Return of The 8th Class Mage Chapter 33:
Invitation of the Ivory Tower (3)
“Thank you for accepting the invitation of the Ivory Tower . ”
Firstly, the Tower Lord greeted Ian .
Ian was a 12 years old young boy .
Nevertheless, he greeted him with manners .
“Come, sit there comfortably . ”
Mages surrounded Ian with circle .
The chair was located at the centre, so that every Arch Mage could see it .
And Ian had set on the chair .
“It may confuse you, I understand . ”
The Tower Lord lightly yielded his the staff of the Ivory Tower .
Soon, blue colored mana formed words in the air .
“But there is no need to be afraid or shrunken . As a member of the Ivory Tower, everyone had passed this process once . ”
Those words were a report of Ian .
From his brief introduction to his private actions .
They did good job on it .
“As heard, I knew your talent, but still you had done many dramatic things . It is not just ‘impressive’ things you did . ”
While reading the record, the Tower Lord said .
Although he had read it more than hundreds, he kept reading it as he was still interested .
“But, we are brothers and sisters in mana, which is thicker than blood, aren’t we? But if any misunderstanding or suspicions between us, we better solve it now . ”
Suspicion of the Ivory Tower, and their spying .
In addition, a room which was full of interrogation magic .
As Ian had expected .
So, he prepared the stone heart mushroom .
‘They are overlooking their magic . ’
The best of bests of the Ivory Tower created this interrogation magic .
They must have trusted and felt proud of it .
If Ian can overcome today’s interrogation,
‘No doubt will be left of me . ’
Then, they would only care for Ian’s ‘talent’ .
A precious talent .
“Uh, are you going to torment me or something bad?”
Ian replied as if he knew nothing .
With a warm smile, the Tower Lord replied .
His smile harmonized well with the wrinkles on his face .
“Haha! You joking, right? Those barbaric methods are not our style . We will just ask you some questions . You just have to answer it . ”
While he saying that, the Tower Lord glanced at the Arch Mages .
It was a silent sign to start the interrogation magic .
A time has come to test Ledio’s potion .
“Ian Page . Born in 488 in imperial calendar . Red goat stars . Father was a wandering traveler, Pran Page . Mother was a kitchen maid of the province castle, Vanessa Page . Is there anything incorrect?”
“Everything is true . ”
There were no lies .
he asked continuous questions related to Ian’s identity .
Ian answered it calmly .
The main questions started after that .
“How did you know that goblin corpses can be sold to receive money?”
“I heard it before and tried it . Just in case . ”
“I wonder your relationship with the alchemist, Ledio . ”
“My mother has a weak body . I needed one who can brew potions for her, a merchant guild introduced him to me . As I heard, mages earn a lot, don’t they? So I hired him . ”
“What is the real purpose of visiting the old Ivory Tower ruin?”
“I had seen it in a lot in books . I wished to visit there once in my life . ”
There were many questions that were sharp .
Of course, it could be expected .
Ian just needed to answer it step by step, as he prepared .
Everything he said, would become the truth .
“Do you remember the mage, Cecelia?”
“Of course . ”
“And you said that you saw she was meeting with masked man, and Cecelia attempted to kill you whenever she saw you at there…… . . You sure what you said was true? She still kept silence about it . ”
“I do . I was close to death . ”
Endless questions from the Arch Mages .
Whenever Ian answered one, then a second question came .
“And you truly never learned magic from no one?”
“Yes . Never . ”
“Then, from fireball, summoning elements, to frost nova . How do you know all of those formulas? I better want to listen something persuasive . ”
Magic was spelt by quickly calculating formulas through mana brain . However, did Ian said he hadn’t learnt any formulas but he could yielded magic? In terms of mages, it was impossible .
“Please don’t tell me ‘It just worked’ this time again . ”
A statement that Ian said while doing mana test in his home town .
The questioner knew it in detail .
However, Ian answered similar to that .
“…… I just visualized . ”
“Visualize?”
“For example, imagine a fire appears on my palm . ”
While answering, Ian sparked a small fire .
It was a weak level of fire ball .
“I just imagined it . One day, it became real . ”
Casting spells by just imagining?
If imagine a small fire, then fireballs appeared .
If he wanted to summon spirits, then he conjured magic .
