Mightiest Melee Magician

Mightiest Melee Magician

The Magician’s Tower.

This was Ravirdyne’s—

No.

This was the tallest building across the entire Frelian continent.

Compared to its dizzying height of 180 meters, it was very thin.

However, as soon as you went inside, one wouldn’t even feel that it was too narrow.

It was because the entire magic tower had a permanent enchantment cast on it.

When the enchantment and the mana that flowed through the entirety of the magic tower met, it allowed the tower to exceed its simple ‘physical’ limitations.

Like right now.

“We’re here.”

“……”

I only opened one door, but behind it was an enormous hallway.

This was fundamentally different to the artifact room I saw in the underground of the Academy before.

It wasn’t just a simple treasure vault, but rather a hallway that displayed these priceless weapons and tools.

Just what was this for?

Then, Stray Cat walked up to me.

“This area is separated into 4 subareas. Area C, Area B, Area A, and finally, Area X.”

The artifact room was divided into 4 subareas.

They were obviously separated by the rarity of the artifact.

Area C had the most common artifacts, and Area X had the rarest.

However, I was told that the area I was allowed to look in was only up to Area A.

“So I can’t even check out Area X?”

“Yes. Unless a special event occurs, no one is allowed access to that room. Not even the Emperor.”

“……”

A special event?

What did that entail?

What did they hide in there that not even the Emperor could see?

“Well, understood.”

In any case, I looked around the areas I was permitted.

Up first, Area C.

Here, the walls were lined with instruments of war that weren’t particularly important for magicians.

But even if it was the lowest-ranked area, Area C still looked more magnificent than most noble’s collections.

“This… Is this a magic sword?”

“Yes. You’re correct. We’ve only gathered and stored the items that were obtained from the Great War against the demons that were of serviceable quality.”

Not any random artifacts were displayed here.

Magic swords that were only second to Doom Prime’s former Sword of Brilliance were hung in here.

There was platemail armour with a lightweight enchantment on it, and even a weird metal shoe that sprouted thorns by just imbuing a little bit of mana into it.

Even I, who wasn’t knowledgeable in the area of treasures, was impressed by these items.

Area B was closer to a type of library, and the artifacts lined up here would be coveted by any magician.

“<Tin Brone’s Transformation Specialization>. I thought there weren’t any of these left.”

“You recognise this book? It’s already over 100 years old.”

“I had a time in my life where I could do nothing but read books.”

“Yes. This is a secret from the outside, but the grimoires that are forgotten by history or forbidden from being made public are mostly stored here in Area B.”

From precious historical documents to legendary grimoires.

“Can you read these books as you please if you’re part of the Magician’s Tower?”

“Not as you please, but the tower master sometimes gives us permission to browse the books. Naturally, taking it to own is forbidden.”

“That’s pretty interesting.”

The chance to read these grimoires that no one was allowed to own.

To have the sole monopoly over information and be able to wield it as you wished was a powerful ability.

This was one of the major strengths that only the Magician’s Tower possessed.

But…

“So Ruin, are you interested in joining?”

“Hm? No. Not in the slightest.”

I wasn’t interested in it at all.

“I don’t have the slightest intention of ever being called Super Skinny Ogre.”

“Is that the name given to you by the tower master? It does suit you well. As expected, Tower Master’s naming sense is—”

“……Let’s keep moving.”

Stray Cat started to crack jokes now and I was guided by him towards the final area, Area A.

From handkerchiefs to chests, glasses to rings, mirrors to necklaces, and more.

There was a mountain of different types of accessories.

It felt a little weaker compared to the dangerous-looking instruments of war and the precious-looking magic books, but this was the real deal.

“This is Area A. I’ll inform you about this place a little.”

“Sure.”

“This is the place where you will be ‘selected’.”

“……By those artifacts?”

“Yes. Even though they cannot speak, they are still living beings that are, in their own ways, waiting for a master to appear. This is the main difference between the brilliant artifacts and the mass-produced magic tools.”

Stray Cat took a moment to breathe and spoke again.

“They will only respond to the owner they choose.”

“……”

Yeah.

There were a lot of artifacts in the world, but not many of them were ‘real’.

Most of them were some mass-produced magic tool that anyone could use.

However, real recognises real.

If an owner worthy of the artifact didn’t appear, it was no different to a piece of scrap.

But if someone appeared who knew and could utilize it to its full potential, it would become an irreplaceable treasure.

That was an artifact.

“Then, should we start slowly looking around?”

“Yes.”

I slowly walked in the direction that Stray Cat recommended.

The first thing I approached was a ragged pack that looked like it was sewn together haphazardly with scraps and cloth.

“This was created by the evil god Helkarion. The pack can hold an unlimited amount of things, and it is said that there’s nothing the pack can’t hold.”

“Yes. Wasn’t there a story that Helkarion stored hundreds of living people in the pack?”

“You’re quite knowledgable.”

“I had a time with only books.”

I smiled a little and lifted the pack.

No response was given.

This guy wasn’t it.

Yeah, what use would I have with a body bag?

Next, was a small handheld mirror.

“This is the Eye of Malleroc. It shows you your deepest desire when you look into it. It’s also called the Mirror of Confession.”

“Yes. I’ve seen the same thing before. Our academy has one as well, although this one’s much smaller.”

“Is that so? Well, even a wicked demon would’ve had two eyes.”

