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    Chapter 51: Mage Hunter (1)


    In the city of Rouen, known as the Heart of the East, the Yellow Tower stood as a uniquendmark, its appearance distinct from any conventional mage tower.


    Instead of a cylindrical shape, it seemed as though hundreds of cubes of varying sizes had been stacked together in a haphazard manner.


    “The Head of the Department of Magical Engineering is entering!”


    The department with the most power in this highly distinctive Yellow Tower was, without a doubt, the Department of Magical Engineering.


    It boasted unparalleled influence, credited with changing the world in just 20 years.


    Moreover, its head, Tony Haberz, was the only disciple of the tower’s master.


    As the brown-haired man in his mid-thirties with a neatlybed pomade hairstyle entered the conference room and naturally took the seat of honor, he surveyed the room and spoke in a voice that subtly invoked tension.


    “Let’s begin the meeting. As usual, let’s hear about the activities of the other towers first.”


    At his words, an elderly mage who had prepared the report opened his mouth.


    “The Red Tower has securedmand over arge-scale monster subjugation operation. Themander is said to be Lloyd Schultz, the Ash Wizard and disciple of the Red Tower Master.”


    “Was there no way for us to intervene?”


    “Well, it seems... the military is too heavily influenced by the Red Tower…”


    The elderly mage trailed off, casting cautious nces around.


    The mages of the Yellow Tower were all somewhat intimidated by Tony.


    It wasn’t that he was known for being cruel or for handing out punitive measures excessively, yet he inspired unease regardless.


    “So, the Red Tower will achieve the most notable results in this subjugation, then.”


    If themander was from the Red Tower, they would undoubtedly position their mages to reap the greatest rewards.


    Tony nodded indifferently, as if he hadn’t expected anything different.


    Wasting energy on the impossible was the height of inefficiency.


    “When the dayes that they make a major mistake, our turn wille. What about the Blue Tower?”


    “Oh, it seems they are in quite a predicament.”


    A mage in charge of monitoring the Blue Tower eagerly replied, sensing a chance to improve the atmosphere.


    “Recently, the Blue Tower has been ceding its share of the potion market to the White Tower. While, for now, it’s merely irritating for them, if this continues, it could be a significant problem.”


    Tony nodded.


    ‘The Blue Tower certainly seems to have taken a major tumbletely. They’ve been careless.’


    Their attempt to undercut the White Tower with a discount campaign had backfired, stabbing them in the back.


    He wouldn’t have made such a foolish move if it had been him.


    With a slightly appeased expression, Tonymented,


    “So, the White Tower must be celebrating right now.”


    “Indeed. Most of all, they are likely rejoicing in the achievements of Oscar Crucian.”


    “…That’s a name I’ve been hearing more oftentely.”


    To be honest, he had thought he would never hear that name again.


    Once discarded by all the mage towers as a broken toy, what reason was there for his resurgence?


    “Yes, and there’s more news about him. Whilepleting a mission in Baran City, he reportedly encountered the Tattooist.”


    “…That’s quite unfortunate news.”


    As a fellow mage, Tony couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.


    The Tattooist was a mage from the brutal and notorious Violet Brigade, with a massive bounty on her head.


    For a novice mage to cross paths with her was akin to being swept up in a natural disaster.


    “Did he die?”


    “No. Surprisingly, he wasn’t gravely injured. Just a few days’ rest, and he’ll be fine.”


    “…He encountered the Tattooist and came out with only minor injuries?”


    Tony’s face showed disbelief.


    Never before had there been such a mild oue from an encounter with her.


    “Yes, and what’s causing even more buzz is that Oscar Crucian has ascended to Level 3.”


    “Level 3? Isn’t he a mana-deficiency patient?”


    “That’s correct, which is why there are rumors that he might have found a cure for mana deficiency.”


    “A cure for mana deficiency…”


    If true, it would be a discovery of the century.


    Mana deficiency was an incurable disease that even the greatest mages had failed to resolve.


    “We’ll monitor that situation further.”


