The AI Archmage - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Archmage Episode 8

‘It’s been a while.’

Sion walked toward Belusian’s secret workshop, lost in memories of the past.

Being close friends also meant sharing many secrets.

Just as Belusian knew many of Altair’s secrets, he too knew several of Belusian’s secrets.

One of them was this workshop.

“We’re walking there?”

“It’s not that far.”

“Master’s secret workshop… was near the Main Tower? How did I never discover it…”

“It’s possible that even the Tower Master couldn’t find it. As you know, archmages are fundamentally eccentric. Because of that, their structures are never conventional.”

Sion casually shared information about Belusian’s workshop.

Serentia, who was following him, asked cautiously.

“Um… this has been bothering me since earlier, but how exactly do you know about Master Belusian’s secret workshop?”

“It’s a secret.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Serentia wanted to ask more questions, but upon reflection, she had no justification to force the issue.

She couldn’t pressure Sion with force either.

So she decided to follow for now. She was also a mage, and couldn’t overcome her curiosity.

The place where Sion’s steps stopped was somewhere neither of them had expected.

“Th-this is…”

“A graveyard.”

More precisely…

“When Altair was alive, this was the waste disposal site where they dumped ‘failures’ while working in collaboration with his workshop.”

That’s right. A waste disposal site.

A short distance from the Blue Tower was this eerie place that could only be described as an eyesore.

All sorts of mechanical devices, wires, and scrap metal were scattered about.

Things that lacked both the manpower and technology for recycling, abandoned because the cost of sorting and processing them would be even higher.

Looking at the place, Lumia muttered.

“Here… Master’s secret workshop is here?”

“That’s right. Honestly, it’s not an easily imaginable location.”

“B-but I don’t see anything that looks like a workshop entrance anywhere! I just used mana to detect even underground, but nothing was sensed!”

“Yes, that would be the case.”

Sion spoke with an expression that said it was only natural.

“The magic of a mere 6th Circle has its limits.”

“What?”

“Archmage is a title given to those who have reached a level where they can make their mark in magical history.”

Sion continued in a calm voice.

“Before such beings, the 6th Circle could truly be called ‘mere,’ don’t you think?”

“Is… is that so…?”

“That’s right.”

Hmm, something seems strange.

Though Lumia wore a displeased expression at such sophistic words, she decided to accept it for now.

Anyway, what mattered was the Secret Workshop.

She closed her eyes and spread her mana, trying to find the Secret Workshop somehow.

If the entrance to the Secret Workshop was really here, it shouldn’t be impossible to detect.

But no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn’t find it.

It didn’t register on Mana Detection, and finding clues with the naked eye among the mountainous pile of waste wasn’t easy either.

“Then shall we open it right away?”

“W-wait a moment!”

At Sion’s words, Lumia spoke up hesitantly.

“It’s, well… how should I put it, it hurts my pride. I am supposedly Master’s successor, and I was called a once-in-a-generation magical genius…”

“Ah, you want to find it yourself?”

“…Yes. If we’ve narrowed down the location, I think it’s not impossible.”

“Then go ahead and look.”

Sion readily agreed.

Though he could open the workshop entrance immediately, watching her abilities would be entertaining in its own way.

‘Well, she is that guy’s disciple.’

Indeed, after he disappeared, what exactly did Belusian see in this child to take her as a disciple?

It could simply be magical talent, but the Belusian he knew wasn’t that simple.

From what he’d seen so far, she seemed quite talented, but he didn’t get the feeling she was extraordinary.

The talent Lumia had shown until now was within the range of what he’d occasionally seen while living as Altair.

Sion hoped for more than that.

And he believed Belusian would have naturally seen more than that.

“How strange.”

Just then, Serentia approached Sion and spoke.

Lumia was diligently wandering around the Waste Disposal Site, searching for traces or clues.

“As far as I know, Sion, you are certainly younger than me. Yet you treat me and Lumia as if we were ‘children.'”

“That could be the case.”

“I’ll ask just in case, but are you the ‘arrangement’ that Master Belusian had prepared?”

Serentia’s eyes held both tension and wariness as she spoke.

“There were many questions about Master Belusian’s sudden disappearance. We couldn’t understand the reason. But one thing is certain.”

“What would that be?”

“Master Belusian left behind almost nothing.”

“…”

Even Sion could only remain silent at those words.

He couldn’t even guess about Belusian’s sudden disappearance either.

No matter how much the Magic Council ostracized him, Belusian couldn’t have been eliminated without a trace.

Belusian was among the top-level practitioners even among the five 9th Circle archmages that existed in their era.

Moreover, if it was the Belusian that Sion knew, he wouldn’t have disappeared without even preparing measures for the Blue Tower.

However, as Serentia said, he left nothing behind.

Because of this, in just 20 years, the Blue Tower was driven to the brink of collapse.

