Chapter 789 – 789. Sorcerer’s Stone (4)
After the commotion was over, Eunhyeon, Illyana, and Erin returned to the office of the Commissioner and resumed their conversation with Aden.
“You took the artifact… Are you saying you want to make it?”
“Huh.”
The elder, Aden, shook her head with a bitter expression.
She is a mage from the blue tower and although she was an old disciple of her own, she was the one who cut her ties with her when she left the tower anyway.
For some reason, I was reluctant to accept Illyana’s help.
“… You don’t have to.”
“Don’t be stubborn. Inspiration. I’m not blaming the old man, but the wizards of the blue tower would have called me if I was serious.”
“…”
Aden smiled bitterly and clenched her fists.
Even though the letter was sent to Illyana in Aden’s name, the reason why Aden didn’t know about it.
That’s because someone other than Aden sent a letter in Aden’s name.
The reason for this was, really absurdly, the blue tower wizards struggling to somehow revive the blue tower’s authority and prestige, which was gradually weakening within the magic tower.
“Now the blue tower. To be honest, it’s hard.”
Aden couldn’t deny it.
The structure of the Mage Tower is currently composed of the three powers of red, blue and green, and the current Blue Tower belongs to the weakest axis in the Mage Tower.
“What… ? Are you Illyana-sama’s teacher?”
“Heh heh, you’re stabbing a sore spot.”
Aden scratched her head and smiled bitterly.
“Oh, oh, sorry! It didn’t mean much.”
“I know. And because it’s true. I am… She is not a greater magician than Illyana.”
He calmly acknowledged his skills.
“What I taught this guy is really just the basics of magic. In fact, what was he even saying as a teacher?”
Aden has never called himself Illyana’s teacher.
Nevertheless, the reason Aden is known externally as Illyana’s teacher is because Illyana acknowledges that fact.
The party is acknowledging that fact, but who can deny it?
“Uh, that, but… Doesn’t that mean you’re great enough to take on the position of elder?”
“That’s right. Aden is a wonderful person. He is also a seven-digit wizard, one of ten wizards who have risen to the highest rank.”
Eunhyun nodded as if agreeing with Erin’s words.
Although the title of ‘Illyana’s teacher’ has influenced his current position as a blue elder, it is absolutely not that the level he has achieved as a mage is to be ignored.
Because he is also a magician with high digits within ten fingers.
“Wow, that’s right!”
Erin, as expected, clapped her hands.
“You don’t have to give it too much air. Anyway… Illyana. I’m sorry for you. It would have been a hassle to have moved far away.”
“No. What? I just came right there by teleport.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Inspiration. I didn’t come back to this place where I had cut ties once because I was particularly inspired.”
While Aden was reacting shyly to Illyana’s plaintive reaction, Illyana spoke to Aden with a serious expression.
“I want to trade.”
“Transaction?”
“Huh. Transaction.”
The purpose of Illyana’s visit to the Magic Tower was to reunite with her master, whom she would see again in 10 years, but this was the main purpose.
“… Hmm.”
Aden pondered for a moment.
Illyana’s proposed deal must be for her return to her own Mage Tower.
However, because Aden was extremely reluctant to accept her once she left her tower and break the rules of her tower, she couldn’t easily agree.
“Elder.”
When she couldn’t come to a conclusion easily, it was Treve who was listening to her who opened her mouth.
“Maybe… I don’t think the seniors at Blue Tower also thought that it couldn’t be like this in the end.”
“What do you mean?”
It was Erin who tilted her head and asked.
“It’s our circumstances, but the Blue Tower is currently in a very bad position in the Mage Tower.”
The strongest force is, of course, the Red Tower, as Erin had predicted.
Next was the green tower, and the blue tower, the last one, was in the worst situation.
The fact that they were arguing so much on the first floor and openly ignoring the wizards in the blue tower seemed to show how much the red tower looked down on the blue tower.
“Hmm… I don’t think I’ve ever done this before.”
In her 20s, when she learned magic under Aden, the balance of the three powers of the Mage Tower was in a tight balance until 10 years ago.
However, the fact that the balance has begun to shift means that some event has recently occurred that could be the trigger.
Eun-hyeon immediately guessed the incident that would trigger it.
“It is because of the war.”
“… That’s right. It is because of the war between the undead and the group that are currently calling themselves ‘disaster’.”
The disaster began with the kingdom of Rendir.
And the current situation is that starting from the Kingdom of Rendir, it raids the surrounding areas, slaughters many humans on the continent, and grows its scale.
Perhaps the countries that were going to face the crisis put a request for support from the mages in the Mage Tower.
And Cheongtap would have responded to that request for support.
“It wasn’t easy to say no.”
The many wizards belonging to this mage tower were all talented people with talents that were said to be the best in the entire continent, and were intertwined with various interests and relationships such as kingdoms, merchant companies, and regions.
It is never easy to reject the requests for assistance from various countries that stem from that.
And he didn’t bother to ask about the survival rate of the wizards who were put into that support.
Because the result is the current situation.
However, it did not make sense that the war against disaster was the fundamental cause of the decline of the Blue Tower.
It was a penalty that the entire tower had to go through, and not just the blue tower.
“The red tower and the green tower… You turned down your request for assistance.”
“I didn’t completely reject it. Only… Sending only minimal manpower, or…”
“I must have stole relatives, parents, and influential people related to the wizards belonging to the Mage Tower. Or they took refuge inside this magic tower.”
