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Episode 12
Richie’s Hideout (1)
The next morning.
After spending a night at the inn in the island, we immediately boarded a carriage. Our destination was deep in the forest, about half a day’s drive away.
Inside the rattling carriage, I spoke to Riley.
[You said that the Lantes Tower was one of the five great towers of the Empire?]
‘yes.’
[Then you will have to prepare hard.]
Irantes.
Using the fame of Archmage Martha Pargerich, the Magic Tower became one of the top five in the empire in just 300 years after its establishment.
For my first revenge, Riley must enter this tower.
However, these five great towers were not places that could be entered simply with a letter of recommendation.
All applicants had to take a selection test held once a year in the wizard city of Wilhelm.
[You shouldn’t make fun of this screening test.]
‘why?’
[It is a very difficult test.]
This is not a test for promising candidates like the “Apprentice” and the lower-ranking magician “Novice” . Rather, it would be more correct to view it as a test for veterans.
A wizard who worked as a mercenary for decades.
A wizard who has been studying at the mid-level magic tower for a long time.
Even wizards who graduated from Letemis.
[The five great towers don’t want promising prospects like you.]
“… … .”
[Instead, they want a wizard who has already been completed and proven.]
Luck is the basic requirement, and there are countless magicians who fail to pass the exam even after taking it for 10 years.
There are countless cases where no one passes the exam.
The resume and letters of recommendation are merely admission tickets to the screening test.
The selection test is a thorough meritocracy that only looks at the wizard’s pure talent and potential.
In order to be selected for the Irantes Tower, Riley had to show off her own strengths by overcoming numerous sleeping dragons and established magicians.
[Of course, ordinary wizards spend their entire lives preparing for this test.]
The five great magic towers are the final destinations for all wizards.
Therefore, most magicians who take this exam tend to be of a high level.
In unlucky years, there are even cases where wizards who have reached the upper ranks take the exam.
[There’s a reason this test is called the graveyard of promising candidates.]
The graveyard of promising young talents.
This was not a metaphor. Literally, the screening test was the ‘grave’ itself.
The moment you let your guard down because you are confident in your own abilities, your life will be lost.
A test without even the minimum safety measures.
The test of the five great towers was not for the half-hearted who could not even take care of their own lives.
This is not a test for evaluation. It is a cold-blooded battlefield for the sole purpose of proof. This is precisely why there are so many deaths every year.
[But we will be taking the exam this very year.]
‘……yes?’
Riley immediately questioned what I said.
‘In half a year, you want me to grow to the point where I can stand up to middle-level or higher magicians?’
[huh.]
‘It’s impossible.’
She said firmly.
The current date is March.
There is only about half a year left until the exam date in September.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Riley to make such a claim. After all, half a year was not a long time.
But, I was sure.
[It’s quite possible.]
“… … .”
[I guarantee you. With me, you will pass this test in half a year.]
Silence fell.
Riley still has a suspicious look on her face.
I guess he thought I was bluffing this time.
Well, that makes sense.
She, who is still only an apprentice , has to deal with middle-level magicians and above? And that too in just half a year?
Of course, it would be unbelievable.
but…….
Indeed, would you be able to think that way after seeing what I have prepared?
I smiled confidently to myself.
* * *
Hehehe!
Suddenly.
As the sun was beginning to set, the carriage suddenly stopped.
The coachman sitting in the driver’s seat frowned and asked us a question.
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“Hey, sir? Is this the right place?”
In the middle of a remote forest where nothing but dense trees can be seen. A place where there is not a single trace of human presence.
There was definitely something odd about this being the end point of a half-day journey.
Riley, who was looking around, also asked me with a half-doubtful expression.
‘Your Majesty.’
[uh.]
‘Are you sure this is the right place?’
[Yeah. This is the right place, so tell them to get off.]
okay.
It was a sure thing.
The trees had gotten thicker, but this was definitely the place.
Although it had been over 300 years since I last visited this place, this place remained vivid in my memory.
