Chapter 49

Penia, the Vice-Tower master of the Blue Mage’s Tower, was a genius, but not many wizards liked her.

There were three reasons for this: first, she was incredibly rude; second, she was unbelievably rude; and third, she was insufferably rude.

Typically, wizards gathered around those who held higher ranks, regardless of their personalities, since what mattered most to them was the pursuit of knowledge, not individual character.

In other words, even if someone had an awful personality, wizards would still try to stay close to them to gain any amount of wisdom.

However, even such wizards couldn’t tolerate being near Penia.

She was a genius, but her arrogance was unbearable.

As a result, Penia’s presence always caused various disturbances within the society.

She openly disrespected anyone below the rank of tower master, making it impossible to avoid conflicts.

That’s why all the wizards referred to Penia as a “reckless troublemaker” and disliked her.

Milan, a wizard from the Green Mage’s Tower, who had just fought with her, was no exception.

He harbored deep resentment toward Penia.

To the extent that for the past seven years, he had been dreaming of subduing her with his magic and making her apologize for the constant insults she hurled at him.

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Ever since he became a full-fledged wizard and could present theories at the society, she had tormented him.

So, Milan couldn’t comprehend the situation unfolding before him.

“How long has it been? …Hmm, almost more than half a year, I suppose.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“No need to be so formal. I think I told you last time that you could speak informally.”

“Should I… speak informally?”

“Oh, now that I think about it, I did say to just do whatever feels comfortable. Do as you please.”

“…!”

Milan blinked in disbelief at Penia, who sighed in relief, clearly pleased that she could continue speaking formally.

‘Is this an illusion spell?’

Worried that he might have fallen victim to one of Penia’s malicious illusion spells, he even cast a dispel magic, but the situation before his eyes remained unchanged.

“Anyway, it’s nice to see you here.”

“I-It’s nice to see you too!”

The sight of Penia, who never even spoke politely unless someone was at least a tower master, now behaving like a docile puppy showing its belly, was shocking to everyone.

Even Milan’s master, standing nearby, had already cast a dispel spell more than five times, the shock was that intense.

But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“By the way, did something happen?”

“Oh, that…”

“Not that it’s my place to interfere, but shouldn’t wizards get along with each other?”

He wasn’t reprimanding anyone; it was just a casual remark.

But upon hearing it, Penia turned and looked straight at Milan.

“I’m sorry!”

She apologized.

“???”

Every wizard present had a stunned expression.

The notion that Penia, the notorious troublemaker who seemed incapable of apologies, would bow her head and apologize, felt too surreal to believe.

Even Milan, who had spent seven long years dreaming of this very moment, couldn’t react despite finally receiving the apology he’d yearned for.

“How… how is this possible?”

Liyan, who stood beside Alon, was also utterly bewildered, staring in disbelief between Penia and Milan.

A little while later…

“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Y-yes, sir…!”

Nodding eagerly at the man’s words, Penia scurried away like she was fleeing, and everyone’s gaze naturally shifted to one person: Count Palatio, the man who had not only tamed the wild troublemaker but seemed to handle her with ease.

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“…She seems stiffer than last time,” Alon thought to himself as he watched Penia running off into the distance.

“Huh?”

Recalling that the nearby wizards and Liyan were staring at him, mouths agape, Alon couldn’t help but wonder.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

Feeling slightly embarrassed, he shifted his eyes, trying to gauge the situation.

***

After Penia darted away in haste…

Similarly, the wizards who were watching Alon realized that he was Count Palatio, and after expressing their mystified admiration(?) they departed.

“…Penia is called a troublemaker?”

“Yes.”

“How curious.”

Alon tilted his head as he listened to Liyan talk about Penia.

‘I knew Penia was quite arrogant in the game… but I didn’t realize she was notorious enough to be called a troublemaker by the other wizards… Well, it wasn’t a crucial plot point, so it makes sense it didn’t come up.’

Thinking about how the protagonist would recruit Penia as a companion several years from now, usually after half the kingdom had been destroyed, he shrugged.

“Actually, I’m the one who should be asking. How is it that the troublemaker behaves so quietly in front of you, Count?”

At Liyan’s follow-up question, Alon fell silent for a moment.

Amusingly enough, even Alon didn’t really know why Penia acted the way she did around him.

But simply admitting he didn’t know seemed a bit awkward, so he was contemplating how to respond when Liyan’s voice brought his attention back.

“We’ve arrived.”

Looking ahead, he saw the structure before him.

“This is…”

“It’s the inter-floor transportation device.”

Before them stood a structure that reminded him of an elevator from his previous world.

“You said you wanted to visit the library on the 38th floor, right?”

Nodding as he recalled the request he had made before coming to the mage tower, Alon responded.

“Yes, can I go in now?”

