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Chapter 241: Ascension (5)

Since ancient times, the number of high-tier spells a Magic Tower possessed was equivalent to its prestige.

That was why the White Tower was considered the strongest.

Only when combining the high-tier spellbooks of all the other Four Great Towers could they even begin to rival the White Tower.

‘But they’ve recovered all those high-tier spells?’

‘And not just one or two—every single one of the 63?’

‘If that’s true…’

Then perhaps the White Tower once again had the qualifications to stand at the pinnacle of all Towers.

As the thought naturally surfaced in their minds, some couldn’t help but let out incredulous chuckles.

‘Just a few hours ago, we thought they’d be expelled from the Four Great Towers…’

‘And now, with a single presentation, they’ve overturned all evaluations.’

‘So this is the power of a prestigious Magic Tower.’

Oscar met the awe-filled gazes with a calm thought.

‘Not all of them will believe what I said.’

Those with twisted personalities—like the Red Tower Master, for example—might demand proof.

“Can you prove that claim?”

Looks like he’d have to lay down the groundwork.

As expected, Kudel Redmane of the Red Tower immediately raised an objection.

“You make it sound like you just dig it up from the ground. Recovering all 63? That’s absurd.”

“Ah… oops. Did I say 63?”

Oscar slightly furrowed his brow and continued speaking.

“My mistake. Let me correct that.”

Just as Kudel and others were starting to make smug faces as if to say I knew it—

“Including the 63 existing high-tier spells, the White Tower now announces a brand new high-tier spell—the first in 21 years. So technically, it would be more accurate to say we have 64.”

“...Huh? This little punk.”

Kudel scoffed, chuckling in disbelief.

“You think you can just announce a high-tier spell and have it registered? You have any idea how strict the conditions are?”

“Well, why don’t we hear him out first?”

The Violet Moon, with a gentle voice, interjected.

“So? What is this new high-tier spell you intend to register with the White Tower?”

“...Some of you may already be familiar with it.”

Oscar had spent an absurd amount of time thinking about magic.

Those thoughts only deepened after he crossed the Red Mountain Range.

‘Until now, intermediate spells were enough to handle most situations.’

But how long would that last?

The question that had lingered in his mind for years turned into conviction after encountering the Five Calamities and meeting Yuribe.

He knew—this wouldn’t be enough anymore.

‘First, I have to remove the limitations.’

Those limitations referred to the types of magic he could use.

Unlike in his past life, where he could freely use all 63 high-tier spells, things were very different now.

‘The simplest way to break that limitation is to become the Tower Master.’

But he had no intention whatsoever of taking that position from his disciple.

So he had no choice but to carve a new path—and this was the result.

“Let me introduce it.”

Whoosh!

A sudden gust stirred, swirling into Oscar’s palm and beginning to take form.

And just like that, it took on the shape of a book.

“Huh?”

“...!”

“......”

The Red, Blue, and Yellow Tower Masters all stood up at once.

Their emotions varied, but their gazes were fixed on the same thing: the book.

Oscar observed their reactions as he concluded.

“The 64th high-tier spell of the White Tower—Wind Archive.”

This was the very spell that had once earned Oscar Sage the title of the greatest mage in history.

Not only could it store and summon wind spells, it could even analyze and interpret various phenomena—making it a truly omnipotent grimoire.

Oscar looked at the three with a lowered gaze.

‘Of course they had to stand.’

They had once fought by his side on the battlefield.

They knew what this spell was capable of.

On the other hand, other mages and ordinary citizens tilted their heads.

“What is that?”

“A book? That’s supposed to be a high-tier spell?”

“It just looks like a normal book.”

Kudel clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“Ignorant fools…”

He had seen Oscar Sage—so young, so arrogantly talented—open that very book.

And before his eyes, terrifying high-tier demons had been reduced to mere dust.

That vision still burned vividly in his memory, even decades later.

“...Wind Archive.”

Seruin Aquadne, known by the epithet Blue Gentleman, calmly asked,

“If I recall correctly, that was the previous Tower Master’s unique magic. Can you prove that what you have is the real one?”

“Of course.”

The reason Oscar publicly unveiled this spell under the guise of registering a high-tier magic was simple—

To make all the spells he had used in his past life legal.

“This book contains many spells recorded by the former Tower Master. For example…”

Ffffflap!

The book flipped open on its own, and one page began to shine brilliantly.

“Colossus of the Sky.”

Goooooooo—

A giant formed of wind slowly rose behind the stage.

It was one of the high-tier spells Oscar, at his current level, had no business knowing.

“Would that suffice as proof?”

The Blue Gentleman looked up at the sky-backed giant and nodded slowly.

“It is indeed his magic.”

“Tch.”

“......”

Kudel guzzled water as if his insides were on fire.

Pentarion stood frozen, staring at Oscar in silence.

And then, he suddenly asked,

“How did you recover the records?”

“I went beyond the Red Mountain Range and retrieved them.”

Oscar met his eyes directly and answered without hesitation.

“You went beyond the Red Mountains? You, yourself?”

“Yes.”

Even Master-class mages had to risk death to enter that place.

Oscar added one more offhand remark.

“The former White Tower Master had intended to pass all of the White Tower’s knowledge to the next generation. But someone with a rotten heart got in the way of that.”

