AI Grand Magician – Chapter 02
“…Lumia.”
A young man in elegant attire was trying to persuade a woman, his expression filled with pity.
“How long are you going to keep wasting your time on something meaningless like this? Do you really intend to squander your magical talent this way?”
The woman in question was Lumia Cabala, head of the Azure Tower. She replied in an unwavering voice:
“My mind hasn’t changed.”
“Your choice is a failure.”
The young man pressed her with an exasperated expression.
“How long are you planning to cling to the research of a failed man?”
“…”
“Altair failed. They couldn’t find the corpse, but the consensus is that he died miserably without achieving his goal.”
The young man’s voice turned cold.
“You want to give magic to unqualified commoners? Do you truly not realize what will happen if those who don’t understand magic get their hands on it?”
“…”
“Imagine rusted daggers in the hands of thieves, but now with offensive magic instead. Do you know how much that would corrode this society…?”
But the young man’s words didn’t go further.
“…Stop.”
“You still have a chance.”
Despite Lumia’s resistance, he didn’t back down.
“A few days ago, my offer was still valid, Lumia. If you accept, I will promise the revival of the Azure Tower as the successor of the Red Tower.”
“Shut up.”
Lumia ruthlessly brushed off his hand resting on her shoulder, then glared at him coldly.
“Do you think I wouldn’t know that the Red Tower was deeply involved in the fall of our main tower?”
“…”
“The moment our master went missing, you were the first to cut off contact and pressure the main tower through academic channels.”
“You were acting dangerously. What you were attempting is too radical. You could completely destroy the society that’s been stable until now…”
“That’s not true.”
Lumia glared at him, her eyes bloodshot.
The young man’s identity was Hyden Caul, successor of the Red Tower. A 5th-circle magician, he was a prodigy recognized by the academic world for his talent and appearance. He was also a student of Rotel Caul, the head of the Red Tower and guardian of orthodox magic.
Meanwhile, under the guidance of former Azure Tower head Bellusian, the Azure Tower had studied the “Grimoire” according to Altair’s will—a magical tool allowing even commoners without the favor of mana to become magicians. But after Altair’s death, its records disappeared. Still, the intent remained. Lumia believed Altair’s method was correct.
“You just want to possess magic, don’t you?”
“I already said it—Altair’s way prevents the abuse of magic…”
“Nonsense.”
Lumia realized further conversation was meaningless.
“I refuse any more visits. I hope we never meet again.”
“I’m offering this for your sake, Lumia.”
Hyden adjusted his hand that Lumia had brushed away and continued.
“The problem with Altair is history. You don’t have to bear that burden. Just focus on saving your tower…”
“Leave.”
Lumia cut him off, speaking firmly. At the same time, intense waves of mana began surging around her. Her resolute aura made it clear she would not tolerate further rudeness.
Hyden’s reaction to facing such overwhelming mana was…
“Ah.”
Ecstasy. He spoke to Lumia as if he were seeing a radiant sun.
“This is why it’s a shame. A genius who reached 6th Circle at the youngest age in history is distracted by trivial matters.”
Of course, Lumia gave no reply. Hyden, as if expecting this, stepped back without hesitation.
“I’ll leave for today. But next time, the atmosphere may not be so gentle. Remember—the Azure Tower is still considered heretical.”
He smiled, already confident that Lumia could not reject his offer.
“I’ll await your answer.”
Then he turned and left the room.
“…”
Lumia remained seated, lost in thought after Hyden left.
Frustrating as it was, Hyden’s confidence was not unfounded. The Magic Council was not a temple. Words like “heresy” shouldn’t suit magic, yet they had used the term boldly regarding Altair. Why? Because it made it easier to bury their enemies. Heresy had the strange power to turn its target into evil, whether in religion or academia. Altair became “heretical” because the council wanted him buried. Ridiculous.
“…Engagement.”
Lumia muttered Hyden’s “proposal.” It would solve things, but it would render all her past efforts meaningless. Then what would be the point? It might be better to fight to the end, even if the Azure Tower vanished from history…
Boom!
The loud explosion stopped her thoughts.
“What… what is that?!”
Startled, she checked the tower. She soon confirmed that an unexplained explosion had occurred on a lower floor—and the room affected was…
“No way…!”
Her eyes shook as she thought of who might have been in that room.
Swoosh! She rushed toward the room where the explosion happened.
