Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 160 (Part 1)

The selfish nature of the Bison Tower Lord was well-known. So much so that even within the Herias Magic Tower, let alone other towers, people talked about it.

Francis, the Lord of his own tower, had long-standing ties with him, so he simply let it slide. He had no desire to nitpick and raise his voice over every little thing.

But even Francis had moments when his temper flared. It wasn’t once or twice that he’d thought, ‘If only he were younger… If only his position were lower…’

“What? Even you are persecuting me now?”

“Do you think I don’t see through your intentions, Bison Tower Lord? You tried to pressure with force and fear, and then planned to act as if you were showing mercy just to devour that one whole, didn’t you?”

Francis Tower Lord pointed at the corpse of the giant wyvern. It was clear he meant that the Bison Lord had created an atmosphere of fear just to claim that.

“What?”

“If not, then say so. If you truly had no such intention, then we from Landes Magic Tower will purchase that creature.”

“I did. So what? This world is ruled by the law of the jungle—it’s only natural that the strong take everything.”

“Do you truly believe that? That the strong should have it all? That order and norms of the world can be ignored and that everything can be done with brute force?!”

The voices of Francis and Bison Tower Lord rose sharply.

Just as it seemed a fight might break out, Rodin’s gaze shifted elsewhere—to the Aram River, the exact opposite direction from where the two Tower Lords had arrived.

‘Is this some kind of Grand Mage gathering spot?’

The figure gliding leisurely over the river was also a mage of the seventh circle. If they weren’t from Slavon, then that meant all four of the continent’s known Grand Mages were now assembled.

“Bison Tower Lord. Stop insisting on nonsense. This is—hmm?”

“Hoh.”

Only belatedly did Francis and Bison Tower Lord notice the approaching figure. Their gazes simultaneously fixed on the river.

Moments later, an old woman with white hair appeared. Her back was hunched, and deep wrinkles marked her face.

‘Good, not from Slavon.’

On the chest of her sky-blue robe was a red ruby emblem—symbol of the Chronoa Magic Tower, one of the four great towers.

“What brings an old hag like you here?”

“You’re still as rude as ever, I see.”

“We’re both growing old—no need to act all proper. So, what’s going on here?”

“Tsk, tsk. You speak like that, but if someone even a year younger talks back, you blow up in anger. If you live like that, you’ll die alone on the road someday.”

The old woman, who had the Bison Tower Lord beat in age, turned her gaze to Rodin. Rodin bowed his head lightly.

“This junior greets senior. My name is Rodin.”

“Oh-ho, a young voice. Perhaps you’re the youngest Grand Mage in the history of magic. Nice to meet you. I am Tamia of the Chronoa Magic Tower.”

The Tower Lord of Chronoa, Tamia, was the oldest among the known Grand Mages—an incredible 102 years old. She had lived more than twenty years longer than Francis, who was 74, and Bison, who was 81.

Moreover, since the Demon King crisis, she was only the third woman in over a thousand years to reach the seventh circle.

“Likewise, it’s a pleasure to meet you. May I ask what brings you here?”

“I heard that creature was causing trouble, so I came to subdue it. But it seems it’s already been handled.”

Tamia’s eyes turned to the corpse of the giant wyvern. She had flown an immense distance to take it down.

The Chronoa Tower’s base was not on the central continent but on the eastern one—specifically the eastern region of the eastern continent. Even on horseback, the journey would take half a year.

But the Chronoa Tower, to which Tamia belonged, had teleportation magic.

Tamia had crossed space and arrived at a base established in the Kingdom of Maven on the central continent. From there, it was only a day’s distance.

She had flown from there to the rocky mountain where Rodin had slain the wyvern using flight magic.

“I wonder if I didn’t act out of turn as a junior.”

“Oh-ho, so it was you who took it down. Whoever did it, if it was for the peace of the world, then that’s enough. You’ve no reason to feel guilty. More importantly, I’d like to purchase that corpse. What say you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That thing is mine—I claimed it first!”

“That’s up to the one who killed it. Mage Rodin, who would you prefer to sell it to?”

All eyes turned to Rodin. He glanced around and shrugged.

“Are you all so sure that I intend to sell the corpse?”

“Ah! I hadn’t considered that. True enough, now that you’ve reached the seventh circle, it would be worthwhile to study it yourself.”

“No. I do plan to sell it.”

Rodin had no particular interest in the wyvern’s corpse. It was full of impurities and not suitable for any practical use.

He had already extracted the Magic Stone, but not because it was valuable—he had simply removed it to prevent other magical beasts from devouring it.

‘Three of the Four Great Towers… Ridiculous.’

The only missing tower from the Four Great Towers was the Nella Tower, which currently had no seventh-circle mage.

Their previous Tower Lord, Alias, a seventh-circle mage, had died, and the tower had yet to produce another Grand Mage.

‘Toppling a nation would be child’s play for this lot.’

By coincidence, an overwhelming force had gathered in one place. If they were to harbor ill intentions, they could easily shake the entire central continent.

“So. What price are you asking?”

“Price?! Who are you to— I was the first to arrive here!”

“That’s incorrect. I arrived first and defeated the creature. Tower Lord Bison appeared after and tried to pick a fight. Tower Lord Francis arrived next and tried to stop Bison. Finally, Tower Lord Tamia arrived. Did I get any part wrong?”

Rodin summarized the situation in a single breath. Only then did Tamia, who had arrived last, fully grasp the situation.

“Tsk tsk. You should’ve aged gracefully. How did someone younger than me end up going senile first?”

“Shut it, old hag. Rodin, was it? You brat! Do you not fear the consequences?”

The Bison Tower Lord’s eyes were terrifying. He was seething with the fury of someone who felt their rightful prize had been stolen.

“That’s exactly what I was going to ask. If I decide to run, can you catch me, Tower Lord Bison? Oh, and I can use teleportation as well.”

“What?!”

“And if I start massacring the mages of the Herias Tower while fleeing, then who would suffer more damage, I wonder?”

There was no hope of improving relations with Tower Lord Bison. Bowing his head or flattering him wouldn’t make things better.

“You! You damned—!”

“Tsk. When you rose to the seventh circle, I too wanted to teach you a lesson. Do you know why I didn’t? It was because I was afraid you’d flee and retaliate against our juniors, so I let it go.”

“Old hag. What are you talking about?”

“Did you seriously think I spared you because I was afraid?”

Even Tower Lord Bison knew that couldn’t be true.

When he had first reached the seventh circle, he believed he was the strongest in the world. He thought that even if he fought another seventh-circle mage, he wouldn’t lose.

However, after reaching the 7th Circle and spending over ten years there, he came to understand it naturally. At the time, although he had reached the 7th Circle, he was in a state where he couldn’t properly utilize all seven circles.

If he had fought Tower Lord Tamia back then, he would have been utterly defeated. At that time, he had not refined his magic nor filled his circles with diligence, so he was weaker than a true 7th Circle mage.

“… Hmph.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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