“...Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Oscar stared at him hard.

The words was it you?

Nearly slipped from his tongue.

But Pentarion didn’t even blink as he replied.

“A regrettable incident. Still, congratulations on recovering the records.”

“...Thank you.”

“But wasn’t it reckless to go into the Red Mountains?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“In that matter, His Majesty the Emperor offered his assistance. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him again.”

Since the emperor had intervened directly, there’d be no room for anyone to nitpick.

Understanding the veiled warning, the Yellow Tower Master said nothing and sat down.

“One more question.”

“Go ahead, Your Majesty.”

“When you say you recovered all the data, what exactly do you mean?”

“Literally everything.”

Oscar smiled lightly and explained.

“From the records, spellbooks, and research results dating back to the era of the First White Tower Master, Ado Vail…

Even the footnotes left behind by our predecessors. I have recovered every last scrap of knowledge that can be called the White Tower’s legacy.”

“...I see.”

The emperor nodded with a deeply satisfied expression.

“Looks like everyone will be able to save some precious time. Seems like this year’s Oscar Award winner has already been decided.”

The Oscar Award was the highest honor granted to the mage who achieved the most remarkable feat over the past year.

No matter what others had accomplished, nothing could rival the development of the airship and the restoration of the White Tower's archives.

With the emperor’s declaration, the protagonist of this year’s White Night Festival had been made crystal clear.

* * *

[Oscar Crucian: Liberates the world with a 6th-level body. Magical academia in chaos.]

[14-minute standing ovation at the White Night Festival — a night of emotion.]

[Yellow Tower's train vs. White Tower's airship. Who wins the technological war?]

[White Tower enters a new golden age after restoring its glorious legacy.]

[White Tower Lord Sasha Maist breaks through the 8th-level wall — becomes another star.]

[Is perpetual motion truly possible? Magical engineering authorities raise doubts.]

[The troublemaker of the tower becomes the 19th Oscar Award winner.]

The next day, reading the newspaper plastered with headlines about the White Tower, Oscar nodded.

“Not bad.”

As expected, the media was in a frenzy.

There had never been such an unexpected result at the White Night Festival before.

Oscar gazed at the photo of himself beaming, holding a bouquet and trophy in hand.

‘It was a busy year, but a worthwhile one.’

The thought had barely formed when someone knocked at the door and a voice called out.

— Oscar Crucian, I’ve come to escort you.

It was already time.

Oscar rose from his seat and followed the imperial secretary.

The room he was led to had a familiar face seated inside.

“You’ve arrived?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Ludwig.

A private audience with the emperor was a privilege granted only to the Oscar Award recipient.

The emperor greeted him with a gentle smile and gestured toward a seat.

“Please, sit. I have a mountain of things I want to ask you.”

“I’m not the best with words, but I’ll do my best.”

“First, I’d like to hear about the Red Mountains — not in a report, but from your own mouth.”

“I really did come back from the dead. So….”

Oscar spoke at length.

The emperor expressed admiration, surprise, concern — a full range of emotions.

“Quite the journey indeed. Honestly, I didn’t expect the Violet Brigade to recruit you.”

“So it was Your Majesty’s doing.”

He had been curious.

The Violet Brigade was branded a top-tier criminal group by the empire.

How had the emperor managed to move them?

‘Did he have some kind of leverage on them?’

But knowing the emperor’s character, if he truly saw them as an “evil force,” he wouldn’t have engaged with them, no matter the leverage.

Sensing Oscar’s curiosity, the emperor drew a line himself.

“Let’s talk about the airship next.”

It was clear he didn’t want to talk about that topic.

Knowing the emperor’s strict nature, Oscar didn’t push it.

“What are your future plans?”

“As I said during the presentation, I’m planning to build airports in the capital and major cities first.”

“The imperial house will support that.”

“I’m grateful for Your Majesty’s generosity.”

The emperor closed his eyes and quietly murmured.

“...There was a friend, now gone, with whom I once promised to complete the airship.”

Oscar instinctively knew who that “friend” was meant to be — himself.

“Back then, we were in the middle of a war with the demons, and so many soldiers were dying needlessly.”

Their deaths were invisible to the eye —

What the emperor saw were numbers in reports.

But even those numbers pained him deeply.

That’s why—

“One day, that friend said, ‘Let’s make an airship and send it soaring into the sky. If we do, the number of soldiers killed in sudden demon ambushes will decrease dramatically’… A childish but brilliant idea.”

That was the beginning of Project Skydawn.

The two of them debated daily, sleeping at their desks as they devoted themselves to research.

But with the technology of that time, operating an airship was simply unrealistic.

“……”

Oscar remembered the emperor’s bitter face, looking up at the sky after having to declare the failure of the Skydawn Project.

Now, he wore that exact same expression as he muttered.

“If he were alive to see this year’s White Night Festival, he would’ve been just as happy as I am.”

“Sounds like you were close.”

“...It’s hard for an emperor to form deep personal relationships. In that sense, he was one of the five closest people in my life.”

Five closest!?

Thinking that, Oscar suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

To him, the emperor barely made the top ten — maybe just scraped in.

“Hmm. Top five, huh…”

Oscar stared at Emperor Ludwig with a curious look.

In his mind, a mental calculator of gain and loss was already whirring.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]