Chapter 34: Mage's Tower

The gigantic, nine-storey circular tower soared into the heavens.

Altein Mage's Tower.

Otherwise known as the Mage's Cradle, a place where mages gathered, studied, and trained.

He passed the bronze statues of Kunta and Rashia, who were considered to be the greatest mages in history, and entered the magic tower.

All sorts of magical devices, materials, and grimoires were sold on the first floor.

It felt as though he'd come to a supermarket.

A six-story display counter showed off all sorts of magic items, which were neatly organized.

'What luck.'

Since he had his own grimoire to sell, he checked the other grimoires' for their market price.

Grimoires that taught fire or lightning magic tended to be on the more expensive side, while water, wind, earth, etc. were less so.

But they didn't sell a grimoire that taught both Northerly Wind and Cold Snow, and Sharp Gale. Therefore, he couldn't get an exact price for the grimoire.

Kang Oh headed towards the help desk.

There, a cute female mage garbed in light purple robes was dealing with customers.

"I happened to find a grimoire; is there any way I can find out its market price?" Kang Oh asked.

"Yes. We're also willing to do a consignment sale as well. Of course, we take an 8% commission on the sale," the female mage smiled and said.

Kang Oh took out the <North Wind's Intermediate Grimoire> from his inventory.

"Please appraise this."

"Just a moment please."

As the female mage examined the grimoire, her eyes shone with astonishment.

"This... Where did you find this?"

"I didn't obtain it illegally."

He'd just picked it up; after all, it didn't have an owner anymore.

"Ah, that's not what I was implying... Do you know anything about the person who wrote this?" the female mage asked.

"Bercy?"

"You do know!"

"Not really."

He felt as though this would lead to trouble, so he feigned ignorance.

"You're lying. You do know!"

"I really don't."

"If there's anything you know about the North Wind, Ms. Bercy, then you must tell our professor!" the female mage pleaded.

'Professor?'

The word, 'professor', drew his interest. Within the Mage's Tower, a mage worthy enough of obtaining the title of professor meant that their abilities were top-notch.

"Ahem. What relationship does that professor of yours have with Bercy?" Kang Oh asked.

If they had bad blood between them, then he shouldn't tell them about Bercy.

"I heard that they were friends that went adventuring together."

'Friend, huh...'

If that's the case, then he had the right to know about Bercy's death.

"May I see that professor? I have something to tell them regarding Ms. Bercy," Kang Oh said.

"I understand. Please follow me."

The female mage asked another nearby mage to take over the help desk and lead Kang Oh away.

Kang Oh and the female mage took the magically automated elevator and went up to the 8th floor.

It was where the professors' office was located, a place where only the professors were allowed to gather and study magic.

There was a guard there, but due to the female mage's presence, they were able to pass without any problems.

"Here."

He saw a red door decorated with silver. There was a sign attached to it that said 'Gospel'.

Knock, knock.

The female mage knocked.

"Professor, it's me, Rico. May I come in?"

The female mage's name was Rico.

"Come in."

A voice came from within.

Rico opened the door and gestured for Kang Oh to go in.

Kang Oh entered the professor's office and looked around.

It was a giant study. There were countless books stacked into the bookshelves.

There was a giant table at the center of the room, and there were all sorts of magic devices, materials, and thick books scattered atop it.

Lastly, there was a tall, skinny, gray-haired old man wearing glasses. He was like a stick.

"You should be working right now. Why have you come?" the old man asked.

Even as he spoke, he continued to stare at Kang Oh.

"This is Professor Gospel."

Rico politely pointed towards the old man.

"This is... Ah, now that I think about it, I never got your name. What's your name?" Rico pointed at Kang Oh and asked.

"Kang Oh."

"Ah, so your name is Kang Oh. Professor, this person says he knows what happened to Ms. Bercy."

"What?"

Gospel's once fastidious expression changed instantly.

"Do you really know what happened to Bercy?" Gospel asked with a passionate gaze.

"I do."

"She... where is she?"

His voice trembled.

It seemed like their relationship wasn't normal.

"It's a long story. Would you like to sit down and listen?"

Kang Oh pointed towards the soft sofa on the other side of the professor's office.

"Hoo, go ahead and sit."

Gospel slowly stood up and headed towards the sofa.

* * *

Kang Oh relayed the story of Bercy and Baramut to Gospel.

