Ready (3)

Late at night on the library's rooftop, Epherene leaned against the railing and looked at the university's night view.

She could see the tower's blue glow that stretched all the way to the top. At the bottom, the lit lecture rooms, roads, and restaurants of different buildings brightened the lands like stars.

Because of the exam period, her night at the university had ended.

"…"

Epherene looked at the Ouija board she was holding in her arms.

It had a black edge with a white background, and it was the mini version of the Makaboard, a communication window for the tower wizards.

Its official name was 'JeonSeoPan,' an omnidirectional device that allowed multiple communication."

It was a magical tool, more commonly called the 'Ouija board,' that functioned as a bulletin board. It also made communication between wizards possible.

But Professors didn't use them since their lifespan was only 7 to 8 years.

[Perfectly organized, Deculein's lecture notes (currently 4th week), how much would it cost if I auction it off? A one-page sample is available.]

Epherene found it necessary to write that post on the [Tower's Secret Bulletin] since 50% of the 100 thousand Elnes donation she received had already been spent on stationeries and magic books.

—500 Elnes.

—1 thousand for me.

—2 thousand.

—4 thousand.

—5 thousand.

—6 thousand. Depending on its condition, I can give more.

"Oh, my."

Surprised and mildly scared of the crazy prices, she deleted it immediately. "… No wonder. I would have bought it if I had a lot of money, too."

For that reason, she found Deculein very strange.

Why did he reveal such efficient techniques and tips without hiding anything?

Most professors received large sums of money to secretly give private lessons, with the condition that the student came on their own accord and was under contract to not reveal it to external sources.

She heard that wizards were the type to always be wary no matter how much money they had and were always jealous of their juniors when they climbed higher than they did.

Taking that into consideration, Deculein, who had changed this year, was acting suspiciously.

"Whatever." Epherene shook it off as she took a deep breath, upon which a sudden thought passed by her mind.

'My dad probably agonized over something in this railing some time ago as well. Unsolved magic, or something more serious like answers to life, in the night breeze here.'

"… Don't worry."

Epherene took out a letter and recited it in a low voice.

She exchanged letters with her father every week. The voice and video messages that showed a glimpse of her father's genius had already died, but his handwriting and traces of those days hadn't yet disappeared.

-My daughter. I am making a present for you now…

Reading the first sentence is already making her tear up just by reading it.

"I will definitely finish your research, dad."

Some of her father's research was in his letters, and the rest was somewhere in the tower. Epherene knew their exact locations.

"I'll make sure to become a better wizard than Deculein, than the enemy—"

"That's impossible."

Someone intruded her time alone at that moment. Surprised, Epherene straightened up and looked back so swiftly it looked like she was going to break her neck.

Sylvia.

Epherene scrunched her eyebrows as she glared at her.

"If you're here to pick a fight, I'm not in the mood, so just go."

Sylvia sneered with a troubled face. "You call Deculein your enemy, yet you received a private lesson from him. Pathetic. Hypocrite."

"What nonsense are you talking about this time? Where did you hear that strange rumor? No, more importantly, you believed it? How noble of you."

Sylvia's cheeks puffed. Epherene won against her heart, which could easily sweep off any provocation.

"You know what?" Mumbling her discontent, she soon grinned, the edges of her lips twisted upwards. "Deculein hasn't been to the research lab in almost three years. Not once since your father died."

"Pfft. Of course. My dad was such a genius that Deculein couldn't do anything without him." Epherene laughed, taking it as an unexpected compliment.

"However…" Sylvia continued. "Starting three months ago, Deculein has been going to the lab every day. He cleaned the place and even picked an assistant professor. He brought new magical tools and everything."

Epherene's expression swiftly stiffened at that moment. "What do you mean?"

Satisfied with that response, Sylvia grinned and twirled, her ticklish tone flowing through the winds as she did. "Who knows?"

Tap tap—

Epherene didn't bother chasing after her even though she left such remarks. Instead, she merely stood there in deep thought.

"… No way."

'Some time ago, my father told me Deculein was monitoring his letters. He's watching his every move, and since he's after his research, that leaves him with no place to hide it.'

"No way."

