Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 45
As the awards ceremony was nearing its conclusion, Kaylen smiled.
"Finally, I've brought Glacia's mana completely under control."
Glacia's mana of water and light.
Its overwhelming quantity had kept Kaylen from fully absorbing it even a day after the initial process began.
Since the balance of the six swords had already been disrupted, it was essential to completely consume the light and water mana responsible for the imbalance.
It was only during the awards ceremony that he managed to stabilize it fully.
"…With this, the awards ceremony concludes."
As the ceremony ended, people began gathering at the podium.
"Princess Violet, congratulations on ascending to Supreme Mage."
"Thank you."
Princess Violet, who briefly glanced at him, was too preoccupied with greeting the numerous dignitaries flocking to her.
"Master, what brings you here? Just for a Superior Mage awards ceremony?"
"I didn't come to see you, Lionus."
Lionus was conversing with an elderly mage clad in crimson robes.
The two brightest figures at the ceremony were naturally surrounded by the most people.
"Kaylen, congratulations on becoming a Superior Mage."
Yet, the crowd around Kaylen was no less significant.
Led by the elf Irene, countless people approached where Kaylen stood.
Middle-aged and senior mages in elaborate robes followed in their wake.
As they passed, the crowd quickly made way for them.
"Lady Irene, thank you. But who are the ones behind you…?"
Irene glanced back and sighed softly.
"They're the Tower Lords of Glacier, Frost, Submersion, and Torrential Currents. As their names suggest, all are masters of water-affiliated towers."
The water-affiliated Tower Lords Irene introduced totaled four.
Each of their gazes gleamed with the hues of water.
"My apologies for this sudden visit. May I speak freely?"
"Of course, please do."
"I'll be direct. We're interested in you. And it's not just us."
The Tower Lord of Glacier glanced behind him.
Numerous mages were watching their conversation intently, waiting in anticipation.
Among them, Kaylen recognized a few familiar faces—scouts he had encountered before.
"Lady Irene mentioned sensing the essence of water within you, but as you can see, towers of other affinities still have their eyes on you."
The Tower Lord of Glacier then pulled something from his robe.
It appeared to be a small gem at first glance.
"…Open."
At his command, the gem transformed into a large mirror.
"I hear you haven't taken the Meister test yet."
"That's correct."
"But if you wait until the Meister test, the four elemental towers will besiege you from all sides. Even though the water spirit Undine has validated you, towers of other affinities are still targeting you. Spending a month like that will undoubtedly be exhausting, don't you think?"
"That may be true, but…"
"So why not conduct a simplified test right now? This mirror is called the 'Mirror of Measurement,' a tool for identifying mana attributes."
Step. Step.
The Tower Lord of Glacier stepped back slightly and raised his hand.
Swish.
Cold energy spread across the floor, and in an instant, a platform of ice formed.
The Tower Lord of Glacier placed the mirror on top of it and continued speaking.
"Fire an arrow spell of each of the four elements at this mirror. It will automatically measure the results."
As the Tower Lord of Glacier proposed the simplified Meister test, every gaze in the hall turned toward them.
"The Mirror of Measurement... That’s an incredibly expensive magical item. They’re using it on him?"
"Expensive? Compared to the presence of the Tower Lord himself, a mere mirror hardly matters. Testing here to settle it decisively is the right call."
"Good for us. Since the Tower Lord of Glacier suggested the test, we’ll get the data for free."
Kaylen silently stared at the mirror.
"This is a great opportunity."
He had expected to be harassed endlessly by scouts with no excuse to avoid them anymore. But now, by revealing his attributes here, he could eliminate at least three of the four elemental affinities.
"Fire Arrow."
The first spell Kaylen summoned was Fire Arrow.
It was closer in scale to a third-circle Fireball than a simple Fire Arrow.
"That’s supposed to be Fire Arrow…?"
"Why is it so massive?"
Amid the spectators' murmurs, the Fire Arrow struck the Mirror of Measurement directly.
Hisssss.
The fiery arrow collided with the glass, and the flames were absorbed into the mirror.
Soon, the mirror turned pitch black, and glowing red numbers appeared on its surface.
[102]
"One hundred... over one hundred points?"
"Over one hundred points—doesn’t that indicate the highest-level Meister potential?"
"Is this Mirror of Measurement different from the usual ones?"
"No, it’s the same. It’s identical to the standard Meister measurement devices."
"Then... could he actually be a fire Meister?"
Potential for the highest-level Meister.
It signified the ability to ascend to the pinnacle of the Meister’s path, the fifth circle.
A score exceeding 100 was so rare that only one or two such Meisters appeared every decade.
