Chapter10-Departure to the Tower

"Additionally, make sure the students going into the Tower are provided with the best of everything—equipment, scrolls, solvents—nothing should be withheld.

As for you, Duncan, there's no need to equip the student you recommended. A silver-tier student, even if given a divine artifact, wouldn't be able to change anything."

Upon hearing this, Duncan shrugged and didn't say much.

In truth, he hadn't planned on giving John anything valuable anyway.

Such wasteful behavior, in Duncan's view, was no different from throwing meat buns to a dog.

If he gave John anything valuable, it might just be taken by someone else.

At most, he would provide a few life-saving scrolls, and that would be sufficient.

"Alright, that concludes today's meeting. I may be leaving the academy for a while, so Duncan will handle the academy's affairs in my absence, with the other house heads assisting him as needed.

If any troublesome issues arise that you can't resolve, delay them until I return. However, since Headmaster Duncan has now broken through to sage-tier, I trust he'll have no problem managing the academy's affairs."

"Rest assured, Headmaster, I will do my utmost to manage the academy."

In truth, the relationship between Catalina and Duncan wasn't bad, though it wasn't particularly close either. Catalina's personality was always focused on the issue at hand, not the person behind it.

Catalina naturally disapproved of Duncan's personal motives this time, but that didn't mean she would hold it against Sorvan in other matters.

Duncan understood Catalina's nature—she might not say anything openly, but what she truly thought remained a mystery.

Seeing that his beautiful mentor had left, Owen naturally lost interest in staying any longer and followed Catalina out.

Regardless, he had gleaned some explosive information.

Although Owen was familiar with the major plot points from the original story, he didn't know all the details.

With the *Absolute Stealth* skill, he could now witness many events firsthand.

But for now, everything was ready. All that remained was to wait for the Tower to open.

...

Half a month later, on the eve of departure.

Owen was jolted awake from his drowsy sleep by a familiar sound—it was the system tallying his daily rewards.

"[Congratulations to the host for slacking off continuously for thirty days and earning experience points as a reward!]"

"[Current level: Sage-tier Lv. 9 (EXP: 9,999,999/10,000,000)]"

Hearing this, Owen was stunned.

"Wait, what's going on? If my experience points are maxed out, why haven't I broken through to god-tier?"

"[Breaking through to god-tier requires more than just experience points; there are other necessary conditions that the host must explore the world to discover.]"

"What the—why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Two days ago, Owen had already reached Sage-tier Lv. 9, but he hadn't broken through yet.

He thought it was because his experience points weren't maxed out, but now it seemed there were some hidden conditions.

"[Congratulations to the host! The Slacker System has awakened to its second stage: now slacking off can earn random rewards! These include but are not limited to spells, items, talents, and bloodlines...]"

"Ah, fine, fine, whatever."

"[Botany, industrial basics, modern medical techniques...]"

Owen: "?"

Wait, I'm in a magical world—how is modern medicine going to be more useful than a prayer?

But on second thought, even though his level had been increasing, he hadn't actually learned any new spells.

According to the magical ranking system in this world, based on power, spells are classified from low to high as: Basic Magic, Intermediate Magic, Advanced Magic, Master-tier Magic, Sage-tier Magic, Forbidden Magic, and finally, the most powerful, God-tier Magic.

Currently, most of the spells Owen had mastered were at the Master-tier level, along with abilities like *Absolute Stealth*, which, although rated as God-tier, lacked offensive power.

Other than that, Owen's only trump card was *Mana Domain*.

The *Mana Domain* is quite special, as its power increases with the user's level.

Given Owen's current level, his domain's power is at least on par with forbidden magic.

However, using the domain would reveal that Owen has surpassed the master-tier, leading to his removal from the team. It's a trump card that must only be used as a last resort.

Now that the system has started rewarding him with more abilities, it's not necessarily a bad thing for Owen.

Tomorrow, they will officially depart, boarding the Aetherwing Ark to head east toward the Tower.

The journey will take at least two days, giving Owen some time to learn new things.

As for what happens once they reach the Tower, it will all depend on Owen's ability to adapt on the spot.

...

The next morning, Owen was woken up early by Fiona. Still groggy, he went through his morning routine.

Normally quiet, Fiona had a lot to say to Owen that day, like a wife sending her husband off to war.

Her words, though nagging, were filled with care.

"Lord Owen, please don't risk your life for fame. Honor is what others speak of, but your life is your own."

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't take unnecessary risks."

Owen smiled as he tousled the bangs on Fiona's forehead. The girl bit her lip gently, clutching the edge of Owen's cloak, her voice choking with emotion.

"Please come back safely, Lord Owen..."

"I promise you, I will return safely."

After entrusting the chubby cat to Fiona, Owen let out a deep breath and left the headmaster's residence, boarding the Aetherwing Ark.

On the Ark, the other five were already prepared, just waiting for Owen to arrive.

Owen glanced at each person's face before withdrawing his gaze.

"Andrew, take the helm. Farms, Glena, you're in charge of the mana stone furnace—make sure the energy levels remain at maximum. I'll handle the lookout, keeping an eye out for any flying beasts that might launch an ambush. John, you and Emily will oversee the communication array. If there's any fluctuation, inform me immediately."

"Understood!"

Everyone responded in unison and headed to their respective stations. Owen climbed the lookout tower and activated the light screen barrier at the front of the Aetherwing Ark.

Watching Owen's back, Emily felt a twinge of discomfort in her heart.

Just as Owen had said, during the entire journey, he really did only keep watch.

Other than the brief moment when their eyes met as they boarded the ship, Owen hadn't even glanced at her, let alone spoken to her. The only exception was when he assigned tasks.

Emily wanted to talk to Owen, at least to express how sorry she was, and how guilty she felt about her past behavior. But Owen hadn't given her the chance.

And Emily was too proud to go to Owen on her own.

After all, aside from John, everyone present was a member of the student council—elite students who were Owen's closest aides.

They all knew how cold they had been toward Owen in the past.

Now, suddenly becoming friendly made Emily feel too embarrassed to approach him.

Of course, John's situation wasn't much better.

Although Owen had repeatedly reminded everyone not to single John out, and to treat him with a normal, friendly attitude, like they would a junior, having a mere silver-tier mage on such an important team made everyone a bit uneasy.

Everyone else had earned their place through hard work, but John had simply been given a spot. So why should they accept that?

Because of this, even Andrew and the others didn't show John much kindness. Feeling bored and out of place, John had no choice but to approach Emily, who was in a similar situation.

"Emily, let's talk. I'm feeling really bored..."

"Why should I care if you're bored? You can go talk to someone else."

"But... I'm not familiar with them, and I feel like they're all being really cold to me."

"Am I familiar with you? Please stay away from me!"

After saying that, Emily instinctively glanced toward Owen.

Her harsh words had clearly distanced herself from John, which made Andrew and the others look at Emily with slightly softer expressions.

But Owen didn't turn around. He continued to stare calmly ahead, as if he hadn't heard anything.

It was as if, to Owen, she was already a stranger—someone irrelevant, whose presence he wasn't interested in, not even enough to spare her a glance.

Emily felt a tightness in her chest, a faint pain throbbing in her heart.

John felt the same way.

Even though Emily's attitude had never changed, John had the unsettling feeling that something important in his life was slipping away.