“To put it bluntly, Sion’s existence cannot be explained by common sense. But if Sion is a ‘specific arrangement’ that Master Belusian left behind, then all of this makes sense.”

“…Hmm.”

Sion thought that his previous life had no significant connection to Belusian.

But after hearing Serentia’s words, something crossed his mind.

‘That guy also knew my secret. Perhaps he even knew about the Akashic Record…’

If that were the case, even if his reincarnation itself was according to his own intentions, the fact that he became Sion Rostery of the Blue Tower was…

Lumia stared with her mouth agape at the ‘entrance’ that had appeared before her eyes.

She grasped the handle of the entrance with trembling hands.

“Be, beyond this… Master’s Secret Workshop is…”

And the moment she turned the handle.

“Huh?”

It wouldn’t open.

No matter how much force Lumia applied trying to open the door, it still wouldn’t budge.

“Wh, why won’t this…”

“That’s enough. You did very well.”

Sion chuckled and found ‘another key’ hidden among the waste, then activated it.

Thunk!

Lumia let out a pitiful sigh as she watched the door open.

“Ah.”

“In any case, discovering the entrance is sufficient, isn’t it? Let’s go in.”

He had confirmed she had enough talent to figure out the structure leading to her master’s Secret Workshop.

That alone was sufficient.

Beyond the door, stairs leading downward unfolded, and lights instantly illuminated the previously dark interior.

“I, I could have found it…”

Lumia grumbled as she entered inside.

“Yes, Tower Master would have been able to find it.”

“Th, that’s right!”

“If only you had said that before I found it.”

“Grrrrr!”

Lumia glared at Sion with a reddened face, but it wasn’t threatening in the slightest.

In any case, they entered the Secret Workshop like that.

* * *

“…To think such a space existed. It’s truly amazing.”

Serentia looked around with an expression full of astonishment.

The interior of the workshop was pristine.

So much so that it was hard to believe it was located in that chaotic Waste Disposal Site.

Even the construction technology used was excellent.

Lumia and Serentia couldn’t help but admire the smooth wall surfaces.

“Such excellent finishing work.”

“As expected of Master… Sister, it must have been done with Lord Altair’s help, don’t you think?”

“Probably. Looking at the condition of the building, we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s a collaborative work between Lord Belusian and Lord Altair.”

Listening to their conversation from the side, Sion nodded his head.

‘They’re quite close to the truth.’

After all, it was true that Belusian had received his help in creating this workshop.

More precisely, the design stage.

That’s why he knew of this workshop’s existence.

However.

‘Belusian, that old man. He built this place more carelessly than I thought?’

[Archmages aren’t necessarily excellent architects, Human.]

Akasha subtly defended Belusian, but Sion disagreed.

‘No. I felt it while coming in, but that old man arbitrarily changed some parts of the internal structure.’

[Hmm. You mean he didn’t follow Human’s design exactly.]

Sion frowned slightly as he observed the interior.

The workshop’s interior was so spacious it was hard to believe it was underground.

It was about 1.5 times larger than the area Altair had designed in his lifetime, which said it all.

And finally, the moment they entered the ‘largest space’ within the workshop.

“Oho.”

They were able to confirm the true identity of the workshop that Belusian had been hiding.

[Oho, this is…]

“Ha, that old man really…”

Sion let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the equipment filling the space.

Lumia and Serentia, who had followed behind, muttered in amazement.

“S-Sion, this is…”

“Crafting tables.”

It wasn’t equipment suitable for mass-producing magic tools.

But for Sion, it held more meaning than anything else.

And for good reason, because this was…

“The same type of crafting table that Altair himself used directly.”

“…!”

“In other words, with proper knowledge and materials, it means we can reproduce Altair Engineering as much as we want.”

Moreover, several materials were prepared, so it looked like simple magic tools could be crafted immediately.

Whether it had been neatly maintained, there were no problems either.

‘That old man, when the Academic World completely disposed of all the grimoires, I wondered where he had diverted them.’

So he had hidden them in a place like this.

Sion smiled as he faced the ‘arrangement’ Belusian had left behind.

It was truly the best arrangement.

After all, they had been given a space where they could ‘make’ the things they needed right now.

As two people stood frozen at the sight and one person was delighted, a hologram began to appear before them.

“M-Master?!”

The identity of that hologram was Belusian.

Lumia widened her eyes and shouted.

And the Belusian in the hologram slowly opened his mouth.

– You’ve made it this far.

“Ah.”

It was a recorded video.

But Belusian looked at the three of them carefully as if he were alive.

At that sight, Lumia’s eyes even welled up with tears.

In that touching moment.

– …Sign it.

The words that hologram uttered turned Sion’s stomach upside down.

– Belusian is… the greatest magical engineer in history who surpasses Altair….

“What the hell?”

Sion’s eyebrows twitched.

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