If he tried to freeze his surrounding, then Frost Nova .
“What nonsense are you sayin……”
It was totally nonsense .
All of those Arch Mages shouted .
That interrogate spell would figure out his lying .
However, nothing had happened .
It only said what Ian said was crystal clear .
The result hadn’t changed .
‘He’s not lying?’
Arch Mages quickly checked their interrogation spells .
However, nothing had changed . The strongest interrogation magic of the Ivory Tower kept saying Ian was telling truth .
‘How this could happen?’
The first mage in the legends .
Was Ian truly his reincarnation or someone like him?
‘If he is telling lies . ’
It also didn’t make sense .
It meant that their magic couldn’t work on him .
What that would mean?
‘Has he achieved a higher magical class then us?’
The interrogation spell which was casted by the Tower Lord and Arch Mages .
And the mage who was invulnerable from it .
‘That’s impossible . It makes no sense at all . ’
Rather, trusting what Ian had said made more sense .
Actually, it had to .
“Hmmm…… . . ”
Endless questions had paused for a while .
While everyone was waiting the Tower Lord’s decision,
“Humph! I don’t care about it!”
A lady who hadn’t questioned to Ian once .
She used to be the youngest 4th class mage, before Ian had appeared .
‘Lady of flame’, ‘Helene’ stood up while smashing the table . Her nickname was named not only because she liked to use fire magic, but also due to her impatient characteristic .
“Who the heck are you?”
“Helene! Calm down . The Tower Lord is with us…… . ”
“Come on, we didn’t gather for this, did we? Stop asking those boring things . Let’s ask something we really wanted to . A real question!”
Mages who are on even same class had their level difference .
And Helene was one of the strongest 4th class mages .
At least, for now .
“With your **** mouth, tell me . Who the heck are you? Stop making up bullshit, huh? Would you pleaseeee- tell me?”
Helene said very aggressively .
Other mages looked embarrassed, but they looked Ian with interest .
They couldn’t ask like that, because of their pride .
‘Yeah . That’s how she was . ’
In his former life, Helene acted the same .
Rude and aggressive voice and language .
“I thought you already knew it, don’t you?”
“What?”
“It’s on there as well . ”
While squaring his shoulder, Ian pointed first sentence of mana words on the air .
A section where listed his brief information .
“Ian Page . Born in 488 in imperial calendar . Red goat stars . Father was a wandering traveler, Pran Page . Mother was a kitchen maid of the province castle, Vanessa Page . ”
Furthermore, he started to read it for her .
Every single words, slowly .
“I don’t know what to say anumore . ”
Ian’s word contained disregard .
And Helene knew it .
“You dare spea………!”
“Halt!”
The Tower Lord’s short shout stopped Helene’s angry voice .
Even Helene couldn’t go against him .
“Let me ask a last question . ”
This time, the Tower Lord picked his own question . He thought similar to what other Arch Mages had thought . If what Ian said was true, they had to admit his talent . Even if it was lie, still, Ian was great mage .
‘However, isn’t it too… . plain?’
The Tower Lord was curious .
Ian’s body kept showing plain bio signals, for any questions they did .
It might be just due to his calm characteristics .
However,
‘It needs to be checked . ’
A question that might sway his calmness .
The Tower Lord asked a question to do it so .
“On the day you did the mana reaction test, I know there was some kind of problem . Do you remember the soldier, Jonathan, who insulted you and your mother, don’t you?”
Ian nodded quietly .
There were no specific bio signal change, yet .
“On the next day, the soldier found was dead . ”
With a sharpened eyesight, the Tower Lord continued his question .
He focused to catch any sort of mental disturbance from Ian .
“Perhaps, the death of the soldier, is it related to you?”
The Tower Lord was a smart man .
He was different to others .
He didn’t overlook their magic .
He didn’t stop doubting, and testing every possible case .
‘However, he wouldn’t know it’s the power of a potion . ’
It was the limit of the Tower Lord for now .
Mages and alchemists were quite close .
They had many chance to collaborate .
They often received good elixirs .
Precisely however, their relationship wasn’t horizontal, it was rather a vertical relationship .
‘So, mages only know the basics of it . ’
Like Ian knew some herbs, other mages knew basic of alchemy .
Harbert wouldn’t be exception .
