"Mm..."

Leon hesitated, deep in thought, as Arpina asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just concerned about facing the tower master," Leon admitted cautiously.

Leon’s worry stemmed from uncertainty about whether the Bracelet of Veil would work on a high-level magician with keen insight.

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell him about my rank directly?" he suggested.

Arpina tapped her cheek thoughtfully before replying, "Don’t worry about that for now. Just attend the meeting. If anything happens, I’ll speak on your behalf. Besides, Glirios is different from Raedra. He’s not someone who obsesses over rank or power. He values things beyond that."

"Alright, I understand."

After spending the night in his assigned quarters, Leon headed to the underground chamber of the tower, as Arpina had instructed.

Descending the stone steps, he found himself in a massive circular space. The chamber was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and intricate defensive magic circles were carefully inscribed on the walls and floor.

By the time Leon arrived, many magicians had already gathered, but two people in particular caught his attention.

One of them was someone Leon recognized—Leicia, the blonde magician. Despite her sharp features, she wore a kind expression as she conversed with several male magicians around her.

Leon had to admit, Leicia was quite beautiful. The way the male magicians flocked around her, trying to win her favor, didn’t seem out of place at all.

"You’re as stunning as always, Lady Leicia," one of them said.

"Please, no need for such compliments. Congratulations on advancing in your rank, Ferrit," she replied warmly.

It was clear that her charm wasn’t based solely on her looks.

The other person who caught Leon’s eye was a young man with curly blue hair, who had a crowd gathered around him as well.

His rank was so high that Leon couldn’t even estimate it—likely at least high-level forbidden magic or even nearing mysticism.

Sensing Leon’s probing magic, the man glanced in his direction. His sharp gaze briefly lingered on Leon, but he soon turned his attention back to the others, too busy with the questions coming his way.

The man responded to each question with a soft smile and genuine patience.

"When you graduate, you’ll fully return and be officially trained as the tower master’s successor, won’t you?"

"Successor? When was that decided?" the man, named Kalderick, replied with a modest smile.

"Who else but you would be the successor, Kalderick? False humility will only bring you criticism, haha!"

"You're too kind," Kalderick replied gracefully.

After finishing his conversation, Kalderick approached Leicia, exuding an air of calm confidence as he moved, unbothered by the stares of those around him.

"How’s your training going?" he asked gently.

"Thanks to your concern, I’ve had no major difficulties," Leicia answered with a formal yet warm tone. Their interaction drew even more attention from the crowd. Despite the slight formality in their conversation, the two standing together made for a picturesque sight.

Meanwhile, more people continued to arrive at the training hall.

There were about fifty personal students of the elders present. Among them, Leon could easily gauge the abilities of about thirty apprentice magicians, while around fifteen had reached the level of forbidden magic. The remaining five students, including Kalderick, had power so immense that Leon couldn’t even estimate their rank. The other four appeared to be older, likely in their middle age.

As time passed, the chatter among the students died down, and everyone seemed to be waiting in anticipation for the tower master to arrive.

Finally, a man with blue hair entered the chamber. He was Glirios, the tower master of Astellia. Though his hair was streaked with gray, hinting at his age, his face still retained traces of the youthful handsomeness he must have once possessed. His features bore a striking resemblance to Kalderick’s.

'Is he his son?' Leon thought, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Glirios surveyed the room, his gaze slowly moving over each of the personal students before he released his mana.

A heavy pressure filled the air as his mana spread throughout the chamber.

"Ugh..." Several students groaned under the weight of it.

The sheer force of Glirios’s mana seemed to press down on their bodies, as if the very air around them was being compressed. Each student struggled to resist the overwhelming pressure, though Kalderick remained calm, as if accustomed to such an environment.

Leon, too, was able to withstand the pressure with relative ease. While the intimidation from a high-level insight magician like Glirios was impressive, Leon had already faced a witch of the same level who had tried to kill him. He’d even endured direct magical interference from her.

Compared to that, Glirios’s pressure was something Leon could break free from with time.

At that moment, Glirios’s gaze fell on Leon.

"So, you're the one who became Arpina’s student recently?" His voice was calm but carried undeniable authority.

Leon hesitated briefly. He hadn’t expected Glirios to single him out so quickly in such a large crowd.

"Yes, that’s correct," Leon answered.

For Glirios to know about something that had happened just a day earlier... Was he more involved in the tower’s affairs than Raedra had been?

Fortunately, Glirios didn’t press further and instead turned his attention back to the group.

"You all know why I’ve called you here," his voice echoed through the chamber.

"It’s to give us guidance, isn’t it?" Kalderick replied.

Glirios glanced at Kalderick before nodding.

"Yes, as the ones who will carry the future of Astellia, I owe you my attention. I apologize for neglecting you until now."

"There’s no need to apologize. We know how busy you are," Kalderick responded with sincere respect.

Glirios smiled and nodded before continuing, "I’ve gathered you here today so that I can provide direct instruction. Whether it’s attack, defense, or anything else, feel free to demonstrate it before me. I expect you’ve all prepared something. So, who would like to go first?"

"I will," Kalderick said, stepping forward confidently. No one objected, as everyone knew of his immense talent and standing.

"I wish to receive instruction on attack magic," Kalderick declared.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Glirios nodded in silence.

Kalderick floated into the air as powerful magic surged around him. After taking a deep breath, he raised his palm, and with a sudden flash of his eyes, a massive magic circle lit up beneath him.

From that circle, torrents of blue water erupted, flooding the area. It surged like a giant wave, threatening to engulf the entire training hall. The defensive magic circles engraved into the floor activated immediately, creating a transparent barrier around Glirios and Kalderick, containing the water.

The water swirled within the barrier, shaking violently.

Glirios rose higher into the air.

At that moment, Kalderick’s raging water transformed into sharp tornadoes—five of them, all converging on Glirios.

'No incantations... He’s at the level of high-tier mysticism,' Leon realized, astonished by the display of power. It became clear to him why so many people flocked to Kalderick and why he was seen as a potential successor to Glirios.

But the five water tornadoes stopped as soon as Glirios waved his hand, frozen solid in an instant.

"Kalderick, your magic is powerful, but the essence of magic isn’t in brute force. Especially with water magic, you must understand its flow and control it naturally. When you fully grasp the flow of your mana, magic will become an extension of nature itself. Remember, the true strength of magic lies not in overwhelming power, but in the gentle control of its flow."

Kalderick bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you."

As he stepped back, the frozen tornadoes disappeared, leaving no trace behind, as if they had never existed.

One by one, the personal students stepped forward to demonstrate their magic, each receiving a short lesson from Glirios.

Though the lessons were brief, each student left with an expression of newfound understanding. They all thanked Glirios sincerely before stepping back.

Watching all this, Leon’s eyes lit up. He had never received direct guidance from anyone before, always growing through his own efforts.

It was partly by choice—being able to level up through quests and rewards meant that long lessons might have felt more like an interference than help.

But here, Leon could sense that even a brief lesson from Glirios would be immensely beneficial.

'I’ll ask for guidance on Harmony.'

Soon, it was Leon’s turn, and he slowly stepped forward.

Since he had lowered his public rank to apprentice level 5, he decided to only use the first-tier spell of the Law of Harmony.

Looking directly at Glirios, Leon spoke.

"I would like to receive guidance on Harmony."

"Harmony, is it..." Glirios mused, his gaze settling on Leon with interest.