"An interesting one indeed," the red-haired transcendent mage muttered, shifting his gaze from Leon back to Arpina.

Arpina glanced at Leon with concern before turning to face the transcendent mage with a slightly irritated expression.

“Is he your disciple?” the mage asked.

Arpina frowned slightly as she replied, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I thought he might be your lover.”

Arpina took a sharp breath, astonished.

“He’s still a child, not even an adult yet.”

“Hmm… I was mistaken because of his level,” the transcendent mage replied, narrowing his eyes as he gave Leon another assessing look. Leon felt cold sweat trickle down his spine but remained silent as the mage shifted his gaze away again.

The transcendent mage stroked his rough beard, speaking in a sly tone. “That fiery temper of yours hasn’t changed since you were young.”

“And isn’t it strange for you to speak so highly of someone while pressuring my disciple?” Arpina retorted.

The transcendent mage nodded, a hint of amusement in his smile. “You’re right, I suppose. Hah, so you’ve reached the age where you can take on disciples yourself.”

“….”

Leon, still calming his racing heart, found it hard to believe. The pressure he’d felt when their eyes first met was as if he were standing before an otherworldly being, but now, the transcendent mage’s demeanor was more like a mischievous grandfather teasing his granddaughter.

“I heard Acrifa set up a black tower over there,” the mage continued.

Leon’s ears perked up at the mention of Acrifa, the leader of Tenneron, who had once invaded Wydia.

‘Were they all acquainted from the beginning?’ Leon wondered.

Acrifa might still be fleeing from the witch, as Leon’s deal with the witch involved handling Tenneron. The compass hadn’t shown any signs of Acrifa getting closer, only that the direction occasionally changed. This meant the witch hadn’t dealt with all the dark mages yet.

‘Should I be pleased or disappointed…?’

If Ria reached the special level of magic, or if Leon himself reached the mystical rank, they would be able to remove the witch’s magic traces before she came to find him.

Leon had already confirmed that faint black strands of magical energy remained on the arm he had once burned, but for now, he couldn’t affect them.

While Leon was lost in thought, the conversation between the transcendent mage and Arpina continued.

“I always worried about him as a child. He was so gloomy, I wasn’t sure what would become of him. But to think he would go off to the frontier and cause such a strange event…”

“Perhaps it was something he planned all along,” Arpina replied.

“His actions might be related to the movements of these blood mages.”

The transcendent mage gazed off into the distance as if reminiscing about the past, then turned his focus back to Arpina.

“Are you satisfied with life in Astellia?”

“Yes, it’s not bad.”

“Why didn’t you join our faction instead…?”

“I would appreciate it if you refrained from asking such questions, Lord Azkan,” a voice suddenly interjected.

It was Glirios, the tower master with blue hair, who had unexpectedly joined the conversation.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect the tower master to come all the way here,” Azkan replied.

“How could I not, when Lord Azkan himself is present?” Glirios responded.

“I got carried away, seeing the disciple of an old friend. I misspoke,” Azkan quickly admitted, acknowledging his mistake. Despite the difference in rank, he showed respect to Glirios as the tower master.

“Especially if that friend’s disciple is this impressive…”

“This child has already made significant contributions to Astellia,” Glirios interjected, stepping in front of Leon as if to block Azkan’s gaze.

“I already apologized for my misstep. No need to be so defensive,” Azkan said, though his eyes never left Leon. Glirios, however, maintained his cautious expression.

It was clear that Azkan had something to say to Leon. Whether it was good or bad was unknown, but it was clear that Glirios had intervened just in time.

“Still, I can’t help but worry about such a valuable asset to our faction,” Azkan said with a chuckle.

Azkan let out a light laugh and turned away. “I’ll be on my way then.”

“Understood,” Glirios replied.

Both Glirios and Arpina followed Azkan out of the room.

Left alone, Leon slowly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

‘That went better than I expected.’

The overwhelming pressure, the sensation of standing before an enormous eye, and the suffocating experience felt almost like a distant dream.

Leon returned to the training hall and resumed his rigorous training. Although his research had been temporarily set aside, they had already made significant progress, so it wouldn’t take long to conclude it.

Currently, Leon was at the intermediate special rank.

He was honing his “Glory of Lightning” special magic, aiming to reach the pinnacle of the intermediate special rank and eventually advance to the advanced special rank.

Although his progress had been slow due to learning multiple spells simultaneously, being at the intermediate special level at his age was already considered an extraordinarily rapid ascent.

To accelerate his advancement, Leon needed to merge various spells into a new form of magic. Such a creation could only be attempted once he reached the mystical rank.

Leon steadied his mind, focusing on his goal.

The investigation team sent by the Imperial Council had safely returned. Since Arpina had promised to inform him if there were any developments regarding the blood mages, Leon didn’t need to worry about it for now.

After six months of secluded training, Leon finally reached the peak of the intermediate special rank, just before the spring of his fifteenth year ended.

