Chapter 127
Chapter 127
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 127: Artificial Island, Ivemir (4)
The central hall of the artificial island.
Left alone, Oscar lightly summoned his magical power.
“Wind.”
In an instant, a gust of wind swept through the central hall, clearing away dust from the floors and furniture and removing cobwebs from the ceiling.
‘...Maybe the White Tower should’ve gone into the cleaning business instead of deliveries. It might’ve been more profitable.’
Oscar continued cleaning with idle thoughts like that, occasionally practicing the power of “Frost Crystal” in between.
To sum it up, he was quite satisfied.
‘A chilling wind, huh.’
Countless ways to utilize it flashed through his mind.
Among them, the one technique he expected to use the most was the freezing wind that immobilized his enemies.
It would be a hard technique to block, even if the opponent saw it coming.
‘The only downside is the high mana consumption when using Frost Crystal...’
Luckily, it wasn’t much of a problem for him.
When he discreetly checked his mana pool—like a vast lake—it showed no signs of depletion.
‘There’s already too much of it.’
For someone at Level 4, or even for an intermediate mage, he possessed an extraordinary amount of mana.
In short, he was overpowered when it came to mana.
As he mixed in simple experiments with his cleaning, night fell before he realized it.
‘That should do it for the first floor cleaning... It’s about time the others showed up.’
Sure enough, the troublemakers, incapable of acting like proper nobles, began appearing one by one.
“The first floor of my assigned area is clean. As expected, it wasn’t particularly difficult.”
“Same here.”
“We only cleaned the first floor today, but cleaning the basement and the upper floors is going to take a lot of time.”
Oscar pointed to the now-clean sofas in the hall.
“For now, grab a seat over there and eat. I’ve got somewhere to go.”
“Go? Where to at this hour?”
Veronica blinked in curiosity, and Oscar pulled out a map from his pocket, waving it.
It was a map of the artificial island given to him by Sasha before they arrived, supposedly provided by the Imperial family.
“They told us to report to the Imperial family’s representative every time we finish cleaning for the day. I need to head to the communication room.”
“Daily inspections? That’s pretty annoying.”
“Well, that’s what you get when working with the Imperial family.”
“Huh? Have you worked with the Imperial family before?”
At Veronica’s sharp question, Oscar quickly replied.
“Oh, that... Back in Baran City, we collaborated with the Violet Brigade, so we worked with the Imperial family too. Right, Killian?”
“That’s right. They kept asking so many questions it was exhausting.”
Killian’s indifferent response, recalling the time, dispelled Veronica’s suspicions.
“Ah, Baran City. Got it. Go ahead, then.”
“We’ll start eating first.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Leaving the three behind, Oscar searched the map to locate the communication room.
‘Communication room... the third floor of the central hall, huh.’
Climbing the stairs to the upper floor, Oscar nodded as he observed his surroundings.
‘The upper floors aren’t much different from the first floor.’
This level of cleanliness meant it should be possible to finish the entire island’s cleaning within a week.
Finding the communication room, he spotted a familiar tool and let out a small chuckle.
“This again?”
It was a signal crystal.
The same magical device he had used in Baran City to communicate with the Imperial family.
‘No, wait. This one seems a bit different from what I remember.’
It made sense—this tool was over 200 years old.
Reading the instructions attached to the map, Oscar sent a first-day report.
[Four mages from the White Tower have arrived at the artificial island. Cleaning of the first floor in designated zones completed. Day 1 activities concluded.]
A moment later, a beep sounded, and a reply filled with dense numerical codes arrived.
[Report confirmed. Report any unusual occurrences immediately.]
Unusual occurrences?
Tilting his head, Oscar soon understood.
‘Of course, with the Night of Mages approaching, there shouldn’t be any variables.’
It was a common enough situation.
"Exactly. I found this book beneath one of the lab tables."
At that, the three others exchanged intrigued glances.
"And? What was written in it?"
"Results of an incredible experiment? Or perhaps the Red Tower’s secret magic?"
"Maybe even something about the Magician’s Night back then?"
At their excitement, Fran blinked a few times before replying.
"Uh... sorry, but you’re all wrong."
Opening the book, he revealed blank pages.
"I just thought it was fascinating that the book itself was intact. There’s nothing written inside."
"Seriously? What a letdown."
"Disappointing."
"But it’s still interesting, isn’t it? Right?"
Fran asked, looking toward him with a dejected expression. Oscar reached out his hand.
"Let me see that book for a moment."
"Huh? There’s really nothing written inside."
Fran handed over the book without hesitation.
Oscar scanned it with magic.
Watching him, Fran added,
"It does have magic on it. That’s probably why it’s stayed in good condition until now."
"......No."
Oscar shook his head.
"Well, you’re not wrong, but that’s only half the answer."
He recognized the magic on the book.
‘This is... a Sealed Secret Grimoire.’
A long time ago, the Master of the Red Tower had visited the kingdom of Yan and been inspired by its culture to create this magic.
It was used to seal secrets and protect documents with an enchantment, often applied to critical wartime papers.
‘I learned this spell myself from a Red Tower mage during the war.’
But to encounter it here, of all places?
Oscar furrowed his brows as he drew forth his magic.
The book, enveloped in mana, made several clicking sounds before—
Whoosh.
Letters began to emerge on the previously blank pages.
"What the—?"
"It’s a type of encryption magic. I just broke through the seal."
"Who cares? Read it already! What does it say?"
"Don’t rush me."
The four of them huddled together and began reading the newly revealed contents.
[March 19th, 5:21 PM]
I’ve arrived.
Before me stretches the famous Sylvarine Lake.
I’d heard it was so beautiful that even His Majesty the Emperor was said to have been captivated by it. The rumors were not exaggerated.
The artificial island built atop the lake makes me feel as though I’m truly living in an age of magic.
I look forward to the life that awaits me here.
[March 25th, 11:38 PM]
I’m exhausted.
The past few days have been so busy I haven’t had time to write.
An elder, who has experienced this event six times, described it as a miniature battlefield.
He emphasized that it’s crucial for the Red Tower to achieve the best results here.
I don’t know. I was just happy to see my academy classmates again after so long. Is it really that important to succeed?
[March 26th, 7:28 PM]
There’s been an accident.
An explosion in the laboratory left two mages from the Blue Tower seriously injured.
The Blue Tower is claiming it was sabotage by another tower.
The once-enthusiastic mages now wear grim expressions, and a slight tension has crept into their gazes toward one another.
There’s still a lot of time left in this event... I’m worried.
[March 27th, 11:02 PM]
Someone has died.
Their body was discovered beneath the central hall’s chandelier, brutally murdered.
The victim was a mage from the Yellow Tower. An enormous ice spear was lodged in their chest.
[Translator - Night]
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