The AI Archmage - Chapter 64

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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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AI Grand Mage Episode 64

The students of the Blue Tower had thrown themselves utterly into magic training of late.
Why such relentless dedication?
First, because Sion had shown them a clear path forward—and second, because…
“This is exactly why the Frontier Magic Tower will never measure up.”
“A bunch of untalented misfits.”
It was the Red Tower mages who’d arrived posing as guests, hurling such remarks with infuriating ease.
“Those insufferable bastards.”
True to her mercenary bloodline, Briella seized her staff as if to crack it across their skulls—until Eira threw her entire body into restraining her.
“Hold on, Bella! Didn’t the teacher say this? No point stirring up trouble before the duel!”
“Damn it, those pricks deserve a good club to the head—an equal one for each of them!”
“Compose yourself! Please!”
Eira wrenched her body between them, barely holding Briella back.
Watching this unfold, Tult—who’d remained focused on his training—spoke quietly.
“Falling prey to momentary emotions and spoiling your work—that’s what amateurs do, Briella.”
“What’s your point?”
“Think long-term. If we win the duel, every insult they’ve offered us will circle back as profit in our favor.”
“Tch.”
Briella clicked her tongue at the logic, grumbling despite herself.
“Naturally you’d talk like that—you’re from a merchant family, aren’t you?”
“Family background isn’t really the issue. But from my perspective, this duel has considerable significance.”
Tult’s eyes sharpened as he continued.
“Victory over Red Tower mages means I can substantially increase my market value as a mage.”
“…Market value?”
“When a trading company boasts a genuine mage, its standing rises dramatically.”
There is only one path by which commoners can stand as equals against nobility or rival their authority.
Ascending to a high realm as a mage.
Overwhelming talent can transform even the circumstances of one’s birth.
“…Ah, speaking of which—isn’t your company facing some trouble with those nobles lately?”
“It’s always something. Though it’s gotten more aggressive recently.”
Tult’s expression darkened.
In any case, he understood perfectly that this was one of the rare opportunities life afforded him.
Especially the method Sion had taught him—it was remarkably efficient, even revolutionary.
It seemed possible to transcend even one’s innate talent.
If that were true, he had to seize this chance.
“Briella, instead of wasting energy on anger, master the techniques the teacher showed us. Time is short.”
“…Tch, I hate that you’re right.”
Briella swallowed her rage and sank onto the ground.
The anger had flared hot in that instant, yes—but her reason told her Tult was correct.
“Still, if those fools keep acting so recklessly and then lose to us, their faces will be priceless.”
Briella’s fury subsided, and she smirked slightly.
“Oh, by the way—Eira.”
“Hmm?”
“What happened when you went to Ate? You’ve seemed more respectful toward the teacher since then, now that I think about it.”
“Ah, that…”
In that instant, Sion’s true identity—which she’d learned in Ate—flickered through Eira’s mind.
But she couldn’t speak of it.
She had no right to reveal what Sion had not chosen to disclose himself.
So instead:
“I got a preview beforehand.”
Eira smiled faintly as she said it.
It would have been different at first.
But now she trusted Sion’s abilities completely.
Sion never attempted the impossible.
Even if something made no sense in the moment, the fact that Sion was doing it meant there was every reason to believe it would succeed.
“So we have to work hard.”
Whatever he undertook, his actions always held meaning.