He told her where she'd hid, how she'd spent the rest of her life, as well as how she had died as well.

Gospel's expression changed from moment to moment.

At times, it was a face of yearning or of sadness, but he also felt relieved and thanked Kang Oh for burying Baramut and Bercy together.

"Could you show me the grimoire that Bercy wrote?"

Kang Oh took out Bercy's grimoire from his inventory and passed it to Gospel.

Gospel carefully took the book, as if he were handling a child, and stroked it. After that, he looked through it.

Tears began to flow from his eyes.

"It's her handwriting all right."

Gospel touched the letters with his fingertips.

"She was my first and last love," Gospel said.

Kang Oh hadn't asked, but Gospel was too deep in yearning, so it just came out.

"Ahem."

Kang Oh didn't watch melodramas or romantic movies, so he coughed uncomfortably.

Despite that, Gospel began talking about Bercy.

About how when they were young, they had adventured together and that he'd fallen in love with her, and how he'd let her go without even confessing his feelings.

From that point on, Gospel, ashamed of himself, had put all his focus on magic, and even cut all contact with Bercy.

Thus, Gospel had lived all this time without knowing whether she was dead or alive.

"I... If I was a little braver, then..."

Ultimately, he ended it by blaming himself.

"Professor..."

Rico, who had been listening to Gospel's story from beside them, wiped her own tears.

Whereas Kang Oh was thinking about something else.

'This might be...'

It could be a good chance to sell the grimoire and keepsake at a high price.

"If that's the case, then... I believe that you should have this grimoire, or Bercy's keepsake," Kang Oh said.

"Is that alright with you?" Gospel asked, his face brightening just a touch.

"Oh, right. I have this too."

Kang Oh took out Bercy's magic staff from his inventory.

"Gentle Breeze's Lullaby!"

Gospel recognized the staff immediately. He lifted the staff very carefully and examined it for some time.

"Thanks."

Gospel bowed his head.

"There's no need. But it's not for free," Kang Oh said.

"Of course. How much do you want for them?"

"That's up to you. Please pay me what you think they're worth to you."

Kang Oh didn't designate a specific price.

'That's what an idiot does.'

To someone as pure-hearted as Gospel, Bercy's keepsakes were incredibly valuable.

If that's the case, it was better to allow Gospel to set the price.

Since Kang Oh would receive much more from letting Gospel decide than if he were to.

"How much they're worth to me, huh... I'll give you my entire fortune," Gospel said without an ounce of hesitation.

'His entire fortune!'

Kang Oh forcefully prevented himself from smiling, and as calmly as he could muster, said, "I under..."

However, he wasn't allowed to finish.

"You can't do that!"

Rico interrupted him.

Kang Oh furrowed his brow and stared at Rico. 'You're getting in the way!'.

She ignored Kang Oh's glare and continued, "Two times the market price. That's more appropriate."

He didn't know how much the market price was for the staff and the grimoire, but it was definitely lower than Gospel's entire fortune.

"Two times the market price, huh... Then let's do that."

Once he heard her, Gospel felt as though that was the right price.

Everything was going south because of Rico.

But he remained composed.

'It'd be stupid to try and bargain here.'

He didn't need to bargain.

Kang Oh just needed to make Gospel feel as though he needed to buy these items for a high price.

"I'll just give them to you for free."

That was the bait.

"For free?" Gospel repeated.

Why was he offering them for free all of a sudden?

"Rather than give them to you for dirt cheap... I'd rather give them to you for free," Kang Oh said.

"Dirt cheap..." Gospel muttered, scowling.

"I suppose that's how little you value Ms. Bercy, so... don't worry about it."

Kang Oh insulted Gospel's pure love for Bercy.

Gospel's face went face.

"I'll give you my entire fortune," Gospel said.

"Professor!" Rico, who had been seeing how things went, quickly yelled.

"If that's what you want."

Kang Oh's gaze seemingly said, 'I know your love's a lie'.

"Ahem. I'll give you this ring too. It's worth quite a bit."

Gospel pulled off the ring and placed it on top of the table.

Silver and black were intertwined as if two vines were wrapping around each other.

"Professor, please calm down!" Rico said to Gospel.

"Aah, just take it for free."

Kang Oh continued teasing Gospel.

"No. Please take it."

"Professor!"

