Chapter 11 - Learning Magic From Iris (2)

In the past, before the modern era, knowledge of magic was exclusively the property of a certain class. Magic was for magicians, and magicians were chosen beings. This ideology still lingers, but the magicians of that time were lunatics obsessed with the sense of being the chosen people.

The first magician to break that ideology was the Magician. Hundreds of years ago, he founded the magician's tower. He gathered talented people from all over the world and taught them magic, and the magicians who grew up like that gathered tens and hundreds of disciples and taught them magic. Starting with one accomplished magician teaching dozens of apprentice magicians, the magician's tower grew in influence.

Even now, magicians are a precious resource, but in the past, before the founding of the magician's tower, magicians were even rarer. This is because there were many old farts who took for granted the principle of one-man succession and no-man succession, as often mentioned in martial arts.

Of course, even now, hundreds of years later, knowledge of magic is an area that ordinary people could not learn. The only people who were open to the public were those who were officially recognized as being good people, and they didn't indiscriminately teach magic to the general public.

That's why some groups have the stigma that magic teaches magic only to the privileged class. But the firm belief of the first magicians that magic should only be learned by those who are proven, just like you shouldn't give a child a sword or a gun, was spread throughout the entire magic tower.

So, it was a ridiculous rumor.

As a result, it was hard to find information about magic even on the Internet, which is known as a sea of information. There were a few books sold offline, but they were limited to very basic knowledge. For example, Leo had bought a book called Challenge to Make a Cell Phone on Your Own!

But all the book taught was soldering! It was like, If you can use magic, try it out.

The price was also very expensive. A 200-page book cost about 500$.

The profit margins weren't that high. Of course, it wasn't exactly a fraud because it was a serious crime for a non-magician to write a book about magic. But since there was nothing to gain from buying an expensive book, it wasn't a fraud for the readers.

Unlike other qualifications, you can't take online courses or go to an academy. The only books that are available are worth tens to hundreds of millions of won per volume. Despite this, many people buy books because they want to become magicians.

It's not hard to understand. Even if you only have two circles, magicians are considered nobles in underdeveloped countries.

Leo once dreamed of becoming a magician. Even a war orphan like him could gain wealth and fame if he became a magician. Where in the world could you find magic like that? Of course, you couldn't become a magician just because you wanted to. It was the wall of reality. Those without talent couldn't enter the magic tower.

That was the dream of his childhood that he had given up on.

"Magic…?"

"Yes, if Leo is okay with it."

Leo's head felt dizzy.

"What am I learning? Magic? Me?"

"Well… Don't be too burdened. If Leo learns magic, it will be much easier to interpret the barrier."

Naturally, it wasn't easy to find something to replace the sacred relic. Furthermore, it wasn't an ordinary barrier, but a barrier maintained by the magic of the World Tree. In fact, it was impossible to completely destroy it.

In that case, the best realistic option would be to create a shortcut for the two people to get out. However, Iris needed to analyze what ingredients were needed to produce such an effect.

If it was an ordinary dish, the ingredients were obvious. The recipe was what was already there, and even if there was no recipe, you could get a feel for it after chewing, tearing, and tasting it a few times. However, if it was the local food of the indigenous people living in the middle of the jungle? Even if you heard the details from the chef, it was almost impossible to make it exactly what you wanted it to be.

The best thing to do was to pile up ingredients that seemed promising and experiment with them to recreate it.

Leo didn't want to burden Iris any more, since he had felt the weight of this before. Still, he gazed at her as if he saw a ray of light.

The ability to be a magician was worth money. Leo didn't know how much it was in the world he now lived in, but magicians were an irreplaceable force in war. They also received a huge amount of compensation. Iris wasn't sure, but she was determined to teach him magic, hoping that it would be of some help to him.

However, all the money Leo worked hard to earn went to the cost of materials... How was this relationship any different from learning magic and getting the materials? While Iris was comfortably teaching magic here, he would have to work hard.

"I'm sorry, Leo..." Her heart ached with guilt. It felt like she had become a bad woman.

While Iris worried, Leo had a hard time holding back the corners of his mouth from going up.

It's magic!

And it's being taught by the 8th Circle Grand Magician herself! There could be no greater coincidence in the world. Even in a novel, it would definitely be criticized for being improbable. If he were to receive teachings and become a high-ranking magician someday, Iris's prison escape would be resolved in no time.

However, if there was one thing she was worried about, that was...

"But don't you have to have outstanding talent to become a wizard?" Leo asked. "I'm not bragging, but I was already judged as having no talent by a wizard dispatched from the Magic Tower in the 6th grade of elementary school. The talent required for magic is extremely intense, so it was almost impossible for me, who had already failed the talent judgment in elementary school, to become a wizard according to social conventions."

"Don't worry too much, Leo. I'm sure you'll be able to acquire it quickly," Iris said softly.

Her hand lightly touched his, and she smiled brightly. Her green eyes, which clearly cut through the dim cavern even in the dark, seemed to show her trust in him.

Leo thought it was past the age where he would crave someone's recognition or praise, but when he actually experienced it, it felt strange.

"I'll be counting on you in the future."

"Yes."

His confidence seemed to surge from somewhere.