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Genius Warlock-Episode 187

"Or should I say it's been a while?”

War Wizard Kevin Dunbar looked at Oliver and said,.

A brief, fleeting moment.

Many thoughts passed through Oliver's mind..

‘What do we do? Should I lie that I don't know? Was I good at lying? Rather, was this the disciple that Merlin was talking about? what? Accident? Or was it planned from the beginning?’

Oliver had no idea what to do with the artificial coincidence..

But in the meantime, time continued to pass, and the time for an answer came..

Not answering any further was tantamount to admitting it..

"I think it's fair to say it's been a while. Kevin.”

After much thought, Oliver chose to answer honestly..

One of Kevin's eyebrows rose..

His emotions, including surprise, admiration, faint satisfaction, and wonder, also shone in small amounts. He didn't seem offended at least.

Oliver cautiously opened his mouth..

"If you don't mind, may I ask you a question??”

"what?”

"How did you recognize me right away? I was wearing a leather mask at the time..”

It was the same thing that I was still wearing a leather mask, but I didn't bother to say it..

Kevin answered.

"I have good observation skills. Remember the atmosphere, actions, mannerisms, and tone of voice. More than anything……."

“….More than anything?”

"That cane stands out so much..”

Oliver looked at the quarter staff standing next to him. Without realizing it, I thought, ‘Ah…. ' A sound came out..

"In a world where swords and guns are the basics, golem prosthetics, mechanical equipment, and even body modification, there are not many people who only carry a staff. Naturally, it becomes easier to guess who it is..”

I had nothing to say. Surely that might be more noticeable in the back alleys of Landa..

Then I suddenly wondered if Oliver had been caught for his involvement in Willes' escape..

Kevin seemed to have noticed this and responded..

"don't worry. I'm the only one who saw you. Because I didn't talk about it.”

"thank you… .. But, is it okay to do that??”

"I didn't do it because I liked it..”

"Wizards, at least mainstream wizards who officially belong to a school, are required to serve in the kingdom's army. There are friends who think it's an opportunity, but there are also friends who just don't like it. This guy is that type too.”

Merlin explained, putting his hand on Kevin's shoulder..

Kevin looked at Merlin's hand on his shoulder and immediately said:.

"Master... . Could you please take your hands off me??”

"Oh, excuse me.”

Oliver moved his eyes quickly and looked at Merlin and Kevin..

From the information Oliver had obtained so far, it seemed to be far from a typical priestly relationship..

Last time, a branch official couldn't even make eye contact with Merlin and just shook his head, and this man named Kevin had a quite stiff attitude even when he called Merlin his teacher..

Not only that, he had quite a bit of anger and resentment towards Merlin..

‘Of course, not all of them are like that..….’

Is it possible that Kevin is stronger than Merlin? I thought about it, but I denied it in less than a second..

Kevin was definitely strong, but he didn't dare compare himself to Merlin..

Oliver, who had fought both of them, could guarantee that..

Is there something I don't know about??

"Even so, please say thank you to Kevin. Thanks to you, my otherwise smooth military career has become a stain..”

Merlin said this time, putting his hand on Oliver's shoulder..

Oliver didn't refuse.

"What do you mean??”

"Your mission. They kidnapped Willes, one of the commanders of the Kel Free Independence Army..”

"......."

"Please don't misunderstand. I didn't find out on purpose. However, I have a lot of information, and I have a brain, so I can make inferences naturally. this friend.…."

Merlin tried to put his hand on Kevin's shoulder, but put it down awkwardly..

“.…I also heard about this friend. I thought of you. don't worry. I have no intention of telling you. Not yet.”

"thank you.”

"Thanks to this friend. As I said before, there was a stain on my once-white career. Thanks to this, my plan to return to the Magic Tower in a grand manner went awry. Because of you.”

Merlin pointed exaggeratedly at Oliver with both hands..

Oliver acknowledged this and bowed his head politely to Kevin. What reason is there not to bow down??

According to Merlin's words, he had already taken care of Oliver.

In fact, the fact that nothing special has happened so far is proof of that, and more than anything, I was able to learn many things thanks to fighting him..