    “Understood. Additionally, regarding the White Tower, they seem to have recently taken an interest in magical engineering.”


    “…Magical engineering? In the White Tower of all ces?”


    Tony tilted his head slightly.


    It didn’t make sense.


    The White Tower’s current ventures—delivery services, potions, and supplements—had nothing to do with magical engineering.


    “What leads you to think that?”


    “There’s evidence that books and theses rted to magical engineering have been flowing into the White Tower inrge quantities.”


    Tony might have dismissed it as overblown spection if someone else had said this.


    It was more usible to assume a few mages had developed personal curiosity.


    But Tony, who understood better than anyone how a tiny crack could lead to the copse of a dam, didn’t dismiss the report.


    He frowned slightly and pondered.


    “Hmm… If, by any chance, the White Tower truly is showing interest in magical engineering, what do you think their motive might be?”


    The question was met with a heavy silence in the conference room.


    Tony didn’t rush or show irritation, calmly intecing his fingers as he waited.


    Eventually, a young mage hesitantly raised his hand.


    “Well… There’s a rumor in the mineral market that the White Tower recently purchased arge quantity of levitation stones. While not as valuable as mithril, these stones have excellent mana conductivity and a special property that makes them float when imbued with mana.”


    “Go on.”


    “So, I wondered… Could it be that the White Tower is trying to develop an airship? Levitation stones are essential for building airships, and if that’s the case, their interest in magical engineering would make sense…”


    A heavy silence fell over the room as soon as he finished speaking.


    But momentster, everyone burst intoughter, as if on cue.


    “Haha!”


    “An airship? Haha, absurd!”


    “That one! I thought he was just a bookworm, but he’s quite theedian.” n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    “Such an imagination!”


    The oldest mage in the room chuckled as he spoke.


    “An airship is nothing but a pipe dream. Do you think we haven’t tried it before?”


    “Oh, I see…”


    “Of course, today’s mages wouldn’t know. Magical engineering itself is a byproduct of the old Sky Project.”


    After the advent of magical engineering, the Yellow Tower had secretly attempted to develop airships.


    They believed the new technology could ovee past failures.


    But all they encountered was failure—utter and relentless.


    “After countless failures, we concluded that neither lightning magic nor magical engineering alone could ever make an airship feasible. Perhaps if the unique magic of thete Oscar Sage, Ouroboros, were still around…”


    Another mage nodded in agreement.


    “That’s true. If airships were possible, the Yellow Tower wouldn’t have invested so heavily in developing railroads.”


    The Yellow Tower had recentlypleted trial runs of trains in several cities, including the capital, Rosetta.


    Buoyed by that sess, they were now building a grand railway line to span the continent.


    “We don’t need to chase the illusion of the sky.”


    “The cutting-edge magic engineering encasing the Iron Horse will make the Yellow Tower the greatest tower of magic on the continent.”


    “Well, it’s true thatying down the tracks is currently costing us astronomical sums... but once the tracks areplete and the trains start running, it’s only a matter of time before we recover the investment.”


    ording to calctions, it will only take two weeks to traverse the entire continent once the tracks are finished.


    This includes the time spent stopping to rece the magic engineering batteries.


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    Compared to the current fastest means of transportation—ships—which take several months, the speed was nothing short of revolutionary.


    In essence, the very concept of transportation would be turned on its head.


    Potions?


    Deliveries?


    Monster hunting?


    Those outdated industries wouldn’t evene close to the profits of continent-spanning train trade.


    Tony brought the daydreaming mages back to reality.


    “Let’s put the Yellow Tower and train talk aside. Have we identified the record-breaking mage’s identity yet?”


    Not long ago, an anonymous mage cleared ARGO, the magic engineering training program’s 100th level, in a mere 9 minutes and 57 seconds.


    Naturally, the Yellow Tower was scouring far and wide to recruit this prodigious talent, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.


    “We’ve narrowed down a list, but no solid suspects yet.”


    “Hmm...”


    Tony’s displeasure was evident.


