**Ch-34.**
—
“Quite interesting.”
Even to Orca’s eyes, the **Heinderga Magical Formula** was of such a high standard that it was hard to believe it had been created by a mere Fourth-Tier mage.
“If you can complete it the way you’ve envisioned, it should be more than usable even at the Sixth Tier.”
The Heinderga Magical Formula had not been created solely through Elena’s own ability.
Several months earlier, in spring, Elena had purchased *Lightning Flash Soul-Chaser* Jang Un’s **Seven Forms of Flashing Thunder** at the Le-Seun auction house.
Yet Orca saw considerable potential in this new formula. Though it referenced several spells from the Seven Forms of Flashing Thunder, it was not imitation. Rather, it felt like taking mediocre ingredients and cooking them into something exceptional.
To begin with, the late Jang Un had been a Fifth-Tier lightning-aspect mage, and his signature formula, the Seven Forms of Flashing Thunder, was magic appropriate to the Fifth Tier at best. By contrast, Elena—still only Fourth Tier—had produced the Heinderga Magical Formula, and even in its unfinished draft state it possessed enough potential to be judged viable even at the Sixth Tier.
“If you complete it even better than your current design, you might approach the Seventh Tier.”
It was the most generous evaluation possible.
Elena’s face brightened. She clenched her fist inside the sleeve of her robe, though she quickly composed her expression to avoid showing it too openly.
“Mm. Thank you for the evaluation.”
“If you’re happy, just say you’re happy. Squeal or something.”
“Do I still look like a child to you?”
“Twenty isn’t exactly old.”
Orca snorted and closed the Heinderga Magical Formula manuscript. Several other theses were stacked across her wide desk as well—submissions from the Fourth-Tier mages for this quarter.
“How are the others?”
“Most are average. A few have a bit of sparkle. Some are trash.”
Only Fourth-Tier mages were required to submit quarterly results. The reason was simple: Fourth Tier was the most common rank among mages. To reach Fifth Tier, one either needed talent that clearly surpassed ‘ordinary,’ or effort so intense it devoured talent itself.
The Mage Tower was no place for ordinary mages to remain. Without talent, they had to work far harder than others.
“The only one as interesting as you… was Lacy.”
“Senior submitted something too?”
Lacy, being Fifth Tier, was exempt from quarterly reports. But she was such a diligent mage—an example to others—that she never skipped reporting her results.
“Seems she felt something after seeing Full-Moon Play’s martial arts a few months ago. Submitted something ambiguous—whether to call it aura manipulation or magic. In the end it’s all just mana control, but the result was interesting.”
Magic evaluated like this would never be leaked outside. After evaluation, filtered works either became a single mage’s unique spell after refinement or, with consent, became Mage Tower magic.
That was how the Dercia Mage Tower had developed.
“Arist was trash.”
Among the three disciple candidates, the most lacking was Arist Benharman. She was the second daughter of the long-standing Benharman magical family, and had joined the Dercia Mage Tower to develop her family’s aging magic and ascend to Tower Master.
If she became Tower Master and inherited Dercia, she could not become head of the Benharman family. That meant nothing to Arist. Standing at the pinnacle of the Mage Tower was far more glorious to a mage than inheriting the faded prestige of an old house.
Once, Arist possessed dazzling talent that anyone would call genius. She had reached Fourth Tier at the young age of twenty-one—but that once-endless spring of talent had long since dried up.
Two years had passed since she reached Fourth Tier. Wandering was fine. No matter how gifted, reaching Fifth Tier in just two years was absurd. At that stage, more than just talent with mana was required. Even Lacy, a possessor, had reached Fourth Tier at twenty and only ascended to Fifth six years later. The wall of the Fifth Tier was that harsh.
“She copied Benharman family magic again this time and submitted it.”
That was why Orca called her trash.
Elena had referenced the Seven Forms of Flashing Thunder to create something new. Arist, on the other hand, had only slightly modified her family’s magic and turned it in.
“This makes the third time. I might seriously have to remove Arist from the disciple candidates.”
“Well… maybe she’ll do better next time.”
Elena wasn’t particularly interested in Arist. Maybe before—but not now. She already knew Arist was no longer a competitor. Though she still called her ‘senior,’ Elena had long since regarded her as beneath herself.
In the end, the only one she truly had to compete with to become Heaven-Thunder Orca’s disciple was Lacy Yuzuha. And to become Tower Master, she would have to surpass Lacy.
*That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it.*
Orca watched Elena’s calm face and thought so. In the past, she would at least try to suppress a smile or react to Arist’s decline.
“You’ve gotten less cute.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
In truth, Lacy might want the disciple position, but she had no interest in becoming Tower Master. And privately, Orca had already marked Elena as both her disciple and successor.
Of course, it was too early to say such things aloud. Orca wanted the raw gem called Elena to polish herself into a brilliant jewel.
“You said you’re heading to Lagos?”
“Yes.”
“Closer than I expected.”
