War Wizard Kevin Dunbara greeted Oliver and said, "Or should I say it's been a while?"
In that fleeting mont, a lot of thoughts raced through Oliver's mind.
‘What should I do? Should I lie and say I don't know him? Am I good at lying? Was this the disciple that Elder rlin ntioned? What is this? Coincidence? Or was it planned from the beginning?’
The coincidence seed so artificial that Oliver was at a loss for what to do. However, ti kept passing, and he had to respond; remaining silent would be tantamount to admitting it.
After much thought, Oliver replied truthfully, "I think it's more appropriate to say it's been a while, Mr. Kevin."
Upon hearing Oliver's response, one of Kevin's eyebrows raised, and he displayed a mix of emotions, including surprise, admiration, faint satisfaction, and wonder. However, he didn't appear to be offended in the least.
Oliver spoke carefully, "May I ask you a question, if you don't mind?"
“What is it?”
"How were you able to recognize ? I was wearing a leather mask at the ti,"
Although he was still wearing a leather mask, he didn't ntion it.
Kevin replied, "I have good observation skills. I rember the atmosphere, behavior, habits, and way of speaking well. Above all…"
Oliver prompted, "…above all?"
Kevin continued, "That staff stands out too much."
Oliver looked at the quarterstaff beside him and exclaid, "Ah…"
"If you're just packin' a stick in a world where folks are strapped with blades and guns, and only a handful got golem claws, gear, and cyborg upgrades, it ain't hard to figure out who you are.?"
Oliver remained silent, his thoughts turning to the shadowy alleys of Landa. He knew all too well that his presence there would have drawn unwanted attention.
As he contemplated his precarious situation, a sudden realization jolted him. Could rumors of his involvent in Willes' escape have already begun to circulate?
Noticing his reaction, Kevin replied, "Chill out. You're good. Ain't nobody else peeped you, and I ain't snitchin' to nobody."
"Thank you for your kind gesture…however, is it okay for you to do that?"
“I didn’t do it because I liked it.”
"Oi, you see, these wizard blokes, the ones who're officially tied to the school, gotta do their service in the Kingdom Army. So reckon it's a chance to shine, but others ain't too keen on it. That's just the type of bloke he is, ya know." rlin explained while placing a hand on Kevin's shoulder.
Kevin looked at rlin's hand on his shoulder and imdiately said.
"Master… Can you take your hand off , please?"
"Oh, bad."
Oliver's eyes moved quickly to see rlin and Kevin. Judging from the information Oliver had obtained so far, their relationship as master and disciple seed distant.
The last ti when a branch representative t with rlin, he couldn't even make eye contact and just kept nodding his head. But this man Kevin, even though he called rlin his master, he has a quite stiff attitude towards him.
He even seems to hold so anger and resentnt towards rlin.
‘Um, that’s not all… .'
Oliver briefly wondered if Kevin was stronger than rlin, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Kevin was undoubtedly strong, but he could not be compared to rlin.
Oliver had faced both n in combat and felt certain that his assessnt was accurate.
Is there sothing he doesn't know about?
"But make sure ya give thanks to Kevin. ‘Cause of you, he's got a stain on his military career, which was lookin' pretty good up 'til now."
rlin placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder this ti and spoke, and Oliver did not reject the touch like Kevin.
"I'm not sure I understand. What do you an?" asked Oliver
"His mission was to capture Willes, one of the top dogs in the Kell Liberation Army. But you let ‘im escape."
"……."
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't intentionally look into it. I just have a lot of information and a sharp mind, so I naturally deduced it. I also heard about this fellow from you…” rlin said, trying to put his hand on Kevin's shoulder but awkwardly lowered it. “…Don't ya worry. He has no intention of whining. Not yet."
"Thank you."
"Ya gotta thank Kevin. Like I said, he had a pristine career, but now it's tarnished 'cause of you. His fancy plan to get back to the Magic tower magnificently has gone down the crapper, all 'cause of you." rlin pointed at Oliver exaggeratedly with both hands.
Oliver acknowledged this and bowed politely to Kevin.