This was also a pass.

And afterwards…… I tried a handkerchief, a pair of glasses, multiple rings, and multiple necklaces too.

All the artifacts had different characteristics, and among these, the Iron Handkerchief that wouldn’t be cut by anything was my favourite,

But none of the artifacts reacted to me.

* * *

* * *

I asked Stray Cat,

“Has there been a person who hadn’t been selected by an artifact before?”

“There have been cases…… but they are exceedingly rare. If you’re a magician that is allowed to enter into Area A, you would have the ability to catch the attention of a few artifacts.”

“……”

Then what was I?

If I was rejected by all of them……

This was a little depressing.

Right then, Straang snorted while looking at the artifacts in Area A.

“There’s no need to be disappointed. These are trash. All of them.”

“……Hm?”

“Of course, to humans, these would all be precious treasures, but the really precious things are hidden somewhere else.”

Straang lifted her finger.

“Over there.”

“……”

The place Straang pointed to…

Area X.

“In there, if I took a guess…… there should be at least one artifact made by a dragon.”

“A Dragon?”

Straang sniffed.

“Yeah. It has the unique pungent smell of a dragon who hadn’t washed their scales in hundreds of years.”

“……”

So you could figure it out like that too?

Well, whatever.

Whether it be a dragon or a god, it would be incredibly precious to be placed in Area X.

It was an area that I wasn’t even allowed to look into, and it wasn’t a place I could forcefully demand to look in either.

That was why I removed my gaze from Area X and tried to focus on the remaining artifacts.

But then…

“……?”

Shuaaaaaaa—!

For a moment, a strange light shined out from the direction of Area X,

And this light started to wrap around the entirety of the artifact zone.

“I-it happennnnnned!”

Simultaneously, Delicious Boar, who had witnessed this, flung both his hands into the air and started screaming excitedly with a weird expression on his face.

“The special event just happened! The first time in over 56 years!”

“……”

As Stray Cat said, unless a ‘special event’ happened, Area X was barred from entry for even the Emperor.

In that place,

“This, this…… I need to report to the tower master immediately.”

A special event just happened.

“……Kunkhan’s Tooth woke up.”

* * *

The highest floor of the Magician’s Tower.

The king of magicians, Fire King Teron, who was sitting on his throne leisurely sipping on his tea, felt his eyebrows stir a little.

“……Kunkhan’s Tooth reacted?”

“Yes.”

In front of him stood the magician Stray Cat.

Having heard the report about the happenings in the artifact zone just a moment ago, Teron broke out into laughter at the absurdity.

However, the weight of the words he spoke after this laughter was serious.

“Ruin Ardell…… Does it mean that he’s talented enough to take my throne after me?”

The Throne of Teron that Teron was currently sitting in.

It was the symbol of being the king of all magicians, and also the symbol for the owner of this tower.

The reason Teron said this wasn’t because of any simple conjecture.

Area X.

Here, among the thousands of items that were stored in this Magician’s Tower, three items of a different powerlevel to all the other artifacts were kept here.

Algal’s Staff.

Morshi’s Scale.

And finally, Kunkhan’s Tooth.

First, for Algal’s staff, it was the staff used by the first human magician to walk the land.

It increased one’s magic power limitlessly, and it was also the symbol of the king of magicians.

56 years ago, when Fire King Teron was a student.

The fact that he was selected by Algal’s Staff from Area X after winning the Grand Festival and that he was chosen to be the king of magicians.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

The man chosen by Algal’s Staff would be greater than all others.

However, since Algal’s Staff was in possession of the current Fire King Teron, it would be excluded.

There were two artifacts left.

Secondly, Morshi’s Scale was armour.

No matter the attack, no matter the spell, it wouldn’t be able to penetrate this ultimate armour.

That was why, rather than selecting a magician, it would select a knight.

Since it existed long before the Raynac Empire, it had multiple masters that used it before.

It would once a century move to find an owner, and after the owner died, it would return back to the tower.

Naturally, the legend that all the knights that were selected by this were revered as the guardian deity of the Empire didn’t even need to be said.

And so, this would also be excluded.

The last one left…

Kunkhan’s Tooth.

This was the part that Fire King Teron found to be suspicious.

‘Why now?’

Kunkhan’s Tooth, as the name suggested, was just a tooth.

The first chieftain of the ogres that brought the ogres together to form the first clan, Chieftan Kunkhan.

It was simply a part of his molar.

However, this was the most mysterious artifact.

In the hundreds of years of history, it hadn’t selected a single master before.

No.

Even if someone were to be selected, they wouldn’t have been able to use it.

Why?

“What did Ruin Ardell do with Kunkhan’s Tooth?”

“He lifted it.”

“……Lifted it?”

“Yes. And he made it look quite light while doing so. It was as if he was lifting a feather.”

“……”

This fist-sized piece of the tooth was so heavy that not even five fully grown men could lift it together.

However, Ruin was able to lift it.

The fact that Kunkhan’s Tooth selected him.

What did this mean?

Did it mean he was worthy of the throne?

“Ogre. An ogre, huh……?”

Strength like an ogre.

The special mission in Sky Mountain Summit.

The tooth of the first chieftain, Kunkhan.

Fire King Teron saw the connections with ‘ogre’ in his mind and narrowed his eyes.

Then, he spoke in a quiet voice.

“Call the Magician of Screams.”

——