Rather, he would know it better than others .
‘However he doesn’t know existence of the mushroom . ’
The potion that could avoid the interrogation magic .
Any medical herbs, or poisonous grasses that had such effect .
He wouldn’t even able to imagine such things .
‘I better erase the effect . ’
In most cases, poisons wouldn’t affect mages .
They could use their own mana to remove the poison out of their body .
And that was why Ragnar asked Douglas to brew a special poison in former life .
‘He said it would be the last question, didn’t he?’
The Tower Lord cared how he looked .
He was likely to keep the promise that he had spoken once .
Only if he got satisfying result .
‘I will give you the answer you want . ’
Ian removed the effect of the stone heart potion .
As he determined, he opened his mouth .
“…… I have no idea about it . ”
“Are you denying the suspect?”
“Yes I am . ”
What Ian just said was clearly a lie .
Naturally, his body reacted .
Several body reactions which the Tower Lord wanted .
Those changes were informed to everyone .
The Tower Lord and other Arch Mages .
‘He’s lying?’
Everyone figure out Ian’s lie .
However, their face became relieved .
The interrogate magic was perfect .
It wasn’t their formula’s problem, nor were they deceived by a higher class mage, nor was it the support of a third person .
Just, what the boy said was true .
‘Still, a kid is kid . ’
It was a common thought of the Tower Lord and others .
The boy spoke truth until the last question .
At last, he finally lied for murder .
It meant a lot to them .
‘A talented kid is better than a mage who has already overcome us’ .
Wouldn’t this be the best case?
Rather than hiding his overwhelming power .
“Indeed, I don’t think it’s you who killed him, too . ”
After his thought, the Tower Lord smiled .
He finally regained his confidence .
“Thank you for answering our tricky question . ”
Nobody blamed him about Ian’s lie .
Killing a soldier wasn’t that much of a problem .
Unless he was a mad serial killer .
“I really want to have a meal with you, but still there are many things to do . Please excuse me . ”
He had found out everything he wanted from Ian .
He checked everything he wanted to .
Now, the only thing left was Ian’s talent .
An objective measurement of it .
“As you know, the talent you bear, is none of the type we havr faced before . It is unknown mysterious power . So… . ”
The Tower Lord held the crystal orb on the table .
It was an communicating orb which were connected to every floor of the Ivory Tower .
“We need more precise measurement of your power . Not only your current status, but your potential talent . So that we can help you to guide you as seniors of the Ivory Tower, do you understand?”
More precise measurement of power .
It meant they want to change their ‘estimation’ to ‘fact’, that Ian had reached around 2nd class to 3rd class starter .
‘Now it is the problem . ’
There were two ways of classifying magical class .
First, of course, was the amount of mana .
Second, the ‘calculating power’ of the mana brain .
Higher class magic required the mana brain to calculate harder formulas .
If a mage failed to calculate it fast enough and perfectly, the magic wouldn’t be casted .
Literally, it was an ‘inborn intelligence’, and many mages couldn’t overcome this wall .
‘I won’t be asked to show my calculating power . ’
Ian lied to people that he could yield magic with simple imagination . Thanks to that, they wouldn’t test him it .
‘They will only check my mana pool then . ’
Ian expected correctly .
Young mages arrived to the room by riding the elevator .
Mages who guided Ian rudely brought a huge semi-transparent sphere to the centre of the room of the Tower Lord .
‘What……? Did he pass the interrogatiom magic?’
Young mages’ face turned pale .
They assumed it was an exaggerated rumor .
They had believed that Ian’s secret would be revealed by the interrogation magic .
They thought Ian would spend his rest of life in the mana prison .
‘All the rumors were true…… . ?’
They couldn’t believe it yet .
However, Ian was still standing at the room of the Tower Lord .
He already had passed interrogation magic .
“What is this?”
The giant sphere landed in front of Ian .
He didn’t ask because he really didn’t know its use .
It just became Ian’s habit that pretending innocent child .
“It is called Mana Storage . It is one of important resource that powers most of objects in the Ivory Tower . ’
Mana elevator, air conditioner, communication orb and etc . The power source that must be needed for such magical devices, was called mana storage .
“At the moment, it doesn’t have specific colors, but whenever it is charged with mana, it will glow as blue . Right there, can you see it?”