* * *

The duel between the Blue Tower and the Red Tower was scheduled for a week hence.
More precisely, Sion had proposed it that way.
And Hayden had accepted it.
It was possible because they had, at least, reached some agreement between them.
As for Lumia…
Shiver-shiver.
“I-it’ll be fine, won’t it?”
“It will be fine, I’m telling you.”
She clutched her teacup with trembling hands, complaining of anxiety symptoms almost daily.
Of course, it was hardly surprising.
Her entire future hung in the balance, didn’t it?
“If we lose this duel, I’ll be dragged away by that madman without even being able to resist. Oh no…”
“That won’t happen.”
“R-right. Still, since Sion himself planned this, there shouldn’t be any problems… should there?”
“There won’t be, truly.”
If there had been any real chance of defeat, Sion wouldn’t have devised such a plan in the first place.
And more than that—
“Without resorting to such an extreme measure, it would be difficult to change the situation.”
“…”
“We’re facing the Council itself. If we can neutralize one fool and avoid the immediate threat, that’s a good bargain.”
“That may be… but still.”
Lumia nodded.
She simply wasn’t accustomed to such situations yet, and there was nothing to be done about it.
Unlike Sion.
Sion, as Altair, had spent his entire life navigating risk and gamble.
“Of course, Hayden isn’t a complete fool either. He’s naturally calculated the odds, determined there’s no possibility of defeat, and accepted the duel accordingly.”
“…It’s certainly the logical conclusion.”
Their side were mages of a Magic Tower losing talented practitioners by the day.
His side were handpicked mages from the Red Tower, one of the Four Great Magic Towers.
A defeat would be the strange thing.
If the Blue Tower had any real chance of victory in such circumstances, it wouldn’t have been pushed out of the Four Great Magic Towers in the first place.
Therefore, Hayden’s decision to accept the duel was, by normal standards, sound.
When ordinary people calculate odds, they don’t account for the possibility that a dragon from legend will suddenly rise from the dead.
“To be honest, even I don’t have complete confidence right now. I trust Sion, of course, but the Main Tower’s students still… there’s a gap.”
“Well, I don’t deny that.”
Sion smiled slightly and nodded.
“As for magical talent and immediate capability, they’re certainly superior to the Main Tower’s students. That plain fact doesn’t change by denying it.”
“Then… why…”
“Because magic and dueling are different things.”
Sion smiled again as he spoke.
“Even among mages, those with aptitude for combat separate themselves clearly.”
“Ah, that’s…”
“And I can say with certainty—when it comes to dueling, the Red Tower’s mages cannot defeat my students.”
“That’s… definitely…”
In that moment, what came to Lumia’s mind was none other than Chantless Casting.
If they held an absolute advantage in Incantation speed, that would indeed be a decisive edge in a duel.
But there was a problem.
“…Hayden won’t permit Magic Tools to be used in the duel, will he?”
“Well, no, he won’t.”
“Then… how exactly do you intend to…?”
“How? Quite simply.”
Sion smiled and spoke.
“Nothing changes. Ultimately, Incantation speed will decide the duel.”
“…What?”
“There are things like that.”
Sion smiled, showing no intention of clearing up Lumia’s confusion.
“You’ll come to understand it eventually, Tower Master.”
“I will understand, yes?”
Watching Lumia stare at him with earnest eyes, Sion answered simply.
“If I don’t know, then there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“Really.”
Of late, Lumia found her blood pressure rising far more often than she’d like.

