37 Chapter 35
Grauzauberer, also known as the Gray Wizards. This is one of the main magician organizations in the supernatural world. One of the top three to be specific.
The creator of this organization is the late German alchemist and astrologer, Johan Georg Faust.
After his death, who took over the leadership of Grauzauberer was Mephisto Pheles, a devil who had a pact with the late Johan.
It is exactly within this organization that Shibuya Shuncho lives, a Japanese immigrant living in Germany and an apprentice Tier sphereless.
He is in front of a mural of notes inside a large hall. He was checking the list of magicians who were approved for promotion.
"It's too bad, Apprentice Shibuya, maybe you should give it a try next year?" Said the second sphere mage responsible for maintaining order in the hall in a friendly tone.
In the background, he could hear whispers and laughter from some people gathered in small groups looking at him.
Shuncho has his head down and his fists are clenched.
He was flunked by very little.
He had to cast three spells from the first sphere in less than 3 seconds to pass.
The sad thing is... He started learning magic too late. Shuncho is now 32 years old. He was a squeegee and cleaning supplies salesman before he had a chance encounter with the miracle called magic.
Although many people tried to discourage him and make him give up... He insisted because magic was his greatest passion.
"You brats. Get out of here before I reduce your scholarships," yelled the mage in charge of the Hall.
The teenagers are white-faced with fear and many take quick steps away from there.
"Thanks, but no need, Charles-san. I don't care what they say," Shuncho said to the fifty-something man, also known as Charles.
"I didn't just do this for you. I can't stand these brats either," Charles says irritably.
Shuncho laughs and says to the eldest, "You and I were once teenagers. We know how unyielding teenagers can be."
"Well, looking at it that way," mused Charles as he realized that when he was young he was also an idiot.
"So I'm on it, Charles-san. Until next time," Shuncho starts to say goodbye, but before he leaves...
"That's what makes you different from the other Shuncho. You're not arrogant. You're wise beyond your age," praised Charles. "It is a pity that you started your studies late, as I believe that with your personality you would have reached the third sphere or even higher."
"Huh? I don't know what to say," Shuncho said awkwardly. He wasn't used to being praised.
"Don't miss that essence and I'm sure you will be a magician of the first sphere soon."
"Thanks for the encouragement," bowed Charles and after a little more conversation, they said their goodbyes.
Arriving at his house, which is in a place in the suburbs of Berlin, Shuncho snuggles in front of the fireplace.
It was very cold.
He takes a glass of ramen he's made over a kettle on the fire.
Ding. Ding.
The notebook on the table rang indicating that he had received a message again.
Shuncho thought it might be a Squeegee buyer or cleaning supplies.
He received only half of Grauzauberer's scholarship because he was old and had little growth potential. Then he makes some internet sales to top up the expense.
Opening the message window...
[Mister Shibuya Shuncho.]
[ A problem has been encountered with your Internet connection and a technician is being dispatched to your home.]
Shuncho frowned as he didn't remember making a complaint to the company.
[Your electrical network may also be having some problems and we can help too.]
Huh? It was a joke? thought Shuncho.
But to his surprise, the kitchen lights start to flicker.
A mysterious wind makes the closet doors open and close, and some objects on the table shake.
Shuncho's body hair stood on end.
He might be an apprentice magician, but he was quite sensitive to supernatural energy. He didn't feel any magic or energy that could explain those events.
[The technician will arrive in 10 seconds... 9, 8, 7...]
The windows were closed by the mysterious wind and the freezing weather more than doubled.
Shuncho ran towards the kitchen and grabbed his baseball bat for cover.
He was afraid.
The fireplace flames went out.
The clatter of silverware and plates on the table shaking was unnerving.
5
4
Shuncho holds up the baseball bat and takes a big swig of saliva as he looks towards the front door.
3
2
His heart was racing and hands gripping the baseball bat were shaking.
1
*Ding Dong*
The doorbell rang and the house stopped acting strangely. The dishes stopped shaking, the fire in the fireplace rekindled, and it all didn't even seem to have happened.
*Ding Dong* Ding Dong*
Shuncho takes another dry sip as he approaches the door fearfully.
He takes one hand to the knob and...
