Catch the Genius #1

‘The Blue Tower Master!’ Theodore’s mind went blank as he realized what that short title meant.

The magic towers, which defended the Meltor Kingdom, divided their magicians into five stages. It wasn’t as strict as noble titles, but magicians did have to treat those higher than them with respect.

New members who had just entered the magic tower were Basic, while those with some experience were called Average.

People who built up fame and merits were Superior, whereas veterans recognized as pioneers of the magic tower were Prime.

Finally, the wise person praised as the master of the tower was Supreme. The Supreme was the absolute magician and could be called more precious than the seven sword masters of the Andras Kingdom. They were also the backbone of the Meltor Kingdom.

The old man standing in front of him was the top magician of the Blue Tower, a Supreme rank!

“B-Bergen Academy’s third grade student, Theodore Miller greets Tower Master!” Theodore bowed belatedly as he realized the situation.

This caused Blundell to stroke his beard and laugh. “Huhu, there is no need to be so uptight! It is good to be polite, but don’t bow down too much. Isn’t that right, Vince?”

“Hah…that’s right.” Vince immediately replied with a dour expression. It was a shameless approach to someone who seemed to dislike him. Either way, he was a difficult person for Vince to deal with.

Blundell was the master of a magic tower, yet he had approached under the pretense of a pleasant old man. So, he might have approached with an ulterior motive. Vince thought like this and naturally covered for Theo.

“So, what happened?” Vince had a headache because he hadn’t thought the master of a magic tower would approach them, but his troubles didn’t end here.

As annoyance stiffened Vince’s face, Blundell took a step back. It seemed like he knew how disruptive he was. A personality which didn’t know how to quit was bad. “Hmm, ahem. It isn’t anything big. It’s just that it has been a long time since you came to the capital, so I wanted to see what happened. Furthermore, I couldn’t believe the rumour that Vince brought a disciple.”

“The rumour has already spread?”

“What else would be interesting in these narrow towers? They have no choice but to be curious about the people from outside.” Blundell shrugged a few times, but it was more scary than charming.

Theodore was curious about how Blundell had exercised to get that type of body.

Just then, Blundell turned to face him again. “Huhu, the more I see, the more I like you. If I hadn’t met another child, then I might have tried to take your disciple.”

“You can’t just say that… Wait.” Vince’s eyes widened as he realized something strange.

It was a matter of grave importance if the Blue Tower Master had taken a disciple. No matter how indifferent Vince was to the news, it was a matter he would’ve definitely heard about. He remembered that the Red Tower Master and Blue Tower Master didn’t have students yet, which was why he had tried to avoid them.

“…Does Blue Tower Master have a disciple?”

Blundell laughed at the expected reaction, “Huhuhu, don’t be surprised.”

It was a laugh to show off his well-raised child. This was an expression which fit well with the phrase, ‘a stupid face.’ Blundell puffed up his thick chest muscles with a face filled with pride. It was obvious right away that he wanted to boast.

“Your pupil is good, but this year’s tournament winner has already been decided.”

“What are you talking abo…”

As Vince spoke, a voice announcing the result of a match rang out in the waiting room.

[Stadium 4, the match between Marcus Giovanni and Sylvia has ended. With a time of 24 seconds, it is participant Sylvia’s victory. Marcus will exit the tournament with three tokens.]

‘…24 seconds?’

The people in the waiting room doubted their ears. It was a difficult record to destroy three crystals in 24 seconds, even if magic was fired from the very start. It would be impossible unless the opponent had stood still like a scarecrow or if they had minimal defense.

In other words, the winner of Stadium 4 had completely overwhelmed the opponent. As dozens of gazes focused on the exit of Stadium 4, one person was stroking his beard with a pleased expression.

Kkiiik…

The door of the Magic Society facility opened and someone entered. The pale magical lights in the room didn’t blind them like the sun, but people still rubbed their eyes as they gazed at the exit.

It was because ‘she’ had a brilliant presence around her.

‘Silver hair…?’

Theo’s eyes narrowed as he couldn’t help feeling in awe.

Her hair was like white snow, and her skin underneath it was also fair. The girl’s two eyes were as blue as a clear lake and blended with the blue robes she was wearing. Every time she blinked, there was a mysterious dazzle of magic power.