"I'm extrely grateful to you, and I apologize for any trouble caused,"
Kevin shook his head, and said, "It's not for you, so hold onto your gratitude. Above all, do you know what it ans to be sincere?"
"What?"
Oliver's initial reaction was one of confusion as he struggled to comprehend the question posed to him. In a mont of foolishness, he blurted out a response without fully understanding what was being asked of him.
But as he pondered the question further, a spark of curiosity ignited within him. What did it truly an to be sincere?
"Well, let's save the snooze fest talk for when the old man's not 'round. Let's get down to business, my knee's killin' ." rlin patted Oliver's shoulder and patted the empty space above Kevin's shoulder.
"Oi, Dave. Let make proper introductions. This is ya temp Senior and cab driver who'll take ya to the Magic Tower… Kevin. And he's the baggage you gotta take with ya. No sayin' no."
The introduction was unorthodox, to say the least, but Oliver paid it little mind. Just being able to go to the Magic Tower was a huge help to him, and at the sa ti, he was aware of how dangerous his existence itself was.
Recalling this, Oliver asked, "Did Elder intend for this to happen all along? Did he plan for Senior and to et at work and then again here?"
"Sounds silly. It's a coincidence. Like a bloody terrible coincidence."
He couldn't read rlin's inner thoughts due to covering his emotions with magic. He had no choice but to believe it.
"Pardon , Senior?"
"Don't call Senior, call Professor. I'm a professor."
"Um, Professor…is it okay for you to bring along? You're taking a Warlock to the Magic Tower,"
"It doesn't matter. Besides, being a professor at the Magic Tower, many noble professors view it as sacrilege… Taking you only adds to one more problem.”
There was a strange venom-like emotion in Kevin. A sowhat complex, long-ripened emotion. But apart from that, it didn't seem like he was forcing himself to take Oliver with him.
"Ah, I see… thank you."
Kevin turned to rlin, ignoring Oliver's greeting.
It was a strange attitude to have towards his master.
"I'll take him with , but he needs to have a cover for the paperwork. I can't take soone without ID."
"I'll prepare that."
“I have my ID.”
"A legitimate form of identification, not the one you use as a solver." Kevin said right off the bat.
Certainly, it was extrely dangerous to use the sa ID used as a solver in the magic tower, and understanding this, Oliver shut his mouth.
"…And we need to decide what role he'll play."
"Can't ya just bring him on as ya assistant?"
"It doesn’t matter for , Master, but I cannot guarantee the sa for others. There are individuals who harbor animosity towards within the Magic Tower,"
"Well, it's a place where all sorts of scumbags roam around – racists, eugenicists, and wizard elitists."
"If I bring him without any justification, many will beco suspicious. I do not employ personal staff, nor do I have any connections vouching for . Therefore, people will question his origin,"
"Hmm… Even if ya bring him on, there's gotta be a good reason. Can't just call him a grunt, that's suspicious."
Oliver quietly raised his hand. "I apologize, but could you please explain what you are referring to?"
"Oh, it's nothin'. We're just figurin' out why he can take ya on as support and what role you'll play. Other profs can bring on any old lackey 'cause they got connections, but Kevin… well, ya know."
Kevin felt a little irritation and anger in his heart.
"…In other words, are you implying that I need to possess certain skills beyond office work?"
"Exactly. If he doesn't have any connections, he's gotta hire ya and bring ya along. And like I said before, this guy's never hired anyone. If so random shows up with soone doin' sothing he's never done before, it'll raise so eyebrows."
rlin and Kevin's bizarre relationship. Kevin's strange emotion toward Magic tower. It seed like there were several reasons.
Oliver wanted to ask, but he didn't feel like it was sothing he could just ask. For now, Oliver decided to focus on the current situation.
"Would the ability to read code language be considered a skill?"
“What do you an, code language?” Kevin asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
In contrast to Kevin, rlin clapped his hands as if he rembered sothing. "Yeah, that's right… reckon you studied code language, didn't ya? Even if ya can't get into the World Tree, ya learned it. There's only a few folks in the Magic Tower who know code language. He can take ya with him using that."
rlin murmured as if he was satisfied that things worked out better than he expected. "Rember the book I gave ya last ti? How far'd ya get? Didja at least crack open ‘Advanced Code Language Learning (Part 2)'?"