Could it be that Kaylen was a fire prodigy?
The Tower Lord of Glacier looked visibly unsettled.
If that were true, wasn’t this just helping a competitor by revealing such talent?
But then…
"Wind Arrow."
"Earth Arrow."
When Kaylen cast wind and earth spells, the onlookers' eyes widened in disbelief.
[102]
[102]
Both elements produced the same score.
"Is that… even possible?"
"All three elements with the highest Meister potential...?"
A talent that might appear once in ten years.
Yet Kaylen displayed that potential in three different elemental affinities.
Kaylen's talent was so extraordinary that even the observing mages felt a sense of despair.
"With scores like those, he could join any magic tower."
"Absolutely. At 102 points... even mid-tier towers would clamor for him."
"Wow. I barely scored in the 70s. This world really is unfair."
As Kaylen’s scores for three elemental attributes exceeded 100, the Tower Lord of Glacier addressed him with a hardened expression.
"You there, do you not use water-element magic?"
Originally, the plan was to showcase that his affinity for water, vouched for by Undine, far surpassed his other elemental affinities.
However, it felt as though the only thing he had achieved was to draw in more competitors.
Upon hearing of his water affinity, even the Tower Lords of other elemental magic who had remained passive began to gather at this location one by one.
‘With a score of 102, it’s understandable.’
Among the 16 Tower Lords present, many had approached scores near 100, but not a single one had reached 102.
Kaylen noticed the stiff expression on the Tower Lord of Glacier’s face and smiled faintly.
"How high can the mirror measure?"
"It is said to measure up to 120 points. Beyond that, it cannot provide a reading."
"I see."
Kaylen extended his hand.
"Ice Arrow."
Unlike the arrow spells he had cast so far, this time, it was a small, unassuming ice arrow.
The spectators, seeing its size, showed signs of disappointment.
"So, he does have an affinity for water, but..."
"The size is really underwhelming, isn’t it?"
But such dismissive reactions came only from the spectators.
The Tower Lords of water magic, including the Tower Lord of Glacier, could not hide their shock when they saw the Ice Arrow.
‘This can’t be… Is this even possible?’
Whoosh.
The Ice Arrow slowly flew toward the mirror and struck it.
Most assumed that due to its small size, the score this time would be significantly lower.
When the expected reaction didn’t happen, confusion spread among the crowd.
"It’s not being absorbed…"
"Is that even possible?"
Although the mirror had turned black, the Ice Arrow was not absorbed and maintained its form.
As the unmelting ice arrow remained before the blackened mirror, the score began to display.
The number climbed steeply until it stopped at [124].
Suddenly, the mirror began to freeze over entirely.
Crack!
Unable to absorb the arrow, the Mirror of Measurement was pierced instead.
The shattered pieces of the mirror scattered across the ground, with one fragment displaying the final score: [129].
The Tower Lord of Glacier, his hand trembling, picked up the shard.
Looking at the overwhelming water mana emanating from the fragment, he instinctively understood.
‘This score… It could have gone even higher.’
The limit of the mirror had capped it at 129.
"One hundred and twenty-nine..."
"A... a sixth-circle aptitude."
"We must conduct a proper test. The Mirror of Measurement is insufficient to evaluate him!"
The previously composed Tower Lords were now in a frenzy.
"Wow…"
"One hundred and twenty-nine? Is that even possible?"
"A sixth-circle mage's aptitude truly exists...?"
"At this point, no one else will dare interfere."
The gathered mages were left utterly stunned.
Seeing the 102-point score, the Tower Lords of other elements, who had been gearing up to join the recruitment war, paused in their tracks.
“129. Ha! It’s hard to believe.”
“Even Princess Violet only scored 110, didn’t she?”
“Indeed. At this point, we can’t hope to make a move. The Water Towers will go to any lengths—even dismantling their pillars—to recruit him.”
“Such a shame... 102 points is already a once-in-a-decade phenomenon, but…”
“That score? It’s a once-in-a-century occurrence.”
“Regrettable, but we have no choice but to give up.”
“Exactly. His water affinity is so overwhelming that even if we managed to bring him in, we wouldn’t be able to use him effectively.”
Despite their regret, they relinquished their efforts to recruit Kaylen.
And for good reason.
In the history of magic reform under the Meister system, the aptitude for the sixth circle had only been recorded a handful of times.
Meisters, who focused solely on one elemental magic rather than wielding multiple elements like ordinary mages, had a unique ability:
they could reload their mana circles, amplifying the strength of their elemental magic further.
For a Water Meister, this meant overlaying the power of water magic twice through reloading.
