Chapter 187: Introduction (2)
"Or should I say, long time no see?"
Kevin Dunbar, the military mage, spoke bluntly as he looked at Oliver.
A fleeting moment.
Countless thoughts raced through Oliver’s mind.
‘What should I do? Should I lie and say I don't know him? Am I good at lying? Wait… was this the disciple Merlin mentioned? What is this? A coincidence? Or was this planned from the start?’
Caught off guard by the uncanny coincidence, Oliver didn’t know how to react.
However, time passed, and it was his turn to respond.
If he didn’t say something now, it would be tantamount to admitting it.
"I suppose saying it’s been a while is correct, Sir Kevin."
After much consideration, Oliver chose to be honest.
One of Kevin’s eyebrows lifted.
Surprise, admiration, faint satisfaction, curiosity—his emotions flickered. At the very least, he didn’t seem displeased.
Cautiously, Oliver spoke.
"May I ask you a question, if that’s alright?"
"What is it?"
"How did you recognize me so easily? I was wearing a leather mask back then."
He didn’t mention that he was still wearing a leather mask now.
Kevin answered.
"I have a keen eye. I remember things like people’s mannerisms, behavior, habits, and tone of voice. But more than that..."
"...More than that?"
"That staff of yours is hard to miss."
Oliver glanced at the quarterstaff he had set aside. Unconsciously, he muttered, "Ah…"
"In a place where knives and guns are standard, and people use golem prosthetics, mechanical equipment, and even body modifications, it’s rare to see someone walking around with just a staff. It makes it easy to guess who you are."
Oliver had nothing to say. Indeed, in the back alleys of Landa, that stood out more.
Suddenly, he wondered if his involvement during Wallace’s escape had been noticed.
As if sensing this, Kevin spoke again.
"Don’t worry. I’m the only one who saw you, and I haven’t told anyone."
"Thank you… But are you sure that’s okay?"
"It’s not because I wanted to."
"Mainstream mages, especially those formally affiliated with recognized schools, have a mandatory service period in the kingdom’s army. Some see it as an opportunity, but others just hate it. This guy’s one of the latter."
Merlin explained, placing a hand on Kevin’s shoulder.
Kevin glanced at Merlin’s hand on his shoulder and spoke bluntly.
"Master… Could you please remove your hand?"
"Oh, my bad."
Oliver quickly shifted his gaze between Merlin and Kevin.
Based on the information Oliver had gathered so far, their relationship didn’t seem like the typical master-disciple dynamic.
The last time he met someone from the tower, they couldn’t even meet Merlin’s gaze and only nodded humbly. But Kevin, despite calling Merlin his master, maintained a rather stiff attitude.
Moreover, there was considerable anger and resentment towards Merlin.
‘Of course, it’s not all that surprising...’
Oliver briefly wondered if Kevin was stronger than Merlin, but he dismissed the idea within seconds.
Kevin was indeed powerful, but he couldn’t compare to Merlin.
Having fought both of them, Oliver was confident in that.
Was there something else he didn’t know?
"Still, you should thank Kevin. Thanks to you, his smooth military career got a stain."
This time, Merlin placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder.
Oliver didn’t reject it.
"What do you mean?"
"Your mission. Smuggling out Wallace, one of the commanders of the Kel Rebels."
"..."
"Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t dig into it on purpose. I just have access to a lot of information, and I’m smart enough to piece things together naturally. This guy..."
Merlin almost placed his hand on Kevin’s shoulder again but stopped midway and awkwardly lowered it.
"...This guy told me a few things too. You came to mind. Don’t worry, I’m not planning to snitch. At least, not yet."
"Thank you."
"Thank him. As I said, thanks to you, his bright future in the tower got derailed. All because of you."
Merlin pointed at Oliver with exaggerated gestures, both hands.
Acknowledging this, Oliver bowed politely to Kevin. Why wouldn’t he? If Merlin’s words were true, Kevin had already shown leniency towards him.