“That, does that make sense!?”
Contrary to Erin’s shocking reaction, Aden just nodded calmly after hearing Eunhyeon’s guess.
“Right. At the same time as the Red Tower rejected the request of each country, the wizards’ power loss was minimized by evacuating the people related to the magicians inside the tower.”
“How could that be… If you do, you will be criticized by each country on the continent…”
“Who is to blame? Those who should be blamed have already perished and been erased from this continent for a long time.”
“…”
Erin was dumbfounded.
Especially since she’s Erin who’s been through a battle with the undead once, she must have needed at least one more person who could stand on the front line.
Whether it is an adventurer, a soldier, a knight, or a wizard, the same applies to anyone.
Erin glanced away and she caught Eunhyun’s attention.
“Hyunah. Are you okay?”
“What?”
“No. That is…”
Eunhyeon is an apostle who has been given the mission of protecting this underworld by the goddess.
She was worried about how this situation would look to him, but Eun-hyeon was calmer than she thought.
As if he had somehow guessed this situation.
“Because this is a person.”
Everyone’s life and the lives of their loved ones are the most important.
For that reason, most of them think that the lives and lives of other people who are not related are just fine.
“It will only get worse in the future.”
The more inferior the situation on the human side is, the more the chance of victory and the prospect of survival becomes slimmer, the more fear and terror will grow thicker and more shrinking.
“Still… This isn’t it…”
“The Red Tower must be buying time.”
“Hour?”
“Time to properly power up.”
The time required to focus on the development of artifacts, further accelerate the training of magic, or put more effort into discovering talented wizards.
“For that purpose, we should minimize the loss of power and look at the future.”
Regardless of whether or not their atrocities are known to the outside world, the Red Tower will continue their atrocities.
In any case, if you make a great contribution to winning the war, public opinion on the continent asking for responsibility can be overturned.
“Still, this…”
Erin was difficult to understand.
Just for that, she refuses the support of many countries and lets them perish.
“Erin. That’s what people are.”
Eunhyeon smiled bitterly and spoke again.
“…”
I realized again that there are really many people in the world.
“Anyway. My deal. Will you accept it?”
Illyana took her story back and asked Aden.
“For now… Listen and decide.”
In the end, Aden chose to listen to Illyana’s words.
As the situation was, at least the only way to get rid of the confusion inside the leaning tower was to raise the status of the blue tower again.
For that, Aden had to compromise with reality.
“Okay. What do you ask of me?”
“I’m going to make a ‘Philosopher’s Stone’.”
“That…”
“Tongue, you mean the Philosopher’s Stone!?”
It was not only Aden who was surprised, but also Trev, who was listening alongside her.
“The Philosopher’s Stone? What is it?”
“It’s a stone that grants wishes… It is a stone that makes every wizard’s dream come true.”
“Wish? Dream?”
At her ambiguous expression, Erin tilted her head.
“Erin. What do you think most people’s dreams are?”
“Hmm… Wouldn’t it be nice to eat well and live happily?”
“Yes. However, the conditions and standards of happiness are not fair and equally applicable to everyone.”
Some people can be satisfied with being able to eat three full meals a day, some people can be happy with sleeping in a bed with a warm back, and some people can feel happy with enjoying enormous wealth and wealth that they will not be able to use up even if they spend their whole life. .
“For wizards, a dream is an increase in numbers. It means that if the number goes up and you can enter a high rank, you will become a wizard recognized by the entire continent.”
Of course, additional things such as wealth, honor, social status and power are bound to follow.
“Then, the Philosopher’s Stone…”
“It is a dream-like, legendary artifact that raises the ranks of wizards.”
“But… The Philosopher’s Stone only existed in literature, but no one actually saw it.”
Since Illyana had declared that she would make it herself, it was natural for her to be surprised.
“Lord Iliana! Great! You make such a wonderful thing!”
After hearing the explanation, Erin was impressed.
As if she had already completed the Philosopher’s Stone, Erin’s reaction, making a fuss about her, was absurd to Aden and Treb.
Erin believed that Illyana would complete the Philosopher’s Stone, and she was sending her sparkling eyes without a doubt.
“Okay. Aside from being able to make the Philosopher’s Stone itself, what can you do for me by helping me do it?”
A transaction is an exchange of something mutually beneficial.
Illyana replied confidently.
“The return of my magic tower.”
“… Haha.”
Aden laughed at the confident appearance.
At first, she only knew that she wanted to return to the Mage Tower as a favor to her.
But Illyana offered it as a price.
Just because she makes her comeback, her position in the Blue Tower can’t be restored at once, so it’s like a springboard for a reversal that can lead.
She was very aware of her own worth and was proud of her.
It was also a heartwarming laugh that made him realize that he had grown into a great wizard who surpassed himself lightly, rather than being her disciple now.
“Okay. Good night.”
The mere fact that he succeeded in producing the legendary artifact, Philosopher’s Stone, which only exists in literature, in the Blue Tower is a great benefit.
Aden made a quick decision, unlike her hesitation at the beginning.
“Baby.”
“Yes?”
“I also need Aga’s help to make the Philosopher’s Stone. Can you help me?”
“Yes? Me?”
Erin tilted her head, but she nodded her head and readily agreed.
From the first time she was offered to accompany her to the Mage’s Tower, Illyana realized that she would take this role upon herself.
“Yes! Great! Whatever you do, leave it to me!”
“Huh. I am strong.”