"Oh? Hello Sir. You must be Shibuya Shuncho, is that right?" asked a girl worthy of being called angelic, who wore a pastel blue uniform and holds a clipboard.
"Er-- Yes?" Shuncho was mesmerized by the beauty of that girl.
She had full lips, hazelnut brown hair and a body that even in such a simple uniform could hide such perfection. That girl was among the 3 most beautiful women he had seen in his entire life.
Shuncho control yourself, your only goal is magic, he told himself as he managed to snap out of his brief mental lapse.
"Great," She smiles and says, "I think you're a little tired. Why don't you get some sleep?"
"Huh?" Strange he thought. His body begins to feel heavy and although he knew his situation was worrisome, Shuncho didn't have the strength to refuse and fell unconscious.
The only voice he hears in the background before he passes out is, "Don't worry. You've been blessed by our king."
After an indeterminate amount of time, Shuncho stretched at the thought that he looked more rested than ever.
He was lying on the couch in the living room and he felt great.
The winter cold? Strangely it didn't seem to bother him.
Had it all been a dream?
--------------
Welcome to the Gamer System.
A number of benefits await the user [Shibuya Shuncho]. {More details}
With just a single decision you can change your destiny.
Accept or decline?
--------------
Shuncho blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
He wasn't that familiar with game design.
He played street combat a few years ago, but it was just one time.
Should I refuse? He pondered before curiously clicking the button for more information.
A huge tab full of benefits opened for him.
Enhanced body? Unlimited mana growth limits? An entirely new magic system? His eyes were widen.
The temptation was great.
Even more so for him a magic enthusiast.
In the end, he reluctantly accepted.
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The system has detected that the user is under mind control.
Passive perk activated. All control effects were broken.
-------
Shuncho's eyes widen as he holds his head and remembers.
On a certain day, a few years ago, he happened to cross the halls by chance with one of the guild's top mages.
Shuncho didn't know he was someone important and so he passed him without paying much attention.
The cretin was angered by this and used high level mind control magic on him. Every time they met, Shuncho would bow with his head to the ground and wouldn't remember to act on automatic.
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Rookie package sent to user
Accept or decline?
----------
Upon accepting, the shop opened to him and let him choose 5 spells from the first sphere for free.
Even with the miracle in front of him, he was still having a hard time believing it would actually work. But that couldn't be illusion, otherwise how did he break free from mind control?
He can't help but be amazed at the plethora of spell options.
After choosing very carefully and testing the newly acquired skills.
He smiled happily.
Yes, that wasn't a lie or an illusion. This was a miracle.
Two days later.
In a room that looks like a shooting range.
"This," one of the examiners said in disbelief. "Was it instant?"
"Three simultaneous and instantaneous conjurations," praised another examiner.
Shuncho felt a little embarrassed as he felt he was cheating.
"I don't know what happened to you apprentice Shuncho, but congratulations... You got your promotion," smirked the examiner.
"You may enter the astrology tower as a formal acceptance ritual as a magician," said the examiner as he entered a paper and, "Please sign all documents to be official."
In Grauzauberer you are only accepted as a true magician if you can at least cast spells from the first sphere.
In the welcome ritual, you can enter the Astrology tower only once.
The same giant construction that Shuncho looks at with great nervousness now.
It was a giant cylindrical tower, created by the alchemist and astrologer, Grauzauberer's founder.
It was a genius construction that tests the student's level of learning and gives challenges and knowledge of new spells according to the ability.
The limit was only how much the student could learn.
There was accumulated all the knowledge acquired over the years of the organization.
The tower itself was a masterpiece of alchemy.
--------
Mission: Learn all you can from the astronomy tower.
Contribution points proportional to user performance.
Tip: Use [Analysis] on everything you can.
--------
And that was the beginning of a festival of [Analysis].
Analysis.
Analysis
Analysis
Seeing his own contribution points going up, Shuncho can't help but say...
I AM RICH.
AHAHAAHHAAHHAA!!
....
Inside a bar in an unknown place, two figures are talking facing each other on the table.
The oldest among them takes a sip from his whiskey glass before saying, "Red-kun seems to like you, Raynare-chan. You're doing a great job."