The fact that nothing had happened so far was proof of that, and more importantly, he had learned many things from their fight.
Oliver had plenty of reasons to be thankful.
"I sincerely thank you, and I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused."
Kevin shook his head.
"It wasn’t for your sake, so keep your thanks to yourself. And do you even know what sincerity is?"
"Sorry?"
Oliver asked dumbly, unable to understand the cryptic question.
Sincerity? What did that even mean?
"Alright, alright, save the dull talk for when I’m not here. Let’s get straight to business. My knees are starting to hurt."
Merlin patted Oliver’s shoulder and made a tapping motion just above Kevin’s shoulder.
"Dave, let me introduce him properly. Your temporary Senior Disciple and the ‘taxi’ that’ll take you to the tower—Kevin. And Kevin, this is the ‘baggage’ you’ll be taking with you… one you can’t refuse."
The titles they used to introduce each other were telling.
But Oliver didn’t care. Being able to go to the tower was a tremendous help, and he was well aware of how much of a risk his very existence posed.
Oliver brought up something that had been bothering him.
"Was this all planned from the start, sir? That my senior and I would meet while working, and then meet again here?"
"Don’t be foolish. It’s a coincidence. A rather cruel coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless."
He couldn’t read Merlin’s emotions because they were cloaked with magic. He had no choice but to trust him.
"...Sir, should I still address you as Senior Disciple?"
"Don’t call me Senior. Call me Professor. I’m a professor."
"Ah, Professor… Is it really alright for you to take me with you? I am a black magician, after all."
"It doesn’t matter. The tower is full of people who already think me being a professor is sacrilegious. Bringing you along just adds one more problem to the pile."
There was a strange venom in Kevin’s emotions. Complex, deeply ingrained feelings. But despite that, it didn’t seem like he was being forced to take Oliver along.
"Ah… Thank you."
Kevin ignored Oliver’s gratitude and turned to face Merlin.
It was still a strange attitude for someone dealing with their master.
"I’ll take him with me, but he’ll need a cover identity for the paperwork. I can’t bring someone without proper identification."
"I’ll take care of that."
"I already have an ID."
"Not the one you use as a fixer. A clean ID."
Kevin cut him off sharply.
It was true that using his fixer ID in the tower would be extremely dangerous. Oliver kept silent.
"...And we’ll need to decide on a specific role for him."
"Can’t you just bring him along as an errand boy?"
"You may not care, but I do. There are plenty of people at the tower who don’t like me."
"True, the place is crawling with racists, eugenics fanatics, and mage supremacists."
"Exactly. Without a solid reason, people will get suspicious. I don’t hire personal staff, and there are no lobbyists pushing people on me, so they’ll wonder where I found him."
"Hmm... Even if I hand him over, it would need to be for a plausible reason. Just calling him an errand boy is too fishy."
Oliver quietly raised his hand.
"Excuse me, but may I ask what exactly you’re discussing?"
"...Oh, it’s nothing. We’re just talking about what excuse to use for bringing you on as staff. Other professors have lobbyists backing them, so no one bats an eye when they take on staff without any particular skills, but Kevin... doesn’t."
A slight twinge of annoyance and anger stirred in Kevin’s heart.
He understood, but it still frustrated him.
"...So, I need to have a specific skill besides general chores?"
"That would be ideal. If Kevin doesn’t have lobbyists pushing people on him, he’ll have to hire you personally. As I mentioned earlier, if he shows up with someone out of the blue, it’ll raise questions."
‘Unwelcome guest’... It felt like there was more behind those words.
The strange relationship between Merlin and Kevin. Kevin’s complex feelings towards the tower. It all seemed layered with hidden circumstances.
Oliver wanted to ask, but it didn’t feel like the right moment.
He chose to focus on the present situation.
"Would being able to read code language count as a skill?"
"What? Code language?"
Kevin narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Merlin clapped his hands in realization.