Riley, who heard my words, got out of the carriage with a still displeased expression. Only after the carriage gradually moved away and disappeared from our sight did she open her mouth.
“So where is this place?”
[here?]
I answered right away.
[The place where you will train for half a year starting today.]
“… … .”
[And this is also where my old disciple lives.]
Where my old disciple lives.
Riley opened her eyes wide and asked,
“Are you the old disciple of the magic book master?”
[huh.]
“If you’re the Master’s former disciple… you must be at least 300 years old, right? But you’re still alive.”
[No, he’s not alive. But, well. He’s not dead either.]
“… … ?”
Neither alive nor dead.
Riley tilted her head at my rather contradictory statement.
For her sake, I added some additional explanation.
[That’s called undead.]
“… …Undead?”
[Yeah. I told you this before, right? One of my disciples turned into a Lich.]
I tried several methods to break the phase system.
I also tried making the elixir of life.
I also looked for artifacts.
Also explore ancient ruins.
And from those countless attempts, my undead disciple was born.
An undead form of wizard that only a great wizard can become.
A madman who refuses death and spends his entire life practicing the path of magic in this world, selling his entire life to magic.
Lich.
There’s something important here.
[Only an archmage can become a Richie.]
“That means… … .”
[that’s right.]
I continued speaking slowly.
[This disciple was also a great wizard during his lifetime.]
Borrowing the power of her former disciple, who was once a great wizard, to help Riley grow in a short period of time and safely pass the selection test.
That’s exactly why I came to see my old disciple today.
Riley, who has overwhelming talent, and I, who has raised dozens of great wizards.
And if my former disciple, who once single-handedly commanded the continent, joins in, Riley will certainly be able to catch Yann Lantes’ eye in the selection test.
And from that very moment on… … .
This was the beginning of my revenge against the fraudster who impersonated my disciple’s disciple.
* * *
I am a magic book.
Thanks to that, I was able to teach almost everything related to magic.
Endless vast knowledge.
And the application capabilities that have been gained through countless years of research.
It was not a mere coincidence that I had been the center of the magic for thousands of years. I had the skills and experience to do so.
And by encompassing all of them, I was able to train my disciples to become great magicians.
But even I, like that, had clear limitations.
It was precisely the fact that I had no body.
Limited teachings that only help in theory. Because of this, those who made a contract with me inevitably became weak in actual combat.
Because of this, my early disciples did not act as true magicians who could fire magic on the battlefield.
Instead, most of them were people who hung up their business cards as magicians, locked themselves in their rooms, and just did research.
[In that respect, my Rich disciple was a great help.]
Unlike me, the guy had a decent body.
Although it was an undead body with nothing but bones, it was enough to spar with my disciple.
Through sparring with Richie, my disciples gradually gained a sense of real combat.
Improving your sense of real combat means improving your combat skills.
From that point on, my disciples were able to grow into very excellent magicians.
Not a half-baked idiot who stays in a corner of his room and just studies, but a true ‘wizard’ who roams the battlefield and sweeps away his enemies.
“But I have a question.”
[What is it?]
“If the Master’s former disciple has become a lich, then it would be like gaining a disciple that can be with him forever… Why do you insist on raising a new disciple like me?”
[Hmm.]
It’s understandable to wonder.
There are several complex reasons for this.
First of all, the main reason is the “power of authority and binding” that is connected to the contractor.
There are other problems as well… … . Well, that’s not something you can understand even if I explain it to you now.
He just said he would explain it later.
“Then where is that rich guy? There’s nothing here but trees.”
[I don’t know that either.]
“yes?”
[I don’t know either.]
Riley looked dumbfounded. I hastily added further explanation.
[From here on out, you have to find Richie yourself. He’s intentionally hiding himself right now.]
“Are you hiding?”
[Yeah. It’s a kind of test. Those who can’t find themselves are considered unworthy of learning magic.]
“… … .”
Richie was a very special kind of guy.
