I"m not a fan of long chapters u_u. Not because of them being longer to translate, but because sometimes people dont really appreciate them. I"ve seen many comments on the NU forums belittling JP translators when compared to chinese translators in terms of chapters posted. Not all, obviously, but many chinese novels have on average 2500 characters, while most JP novels have way more than that, per chapter.
Anyway, just a little rant, not like I know chinese or anything so my comparison goes only that far.
I want a pizza! But I cant U_U too much fat and it makes me sick (physically sick).
Enjoy the chapter, we now get to see a dark-ish side of the wizards.
Ohh, someone asked why I changed magicians to wizards… well, I never really checked the ill.u.s.trations, but on the cover, the author translated it as “Wizard of the Tower”, not magician, so that"s why.
Episode 7: Wizard a.s.sociation Lynn and Theo wandered around, looking at the main facilities of the city until the time when the reception of the Wizard a.s.sociation opened.
Libraries, hospitals, banks, blacksmiths, grocery stores, general stores, various kinds of shops, temples, stadiums, etc.
From the point of view of Lynn, they all looked like splendid buildings. The stadium, built using a large plot of land, was particularly magnificent and breathtaking. He got excited just by imagining the sight of wizards competing with their skills against each other, observing them from the auditorium-styled seats.
He could hardly believe this was the city at the lowest level in the tower.
Eventually, it became nine o"clock and Lynn went to register to the Wizard a.s.sociation.
The man in charge of registering Lynn gave off the feeling of a proper government office worker. He wore black robes, the same as Yuin and the examiners.
“Uhmm, Lynn-kun, right? Mr. Yuin and Knor-san told me you"ll be coming. You still haven"t enrolled into the Academy, an apprentice wizard… Huh? Do you not have a surname?”
“Well. Sort of.”
Lynn answered while looking down with a reddish face.
Lynn was starting to realize that his origins were something embarra.s.sing.
He never thought there would be any inconvenient in not having a surname, since everyone back in his town knew of his circ.u.mstances and never said anything.
After giving a suspicious look at Lynn, the registration official returned his gaze back at the papers.
“Well, it doesn"t matter. Alright, now I"ll explain about the things to have in mind while living in this tower, so listen carefully.”
The registration official then began to explain to Lynn.
Beyond the 50th layer was exclusive for those who successfully joined the academy, the academy"s exams were in December, if you wanted to live in the tower you must aim to graduate. Also, once a month you should meet with the mentor who recommended you and report on your training progress.
Especially, he told him that reporting to his master was particularly important.
“It"s been arranged for Mr. Yuin to come to the a.s.sociation after lunch. At that time, please talk with him about the training policies and your future learning plans. First of all, give him your thanks. You owe him for bringing you here. Properly show him your grat.i.tude. It is the duty of a disciple to carefully listen and follow the master"s words.”
“I understand.”
“Yeah. That"s great. Did you already hear about the loans before coming here? “
“Yes.”
“50,000 legica is lent to apprentice wizards. If you do not live a life of luxury you shouldn"t be bothered for a month with that amount. If you pay back within a year, there is no interest. The rent of your dormitory is 5,000 legica a month. By the way, have you decided on a job yet? How much magic can you use? “
“None, yet.”
“I guessed so. Then, work at the factory.”
“Factory? “
“Yeah. No matter how immature as a wizard you are, the factory has a job for you. Probably your roommate also works at the factory.”
“I understand.”
Lynn decided after hearing that Theo also worked there. He thought it would be easier compared to other jobs. After all, Lynn considered Theo to be a reliable person.
“Okay, let"s go with that then. You will be working starting tomorrow. You need to buy a cane by tomorrow. You"ll earn 1,000 Legica per day. Well, if you want to get a better job, study a lot and learn magic.”
The man in charge searched inside of a drawer and took out a large seal.
“Give me the back of your hand.”
After hesitating for a moment, Lynn placed his right hand on the desk.
The person in charge then pressed the seal on the back of Lynn"s hand.
“……tch.”
A burning pain rapidly spread from Lynn"s hand.
When the person in charge lifted up the seal, a burning mark or magic characters was left on the back the Lynn"s hand.
“That"s a subst.i.tute for an identification in this tower. You"ll be able to use most of Renrill"s public facilities with just showing it.”
The man in charge then taught Lynn the spell which made the identification information emerge and disappear.
“With this, the procedure is completed. Do you have any questions?”
“No, nothing in particular. Thank you very much.”
“Good. Let me tell you one last thing.”
The man in charge suddenly changed his face to a more serious one.
“People like you come every year to this tower. They who are said to possess the talent to become a wizard, come to this tower with high expectations of becoming one. But reality isn"t that sweet. There are a lot of people who end up living their lives as low-cla.s.s workers who cannot even take the academy"s entrance examination, which was their initial goal in the first place. This is all I got to say. Becoming a magician isn"t something easy to accomplish, even less for someone naive and of doubtful origins like you. You won"t be able to even take the academy"s entrance exam.”
–
“I was never told. There was also a written exam. Besides, you need to work in order to earn money to pay the tuition fee. That"s totally like a scam.”
