The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
Chapter 36: Free City (1)
In Sirin, located in the northern continent, winter arrives unusually early.
Snow began falling heavily as soon as November started, blanketing the entire city under a white quilt in the afternoon.
Oscar was seated on the sofa, admiring this beautiful view.
‘There’s no need to worry about the potion business for a while.’
After the supplements became a massive hit, the potion business also stabilized smoothly.
In fact, most of the work was being handled by Lena, his senior.
‘The warehouse is well-stocked. Now, it’s time to start strengthening the White Tower's power.’
Of course, he had already laid a solid foundation for novice mages through the 'Reinterpretation of Basic Magic' lectures.
But that was just the groundwork.
Thinking the White Tower's standards would improve with just that much was unrealistic.
‘The real issue is breaking through the ceiling that holds us back. But that will only be solved if we regain the high-level magic.’
In truth, the loss of high-level magic should never have happened in the first place.
Before 'The Night of Purge,' he had entrusted Edna Sol Laplace, the dragon, with all of the White Tower’s records as a precautionary measure.
...but it seemed like something went wrong.
He had asked her to pass all the records to whoever succeeded him as the White Tower’s Tower Master.
However, that promise has not been fulfilled even after twenty years.
‘She’s not the type to betray me. There must be some unavoidable reason.’
After a moment of contemplation, Oscar stood up.
If something truly had happened to her, rather than waiting indefinitely, it would be best to go find her.
‘First, I should gather some information.’
That information could be found by scouring the White Tower's library.
There was nothing that library didn’t have.
The White Tower’s library, holding centuries of history, was filled with all kinds of ancient books.
Each of them was known as a famous text and considered priceless historical treasures.
“...it certainly used to be like that.”
Now, the shelves were filled with basic magic theory books or research papers, things you could find at a local bookstore.
Some of the shelves even held picture books, as if to awkwardly fill the empty spaces.
It was like a children’s library at an academy.
‘Even the reddest flower can’t last ten days...but I never imagined that the centuries it took to fill this library could vanish in a single day.’
He hadn’t imagined he would be the cause of it either.
As Oscar realized this, cold sweat trickled down his spine.
‘If I hadn’t listened to Majiro’s suggestion to make copies of all the library's records...’
By now, he would’ve been pounding the ground in regret.
Luckily, he had made copies of all the books and records here and left them with Edna.
Which meant that if he found her, he could turn all these picture books back into famous texts.
Oscar sighed in relief and approached the librarian to ask a question.
“Do you have any materials related to dragons?”
“Follow me.”
The librarian confidently led him to a section where rows of fairy tale books were neatly arranged.
Picking one of the books, the librarian recommended it enthusiastically.
The Brave mage and the Cowardly Lizards
“This one is really good. It’s about Oscar Sage, and the dragons. It’s a touching true story.”
“...I don’t mean books like these. I’m looking for real information on dragons.”
“Ah, such records wouldn’t be here. You’d probably have to go to the capital’s library to find them.”
Oscar chuckled at the title as he read it.
Cowardly lizards... indeed, those lizards deserved that label.
‘An exalted race born to be mediators of balance and entrusted with recording the world’s history.’
These beings with all sorts of reverent titles had fled and abandoned the world when the Great Demon Emperor emerged.
“Oh, but I heard that there was one dragon who fought alongside humans until the end... what was their name again?”
“Edna Sol Laplace.”
“Ah! Yes, that was it. But since even that dragon has been unheard of since the war ended, she must have followed her kin.”
Did Edna follow them?
Oscar was sure that even if the sky split in two, that wouldn’t be the case.
‘She was the one most disappointed by her kin abandoning the world.’
She didn’t want to live as they did, so she remained in this world as its last observer, fulfilling her duty.
Though she was of a different race, she was his comrade and a steadfast ally of humanity.
Looking at the crudely drawn dragons on the fairy tale book’s cover, Oscar thought.
It seemed he would need to find a different approach to locate her.
Recently, the atmosphere in the White Tower was better than ever.
It’s said that if there’s a problem money can’t solve, it’s because there isn’t enough money.
The issues that had been causing headaches were mostly resolved by now.
"...With this, all the activity funds requested by the mages working outside have been disbursed.”
“It’s touching. Just a little while ago, we were debating whether to sell off White Tower’s resources.”
Even Fidelina and Maxim, who had been at each other's throats, were now getting along far better.
People tend to become more irritable when pushed into a corner.
As he sipped his tea, the Deputy Tower Master spoke up.
“In the future, we’ll need to take precautions to ensure this never happens again.”
“Well said.”
“Now, let’s move on to the next agenda item...”
As he read the documents summarizing the meeting points, the Deputy Tower Master’s eyes grew deep and thoughtful.
“How are our young ones faring these days?”
“...We continue to receive recruitment offers for them, but as always, they remain loyal to us.”
The Deputy Master heaved a heavy sigh.
It weighed on his heart, as if a heavy stone had been placed upon it.
He wished he could repay their loyalty and faith, but the situation was not so simple.