There are so many reasons to be thankful..

"Thank you sincerely, and sorry for the inconvenience..”

Kevin shook his head..

"It's not for you, so leave the thanks aside. More than anything, I know what it means to be sincere.?”

“yes?”

Oliver stupidly asked an unknown question..

Do you know what the truth is? . But suddenly I got curious. What is sincerity??

"Now, let's talk about the boring stuff when this old man isn't around, and let's get straight to work. My knees are starting to hurt.”

Merlin said, tapping Oliver on the shoulder and tapping the air just above Kevin's shoulder..

"Dave. Let me introduce you formally. My name is Kevin, your temporary master, and the taxi that will take you to the magic tower... . Kevin. That's a lot of baggage that you have to take with you. irresistible.”

A title that lets you know how they explained things to each other.

But Oliver didn't really care. Just being able to go to the Magic Tower was a great help to him, and at the same time, he was also aware of how risky his very existence was..

Oliver pointed out one thing..

"By any chance, did you plan it from the beginning? My brother and I met while working and met again here.?”

"That sounds stupid. It's a coincidence. Although it's a bit of a terrible coincidence.”

It was impossible to read Merlin's inner thoughts as his emotions were surrounded by magic. she had no choice but to believe.

“..…Hey, brother?”

"Don't call me capital punishment, call me professor. I'm a professor.”

"Ah, professor… .. Are you sure you don’t mind taking me with you? You are taking the warlock to the magic tower..”

"doesn't care. Anyway, there are a lot of people who say that my being a professor at Magic Tower is blasphemy... .. Taking you away will only add one more problem..”

There was a strange venom in Kevin's emotions. Somewhat complex, long-lived emotions. But he didn't seem to be taking Oliver very forcefully..

"aha..… . thank you.”

Kevin ignored Oliver's greeting and turned his head towards Merlin..

It was still a strange attitude towards a teacher..

"They'll take you with them, but you'll need a fake identity to do the paperwork. You can't take a guy without an ID..”

"I'm ready for that.”

"I have an ID card.”

"A clean ID, not an ID that works as a problem solver..”

Kevin said clearly.

It was definitely dangerous to use the ID card used as a problem solver at the Magic Tower. Oliver was silent..

“…And we have to decide what role we should take them in..”

"Can't we just take him as a handyman??”

"It's okay for you to do that, but I don't. Because there are a lot of people in the Magic Tower who hate me..”

"Well, it's a place full of racists, eugenics-obsessed lunatics, and wizard supremacists..”

"So, if I take him with me without any particular reason, many people will look at him suspiciously. I don't normally hire any personal employees, and I don't have people lobbying me, so you're probably wondering where this came from.."

"Hmm... . Even if I handed it over, there would have to be a good reason. Well, it's a bit questionable to just call him a handyman..”

Oliver quietly raised his hand..

"Excuse me, may I ask what you are talking about??”

“ah… ..No big deal. I'm taking you on as an employee, but I'm talking about why you're taking me there. Other professors have a lot of lobbyists and may want to hire employees with no special skills, but Kevin... . no it's not.”

A little irritation and anger arose in Kevin's heart..

I understand, but I still feel angry.

"..…In other words, I have to have a specific specialty other than miscellaneous work.?”

"That's good. If there is no one to lobby, Kevin has to hire someone himself and take him around, but as I said before, this guy has never done that. When an uninvited guest shows up after a long time and does something he or she has never done before, curiosity is aroused..”

Because he was an uninvited guest... .. It seemed like a horse with a bone..

Merlin and Kevin's strange relationship. Kevin's strange feelings towards the magic tower, etc. There seemed to be several circumstances..

I wanted to ask, but it didn't seem like something I could ask hastily..

For now, Oliver decided to focus on the current situation..

"Perhaps being able to read code words could be a specialty??”

"What do you mean, code word??”

Kevin asks, narrowing his eyes as if suspicious. In contrast to Kevin, Merlin clapped his hands as if he remembered..

