Chapter 77: A Man’s Fantasy (2)

Ron frowned at the expectant looks directed toward him.

“Tsk! Forget it. Should I really fight with them over a disciple at my age? Besides, they’re known for their exaggerations. Once every thousand years indeed! Don’t waste your time on such nonsense.”

“…Understood.” The high-ranking mage reluctantly withdrew at Ron’s firm response.

However, sensing that there might still be room to persuade his superior, he cleared some papers aside and spoke up again as soon as everyone else had left the room.

“Well now, finding a suitable disciple can wait until I have more time. But before then… How is the preparation for the academic festival coming along?”

“No need to worry about that. I’ve been thoroughly preparing for this since five years ago.”

“Don’t be overconfident. The academic conference gathers scholars from every tower across the continent, so we must be fully prepared. We have to demonstrate why the name of the brightest Fragment of Luminosity stands above all others!”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“And know that I plan to participate in the conference myself this time around.”

“You yourself, sir…?”

“Yes. My recent research has yielded some promising results, and I thought it would be appropriate to present them at the conference.”

“Oh!” The executives’ faces lit up with excitement.

While they were strict when evaluating their disciples, there was no denying that their Tower Master was the greatest mage on the eastern continent.

With such groundbreaking research from their own colleague, they could establish themselves among countless other towers at this academic conference, regardless of how others’ presentations were received. This was welcome news for those who had been feeling quite pressured about the event.

Seeing everyone’s faces light up, Ron waved his hand dismissively. “Well then, off you go and get to work.”

“We’ll take our leave now.”

As the executives left like an ebbing tide, silence returned to Ron’s study.

He leaned back in his chair and muttered, “My disciple…”

His words hung heavy in the stillness of the room.

Louis and Dexter were holed up in their workshop, devoting every waking moment to their research. Dexter was filled with anticipation for finally completing his life’s work, while Louis was excited about bringing this dream to fruition with his own hands. They argued over every detail as they immersed themselves in building the Transcendence Engine day in and day out.

Their collaboration flowed smoothly, and Dexter’s decade-long stagnant project advanced rapidly thanks to Louis joining forces with him—at least initially.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Why can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“You need to articulate yourself clearly first!”

Dexter and Louis bickered incessantly, mainly due to disagreements regarding the power source of the Transcendence Engine.

“How could you not get it? It’s so simple!”

“…This thing? How is it simple?”

“I mean, if we do this and then that…!”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘this’ and ‘that’?”

“Ugh!”

Louis and Dexter pounded their chests as they glared at each other, both frustrated beyond belief. Eventually, Dexter let out a huff of resignation.

“Haaah…” His face conveyed his utter despair.

This brat…

Ever since starting research with Louis, Dexter had been astonished more times than he could count. The longer they spent together, the more Dexter learned about him.

What the heck happened to him?

Dexter already knew Louis was a genius, but now he seemed downright supernatural.

I wonder how he became like this…

When they first started their joint research, Dexter had clearly been more knowledgeable about artifacts. This was understandable given that he’d spent years immersed in them. Initially, Dexter had taught Louis based on his extensive knowledge and understanding of artifacts, but as time went by, there were fewer things to teach him, and the gap between them narrowed considerably.

A few days ago, they began working together as equals, and just two days back, Louis surpassed Dexter’s level of expertise. Despite dedicating decades of his life solely to studying artifacts, Dexter had been overtaken in the blink of an eye.

Ha-ha-ha…

The situation felt utterly hopeless.

Today, Louis presented a theory that even Dexter couldn’t comprehend.

When Dexter asked Louis to elaborate further, it only made things more confusing.

This damn brat…

Dexter quickly realized what was happening. Despite being straightforward and not requiring any complex theories from his perspective, Louis couldn’t grasp them at all.

Dexter helplessly slumped down in his chair.

…Such is life with geniuses.

Louis might be even more frustrated than Dexter, as he found himself teaching instead of learning from his mentor.

Huh… Who knew I’d have to pull an all-nighter at this age?

While lifelong learning was important, Dexter suspected he was the only teacher who had nothing left to teach their late-blooming student.

“Haah…” He let out a small sigh.

Louis looked at him strangely. “What’s wrong?”

“No… Never mind that. How’s the primal stone upgrade coming along?”

Initially, Dexter and Louis had collaborated on creating the Transcendence Engine, but eventually, Dexter handed over full responsibility to his disciple. At some point, Louis surpassed him in understanding the primal stone technology, making Dexter feel like he was hindering progress more than helping. As such, Dexter focused on other areas of research outside of primal stones.

Louis responded solemnly, “The upgrade is progressing well, but there’s a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“The current structure is too large. I’ve been working on increasing its output, but if we continue this way, I foresee errors occurring when connecting it to various components.”

“Why is that?”

“The magic spell powering the improved engine is incompatible with the one created by Grandpa.”

“Can’t you…change it somehow?”

“Honestly, there’s a limit to what can be achieved using Grandpa’s original spell. We need my upgraded version.”

“What if I modify the core spell I’m currently researching?”

“It’s possible, but then we’d also have to adjust the external devices… Do we have enough time for that?”

“Ugh…” Dexter groaned.

