Training-Addicted Mage In A Progression Fantasy-Chapter 8: Arpinas Errand (2)

Her eyes seemed to recognize that Leon was a commoner by the clothes he wore.

Leon sighed inwardly, sensing a tiring situation, and spoke.

“Hello, I am Leon, I work at the old Magic Archive.”

Despite his utmost polite tone, her expression did not soften.

“Who do you think you are, causing a scene here? A commoner like you should know better than to make a fuss in a place for mages. Unless you have a death wish, that is.”

The commotion was caused by her, though.Leon decided not to explain, seeing her look at him as if he were an insect.

He knew that most mages were steeped in magic superiority.

“Stop.”

Her mouth stopped moving after hearing Ria’s cold murmur.

“If you don’t disappear from my sight right now, be prepared for our next duel.”

The red-haired woman hesitated for a moment, then crossed her arms and scoffed.

“Do you think I’ll be scared by that? You got lucky once and now you’re acting all high and mighty?”“Enough, let’s go.”

Leon grabbed Ria’s arm and turned away.He thought it was a waste of time to deal with her any longer.

She did not follow Leon.

He heard her muttering things like “Arrogant... Pathetic...” but Leon shut his ears.

After putting some distance between them, Leon asked.

“Who is she?”“Her name’s Rowen. She’s got six attributes, which is pretty rare. She was highly regarded before I came. Now she’s always pestering me, saying stuff like ‘I won’t lose to you’ and ‘I acknowledge you as my rival’.”

Having six attributes is indeed an extraordinary talent.It’s a talent that possesses all attributes except light and darkness.

Only then did he somewhat understand why she acted that way.

Before Ria came, everyone who praised her turned to Ria, which might have caused her inferiority complex.

Not that it justifies her behavior.

***

The Spatial Pocket Ria gave him was very useful.

Now, he didn’t have to worry about hiding the Magic Book and Space-Time Orb in a place where no one could find them. He could just put them in the Spatial Pocket and feel at ease.

Arpina’s errands were also easy once he got used to them.

All he had to do was borrow and return books, so he had plenty of free time.

During that time, Leon practiced small magic manifestations while reading a Magic Book in front of Arpina’s laboratory.Her laboratory occupied an entire floor, so there were no passersby.Since Arpina already knew, there was no need to hide it.

He was having relatively good days, progressing with his Quest.

The only thing that troubled Leon was Rowen’s presence whenever he went to the Magic Tower.

Even today, it was the fifth encounter since the first day, excluding the first day.It was his last day of work, and he had bad luck from the morning.

“A commoner like you helping with Arpina’s research...”“Then why don’t you volunteer?”

When Leon replied indifferently, she flared up.

“Do you think we’re friends just because we’ve met a few times?”

Leon looked at her calmly as she raged.He had figured out that she was all talk and couldn’t cause any trouble in the Magic Tower.

“Don’t follow me. It’s annoying.”“Who’s following whom!”

Leon waved his hand dismissively at Rowen and went up to the floor where Arpina’s laboratory was.

Rowen’s words of “Just you wait!” didn’t even reach Leon.

Arriving in front of the laboratory, Leon looked around for a moment.

Seeing that the books he saw yesterday weren’t thrown out, she probably hadn’t finished reading them yet.

Leon sat down and took out a Magic Book from the Spatial Pocket.

The magic he was currently practicing was the Magic Concealment Spell.It was a magic he borrowed from the old Magic Archive, using all his savings, to hide his realm.

It was easy to see why this Magic Book ended up in the old Magic Archive.

First, the concealment effect was useless for 1st Grade mages.It only worked from 2nd Grade, and even then, it only concealed up to 1st Grade, not making one appear as a commoner.

Moreover, since this Concealment Spell had to be Memorized at all times, it was a waste of memory for mages like Apprentice Mages who heavily relied on Memorize.

Unless one was in a peculiar situation like Leon, there was no need to learn it.

Leon wouldn’t have learned this magic if he had a better option, but this was the only precaution he could take for now.

He thought of it as preparation for when he reached 2nd Grade.As long as someone like Arpina didn’t take a special interest in him, it was unlikely to be discovered at 1st Grade.

While Leon was engrossed in reading, he suddenly felt someone’s presence and looked up.

Arpina was staring at him in front of the laboratory.