'I shouldn't be worried. The research is stored in a place he could never find. The magic that protects it scatters over time, but even so, Deculein's greed will never be able to locate it. Remembering the code we used to play, he left it somewhere only I…'

"No way…"

It couldn't be. It couldn't be!

'My father is a genius. He has never been wrong, which is why I'm confident the research that Deculein is conducting has nothing to do with my father.'

She repeated it over and over again.

"No way!"

Sylvia's voice ceaselessly rang in her ears.

*****

There were only three days left before the Bercht conference.

Finally, at long last, I completed the [Beginner Psychokinesis] just in time.

"Fortunately, I got the timing right somehow."

Satisfied, I took a shower in the building. I had one made here since it was too bothersome to keep going back to the main house for such a simple task.

Knock knock—

I heard a knock on the door as soon as I wore my robe and came out.

"Who is it?"

"It's Roy."

"What's wrong? Say it."

"Yes, my Lord. Your finances are in peril."

My eyebrows immediately furrowed. "My finances?"

"Yes. At this rate, it might run out in 2 months…"

I nodded. Well, I hadn't given a lecture these days, so I had no other income aside from my salary as a professor. On the other hand, my expenses were endless, including 150 mana stones, books, and a wide array of ancient books.

"Wait."

Using psychokinesis, I retrieved a safe, which only responded to my mana, hidden under the floor of the building and opened its lid.

"Let's see."

I took out whatever I could get my hands on, revealing it to be a pottery product, the 'Flower Vase of the East' that I bought at the auction house for 2.5. million Elnes. I was about to use [Midas' Hand], but I paused.

My remaining mana was [1,635].

If I wanted to sell it at the right price, I had to use all 3 thousand.

"Come back in 3 hours."

"Yes, I understand."

Roy left, and I waited until my mana had fully recovered.

As I did, I checked the item using my [Man of Great Wealth] ability, revealing its light to be as brilliant as it had always been.

[Midas' Hand] wasn't that effective when used on enlightened 'treasures.' it only raised a 30,000 output to 30,300, for example.

However, the "Flower Vase of the East' was definitely an uncultivated item… "I have to try it at least once.

After waiting for 150 minutes, my mana was finally filled to the brim.

Gathering all of it, I used [Midas' Hand] on the Flower Vase of the East.

Shoooooooo—

The blue smoke came out from my fingertips and passed through it, causing its surface to sparkle.

The result was…

——— [The Flower Vase of the Master Craftsman from the East] ———

◆Description:

– This vase, made by a master craftsman, is magically infused with its creator's heart and soul.

– Its potential has been enlightened using [Midas' Hand].

◆ Category: Pottery ⊃ Vase

◆ Special Effects:

– The flowers in this vase will never wither.

– In addition, they will also gradually fade out and bloom into new flowers, each petal having the effect of a potion that has at least [Intermediate-level Fatigue Recovery Effect] to [Upper-Intermediate-level Fatigue Recovery Effect].

—————

The 2.5 million Elnes vase had become a product so good I didn't even want to sell it anymore.

"Hmm…"

The pottery's design alone made its value overflow, but now it also had the potential to become an inexhaustible product maker.

"It's better to sell it."

Its potions' fatigue recovery effects had no use for me. My body didn't get tired at all, and I was confident there wasn't a lot of money to be made by growing and selling flowers.

Knock knock—

Roy came back and knocked exactly after 3 hours, as instructed. I opened the door and handed the vase to Roy.

"Look for someone to reassess this and sell it. We'll be able to easily gain five years' worth— No, ten years' worth of finances with it."

"But my Lord. Isn't this one of the items you bought at the auction house—" Roy was flustered, but I was disconcerted just as much.

Over Roy's shoulder, Yeriel was approaching with short and quick steps. "Hey~ I came because you said you needed money~"

That kid, who said she'd be staying over for only a day, had already been here for three days. I honestly didn't even know the mansion was this spacious.

"I knew you'd soon be in such a state. I can lend you some with an IOU—"

I shook my head. "There's no need for that. I'll be reselling this vase anyway. Roy, take it to an appraiser."

"What? Are you crazy?" Yeriel grimaced.

I thought about it for a moment and soon realized she was right. I corrected my words. "No. I happen to have time, so I'll go with you."