As a result, Meisters could cast their specialized elemental magic at far greater potency compared to ordinary mages.
However, Meisters could not surpass the fifth circle.
This limitation was due to the fact that their mana circles capped at five.
Yet among these Meisters, an extremely rare, chosen few could transcend this limit.
Individuals who scored over 125 points in their elemental aptitude—colloquially referred to as possessing the "aptitude for the sixth circle"—could break past the Meister’s constraints.
Aptitude for the sixth circle was so rare it was said to emerge once a century, if even that.
In fact, there hadn’t been a confirmed case in over 200 years, leading most to dismiss it as a mere myth.
Today, that myth had become reality.
‘It turned out to be stronger than I thought.’
Kaylen was also inwardly surprised by the results.
He had expected his water magic to improve after absorbing the mana of Glacia, but he hadn’t anticipated shattering the Mirror of Measurement.
With the highest-grade water mana now housed within his mana body, the power of his magic far exceeded even his own expectations.
‘The other elemental Towers might lose interest, but the Water Towers… they’re going to be a serious headache.’
The gazes from the Water Tower Lords were anything but ordinary.
They looked as if they would tear down their towers brick by brick if that’s what it took to recruit him.
Kaylen spoke calmly, breaking the charged atmosphere.
“This result was unexpected, even for me. I must admit, I’m quite flustered.”
He continued, his tone measured.
“This gathering seems to have grown a bit too heated. I’d like to consult with my senior Meisters privately. Would that be acceptable?”
“…Indeed.”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss this further here.”
The Water Tower Lords exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement.
“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll make time for you.”
“To meet someone like you, we’re prepared to wait as long as necessary.”
Despite their demanding responsibilities, the Tower Lords appeared willing to linger at the academy for months if that’s what it took to speak with Kaylen.
“How could I possibly keep the Tower Lords waiting? I’ll arrange to meet you starting tomorrow.”
The next day, Kaylen stood in front of his newly assigned research lab at the Magic Academy.
The nameplate on the door read Kaylen.
This was one of the privileges granted to a Superior Mage—his own research space.
“Kaylen, you’ve stirred up quite the commotion,” Myorn remarked as she stepped into his research lab.
“But weren’t you originally without a unique affinity?”
“It seems something changed after I collapsed in front of the princess.”
“Unbelievable... as expected of a monst—no, a prodigy.”
She caught herself mid-sentence, almost calling him a Sword Master, but quickly pivoted when she noticed Irene following close behind.
“So, what’s your plan now? Will you continue your activities with the Exorcist Division?”
“Of course.”
“You do realize you could become the next Tower Lord?”
“Well, they might offer that title to recruit me, but do you really think they’d follow through?”
“No. What’s most important to any Tower is having an exceptional Meister. A great Meister can revolutionize mana suits.”
High-ranking mana suits, B-grade and above, especially those capable of elemental embodiment, varied significantly in performance based on the Meister’s aptitude.
“Small and medium Towers can’t develop A-grade mana suits, which is why they remain minor. If they could recruit you, they’d have a real shot at ascending to major status. A successor title would be a small price to pay.”
“Moreover,” Irene added, reinforcing Myorn’s point, “with your abilities, the level of dungeons you could clear would rise significantly. For a Tower, a single outstanding Meister is worth more than a hundred average ones.”
Having said her piece, Irene settled gracefully on the sofa across from Kaylen.
“Kaylen.”
“Yes?”
“Would you consider joining our Tower?”
“You mean the Tower of Fairies?”
“Yes. We specialize in both water and wind elements, but don’t mistake that for a lack of expertise. Each element is developed to a level comparable to other major Towers.”
The Tower of Fairies, founded by elves, focused on both water and wind magic. Despite spanning two elements, its power and influence rivaled major elemental Towers.
“We have multiple A-grade mana suits nearing S-grade quality,” Irene continued. “If you join us, we’d be happy to lend you an A-grade water mana suit.”
“Hm...”
“If you decide to settle in completely, we’ll even promise you the position of the next leader.”
While the offer of an A-grade mana suit was tempting, the position of future Tower leader held no appeal to Kaylen.
Sensing his indifference, Irene pressed on with a calm smile.
“And... you’re free to come and go as you please. Unlike other Towers, we don’t enforce engraving.”
“...You mean I could leave the Tower anytime?”
“Yes. We would respect your decisions completely.”
“...That’s quite a generous offer.”
The freedom to leave whenever he wished was an unexpected condition, and it certainly piqued Kaylen’s interest.
Irene smiled brightly, her expression full of confidence.
“Even if you listen to offers from elsewhere, you won’t find terms as favorable as ours.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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