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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 61: The City of Dreamers (1)
Unsurprisingly, the next agenda item was about the largest and most prominent department in the White Tower.
Lena White began her explanation, presenting data on sales and revenue for each city.
“...The total revenue for the potion department this month is 37 million Bels. Of that, treatments and vaccines for the Cadena Flu account for only 11%, and it is projected to drop into single digits starting next month.”
A collective sigh of relief swept through the conference room.
If the White Tower had failed to establish a foothold in the potion market, this month would have marked the end of their income stream.
“Make sure the formulas for Cadena Flu-related medicines are properly documented and stored. We need to be prepared for any future outbreaks.”
“Understood.”
“Are there any other issues?”
“...There’s been a flood of requests for additional mages to be assigned to potion manufacturing.”
“Hmm.”
Ordinarily, such requests could be resolved by reassigning idle mages to the department.
But in the struggling White Tower, there were no idle mages lounging around.
All mages of Level 4 and above were already assigned to various departments.
In other words, there were no available mages who could immediately be deployed.
“Can’t we resolve this by recruiting a large number of graduates from the Academy early next year?”
“Most Academy graduates are Level 3. To deploy them to any department, they need to be at least Level 4, so we’d have to wait at least one or two years. It’s hard to consider them ready-for-action resources.”
Her point was valid.
The potion department urgently needed Level 4 or higher mages.
Moreover, the White Tower was struggling to recruit high-quality mages, a problem worsening with each passing year.
The stigma of being a "fallen magic tower" was hard to shake.
“True. There should be some kind of merit to joining the White Tower, but right now, there isn’t.”
“Exactly. Just a few years ago, the prestige of being one of the ‘Four Great Magic Towers’ attracted many talented individuals…”
But as word spread about the tower’s hollow core, talented mages stopped coming.
The delivery department, too, was a significant reason many avoided the White Tower.
Instead of focusing on magic research, they were often sent out to make deliveries.
“...Level 4 mages who are ready for immediate deployment. Let’s brainstorm solutions for this.”
The Deputy Tower Master gave Lena White a nod before turning his attention to the delivery department.
“How is the delivery department faring these days?”
“Don’t even get me started.”
Level 6 mage Pedro X shook his head in dismay.
“We’re reaching our limit in placating the mages. They keep asking when their assignments will be changed.”
“The same issue there? This is getting serious.”
As Fidelina furrowed her elegant brows, Maxim tilted his head curiously.
“Wasn’t the delivery department usually quiet? Why the sudden uproar?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because of the potion department,”
Fidelina replied with a pout.
Until recently, the delivery department mages hadn’t caused much trouble.
The reason for their recent discontent was simple.
“Delivering goods or letters isn’t exactly easy. It’s physically and mentally taxing. Previously, Level 4 mages took turns handling deliveries… but since the potion department emerged, the roles became fixed.”
“Why not rotate mages between the potion and delivery departments regularly?”
“That was the original plan.”
The problem was that the potion department had grown explosively in a short period.
The potion department was now generating over 30 million Bels in monthly revenue.
This meant an ever-growing demand for potion production.
“The potion market is extremely sensitive to quality. It’s literally a matter of life and death.”
Reassigning skilled potion-making mages to delivery duties and entrusting potion-making to novices?
Unthinkable.
It would shatter the White Tower’s potion market share in no time.
“Of course, Oscar’s excellent work played a big role, but the timing of our market entry was also perfect. We can’t afford to squander this golden opportunity.”
At the same time, it wasn’t feasible to force indefinite sacrifices on the delivery department mages.
After all, they didn’t join the White Tower to spend their lives making deliveries.
“Sigh.”
“Haa.”
Faced with a problem that seemed unsolvable, the room was filled with sighs.
Clap, clap!
The Deputy Tower Master clapped his hands, breaking the gloomy atmosphere.
“We’ll think further on the positions of both the potion and delivery departments and come up with a solution that satisfies everyone. Also, let’s consider what merits the White Tower can offer to attract new mages.”
“Merits, huh…”
The short-term goal of Academy graduates was clear: growth.
Specifically, becoming a Level 4 intermediate mage.
But that wasn’t something achievable through a curriculum alone.
As everyone pondered, Maxim broke the silence.
“Now that December is ending… that day is approaching, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
Everyone seemed to share the same thought, their expressions firm with determination.
Maxim turned to the head of the delivery department.
“Has the El Terra Church made their usual request this year?”
“Yes, they’ve offered an increased payment of 5 million Bels compared to last year.”
Even with the potion department’s success, 5 million Bels was no small sum.
That amount was their fee for a single day of work.
Pedro X, the delivery department head, spoke solemnly.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
December 25 was one of the Church’s commemorative days: Christmas.
On that day, White Tower couriers donned red robes and delivered gifts to good children.
“Oh, and the Vince Territory made a special request this year.”
A special request from Vince Territory?
