## Chapter 253 – (4)
“We’ve arrived.”
“Ugh…”
I opened my eyes at the sound of the voice.
I had somehow fallen asleep, sprawled out in my seat.
I shook my head.
Clearing my hazy mind.
Beside me, Ethan was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, wearing a blank expression.
Humans are truly creatures of adaptation.
To be able to sleep through that noise and shaking, which I thought I’d never get used to.
Unlike us, the mages didn’t seem to have slept well.
The two of them were staring at us as if we were absurd.
“I envy you… It’s good to sleep well… Haa, my butt hurts…”
“I can massage it for you if you’d like.”
“N-No need for that! It doesn’t hurt anymore!”
“…”
Eva shouted when I spoke.
A few gestures with mana-infused hands would make it better, so why was she acting like that?
We got out of the carriage.
Finally, we could see the unknown place called the Magic Tower with our own eyes.
“Wow…”
Ethan exclaimed, and I, too, opened my mouth as I looked at the Magic Tower.
I was searching for the right words to describe it.
“This is like…”
“Like?”
I said the word that came to mind, even though it might be rude.
“It’s like a dungeon made by a mage.”
“Hmph, that’s not exactly wrong.”
Fortunately, Eva smiled, seemingly pleased with my analogy.
In comics and novels, there were often stories about climbing towers.
The tower in front of me looked just like the ones in those stories.
Big, tall, and painted black.
Eva and her elven disciple stood confidently in front of the tower, and the tower door slid open.
“T-The door just opened on its own!”
“Ah… yeah.”
Ethan was surprised and kept poking my arm, but I was more composed than expected.
Because—
‘I’ve seen it often.’
It felt like looking at an automatic door.
Of course, mine were products of science, and that one would be operated by some magical element.
But since I saw it all the time, I wasn’t as impressed.
“…You’re more composed than I thought.”
“Huh? Ah… well, haha.”
“As expected… the ace of the Black Knights is different.”
“Ace?”
I made a slightly embarrassed expression at the elven disciple’s words.
‘Ace, huh.’
Commander Dana must have been drunk to say such things.
Still, it made me feel a little proud.
Being treated like an ace thanks to what I did in the past, and having my efforts rewarded, always felt good.
So did Ethan’s admiring gaze from the side.
“But you’ll be surprised by this.”
The elven disciple and Eva smiled at the same time.
“Do you know how we climb the tower?”
I looked around the tower.
I pointed to the stairs, but Eva shook her head.
True.
A tower soaring high into the sky.
Could mages walk up such a tower?
As I confirmed while giving her a massage, their bodies were not much different from ordinary women.
There was no way mages could climb a tower that would be difficult even for a knight.
Then how on earth?
Eva and the elf walked over to a large stone slab.
“Get on this slab.”
When we got on the square stone slab, the elven disciple gently moved her hand, using mana, and the slab slowly began to rise—
Whoosh!
With a rough sound, it began to ascend into the sky.
“Heeuk!”
Ethan made a gasping sound and sat down on the slab.
“T-The slab is flying in the sky! And it’s still… not stopping…!”
“Oh dear, it looks like your legs have given out.”
The elf covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
The expressions of the two mages showed pride, as if saying, ‘How about that? Amazing, right?’
And my impression on the slab was.
‘Hmm… it’s an elevator…’
I knew.
Unlike elevators, this was something with amazing magic at work.
But to my eyes, as a modern person, it wasn’t that surprising.
This was also something I saw every day.
Highly developed science is indistinguishable from magic.
It was the moment I understood that saying.
Elevators in our world even had mirrors, buttons to select floors, and some even had monitors to watch TV programs.
The two mages were taken aback by my awkward expression.
“…You’re not surprised?”
“No one has ever not been surprised by this…”
I felt a little sorry for some reason.
Maybe I should have pretended.
Next time, I’ll show a surprised expression no matter what they show me.
With that resolve, we got off at the floor where the slab stopped.
“…This is the main floor. From here on, there will be other mages.”
Mages who have just entered the Magic Tower mainly gather on the main floor.
If we wanted to enter the Magic Tower, we would be using this main floor.
Click.
This time, too, the door opened automatically as we approached.
“Ooh…”
Ethan exclaimed again.
Honestly, I was impressed this time too.
