C94: Magic Duel (2)
I'll try to post 1 more chapter later.
The audience didn't understand what was going on at all. The duel, which they thought would be a long and fierce battle, ended too quickly with a one-sided victory.
"Is this possible?"
"I heard that the other person is a professional hired by Luke."
They stared at Rudger in disbelief. From before and until now, Rudger had never changed his cane-raising posture. His expression also didn't change as if it was natural to win.
"Winner! Rudger Chelici!"
Elisa Willow's bubbly voice signaled the end of the duel.
The atmosphere of the banquet hall, which was filled with silence and surprise, finally returned to its original state.
Clap. Clap.
People began to clap their hands one by one. Just as water droplets fell on the calm water surface and caused a stir, the sound of applause spread like a contagious disease and filled the entire banquet hall.
Clap clap clap clap clap, clap, clap, clap!
"What a surprise! Is this the power of a Theon teacher?"
"The wizard hired by Luke isn't ordinary but he was defeated so easily."
"What the hell were those spells just now? What a quick magic manifestation! I didn't even see him casting the spells."
"Was the rumor of using an unusual magic true?"
Contrary to what I expected, the duel itself didn't feel like it ended too quickly. Still, for an impromptu event, it gave quite a lot of enjoyment, so the audience was satisfied.
"Oh, my God, that's amazing."
Theodore looked at Elisa smiling as if he knew this would happen next to him, and said.
"The aide I gave to my son was a famous wizard, but he was beaten up in an instant. Are all of Theon teachers such monsters?"
"Ha ha. No way. Actually, Mr. Rudger is an exceptionally unusual person."
"Hmm. Right. I don't think there are more people like him. I wonder if there's anyone worse."
"I'm sorry for being a worse person but I was able to show him that way in front of everyone."
Theodore smiled and shook his head.
"I was worried about nothing. It's my fault for having an incompetent son. It was a fair duel, and I will accept this defeat neatly."
Having said that, he looked at Ivan, who was still sitting on his seat with a blank expression on his face as if he still couldn't believe his defeat.
"That stupid fellow won't even accept it and will go wild, but you won't have to worry about it. I'll step up and block everything."
"As expected, Chairman Theodore. It's nice to talk with you."
"So I want to ask you a favor."
Elisha shook her head like a knife as Theodore Luke tried to speak.
"You can't."
"I haven't said anything yet."
"You want me to introduce you to Mr. Rudger, right? Well, you don't have to say that. I'm sorry, but please refrain from reaching out to our teacher."
"……Huh. If you say so, there's nothing I can do."
At Elisha's subtle warning, Theodore was forced to raise his hands and declare his defeat.
Rudger is clearly a person who is coveted, but he judged that he was not enough to offend the president of Theon in order to make a relationship with him.
Theodore is a big hand who has a huge impact on both the political and business world of the empire, but there were a few people who he could not even touch carelessly and Elisa Willow, the woman in front of him, was one of them.
"Well, it would be shameless of me to bring it up."
Theodore said so and glanced sideways at the entrance of the banquet hall.
"But I don't know what they would do."
"……That's right."
Elisha followed Theodore at the entrance to the banquet hall, and her complexion slightly hardened.
Unwelcome faces were seen entering the banquet hall.
* * *
'Oh, my.'
Seeing Ivan Luke's aide stretched out in front of my eyes, I was somewhat perplexed. I thought he was a good-looking person, who would have known that he would fall in vain like this?
'He said that he was strong, so I was serious.'
I was a little worried because I didn't know what kind of magic my opponent uses. Surprisingly, however, he was a wizard who excelled in rapid magic. The most important thing in a duel between wizards is the speed of casting.
Considering that part, the man in front of me could be seen as a talent that specialized in one-on-one duels in a way, and was close to a first-class talent. That's probably why he said he'd deal with me confidently.
He must have been convinced that he could defeat me with his special skill.
'But why use that against me?'
This was why I was dumbfounded.
I'm not bragging, but even if a wizard of 5th rank or higher came, I could keep up with the speed of casting magic due to the source code.
As far as third-tier magic is concerned, I can show a speed that I can beat anyone.
At this point, I was embarrassed to the point that I thought he came out to lose on purpose.
'Did he not know?'
I deliberately spread rumors while showing the source code magic openly in the first class, but don't people know by this point?
Nevertheless, the fact that he bet on speed, I had to say that the person in front of me didn't know the magic I used. No. Even if he knew, he didn't believe it was real like many other wizards around the world.
'It doesn't matter that I won.'
The fallen assistant was carried away by Luke's bodyguards.
Ivan, the culprit of all this, was still stunned, unable to believe that he had lost the duel.
"This…!"
He soon looked at me and clenched his fist but he couldn't scream like he did a little while ago and I also realized that his gaze was over my shoulder.
"Are you Rudger Chelici?"
I slowly turned my head to look at the owner of the voice. It was
an old man with a long white beard stood with a cane.
He was an unusual old man. It was because everyone was wearing stylish suits and dresses, and he was wearing a robe.
It wouldn't be strange to be kicked out for not following the dress code by the guard who stood at the entrance right away. However, if a logo symbolizing a specific organization is embroidered on the robe, then the situation is different.
"Are you from the tower?"
"Oh, you can see it right away."
The old man's eyes lit up at my words and he chuckled.
