## Chapter 120 – 120. Magic Tower
#120. Magic Tower
After leaving the Magic Tower, I headed straight to the dojang.
I walked through the deserted streets and entered the familiar building. It was an old building made of red bricks, but it was at least minimally maintained, with no cobwebs on the ceiling or in the corners.
*Ding-dong.* As I entered the dojang, I was greeted by my master sitting at the counter. He was rubbing his eyes with a drowsy expression, as if he had just woken up.
“I didn’t expect you to come again today.”
“You have to be diligent to train.”
I changed into my training clothes and picked up the wooden sword.
My master didn’t say anything in particular when he saw me. It seemed to be a silent indication that I should do as I did yesterday.
I felt like sighing, but it wasn’t completely useless training, so I silently warmed up.
It would be foolish to neglect physical training such as basic stamina and strength just because I had magic power and internal energy.
Then, I suddenly remembered what my master had said.
‘My sword energy is only half-baked.’
Certainly, there was bound to be a difference in the completeness of my sword energy and my master’s. After all, we had different amounts of time training. But I didn’t think my master meant it that way.
The sword energy that flickered on and off my master’s finger like a flickering light bulb lingered in my mind.
I swung the wooden sword and tried to create sword energy, but only the same old sword energy was created.
It was faint, but the output was superior to other sword energies.
“Don’t swing your sword energy around. That wooden doll is expensive.”
“If it breaks, I’ll buy you a few.”
“Don’t waste your money.”
At his firm attitude, I put the sword energy back in. I kept moving with the sword. Intentional magic power release quickly drained my stamina. Sweat poured down like rain.
Today, like yesterday, I poured out all my magic power and internal energy for almost half a day, but there was no significant gain. The only consolation was that I finished earlier than yesterday.
As soon as the training was over, I collapsed on the floor, just like yesterday. It was too much to even move a finger.
‘Something… I feel like I know something…’
Ironically, my stamina and magic power were long gone, and even though I was wielding the sword with only a handful of internal energy, my mind was clearer than usual.
At that moment, when my dantian felt completely empty, a clearer sword energy than ever before bloomed.
“What’s the problem…?”
People see as much as they know, or so they say? That was exactly the case.
My master said my sword energy was half-baked.
Unlike before, when I couldn’t understand the meaning of those words at all, I felt like I knew something, even if it was very vague.
But the problem was that I couldn’t clearly define that something.
“You seem to be deep in thought.”
*Thump.* A towel fell on my face. With trembling hands, I grabbed the towel and wiped away the sweat. The towel quickly became damp.
“You’re doing well. So keep thinking, keep pondering, and keep questioning.”
“…Is that your advice? Is there anything else?”
“No. Too many captains will only lead the ship up a mountain.”
“…It doesn’t look like there’s even one captain.”
I didn’t expect it, but there were no other words to be heard.
I lay on the dojang floor for a while, quietly staring at the ceiling, before returning home.
Even after taking a shower in a nice bathroom, eating an expensive dinner, and lying on a comfortable bed, the thoughts from earlier showed no signs of disappearing.
It kept lingering in my mind.
‘…I really feel like I’m just one step away.’
It was as if one piece of an almost complete puzzle was missing.
The uneasy feeling continued until late into the night, and I ended up not sleeping a wink until sunrise.
I felt like I could fall asleep now, but unfortunately, I had a busy schedule today as well. I sighed and got up. My whole body ached with muscle pain.
***
Time passed, and the day of the Magic Tower’s semester finally arrived.
“There are a lot of people.”
I’ve visited the Magic Tower a few times, but this was the first time I’d seen so many people in the lobby.
And they weren’t wizards, but ordinary people in suits. They all looked very nervous.
It wasn’t difficult to distinguish between wizards and ordinary people inside the Magic Tower. Only the ordinary people weren’t wearing robes.
What was strange was that even though there were at least 100 people filling the lobby, there wasn’t a single sound.
The people in suits would quickly step aside whenever a wizard passed by, as if they were afraid of getting in the way.
‘What’s going on?’
The wizards, except for me, ignored them as if they were used to this scene and went upstairs leisurely.
I didn’t understand what was going on, but it was clear that it wasn’t a pleasant situation to keep watching.
Like the other wizards, I ignored them and headed to the front desk.
The Magic Tower was a space only for wizards, and outsiders couldn’t go upstairs unless they were invited by a wizard of the Magic Tower.
