Chapter 83: The Academic Festival of the Tower of Success (4)

At the moment when Logan and Aiden’s detention order was lifted, Ron stood atop the high castle wall, repeatedly exclaiming with amazement:

“Wow… It’s truly incredible.”

Initially, when Louis first mentioned repairing the massive vehicle, Ron had been skeptical, even doubting him further when he claimed to have built it himself. However, as time passed and he witnessed the gradually transforming wreckage of the Dragon Fly, Ron couldn’t help but believe that this young boy indeed created such a colossal vessel.

“Remarkable, simply remarkable.”

Although members of the Wish Tower were often seen entering through the castle gates, most of the work on the project was being done by Louis alone.

It was no different today. Despite having no one to assist him, Louis diligently worked on repairing this massive vehicle all by himself, eliciting continuous admiration from Ron.

“Heh-heh, I wish I could observe him closer…”

Ron’s reason for hiding atop the castle wall and watching Louis was simple: He had been kicked out by none other than Louis himself.

Hey! Seriously, you’re bothering me! Louis had exclaimed.

Hmm… My apologies. I’ll leave now.

After being chased away, Ron pretended to depart but instead secretly watched Louis from afar. Although he couldn’t get close, observing from a distance still entertained him immensely.

“Heh-heh-heh.”

Just then, Ron noticed Louis stop his busy work at the base of the castle wall and raise both hands triumphantly.

“Huh? What’s he doing?” Ron was puzzled by how excited Louis seemed but quickly realized why.

“Ohhh, I guess he finally finished fixing everything.”

Louis had been working tirelessly for two days without much rest, and it appeared as though he’d completed the repairs. Ron couldn’t hide his pride.

He has great patience.

It was rare to find children that age with such perseverance. Most kids easily got bored or gave up too soon, regardless of their intelligence. But Louis was different.

Louis took care of his duties without anyone prompting him to do so. He even managed tasks most adults would find difficult on his own. Ron appreciated these qualities greatly.

As Ron observed Louis with pride…

“Hmm?”

Once again, Louis reacted strangely. Instead of cheering and celebrating, he started looking around anxiously.

“…I wonder what’s wrong.”

Ron stroked his beard as he analyzed Louis’s odd behavior. The reason quickly became apparent.

“Loouuis!”

“Our Louis! I’m here!”

Soon, two figures raced through the gate as if competing against each other.

“Get out of my way!”

“You first!”

Engaged in a heated argument while sprinting on Dragon Fly, it was none other than Logan and Aiden. Ron chuckled at the sight.

“Heh-heh, I see.”

Ron was well aware of what had transpired between the vice tower masters from Dawn and Dusk Towers involving Louis during the first day of the Academic Festival. In fact, countless people who gathered for the opening ceremony witnessed it firsthand.

Due to their obsession with Louis, both chairmen ended up locking them away. Seeing Logan and Aiden outside today indicated they must have been released.

As Ron observed how Louis made his escape, he burst out laughing again.

“Heh-heh.”

As if sensing their presence, Louis scurried underneath Dragon Fly. Logan and Aiden circled around it but couldn’t locate him, leading to them blaming each other for his escape.

“It’s your fault that Louis ran away!”

“Oh yeah? Says who?”

While they bickered, a small head peeked out from beneath Dragon Fly. Ron couldn’t help laughing at the sight.

“Heh-heh! Look at that little rascal…”

Louis cautiously scanned his surroundings as Logan and Aiden continued arguing. He slowly moved away from them, carefully avoiding spots where he could be spotted by either man.

Preoccupied with their fight, Logan and Aiden didn’t notice Louis’s stealthy movements.

Ron chuckled as he watched Louis dart through the castle gates like a bolt of lightning.

“Heh-heh-heh.” He found it quite entertaining to observe this young man.

Just then, Louis, who seemed ready to make his escape at any moment, suddenly looked up toward the top of the castle wall. Ron’s grin froze on his face, and he murmured quietly:

“That brat… Did he detect my presence?”

From such a distance? And pinpointing Ron’s exact location? It couldn’t be mere coincidence; Louis’s gaze was too accurate.

“Oh…” Ron let out a soft sigh, unable to tear his eyes away from Louis entering the alleyway. He stared blankly for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Louis had managed to shake off Logan and Aiden as he entered the castle grounds. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew, those stubborn old men.” Ever since their encounter on Hap Sunny, Louis knew how tenacious they could be. They’d been quiet for some time, but today, they showed up again.

And that creepy voyeuristic Mr. Haldeman too.

Louis was fully aware of Ron’s gaze, but unlike Logan and Aiden, Ron simply observed from afar without bothering him, so Louis chose to ignore it.

I heard he holds quite a high position?

Indeed, with his first-tier abilities, Ron’s power level surpassed anyone else Louis had encountered in this human world thus far.

Regardless of Ron’s status, he held no significance to Louis. They were merely ships passing in the night, and Louis simply wanted nothing to do with him.

“Ugh… I’m beat.” Rubbing his shoulders, Louis turned down an alleyway.

He had just finished repairing Dragonfly. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for now. He was on his way to inform Dexter about its condition when he muttered under his breath:

“Oh, come on, old man, don’t get so worked up over such a small thing…”

Dexter blamed Louis entirely for the incident that occurred during their first day at work. After enduring constant nagging from the employees at the waterworks administration office, Dexter had been giving Louis the cold shoulder ever since.

Having endured constant harassment from Lumashian water management employees, Dexter was now completely fed up with Louis and refused to speak to him.

