[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 34
"Compensation?"
"Yes. This is an experint conducted by the Fairy Tower. We can provide anything you desire."
"Ha! Since when is that allowed? Trying to bribe soone with money?"
"Myorn, didn’t you do the sa thing before?"
At Irene's offer of compensation, Kaylen fell into thought.
‘Raising the rank of the Civil Squad is the current priority.’
To do so, the mana suit was essential. After all, the ultimate goal of taking the ister exam was also to obtain a mana suit.
‘The Florence family promised to lend one if I beca a ister. But using a borrowed suit for registration with the Civil Squad won’t work. Hmm… a loan?’
Participating in the experint wouldn’t grant him a mana suit outright.
But borrowing one?
That might be possible.
"Then, could I borrow a mana suit?"
"…Borrow a mana suit?"
"I just need it for registration with the Civil Squad. I won’t actually use it."
"Wait, hold on. What kind of student is registering with the Civil Squad…?"
"It’s only for a day. You can even accompany during the process."
Irene tilted her head. Sothing about his wording felt off.
It wasn’t as if he was joining an existing squad—it felt like he was creating one.
‘Who exactly is this person?’
A one-day loan wasn’t impossible. Irene wielded considerable authority within the Fairy Tower.
However, the process would be complicated.
"Borrowing a mana suit is possible. But… for that, I would need to present sufficient justification to the tower."
"Kaylen, I’ll lend you one. I’ve made plenty myself."
"Are you referring to a suit handmade by you, Myorn?"
"Yes."
"Apologies, but it won’t be recognized."
"What? Why?"
"Because they don’t consider it to have enough destructive power to qualify as a mana suit."
"Ugh."
At Kaylen’s firm response, Myorn’s fur drooped dejectedly.
Seeing this, Irene chuckled softly and continued,
"If you participate in the experint and produce significant results, I will make a formal request to the tower on your behalf."
"Hmm…"
"A mana suit that Myorn cannot provide, of course."
If he needed a mana suit, there was no way Kaylen could refuse this offer.
The thought of it being used for Civil Squad registration was slightly concerning, but the Fairy Tower had spare mana suits available.
If Kaylen could deliver aningful results, a one-day loan would be a reasonable trade.
‘Both are tempting.’
The elf's experint didn’t pique his interest much, but the chance to borrow a mana suit was appealing.
anwhile, Myorn’s experint genuinely intrigued him.
Kaylen spoke directly to Irene.
"Would it be alright if I showed you aningful results right now?"
"Right now?"
"Yes, there's no need to drag this out."
At Kaylen's words, Irene hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Alright. It’s difficult to demonstrate here. Let’s move outside."
"I’m coming too," Myorn chid in.
"Fine. You’re also part of our Fairy Tower, so co along."
The group moved to a magical training ground prepared within the Fairy Tower's branch.
Irene summoned a mid-tier water spirit.
"Undine."
Droplets of water shimred in midair, coalescing gradually into a form.
The spirit took the shape of a young girl whose face closely resembled Irene's.
‘She’s skilled.’
The caliber of a spirit summoner is often asured by how much the summoned spirit’s appearance resembles the summoner.
In Irene’s case, her Undine was nearly identical to her, indicating she was capable of summoning a high-tier spirit at any ti.
"We’ve been researching the summoning of high-tier spirits for a long ti," Irene began, gently stroking Undine.
"We’ve tried countless thods, but all have ended in failure. At first, we thought the atmospheric mana was insufficient, so we experinted with mana stones. However, the stagnated mana within them only caused severe harm to elves."
Their efforts spanned a wide range of approaches:
- Research involving mana stones.
- Collaborative studies with dwarves and other races.
- Experints conducted by isters.
All of these attempts ended in failure.
It was only when they were on the verge of giving up, believing it impossible in this era, that they stumbled upon sothing remarkable.
"That’s when we discovered the writings of the great High Elf."
"Writings?"
"Yes. The records left by the High Elf who sacrificed their own body to sustain the World Tree."
"The High Elf who offered their body to the World Tree…?"
Kaylen frowned. This story sounded oddly familiar.
‘Wait… could it be…?’
"The records left behind by High Elf Deluna described the thod for summoning a supre-tier spirit."
At the ntion of Deluna, Kaylen’s expression stiffened, his emotions clashing within.
‘Her records… of all things.’
High Elf Deluna.
The fifth wife of Ernstine. A woman who had left the imperial palace one day, leaving behind only her daughter.
Her na—a na Ernstine had struggled to forget—was now being spoken by an elf 1,000 years later.
"The records indicated that to summon a supre-tier spirit, we would need to transcend our own limits."
"The inherent limits of elven attributes, confined to water and wind?"
"Uh… yes."
"Water must combine with its opposing elent, fire, and wind must connect with earth."
"How… how do you know that?"
"Through such processes, one transcends racial attributes and achieves a deeper understanding. But to do so requires… soone special."
Kaylen spoke rapidly, his words spilling forth.
"If opposites were to combine, a ister or a Dwarf Queen might suffice, but neither approach worked, did it?"
"No… it didn’t."
"Exactly. In the end, what’s needed is soone who isn’t bound by elental attributes—a Sword Master or a high-ranking mage of equivalent caliber."
"Wait… how do you know this?"
Irene asked with a blank expression, "How do you seem to know all of this without even saying anything?"
Kaylen replied with a stern expression, "There’s a way to know."
After all, the reason High Elf Deluna had sought him out in the past was exactly this. Together, they had researched and debated thods for summoning supre-tier spirits, and through those long discussions, they had grown close. Eventually, Deluna beca his fifth wife.