“What… what happened?!”
“An attack?! The Red Tower… have they attacked?!”
Even amid the chaos, Shion muttered calmly.
“Was it overdone?”
[….]
Akasha, overloaded from excessive calculations, could not respond. Not that it mattered—whatever Akasha said, Shion already knew the answer.
“No, this is about right.”
Shion nodded, satisfied, and ignored the surrounding commotion to observe his own body.
‘The Möbius Circle has successfully stabilized. Sufficient stabilization achieved.’
The core of the Möbius Circle was none other than the Grimoire—installed directly in the soul. Previously only theoretical due to impossible prerequisites, it was now feasible in reality.
Its advantage: it does not require circle restrictions. Traditional magic forces stepwise growth, but the Möbius Circle has no such limitations. For Shion, who theoretically aimed beyond even the Grand Magician, it was optimal.
In other words, with sufficient mana, Shion could wield even 9th-circle magic. Realistically, his body and mana could handle only up to 6th Circle.
“Akasha, calculate the currently available mana.”
[Current model, <Akasha>’s main system is resting due to overload. Switching to automatic response mode.]
[Currently controllable mana is confirmed to be up to 6th Circle. For stability, it is recommended to use magic only up to 5th Circle.]
“So maximum 6th Circle for now.”
Even 6th Circle is considered high-level by common standards. 5th and 6th Circle differ greatly in mana requirements. Akasha was also not in normal state due to its prior heavy calculations. Time would heal this.
‘Since overload caused it, the mana issue will resolve with time.’
Thus, Shion decided to consider himself a 5th-circle magician for now. Stable use mattered more than maximum potential.
“What’s going on?!”
Someone burst into the room urgently. Shion, recognizing the intruder, smirked. The memory of the original body’s owner revealed the identity.
“Well, isn’t this the tower head?”
“…Student Shion.”
A woman looked at him, tense. Shion recalled her from memory:
‘Tower Head, Lumia Cabala. The youngest 6th-circle magician in the continent’s history. A once-in-a-generation genius, current head of Azure Tower.’
A completely different level from Shion, who was in this humble room. For present Shion, however, Lumia was somewhat different.
‘She must be the disciple that guy took in.’
If a disciple of Grand Magician Bellusian, she had ties to Altair too.
Suppressing those thoughts, Shion opened his mouth in typical Shion Roastery fashion:
“I never expected the tower head to come in person.”
“…What have you done this time?”
Again? Shion rummaged through memories, and for the first time, a look of dismay crossed his face.
‘…Is he crazy?’
Shion Roastery—a clumsy student who admired magic but was not chosen by it. So far, nothing new. But past actions were alarming:
3 years ago: attempted civilian kidnapping to solve a problem.
1 year 2 months ago: jumped into the frozen lake at Azure Tower to study mana properties; rescued by Lumia.
8 months ago: planned to capture an endangered divine beast; discovered and confined in solitary for a week.
Even Shion couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity. How had he even stayed in the tower this long? Lumia answered for him:
“If you weren’t the direct descendant of the Roastery family, a delinquent like you would’ve been long gone!”
Ah. The answer was simple: Shion Roastery’s family was unbelievably influential—even Lumia couldn’t ignore it.
Shion smirked, satisfied. ‘If this is a crazy man’s body, it doesn’t matter what I do.’ His actions now had plausible deniability—no one would question them.
He spread his arms and shouted:
“Tower Head, you may rest easy now!”
“What nonsense…?”
“I’ve been reborn today. Not a delinquent, but Shion 2.0.”
“Huh?”
Even absurd words can sound refreshing when said like this. Lumia was confused but strangely not angry.
“So… you mean destroying a perfectly fine room is part of this…?”
“Yes.”
“No, you crazy…! Hup!”
Unable to restrain her emotions, Lumia cursed. She covered her mouth after realizing it, but Shion didn’t care.
‘What’s going on?’
Normally, Shion would’ve gone berserk, yet he seemed genuinely transformed.
Then Shion spoke:
“To commemorate my rebirth, I wish to present a piece of advice to the tower head.”
“What is it?”
Lumia listened tensely as Shion dropped his bomb:
“About the magic theory you recently published… fold it immediately. It’s a frog.”
“…”
A brief silence passed between them. Then:
“What the hell, you bastard?!”
Lumia finally roared, unable to contain herself.
