Here"s chapter 6, I decided to change “Magician” to “Wizard” starting in this chapter. Will come back to past chapters to fix it soon.
Also, I noticed one thing some of you might wonder. Why do I call the chapters “Episodes” instead of chapter, like all the other translators? Well, I did at the start of my translations, but decided against it for two reasons. One is, I want there to be something a bit different with my translations. And second, usually in j.a.panese, (At least in web novels) chapters are called episodes, and arcs/volumes are called chapters. Imagine it like one book is a “chapter” in the whole story.
Anyway, enough with the nonsense.
My tooth hurts TT_TT
On to the chapter!
Episode 6: The city of the wizard apprentices.
When he woke up in the morning, Lynn was enveloped in a soft light.
It was a mysterious light a bit different from the sunlight, but also quite not the light of candles and lamps.
Because of that, for a moment he wasn"t sure where he was, but he soon remembered that he had entered the tower yesterday, as he was looking around the interior of the room.
When he turned towards Theo"s bed, it was already empty. Lynn came out from the bed and stretched out.
(What time is it?)
He had no clock and couldn"t grasp the position of the sun, so he didn"t know the time.
A soft light filled the room, seemingly being emitted by the walls.
It had no orange tint, like the light of a candle or a lamp, it was white and felt almost unchanged from the normal sunlight.
He didn"t know how it worked, but it felt like magic.
Lynn sat quietly on the edge of the bed for a while, but somehow felt restless.
Where had Theo go?
Should he go outside too?
But if he were to leave the room carelessly, he might get lost in this labyrinth-like tower.
Just as he began to think about taking a look at the situation outside, the door opened loudly and Theo entered the room.
“Lynn. You awake yet? Oh, you"re up. Then let"s have breakfast and register to the a.s.sociation.”
In Theo"s hands was a basket with bread.
He felt relieved. He was beginning to think that he was going to stay in the room without doing anything until night fell.
As he walked out to the corridor, he noticed it was different from last night, and was enveloped by a bright light. There was no hustle of people, and the corridor was very quiet. Probably everyone who lived here had already gone out.
Walking alongside Theo, Lynn arrived at the same elevator that brought him here, to the Rat"s Nest yesterday. When both got inside, Theo casted a spell.
“Tenth level, Magic City Renrill! “
Lynn chewed on the bread he received from Theo as the elevator moved.
“You really helped me. I was sure you already left to your workplace.”
“I did. But I just went to show my face and took the day off. Since I have to guide you. Because you"ve just arrived and therefore you don"t know anything about this tower.”
“Yeah, I guess that"s right. I really don"t know anything. …Uhmm, Sorry. You had to take a day off because of me.”
“It"s okay. It seems like it won"t cost me the whole earnings from the day.”
Theo answered with a yawn.
Mornings were apparently not his strong point.
The pa.s.sageway of the elevator then filled with white light. The intensity and softness of that light was not much different from the light of the morning sun.
“It"s bright. Is this also the power of magic? “
“No, this isn"t magic. It"s the light from the sun stone.”
“Sun stone? “
“It"s a stone that traps the sun"s light. The intensity of the light it gives off changes accordingly to the movement of the sun. Thanks to the sun stones, you can be indoors and receive the same sunlight as if you were outdoors. Therefore, plants can be grown inside the tower. There are sun stones embedded in most of the inner walls of the tower.”
“Is that so?”
The elevator continued to move through the white pa.s.sageway.
The scenery was unchanged, even when the elevator came to a fork in the road.
White maze-like pa.s.sageways continued everywhere.
Lynn couldn"t get used to this labyrinth and this elevator yet.
It was more times better than going through yesterday"s darkness, but still, the unending white walls gave off an inorganic and eerie feeling.
In order to distract himself from those thoughts, Lynn talked to Theo.
“Uhmm, what was it? …the a.s.sociation you were talking about…? That"s where we"re going now, right? What kind of place is it? “
“Yeah. Wizard a.s.sociation. That"s the place where wizards enrolled in the tower register and are managed. Well, you can think of it as a government office. Wizards must register in the a.s.sociation"s roster in order to be able to work in the tower, they"ve taken good care of me. If there"s anything you don"t understand, you can ask the a.s.sociation and they will explain to you. They also help you find a job.”
“Ohh. It"s quite convenient.”
Lynn was impressed by the organization called Wizard a.s.sociation, but he was also impressed by Theo. His explanation was concise, easy to understand and could be comprehended without a problem.
(I guess he is a smart kid after all.)
“How long have you been here, Theo? “
“Around four months, or so. I"m not that different from you, I"m still an apprentice who just came here.”
“But the magic you showed me yesterday in the room was amazing. Was that something your master taught you? “
“No, that was something I learned at my work place. My master would not tell me anything.”
“……? Huh? Is that so? “
“The days when work is off, Sat.u.r.day and Sunday, free courses are held for people like us. They teach us the rules of living at the tower and how to use simple magic. Apart from that, its self-taught.”
“Why doesn"t your master teach you magic? “
“Master is… How to say it. Let me ask you first, you aren"t part of the aristocracy, right Lynn?”
“Uhm, y-yes, you"re correct.”
“I guessed so. Me too, I am a commoner. Well, I think you"ll come to understand it sooner or later.”
It was an unusual answer for Theo who had been pretty straight forward with his answers.
But even so, what could he mean by his master not teaching him magic? Theo talked like social status and cla.s.ses were related, but what had that to do with practicing magic?
Lynn tilted his head in confusion.
“…We"re almost there.”
Theo murmured while he was his arms crossed, feeling the atmosphere surrounding them change. At the same time, Lynn felt the wind blowing from below. The elevator was now descending straight downwards.
Suddenly, the elevator left the narrow pa.s.sageway and entered an open place.
The four walls around it disappeared and it was seemingly thrown into an empty sky, as far as the eyes could see.
The wind coming in contact with the cage made it shake.
In his surprise, Lynn looked down through the gaps in the cage and the view astonished even further.
There was a city below.
The elevator carrying the two descended from the sky towards the city, towards the Magic City Renrill at the tenth layer.
One could see at a glance the maintained roads dividing the city in sections and the buildings crammed close together.
And on those roads, one could see people coming and going, the bustle of the early morning.
For a moment, Lynn forgot he was inside of a tower.
“Amazing! It"s the first time I"ve seen a city directly from above.”
Lynn raised his voice in admiration. Looking around, there were other elevators besides the one carrying Lynn and Theo, traveling through the air.
“It"s the Magic City Renrill. It"s one of the cities in the tower, and the only one we can enter at this moment.”
Theo rolled up the sleeve on his left hand and began to chant a spell.
Then, a pattern appeared around his wrist.
A disc, numbers and needles emerged simulating a clock.
“…Seven o"clock. There"s still time until the a.s.sociation opens. Do you want to look around in the meantime?”
The cage carrying Lynn and Theo was sucked into the tallest building located in the center of the city through the ceiling.
Next, Episode 7 “Wizard a.s.sociation”
TLN: Master refers to their respective shishou, in Lynn"s case it would be Yuin, so it seems like Theo was also recommended.