"But you seem to know an awful lot," Irene pressed.
"Do you think the records were left solely for the elves?"
"Don’t tell … those records exist on the human side as well?"
Irene looked confused. Records from 1,000 years ago? Could they really have been preserved outside of elven hands?
"I’ll provide a small demonstration, Irene."
Kaylen spread his palms and began casting spells.
"Electric Shock."
"Dark Swamp."
From one hand, he conjured a 2-circle lightning spell imbued with both light and fire attributes.
From the other, a 3-circle swamp spell blended with darkness and earth attributes.
Electric currents crackled in his left hand, while the ground beneath Irene’s feet darkened and transford into a swamp.
"I’ll apply a light stimulus. Use your water spirit to endure it."
The combined attribute magic lightly pressed against Irene.
"U-Undine, protect !"
Undine transford into a shimring blue water barrier, blocking Kaylen's magic.
The water barrier clashed with the combined-attribute spells. Up to this point, what Kaylen demonstrated could have been perford by any 2-circle or 3-circle mage. They were not particularly rare.
‘But provoking Undine—that's sothing only I can do.’
Kaylen stepped closer to the thick water barrier. Holding out his electrically charged left hand, he subtly infused his fingertips with aura.
The aura was released so discreetly that even soone observing closely wouldn’t notice.
There was a reason for this precision.
‘To push an elf beyond their natural limits requires stimulation from soone at the level of a Sword Master or a 6-circle mage.’
Deluna’s ultimate goal had been the summoning of a supre-tier spirit.
To achieve this, she had concluded that soone of high caliber had to provide subtle yet precise stimuli.
Breaking past the inherent limits of the elven race was no easy task.
Using a faintly raised Sword Aura, Kaylen tapped the water barrier with his charged hand.
Tap. Tap.
"Ah… ah…?" Irene murmured in surprise.
"How does it feel?" Kaylen asked.
"This… this feels just like…" Irene trailed off, her expression shifting.
The sensation was unusual—unpleasant but refreshing, heavy but light at the sa ti. It was a combination of conflicting feelings that rarely occurred together.
She exclaid, "This is just like…"
Kaylen nodded knowingly.
It was the thod described in Deluna’s records, a stimulus designed to enhance the understanding of attributes.
The sensation Irene experienced was exactly as Deluna had written about.
Even when the elves had enlisted human mages and isters, they had never felt anything like this.
As Irene's amazent glimred,
Whoosh.
Kaylen withdrew his hand.
"Does this suffice as proof?" he asked.
"A-ah…" Irene let out a sigh of regret. She had just begun to feel the sensation described in the records, and now it was over?
"Irene, what we need to do here isn't research," Kaylen stated firmly.
"Th-then what is it?" she asked.
"A transaction."
"A transaction…?"
"Research is about exploring the unknown. But I already know. I can stimulate you as described in the records."
Kaylen’s words were undeniable. He had demonstrated that he could evoke the precise stimuli described in the High Elf's writings. In this situation, it was Irene who would need to learn from him.
"Then, how about a mana suit rental—"
"No, I don’t think this is sothing that can be settled with a one-day rental."
"Then… what do you want?"
"A mana suit. Permanently."
"What?!" Irene exclaid.
"In exchange, I’ll make you an advanced spirit summoner," Kaylen offered.
Irene’s eyes wavered. A mana suit… others would have dismissed such a request as ridiculous, rejecting it outright. But…
'An advanced spirit summoner…'
Since the dungeon catastrophe, there had been no advanced spirit summoners. If that lost art could be restored… its value would be imasurable, worth far more than the cost of a mana suit.
'If this works, I’ll beco the first in this kingdom.'
As one of the leaders of the Fairy Tower, Irene had the authority to allocate a mana suit, even if it stretched her resources.
She swallowed hard, then nodded.
"Alright. But becoming an advanced spirit summoner cos first. I can’t give you the mana suit in advance—the tower wouldn’t approve."
"Agreed. But until then, a temporary rental is possible, isn’t it?"
"…Yes, that’s fine."
Originally, the mana suit was supposed to be offered as compensation for participating in the experint. However, as the situation shifted from research to negotiation, the rental beca more of a down paynt.
"Great. Then it’s settled—I’ll make a deal with you, Irene, and conduct research with Myorn."
"Yay!" Myorn cheered.
"Understood…" Irene replied, still hesitant.
Kaylen had maneuvered so that he didn’t need to choose between the two opportunities. Instead, he positioned himself to reap the benefits from both. Seizing any opportunity had been a hallmark of his character since his days as emperor.
"Once the tournant is over, I’ll need the rental prepared," Kaylen requested.
"Of course. The tournant is nearly finished, so I’ll get everything ready," Irene replied.
The Superior Mage Selection Tournant had already reached the quarterfinals. Only the semifinals and finals remained, a re two days. Irene knew she needed to act swiftly.
"Good luck with the rest of the tournant, Kaylen."
"Thank you."
"And Kaylen, let’s start the research right after the tournant. I’ll be ready!" Myorn added excitedly.
"Of course."
After parting ways with the two professors, Kaylen walked away.
At that ti, he had little interest in the semifinals.
‘Becoming a Superior Mage is enough. Advancing further has no real aning.’
Having already faced mages equipped with mana suits, he wasn’t particularly motivated to climb higher in the tournant and had even considered forfeiting.
But when the semifinals ca the next day, his perspective began to change.
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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