Chapter 102: The Tower’s Mission and the Grand Competition

Just like yesterday, it was another ordinary morning at the Mage Tower.

As I got out of bed and was about to leave my room, I noticed a paper envelope placed at the door.

[Mage Tower Regular Mission]

It seemed that my first mission as a mage had arrived.

I glanced around the empty hallway before stepping back into my room.

The mission itself appeared to be quite simple.

I had to retrieve a single magic stone currently in use outside the tower within two years.

That was my very first task. There was no specified location, meaning I could go wherever I wanted.

Haven had kept his promise. As long as I decided on a departure date and reported it, I could leave the tower immediately.

I began packing my things. Since I hadn’t brought much when I arrived, there wasn’t much to take with me either.

I simply stuffed the spare robe and hat that Rain had given me into my bag.

With everything ready, I headed straight for Haven’s room.

His quarters were located at the top floor of the Tower of Dawn, always filled with an unusual flow of mana.

Creak—

Just before I could knock, the door opened on its own, as if it already knew a visitor had arrived.

Beyond the door was a small and worn-out room.

I stepped inside slowly, and at that moment, the space itself began to distort.

It felt similar to the first time I had experienced teleportation magic, when I was transported in an instant.

The narrow, white-shimmering space expanded, revealing hidden furniture.

A table, chairs, and bookshelves covering the walls all emerged, while a small fireplace burned beneath a slightly recessed wall.

It was hard to believe that this spacious room had once appeared so cramped.

By now, I was used to the phenomenon. I frowned slightly as I observed the mana flowing around me.

The blue mana, moving in a strange pattern, was stretching the small space itself.

At that moment, Haven appeared out of nowhere.

I was a little startled by his sudden presence, but since he was a mage capable of moving anywhere within the tower, it wasn’t surprising.

I took a step back.

“Leaving already?”

“Yes, I figured it was about time.”

Haven’s gaze briefly landed on my bag before he nodded slowly.

“If you grow tired of the mission, you are welcome to return anytime.”

“What happens if I exceed the mission deadline?”

“Hmm… As long as you report your status to the tower, I can extend it at my discretion… But you should be aware that the extension cannot exceed a month.”

“And if I go beyond even that?”

“Then a search party will be dispatched to find you.”

“Ugh… They wouldn’t force me back, would they?”

“Well, that would depend on you.”

So, once affiliated with the tower, they wouldn’t let me leave so easily, huh? I nodded and turned to exit Haven’s room.

Just as I was about to step out, he spoke again.

“Do you have any interest in participating in the competition?”

“Competition?”

“It’s a grand tournament where all mages of the tower compete. The winner earns the right to learn a magic of their choice.”

I met Haven’s gaze. His peculiar eyes, with slowly rotating geometric patterns, were fixed on me.

He once said they were a way of seeing the world, but they were undoubtedly some form of magic as well.

“Aren’t you curious?” Haven continued. “To see how far your magic stands within the tower?”

“You just want to see for yourself, don’t you?”

“Hmm, I won’t deny that.”

Haven let out a small chuckle and nodded.

I frowned slightly before asking, “Can I learn those eyes too?”

“If you win.”

“Alright.”

I tilted my head slightly and gave a light response.

Truthfully, I was curious—just as he said—about how far my magic could go in the tower.

“When does the competition begin?”

“In one month. It will start once all the mages who went out on missions return.”

“You’re participating?”

Rain asked, her voice tinged with surprise.

I simply nodded. It was only natural that word of my participation would reach her ears.

Since Rain enjoyed socializing, news of my entry into the tournament would soon spread like wildfire.

“Are you joining too, Rain?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m competing as well.”

“If we face each other, I won’t hold back.”

“Hah… You?”

Rain burst into laughter, finding my words absurd.

Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she shot me a wary look.

“Wait… Are you going to use that?”

She was referring to the artificially created Monster Fear I had conjured by clashing a fork and knife together.

I glanced at the sword resting inside my room and nodded. If necessary, I would use it.

“I… I need to prepare earplugs…!”

Rain muttered to herself, as if she had just come up with a solution, before regaining her usual confident smirk.

I, too, chuckled as I watched her.

As time passed, the tournament day drew near.

The mages who had left on missions began returning one by one, and the atmosphere within the tower grew heavy.

The competition’s format was straightforward. Two mages would step onto a designated ring and battle each other.

The match would end when one mage shattered the opponent’s Mana Shield.

Since the tournament was open to anyone, multiple battles were being held simultaneously in various arenas.

Flames erupted, ice spikes shot up, and blue mana drifted like smoke across the battlefield.

“Seris of the Tower of Dawn!”

It was my turn.

While waiting for my match, I lightly stretched and stepped onto the ring.

