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Chapter 6
However, even from Liriope’s perspective, Calliona’s condition was anything but normal.
Originally, Liriope had collapsed and lost consciousness almost immediately after receiving the inheritance of magic. As a result, she had no idea how Calliona had gone through the sacrament.
All she knew was that when Calliona opened her eyes again, she had appeared to be perfectly fine, and even afterward, she had shown no problems whatsoever when using magic.
So naturally, Liriope had assumed that Calliona, unlike herself, had gone through the sacrament without any difficulty.
Just then, Calliona suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood and helplessly crumpled to the side.
“Big sister!”
Liriope instinctively reached out her arms, and Calliona’s limp body fell into her embrace.
Liriope hurriedly checked her condition.
Meanwhile, the mage who had been looking over the surviving children with an appraising gaze spread his arms and smiled brightly—a smile that looked all the more grotesque because it was so completely inappropriate for the situation.
“Congratulations, everyone! From today onward, you are proud children of Bellegoth. The Northern Magic Tower sincerely welcomes you.”
Yet no one was happy to hear those words.
Instead, the sacrament hall, which had suddenly grown as cold as if covered in a thin layer of ice, was filled with nothing but a heavy silence.
“From now on, you will belong to the Outer Tower of the Northern Magic Tower, where your qualifications as mages will be continuously evaluated. If you do your best and prove yourselves worthy, you will soon be allowed to enter the Inner Tower and enjoy a comfortable life.”
The mage continued speaking in a benevolent voice, completely unconcerned.
“You are chosen children, so you may be a little more joyful. Look at yourselves. Less than half a day ago, you were all orphans starving on the streets, just like one another. But look at what happened to those who were unqualified. They have ended up like filthy piles of garbage.”
The red-haired boy hurriedly covered his mouth and gagged.
“Ugh…”
“So be proud of yourselves. Once again, welcome to the Northern Magic Tower as mages!”
The mage’s voice, filled with madness, echoed over the corpses of the children like a funeral dirge.
“Now then, I shall take you to the place where you will be staying from now on.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a magic circle spread across the floor.
All the children—those who had died during the sacrament as well as those who had survived—were once again engulfed by black magical energy.
“There is only one rule in the Outer Tower.”
When the magic that had covered their vision like splashing water finally disappeared, they found themselves dropped into an underground space shrouded in ominous darkness.
“Survive.”
The mage’s cursed voice echoed ominously, leaving behind a sinister afterimage.
It was the signal proving that Liriope had finally crossed the gates of this wretched hell once again.
At that very moment, in the Inner Tower of the Northern Magic Tower.
A handsome black-haired boy sitting by the window suddenly turned his head.
His cold, golden eyes were directed toward the place where the Outer Tower stood, beyond an invisible barrier.
“Belkiers? Why did you suddenly stop?”
When the boy’s magic stone lost its light and fell from the air, the other children, who had been absorbed in their respective tasks, raised their heads in confusion.
At that exact moment, a vast expanse of magical energy moved outside the window.
Only then did the children seem to understand, and they nodded.
“Oh, I see. The sacrament must already be over. I wonder if there’ll be some decent kids this time?”
“Hmph. The human shields they bring in every year are probably all the same.”
With this year’s Outer Tower test beginning once again, some of the children showed curiosity while others clicked their tongues in displeasure.
The Northern Magic Tower was clearly divided into two spaces: the ‘Outer Tower’ and the ‘Inner Tower.’
The ‘Outer Tower’ was used solely to receive and test newcomers, and it was connected to an underground area constructed like a labyrinth.
The ‘Inner Tower,’ on the other hand, was the domain of true mages.
There, mages were given the opportunity to rise all the way to the top of the Magic Tower according to their abilities and enjoy wealth and glory, while simultaneously carrying the responsibility of protecting humanity from calamity.
And among all of that, this particular place was an upper-level classroom in the Inner Tower that only ten specially chosen boys and girls were permitted to enter.
Every one of them possessed exceptional looks and talent, and their starting points as mages were fundamentally different from those of everyone else.
They were special children who had been recognized for their aptitude from infancy and raised as the adopted children of the Tower Master from the very beginning.