“Ultimately, this situation will persist indefinitely unless we restore the lost high-level spells.”
Yet, he felt sorry asking them to wait indefinitely.
It was practically impossible to restore the hundreds of years of magic accumulated by the White Tower’s ancestors in a single day.
“...I wish I had trained harder in my younger days, to learn as many high-level spells as possible.”
Maxim expressed his deep regret, though it was easier said than done.
Since ancient times, no one was permitted to learn multiple high-level spells in any of the four great towers.
“Only the Tower Master has access to all the high-level spells of the tower.”
Except in rare cases, the maximum number of high-level spells a mage could master in their lifetime was two or three.
Even the most gifted mages took over a dozen years to fully perfect just one advanced spell.
Because of this, the White Tower currently held only six high-level spells.
They were all spells that either the Master or the elders had learned.
"What a pity. Just twenty years ago, the White Tower held as many as 64 high-level spells... Each one was recognized as a near-legendary skill. That was the foundation of the White Tower's reputation for consistently producing powerful mages."
"Sigh."
The Deputy Master let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"Is it true that Commander Chester still has no plans to return?"
"...Yes. He says he won't come back until he completes his final mission."
At those words, the Deputy Master Hamel held back his regret.
Chester was a man who, based on his experience and skill, could have easily become the fourth elder of the White Tower.
"If he came back, we could expand the variety of high-level spells we can teach... But his resolve is strong, so we can't force him. Let's move on to the next topic."
"It seems a serial killer known as the Mage Hunter has appeared in the northern region. Starting tonight, I'll restrict all White Tower mages from going out past 10 PM. Better safe than sorry."
"Oh no..."
At that moment, Maxim's face darkened as he spoke.
"Just as dawn broke today, Oscar submitted a pass request and left the tower."
"What?! That's unacceptable. Tell him to return immediately."
"Uh... By now, he must have already traveled far from Sirin. His stated reason on the request was to visit the Free City of Baran, which is a 14-hour journey by car."
"Wait, Baran...?"
The Deputy Master quickly recalled who was currently in Baran and said urgently,
"Contact our branch in Baran right away. Tell them to send Oscar back the moment they find him."
Pop, pop.
The driver kept glancing nervously at the rearview mirror.
Understandably so, because the passenger he had picked up in Sirin didn’t seem normal at first glance.
"So soft."
Pop! Pop!
Oscar tapped on the seat, rolled down the window, and even stuck his hand outside, acting rather strangely.
‘If he were some country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time, I might understand... But Sirin used to be one of the continent's cultural capitals. And I picked this passenger up right at the White Tower’s entrance, so he must be a mage. I’ve heard that some mages lose their minds from their obsession with research... And even if that’s not the case, mages who treat human life like flies are surprisingly common.’
"Hey, sir, what’s this?"
The mage grasped the handle on the door frame, used for holding onto when the car shook, and asked.
"It’s a handle, sir."
"What happens if I pull it?"
"It breaks."
"Oh."
Oscar quietly released the handle.
From his behavior, he seemed like a decent person.
And now that he looked closer, Oscar was quite handsome, almost like a noble.
"So, why are you visiting Baran?"
"I’m looking for someone. I need to collect something from them."
Their life, perhaps?
The driver forced an awkward smile as he responded,
"Haha. I hope you get what you’re looking for."
"Thank you. It shouldn’t be too hard; just a bit of blood needs to be shed."
So it was their life...
The driver swallowed hard and didn’t say another word until they reached their destination.
The Free City of Baran—a jungle of cold concrete where only money and power mattered. Oscar couldn’t help but admire it upon arrival.
"Wow, it’s flashy."
The sun was setting, and colorful lights were already shining from the buildings all around.
Just 30 years ago, this place had been a wasteland where big casinos were planning to open; now, it had developed dazzlingly.
‘Impressive, sure, but I’ve got work to do.’
Oscar took a map from his pocket and found his destination.
‘The Blood Tower, the branch of the Blood Tower... Looks like I need to head that way. When it comes to finding people, there’s no place like the Blood Tower, though it’s a shame I’ll need to shed a bit of blood as payment.’
As Oscar entered a dim alleyway at twilight, a voice called out.
"Stop right there."
A man leaning against the alley wall lowered his pipe from his mouth and spoke.
Smoke drifted into the air, and through the haze, his eyes gleamed red, like jewels, as he stared at Oscar.
"I’ve been waiting for you, Oscar Crucian."
"...For me?"
"Yes, someone’s been looking for you."
From the magical energy he sensed, he could tell this man was a mage.
The Blue Tower was the most likely suspect.
‘Of course. They’ve lost more than just a few coins on that potion business, so they must have been waiting for a chance to get back at me. But I didn’t expect them to send someone the moment I left Sirin. Ruthless, really.’
Oscar gathered his magical energy and asked,
"What if I refuse?"
"Then I’ll have no choice but to take you by force."
The man let out another cloud of thick smoke that filled the alleyway as the two of them clashed.

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