It was true that their research had accelerated significantly since Louis joined them. However, the problem remained: time was running out.

The Autumn Continent Tower Academic Festival was only two weeks away. They simply couldn’t afford the extra time needed to redesign both the external devices and the primal stone within such a short period.

Dexter let out a heavy sigh. “Well…we’ll just have to do our best with what we currently have. We’ll figure something out.”

“If you’ve made your decision, please hurry before it’s too late.”

“All right…” Dexter closed his eyes, exhausted.

Just then…

Dizzzzzy.

He swayed and nearly collapsed but managed to steady himself by grabbing onto the table at the last second. Louis rushed over anxiously and looked up at him.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine. Just feeling a bit tired.”

“Please take a break. You haven’t rested properly for weeks now.”

Dexter shot Louis an incredulous look. “And who are you to talk? Haven’t you been pulling all-nighters these past few days as well?”

“I’m young and sturdy.”

“He’s young… Anyway, you won’t grow tall if you keep pulling all-nighters like this! You’re only ten years old now—eat and sleep properly to hit your growth spurt!”

“…Stop talking nonsense. I’m going to be tall someday.” Louis glared at Dexter.

Being short was his sore spot.

Seeing Louis pout, Dexter waved him off. “Let’s call it a day. I need some rest too. You should take it easy as well.”

“I hear you. I’ll get more work done outside anyway.”

“All right then…” Exhausted, Louis gathered up scattered blueprints and left with them piled high on his chest.

Dexter watched after him blankly.

“Ohhh…” A small smile spread across Dexter’s face.

That kid…

Gratitude shone brightly on his features.

Initially, Dexter hadn’t been keen on taking Louis as his disciple, but now he couldn’t imagine doing without him. With Louis’s monstrous talent, any other tower would have begged for him to join them, yet here he was helping out at the small Wish Tower with minimal support. Dexter felt both grateful and guilty about this fact. Additionally, despite their daily bickering, Dexter had grown quite fond of Louis over time.

I wonder what I should do…

Truthfully, Dexter had initially refused to take Louis as his apprentice, not just for the sake of his existing disciples but also for himself. He didn’t want to abandon these beloved individuals before death claimed him.

Sigh… Dexter’s sigh grew heavier.

Louis ventured outside and unexpectedly encountered someone familiar.

“Huh? Mr. Yoon?”

“Ah, there you are.”

The headman had come to visit the Tower of Wishes, smiling warmly at Louis as he greeted him.

“Are you here to see the Tower Master?” asked Louis, eyeing the bottle of alcohol in the headman’s hand.

Yoon nodded affirmatively. “I’m planning to have a drink with my old friend for the first time in ages.”

“He’s inside, but I’m not sure if it’s wise for you to drink now.”

“Oh?”

“You almost collapsed earlier today.”

“Dang…”

With a frown, the headman casually entered Dexter’s workshop as if it were his own home.

As Louis watched, ready to leave, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“I heard you nearly passed out again!”

The headman’s raised voice echoed from inside Dexter’s workshop, and Louis perked up at the sound.

“…Louis said that? It’s nothing to worry about.”

“But people dropping like flies is definitely something to worry about!”

“For crying out loud… Listen here, boy, old age catches up with everyone eventually. You should know this by now. Stop making a fuss.”

Hearing their voices, Louis squatted down outside the door.

“A fuss?! You’re my only friend left in this village. Are you asking me to watch you suffer until your time comes?”

“Heh-heh, I’ve lived a full life anyway.”

“How much time do you have left?”

“Well, maybe two years if I’m lucky?”

“And what about worst-case scenario?”

“They say it could be as soon as tomorrow.”

“You mean that healer, Dolf?”

“If only it were him… I heard he’s quite renowned in Haytons City.”

“Hmm…” The headman groaned and sounded exasperated as he asked, “So when do you plan to tell the others?”

“Louis already knew from the start… He’s quick-witted, so he likely sensed my time was near anyway.”

“…Not Louis.”

“The rest of them… It would be better if they didn’t know.”

“How selfish can you be? Do you think they’ll appreciate being kept in the dark after your passing?”

“Heh-heh, so you want me to spread rumors about being an old man on his deathbed? No need for that, dear friend.”

“You’ve spent over ten years with those kids. You need to give them time to prepare themselves for your departure.”

“But that would only cause more worry. It’s best if you pretend not to know anything about it.”

Outside their door, Louis scratched his head as he listened to their conversation.

I knew it.

Just as Dexter had said, Louis sensed what was going on: The Tower Master didn’t have much longer to live. This was confirmed by eavesdropping on Dexter and the headman’s discussion.

No wonder he seems so anxious.

With each passing day, the Tower Master felt increasingly pressured because he still hadn’t achieved his life goal despite his dwindling time left.

“Hmm…” Louis rubbed his stubby chin with one hand.

Come to think of it, he’s not the only one running out of time. I don’t have all day either.

While Louis was up against deadlines for both the academic conference and his own life span, Louis had the safety of the continent and Genelocers weighing heavily on him as well.

“Hmmmm…” Deep in thought, Louis abruptly stood up. “Perfect!” A faint smile appeared on his face, hinting at some scheme brewing inside his head. He clutched the blueprints tightly and dashed off.