Who'd be receiving the item was also important.

There would always be scammers at stores, and I could distinguish them all by their characteristics.

"What? No, it hasn't been long since you bought this, and you're already reselling it. I'll just lend you some—"

"You're noisy, Yeriel."

"Noisy?! You're about to lose money right now! You won't get even half the price of it! How much did you pay for this?!"

"2.5 million."

"I can guarantee you it'll only sell for 1 million. You bought this as an antique investment, and you're selling it after less than two months!"

Yeriel was questioning my conviction, and even Roy seemed doubtful of my decision. Well, their worries weren't unwarranted.

"If you're so worried, then come along."

"No! I'm not worried, you piece of shit! Hey!"

"Hey?"

Yeriel's screaming the moment I questioned her behavior, though she still grumbled in a much smaller voice. "No, I'm not worried… You're just about to do something that doesn't make any sense… Don't you know that? If you're going to waste your money on that—"

"It's not a waste of money. I'll show you, so just come with us."

"Wow, seriously, you're so stubborn…"

Her face was filled with anger and frustration, but I smiled at her once and went outside.

"Fine. I'll see where this goes." Yeriel added.

*****

After an hour, Yeriel arrived at the appraiser with Deculein.

"Huuuuh…" She thought Deculein had been out of his mind lately.

He didn't meet with Julie at all, and the Bercht conference overlapped too, which made her overly sensitive.

"This…"

Deculein always seemed to be determined to do inhumane things whenever he got overheated, and this time was no different.

"This is tremendous." When the famous appraiser in the system looked into the pottery he bought two months ago, he expressed so much awe that he seemed to have lost his mind.

Yeriel's mind briefly went blank.

Deculein replied. "If it's tremendous, then…?"

"Yes. Not only does it have aesthetic value… There's more to it that I can't confirm…."

"It's not that you can't confirm. You just don't want to let us know."

"What? No. It's just—"

"If you grow flowers in this vase, it won't wither. Eating the petal of that flower will recover your fatigue."

The appraiser bowed down quickly with his eyes wide open. Yeriel also flinched.

"Recovery of fatigue?"

"W-wait… Of course! I didn't know, but if that's true, then it has an excellent effect!"

"That's right."

Deculein looked around the room and put a flower in the vase as decoration.

"There's no need to go all the way to Routen. After growing this flower to prove its effectiveness, we can hold a small auction at Haylech.

He then gave Yukline's fountain pen to the appraiser.

"The Yukline's pattern might attract people. I'll give you a commission, of course."

"Ah, yes! I'll do my best! You might receive 10 million at least and 15 million if there's more competition!"

At that moment, my 2.5 million investment instantly increased to 10 million, causing Yeriel and Roy's eyes to widen.

"Good. I'll leave it to you to spread the word. Roy, I'll leave the overall observation to you."

"What? Ah, yes. I understand."

"That's it for today, then."

Deculein went out first. Yeriel hesitated for a moment, then followed him not long after.

"… You got lucky. C-congratulations." Yeriel glanced at Deculein on the side of the road.

Not bothering to reply, Deculein gave the two an order. "Yeriel, Roy, take this vase and go back to the mansion."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"I have something to do at the tower."

"… Why are you frequenting the tower these days?" Yeriel narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"You don't need to know."

"If you have a new lover, then go ahead and throw away that straightforward and inflexible woman~"

"Shut up." Deculein got in the car without any explanation and left immediately.

Vroooom—

"Huh. Seriously, that guy is a pain in the ass."

Yeriel and Roy were left in the middle of the road.

There was no complaint. It had been a while since she came to the system, so she should at least look around the luxury street.

"Roy? You've been through a lot lately, so pick anything if you want. I'll buy it for you."

"What? No. It's okay—"

"Just take my offer. I know you're having a hard time these days…" The two walked together through the luxury area.

That day, Yeriel bought luxury goods for 5 thousand Elnes and a wallet worth 300 Elnes.

******

The last time I worked at the tower this week, I searched for exam questions used three years ago while planning the midterm exam.

In other words, I was going to refer to the exams that Deculein had given before.

"… This is extreme."

I could already tell how difficult it was just by looking at it.

It was uselessly hard.

