Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 6

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 6
Yet Caliona’s condition seemed far from normal to Liriope’s eyes.
The original Liriope had collapsed and lost consciousness almost immediately after receiving the Magic Power Transmission, so she had no idea how Caliona had managed the Initiation Ceremony.
When she opened her eyes again, though, Caliona appeared perfectly fine, and afterward showed no difficulty whatsoever in using Magic.
So naturally, she had assumed her older sister would have endured the Initiation Ceremony without strain, unlike herself.
Then Caliona suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed limply to the side.
“Sister!”
Liriope reflexively reached out, and Caliona’s tilting frame fell into her embrace.
Liriope checked her condition urgently.
Meanwhile, the Mage—who had been sweeping his appraising gaze across the children who had survived—spread his arms with a bright smile that seemed all the more grotesque for its wrongness in that moment.
“Congratulations to you all! From this day forward, you have become the proud children of Belegot. The Northern Magic Tower welcomes you with sincerity.”
Yet no one rejoiced at those words.
Instead, the Ceremony Hall had cooled rapidly, as if touched by thin ice, and only a heavy silence pressed down thickly upon it.
“Henceforth, you shall belong to the Outer Tower of the Northern Magic Tower, your talents as mages endlessly evaluated, and should you prove yourselves most diligently, you may soon enter the Inner Tower and enjoy a more comfortable life.”
The Mage continued undeterred, his voice warm and paternal.
“You are chosen children—you ought to rejoice even more. Look, see how those wretches, who mere hours ago were the same starving orphans begging in the streets, have now become nothing but filthy refuse? The unfit ones, do you see?”
A red-haired boy quickly clapped his hand over his mouth and retched violently.
“So take pride in yourselves. Once more, I welcome you to become mages of the Northern Magic Tower!”
A voice mad with glee rang out like a funeral dirge over the corpses of the children.
“Now then, allow me to transport you to the place where you shall dwell.”
Before those words could even finish, a Magic Circle spread across the floor.
Every child—those who had died during the Initiation Ceremony and those who had survived—was engulfed once more in black Magical Power.
“There is but one rule in the Outer Tower of the Magic Tower.”
When the Magical Power that had swallowed their vision like spray from a waterfall finally dissipated completely, they found themselves fallen into an Underground Space thick with ominous darkness.
“Survive.”
The Mage’s voice, like a curse, echoed with an eerie afterimage.
It was the signal flare proving that Liriope had crossed the threshold of this wretched hell once more.
* * *
At that same moment, in the Inner Tower of the Northern Magic Tower.
A handsome black-haired boy sitting by the window suddenly turned his head.
His cold golden eyes fixed on a place beyond the invisible Barrier—where the Outer Tower lay.
“Belkiers? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
When the black-haired boy’s Magic Stone fell from the air, its light extinguished, other children absorbed in their tasks looked up in confusion.
In that very moment, vast Magical Power stirred beyond the window.
Now understanding, the children nodded with an “Ah.”
“The Initiation Ceremony must be finished already. Think any decent ones made it through this time?”
“Hmph. Year after year, it’s the same meat shields. What does it matter?”
Some showed curiosity at this year’s Outer Tower trials beginning anew, while others clicked their tongues in disapproval.
The Northern Magic Tower, divided clearly into two spaces: Outer and Inner.
The ‘Outer Tower’ was used solely to receive and test new arrivals, connected by an Underground Space designed like a labyrinth.
By contrast, the ‘Inner Tower’ was the true home of mages.
A castle of mages granted the opportunity to climb to the very peak of the Magic Tower and enjoy glory and riches, while simultaneously bearing the burden of protecting humanity from calamity.
Among them, this place now was an upper-level classroom of the Inner Tower that only ten specially chosen boys and girls could access.
They were all blessed with exceptional beauty and talent alike, their starting point as mages fundamentally different from all others.
Recognized for their talents from infancy, they were special children raised from birth as adoptive children of the Tower Master.