Raynare is a woman with black hair, violet eyes and wears schoolgirl-style clothes.
Just hearing that, she seems to have a headache remembering 'red-kun'. "He's insufferable, Azazel-sama. I don't understand why we can't just get him out of that stupid school."
"Oh?" The man with the black hair and blonde bangs just looks amused at her misfortune.
"I feel like I'm going to go crazy if I spend a moment closer to him," Raynare looked like she was about to rip her own hair out in agony. "All he talks about is Harem, Harem, Harem --- Ohh, he also talks about Oppais and being a harem king again."
Instead of worrying about her complaints.
"Do you remember why you came to me?" Azazel asked disinterestedly, as he raised his whiskey glass to his eyes and watched the ice cubes melt. "You looked like a homeless duckling that day."
"Hmm? I don't~" Before she declares herself her confusion.
"Just answer," Azazel demanded.
"Ummm--- I remember it was the 18th century," Raynare pondered her own memories. "Kokabiel-sama, ummm -- I don't know if I can say this."
"Don't worry, Raynare-chan. You can speak freely without any fear of reprisal," he assured with a mysterious smile.
"Okay. I remember that -- Kokabiel-sama had given up on his wonderful plan to kick the other factions' asses a few centuries ago," said Raynare a little angrily. "What a shame he gave up. Umm--- Cassiel-sama tried to recruit others to follow him, but --- I didn't feel he had the same charisma as his predecessor and I decided not to listen to him."
"Have you noticed why I let my allies go free, Raynare-chan? To the point where I let them plot their ridiculous plans?"
Raynare thought carefully and came to the conclusion that she didn't have the answer to that.
It was weird actually.
It was clear that Azazel turned a blind eye to certain rebellious behavior and as long as their action didn't go too far...
He just chose to continue his research of sacred gear, ignoring them.
"Let me explain it better then," He smiles looking into her eyes as he says, "This makes it easier to separate the idiots from the real traitors. Let them scream their true colors for themselves."
Raynare had her mouth open for that.
"Kokabiel and Cassiel really were rebels. In fact we all are since we chose to betray the heavens. It's in our nature so to speak," he said as he leaned back in the seat and crossed his leg. "Back to the point -- they're idiots but not traitors. So I left them to see for themselves how foolish their ambitions are."
"I understand. As expected of Azazel-sama," Raynare spoke in a sycophantic way.
"What I really mean by that is," Azazel rises from his chair as he faces the sight of a stunned Raynare. "Traitor I know you are not, Raynare-chan. Since you are proud to belong to our race."
Raynare really had a lot of respect for Azazel, Shemhazai, Kokabiel and the leadership of the fallen angels in general.
"But the question is --- Do you want to be an idiot too?" Azazel paused briefly and cocked his head slightly to the side. "You already know the fate of idiots. As much as Kokabiel is my friend... Take his and Cassiel-chan's fate as an example."
Raynare's throat is dry and she says mildly emotional, "I don't want to be an idiot."
Azazel didn't need much effort or dedication to persuade people. His charisma could make people act like idiots in his hands, just like Raynare was being one now.
"Then give Red-kun a chance and treat him well. Are we clear?" Azazel asked.
"Yes," replied Raynare without any hesitation.
This manipulation on his part was necessary. He knows Raynare's true personality which is vicious, cruel, mean, sadistic, treacherous, vengeful, arrogant and barbaric.
Now the brunette would try to suppress any foolish desire to harm his newfound interest.
"Ummm, I'll treat the boy kindly," Raynare said a little awkwardly about how she felt in the nanny role. "But what about Cassiel-sama? Although I didn't like him --- We have to avenge him, don't we?"
Azazel shook his head from side to side before saying, "I already have a few guesses where to start looking, but I have a more important matter at the moment. Perhaps in the near future I can investigate this further."
Raynare bites her lip and tries to suppress her urge to do 'justice' to those who dared to underestimate them, the fallen angels.
Make no mistake, she has no attachment to Cassiel. Her biggest commitment is the good for herself.
And she was well aware that she couldn't do anything against Cassiel's killer.
The brunette hated feeling weak.
She would have to find a way to become strong.
