Chapter 264

Chapter 264

Max was drowning in anxiety, she worried whether there was a problem with the design of her spell. She quickly put on her robe and came out of her room. The sky was already turning dark blue. They immediately left the dormitories and walked along the forest road that is slowly being engulfed in a bluish darkness. Annette lit the gas lamp she held and looked at Max with an uneasy expression.

“Do you possibly have an idea why Professor Landon has called for you?”

“I’m not s-sure why.”

She nervously fiddled with the hem of her clothes and tried to recall the magic formula she spent months creating with meticulous effort. It was a formula she accomplished by sacrificing her sleep and meals time to make it in time for the presentation. However, it seemed to be that there was some flaw when reviewed in the eyes of a high-ranking wizard. Max moved her feet nervously, her heart feeling like shrinking from nervousness. As they finally reached Gnome Hall, Annette pointed to the pulley used to go up the building floors faster.

“Landon will be in his lab. I’ll be finishing some work in the common lab so if you need any of my help, look for me there.”

“Thank you.”

Max then went inside the huge iron cage installed against the wall followed by Annette and after the iron doors to the cage closed, she lowered the pulley next to it. Then, the huge cage rattled and slowly began to move up. (T/N – LF: It’s like an ancient elevator hehe)

Max leaned against the wall, trying her best not to look below her. The ground below them gradually grew farther and the dark forest appeared like a dense carpet beneath her feet. She could see the edge of the forest and the grayish blue sea beyond it, then felt a choking feeling from longing as she stared at the distant sea and hurriedly turned her gaze away, afraid that she might just burst into tears again. Finally, the gears that pulled them up stopped moving with a rattling sound. She carefully opened the iron cage with a creaking sound and entered the building through the entrance located at the side of the tower. Then, she walked across the hall that was littered with debris and came in front of a wooden door.

“Come in.”

As she knocked on the door gently, she heard a hoarse voice coming from inside. She then pulled on the knob and entered. Inside the large room cluttered with books, a fat old man was sitting by the fireplace while reading a book.

“Pardon me for calling you at this hour. I thought of putting it aside until tomorrow, but it would be better to discuss it while there are few people around.”

The man said as he closed the book he was reading. Max’s expression turned into worry.

“May I know what’s the matter...”

“First, sit down.”

Max was frozen with fear, unable to utter a single word out of her mouth. She was finally able to fully grasp the depth of the predicament she was in, so she snatched her design from his hands. Landon’s eyes widened, surprised by Max’s sudden action. She then crumpled up the parchment and tucked it into the pocket inside her robe.

“I’ll pretend that th-this magic formula... doesn’t exist. Professor Landon, please do that as well.”

Landon’s mouth dropped in confusion. “But what about your presentation for the competition?”

“I’ll make a d-different magic formula. Please, pretend that you didn’t see this. I sti-still haven’t told anybody about this formula yet... if we keep it like this, no one else will know.”

Suddenly, she remembered that the Godrick twins had gone over her design to review it. However, she thought that there was no way they could have deciphered her formula in such a short time. And even if they did understand the contents of her design, she would disregard it if she was questioned. Max spoke pleadingly.

“I-I have no intentions of staying in the World Tower. So far, I’ve been desperately studying... to get home to my husband as soon as possible. Please... I beg you, please keep this a secret.”

“If you have no intentions of staying here, then why did you research this magic formula? There’s a lot of other topics to research on.”

“That’s... that’s because while I was looking into forgotten ancient magic, it caught my interest...”

Max blushed and clamped her lips. She couldn’t bring herself to confess that it was because she was searching for a magic that would possibly help Riftan in battle. Landon sighed softly as he looked at her with his amber eyes.

“There’s no need for you to be so nervous. If I was going to force you to present it, then I wouldn’t have called you to the tower in the first place at this time of the day.”

“What you’re saying is...”

“Is there a wizard here that doesn’t know how desperate you are to leave this island?” Landon spat out grumpily and leaned back comfortably against his seat. “Still, I wanted to confirm with you first your intentions. Presenting this formula will help you establish a position in Nornui. It’s a pity to make waste of a magic like this. In all honesty, I even thought about letting you present this and pretend not to know what could have happened.”

Landon smiled bitterly as Max’s lips stiffened. “However, if that happens, Nornui might just have another wizard fleeing the island.”

“...I am not unhappy with my life in the World Tower.” Max spoke her words very carefully. “I just... I just want to return to my family. Learning about magic for me is certainly fulfilling and rewarding... but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life doing research in the world tower. I want to be with my husband.”

Note – LF: Dang, Max is really talented. And yes, I think we might be seeing a Ruth the second if they keep our girl in there xD