Chapter 136: Do you want to live?
Simuard.
As a renowned mage family, its name was widely known on the Arcana continent.
Each and every member of their blood kin possessed overwhelming magical power.
In each generation, they had a genius with a talent that even other mage families found difficult to produce.
However, no one envied the Simuard family.
Their curse of terminal illness was as famous as their reputation.
Simuards bloodline was born with overwhelming magical talent, but they died before reaching middle age.
There were no exceptions. Since then the Simuard family rose to fame as a mage family.
Huft.
Marcelo looked around the office.
His office was filled with various research materials.
His arrangement was almost finished.
Its thanks to him.
Chief Lee Hoyeol, if not for him.
Even now, his desk was filled with materials related to pre-verification of regular academic conferences, hypotheses about oddity, and even an application form for the towers exit lying around.
Theres a saying in this world.
Beautiful people leave beautiful traces.
It wasn't meant to be used in such a place[1]Beautiful people leave beautiful traces is an idiom that is usually found in toilet park/public restroom. , but Marcelo didnt know that.
However, Marcelo just wanted to protect. His formality as chief until the end.
He knew his physical condition better than anyone else.
Weakening heartbeat.
Insensitive flow of mana,
Thinning body.
I felt it from the Cracked Dimension Gap rupture.
Every time he used magic, he felt a rebound in his body.
To borrow Senior Bellieres words
It had put too much strain on his body, which was already in bad shape.
Im sorry. I always make you worry. Senior Belliere.
Not only that, even after returning to the Mage Tower, he continued to focus on his work. Even as he felt it himself, it hastened his short lifespan.
Marcelo smirked.
But what does a day or two matter?
A member of the Simuard family.
For Marcelo, death was closer than anything else.
He had been used to death since childhood.
His fathers deathbed existed in his memory.
No one in the family grieved the death of his father, except for him, who was still young. As if death was natural. Even for his father.
There will be a day when you will realize everything in the future. Marcelo.
Indeed, he was right.
The curse of Simuards terminal illness came equally to everyone, regardless of whether they were men or women or whether they were married or not.
A year later, facing the deaths of countless people, Marcelo also came to understand his fathers will.
Death was fair to all.
However, it was a little harsh to Simuards bloodline.
But Marcelo didnt feel it was unfair.
There is give and take in everything
Like Sir Hoyeol had said.
He traded his life for talent.
Because Simuards blood flowed through him, he had tremendous magical talent.
Moreover, unlike his father and his ancestors, he entered the Mage Tower where he could freely demonstrate his talents.
You have the right, Marcelo.
That meant he didnt need to be concerned about the future generations.
This was possible thanks to the permission of his godmother, Yula Simuard.
Marcelo shrugged.
Of course, someone must be having a hard time because of me.
Whether they liked it or not, he had entered the Mage Tower.
According to the oath, like the other mages, he could no longer get involved in the familys affairs. Furthermore, the Simuard family wasnt the kind of family that would cause anyone concern.
So Im concerned about that
What he was concerned about was the Mage Tower.
Marcelo looked at his organized office and thought.
Just like the scenery of his office, a lot of things had changed in the Mage Tower.
The demon worshipers who had disguised themselves as the elder mages and deceived the Mage Tower were alienated.
The number of elder mages went from five to one.
But there was no vacancy felt.
Because all members of the Mage Tower were filling the vacancies.
The roundtable meeting attended by mages of all classes was proof of that.
Not only that
In the process, Mage Tower acknowledged their public enemy, the demons.
Marcelo knew better than anyone that a mage had a difficult personality.
Now that they had a public enemy, the proud mages were cooperating with each other.
He didnt have to explain that, seeing that the senior mages who growled every day had quietened down.
This is also thanks to him.
As expected, it was all thanks to Chief Lee Hoyeol.
So Marcelo wasnt worried.
Hoyeol would be able to perfectly fill his vacant position.
Yes, he was accepting it.
From the moment he realized that he was Simuards blood kin. The time limit.
He kept thinking about death.
Still, he couldnt help it.
I have no worries, but I still have regrets.
Magic beyond his reach.
Unfinished theory of magic.
Research on oddity.
And most of all
I wanted to watch him wake up.
Not being able to see Tower Master again.
That was Marcelos regret.
But Marcelo knew.