    Although the training program was created by the Yellow Tower, they weren’t allowed to ess its data freely.


    The royal family had strictly prohibited such ess under the pretense of protecting personal information.


    ‘They call it protection, but in reality, it’s just a ploy to keep us in check.’


    If the Yellow Tower could ess personal information without restriction, their intelligence capabilities would surpass even the royal family’s.


    As a result, they had to sign an ord requiring royal approval for any personal data inquiries.


    “...We have no choice. Keep searching diligently. Such talent must be brought into our fold.”


    “Yes, sir.”


    There were far too many obstacles blocking the path of the great Yellow Tower.


    Clicking his tongue, Tony muttered absently.


    “Let’s move on to the next agenda.”


    * * *


    Just before leaving the Hoover estate, a stranger came to visit.


    “Greetings. I am Klein Mathis, a Level 5 mage and the branch manager of the Blood Tower’s Baran office.”


    “...Oscar Crucian, Level 3 mage of the—”


    Oscar mumbled the part about the White Tower.


    If the man realized he was from the White Tower, he would surely demand 30% more in fees.


    But his desperate attempt to conceal it crumbled pathetically.


    “You’re with the White Tower, I see. Surviving an encounter with that tattooist isn’t exactly obscure information.”


    “...”


    Oscar reluctantly searched his pockets.


    How much more would that be if it’s a 30% hike?


    850,000 bels?


    Just as he was mentally calcting the additional payment, Klein suddenly pulled out a pouch of money and handed it to him.


    “...What is this?”


    “It’s the 1.1 million bel advance payment you gave us. Please verify it.”


    “What I mean is, why are you returning the money?”


    “To be blunt, we failed to find the person in question. Our tracking magic kept breaking during the process.”


    Magic breaking?


    ‘Could it be...?’


    A bad thought crossed Oscar’s mind as he epted the pouch.


    “Do you have any idea why that might be?”


    “Yes. On this continent, there are a few areas where the flow of magic bes so unstable that our tracking spells fail. Based on where the spells broke down this time...”


    Klein continued with an uneasy expression.


    “The person you’re searching for is likely beyond the Red Mountains.”


    Bad premonitions often prove correct; once again, the Red Mountains were the cause.


    In the past, tracking spells frequently failed when searching for demons beyond those mountains.


    “At any rate, since we’ve returned the contract payment, consider the matter nullified.”


    After bowing briefly, Klein quickly left the room, as though eager to sever any ties with the request.


    Oscar stared at the money pouch on the table, deep in thought.


    ‘Beyond the Red Mountains...’


    Could it be that after his death, she was unable to escape the gray zone beyond the mountains?


    If true, it would perfectly exin why she hadn’t sent any information to the White Tower for the past 20 years.


    But why?


    That question lingered in his mind.


    ‘The demons couldn’t detect her as she soared silently above the clouds.’


    Thanks to her, they had reaped enormous advantages throughout the war.


    If she couldn’t escape that ce, there had to be another reason.


    ‘...One thing’s for sure—she’s not dead.’


    The proof was that the Blood Tower’s tracking spell worked up to a certain point.


    And if she had been in mortal danger, she would’ve used her unique spell, Garden of Eternity.


    That spell rendered everything within a certain radius—including the caster—uninterruptible and frozen in ce.


    ‘If she used that spell, she wouldn’t be able to move, but she also wouldn’t die.’


    It severed the surrounding space entirely from the world.


    In fact, if the White Tower had failed to kill the Great Emperor, n B would have involved her deploying that spell.


    Edna would have sacrificed herself to trap the Great Emperor in stasis alongside her eternally.


    ‘I’ll need to go beyond the Red Mountains to confirm anything...’


    At his current skill level, it was out of the question.


    He would need to be at least Level 5 or 6 to navigate the area safely.


    ‘For now, the priority is...’


    Growth.


    While contemting how to grow stronger quickly, someone knocked on his door.


    “Come in.”


    A servant of the Hoover family entered, holding arge wiredmunicator.


    “Oscar, sir, a call from the White Tower.”


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