[V1C13] The Tower’s Role
Translated by Jodas 1: The Wedge Tower“You all have, during the course of this examination, encountered in some form an existence known only as a ‘monster’. Even those of you who did not see one directly have surely heard the rumors already, have you not?”
The faces of the passing applicants paled in response to Hegelich’s words.
Wren and Sevil as well. While watching their reactions, Tia secretly thought.
(Ah, I thought so……. these people know about monsters.)
Monsters were creatures from the ancient era, and were said to have been eradicated long ago….. but that was only what it looked like on the surface.
While their numbers were extremely limited, there were survivors.
Such as harpies like Tia. Or ones like that black werewolf.
“Monsters are living in the shadows even today. In the northeast corner of the Empire, around the Dagnas Mountains, in a place called the Crystal Territory.”
The Dagnas Mountains, a nostalgic name.
Tia was a harpy from the Breakneck Gorge, located in the Dagnas Mountains.
In that gorge where a cold, dry wind blew year round, it was said that one fall would mean your doom, and the corpses of countless creatures were piled at the bottom of the ravine.
Harpies made their nests in caves along the canyon walls, and lived there in seclusion.
Tia as well, lived just like that with her sister and friends.
“Question! What is the Crystal Territory!?”
The one to raise a hand and speak was Wren.
Hegelich lifted up his round glasses and looked down at Wren.
“You’ve heard of the crystal dragons, no? A high-ranking species of dragon that is said to have gone extinct long ago. Its scales were made of beautiful crystals that were wreathed in powerful mana.”
“Kuku, sounds like you could make a lot of money off of that.”
A black-haired young boy with a snakelike aura whispered. In one line, he summed up the works of humanity.
Hegelich placed a hand on his forehead with a pained expression.
“Applicant number thirty-eight, Julius Löwenich. Precisely because there was no end to men who thought like you, the crystal dragons were driven to extinction. Do you not think of it as a tragedy?”
The black haired boy he called Julius had a cold expression. He directed a sharp glare at Hegelich. In Hegelich’s stead, Röhm continued the explanation.
“Humans were not the only ones to discover the value of the crystal dragons. Monsters did too. Facing the threat of extinction, the monsters killed crystal dragons and spread the scales from their corpses around the forest, creating a territory where the mana density was unusually high……. That’s what the Crystal Territory is.”
“Ohhhh…..” Tia let out her honest reaction to Röhm’s explanation.
(So that’s how that happened!)
Tia was a monster residing in the Dagnas mountains herself, so she knew about the Crystal Territory. However, she had no idea how it came to be.
To say the least, it had already been there by the time she hatched. That beautiful forest that sparkled all over.
That place had extremely high mana density, and felt amazing to be in, but it was also filled with powerful, territorial monsters.
The only ones who could live in the Crystal Territory were truly powerful monsters.
Harpies like Tia weren’t that powerful as monsters went, so they lived outside of the central Crystal Territory, in caves in the Breakneck Gorge.
“The stronger a monster is, the higher the mana density has to be for them to survive. That’s why they generally don’t leave the Crystal Territory. However, from time to time a weaker monster will stray from the Crystal Territory and wander into a human village and……”
Röhm cut herself off and glanced at Hegelich. She wanted to leave the most important line to Hegelich.
“Ahem.” Hegelich cleared his throat and continued.
“And it is our duty as the Wedge Tower to observe monsters in the Crystal Territory and exterminate those monsters that appear in human settlements.”
Huh—? Tia thought.
(That’s different from what I heard……)
The man who saved Tia after she had run away with her life from the humans who cut off her flight wings and imprisoned her, said this to her:
‘The Wedge Tower will teach magecraft to anyone, as long as they pass the entrance exam. If you become a mage of the Wedge Tower, and learn flight magic, you will be able to take to the skies once more.’
But it sounds like the Wedge Tower had a kinda harsh attitude towards monsters. No, humans in general were harsh towards monsters.
(He said they’d exterminate monsters…..)
“Pirorororo……” As Tia groaned, this time it was Sevil who raised her hand.
“Question. A mage of the Wedge Tower was controlling that winged snake monster. Doesn’t that mean the Wedge Tower’s mages have the ability to control monsters?”
“That was the result of a specialized seal placed on a book. I can’t speak to the specifics, but all I will say is that controlling them is not impossible.”
Controlling monsters. She didn’t like those words. Since Tia had been captured by humans, it went without saying.
