The Genius Magician Hides His Swordsmanship - Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Let’s go to the Mage Tower.

– The graduation ceremony will be held in a week, so everyone, go home.

With Aloy’s words, the graduation examination ended. I was on my way to the dorm with Drew and Ariel.

“…So, Ariel can’t graduate?”

Drew cautiously opened his mouth. However, Ariel wasn’t too sad.

“Don’t worry, it’s just because my skills are less than Ian’s.”

She spoke as if to comfort us.

“Ian, go to the mage tower first and settle down. I’ll catch up as soon as I get there.”

I couldn’t help but be more concerned with her calm attitude.

‘She’s acting like an old man…’
[It’s a pity, such talent.]

Because she was pinned against me, she couldn’t graduate. It was a disappointing result.

[Still, it’s much better for geniuses like her to fail while they’re still young.]

That was right. Rather than always winning over and over again, failing once in a while would be a bigger nourishment. The younger the experience, the better. I just hoped that this incident would be a good stimulus for her.

“Ian.”

At that moment we heard a voice next to us, the three of us turned our heads together.

“Can I see you for a second?”

It was Rio.

‘What’s going on?’

We didn’t have any lessons, so I was puzzled.

“Oh, oh, how are you!”

Drew bowed his head at him. He must have noticed that he was a Delemar when he saw his red eyes. Rio rubbed his head.

“You don’t have to be so scared. I just came here as Ian’s uncle.”
“Oh, yes! Hello, nice to meet you!”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too. Excuse me, can I take Ian from you for a while?”
“Sure!”

Unlike Drew, who was brightly smiling, my mind was complicated.

‘Did he come to know that I was caught by Raxon?’
[Maybe so.]

Rio tilted his head.

“Ian, you have a strange expression on your face? Did you see someone you wouldn’t normally see?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”

I had no choice but to follow Rio.

“Drew, Ariel. You go first, I’ll be there soon.”
“Sure! Take your time!”

Rio headed to the back of the auditorium where he always taught us.

“Uh…you’re here too?”

McDuff was already there.

‘This doesn’t seem to be related to Raxon.’

This is the first time in this period where I was happy.

[If that’s the case, he wouldn’t have called that mess.]

McDuff waved awkwardly at me and turned his head toward Rio.

“Uncle, we don’t have lessons today, so why did you call us?”
“How was your graduation exam? You both passed, right? If you leave for the mage tower, it will be hard for us to meet for a while, so I came to say hello.”

As Rio put his hand into his bosom, McDuff screamed.

“Uncle! Are you sure you want to give us homework until the very end?”

It was because whenever he did that, he always gave us homework to solve. McDuff’s reaction was also natural.

“This kid, it seems you were very reluctant to do it. This isn’t homework, it’s a present.”

However, what Rio gave us was a small ring.

“It’s an artifact I made myself. Of course it’s enchanted…”

He then put the rings on our little fingers.

“What kind of magic is it?”
“It’s absolutely necessary for you. If you inject mana into it, you can change the color of the pupils. There must be times when you want to hide your red eyes when you go outside.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

‘I didn’t know I had such a thoughtful uncle.’

In particular, it was a feature I very much needed. Because I couldn’t go around training swordsmanship with red eyes.

[Somehow, your uncles seem more interested than I thought.]
‘Yeah, they pay more attention than it seems.’

Whether it was Rio or Raxon, I didn’t know what their intentions were, but they seemed to be paying a lot of attention.

[Aren’t you getting caught up in the family’s political fight soon?]
‘Ayy, we’re still young kids, can they even pay attention to that already?’

I hated that kind of situation. I didn’t know how to do that, and to me the Delemar family was just a backer to use until I was strong enough.

The next morning.
As soon as I woke up, I headed to the storage room at the corner of the academy. I was on my way to the library when I saw the phrase, ‘Those who passed the graduation examination are exempted from classes.’

[Surely Raxon isn’t coming back right?]
‘He said he’d let me off if I passed the test.’

There would be no classes. It was an opportunity to be in the library all day.

‘I’ll be able to transcribe the remaining things until graduation.’

Fortunately, Rio’s spatial magic was still intact, and Raxon wasn’t there. I started copying while moving around in the space I had become accustomed to.

‘Is there any useful elemental theory? Let me take a look again.’

Compared to the family rituals, their value seemed low.
But like Kane Gurf’s Applied Magic, a combination of lightning and water. There might be a book that would be of great use in the real world, a book with a power that would baffle even me.

‘Wow, there’s even something like this.’

There were many things that didn’t seem like much when I looked at them before, but when I looked at them again, they seemed quite new.

‘I can use magic now.’

I went to tear the books apart in a trance.

[It’s almost time to go.]

Oberon gave me a stern look.

‘Is it time already?’
[Hurry up and get back to sword training.]
‘Okay, I get it.’

He poked his head into the book.
Shut!
I had no choice but to close it.

‘Let’s go, Drew will be waiting for us.’

Oberon smiled with satisfaction.
Inside the dormitory, Drew was breathing heavily, as always.

“Heh, hehe… What’s up?”

His training intensity had increased with his progress. I stood next to Drew, sat down and stood up with him, performing squats together.

‘Even the auras gathered now will be about 3 stars.’
[It’s been 3 years since you started to feel aura… my old skills aren’t going anywhere.]