"That’s right… I remember now. You studied code language, didn’t you? Only a few in the tower bother to learn it, especially since you can’t access the World Tree. There aren’t many people who know it. This could work."
Merlin mumbled to himself, seemingly satisfied with how things were progressing.
"I think I gave you a book last time. How far did you read? Did you get through Basic Learning of Code Language 2?"
Oliver shook his head.
"Oh... Well, it’s a tough read—"
"No, that’s not it. I finished reading Advanced Learning of Code Language parts one and two. All the books you gave me. And I believe I understood everything."
"...Really?"
Merlin’s reaction suggested he didn’t fully believe him. Oliver spoke again.
"Yes, you told me that with enough time, I’d be able to read through it all. I trusted your words and read whenever I had spare time."
"That was a lie. I just wanted to get rid of those unsold books."
"...Excuse me?"
Despite the brief mishap where Oliver realized he had been tricked, he eventually underwent a code language test.
The test was prepared by Merlin and Kevin, and Oliver was asked to step outside while they graded it.
"This is impressive. He’s at the level where he could immediately start working in the Moirai School."
"Could I take a look?"
Kevin asked with his usual rigid tone.
Merlin handed over the test paper, and Kevin silently read through it.
"...He did this on his own?"
"As far as I know, yes. He could be lying, but I don’t get that feeling."
Kevin glanced at the door Oliver had walked through and nodded.
That strange black magician didn’t seem like the type to lie easily.
The fact that he admitted to Kevin’s probing right away was proof enough.
"Even so, it doesn’t make sense. Code language isn’t something you can just learn on your own."
Kevin’s comment wasn’t nitpicking. It was a fact.
Even though the books contained all the information, the complexity of the code language was notorious.
As a universal language that could interpret all others, the rules, structure, and even word definitions changed as more words were added, or sentences grew longer. The difficulty increased with each level, akin to learning a new language with each step.
It was almost as if the World Tree didn’t want people to access it.
"I agree with you. That’s why people usually need specialized education to master code language. But somehow, we have someone who’s learned it on their own. And from what I can see, he’s just shy of perfect."
Merlin pointed at the test paper in Kevin’s hand.
Kevin examined it again.
There were no mistakes. Even the trick questions designed to trip him up…
"What is he?"
"That’s what I’m entrusting you to figure out."
"...What?"
Kevin, caught off guard, asked dumbly.
His master, Merlin, the current head of the Archive that could only be inherited by the greatest mages, was a repository of countless knowledge, research, and magic left behind by grand mages.
For someone like him to say that instead of answering… Kevin wondered if this was just another of Merlin’s cryptic jokes, but his tone was serious.
"At first, I considered teaching him one-on-one, but I changed my mind. When you stare into the abyss for too long, it starts to stare back. So, I’ve decided to step back and observe him from a distance."
"I don’t understand what you mean."
"You may not fully understand, but surely you get it to some degree. The fact that someone like you accepted this task proves it."
"I’m only following your orders, Master. If I refused, I might be barred from the tower."
"Haha… Young man, what are you talking about? What power do I have?"
"You’ve unified independent schools like Mjölnir, Agni, and Gaia into the Elemental School, and though you’ve retired in name, you’re still the de facto Grand Master. With all due respect, Master, your words aren’t humility—they’re arrogance and deception."
Merlin flinched slightly at Kevin’s pointed remark.
Like a thorn had pricked him.
"That one stung."
Kevin looked like he had more to say, but deliberately changed the subject.
"...Of course, I won’t pretend I’m not interested. He’s no ordinary talent. So please tell me, what exactly made you want to observe him closely?"
Kevin’s serious question hung in the air. It deserved an answer, but Merlin shook his head.
"...To be honest, I don’t know."
"Sorry?"
"Even I, as the Archive, don’t quite understand. I have a sense, but I can’t believe it... That’s why I want to keep watching."
Merlin recalled the emotions he had felt when he first encountered Dave.
"That unknown something."