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Though the details weren’t fully disclosed, everyone seemed to have a hunch.
“Is it a request for Oscar?”
“Yes. They said they wanted to express their gratitude for his efforts during the Cadena Flu crisis.”
“It’ll be a good experience for him. What do you think, Deputy Tower Master?”
After some thought, he nodded.
“There doesn’t seem to be any danger, so it should be fine. Let’s work closely with the El Terra Church to ensure this year’s Christmas goes smoothly. What’s the next agenda item?”
Fidelina cautiously opened her mouth.
“Other magic towers are starting to see Level 4 graduates among this year’s Academy class.”
“Hmm.”
This wasn’t something the Deputy Tower Master and elders could ignore.
But when it came to growth, they refrained from exerting pressure.
Because this was the White Tower.
‘We still don’t even have a proper curriculum or textbook for beginner mages…’
The Deputy Tower Master and the elders were in positions where they couldn’t ignore such matters.
However, they had always tried not to show any signs of interference regarding growth.
Because this was the White Tower.
Over the past decade or so, they had made continuous efforts, but the results were lackluster, and attempts kept being abandoned.
This year, Oscar’s “Reinterpretation of Basic Magic” had been an unprecedented hit, but whether he would take on the same lecture again next year was uncertain.
The Deputy Tower Master let out a deep sigh.
"How is this year’s class at our magic tower faring?"
"The most skilled one is Damian Proud, but even he is still at level 3. From what I see, his mana circuits have not yet fully stabilized."
Maxim's answer was followed by Fidelina.
"Even so, with Oscar personally taking charge of their education, isn’t there a chance a few of them might reach level 4 by the end of the training camp?"
"Of course, we know that guy has a natural talent for teaching others…"
Maxim shook his head skeptically.
"It’s about turning novice mages into intermediate ones. If it were as easy as churning out bread from a factory, the White Tower wouldn’t have struggled every year to recruit mages."
"…That’s true. Now that you mention it, hasn’t it already been three weeks since the training camp started?"
Three weeks.
In truth, there had never been a training camp conducted for so long within the magic tower rather than outside of it.
"What on earth are they doing at the campus?"
"No idea. How could we possibly know what’s going on in that guy’s head?"
That afternoon, as everyone’s curiosity grew, the protagonists of the rumors emerged from the 36th floor, completing their training camp.
* * *
Their posture was different.
It was a phrase often used to express awe toward knights who displayed skills far superior to their peers.
So, what would be the equivalent phrase for mages?
The answer was: “Their gaze is different.”
"…Hmm?"
Maxim and Fidelina, who had just stepped off the mana elevator to visit the Deputy Tower Master’s office, were startled.
The hallway was crowded with Oscar and the level-3 novice mages who had been training on the 36th floor.
‘So, they’re still just novices.’
‘Look at how quickly they showed up after we mentioned them during the meeting. How cute.’
Seeing the budding talents who would shoulder the future of the magic tower, the two elders couldn’t help but smile faintly.
But only for a moment—Maxim tilted his head as he noticed the leading mage.
‘Wait a moment, Damian’s gaze… has deepened?’
After a brief observation, he broke into a wide smile and offered his congratulations.
"Damian Proud, what an impressive achievement! Congratulations on becoming an intermediate mage."
"Thank you, Elder."
"And… huh?"
But the moment he turned to look at the child next to Damian, his head tilted again.
‘Benjamin Scott, this child’s gaze… has also deepened?’
Could this really be happening?
Smiling even more brightly, he grabbed Benjamin’s hands with both of his own.
"Well done! You’ve done so well! To think you, too, have become an intermediate mage!"
"Thank you. It’s all thanks to Instructor Oscar’s excellent teaching."
"Instructor?"
Not senior?
Before Maxim could voice that question, Fidelina suddenly let out a scream from behind.
"Eek!"
"What is it?"
"You, you… can’t you see the state the kids are in?"
"Of course I can. Especially Damian and Benjamin…"
It was only then, after glancing at the other children, that Maxim’s face grew increasingly rigid.
‘Cale, Sylvia, Tofre… even Amy?’
Every single one of them.
Not a single child was an exception.
All their gazes had deepened.
Just as he was struggling to make sense of this unbelievable situation, the door to the Deputy Tower Master’s office opened, and Hamel Grimwiz stepped out.
"Why is the hallway so noisy… No, why is everyone gathered here?"
"Greetings, Deputy Tower Master."
Oscar opened his mouth, followed by a chorus of 32 voices.
"Greetings, Deputy Tower Master!"
"…"
It felt a bit like looking at the mages of the Red Tower, who were known for their military-like discipline.
He had brought them to a training camp and turned them into soldiers.
With a slightly perplexed expression, the Deputy Tower Master listened as Oscar, both lecturer and training instructor, made his report.
"All 32 participants of the Reinterpretation of Basic Magic course have successfully advanced to level 4 and returned from the training camp."
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