The central city of Ronadium. And there was a letter containing a thesis that had arrived from the east via express delivery.
It was immediately sent to the thesis department of the tower. The thesis department received a mountain of papers from all over the continent, but this one from the east was handled with a bit more care. It was because the sender was none other than Mage Yuric.
The department member promptly handed it over to the head of the department. As soon as he opened the envelope and glanced through its contents, the head’s expression changed drastically. He nearly dropped the cigarette he was holding out of astonishment.
‘…What is this…?’
The head started carefully checking the content, beginning with the table of contents. Although the paper itself wasn’t difficult as it was related to history, the content it contained was beyond imagination. Honestly, if not for the names, he would have thought it was a joke.
Immediately after finishing reading the paper, the head sent his subordinates to summon historians. Regardless of whether they were giving lectures or not, he ordered them to come in and report the content.
Professor teaching history were initially displeased at being interrupted by an unexpected visitor, but their eyes widened considerably when they heard the news that followed.
– Mage Yuric has discovered the Magic City of Verzig in the east, which disappeared four hundred years ago!
The history professor left only the message that the lecture would be terminated early due to special circumstances and rushed to the conference room. There were many professors like him in the hallway, all hurrying to the conference room as if competing against each other.
The conference room was already bustling with mages. Not only from the field of history, but also circuitry, barrier magic, curse studies, and dragon knight researchers. The number totaled close to three hundred, with countless standing due to lack of seats. Naturally, they started seating themselves, starting from the seniors in the front rows. Of course, the juniors were already busy trying to figure out what was going on.
Among the old masters gathered in the center of the conference room was former Mage Tower Master Tristan. Seeing the thesis department head signal to start, Tristan commanded everyone to be quiet.
“The thesis department head here. As you all briefly heard, Mage Yuric sent a thesis from the east. However, given the enormity of the content, I couldn’t help but call upon all of you.”
In fact, it was rare for mages to be called in just for one thesis, perhaps only once every few years. Frankly, such an event would not occur unless the thesis had significant impact. Even so, this time, the lecture had to be forcibly interrupted midway. Undoubtedly, the students at the tower must be very curious about what’s happening now.
“Please look.”
The thesis department head showed the table of contents of the thesis on the wall of the conference room so everyone could see. Since it was impossible to read the entire thesis here, they checked the table of contents to make a rough judgment.
Verzig’s History.
The location of Verzig, which suddenly vanished four hundred years ago.
Wingless Wyvern Ashborn guarding Verzig.
The curse that consumed bl**d controlling Verzig.
The barrier magic and circuitry installed within Verzig’s walls.
And Verzig, which has been moved back to the cliff again.
Even just reading the table of contents made the mages feel like they were going mad. This was not a discovery limited to a single field. Amidst the excitement of discovering the headquarters of Arkanum, Yuric had made another significant discovery. This ignited a fierce passion among the mages.
Before the department head could say anything, mages raised their hands eagerly to volunteer as part of the verification team. This enthusiasm quickly spread throughout the room.
Seeing the commotion, Tristan slammed the table with his palm to calm them down.
“Quiet! I understand your feelings well, so please settle down!”
Tristan, being a mage himself, could not help but be excited by this tremendous discovery. However, if he let the excitement take over, the proceedings would turn chaotic.
The department head briefly summarized the thesis content according to the table of contents before handing it over to the council of elders.
The council of elders made a decision after a discussion.
“As the matter at hand is significant, we will select the verification team with strict criteria. Of course, even those who are not selected for the verification team can join as volunteers, provided they bear half the cost themselves.”
This seemed to satisfy everyone sufficiently.
And as soon as the discussion ended, the members of the verification team were decided. Given that it would take over two months to reach Verzig in the east, they needed to prepare and leave immediately to avoid delays.
Thus, a large contingent of 22 verification team members and 54 volunteer members departed from the tower for the east.
*
In recent days, the previously deserted Verzig cliff saw dozens of people coming and going.
People were filled with awe and reverence at this mysterious structure that had seemingly appeared overnight.
With the barrier magic deactivated, Verzig became accessible to anyone. Dwight, the eldest son of Duke Morifrid, entered Verzig with others, carefully collecting the scattered remains.
The recovery team collected the remains, placed them in wooden boxes, sealed them, and held memorial services every week. If any items confirming identity were found, they were meticulously examined and passed along with the box containing the remains and offerings to the descendants. The memorial service was conducted with great solemnity and care, instilling pride in the descendants.
The head of the history research lab at the magic academy, who came as part of the verification team, scrutinized Verzig thoroughly and found no flaws or falsehoods in Yuric’s thesis. In truth, this monumental discovery did not require validation.