One kept insisting that he wouldn't take the money, while the other pleaded for him to do so. Then there was the woman who tried to stop the old man.

It was chaos.

'It can't go on like this.'

Rico realized that the situation wasn't going well.

At this rate, Professor Gospel would give his entire fortune to that bastard.

She needed to stop him before that happened; they could give up some, but there were some things that needed to be protected.

"There are assholes... err, people who don't want to receive, and people who have to give, it seems," Rico said.

Kang Oh and Gospel stared at her.

"Professor, please trade for the staff and the grimoire with two things you treasure. This is what Ms. Bercy would've wanted!"

She made sure to emphasize Bercy's name.

"I think the same," Kang Oh agreed.

'There's always a right time for everything.'

Ever since Rico had appeared, Kang Oh realized that he wouldn't be able to obtain Gospel's entire fortune.

Therefore, he'd given up on Gospel's fortune and made his move to obtain items that Gospel valued more than his wealth.

"Items that match her keepsakes... I have just two of them. This ring..."

Gospel pointed towards the ring.

"And... This necklace."

Gospel removed the necklace and passed it to him.

The necklace was shaped like a flame.

"I understand. Take the keepsakes in exchange for those two items."

Kang Oh took the ring and the necklace.

Gospel raised the grimoire and the staff.

"Hoo. I'd like to be alone now. Could you please leave? Rico, you too," he ordered.

Kang Oh had no intention of staying any longer.

"Have a nice day," Kang Oh said.

"If you... need my help, then please call me," Rico said.

"I will so be on your way."

Kang Oh and Rico left him alone and exited the professor's office.

Once the door closed, Rico glared at Kang Oh.

"Asshole."

Kang Oh had attempted to swindle Gospel. If she hadn't been there, then he definitely would've taken the professor's entire fortune.

"You're right. I am an asshole."

'If always being considerate of others like an idiot, giving things up, and always being on the losing side of things means being a good guy, then I don't want to be one; I'd rather be an asshole instead.'

It was the philosophy he'd taken ever since he'd lost his father and was forced to be the head of the household at a young age.

"What?"

She looked speechless. What the hell!?

"You're the one who led me to him in the first place. Pretty much begging me at that."

"T-That's..."

"And you're the one who lost me my chance at the professor's entire fortune. How are you going to pay me back for this?" Kang Oh said icily.

"That was all wrong..."

"It was wrong? Why? Did I ask for it? The professor was the one who said he'd give me his entire fortune, you idiot."

"Idiot?"

Rico's face turned red with anger.

"Whatever. Let's not see each other again."

Kang Oh believed that any further talk was pointless. He immediately went on his way.

He heard 'You son of a bitch!' from behind him, but he ignored it. He wouldn't see her again anyway.

"Hmm, let's see what we have here."

Kang Oh examined the items he received from Gospel.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

[Kunta's Golden Talent Ring]

A ring that the legendary Archmage, Kunta, wore constantly from a young age on.

Kunta was not only skilled in magic, but also in martial arts. This ring contains the bottomless talent of Kunta himself.

+ Kunta's Talent 1: When you use a skill or spell, there is a fixed chance that a spontaneous quest will appear. If you clear the spontaneous quest, you will receive a large amount of skill or magic proficiency.

+ Kunta's Talent 2: Reduces the cooldown of every skill and spell by half.

Rank: SS

Abilities: None

Minimum Requirements: None

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Kang Oh's eyes widened.

'SS-rank!'

He'd obtained an SS-rank ring.

It didn't increase his stats, like defense or attack, but it was definitely an amazing ring.

After all, proficiency was the most difficult thing to raise in Arth!

As an extra bonus, it would create spontaneous quests for him that would radically increase his proficiency!

Not only that, it would reduce the cooldown of all his spells and skills by half!

Lastly, there were no minimum requirements for equipping it.

'I wonder how much I could get for selling this. It'd probably be beyond my imagination. Not that I have any intention of selling it right now.'

Using it was wiser than selling it at this time.

Kang Oh equipped the ring immediately and stretched out his fingers so that he could see it more clearly.

"Heh."

His face was filled with joy.

It felt like all of the energy in the cosmos had come to him. Things were going fantastically for him so far!

Plus!

'There's one more.'

Kang Oh took out the flame-shaped necklace that he'd gotten from Gospel.