The scene on the main floor reminded me of mage movies I had seen somewhere, and academies from novels.
Many mages were gathered in a long hall-like place.
Each of their appearances was amazing.
Some were flying in the sky, some were carefully making potions, some were comparing staffs, and some were holding various magical tools in their hands.
“Oh! It’s Eva-nim!”
Someone shouted.
Then everyone began to act demurely, as if nothing had happened.
They tidied up their surroundings and groomed themselves.
What was going on?
“Everyone is trying to look good to Eva-nim. Because they want to become Eva-nim’s disciple.”
The elven disciple shrugged her shoulders as she said that.
She seemed very proud of being Eva’s disciple.
“Not everyone who comes to the Magic Tower can become Eva-nim’s disciple.”
“Then who do the people who come to the Magic Tower learn magic from?”
“They learn from mages like me, who are Eva’s disciples.”
So, they become disciples of Eva’s disciples.
I felt a sense of a pyramid structure.
“How many disciples does Eva have…”
I looked at the other mages on the main floor.
They were all looking at us with interest.
There seemed to be about 70 mages.
It wasn’t too many to teach alone, but it wouldn’t be easy.
And, considering that there were many presences felt beyond the walls, it seemed that there were twice as many mages in the Magic Tower than what we could see.
“Six, no, was it seven?”
“Six, Eva-nim.”
“Is that so?”
Eva’s words made Ethan and I smile wryly.
She doesn’t even know the number of disciples she’s teaching.
Is this really okay?
She was very different from our Commander Dana.
“What will we learn when we go in?”
“Well, we’ll have to find out from now on.”
Eva strode over and opened a door.
Inside the room, various potions and strange things were displayed in glass bottles.
What was this place?
Was it a storage room?
“Ugh…”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, looking at a glass bottle containing something grotesque.
What was that? An eyeball?
There was a glass bottle containing the eyeball of a beast like a wolf.
“Just so you know, don’t touch them carelessly. Some of them have dangerous effects even through the glass bottles.”
I had no intention of touching them even without her saying that.
…Except for that red potion over there.
It looked like it would restore health at first glance.
I wanted to take one.
“Hmm, as expected. That’s exactly what I was talking about.”
Lies.
That was one of the most dangerous things here?
Wasn’t it a rule that red potions were health potions?
Maybe that was even what they were aiming for.
Those cruel mages.
While I was understanding the heart of a knight a little, the elven disciple rummaged around and found a crystal ball.
This was another familiar situation.
Crystal balls often appeared in novels or comics of the fantasy transmigration genre.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Is it a ball that measures mana?”
Ethan answered confidently.
Then Eva clicked her tongue.
“It’s different from those mass-produced ones. This one tells you not only the amount of mana, but also your aptitude.”
According to her, it was an item that told you the amount of mana by the intensity of the light, and your aptitude by the color of the light and the picture reflected in the crystal ball.
It even tells you your aptitude.
Having something like this certainly made it understandable that the mages of the Magic Tower were more skilled than ordinary mages.
Being able to know the most talented magic in advance was a great blessing.
We immediately started the test without delay.
The lights in the room were turned off for the test.
To make it easier to see the light.
Ethan swallowed nervously and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
Whoosh.
With a strange sound, a bright brown light emanated from the crystal ball.
And a picture of a mountain was drawn on the ball.
“Earth magic.”
“It’s earth magic.”
Eva and the elf said at the same time.
“Earth magic… is it, is it good?”
“There’s no good or bad. Any magic can be used depending on how you use it. But this bright light… it’s a considerable amount of magic power. Congratulations. You have talent.”
“Thank you!”
As expected of the protagonist.
The crystal ball shone brightly.
Honestly, I was expecting the crystal ball to break, but that didn’t happen.
Next was my turn.
Whoosh!
“B-Blinding…”
“This is…”
“As expected!”
It was an even stronger light than before.
Everyone was impressed.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t be entirely happy.
“…This is…”
The lewd pink light that filled the room.
And the picture that appeared on the crystal ball.
A flashy heart picture that reminded me of a succubus’s lewd tattoo, a vulva.
“…What kind of aptitude is this?”
“Don’t get close!”
Eva pushed her face into the crystal ball with interest, and the elven disciple stopped Eva, saying it was dirty.
“Haa…”
Yeah, this is my aptitude after all…
