The AI Archmage - Chapter 65

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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 65

“Sion… Rostery.”
Maxwell was far from ignorant about the Rostery Family.
One of the great noble houses that could be counted on one hand even if you combined the entire Empire.
A name that even mages belonging to the Four Great Magic Towers could not treat carelessly.
“There’s no need to concern yourself with family matters. I’m not someone who receives preferential treatment from that quarter anyway.”
Sion said this and studied Maxwell closely, swiftly assessing his condition.
“6th Circle? A decade has passed, yet you remain the same. Did you choose this deliberately?”
“…The Red Tower placed a Seal Restriction on me. If I became fully committed to the Red Tower, they said they would lift it then.”
“Heh.”
Sion let out a dry laugh and shook his head slowly.
This wasn’t merely about preventing something like betrayal.
This was simply punishment inflicted because Maxwell refused to change his convictions within the Red Tower, and they resented him for it.
[A Seal Restriction that blocks the ascension of Circles themselves. They’ve blocked the Mana Conduits within his body with subtle precision, making it impossible for him to form the next Circle.]
‘A cruel torment.’
For a mage, stagnation at a single level is truly agonizing.
And when that stagnation stems from external factors rather than one’s own capability, it is nothing short of torture.
[Upon examination, it appears to be a Seal Restriction that could certainly be undone with human-level capability.]
‘I’ve confirmed it too.’
Sion examined Maxwell’s physical form meticulously.
In a short span of time, he identified artificial blockages along the Mana Conduits connected throughout Maxwell’s body.
“Have you not attempted to lift the Seal Restriction?”
“Of course I have. But it was hopeless. In a way, it’s only natural. It wasn’t placed by just anyone—it was the Deputy Tower Master of the Red Tower himself.”
“No, it can be lifted.”
“…What?”
Maxwell spoke with astonishment at Sion’s immediate reply.
“Lift it? Ha, you’re joking. I understand your feelings, but….”
But Maxwell’s words never finished.
“So it really is you, Sion. You can undo even this?”
“It’s not particularly difficult.”
“Are you using a Magic Tool you developed for this too?”
“No, something of this caliber is easily manageable with my magic alone.”
“Oh.”
Listening to their exchange, Maxwell opened his mouth silently.
‘…Is he mocking me?’
That was his first thought, honestly.
Lifting a Seal Restriction?
This wasn’t some elderly Grand Mage—how could that young boy possibly undo a Seal Restriction placed by the Deputy Tower Master of the Red Tower?
“Barean, I know my audacity displeases you, but surely you’re not mocking me with something like this….”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“That he can lift the Seal Restriction. That young boy couldn’t possibly be capable of such a thing.”
“Ah.”
At that moment, Barean let out a smirk.
That strangely exasperating smile Maxwell had often seen long ago.
“Truly, you have no idea.”
“No idea about what?”
“This young Sion here is the Main Tower’s strategic asset.”
“…?”
An even more bewildering statement.
Yet it didn’t sound like a lie.
After all the years they’d known each other, he could tell.
Right now, Barean truly believed in that boy.
“…You’re serious?”
Maxwell muttered in a flat tone.
It felt like common sense was being overturned.
If this were true, then the Sion Rostery standing before him must have been born with talent capable of rewriting magical history.
No, it wasn’t even on that level.
It was simply.
‘That’s just another word for a monster.’
A monster far beyond the specifications of humanity.
And naturally, such talk was not the sort to be believed easily.
“Don’t tell me you accepted the duel because you believed in this boy?”
“That’s right.”
“I—what are you—”
Maxwell was flabbergasted.
He simply could not fathom what Barean was saying.
“Look, even if we grant that somehow this boy is a genius for the ages—even then, the mages of the Blue Tower aren’t. Their talents, there’s no way you could possibly—”
“Well, I’ll manage it somehow.”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
What in the world had happened to Barean over these ten years? How had that once-brilliant mind become like this?
Maxwell could not accept it.
“It’s impossible! Talent is already fixed from the start—what could possibly change it!”
“Well, for example—”
Rather than answer, Barean simply raised his hand quietly toward Maxwell.
In that instant.
A deep hum resonated.
Mana whirled violently across Barean’s palm.
“It would be something like this.”
“…Magic?”
Maxwell, upon seeing it, went rigid, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“No. That’s impossible.”
“I thought so too.”
“But you surely—”
“Yes, my close friend.”
Barean spoke to Maxwell with a faint, amused smile.
“I still have no Mana Heart. Yet I’ve reclaimed magic nonetheless.”
“How…how is that possible?”
“Well, that’s—”
Barean’s gaze shifted toward Sion, a subtle smile playing at his lips.
“I already told you.”
“…!”
Maxwell’s pupils trembled.
And as Maxwell stared, Sion smiled knowingly, as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“I have but one question, senior.”
“…Go ahead.”
“Do you still believe yourself to be a mage of this Blue Tower?”
“…!”
At those words, Maxwell’s pupils quivered. For a moment he stared at Sion with trembling eyes, then at last he opened his mouth.
“I… I am—”