Oberon nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze to Drew.

[By the way, what did this guy eat to get so big?]

Drew’s body was pretty tight. No matter what and how much he ate, his flesh remained the same, but his muscles were quite swollen.

‘Now, when I go to the mage tower, I’ll start teaching him how to practice.’
[It’s nice to hear that. Now, he is going to walk the path of a swordsman without even realizing it!]

Oberon’s evil smile turned to Drew.

“Heo eok! Heo!”

Drew was engrossed in his training, unaware of his own destiny.

* * * 

A week later, the graduation ceremony went smoothly. It was after the graduation examination had already been completed, and it was only a formal procedure. If there was anything special about it.

“Congratulations, Ian. You graduated in first place.”

I went up to the podium as a representative of the alumni and was praised by Aloy.

“Ian! What’s going on?!”

Upon returning home,Titania greeted me violently.

“To enter the mage tower at the age of 15. It’s really amazing!”
“I was just lucky.”

Then the nanny next to her became more fussy.

“What do you mean, lucky? I heard you never missed first place from admission to graduation?”

Where did you hear that? Although the Delemar family was extensive, rumors spread faster than expected.

“To think you’ve grown up already. It seems like yesterday, we were changing your diapers…”

Thrilled, the nanny had tears in her eyes.

‘That’s just how it is.’
[Hahahaha!]

Thanks to what the nanny said, only Oberon’s grotesque laughter was spreading in my ears.
Even in this situation, Titania’s face was tearful.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your face, and we already have to part.”
“I guess that’s how it is.”
“You have to leave in a week right?”

It was because the entrance ceremony for the mage tower was coming soon. It wasn’t a coincidence. It’s because the graduation date for the Delemar Academy is set according to the schedule of the annual mage tower entrance ceremony.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Although the words were stuck to her lips, Titania’s eyes sparkled.

“So, by any chance, are you thinking of postponing it by a year?”

Of course that wouldn’t happen.

[How dare this woman say that?!]

Oberon wasn’t the only one that felt that way, I wanted to leave the Delemar family and learn swordsmanship.

‘I’ll be able to go out to swing my sword freely.’

Since I always practiced in secret, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“No, I want to go out quickly and experience the wide world. Plus, I can always come back during the vacation, right?”

Titania had a sad expression for a moment, but she soon concealed her feelings.

“Yes, the more experience, the better.”

And then Titania hugged me.

“Never be discouraged outside Ian. No matter whoever curses you, you will always be my son.”

Her love was always so full. I wonder if I, with the spirit of Adonis, dared to receive it.
Perhaps that’s why I didn’t want to pull away this time.

“This is not the time to be like this!”

What broke the sentiment was the nanny’s fuss.

“There’s only a week left, so I’ll make you a delicious meal soon! Look forward to having delicacies every day!”

Then she ran straight into the kitchen.

* * * 

It soon got to the day I headed for the mage tower.

[I think you have added 5kg.]
‘Whoa, I’m still bloated.’

I was tortured with food for a week. I was on my way out of the house after eating the food prepared until the end.

“Ian, are you sure that’s all you need to pack?”

Titania looked worriedly behind my back.

“Yes, this is fine.”

It was because there was only one bag on my back.

‘This is enough.’

Books that have been transcribed in the Delemar library. Among them, only the most important ones were selected.

“Master, take some more of this. Eat it on the way.”

A bag of food was handed over by the nanny.

‘You’ve already fed me so much, and now you’re giving me more?!’

I instinctively put my hand behind my back, but the nanny’s speed was even faster.

‘Why is she so quick when giving food?’

At that moment, she seemed like a skilled soldier, so I couldn’t help but accept it.

“Oh my! Look at me. I’ve baked more cookies! I’ll go get them for you!”

At that moment, a ray of hope shone on me.

“Ian!”

Drew had returned to the Delemar’s estate after a week. We promised to move to the mage tower together.

“Drew! Come on, let’s go!’

I bowed and then hurried to join him.

“I’ll be back soon!”

Before the nanny went into the house to get the cookies, she gasped.

“Hey, nice to meet you! Oh, goodbye!”

Drew, not knowing why, just followed, dumbfounded.

[What’s the matter? You said the food the nanny made was delicious.]
‘It is delicious, but this is too much.’

Behind us, the nanny shouted, ;Master! Take the cookies!’ The nanny’s voice seemed to echo behind us, but it must have been a hallucination.

‘Ha, I was so hungry in my previous life that I can’t believe I’m running away from food this time.’

Shaking our heads, we headed to the portal management office in the territory.

[This is the most useful thing mages have ever done.]

Because you can’t just walk across a wide continent, it was a large-scale magic that wizards had implemented over several generations.

“Oh! Where are you going, young master?”

The manager of the site lowered his head. He recognized my red eyes.

“I’m going to Las in the northern part of the continent.”
“Ah, you’re going to the mage tower!”

The reason Oberon and I wanted to get out of the Delemar house and go to the mage tower quickly wasn’t simply swordsmanship training.
Las.
A port city in the northern part of the continent, where the empire’s mage tower is located.

[We’re finally going.]

The name of the city was unfamiliar to me, but Oberon had told me that the old name for Las was Sheoliton.

‘I have to go, to see if my little ones are doing well.’

That was my home base a thousand years ago, when I was Adonis.