There was a mana storage where the Tower Lord pointed .
It wasn’t just blue, it was a thick deep blue colored sphere .
The storage could contain the maximum of a 3rd class master’s mana, and its color got thicker and deeper the more it got charged .
“Try to inject your mana to it . ”
“Everything?”
“You better . We want to see your limits . ”
“Same method as other objects?”
“Of course . ”
The Tower Lord answered clearly .
Ian stretched his arms carefully .
To inject mana in it .
‘Should I humble myself, for this?’
Until now, every event had passed as Ian expected .
This was his last acting part .
‘If I just fill it with amount of 2nd class master… . . ’
At the moment, the Ivory Tower expecting Ian to achieve around 2nd class master to 3rd class beginner . If he just show that much amount of mana? It will relieve other Arch Mages, and Ian will get proper standing .
‘It is the best choice I can think of . ’
Minimized diversionary move, but still high enough authority .
It will allow Ian to live an easy life as he had done .
‘Just like I have done since I have rewound time . . ’
With a manipulated atmosphere, he handed over the spy .
With an innocent child’s face, he deceived the emperor .
With the stone heart potion, he had passed the interrogation .
And so many other situations he could remember .
And he could choose thr same way this time .
He could act smartly to deceive others and change his surrounding in his favor .
It was simple .
‘But……’
He didn’t always act smartly .
He often solved problems emotionally .
Even he was living his second life .
Just like now .
His brain said no, but heart said yes .
Unsatisfactory .
Something made him feel uncomfortable .
‘Why?’
He could find answer easily .
Every time when he acted emotionally, there were common points of it .
A source of unsatisfaction .
‘Magic . ’
He could be patient for other things .
By considering his surroundings and situation .
He could shake his body like a scared child .
Or deceiving others with a lie .
However, whenever he related to magic, he couldn’t .
Whenever he had to use his magic, he became emotional .
Not only this life, but his former life as well .
‘For magic,’
Ian was just an 8th class mage .
He wasn’t a sage or leader who would be recorded in history .
The wisdom, philosophical, determination .
He might lack of those kinds .
However, for magic .
‘I can admit my other limitation . But for magic . ’
No other mages in the Ivory Tower,
Nor other mages in the continent,
Nor other mages who existed .
‘There is no one higher than me in magic . ’
His pride blinded his wisdom .
Ian poured every single mana he had .
Without hesitation,
Without moderation .
“Wh, what… . . ?”
Suddenly, people looked at the storage .
The storage which were blue started to turn darker and thick .
From sky blue to blue,
From blue to deep dark blue .
From deep blue to black .
Eventually,
*Crack! Cracckck! Cracckk!*
The surface of storage started to crack .
*BANG-!*
Soon it exploded with enormous noise .
There was not enough space to store extra mana .
Whirrrr – !
Soon, mana spread out to everywhere .
Its blue energy whirled like a tornado .
“Urgh!”
Mages covered their face from strong wind pressure .
Mana elevator started to up and down, out of control .
The light globes started to turn on and off rapidly .
Documents were blown, chairs were fallen down .
A few momenys later .
“……”
There were only silence .
No one could open their mouth easily .
*Pant!… Pant!… Pant!*
A rough breathing echoed through the tower .
It was Ian’s breathing who was suffering from the after shock .
He couldn’t stand any longer, so he sat down on the ground .
Still, he was watching the others surrounding him .
‘Look at their faces . ’
Young mages who brought the storage,
Arch Mages who expected Ian as a 2nd class mage,
And even the Tower Lord, who seldom revealed his expression,
Their faces looked shocked .
“I, is it… . ”
Helene said unconsciously .
“Is it even possible… . ?”
Helene now started to collect shards of the storage .
She checked it’s industrial standards .
It was meaningless, though .
‘How that kid…… . ’
Other people just didn’t express their shocked mind as Helene,
But they were very embarrassed .
The storage couldn’t hold Ian’s mana .
It supposed to store 3rd class master’s mana .
That was the limit of the storage .
And Ian just destroyed by overcharging it .
What it would mean?
‘More than just 3rd class…… . master?’
At least 4th class beginner’s mana quantity .
Furthermore, he didn’t need to calculate formulas .
It was the very beginning of the twelfth Arch Mage’s appearance .