“It may be a long-standing tradition of the Magic Tower, but I still don’t particularly like bringing in filthy orphans from who-knows-where every year.”
One of them, a silver-haired boy who was especially proud of being an adopted son of the Tower Master, grumbled.
His name was Evangeline, and even among the ten exceptional boys and girls, he boasted outstanding abilities.
His sharp red eyes, partially concealed behind his glasses, revealed his sensitive temperament.
“Aw, but it’s not so bad, is it? We get convenient slaves out of it. And the more toys we have to play with, the better. Don’t be so stingy, Erin.”
The one who spoke this time was a boy named Leo, sitting across from Evangeline.
With blue hair tied into a ponytail and eyes resembling emeralds, he was an excellent young mage who constantly competed with Evangeline for second and third place in their rankings.
The malicious words coming from his pleasant, friendly smile made Evangeline frown.
“I’ve already told you 2,489 times not to pretend we’re close by calling me Erin. And playing with such filthy things? You certainly have quite the stomach.”
“Filthy? We’re both orphans without parents, you know. That’s a little harsh.”
“Huh? What do you mean, we’re the same? Us, who were chosen by the Tower Master and personally raised by him from infancy, and those pathetic, mediocre nobodies? Are you serious?”
Evangeline snorted as though the idea were absurd, then soon broke into a mocking smile.
“I didn’t know you had a self-deprecating hobby, Leo. Still, keep your self-deprecation to yourself, will you? Don’t drag me into that defeatist ideology of yours.”
“Haha. You’re always so sensitive whenever this subject comes up, even while pretending you’re not. Don’t you realize that whenever you get so worked up, it only makes it obvious that you consider your origins a weakness?”
“What? What kind of nonsense are you—”
“Isn’t it true? No matter how hard we struggle, an adopted child can never beat a biological child in the end.”
At that moment, Evangeline’s face turned cold as ice.
Leaving him behind, Leo shifted his smiling eyes to the side.
There, he saw the black-haired boy who was still staring out the window.
He was the first to notice the activation of the sacrament’s magic, and he was a boy who suited the name Bellegoth better than anyone.
His name was Belkiers.
Among the ten special children, he was the only one who had been born with a true golden spoon in his mouth.
His jet-black hair and golden eyes looked exactly like those of the current Tower Master of the Northern Magic Tower, and that alone was enough to make every child present envy him.
But Belkiers had inherited more from the Tower Master than merely his excellent appearance.
As if proving that he had been born a winner, he possessed magical talent superior to anyone else’s.
That was the true treasure and blessing he had inherited.
So much so that despite being only in his mid-teens, there was not a single person who doubted that he would become the next Tower Master.
Leo thought that, in a certain sense, Evangeline was impressive for being capable of feeling jealousy toward someone like that.
“Well, whatever. Erin, I didn’t bring it up because I wanted to argue with you. Let’s stop with the pointless talk and make a bet.”
“Instead of wasting your time on something so stupid, draw your magic circle. There’s only ten minutes left on the time limit. I suppose you’re feeling pretty relaxed?”
Despite the cold criticism, Leo remained unfazed.
“Oh, come on. The loser has to take the next mock battle without body regeneration. How about it?”
“Hah? You seem pretty confident.”
Evangeline was dumbfounded by the sudden proposal, but after calculating something in his head, he smiled.
“Well, fine. It’s a vulgar little game, but I suppose it won’t hurt as a one-time amusement. What are we betting on?”
“Let’s see. How about we guess how many children will pass the Outer Tower this year?”
“Not bad. How many are you betting on, Leo?”
“I’m going with ten. I heard that because last year’s results were poor, they’ll be putting more effort into recruiting new kids this year. Besides, like I said earlier, the more toys, the better.”
“Hmph. I’m still going with last year’s record: three. It’s pathetic to place any expectations on insects.”
“Haha. Then it’s settled?”
Leo whistled playfully before turning to Belkiers.
“Belkiers, what about you?”
The magic stone that had somehow floated back into the air once again cast a cold shadow over Belkiers’ face.
“I’m…”
