The AI Archmage - Chapter 54
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
AI Archmage Episode 54
It was around the time when Sion was almost arriving at the Blue Tower.
“Excuse me, Teacher.”
Dute slightly raised his hand and asked Sion a question.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Are we supposed to… do Automaton Creation at the Blue Tower?”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s why I brought you here.”
Sion said with a hearty laugh.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of making skilled workers do other trivial tasks.”
“Oh…”
The craftsmen’s eyes sparkled.
Indeed, if they could focus solely on Automaton Creation, this would definitely be a great opportunity.
They would be able to quickly absorb the technical skills needed for Automaton Creation and improve their abilities.
“Then will we be staying at the Blue Tower starting today?”
“Ah, that’s not the case. You’ll be staying in separate accommodations.”
“Separate accommodations… you mean there’s another building prepared besides the Magic Tower?”
“No?”
“…?”
The craftsmen tilted their heads or blinked their eyes.
Nothing was prepared, yet they would be staying in separate accommodations?
Was he telling them to sleep outdoors?
Then, Sion spoke.
“We’ll build that together after we arrive. Well, it’s not that difficult. You’ll probably enjoy it too.”
“…Excuse me?”
Incomprehensible words continued.
The accommodations weren’t prepared, and they even had to build them themselves, yet they would enjoy it?
Honestly, it was absurd.
They had no idea how to respond and were just glancing at each other.
Thud.
“Ah, we’re almost there.”
The carriage carrying everyone was entering the Blue Tower’s territory.
Naturally, the scenery visible through the window was a barren plain.
Disappointment filled the faces of the craftsmen who had secretly hoped for a more developed sight.
But then.
Thump!
Once again, the carriage shook with a large vibration.
However, this vibration was somewhat different from the previous one.
“T-Teacher Sion, this is…”
“Ah, you’ll find out soon.”
Sion nodded calmly as if he already knew this.
Eira also reacted nonchalantly as if she had grown accustomed to it.
And beyond the window.
“…Huh?”
Thud. Thump!
A giant made of iron could be seen moving diligently, working hard on its tasks.
“G-golem?”
As Dute said, the identity of that giant was indeed a golem.
And it wasn’t made by pure magic, but a golem created through ‘magic engineering.’
“W-wait, a golem?”
“H-how many are there? One, two… Hey, there are over 10 just from what we can see right now!”
The craftsmen couldn’t hide their shock at this sight.
Golems of that level were hard to find even in Ate.
But there were over 10 of such golems here…
‘Such golems were hidden in a frontier magic tower that isn’t even properly developed?’
Moreover, if they were being used for work, it meant they clearly knew how to utilize golems properly.
Naturally, the work speed would be incomparable to using ordinary manpower.
However.
“…To move golems of that level, wouldn’t they need an extraordinary amount of mana crystals?”
“I wonder if it’s even possible to bear such costs…”
The craftsmen each discussed the practicality of the golems.
Then Dute cautiously raised his hand and asked.
“Um, Sir Sion, how… how exactly are those golems operated?”
“As for the power issue, we currently have them moving using the earth’s mana.”
“W-wait, you mean they don’t consume mana crystals, but use the earth’s mana instead?”
“Yes.”
“In other words, instead of obtaining power directly through mediums like mana crystals…”
“The golems absorb the earth’s mana themselves and process it as power.”
“…!”
At those words, Dute and the craftsmen froze with their mouths agape.
“T-that’s… possible?”
“It is.”
“Then in land rich with mana like this, the golems would…”
“As long as the parts don’t deteriorate, they can be used semi-permanently.”
“Huh, hup!”
The craftsmen couldn’t even think to close their wide-open mouths.
They couldn’t regain their composure at a sight unimaginable in Ate.
Then Dute stammered as a sudden thought occurred to him.
“S-Sion, don’t tell me…”
“Yes. You will be building your accommodations directly. And we will spare no effort in supporting that.”
In other words.
“Including the golems, I’ll be building the lodgings while utilizing various magic tools I’ve created.”
“…!”
At those words, the craftsmen’s eyes lit up.
The uncomfortable feelings from just moments ago had completely disappeared.
‘So you’re saying we can directly use the perpetual charging golems, and also try out other unrevealed magic tools?’
They had already confirmed the level of technology that Sion possessed.
They couldn’t imagine just how amazing the things he had hidden away might be.
While they were lost in such thoughts, the carriage stopped.
Thud.
“Ah, we’ve arrived.”
Sion stretched lightly and got out of the carriage.
“Well, nothing unusual happ—”
“Sion-saaaaan!”
Before Sion could finish speaking, Serentia came running toward him and shouted.
“This is terrible! Quickly!”
“Huh?”
Sion looked at Serentia with an expression asking what she was talking about.
“What’s this all of a sudden? And where is the Tower Master?”
“Th-that…”
Serentia squeezed her eyes shut, then shouted in a mournful voice.
“At this rate, the Tower Master might become a murderer!”
“…?”
What kind of bullshit is this now.
* * *
Sion asked questions while following Serentia.
“What happened, Vice Tower Master?”
“Th-the Blue Tower mage who was dispatched outside… do you remember?”
“Ah, yes.”