Around the same time, Arpina’s research had concluded, and she informed him that all that remained was for the academy to review and approve it for presentation.

Leon had been diligently consuming the elixirs he received as rewards, raising his magical quality from D- to D.

He still had a vial of concentrated essence (D+) that he had been saving since he reached apprentice level 3, planning to use it after upgrading his magical quality to D+ through essence, and then reaching C-level in one go.

While the importance of magical quality wasn’t immediately apparent, it would become increasingly crucial as his rank advanced. At the level of insight or transcendence, most mages would possess extraordinary talent, and the magic they wielded would be anything but ordinary. At that point, magical quality would make the decisive difference.

‘I wonder how it will work with my SSS-grade magic.’

In any case, increasing his magical quality could only be beneficial, so he planned to improve it whenever the opportunity arose.

As Leon approached the peak of the intermediate special rank, his special magic, “Glory of Lightning,” became significantly more powerful in both range and intensity.

Thanks to his time spent in the Valley of Souls and his consistent training in the real world, Leon had accumulated a substantial amount of time in his crystal sphere. He intended to invest that time in breaking through to the advanced special rank.

Leon also decided to start exchanging his rewards for artifacts. Until now, he had only received elixirs as rewards, so he hadn’t had the chance to obtain scrolls or other artifacts.

He spent time in his crystal sphere, seeking the enlightenment required to reach the advanced special rank. Though most of his time was spent inside the sphere, he hadn’t neglected his real-world quests.

After all, he was helping with Arpina and Chief’s research, so he couldn’t stay inside the crystal sphere indefinitely.

▶ You have obtained the Material Replication Box (B+) (Confirm / Cancel)

Amidst his training, Leon’s attention was caught by an unexpected reward.

Until now, he had received items like one-time scrolls, staffs, or rings as magical items, but this was the first time he had come across something like this.

Leon accepted the reward.

After using an appraisal spell to confirm the box’s abilities, Leon’s eyes widened in surprise.

The Material Replication Box was a 15cm by 15cm cube. When an object was placed inside, and the lid was closed and reopened, the item would be duplicated—exactly twice the amount of the material placed within would appear.

The only condition was that the material could not have any magical energy.

The first thing that came to Leon's mind was the materials needed for his golems.

Minerals. The grade of a mineral depended on its resistance to magic. Even highly resistant minerals did not have magical properties flowing through them. This was also true for the legendary metal, Orichalcum.

In the case of White Obsidian, the box could duplicate about 20 kilograms of the material at a time, doubling the quantity with each use.

There was, however, a limitation—the box could only be used once per month. But this wasn’t much of an issue for Leon.

He could place the box in his crystal sphere and take it out again. By adjusting time within the sphere, he could use the box every 12 hours.

White Obsidian could be mass-produced using mana stones, which might be more efficient.

But…

“Orichalcum!”

Leon’s heart raced as he thought of the legendary metal.

Once Chief completed his research, Leon would be rewarded with a small fragment of Orichalcum. If he could duplicate that precious metal every 12 hours using this box, it would be a tremendous help in constructing Gigantes.

Of course, he would still need to visit the location where Orichalcum was known to appear, and it would take a long time to gather enough for Gigantes, but the more of this legendary metal, the better. After all, there was no rule saying he could only build one Gigantes.

Leon spent time conducting magical experiments, seeking enlightenment. As his rank increased, so did the quality of the elixirs he consumed, allowing him to ascend more quickly.

But enlightenment was different—it required time. Sometimes it came in a flash of inspiration, and other times it took long hours of deep thought. Sometimes it even came randomly during moments of rest.

Up to this point, Leon’s insights had all been related to Harmony, which he had learned through Arpina’s magic.

He had ascended from the beginner to intermediate special rank through the mastery of Glory of Lightning, an offensive spell.

However, the enlightenment required to advance to the advanced special rank was deeper than what he had experienced before.

As Leon struggled to progress, he remembered something he had forgotten—the presence of a teacher.

"This is exactly when I should seek my teacher's help!"

There was no need for Leon to struggle through this on his own anymore.

Although Arpina specialized in different kinds of magic, she had knowledge of various magical disciplines. Her experience and wisdom would certainly be helpful.

And if she couldn’t provide enough assistance, Leon could always seek out Glirios. Glirios had once told Leon to come to him whenever he needed guidance. Still, no matter how well Glirios understood Leon’s abilities, Leon felt hesitant about fully revealing his magic to him.

"While I’m at it, I should also make ‘Principles of Harmony’ one of my core spells."

Currently, Leon had not yet completed even the beginner level of the Principles of Harmony special magic. However, since he had already walked the path with Glory of Lightning, it would be easier the second time. Plus, since Arpina was the one who had created the Principles of Harmony, she would be an even greater help.

With his mind made up, Leon stood and prepared to take the next step.