He preferred to train like a wizard who was somewhat on track.
He said he couldn’t do it because he was so frustrated with the beginner.
Because of this, the guy hid his hideout in a different place each time.
Finding the Lich’s hideout hidden somewhere in this forest.
That was the first gateway to training.
[You know how to find someone, right?]
“sure.”
The first day I met Riley.
The skill I taught her, “Pathfinding”.
If she uses this well, she will be able to find hidden Lich.
Of course, it won’t be easy at all. That’s because this forest will be a completely different environment from the secret passage of Rethemis.
“Umm… … .”
Just then, Riley let out a soft exclamation.
“It really is terrible.”
[huh.]
Barrier.
Illusion.
Magic distortion.
… .
In addition, hundreds of complex spells were assaulting Riley’s senses at every moment.
It was all a device Richie had set up to sabotage Riley.
You have to go through all of these to find Richie’s hideout. Riley, who knew this fact well, closed her eyes and slowly began to concentrate.
Woof─.
The magic resonates. At the same time, Riley’s magic spreads out in all directions.
Thud─!
“… … !”
But soon after, her magical powers were powerlessly bounced away.
A magical swarm that wanders around and then disappears.
These barriers spread out so widely throughout the forest were effectively hindering Riley’s “pathfinding”.
[how is it?]
“… … .”
Riley sighed with her eyes closed.
It seemed like he was analyzing the phenomenon of magical power disappearing without any power.
Based on that analysis, I think they plan to destroy the spells that interfere with “Pathfinding”.
How many minutes passed like that?
Finally, Riley opened her eyes.
And then he said.
“I think I can do it right away.”
[……okay?]
You’re so confident.
It was at that moment that I was thinking that.
Suddenly, a deep, magical voice began to resonate throughout the forest.
-The girl with golden eyes.
-You are so confident.
It was Richie’s voice.
-It seems like you have a lot of pride in your own skills.
– Of course, confidence is important to a wizard. But even so, you seem too arrogant.
The guy kept talking to Riley as if he was trying to coax her.
-The first people who came here all thought the same thing. I would find it right away. I would see through this kind of interference right away.
“… … .”
-But girl.
-Even a middle-ranked wizard like “Advanced” took half a year to find my hideout.
-On the other hand, you seem to be nothing more than an apprentice at best.
Riley’s magic scattered across the forest. She tried to ignore Richie’s voice, which echoed everywhere.
Thud─!
The magical powers bounced back and disappeared.
Despite this, Riley did not stop.
She continued to spread her magical power in all directions, and until the brief moment before it disappeared, she did not lose sight of its traces.
It was truly monstrous concentration.
-I can’t guarantee it.
-At your level, you wouldn’t be able to find my hiding place even if you gave me one year, no, three years.
Richie started to chuckle, mocking Riley like that.
okay.
Of course, the magical power Riley was radiating was disappearing by the second.
But that didn’t mean that her “pathfinding” always ended in failure.
How to find your way?
In this forest filled with all sorts of disturbing spells?
As if answering that question, Riley closed her eyes again and unleashed her magic once more.
Woohoo─.
The magical power she unleashed scattered in all directions.
And the magic that was wandering through the air like that.
Dismissal─.
As usual, it was destroyed in vain.
“… … .”
The effect of interference felt at the moment when magic power is dissipated.
Riley began to walk silently, following the trail she felt.
With confident steps, following the path suggested by your senses.
-I really don’t know why an apprentice like this came to me so soon. Shouldn’t he have come after he grew up more, huh? Wait, uh, what… .
okay.
Riley wasn’t doing “Pathfinding” all this time.
Instead, she was tracing back the magical power of the one who was interfering with her “pathfinding”.
A tracking ability that ordinary wizards can’t even imagine. A method that only those with an insanely high mana affinity like Riley can utilize.
-You, you, you, how are you now… … .
“Found it.”
Where Riley’s footsteps had stopped, a giant lich was standing there.