Dozens of tokens were hanging from a large staff which seemed disproportionate with her body. While everyone was shocked by the presence of the gorgeous and strange girl, she headed toward the three people with a casual walk.

“Master.”

“Ohh, good work!”

Blundell laughed and opened his arms, but the girl turned away from him without any hesitation. The old man’s expression became grouchy at the girl’s cold response, but he soon returned to normal like this exchange was normal.

He patted her head and told the other two people, “The introduction was delayed. This is the child who I have been teaching secretly for a while, Sylvia.”

“…Hello,” a calm voice entered their ears. It was a voice which showed no emotions, just like her eyes. Most young men would lose their composure if she spoke to them.

Indeed, Theo was astonished by her presence, but it was for a reason other than her beauty. It was due to Alfred’s sensitivity which allowed him to glimpse her reality. It said that she was an opponent Theodore Miller couldn’t beat!

‘No way…! That girl is stronger than the hobgoblin chief?!’

He doubted it a few times, but his inner conviction never wavered. His intuition was telling him that the Blue Tower Master’s disciple, Sylvia, was much more formidable than the hobgoblin chief.

The strength of a magician couldn’t be judged just through common sense. However, when comparing the appearance and superiority between Theo and Sylvia, he couldn’t help feeling incompatible.

“Hrmm―? It seems like you are interested in Sylvia.” Blundell saw Theo’s trembling eyes and sent him a wry smile. “Why don’t the two of you have a match? Isn’t this a chance to show Sylvia a wonderful appearance?”

The joke wasn’t funny. Theodore now realize why Vince had been sneaky regarding the magic towers. There was no way a top magician wouldn’t be able to know Sylvia’s skill after seeing her. If he was stupid enough to nod here, he would lose five tokens and Vince’s reputation would take a hit.

Theo took his eyes off Sylvia and refused the invitation. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to refuse. Right now, I can only show you an unsightly appearance.”

Did her interest disappear? Sylvia’s gaze moved away from Theodore.

He felt some regret, but it would be stupid to compete with her right now. It was brave to challenge opponents who were hard to beat, but challenging opponents he couldn’t win was just foolishness.

Blundell also clicked his tongue at the answer. “…It is too bad. Then I hope you two will fight later.”

With those words, Blundell turned around, and Sylvia bowed before following him. As soon as the two people who boasted different types of presences disappeared, the tension in the room was released. The combination of a muscular old man and a girl with silver hair was truly strange.

However, Theo and Vince were still tense.

Vince was the one who opened his mouth first, “…What about the booked restaurant?”

“Unfortunately, it will have to be for later.”

The certainty in victory after his first match had been blown away by an encounter with the strong. Sylvia, the disciple of the Blue Tower Master, Blundell Adruncus…

She had the magician genius which Theo had been longing for since childhood. The fact that she was a disciple despite being younger than him proved this fact. An unknown feeling which might be jealousy or longing exploded in his stomach.

“It is best to avoid her and aim for a high ranking.”

“I know that is easy.”

A genius like her wouldn’t appear that often. The majority of participants would fall victim to her and be eliminated from the tournament rankings. It would be easy for Theo to find people to collect the tokens from and rise in the rankings.

Challenging Sylvia was a foolish act.

“Even so, I want to challenge her.”

The genius recognized by the Blue Tower Master, an existence born with the talent Theo didn’t possess… However, Theo couldn’t regret his talent now. The grimoire he got his hands on was a genius like Sylvia, giving him a talent that might be comparable to her natural one.

Due to this, he wanted to compete against her even more.

“I think it is a ridiculous and foolish choice. But…” A crack appeared on Vince’s cold face. It was the face of a beast which had been seen often during his days as a war magician, the Red Tower’s ‘Fire Killer Vince.’

“My blood is boiling after a long time. I want shock to appear on the face of that old man.”

“Oh, that is good. I want to see it too.” Theo agreed.

“It really is a great relationship when hearts connect. I didn’t think you would be so motivated.”

Vince pulled out his wallet from the space pocket and stared into it with narrowed eyes. Then he muttered in a moderate tone, “Let’s go to the artifact stores and bookstores. Tell me if you want anything.”

After 10 years of fighting on the battlefield, this was the moment that the thick wallet opened widely.