With feeling of anger and indignation Theo struck the table.
After completing the registration, Lynn and Theo went to have an early lunch at the cafeteria called “Kitchen Gumorie”, which was a short walk away from the a.s.sociation. According to Theo, this was the cheapest place in this city.
Theo began to vent out his dissatisfaction against the tower and its wizards with Lynn.
“Besides, our Masters receive money from the a.s.sociation just by bringing us here. Human trafficking sure is a nice paying job.”
Lynn was troubled about how to react.
For Lynn who was originally a slave, his treatment hadn"t changed much.
But after hearing Theo"s story, suddenly the mysterious att.i.tude of Yuin and the examiners made sense.
Their att.i.tude towards Lynn, somewhat cold and courteous, was the same att.i.tude one would have towards goods.
“Besides, those n.o.ble buys, they hire private wizard tutors in advance in order to prepare for the exam. Even after coming all the way here to the tower, all my master did was leaving me alone.”
“You"ve taken the written exam, Theo?”
“Yeah, and splendidly failed. There"s no way to pa.s.s it without preparing before-hand. That"s why I went to complain to my master. Tell me earlier if there"s an exam. And teach me about magic characters. Guess what he said in response? 『Why should I use my time to help you study?』Can you believe it? You are supposed to be my master So, what do you think?”
Theo skillfully are his meal and continued talking without a pause.
“How terrible.”
“Right? Thanks to that I"ve been studying by myself. All for that troublesome test.”
“Is it that difficult? “
“In any case, it has a lot of memorization. There are hundreds of magic words in the form of characters. The grammar is also complicated. And above all, I need to keep working.”
“Why can"t your master help you studying?”
“He"s busy, or at least that what he said. I don"t know what he"s doing. Lynn, you too should prepare. Maybe you too will be neglected. I can"t imagine receiving proper education from those type of guys. You"ll have to study on your own.”
“And besides studying, I"ll have to work too, right?”
“Pretty much. It"s exhausting. But the work is decent. It"s just that working day after day. Kinda makes one feel like a slave. Don"t you think so? “
“Uhm… about that, I forgot to mention it, but in fact I"m a slave.”
Lynn said with a red face.
“Eh? Is that so?”
After that Theo made a troubled face.
“Well, as long as you become a wizard, the social cla.s.s doesn"t matter. You shouldn"t worry about it.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Lynn was relieved after seeing Theo"s reaction. At least his att.i.tude didn"t change because of his social cla.s.s.
“Anyway, first we need to enter the academy. Otherwise, nothing will begin.”
“Speaking of needs… I was told I needed to buy a cane.”
“Ohh, I see. Let"s go to the company later then.”
“You there. Care to let us pa.s.s.”
Lynn heard someone speak to him from behind. There stood three people wearing a crimson robe. It seemed like Lynn"s chair was in the way, blocking them from pa.s.sing.
“Ah, yes, go ahead.”
Lynn drew the chair to make it easy for them to pa.s.s.
“Thanks.”
The group wearing crimson robes walked a bit away from Lynn and took a sit, close enough for him to hear their talk.
Lynn peaked at them. They all had a golden brooch on the red robe.
“Oh boy, the cafeterias here are always junk. But at least they are cheap.”
“We"re common people after all. Not like those aristocrats. We must lead a humble life.”
The group clad in red robes began eating their meals while complaining.
“That bunch are academy guys. Everyone who"s enrolled into the academy wears that crimson robe. It"s like a uniform”, Theo whispered to Lynn.
“Everyone wears a different colored robe depending on their position and social status?”
“Yeah, the ones in a black robe are members of the a.s.sociation or employed by the a.s.sociation. They are people involved in the management of this tower. In Renrill you"ll only see people with red or black robes.”
Lynn continued to peak at their voices.
“Why is such a primitive cafeteria in a magic city?”
“Don"t say that Agul. Remember the saying. 『A Wizard must not unnecessarily use magic』. Serving the food is something you can easily do yourself.”
“Yeah, yeah—“
“Enough with the chit-chat, let"s start the meeting. We have to finish this during the day.”
The group in red robes started speaking about the contents of a cla.s.s, and the story became a bit difficult to follow.
While spreading a drawing on top of the table, they started to talk among themselves.
“How about embedding magic stones here? We should be able to clear the problem of ma.s.s.”
“But then, the acceleration…”
Lynn observed them doing something advanced and was impressed.
“Amazing. So those are students of the academy.”
“Hmph. It"s not that big of a deal.”
Theo made an expression of not paying much attention to them.
But for the unexperienced Lynn, the simple image of boys and girls just a bit older than him talking about a difficult subject and wearing a school uniform looked cool.
Wondering if he could become like them, his heart filled with expectation and uneasiness.
Suddenly, Lynn remember the girl who wore a white robe, Atrea.
Red robes were for students and black robes for people of the a.s.sociation. Then, what did her white robe meant? Was she an academy graduate? Or something different? What does a white robe mean?
–
Next time: Chapter 8 “Magic Factory”