Even if he resisted it, nothing would change. The regrets harbored by someone whose end had already been decided were useless. So he moved his hand without thinking too deeply.
Creak
When he pened the drawer, he saw the green tea bag handed over by Hoyeol.
The moment Marcelo smiled bitterly at the tea bag.
Knock
He heard a knock.
You may come in.
Was it Senior Belliere?
He didnt want to worry her.
So Marcelo worked hard to change his expression.
However, an unexpected person appeared from the open door.
!
That person didnt have meetings that had not been arranged in advance.
Because of that motto, it was unexpected to see that person.
It was Chief Lee Hoyeol.
Chief Lee? What brought you to my office?
Chief Marcelo.
Im listening.
No, Marcelo Simuard.
!
He had never told Chief Lee his name properly.
Adventurer Hoyeol couldnt possibly know the history of the Simuard family But perhaps. His condition was bad enough to make other people worried.
However, if Hoyeol found out now
Bow
Marcelo bowed politely.
Im sorry. I didnt mean to hide it.
But the answer he received was unfamiliar.
Marcelo Simuard. I will ask you.
Rather, it was a question, not an answer.
Being closer to death than anyone else.
Although he was born as a member of the Simuard family.
Do you want to live?
!
He had never received that question before.
.
.
.
It was all because of this damn tiring pride.
I looked at the flashing quest window.
[Quest: Marcelos Research]
Mage of the Tower, Chief Mage Marcelo.
In order for him to reach an advanced level of magic.
He wants you to join.
Accept Marcelos offer. (Successful)
Demonstrate your ability. (In progress)
Chiefs weight (Repeat)
Approach the oddities (In progress)
To be exact, at the very end of the [Marcelos Research] quest.
There was a new quest goal.
Continue Marcelos legacy. (In Progress)
Senior mage of healing school, Belliere Yushia.
When I picked up her application for the towers exit, my quest goal was updated.
Thanks to that, I quickly grasped the situation.
Even though I didnt know what kind of family the Simuard family was.
The thing about being terminally ill was no joke.
Then, the question that remained in my mind was resolved.
Even if I didnt carry much, it was an undeniable fact that I shared the weight of the chief position that Marcelo was carrying.
However, despite all my efforts, Marcelo grew thinner every time I saw him.
To the point that I couldnt simply blame his constitution.
But its even weirder to notice it just because of that.
Now that I was aware of this
I felt like I had become a very bad person!
Not only that. Even in rupture. Wasnt it me who had dragged Marcelo, who was given a terminal illness, everywhere? And even the words that I just said.
Do you want to live?
Is this really something you can say? Seriously.
But it was inevitable.
That was what the heavy pride in my heart was telling me.
The curse of the Simuard family.
The moment I read the purpose of Belieres towers exit.
Another quest flashed.
[Quest: Request From the Simuard family]
The mage family Simuard.
They have a curse of terminal illness imposed on them.
Dig into the root of the curse.
Visit Simuard Mansion. (Successful)
Face Countess Simuard. (In Progress)
Request from the Simuard family.
The word Successful appeared on the quest goal.
It wasnt a quest that I took.
As I said, I didnt even know what the Simuard family was.
But I knew.
Akshans commissioning structure.
The demon hunter who was carrying out the request was killed.
Back in the days when Akshan existed.
When the demon hunter who was performing the request died, another demon hunter followed the request.
But as everyone knew, Akshan had been exterminated, and I was the only surviving demon hunter.
Thanks to that, this naturally forgotten request
It probably appeared because I learned the secrets of the Simuard family. Yes, from Lee Hoyeols point of view, this was nothing to worry about.
Continue Marcelos legacy. (In progress)
But what, continue Marcelos legacy?
Who?
Me?!
Youre talking nonsense.
I have neither the ability nor the desire to do so!
What I wanted was not the actual position of chief, but only the authority of the chief as a co-researcher.
I was dying just to deal with half the work of the chiefs duties. I would die of overwork following Marcelo!
What happened next was also a problem.
The Mage Tower regarded the demons as their main enemy. If Marcelos absence arose in such a critical situation? This was something I could clearly see in the future even before I did anything.
No matter how I looked at it.
Face Countess Simuard. (In Progress)
[Request From the Simuard Family].
In any case, I should carry out Akshans quest entrusted to me.
Moreover, since it was an Akshans quest.
The curse of the Simuard family is likely to be related to the demons.