“Haah… I’m getting old, so old…”

Dexter wasn’t the only problem. The disciples of the Wish Tower had suddenly turned into homebodies, staying holed up at their lodgings all day long. Fin and Pablo were assigned to keep watch over the twins, leaving Louis to run around doing everything else.

Seriously, if it weren’t for that Dragon-Slaying Sword!

He persevered through these hardships solely due to the promised reward; otherwise, he would have thrown in the towel by now. Grumbling under his breath, Louis’s pace quickened gradually as he walked.

The next morning…

Pop-pop!

Colorful smoke fireworks adorned the beautiful blue autumn sky as mages began their procession. Among them were Louis and the Avalon group.

“Are you okay?” Louis asked Dexter, who looked nervous.

“W-wh…what do you mean?”

“You’re shaking quite a bit.” Louis glanced at Dexter’s trembling legs.

Dexter loudly protested, “Wh-who said I’m shaking?!”

His voice clearly betrayed his fear.

Louis sighed and scanned the area around him.

People sure are diverse.

Pablo and the twins excitedly surveyed the bustling crowd, but the issue lay with the disciples from the Wish Tower.

The disciples of the Wish Tower flinched at even the slightest brush against their clothes. Having been cooped up for days before finally emerging on the day of the Academic Festival, they seemed uneasy amidst the thronging crowd, as if it were all foreign to them.

Well… I can understand why.

On average, these individuals had spent ten years isolated and dedicated solely to research. Victor, with fifteen years of uninterrupted study under his belt, was the most experienced among them. Naturally, being surrounded by so many people felt unfamiliar to them.

Additionally, the unique appearances of the Wish Tower’s disciples drew attention from others. Floria wore her eyes covered with black cloth; Victor limped with a cane; Douglas, the dwarf, sported a prosthetic arm.

With Erica’s dazzling beauty and all of them dressed similarly, it was no wonder they drew attention. Unaccustomed to being stared at, the group felt rather self-conscious.

Erica seemed more composed than her peers, but she wasn’t immune to their discomfort either.

Oh dear…

Louis sighed but refrained from saying anything further. It took enough courage for them just to attend the Academic Festival together like this. Louis turned his gaze away from the Wish Tower group and focused ahead.

It certainly is massive.

Countless mages were heading toward an enormous building in the distance.

Looks similar to an Olympic stadium.

The structure resembled a modern Olympic stadium where the presentations for this year’s Academic Festival would take place. Typically used by civilians to watch plays and performances, it was closed off to the public exclusively for the festival.

“Oh come on! Hurry up already!”

“We-we’re walking as fast as we can!” Louis urged his slow-moving colleagues from the Wish Tower along.

Shortly after, they arrived at the tent set up for participants of the Academic Festival.

“Whew…”

“I-it’s terrifying.”

“How c-could there be so many people?”

“…I want to go home.”

Despite the brief walk from their lodgings to the presentation venue, the Wish Tower disciples were sweating profusely, seemingly drained by the crowd.

While the four invalids gasped for breath, Louis gazed at the Transcender secured within the Dragonfly, still covered by its cloth. Dexter approached him quietly.

Louis asked, “When is our turn?”

“We’re first.”

“Hmm… Should I be happy about that?”

Thirty-five teams from various towers participated in this year’s Academic Festival. Considering the multitude of towers across the Autumn Continent, it wasn’t an overwhelming number but certainly not insignificant either. Being first to present put additional pressure on the Wish Tower.

“First in line…”

Presentations going first usually garnered much attention, but they were often forgotten as time passed. While this could be seen as less pressure, it wasn’t necessarily ideal for making a lasting impression. Consequently, teams with significant influence tended to present later in the program. The fact that the Tower of Brilliance was last on the list made this clear.

Louis didn’t like this arrangement.

They probably don’t expect much from us.

It reflected how society currently viewed the Wish Tower. Dexter’s slight wry smile indicated he understood this reality all too well.

Seeing his expression, Louis chuckled and nudged him playfully.

“Old man.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

“…What nerves?”

Dexter chuckled helplessly but couldn’t help feeling proud of Louis.

That brat…

Instead of encouraging Dexter himself, Louis had taken on that role. As chairman, Dexter felt utterly inadequate.

Ha-ha! If even our rookie can handle it, how could I let nerves get to me?

Summoning his courage, Dexter strode toward Dragon Fly and removed the cloth covering the Transcender.

Whoooosh.

The fabric fluttered away, revealing the gleaming silver machine beneath. With newfound confidence, Dexter yelled at his disciples:

“You slackers! How long are you going to laze around?! We have only thirty minutes left before the presentation! Don’t you need to do one last check?!”

At Dexter’s outburst, the four disciples finally gathered together.

The disciples who had looked like they were on their deathbeds moments ago suddenly transformed. Their expressions turned serious as each of them became experts in their respective fields instead of useless layabouts.

Louis enthusiastically shouted, “All right! Let’s blow everyone away!”

It was slightly cheesy, but there was no better way to express how Louis felt at that moment. He rushed toward the Transcender along with his teammates.

Twenty minutes later, most mages were putting finishing touches on their presentations as showtime approached.

Boom! Boom!

“What’s causing all this racket?” A mage passing by the Wish Tower pavilion stopped abruptly due to the loud noise.

And then it happened.

Whirrr…

Outside the Wish Tower pavilion, a silver arm emerged with a mechanical whine.

“Huh?”

Riiip.

The silver arm tore through the entrance flap, revealing its massive owner.

“Whoa!” A mage happened to pass by the Wish Tower tent at that moment, and it was his lucky day. He had just witnessed the unveiling of an invention poised to revolutionize the world.