Sion answered while searching his memory.
There definitely seemed to have been such a mage.
“I think they said she was a teacher. That there was one more teacher besides me.”
“Yes. Her talent was quite exceptional too. She was one year younger than the Tower Master, but she was a 5th Circle mage.”
“Oh.”
“Her name is Nayrin Ar. She was once called a genius and received attention from the Academic World.”
“There’s no way such a genius would have been at the Blue Tower back then, so there must have been some kind of flaw.”
“Th… yes.”
Somehow Sion’s words felt like he was saying only flawed people came to the Blue Tower… but since it was true, she couldn’t deny it.
“Her magical talent is definitely outstanding, but her head is a bit twisted.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Do you know about Pseudo-Magic Theory?”
“Of course I do.”
Simply put, it’s a scam.
It’s neither general magic theory nor properly verified theory.
It’s truly nonsense magic theory that only looks plausible on the surface.
That’s what Pseudo-Magic Theory is.
“…Nerin believes in that.”
“Why don’t you kick her out?”
“Well… this is also complicated.”
Serentia scratched the back of her neck.
“Nerin actually implemented that nonsense theory herself, you see?”
“She can use it herself?”
“Yes.”
Serentia continued with a troubled expression.
“Of course, that theory doesn’t work for anyone other than Nerin. In my opinion… I really think it’s the result of pushing through with literally ‘unique constitution’ and ‘talent’.”
I understood what she meant.
The mage named Nerin was a Blue Tower teacher who believed in strange pseudo theory.
Moreover, since that pseudo theory worked for her personally, it wasn’t easy to deal with her.
I understood up to that point.
The problem was.
“But why does that lead to the Tower Master becoming a murderer?”
“Ah, that…”
Before Serentia could say more.
Kwaaaaang!
One room exploded.
“Keeeeek!”
And with a scream, something fell through the window.
It was a small-framed girl…
When Serentia nodded, Sion unconsciously scratched his head.
“Damn, this Magic Tower has nothing worthwhile, so why do useless incidents keep happening so often?”
“…You’re right.”
It was something Serentia couldn’t understand either.
Watching the Vice Tower Master, Sion let out a small sigh.
Well, even if Lumia seemed like a pushover, she was still a 6th Circle genius mage.
Once she set her mind to something, even Serentia would find it difficult to stop her.
“Tsk.”
First, I need to sort out this chaotic situation.
* * *
“【Blink】.”
Sion immediately arrived at the scene through short-range teleportation magic.
Soon after, he was able to confirm the scene where Lumia and Nerin were confronting each other.
Nerin was trembling as she shouted.
“C-calm down, sister! Th-this is safe! I’ve verified it so many times!”
“No, Nerin. Basically, magic tools should never be integrated with the body under normal circumstances.”
Lumia continued speaking as if truly regretful.
“Peeling off Nerin’s skin would be unfortunate, but even so, I need to remove the magic tool…”
“Kyaaaah! Someone save me!”
Nerin cried out with deer-like eyes trembling.
And just as Lumia closed the distance with chantless magic and was about to swing her staff.
“Stop.”
Sion immediately appeared between them and dispelled Lumia’s magic.
“Ugh?!”
She opened her eyes wide, then tilted her head and asked.
“S-Sion? When did you…”
“I just arrived.”
“Ah. It was about time for you to return.”
“More importantly, chantless magic. It seems what I taught you last time was effective.”
“Yes! Moreover, I can now use chantless magic for 3rd-4th Circle spells without magic tools through the optimization calculation you taught me!”
“Is that so.”
She truly deserved to be called a genius.
In other words, with just Sion’s teachings, she had succeeded in chantless casting up to the 4th Circle through pure brainpower.
“Well, let’s save that discussion for later. What exactly is the situation here?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Just as Lumia was about to answer Sion’s question.
“A-a person I’ve never seen before?”
Nerin looked at Sion with eyes full of curiosity.
Sion also looked at her.
[She’s definitely a genius.]
Akasha evaluated Nerin.
[However, she’s different from the typical cases. Her body’s constitution itself is different from the ordinary type.]
‘She does seem that way.’
Sion checked Nerin’s condition and scratched his head.
Though it was his first time seeing it, he could immediately understand what Serentia meant.
“Hoh.”
There was something protruding from near Nerin’s forehead like a horn.
It wasn’t a real horn.
[It’s a Magic Tool.]
Akasha revealed its identity.
Then she continued with an intrigued voice.
[It’s a bit crude, but it is somehow connected to the body.]
‘That’s true.’
That didn’t make it safe though.
It wasn’t that Lumia was now getting serious about tearing off skin to remove the Magic Tool.
A Magic Tool crudely connected like that would inevitably cause adverse reactions to the body.
However, Sion didn’t feel any sense of crisis.
Because Sion could remove that thing without much difficulty at any time.
What he was focusing on was simply.
“Why on earth did you implant a Magic Tool?”
“Hehe…”
Nerin suddenly lifted her head and said.
“Because it’s a basic Implant!”
And as soon as those words ended, Sion said.
“You pass!”
“…Huh?”
Watching the conversation flow like water, Lumia tilted her head.
…Did I miss something?
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————