“It’s a long-standing custom of the Tower, but still—bringing dirty orphans from the streets every year whose origins we don’t even know—I find it rather distasteful.”
One silver-haired boy among them, who took considerable pride in being an adoptive child of the Tower Master, grumbled.
His name was Evangelion, and among the ten exceptional youths, he boasted a particularly outstanding skill.
Sharp sensitivity gleamed from his keen red eyes, hidden partially behind glasses.
“Come on, it’s not so bad—we get convenient slaves out of it, right? More toys to play with. Don’t be such a miser, Evangelion.”
This came from a boy named Leo, sitting directly across from Evangelion.
With his blue-tipped hair and eyes like green beryl, he was an excellent young mage who competed with Evangelion for second or third place in their standings.
His sinister words contrasted sharply with his friendly, easygoing smile, and Evangelion’s brow furrowed.
“How many times must I tell you not to call me like we’re close? That’s the 2,489th time, by the way. And playing with such filthy things—your taste is truly questionable.”
“Filthy? Being an orphan without parents is the same for us as it is for them, isn’t it? That’s a bit harsh.”
“Excuse me? The same? Us, chosen and raised directly from infancy by the Tower Master, and those incompetent rabble? Are you serious?”
Evangelion snorted dismissively, then broke into a mocking smile.
“I didn’t know you had a hobby of self-deprecation, Leo. But please, indulge that defeatist mentality alone. Don’t drag me into it.”
“Haha. You’re the one pretending otherwise while always being sensitive about this subject. Don’t you realize that each time you bristle like that, it shows you see your origins as a weakness?”
“What? That’s complete nonsense…….”
“It is, though. No matter how hard we try, adoptive children can never surpass biological ones.”
In that instant, Evangelion’s face froze cold.
Leo turned his gaze elsewhere, his laughing eyes now on the side.
Then the black-haired boy still watching out the window came into view.
The boy who had sensed the Initiation Ceremony’s Magical Power release first—the one to whom the castle of Belegot was most fittingly suited.
His name was Belkiers.
Among the ten exceptional children, he alone was a being born of true golden blood.
His raven-black hair and golden eyes were a striking mirror of the current Tower Master, and that alone had earned him the envy of every child in this place.
Yet what Belkiers inherited from the Tower Master was far more than mere handsome features.
As if to prove he was born a victor, he possessed superior magical talent than anyone—a true treasure and blessing he had inherited.
Was it any wonder that, despite being barely in his early teens, not a single person doubted he would become the next Tower Master?
Leo thought Evangelion was in his own way remarkable for being able to harbor feelings of jealousy toward such a being.
“Well, that’s enough. Evangelion, I didn’t bring it up because I wanted to trade barbs with you. How about we drop the unproductive chatter and make a wager instead?”
“Stop wasting time with pointless nonsense and draw the Magic Circle. We only have ten minutes left on the clock—and you seem awfully relaxed about that.”
Leo showed no sign of relenting at the cold rebuke.
“Come on, don’t be like that. How about this: whoever loses the wager takes their mock combat exam next time without Body Regeneration. What do you say?”
“Huh? You seem quite confident about that.”
Evangelion was taken aback by the sudden wager, but after calculating something inwardly, he smiled.
“Well, fine. It’s crude, certainly, but not a terrible one-time amusement. What are we betting on?”
“Let’s see. How about we guess how many will pass from the Outer Tower this year?”
“Not bad. How many are you betting on, Leo?”
“Ten. I heard they’re paying more attention to new recruitment this year since last year’s results were poor. Plus, like I said, more toys are always better.”
“Hmph, I’ll go with three—last year’s record. Entertaining expectations for insects is shameful, after all.”
“Ha, then it’s settled?”
Leo whistled playfully, then turned to Belkiers.
“Belkiers, what about you?”
A Magic Stone rose silently into the air, casting a cool shadow across Belkiers’s face.
“I…….”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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