“Isn’t that still far? You could get there instantly, Master, but we can’t use magic like that.”
Even by carriage, it would take half a month.
“If you go to Lagos, you’ll have to part ways with that kid Yuri.”
Orca grinned mischievously.
“I thought you’d choose somewhere that takes months to travel because you’d hate being separated.”
“What do you even think I am?”
“A heroine who loves her childhood friend too much to part with him.”
“It’s not like that!”
Elena’s face, so cool when talking about Arist, flushed bright red now. Her shoulders trembled as she stepped back.
“Too much? Since when did you get such a misunderstanding?”
“Everyone thinks that except you. Is it really a misunderstanding?”
“It is!”
She snapped back, then patted her burning cheeks with the back of her hand.
“I—I did look at other places too. I just thought Lagos was best.”
“Well, Lagos is the most appropriate.”
Lagos had a **Rift of Chaos**.
The reason that god was called the ‘Evil God’ wasn’t simply because it summoned possessors from other worlds.
The Rift of Chaos was a place where the Evil God’s divine power pooled heavily.
In regions where a rift appeared, monsters multiplied abnormally. The normal biological processes—mating, pregnancy, birth, growth—were all skipped. Monsters were simply born directly from the divine power itself.
Such rifts existed even before possessors appeared, and there were several besides Lagos. Left unattended, they would spew out hordes of monsters. One of the Adventurers’ Guild’s main duties was managing these rifts to prevent that.
Monsters were born daily within them, but with strict control they could also yield many benefits. Materials from monster corpses were widely useful, and some were even edible. From a generous perspective, a rift could be considered an inexhaustible resource trove.
“The Lagos rift has been around for decades now.”
Orca smiled, recalling old memories.
“The types of monsters are long cataloged. Once you’re Fourth Tier, you won’t face mortal danger there. Good choice.”
Elena wouldn’t be alone—she had Haryeong, her assassin-guard. If that still wasn’t enough, she could hire adventurers locally and form a party.
“If you go to Lagos, next quarter’s report will probably be replaced with an Adventurers’ Guild commission.”
“Probably.”
“With your level, there won’t be danger—but real combat is still real combat. Using the unfinished Heinderga Magical Formula in practice will teach you many things.”
“Yes.”
“And that kid Yuri—what tier is he now?”
“He said Second Tier.”
“Ordinary.”
So he really wasn’t a possessor after all?
She had tentatively concluded that months ago, but Elena’s answer strengthened her certainty.
Reaching Second Tier from First still took years for normal people—but Yuri had taken the **Azure Heaven Pill**.
He had forcibly opened his dantian through medicine and an inner cultivation method.
The internal energy that hadn’t been fully guided had seeped into his meridians and gradually flowed into the dantian through daily practice.
He had learned the supreme martial art **Rantian Flowing Cloud Fist**, and had even received direct guidance from Fist Wolf, a Sixth-Tier fighter.
With that background, even if only months had passed, reaching Second Tier was only natural.
“Ah… though they say he handles martial arts better than his tier suggests.”
“Well, it’s talent acknowledged by Full-Moon Play.”
The one who had vouched for that talent—Full-Moon Play—had already left Lutran months ago.
Even Orca didn’t know what the Ascad family had asked of him.
Perhaps nothing at all.
In any case, that unpredictable man was no longer in Lutran.
By now, he was probably somewhere in the world, wandering around with the **Demon-Guiding Orb** at his waist.
“So when you get back, are you throwing a farewell party or something?”
“We’re not parting forever, so what farewell?”
“You reunited after ten years and now you’re separating again. What if the next reunion is another ten years away?”
“As if that’d happen.”
Elena shot Orca a sideways glare at her mischievous grin.
“It’s just a short separation. We’ll keep exchanging letters… and we promised to meet regularly. If he’s busy or can’t come, I can go see him.”
That would be enough. Thinking so, Elena left Orca’s office.
Several months had passed since Yuri said he would leave the estate.
Spring had passed, and summer had ripened. During that time, Elena had sorted out her feelings. She didn’t think she had to keep Yuri at the estate forever. If Yuri wanted to leave—if he needed to—then it was something she could understand as much as he wished.
Once this heat passed, cool autumn would come. By then, Yuri wouldn’t be at the estate anymore. She would simply return to the life that used to feel familiar and natural.
Waking up in the morning without greeting someone.
Not sitting at a table already set.
Not eating together.
Not saying *I’m off.*
Not wondering what he might be doing right now.
Not saying *I’m back.*
Not eating together.
Not sharing trivial chatter.
Not saying *good night.*
That kind of life. Living alone in an empty estate.
That was how Elena had originally lived, and she had never found it particularly uncomfortable.
“….”
But now, even when she recalled what life had been like back then, she couldn’t remember what she had felt at the time. Everything just seemed unfamiliar.
It had already been over half a year since she started living with Yuri.