“right… .. Come to think of it, you studied code words, right? Because if you can't access the World Tree, you won't try to learn well. Even within the Magic Tower, there are few people who know how to use code words. I can take you with this..”

Merlin mumbled with satisfaction as things turned out better than expected..

"I think I gave you a book last time. How far did you read it? Did you read this far??”

Oliver shook his head..

"ah..… . Well, it's a bit difficult.-”

“-No, that's not what I meant. I read the whole thing. All the books the old man gave me the other day. And I think I understand everything.”

“..…really?”

Merlin's reaction seemed like he couldn't believe it. Oliver spoke again.

"Yes, you said you could read it all if you took some time, right? I just believed that and read it whenever I had time.."

"Is that a lie? Trying to dispose of unsold bad inventory.”

"yes??”

***

There was a bit of a rumor that Oliver had been scammed, but somehow it went away and Oliver took the code word test..

A test written by Merlin and Kevin, with Oliver taken out briefly to grade it..

"That's amazing. At this level, you can just join the Moirai School and work..”

"can you show me?”

Kevin Dunbar asked in his characteristically stiff manner..

When Merlin handed him the test paper, he read it in silence..

“..…This is self-taught?”

"At least as far as I know. He could be lying, but for some reason I don't think so..”

Kevin nodded, looking at the door Oliver left through..

The warlock with that strange aura didn't seem like he would lie easily..

The proof is that he immediately acknowledged it the moment he saw it..

"Even so, I don't understand. Just because you can learn code words on your own doesn’t mean you can..”

What Kevin said was not a cavil but a clear fact..

Although the book contains all the information, it was difficult to follow the viciousness of the code words..

A code word that can interpret all languages ​​as one changes every time the number of words increases or a sentence becomes longer, the rules and arrangement of letters, and even the way to interpret words change, making the level of difficulty similar to learning a new language every time the level increases. boasted.

It's as if the World Tree doesn't want people to approach it..

"I also agree with what you said. So, you need to get specialized training to be able to use code words. However, there is now someone who learned code words on his own. Isn’t that just below perfect??”

Merlin pointing to the test paper in Kevin's hand..

Kevin checked the test paper again..

Looking again, there was nothing wrong. There is also a trap problem that is deliberately designed to make you wrong..….

"What is that guy??”

"I'll leave it to you to figure it out..”

"yes?”

Kevin asked back like an idiot to an unexpected question..

His teacher, Merlin, is the current owner of the Archives, which only the greatest wizard can inherit..

He was a being who inherited the knowledge, experience, research, and magic of numerous great wizards..

Instead of answering, he says he doesn't know... . I thought it was just a joke, but Merlin's attitude was quite serious..

"At first I tried to teach one-on-one, but then I changed my mind. If you look into the abyss for a long time, it actually erodes. So I decided to step in and observe as a third party..”

“I don't really understand what you're saying.”

"I may not understand it very well, but I understand it to some extent, right? The fact that you accepted this offer in the first place is proof of your personality..”

"I just followed my teacher's orders. If I refuse, I may be blocked from entering the Magic Tower..”

“haha.… . What does the young friend say? What power do I have?.”

"What power does it have? Isn't he the one who established the Elemental School by unifying the originally independent schools such as Mjolnir, Agni, Gaia, etc., and is actually reigning as the Grand Master even though he has ostensibly retired? I'm sorry, but what you're doing right now is not humility, it's arrogance and deception..”

Merlin's sly expression flinched slightly at Kevin's pointed words..

It's like there's a thorn stuck in my finger.

"My bones hurt..”

Kevin looked like he wanted to say more, but he deliberately changed the direction of the story..

“..…Of course, I won't lie and say I'm not interested. Because he wasn't an average person. So please tell me. Specifically, what part do you want to keep close by and observe??”

Serious question from Kevin. Although the atmosphere meant he should have responded appropriately, Merlin shook his head..

“…Honestly I don't know.”

“yes?”

“Even I, the archiver, said I wasn’t sure. I have no idea what it is. No, correct me. I get the feeling, but I can't believe it... . So I'm going to take a look..”

Merlin answered, recalling the feelings he received from Dave in the past..

"Something I don't know."