Yeah, there was nothing to worry about.
But like I said, this damn pride was the problem.
This pride wanted to hear the answer with Marcelos mouth.
Other peoples pride was as important as my own.
If the end that Marcelos pride hoped for was to accept the curse of the terminal illness. I would have no choice but to continue Marcelos legacy.
Opinion of the person concerned? Its important. I can understand.
But even if we said the same thing, how could you say Do you want to live?!
Maybe Marcelo was offended.
I looked at him silently
For some reason, the corners of Marcelos mouth turned up.
Do you know, Sir Hoyeol?
Know what?
This is the first time in my life Ive been asked such a question.
Marcelos mouth twisted.
He continued, half speaking and half laughing.
Simuard. My familys curse is widely known on the continent. Although there were people who knew that fact and were jealous of my talent, there were also people who looked at me with pity.
Well, I didnt have to look far.
There was a mix of those among the senior mages.
Marcelo let out the laughter he had been holding back.
Haha, Im sorry. That question is really new.
It was a question so troubling that it made him laugh.
This didnt seem like it would work out.
Yeah, its all because of this damn big mouth!
So I thought about it for a moment.
Wait.
At Marcelos words, I suppressed the urge to peck at my mouth.
Marcelos eyes scanned his neatly organized office.
I have no regrets. I know my vessel well. If it wasnt for the family history I would never have gotten to where I am now. Because I traded my life for talent. I was able to witness this kind of scenery in this place.
Marcelo laughed bitterly.
So I shouldnt have any regrets.
Firm
The moment I heard your question, I unconsciously thought about it.
Marcelo clenched his fist.
I want to live.
Of course, I didnt know.
What regrets Marcelo had.
As he succeeded Simuards blood.
What kind of attitude did he live his life as a terminally ill person?
But enough.
I understand, Marcelo.
?
Please follow Senior Belliers words and take a rest.
Indeed.
What I wanted to hear wasnt some strange story.
I want to live, just those words.
At the same time, the quest window flashed.
Continue Marcelos legacy. (On Hold)
Quest status changed from In Progress to On Hold.
If it was going to change, why didnt it change to a failure?
I had no intention of carrying this quest goal.
I looked at Marcelo, who looked puzzled.
To be precise, at his fist.
Was it because I lived my life always consuming a certain drink?
Now I can tell what it is just by looking.
What Marcelo held in his fist was a green tea bag.
The dry tea leaves burst onto the floor.
I said calmly.
If you ever need anything, come to my office.
!
Even time flows slowly when you enjoy tea.
.
.
.
[Quest: Request From the Simuard family]
The mage family Simuard.
They have a curse of terminal illness imposed on them.
Dig into the root of the curse.
Visit Simuard Mansion. (Successful)
Face Countess Simuard. (In Progress)
Naturally, the Simuard family was on the Arcana continent.
Since there wasnt a major incident about it like the Demon Kings Castle or Thefern Labyrinth.
There was no chance it would emerge as a regular update.
Of course, I couldnt help but have doubts.
How should I visit the Simuard family?
At this point, there was no way to travel from reality to the Arcana Continent.
But I remembered. The rupture. The view I had seen in space of oddity.
[???]
A huge demon whose name was unknown.
The guy had clearly broken the rupture and appeared. Then, he ran away from the [oddity] that I manifested, and ran away again to the Arcana Continent.
When I saw that scene, I realized.
The rupture was an odd space where reality and half of the Arcana continent were mixed.
Just as reality was connected to the ruptures.
The Arcana continent was also definitely connected to the ruptures.
But that didnt mean I knew how to get from the rupture to the Arcana continent.
But there was one option I could choose.
The demon kings loot.
[Map That Connects All Things]
[Grade: Epic]
[Restriction: None]
[Effect: You can find out the location of something that someone secretly hid, someone lost, or something hidden somewhere. You can also teleport to the location of that object just once.
However, when the teleportation effect is activated, all effects are lost immediately.]
[Description: A magic tool with infinite possibilities depending on how you use it.]
Indeed.
This was the reason I was able to speak confidently.
Someone might ask.
Isnt the Arcana Continent already a den of demons?
Even if you step on the Arcana continent, will you be able to survive? No, do you know how to return to reality in the first place?
I can do it.
With a confident answer as always.
I would show them the status window.
[Title: The Last Adventurer]
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