidera’s intentions.

Was he genuinely asking for something more, or was he suggesting Leon should know his limits and stop here?

“Given my situation…”

“Hmm, a man should have some ambition.”

He was subtly pressuring.

No matter how Leon looked at it, it seemed like Raidera really wanted him to ask for more.

But Leon had nothing more to say.

He didn’t want to make a larger request and arouse Raidera’s suspicion.

“I lack the experience to know what to ask for.”

“You’re telling me to decide for you, huh?”

“That was not my intention…”

Raidera extended two fingers towards Leon.

Leon’s mouth clamped shut.

‘This man… never listens to the end of what others say.’

Leon hid his reluctant expression and listened to Raidera’s words.

“I’ll give you two options.”

“…”

“One is to step out of your status as a common disciple and become my personal disciple.”

“Personal… disciple?”

Leon masked the turmoil inside and outwardly showed a surprised and pleased expression.

He couldn’t be genuinely happy without understanding why Raidera would want him as a personal disciple.

“Do you like that? But it’s not as good as it sounds. I’ve never had a personal disciple, nor have I ever intended to have one.”

“Then…”

“Do you understand the other meaning of my words?”

Leon, once again interrupted, forced a smile and shook his head.

“I don’t quite understand.”

“It means I’m not particularly interested in your talent. I have no great expectations for a disciple. You won’t receive any support. No special authority will be granted. It’s just a title. But if you train all day, no one will say anything. It could be seen as granting your wish.”

Leon was surprised by the offer.

Although it wouldn’t grant him any authority, as Raidera said, the fact that no one would bother him if he trained all day was a privilege that only the Tower Master’s personal disciple could enjoy.

“The other option is to be rewarded with mana stones for your actions. However, I don’t really recommend this.”

Leon understood the implication.

What would happen if rumors spread that a common disciple had received a large number of mana stones?

It would undoubtedly lead to bad outcomes.

Raidera wasn’t the type to meticulously resolve such issues.

Considering that he offered no support even if Leon became his personal disciple, it was clear that Raidera would not pay much attention and would focus solely on his own training.

“So, in the end, there’s only one real choice, right?”

“Are you not satisfied?”

“Not at all. It would be an overwhelming honor for me to even be listed as the Tower Master’s personal disciple.”

Leon had no intention of saying he wanted to learn his magic.

The Glory of the Thunderbolt was a spell Leon could use effectively at the Arcane rank.

Surely, there would be higher-rank spells.

However, asking to learn magic would give Raidera a reason to check his constitution.

It was better for Leon if Raidera showed no interest.

“Hmm… Are you really satisfied with just that?”

“Yes, I am sincere.”

“Then you may go.”

Leon bowed his head and stood up.

“We’ll see if that’s truly what you want.”

“…I will diligently strive.”

Leon turned and left the conference room.

‘…Something feels off.’

It seemed unnecessary for Raidera to make such a comment at the end, but it wasn’t particularly strange either.

The important thing was that the conversation had ended without any major issues.

Even if Raidera felt suspicious and decided to keep an eye on Leon, by the time he noticed anything, Leon would be in a different state.

‘As long as it’s not right now when I’ve lost much of my strength escaping from the witch.’

Back in his personal room, Leon pretended to rest for a day, then headed to the training room to raise his consciousness to the Arcane rank.

Or at least, he intended to.

If it weren’t for the person who came to his door.

“You refused to become my disciple, and now this?”

“…When did you return?”

Arpina stared at him with her red eyes.

“And now you’re the Tower Master’s disciple?”