“Ah, do you have any tasks for me?”“No, I was just going to tell you that you can return the books and go home now...”

She crossed her arms and tapped her cheek with her finger before speaking.

“Do you think anything will change if you keep reading Magic Books alone?”

She muttered to herself and then continued.

“Having a Triple Attribute Body means you have some talent, right? Why don’t you think about learning properly?”“...I don’t want to reveal it yet.”“You’re funny. I’ve already found out, haven’t I?”

At her words, Leon stood up and bowed deeply.

“Please keep it a secret.”“...You think bowing suddenly like that will make me believe you’re sincere?”

Leon straightened up and spoke seriously.

“I’m serious about keeping it a secret. If you keep my secret, you’ll be making a powerful ally for the future.”

Did that statement bother her somehow?The corners of her mouth, which had been turned up, suddenly dropped.Her expressionless face now looked quite sharp.

“You’d better take that back. Don’t bring up Ria for your own benefit.”“...”

Leon was momentarily confused, then realized she thought he meant Ria when he said a strong ally.

“I meant myself as the strong ally.”“...”

She was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Pfft!”

She laughed non-stop for a while.

Was it that funny?

Leon felt awkward.

“You, my strong ally? Haha...”“Um...”“What?”“Nevermind.”

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“That was the funniest thing I’ve heard all year.”“If you think it’s just boasting, I can’t help it.”“Do you know what kind of mage I am?”

Leon wasn’t referring to her when he said that.He was referring to his future self, who would become strong.

So it didn’t matter what kind of mage she was.

Leon shook his head calmly and spoke.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“One day, you’ll definitely need my help.”“...Really?”

She seemed to ponder for a moment, then chuckled and spoke.

“Interesting. Come in.”

She invited Leon into her laboratory.

She approached a bookshelf filled with books and snapped her fingers, causing a book to pop out.

The book floated in midair and approached Leon.

“Take it. It’s for you.”

Leon hurriedly caught the falling book and examined the cover.

Arpina’s Basic Four Elements Magic.

“To be precise, it’s for the you who I will need in the future.”

As Leon listened to her voice mixed with laughter, he tightly gripped the book in his hand.Unlike her casual toss, he realized how valuable this magic book was.

“You know I’m not taking you as a disciple, right?”“I know. But thank you anyway.”“I don’t know who your master is, but seeing you alone flipping through trash magic books, they seem to be a rather mediocre mage. They might feel quite offended by this.”

Her raised lips seemed to mock Leon’s master.

She has a rather mischievous side.

But it didn’t matter to Leon, who had no master.

*****

After work, Leon didn’t head straight to the Dormitory but went to the Merit Point Exchange Center.

Arpina had given him 50 Merit Points as a reward.He wondered if it was okay for her to give out Merit Points so freely, but it wasn’t his concern.

This brought his total Merit Points to 120.

He could get a private room and still have 20 left.

He applied for a private room at the Merit Point Exchange Center and returned to the Dormitory.

“Lalala~”

In fact, Leon did have a purpose when he mentioned being an ally to Arpina.

He didn’t expect to receive her unique Magic Book, but he wanted to ask her a few questions.He had memorized the basic magic of water, wind, and earth, but he was unsure how to harmonize these three attributes.

He didn’t expect it to turn out this way.

Back at the dormitory, Leon immediately opened the book Arpina had given him.

Arpina’s Basic Four Elements Magic.

Although the magic wasn’t named, the fact that it had her name meant it was her unique magic.

According to Ria, Arpina was a Mystic-grade Mage.

In the hierarchy of mages, from Apprentice - Arcane - Mystic - Insight - Transcendence, she was at the pinnacle of Mystic.

Her Four Elements Magic included fire, water, wind, and earth.It contained the basic magic for all four elements.

Although he didn’t have the fire attribute, the rest matched.

He didn’t have to worry about obtaining high-level Magic Books until he became a Arcane-grade Mage.

Moreover, the book contained the answer to his question about how to harmonize various attributes.

Arpina’s magic, or rather, the unique characteristic of the Widia School, was ‘harmony.’

As a unique magic of a high-level mage from the Widia School, it naturally dealt with harmony.

Leon began to study the Magic Book all day.

After a week, he was assigned a private room and began his training in earnest.

Half a year passed like that.