* * *

……
Maxwell wandered the grounds around the Blue Tower, lost in thought.
He’d heard that a duel had been arranged between the Blue Tower and the Red Tower.
‘……Why would you do such a thing, Lumia.’
Maxwell knew the latent strength the Red Tower possessed.
And he also knew that Hayden hadn’t brought only mediocre rabble with him.
In Maxwell’s estimation, Lumia’s choice was a certain blunder.
With a sigh, he surrendered to memories of the past.
The Blue Tower in its prime, as he remembered it, had been truly beautiful.
Under the stewardship of Belusian, that great Archmage, the Blue Tower had maintained its splendor.
But nothing in this world lasts forever.
……And that end had come far more suddenly than Maxwell ever imagined.
– We demand a duel.
– You have no authority to refuse, Blue Tower.
The Council’s mages who came to the Blue Tower. And the Tower’s colleagues, torn away like jackals gorging on prey…….
Himself included.
A heavy breath escaped him.
He had preserved his Mana Heart, even accepting dishonor in the process.
It was the consequence of accepting a twenty-year contract.
Unlike those other colleagues who abandoned even that to preserve their identity as Blue Tower mages……he had chosen the coward’s path.
It was then, as he stood lost in old memories amid a garden grown wild with weeds.
“You’ve always come to a place like this when your mind grew troubled.”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
Without thinking, Maxwell’s body went rigid, and he turned his head toward the source of the voice.
“……Ba, Barean.”
“It’s been a long time, old friend.”
Barean approached Maxwell’s side with a bitter smile.
There was not the slightest hint of resentment in his manner.
“It was wise of you not to acknowledge us before the Red Tower mages. There was nothing to gain for you in that.”
“What have you been doing these days…….”
Maxwell tried to say something, but then lowered his head.
What could he ask about what Barean had been doing?
Maxwell knew the choice Barean had made.
Unlike himself, he had abandoned his Mana Heart.
Unlike himself, he was a brave man who had kept his faith.
Yet Barean’s expression was in no way dark.
“I’m doing well. In fact, I’ve been worried about you…….”
“Life at the Red Tower is…… manageable, one way or another.”
“They wouldn’t have left you alone, would they? With your talent, they’d have pressed you to learn their Secret Magic, saying the Red Tower was your natural place.”
“They did.”
Maxwell recalled the bitter memories with an anguished expression.
If he learned the Red Tower’s Secret Magic, he would become one of their own.
Only members could learn a Tower’s secrets.
Knowing this, the Red Tower had continually demanded that Maxwell master their Secret Magic.
And yet.
“I didn’t learn it.”
“Why not? Magic itself bears no sin. So why…….”
“Because if I had, I would have had to wear the Red Tower’s Robe and accept that I was one of them.”
Even as he spoke, Maxwell felt revulsion rising at his own hypocrisy.
Here he was, unable to give up magic itself, so he’d entered the Red Tower—and yet he clung to such stubborn principles.
A contradiction, was it not?
He had no face to show before Barean.
“……What of Perios?”
“That bastard…….”
The moment Maxwell heard the name Perios, his face twisted.
“……He’s thriving. He abandoned the identity of a Blue Tower mage long ago.”
“Well, he left of his own accord without even a contract, so it’s only natural.”
There had indeed been mages who betrayed the Blue Tower back then.
They didn’t simply leave—they even sold information favorable to the duel.
“He hasn’t shown up, which is fortunate. Given his nature, I thought he’d come just to mock us.”
“As I said, he’s thriving. He’s already taken on another mission and been dispatched.”
“……Tsk.”
With that, a brief silence fell between the two.
Ten years.
So much had happened that they could no longer laugh and carry on as they once did.
Especially the debt weighing on Maxwell’s heart—one-sided and crushing.
“……Lumia made a foolish choice. She shouldn’t have proposed the duel in that manner.”
“Is that so?”
“I wish you could have stopped her, though I suppose it wouldn’t have been easy.”
Maxwell let out a bitter laugh as he spoke.
Indeed, what right did he have to say such things?
“……The Red Tower mages who came with Hayden are far from weak. Many of them are seasoned in duels.”
“I saw as much. Their Mana Affinity is notably high as well.”
“So against such ‘geniuses’…… can the Blue Tower mages truly claim victory?”
Maxwell’s question carried deep skepticism.
Even the Blue Tower at its peak couldn’t guarantee victory over the Red Tower, so for the Blue Tower now to stand a chance seemed all but impossible.
And yet.
“Well. What if I told you otherwise?”
“……What do you mean?”
“While you were away, a ‘formidable junior’ arrived at the Tower.”
“Huh, what?”
A formidable junior.
And if Barean of all people was so certain about it, there had to be something there.
“What on earth are you talking about…….”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
Before those words even finished, Maxwell sensed a presence from a place he hadn’t noticed.
And then a figure emerged.
“Good day, sir.”
He smiled brightly as he spoke to Maxwell.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Sion Rostery.”
“……!”
At that introduction, Maxwell’s eyes widened to their full extent.

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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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