“Of course, but I have something to prepare, so I won’t be able to accompany you.”

“That’s fine. I’m just curious about the library.”

In fact, considering what he intended to do at the library, it was actually better for Alon if Liyan wasn’t there.

So when he nodded, Liyan pressed a button on the right side of the structure.

“And how exactly do you manage to handle Penia that way, Count?”

Just as ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Liyan asked the question again…

Woooong!

With a deep resonating sound, the door to the inter-floor transportation device, which had been firmly shut, opened.

The smile that had been on Liyan’s face instantly vanished as her expression twisted in displeasure.

Startled by her sudden change in mood, Alon naturally followed her gaze and turned his head.

Walking towards them was a man who looked like he had a complaint about everything in the world.

And then—

“Oh, who do we have here? Isn’t it our dear little Liyan?”

“…Baruch.”

Liyan’s tone was openly hostile as she addressed the man, who smiled in a way that didn’t exactly radiate friendliness.

“Did you come to see me?”

“As if.”

“Really? I wanted to see you. What a shame.”

The man, called Baruch, chuckled as he shifted his gaze from Liyan, who was glaring at him, and looked directly at Alon.

“Who’s this? A face I haven’t seen before.”

“He’s Count Palatio.”

At Liyan’s words, Baruch gave Alon a quick, dismissive once-over, the kind of look that made it clear he wasn’t impressed.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Baruch seemed to remember something as he let out a small “Ah.”

“Oh, you’re the one, right? The one who helped deal with the foreign invader after hundreds of years?”

Baruch, smirking to himself, nodded slowly.

“Pleased to meet you, Count Palatio. I’m Baruch, a wizard of the Violet Mage’s Tower. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

With that, he gave Alon a slight nod before walking past him.

***

A little while later…

‘So, the son of the Violet Tower Master…’

As the inter-floor transportation device began to move, Alon felt his body floating and thought back to the conversation he had just had with Liyan.

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‘He never appeared in the game, though.’

Alon didn’t believe in physiognomy, but as he thought about how Baruch acted exactly as his rude appearance suggested, he decided to stop paying him any mind.

From what Liyan had told him, Baruch seemed to be the type to steal research achievements and present them as his own or secretly belittle others behind their backs, but he wasn’t someone important to Alon.

After some time passed, there was a deep resonating sound.

“Wooong~!”

“Oh.”

As the giant sound reverberated, the once-closed door opened, and Alon couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation.

What he saw before him was a space filled entirely with books, from the ground he stood on all the way to the ceiling.

The seemingly endless sea of bookshelves and volumes made the entire space feel unreal, fitting for the name “Mage’s Tower,” and Alon found himself awestruck for a moment.

‘There are two things I need to find here.’

But only for a moment.

Alon quickly set himself in motion, walking between the countless bookshelves.

Though impressed, he had been here dozens of times in the game, so he moved through the area with ease, as if he were already familiar with it. However, reality wasn’t the same as a game, so it took him a little longer than expected.

But soon enough, he found the book he was looking for.

A single book with a particularly dark black cover, standing out among the others.

‘This is it.’

Satisfied, though his face remained expressionless, he pulled the book from the shelf and examined it.

There was no title or author written on the cover.

It was a book with no known creator, but without hesitation, Alon opened it and began flipping through its blank pages, just as dark and empty as the cover.

Without any concern, he continued to turn each blank page, one by one.

About a third of the way through the book, Alon finally discovered the hidden compartment.

‘Found it.’

Inside, he found a ring-like piece of jewelry that could fit on a finger—a “Ho Gaftu.”

Like his clothing, the Ho Gaftu was a deep, pitch-black color, as though it could swallow even light.

Alon instinctively slipped it into his pocket before returning the book to its original place.

‘That’s the first thing done. The second will take more time, so I’ll just prepare for it now.’

Satisfied with the texture of the Ho Gaftu in his pocket, Alon began preparing to retrieve the second item.

‘That’s it. The rest… I’ll come back in two days.’

After setting the broken, giant clock on the left side of the library—no longer in use—to point at 12, ignoring the current time, Alon fiddled with the Ho Gaftu again.

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‘I’d like to use this right now.’

According to his predictions, this Ho Gaftu would significantly enhance his current magic usage, so he was eager to test it out immediately.

‘But it’s not like I only have time today.’

Remembering that it was already late in the evening, he shrugged and left the library.

The next day, having acquired what he wanted, the magic society gathering began.

And after the presentation from the Green Mage’s Tower, during the friendly competition that most of the wizards attended, Alon received a challenge.

“I’d like to test my strength against the famous Count Palatio, who dealt with the Northern outsiders after hundreds of years. What do you say?”

It was a duel request.

The one making the request, with a sly grin, was none other than Baruch, the son of the Violet Tower Master, clearly with some hidden agenda in mind.