* * *

“Phew.”
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
And on the day of the duel.
Lumia drew a deep breath, steeling herself to face Hayden’s wretched visage.
Today, as the master of the Blue Tower, she had to show that face.
“Let’s go, Sion.”
“Are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Lumia cleared her mind of all distractions and lifted her head with composure.
Then, as if to confirm, she asked once more.
“Sion, you’ll really win, won’t you?”
“I’ll win.”
“Really? Truly?”
“…”
Sion gazed quietly at Lumia.
And Lumia, caught by the light in his eyes, looked away.
“Ah, no, that’s not to say I don’t trust you, Sion…….”
“I’ll stake my Mana Heart.”
“……Huh?”
Lumia’s eyes widened at those words, and she turned to look at Sion.
“Your… your Mana Heart?”
“Yes.”
Sion swore it by Mana before Lumia, making clear the words were no lie.
“It wouldn’t be fair for only the Tower Master to bear the cost, would it?”
“Well, I…….”
This was more than she’d expected, honestly.
Or so Lumia thought to herself.
But seeing Sion stake so much, her heart quickly settled.
“Then, let’s go.”
Following Sion, Lumia made her way to the place where the duel would take place.
The moment they arrived, Hayden’s eyes twitched as he watched the two approach together.
But only for a moment.
“Are you prepared?”
Hayden spoke to Lumia in a remarkably warm voice.
“That you’ve accepted such a duel means, in the end, that you’re willing to walk with me.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Yes, you’ll say that.”
“……?”
Veins stood out on Lumia’s forehead.
Drawing such a reaction from the herbivore-natured Lumia wasn’t easy, yet Hayden had managed it.
“This duel today carries much weight. Lumia, I ask once more: will you proceed with the duel?”
“Yes.”
“Hear me clearly. As the price of this duel, I will claim you.”
Through contract, he would bind Lumia and make her his companion.
And that declaration amounted to the same thing as claiming the Blue Tower for himself.
“I understand.”
Lumia nodded, her expression resolute.
“Conversely, if we win this duel, you’ll have much to do for the Main Tower.”
“If you win, that is.”
Hayden nodded with perfect confidence.
Then he added a word as if bestowing a mercy.
“I will save you.”
“…….”
Having heard such nonsense to her face, Lumia for a moment tried to judge the situation in a most ‘Sion-like’ manner.
‘Would hitting that head once make him quieter?’
But she decided to endure for now.
After all, it was Sion who had created this stage today.
And then Sion finally spoke.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
“Very well.”
Hayden nodded with a smirk at Sion’s words.
“All results are witnessed by Mana. Mana is the most perfect witness there is in a duel. I trust you know this well.”
“Yes, that much I understand.”
A duel between mages requires no grand witness.
Once a mage swears by Mana, they must honor that oath.
“I swear.”
“I swear.”
Boom!
In an instant, Mana surged around Lumia and Hayden, and the contract necessary for the duel was established.
And soon after, massive Mana enveloped the dueling ground, and all preparations were complete.

* * *

Sion turned toward his students.
Though it had only been a week, the change in the students during that time was unmistakable.
It seemed they had all faithfully followed Sion’s teachings.
The students’ presence had transformed beyond recognition compared to a week ago.
They had grown genuinely stronger.
“It seems you’ve been listening to my advice.”
“Of course we have. We couldn’t ignore it.”
Tult spoke to Sion with eyes ablaze.
“Just thinking about the tyranny those Red Tower bastards inflicted on us this past week makes my blood boil.”
“Was it really that bad?”
“You wouldn’t know, sir, since you rarely venture outside—but it was worse than we could have imagined.”
“I suppose that tracks.”
Sion hadn’t witnessed it himself, but he was no stranger to the Red Tower mages.
Truly……
‘They had no restraint whatsoever.’
And it wasn’t just the Workshop Alliance they’d bullied—they’d acted the same toward fellow mages?
That gave him all the justification he needed to put them in their place.
But just then, one of the students spoke up timidly.
“Sir… do you really think we can win against the Red Tower mages?”
“You will win.”
Sion stated it as fact.
“You haven’t realized it yet, but you’ve achieved tremendous magical growth.”
“R-really?”
“Put simply—you’re fast.”
The student’s eyes widened.
“W-wait, is that all?”
“That’s all. At least, for a duel it is.”
If the opponent were several Circles higher, it would mean nothing.
Speed would lose all significance.
High Circle mages, drowning in their abundant Mana, would simply deflect Low Circle magic.
But there was no way all the mages here fell into that category.
Naturally, Sion had already assessed every mage Hayden had brought.
“Your opponents are all 4th Circle. And stable at that level.”
“……!”
The students’ eyes went wide.
“Don’t react like that. That’s not the important part.”
“W-what is, then?”
“That they’re not 5th Circle. And that they have no choice but to be affected by Incantation speed.”
“……!”
The students’ eyes grew even wider.
Some didn’t fully grasp the meaning, but seeing Sion speak with such conviction, they nodded along.
“Besides, not everyone here is even going to fight. I’ve prepared everything already, so there’s no need to be so anxious.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
Still, most of the students looked uncertain.
Sion decided to explain in more intuitive terms they could easily grasp.
“Your probability of victory right now matches exactly the Tower Master’s probability of success in his investment venture.”
“O-oh!”
“I see! Now I understand!”
In that instant, the students broke into broad smiles, brimming with confidence.
But Lumia……
“Um… excuse me?”
……could only stare blankly at Sion and the students with a wounded expression.

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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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