Back then, my character mistook the level of the test as superiority, which became the birth of such ridiculous tests.

"Allen, are you there?"

I called my Assistant Professor through the crystal ball, and it only took him 30 seconds to run all the way to where I was.

"Yes, I'm here!" Allen now proudly wore the assistant professor's badge after passing my screening.

I tapped on the test paper from 3 years ago. "By any chance, do you know where the original copy of this problem is?"

"Original copy?"

"Yes. This test is probably the result of my arbitrary modification. This document isn't recent, so if there is any data left from three to five years ago, bring it to me."

"Oh, yes! I'll look for it!"

Allen went out and came back carrying loads of files nearly as quickly.

"Here you go!"

"Okay."

I looked at the papers using [Understanding] eyes, which immediately allowed me to realize something.

… It was as I had expected.

This work was really worth referring to. I was certain of it, considering I had studied it to some extent as well.

A good problem would make anyone naturally admire it once they had solved it.

The sense of accomplishment they'd earn from it would feel so surreal it could even make them smile. Deculein's exams were difficult, but they were also rather intriguing.

"Allen, this is a magic exam paper, right?"

Of course, magic wasn't mathematics.

Therefore, even if it was just a test paper, there were special parts to it.

"Oh, yes! Of course!"

"Good. You may go."

"Thank you!"

I looked through the test with [Understanding].

['Understanding Pure Elemental Magic' sample problem: Calculate the formula for question 7 on paper, analyze the hints of the circuit, combine it correctly, and put mana into such an inferred spell.]

The answer to the problem was then revealed in the form of an 'image.'

As if a painting was blooming in the air, the solution became clearer and more distinct than nature. As the colors spread like flowing water, I witnessed a woman be born on the canvas.

Each of the picture's parts represented an element. Her white dress was the wind, the sky was the water, the spreading clouds were mists, and her beautiful eyes, nose, and lips were a 'harmony' of various elements.

It was truly suitable for the subject 'Understanding Pure Elemental Magic.' I could even go as far as saying it was the perfect problem for it, and it offered the perfect solution as well.

"…"

I closed my eyes as I began to feel soft caresses throughout my entire body. It stimulated Deculein's characteristic [Aesthetic Sense].

The painting seemed to comfort wizards who struggled with the exam, yet it was strangely filled with faint anger. However, even that was used as decoration, making the masterpiece even more vibrant.

"… Ha."

I couldn't help but laugh in vain.

Unknown jealousy rose within me. It felt so close to desire.

Since the old Deculein wouldn't reuse this problem, I had no choice but to modify it.

I would be jealous of this beauty I never even thought of before, but I would have humbled it easily.

This test was perfect, and it suited my lecture. It was right to call it the 'Test of a Head Professor…'

"That being said…"

I gazed at the lady in the picture floating in the air. It wasn't Epherene.

It didn't seem like I had seen her anywhere.

Who in the world was this woman?

Knock knock—

I heard a knock again. I messed up the picture and opened the door, revealing Allen on the other side of it.

"Professor! There were more, so I brought them! Then, I'll be on my way!"

"Great timing."

Coming up with an idea, I grabbed him before he could leave.

"Yeees?"

He tilted his head.

I spoke. "Get ready."

"What? Ah, yes! What should I prepare?"

He wasn't aware of what I was doing, but he was quick to solidify his will. I had always liked the fact that he never questioned me or my actions. "Get ready to go to Bercht."

"… What?"

However, this time, Allen couldn't help but be so surprised by my decision that he had to question if he heard correctly.

Calmly, I reiterated my thoughts. "I am choosing you as my assistant at Bercht."

Allen blinked. His eyes, nostrils, and mouth slowly widened afterward. His lips especially parted far enough for a fist to easily fit in his mouth.

"Whaaaaaaat—"

"Shut your mouth."

"…"

His eyes swelled when he closed his mouth. Since he seemed like he was about to explode, I decided to try to calm him down.

"Of course, you have the right to decline. Bercht could be dangerous—"

"Ah, it's—No! That's— no! I want to go!"

"Really?"

According to Bercht's regulation, bringing a companion was a must even if there was no escort driver. Unfortunately, I had no one to take with me but him.