With so many participants, I hadn’t expected much attention, but a considerable number of eyes were on me.

“Vermilion of the Red Tower!”

A mere coincidence? Or something else?

I turned to look at Vermilion as he stepped up from the opposite side.

With an enigmatic smirk on his face, he stared at me.

Mages were given a brief moment to prepare before the duel began.

Some checked their staves, while others gathered mana from the start to unleash a powerful spell immediately.

Vermilion was no different from the other wizards.

He pulled out a small pair of earplugs from his pocket, put them on, and began concentrating mana into his staff.

Meanwhile, I did nothing. There was no need to.

“Begin!”

The moment the referee shouted, I kicked off the ground and shot forward.

My mana circle spun briefly as starlight coursed through my arms and legs.

A burst of acceleration followed.

The distance between us shrank in an instant, filling my vision with Vermilion’s startled expression.

As the starlight mana, starting from my heart, reached my right hand, I extended my palm toward Vermilion’s stomach.

Boom!

A heavy impact struck his mana barrier, causing it to waver.

In that very moment, the starlight mana burst forth from my palm.

A brief silence settled over the ring.

At the same time, the flames gathering around Vermilion’s staff flickered out, and his body was sent flying backward.

I dusted off my hands and turned toward the referee, who was staring at us with wide eyes, glancing between Vermilion and me in disbelief.

“Can I step down now?”

“S-The winner! Seris of the Tower of Dawn!”

As I lightly stepped down from the ring, murmurs spread among the watching mages.

“She looks young, but she’s incredible.”

“Didn’t they say she’s from the Tower of Dawn? The way she moves reminds me of a battle mage from the Tower of Twilight…”

“I heard she’s Haven’s disciple.”

With so many participants, the tournament lasted several days.

On the first day, nearly half were eliminated.

The second day, another half fell. The third day followed the same pattern.

And now, it was the fourth day of the competition.

Having defeated all my previous opponents in a single move, I had earned a title as a mage.

Starlight of Dawn.

It was given to me because of the brief starlight that flickered whenever I executed my techniques.

Though somewhat embarrassing, it was still better than the nickname I had earned during my adventuring days—the Fairy Swordswoman.

“Do your best out there!”

“Yeah.”

Rain cheered as I headed toward the ring.

She had been eliminated before she even had the chance to face me.

Had she made it through, today’s match would have been against her.

Instead, I would be fighting the opponent who had defeated her.

“Seris of the Tower of Dawn!”

As I stepped onto the ring with a light movement, the referee called out my opponent’s name.

“Leonis of the Tower of Twilight!”

From across the ring, a familiar figure appeared.

Leonis’ gaze remained unreadable as he looked at me.

“Hello?”

Since this was our second meeting, I decided to greet him.

But Leonis didn’t return the greeting.

Instead, he pulled out a pair of leather gloves embedded with a thin magic crystal on the back of his hand.

A brief silence followed.

The moment Leonis cloaked his body in mana, I reached behind me and drew my sword.

Sching—

For the first time, the smooth, polished blade emerged from its sheath.

Under the arena lights, seven stars shimmered along the length of the blade.

Though we were given time to prepare powerful spells, neither of us focused on gathering mana.

“Begin!”

At the referee’s signal, Leonis and I charged at each other.

Clang!

The instant we closed the distance, his fist clashed against my sword.

The collision of his blue mana and my starlight mana erupted into a powerful shockwave.

As we remained locked in a brief standoff, murmurs spread through the audience.

“A sword…? Isn’t that against the rules?”

“It’s not just any sword. Look closely. There’s a magic crystal embedded in it.”

At that moment, blue mana orbs began to form around Leonis.

Thirty in total—twice as many as the last time we fought.

The magic crystal on his glove flickered, and all thirty Magic Missiles shot toward me at once.

I immediately retreated, swinging my sword.

Clang! Clang!

Deflecting the incoming blue mana, I reflected on my past self.

Before, I would have responded by summoning countless stars of my own.

But now, there was no need.

“Hoo…”

I let out a slow breath and gently moved my sword.

Guiding the incoming blue mana as if leading it along a path.

Then, something remarkable happened.

Around twenty of Leonis’ Magic Missiles followed the movement of my sword.

His expression twisted in shock as he lost control over them.

Keeping my distance, I slowly rotated my sword.

The cluster of Magic Missiles trailing my blade stretched into a single, unified line.

Then, I traced a circle with the glowing mana strand—just as I had once formed a mana circle using Kashpa’s Scale Fragment.

Leonis’ mana-formed circle drifted behind me.

Vmmmmm!

The external mana circle and the one inside my body began rotating simultaneously.

As their resonance intensified, dozens of tiny stars appeared around me.