*Why didn’t we meet sooner?*
Ten years had been wasted so meaninglessly. If she had met Yuri earlier, that ‘old’ life wouldn’t have felt so normal and natural.
—She recalled her memories from the Aldor orphanage.
Her memories of ‘Yuri’ began when they were six.
People change.
Just as six-year-old Elena and twenty-year-old Elena were different, six-year-old Yuri and twenty-year-old Yuri were different too.
Elena liked the Yuri of now.
Which was why those half a year together felt so short.
*
*
“You’re early.”
In the estate garden, Yuri was wiping his sweat-soaked hair with a towel. He must have just finished training. He scrubbed his face roughly and draped the towel over his shoulder.
“….”
Elena stared at his face for a moment.
She didn’t know why, but looking at him made her feel like tears were about to spill.
*I must’ve thought too much.*
It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again or someone had died. Still, her nose stung for no reason, so she quickly tilted her head back.
“What are you doing?”
“Th-thought it might be raining.”
“Rain?”
Yuri looked up, confused. The sky was perfectly clear.
“My lady, did bird droppings hit you by any chance?”
“….”
“I may be your guard-assassin, but I can’t block bird droppings falling from a clear sky.”
“What if it’s disguised as bird droppings? Like poison or something?”
“What kind of bullsh—”
Haryeong muttered reflexively at Yuri’s nonsense, then quickly shut her mouth.
“What did you just say?”
“I said nothing.”
While the two bickered, Elena blinked rapidly. She had only almost cried. No actual tears had come out.
“We’re going out.”
“Suddenly?”
“We’re leaving for Lagos in two days, remember?”
After fixing her expression, she lowered her head again.
“I still have the stuff I bought last time I took a commission, but you need to buy things, don’t you, Yuri?”
“Uh… do I need anything?”
“Clothes?”
“I have some.”
The clothes Elena had bought for him.
“Not casual or indoor wear. Standard *adventurer* gear. Leather armor or a robe or something.”
“Don’t have that.”
“A backpack?”
“I do—”
“Not the one you brought from Aldor! One with storage expansion magic.”
“Don’t have that either.”
“Weapons?”
“I’m a martial artist.”
“So what, martial artists don’t even carry a dagger? You hunt barehanded, butcher barehanded, cook barehanded?”
“Probably not…”
“So you need to buy one?”
“Guess so…”
“So we should go out?”
“I’ll wash up first.”
Only after hearing that answer did Elena nod brightly with a wide smile.
“Were you about to cry?”
After confirming Yuri had gone inside to wash up, Haryeong quickly spoke.
“Cry? Who?”
“You, my lady.”
“Me? Why would I cry?”
“Persistently attempting lies you’re bad at is one of your many flaws.”
“Do I not have any strengths instead of flaws?”
“Magic talent acknowledged by all. A Fourth-Tier mage at twenty. Prospective disciple of the Dercia Tower Master. Owner of an estate in Lutran’s prime district. Comfortable savings and generous monthly support. Beauty that has captured the hearts of many young men in Lutran, including the fourth young master of the Namgung clan.”
The strengths poured out as if she had been waiting.
Elena hadn’t expected her to actually list them—much less that many—so her mouth hung open.
There were a few things she could nitpick. For one, this estate wasn’t technically hers. But aside from that, everything was simply true without exaggeration.
It was embarrassing to say such strengths about herself. But it was just as awkward to proudly accept them when someone else said them. So Elena could only blink.
“With all that going for you, why act so pitiful?”
“Pi… pitiful?”
“Instead of agonizing alone, just confess boldly.”
“C-confess? Haryeong, what are you—!”
“I said insisting on lies you’re bad at is one flaw. Another is that you regret things too late.”
Haryeong clicked her tongue and wagged a finger.
“If you keep lying, hesitating, and being satisfied with just being childhood friends, someone else will snatch Yuri away.”
“S-snatch him? What do you mean?”
“Surely you’re not pretending not to know? It’s a fact Yuri has tremendous talent in martial arts. Once he leaves Lutran, plenty of people will want him. Even the Azure Heaven Sword Lord wanted to make him part of the Namgung clan.”
“That’s… true, but…”
Elena bit her lip.
“After we get back from Lagos… I’ll sort things out.”
“Sort?”
“My feelings… and other things.”
“My goodness. You’re saying you’ll gather courage after Lagos? If you’ve decided anyway, why not do it today?”
“No! I—I need time too.”
“Hmm, well, you’re right. Suppose you gather the courage and confess, and Yuri rejects you. You still have to go to Lagos. I don’t think I could escort you in that awkward, dreadful atmosphere.”
At Haryeong’s perfectly logical answer, Elena’s face flushed red.
Just hearing it made the scenario play out in her mind.
If she confessed—and Yuri rejected her—could they still act like before?
“….”
Elena swallowed.
She didn’t want to think too deeply about it right now.
*Worst case, just promising to meet again next time would be enough…*
What mattered now was simply finishing the Lagos journey safely.
Without any problems.