Having a logo symbolizing a tall tower contained in a gold circle on his robe of course I knew the old man in front of me was a wizard from the tower.
Even the foolish Ivan Luke was aware of the existence of the Tower, so he stayed in his place.
"So why did you come to see me?"
He didn't even come alone because behind him were five other wizards.
"I saw the duel a little while ago. The opponent's spell casting was quick but you were much more than that. I've never seen anyone cast their magic so quickly in my life."
"Is that so?"
"Is that the rumored [source code] magic?"
I was wondering why you came here, was it because of this?
I nodded because it was nothing to hide anyway.
"That's right."
"Oh! I see! I knew it!"
The old man reacted like a child who found a great toy. His wrinkled face suddenly showed a strange reaction, and I frowned unknowingly.
I asked in a slightly curt tone.
"So why did you come to see me?"
"Oh? Oh, my. Come to think of it, we didn't even say our names to each other, did we?"
Far from answering my question, the old man immediately began to introduce himself.
"My name is Altego Dantes, and I am a member of the Tower Council."
"……I'm Rudger Chelici, a teacher at Theon."
"I know. I went to this humble place myself in the first place to meet you."
A humble place? But this is a banquet where VIPs gather, so I think it's too much.
"Me?"
"I was going to visit Theon in person, but who would have thought that the wicked fox would interfere and sabotage me in every way?"
Rudger immediately knew who Altego was talking about.
"Oh. Isn't it Chairman Altego?"
Because the person in question, came out with a smile on her face.
Altego frowned outright when he saw that she came.
"Elisa Willow. I can't believe I'm seeing you all in a place like this. Is it okay for the president to be in this? You're so light-hearted, why don't you step down?"
"Well, what brings you here, Chairman? You said that you don't fit well with fancy events where you have to be formal."
"Do I have to tell you that? I'm just here because I have someone to meet."
"Aha-ha. The chairman is very honest. Are you here to see our new teacher?"
The president's mood, which had been playful until now, had become sharp from the moment she met Altego.
"A young genius wizard like the president must be like water and oil with the stagnant and rotting Tower Council."
The council is a symbol of the old generation and the president is a symbol of the new generation who accepts change and wants to develop further.
"By the way, this isn't a very suitable place for someone like the chairman to come, right? Did you come here to get something to eat?"
"A wicked fox like you should not block my path. The reason I came here has nothing to do with you."
Having said that, Altego tried to ignore the president and spoke to me.
"I won't be able to talk for long anyway, so let me be straightforward. Why don't you join our Tower? I promise I'll give you the best treatment."
"Chairman!"
President Elisa screamed and I was also surprised by Altego's blunt remarks. His behavior now was very rude but Altego continued, ignoring the reactions around him.
"Should a wizard your size just waste his talent teaching a bunch of kids? When I first heard the rumors about the source code, I was skeptical, but after seeing the duel a while ago, I was convinced. You are a talented person suitable for our tower."
"……."
"I will write a letter of recommendation myself. If you come to the tower, you can occupy a particularly high position."
Judging from his reaction, it seems that he had tried to contact me before, but he was stopped due to the constant interference from the president so he decided to come to the banquet for new teachers.
"It's a good thing for you, too. You won't have to waste your time teaching some little kids. Would those young bastards even know what magic is? But the tower is different; it's the place where every wizard on the continent wants to join!"
Altego talked excitedly about the tower.
The summary of what he said was the Tower it's the best and everything else is trash. He was really arrogant, but in a way, he was not too wrong. The majesty of the tower was definitely something he could be proud of.
I paused for a moment, pretending to think about it, and then opened my mouth.
"If I were to go to the tower, what could you do for me?"
"Oh."
"Mr. Rudger?"
Altego knew this would happen but President Elisa couldn't believe it.
"Haha! What do you want? Do you want a lot of money? The amount of support that comes into the Tower every year is second to that of Theon! I don't know how much they give you, but we can give you at least three times that!"
"……."
"Or do you want power? If you come under me and submit a magic thesis, you'll win the position of chief wizard directly under the Council! Or do you want a great artifact? I can give it to you if you want to!"
"In that case."
I brought up the subject.
"If I ask for a seat in the Tower Council will you give it to me?"
"What?"
Altego's face contorted for a moment. The same was true of the five wizards who were lined up behind him and listening to the conversation. They soon realized what I was saying and turned hostile.
"……What does that mean? You want a seat in the Council?"
"Yes."
"Are you crazy? When you enter the tower, you need to know how to say 'thank you'. We even give you money! But a seat in the Council? Do you not know what kind of position that is?!"
"I know very well."
How can you not know?
"Isn't it a place for old people who don't have skills?"
"……Are you serious? Or are you drunk and don't know what you're saying?"
"I'm wide awake."
"Are you out of your mind?"
Altego's face changed to that of a dove that had been shot. He glared at me and gritted his teeth.
"It's not enough to dare to reject the Tower offer and blaspheme the name of the Magic Tower? Are you still sane? Now that you've developed a new magic, have you ever mistakenly thought that you've become something?!"
The old man, who had been chatting happily until a while ago, was nowhere to be found. Altego's forehead was filled with blood, and his face was red.
"There are things that should be said and things that shouldn't be said……!"
"I guess I put it in a difficult way."
"What?"
"So here's what I'm talking about."
I looked down at the old man in front of me and said.
"No matter what you give me, I won't come to the Tower."