“Of course, even if you become a mage of the Wedge Tower, that doesn’t mean all of you will be sent out on monster exterminations. There are those who perform jobs such as researching monsters, defensive operations, or managing ledgers. That said, the reason for the Wedge Tower’s existence is the preservation of magecraft and observation of monsters. If you understand that fact and still want to enroll, then sign this paperwork.”
They had been swamped with work preparing for the exam, but even after it concluded there was still much left to do.
Hegelich, as a test official, had been cleaning up the inside of the tent, preparing to disassemble it, when Röhm returned from confirming the status of the applicants.
Röhm placed the documents on top of a simple table.
“Twelve applicants passed the exam. All of them have signed the documents. I will guide them to the Wedge Tower, prioritizing the injured ones.”
“Let me see.”
Hegelich scanned over the twelve documents, sorting them into three piles on the table.
They were divided from left to right, as follows:
Those who hailed from famous mage families or magic schools (might have potential).
Where did these folks come from? (ordinary).
What do you want me to do with this, you? (problems).
Seeing that division, Röhm’s face signaled that she had noticed something as she picked up a page from the ordinary stack.
“Oh my, that Wren Bayer kid….. Isn’t he the son of the Bayer Trading family? If that’s the case, he’s the heir to a serious fortune. How did he end up at the Wedge Tower…..?”
“Hmph.” Hegelich snorted.
“You’ve seen his clothes, no?”
“Umm….. They were reasonably high-quality clothes.”
“They were all the wrong size. He’s likely the son of a mistress. It would be unthinkable for the son of such a wealthy man’s legal wife to come to the Wedge Tower, you.”
Hegelich was confident in his observational skills. His title of Guidance Office Director wasn’t just for show.
“I misunderstood. My apologies.”
“That’s fine. The problems will be these two.”
Hegelich glared at the documents in the problem stack.
What on earth was he even supposed to do? These pages made him want to squeeze his head.
The first was Julius Löwenich.
He was the son of a mage named Samuel Löwenich, who had been exiled from the Wedge Tower years ago.
Then the other one….
“This is unprecedented, you. Regardless, we must defer to the Spiremasters’ decision.”
This would certainly lead to an emergency meeting.
What would the highest authorities of the Wedge Tower, the Headmaster and the three Spiremasters, say about this?
(Ahh, for goodness sake…. at this rate, the conflict between the Modern and Classical Schools with only intensify.)
The Wedge Tower was no monolith. The constant conflict between factions gave him a headache.
“Director Hegelich. I have returned.”
A forty-year-old woman with unruly blonde hair braided up entered the tent. This was Library Office Director Linke.
The Library Office was originally entrusted with the duty of managing the books stored within the Wedge Tower, but for the purposes of this exam, she took on the role of temporarily releasing the seal on a monster and testing the applicants.
Library Office Director Linke was a gentle woman, but she was one of a small number who could control a monster that had been sealed in a book.
She was the same age as Hegelich, but she was in a different faction. Their relationship was quite awkward.
However, she was the type of person not to bring factional fight into the workplace. In that sense, she was trustworthy.
“The Extermination Office has conducted a survey of the forest, but they have been unable to find the black werewolf.”
“Their search was quite quick, no?”
“They had someone who specialized in flight magic. The one from Lowein’s class……”
“Ah, him. I see…..”
The man Linke mentioned was one who was among the top two flight magic users in the Wedge Tower, and a man who held a deep hatred for monsters. His survey could be trusted. Hegelich supported his glasses with his fingertips and mumbled.
“Has the werewolf returned to the Crystal Territory?…..Or perhaps it would be preferable if it had just died right there in the forest.”
Monsters that left the Crystal Territory could not survive for long. As long as a monster was not in an area with high mana density, it was difficult for it to act for extended periods of time.
Occasionally there were lame monsters that simply wasted to death by wandering around areas of low mana density.
To Hegelich’s muttering, Linke gave her suggestion with a gentle but stern tone.
“Optimism is dangerous. For the time being, I believe it would be best to be on the watch around the forest and the nearby villages.”
“Yes, I know. I’ll ask the Protection Office and Extermination Office to continue watching the area. Ms. Röhm, report to the Spiremasters. Report that the entrants this year are a group of wackjobs!”
Guiding those wackjobs would be the duty of none other than Guidance Office Director Melchior John Hegelich. For goodness sake, there was a limit to how stressed you could get.