In the case of transfer students like me, I had to get my student ID at the front desk. Choi Hye-na had told me that the complicated procedures had been completed in advance, so I just had to go and pick it up.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
“I’m here to get my student ID.”
“Ah, then please allow me to verify your identification.”
I took out my ID from my wallet.
“Yes, it’s been verified. Our Gray Magic Tower sincerely welcomes the wizard ‘Kang Hyun-woo.’”
As soon as my name came out of the employee’s mouth, I sensed that attention and interest were pouring in from the surroundings.
-That’s Kang Hyun-woo?
-He looks younger than I thought… Really at the age of 21…?
-Wow… He’s more than I heard in the rumors?
-Tsk, some fly came in.
-Ignore him. He’ll be weeded out soon enough anyway.
The lobby instantly became noisy.
I could feel curiosity and hostility directed towards me. It was undoubtedly a troublesome situation.
Choi Hye-na had hinted that something like this might happen, but it was much more blatant than I had expected.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
I ignored the attention and headed upstairs. The magic circle activated, and the surroundings changed in an instant. It was a short-range teleport.
A much wider corridor and space unfolded than I had seen from the outside.
Stairs leading to the upper floors were scattered everywhere, intertwined in a complex structure, and there were even places where waterfalls fell unexpectedly.
Occasionally, birds of unknown species flew around.
The center was open, and even with enhanced eyesight with magic power, I couldn’t see the bottom of the hole at all. It seemed to be connected to an incredibly deep place.
‘The floor is made of wood all the way down.’
The top floor, where the professors’ workshops were located, had a strong medieval feel, but this place seemed to have taken it at least five steps further.
Of course, it wasn’t an incomprehensible sight.
The first Magic Tower master said that magic was derived from mystery. Just as monks leave the secular world, wizards also consider it a virtue to immerse themselves in mystery and study magic.
This bizarre and dreamlike place created in the middle of a concrete forest could be said to be mysterious in itself. It wasn’t just made this way for show.
“Is the faculty office… over there?”
I walked in the direction of the wizards who seemed to be students, but who exuded a relatively stronger magic power. The gazes pouring down on me were too piercing to ask anyone around.
Fortunately, I could hardly feel the hostility I had felt in the lobby. It was mostly curiosity.
‘By the way, I really don’t see any men.’
There weren’t many people passing by, but strangely, I couldn’t see any men. The gender ratio of wizards was about 2:8, so it wasn’t particularly strange.
The reason for the collapse of the gender ratio had not yet been revealed. I heard that research was in progress, but there seemed to be no progress.
‘I heard that the first Magic Tower master was also a woman?’
It was just an unsubstantiated rumor, but considering that there were often stories that the first King Arthur was also a woman, it wasn’t an impossible story.
I walked down a corridor with sparse tree trunks. Soon, I found a sign that read ‘Faculty Office.’
*Knock, knock.* I knocked lightly.
“Excuse me.”
Inside the faculty office, two women were sitting with their legs crossed. One was smoking a cigarette, and the other seemed to be reviewing documents.
“Who is it?”
The woman who was smoking a cigarette with a world-weary expression reacted first.
“I’m Kang Hyun-woo. I’m starting at the Gray Magic Tower today.”
“Kang Hyun-woo…? Ah! You’re the monster that Professor Choi was talking about?!”
“…Pardon?”
The eyes of the woman who had been half-dead lit up.
Likewise, the gaze of the woman who had only been skimming through documents next to her turned to me. I didn’t know if she was originally taciturn, but she didn’t say anything in particular. But the look in her eyes as she looked at me was unusual.
They were both beautiful, but it was the kind of attention that I instinctively shied away from.
“Certainly… It’s hard to see you as a freshman.”
A seductive tongue peeked out between the lips of the woman who was smoking a cigarette. I could see interest and curiosity directed towards me.
‘…I’m glad I wore the artifact.’
For reference, I was currently using the artifact I received from Grandma Choi Young-ok.
[Necklace of Concealment
Rank: Rare
A necklace containing powerful magic concealment.
※Magic power usage is limited when worn.]
Thanks to that, my level was about a mature 2-circle in the eyes of others. I didn’t originally intend to do this. Since I was formally transferring to the Magic Tower, there was no point in controlling information any further.
The reporters would probably start smelling me soon, and if that happened, my name would often be mentioned in the news before long.
But if my level was 4-circle, it would be a different story.
-…4-circle?
-It just happened that way.
I met with Grandma Choi Young-ok right before entering the school. At that meeting, I told her the truth about my level, and thanks to that, the atmosphere became serious in an instant.