Oliver shook his head.
"Uh…well, it was a bit of a struggle-"
"I'm sorry, but that's not what I ant. I've read all of them, including ‘Advanced Code Language Learning (Part 1)' and (Part 2). All the books you gave last ti, and I believe I have a good grasp of it,"
“… really?" asked rlin in disbelief.
"Yes, didn't Elder ntion that with so effort, I could learn to read it all? I trusted you and studied it during my free ti,"
"That's a lie. I just said that to get rid of unsold inventory."
"Pardon?"
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Oliver had been scamd, but sohow he managed to get past it and took the code language test.
The test had been written by two great wizards, rlin and Kevin, and Oliver had left the room to be graded.
"Bonza! With this level, he can bloody join the Moirai School and start workin'," rlin exclaid.
“Can you show it to ?” Kevin Dunbara asked in his usual stiff attitude.
rlin handed him the test paper, and Kevin read it in silence. "Is this self-taught?" he finally asked.
“As far as I know, he's tellin' the truth. He could be pullin' a fast one on us, but I don’t think so for so reason.”
Kevin looked at the door that Oliver had left through and nodded. The bizarre Warlock didn't seem likely to lie easily. The evidence for that was he admitted it as soon as he asked about his identity earlier.
"Nevertheless, I don't comprehend. Just because code language can be self-taught doesn't an it's accessible to everyone,"
Kevin's words were not sarcasm, but the truth. Although the book contained everything, it was difficult to follow the viciousness of the code language.
Code language, which could interpret all languages as one, had a difficulty level similar to learning a new language every ti the number of words increased, the sentence beca longer, the rules and arrangent of characters changed, and even the interpretation of words changed whenever the level increased.
It was like the world tree doesn't want people to approach it.
"I agree with ya. That's why ya need professional trainin' to use code language properly. Though, there is a folk who self-learned it." rlin said, pointing to the test paper held by Kevin.
Kevin checked the test paper again. There were no mistakes even when he looked at it again. There were even trap questions deliberately made to be wrong.
"What's the identity of that guy?"
"Figurin' it out's on ya though, mate."
“What?”
Kevin was dumbfounded by the unexpected answer. His ntor, rlin, was the current owner of an Archive, which only the greatest wizard could inherit. He was the one who inherited the knowledge, experience, research, and magic of nurous great wizards. Despite this, he answered with a response of not knowing. It seed like a silly wordplay, but rlin's attitude in this was quite serious.
"I used to teach him one-on-one, but I changed my thinkin'. If ya stare into the abyss too long, it'll swallow ya whole. So I just observe him from the sidelines now."
"I'm a bit lost on what you're trying to convey,"
"Ya may not fully reckon it, but ya get it a bit, yeah? ‘Cause takin' on such an offer with ya character's the best proof,"
"I only followed my master's orders. If I refused, he could have barred my access to the Magic tower,"
"Heh… What are you talking about, mate? I have no such power."
"What power do you lack? You united the independent schools of Mjolnir, Agni, Gaia, and others to create the School of Elental Magic. Although you've retired, you're still the current Grandmaster of the school, correct? I apologize, but your current actions co across as not humility, but rather arrogance and deceit," Kevin pointed out
rlin's expression twitched slightly, as if a thorn was stuck in his finger. "It bloody hurts, mate." he said.
Kevin seed to want to say more, but deliberately changed the direction of the conversation.
"Of course, I won't deny my curiosity. Especially since you're not soone who typically acts in this manner. So please, enlighten . Specifically, what aspect are you attempting to observe by keeping him around?"
Kevin asked a serious question, and although rlin should have responded appropriately, he lowered his head.
"…I dunno, honestly."
"What?"
“Even I, the bloody archmage, said I didn't know. So that ans I have no clue what he's really. Actually, scratch that. I have a gut feeling, but I can't bloody believe it…That's why I'm going to look into it." rlin answered, recalling the emotion he received from Oliver in the past. "Sothing bloody inexplicable."
(To be Continued)
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