In fact, the head of the research lab did not think about validating the thesis at all. He was completely absorbed in studying Verzig.
“This is, this is… It is undoubtedly the greatest discovery in nearly a hundred years. I guarantee it!”
Yuric and Bella continued investigating Verzig, picking up where they left off. Particularly, Yuric meticulously drew and recorded the interior of Verzig.
‘If it weren’t for someone leaving a sketch of Verzig in ancient times, we might not have been able to reach here.’
All of this began when he confirmed similarities between the surveillance tower and the sketches in ancient books. Therefore, Yuric planned to document everything through sketches and records for future generations.
Yuric attempted to decipher the barrier magic, but it was an enormous task that would take a tremendous amount of time, especially without diagrams. However, the Barrier Magic Research Lab would spend decades unraveling this mystery, as it was their duty.
Bella also struggled with sleep over her research on Verzig. For her, the discovery of Verzig was the most significant event in her life.
Yuric did not believe he achieved the discovery of Verzig alone. Without Bella’s investigation and research, he would not have been able to reach this place. Had it not been for her research on the ghost princess, he wouldn’t have known about the connection between Verzig and the Wingless Wyvern Ashborn.
So, he wanted to include her as a co-author, but she vehemently opposed it. She felt she had already been rewarded enough just for finding Verzig together.
“I am content just having formed such a deep bond with you. Perhaps it was the universe guiding us.”
Even when she was part of the tower, she always lived under the shadow of jealousy and envy from others, compounded by pressure from achievements.
Perhaps all these factors converged to cause the incident. Tristan, her mentor, understood her inner struggles and lived that way as a form of atonement.
She had long been a wanderer and a loner. Becoming a Lisi did not give her a sense of belonging. The Lisi group itself did not emphasize such feelings.
Therefore, she threw herself into magical research as if it were the sole purpose of her life.
However, since meeting Yuric, Bella had undergone many changes.
Yuric observed and appreciated everything around him with joy. His attitude towards life truly taught her a lot. Her approach to human relationships also improved.
He did not discriminate based on social status or knowledge. He approached everyone with a learning attitude and listened to anyone’s words. This applied equally to Lisi Bella.
Although Lisies were often seen as troublemakers in the magical community, Yuric did not care about such things.
At first, it was intriguing; later, it became awe-inspiring.
And she found herself falling deeply for him.
His kindness, his courtesy, his affection.
This is love.
True concern and love could move even a rock.
Bella wanted to watch Yuric grow with the heart of a parent, a lover, and a comrade.
Would the path he chooses in the future lead him to greatness?
The time spent with Yuric was the happiest and most enjoyable moments of Bella’s life.
She realized for the first time that having a kindred spirit was the greatest blessing.
After spending a month and a half near Verzig, the recovery team led by Morifrid’s eldest son and the verification team returned to the city.
Yuric and Bella decided to return to the city of Lyander with the recovery team to spend the coming winter there.
Duke Morifrid held a public funeral for the remains recovered from Verzig at the cathedral’s communal cemetery. A massive crowd flocked to the cathedral to witness the event.
He acknowledged and rewarded Yuric and Bella for their efforts in discovering and recovering the remains. It was quite moving for Bella to receive an award from Duke Morifrid in front of everyone applauding.
Winter was approaching in the east. Yuric resumed his private tutoring work.
But surprisingly, during the quiet winter when travel between cities was infrequent, a large convoy of carriages arrived from the eastern tower city of Ronadium.
Ah.
They were the verification team sent to validate Yuric’s thesis. Among them was the former Mage Tower Master and current elder, Tristan.
“Grandfather!”
“Yuric!”
They embraced each other, exchanging warm emotions.
Tristan looked at the grown-up Yuric with genuine admiration.
“These kids couldn’t wait a moment. Who would have thought they’d brave the snow for me.”
Everyone, including Yuric, laughed at Tristan’s joke.
“Let’s depart tomorrow!”
“Hey, you’ll all fall asleep! You’re all too weak.”
After exchanging warm greetings, Yuric took Tristan somewhere alone.
There, Tristan met an unexpected person—his former student, Bella.
“Bella…”
“Master.”
It had been several decades since Bella left the tower.
For a while, they looked at each other with longing and tenderness.
Yuric said that Bella played a significant role in discovering Verzig, though she refused to be listed as a co-author.
“There was no need to do that. Listing your name as a co-author doesn’t diminish the value of this discovery.”
“It’s fine. Master, you know it’s not important.”
A long silence ensued. After looking at each other for a while, they slowly, very slowly, approached each other.
And slowly hugged.
“I missed you, Bella. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“I missed you too, Master… I’m sorry for being a poor student.”
They held each other tightly, filling the long gap of separation.