-…Hyun-woo, I’m sorry, but can you hide that fact for the time being?
-Pardon?
Grandma Choi Young-ok, who continued to speak with difficulty, said that it was an unavoidable choice to guarantee my safety.
4-circle at the age of 21. It wasn’t unprecedented, but the problem was that I hadn’t even been learning magic for half a year.
Overwhelming and even destructive talent breeds a lot of jealousy, envy, and desire.
Of course, with my talent and achievements, I could be selected as one of the next generation’s promising talents and receive tremendous support from the government and the magic world.
All sorts of elixirs and artifacts would roll in just by staying still.
But the aftermath was the problem.
The Seongbuk Choi family was undoubtedly one of the leading magic families in Korea, but when looking at the world as a whole, there were many families with even more powerful influence.
-…Kidnapping… you mean?
-Yes.
Grandma Choi Young-ok said that there could be plenty of guys who would try to take me away by using coercive means. The governments and various forces of other countries were no exception.
Even if that wasn’t the case, she continued to speak with a serious expression, saying that we couldn’t ignore those who would try to cut me off before I became a problem.
The Magic Tower master and Choi Hye-na also had outstanding talents that other forces were eyeing, but the two were safe because they were members of a magic family.
Even though they seemed to be competing with each other, the magic families were ultimately coexisting and living under the land of Korea. But I had only promised an engagement, and I wasn’t yet a member of a magic family.
There would be no more delicious prey for the enemies than me.
‘The magic I can use now is limited to 2-circle, and my internal energy seems to be affected as well.’
I realized that I had become weaker, but there was no other way to do anything about it now.
But I wasn’t worried. Because Iris, Chun Yeo-hwa, and even the current situation would all be resolved if I became stronger.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Lee Chae-won. I’m in charge of elemental studies, but I’m also your professor?”
“…Shin Min-ha. I’m in charge of summoning studies.”
I ended up shaking hands with the two of them.
When I shook hands with Professor Lee Chae-won, my spine chilled, and Professor Shin Min-ha sensed someone’s presence.
Perhaps noticing my reaction, the expressions of the two people looking at me changed quite a bit.
“You just…”
Just as Professor Shin Min-ha was about to say something to me, Professor Lee Chae-won stepped in.
“Alright, alright! Let’s stop the small talk here and go to the classroom? You can’t be late on the first day.”
“Ah, yes.”
Professor Lee Chae-won put out her cigarette and got up from her seat. I followed her out of the faculty office.
Even until the moment I left the faculty office, Professor Shin Min-ha’s piercing gaze was fixed on the back of my head.
‘Did I make some kind of mistake?’
There was nothing in particular that came to mind.
“You have to understand her.”
“Pardon?”
Professor Lee Chae-won turned to me and spoke.
“She originally doesn’t pay attention to anything other than magic. It’s gotten worse lately, but it just so happened that a man who taught himself magic and reached 2-circle appeared, so she seems to be curious.”
“Ah.”
She added that she was a rare breed that could be commonly seen in the Magic Tower.
Well, even I thought that Professor Shin Min-ha, as well as Professor Lee Chae-won in front of me, were strange.
‘Isn’t she a model instead of a professor?’
Professor Lee Chae-won’s outfit was so unconventional that I thought the Magic Tower master was ordinary.
Not only was her cleavage incredibly exposed, but her pelvis and hip line were clearly visible due to the skirt being so short that the inside of her thighs was clearly visible.
Fortunately, it wasn’t very visible from the back because of the robe, but it was difficult to find a place to look if you met her head-on.
“Your eyes are too hot, aren’t they?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
“Really?”
The corners of Professor Lee Chae-won’s eyes curved beautifully as she looked at me. She seemed to be planning to tease me, as her hips swayed severely from side to side every time she walked.
‘…Even the professor isn’t normal.’
I had to try hard not to look at her backside for a while.
I arrived in front of the door that read 1-A.
“Wait here for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s your first day, isn’t it? You have to introduce yourself. The teacher will set the stage perfectly, so you have to do it coolly, okay?”
She’s a professor, not a teacher, but it was already too late to stop her, who was strangely excited.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
Professor Lee Chae-won, who had entered the classroom one step ahead of me, gathered the students’ attention.
“Today, a transfer student that you’ve all been waiting for has arrived!”
For a moment, I thought I had come to high school. I seriously thought about going back home even now.
“Come on in!”
“Haa…”
I lightly straightened my clothes and slowly entered the classroom.
The students’ gazes instantly focused on me.
