Chapter 52

A month has passed since Eden was killed and the Siger Bang gang was dismantled.

During this time, Renock secluded himself and devoted himself to studying magic, without any special incidents.

Apart from occasional check-ins with Jenny, he only went out to buy groceries or to meet Aries as promised.

After staying up for three consecutive nights and fainting, he even used his connections in Panora to purchase and consume another Stemonia, despite the potential for unnecessary expenditure, as he realized he couldn't afford to miss this period.

Learning has its seasons and times, regardless of one's talent.

Renock didn't know when he would have another opportunity to learn theory from Aries and simultaneously practice with the research logs.

He had to give it his all when funds, time, and circumstances allowed.

It was a precious time he had earned through successfully completing several life-threatening missions.

As a result, Renock was making a mad growth in both his knowledge and ability in magic.

Not only in the electric magic category but also by completely overhauling common magic, he was gradually advancing the magic system.

Unable to contain the inspiration and imagination welling up inside him, he experimented with all sorts of magic and surpassed them.

His level had already far surpassed what could be hidden.

Even to the point where Renock couldn't hide his intuition from Aries.

"...So, I thought, what if we changed the way elemental magic is combined in a slightly different direction? Isn't the current elemental magic more about assembling on the spot rather than deeply exploring the attributes themselves?"

".........."

"To be honest, I don't think it's a very efficient method. Of course, the process has been optimized through countless studies and is almost perfect, but there hasn't been a clear solution to improving the mechanism, has there?"

Aries stared at him intently, but Renock continued his passionate speech.

"Actually, if we abandon the double assembly process and design it so that two axes rotate like gears, making the magic interlock one by one......"

"Let's stop here for today."

".....Pardon?"

Perhaps he had talked too much and it had become tiresome.

Just as Renock's face began to turn slightly red from the rare embarrassment,

Aries suddenly took out a business card from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Take it."

"This is...."

"I think I gave you one when we first met."

She brushed her golden hair back and smiled faintly.

A professor at Lavaton University. Aries Richellen's business card.

"For a long time, I had many doubts, but today I'm convinced."

Her blue eyes quietly shone as she continued.

"Your passion for knowledge, curiosity, keen eye, and understanding. Your reasoning and intuition are flawless by my standards. To be honest, I was a bit surprised."

"........"

"You might have been a magician on par with me if you had enough mana. You have that much talent for theoretical research."

"Talent...."

"Come work in my lab. I want to conduct research on magic theory together."

Renock fell silent.

He finally realized he had overstepped.

His growth over the past month.

Caught up in the joy of researching magic that was breaking free from the constraints of common magic day by day, he had inadvertently revealed it to Aries.

Or perhaps Renock had known all along.

He had been so engrossed in the idea of a comrade in magic research that he had deluded himself.

Seeing Renock's troubled expression and tightly closed mouth, Aries quickly continued.

She realized something had gone wrong as she watched him transform into a completely different person.

"I'm not going to exploit you without any position in my lab. I'll hire you as an assistant professor, and you'll also give lectures. I can give you the right to audit university courses. Not only the salary, but there are many benefits in terms of welfare...."

Renock stood up without listening further.

His face had already returned to its initial kind smile.

"Can I think about it and get back to you?"

Aries is not stupid.

She knew that if she missed this opportunity, she might never bring up this topic again.

Becoming urgent, she pushed herself up from the table with both hands and turned to Renock.

"......I can create an identity for you."

"........"

Renock stopped in his tracks.

Hearing those words, he realized the relationship had reached a point of no return.

"How did you know?"

Given the confident tone, Renock wasn't stupid enough to deny it.

And he didn't want to deceive her.

Aries responded in a calmer voice to Renock's calm acknowledgment.

"In this city.... It's not uncommon for people to have no name."

"........"

Perhaps it was possible to guess from his refusal to reveal his name.

Because he hadn't paid much attention to the surface, he had inadvertently allowed Aries to make such speculations.

"Being an assistant professor at Lavaton University can itself be a recognized job. Even if your identity is unstable now, it might not be impossible to obtain a proper ID through these connections."

"Hmm....."

Renock let out a small sigh.

Despite the absurdity, he realized Aries' words weren't entirely uncomfortable.

The hacker Jenny introduced him to had said the cost to create a high-quality fake ID was over 400 million cel.

Then how much would it cost to create a proper ID?

And how much would it cost to establish a proper job and position in the open?

...It was a difficult question to gauge.

The advantage of skipping the middle steps and saving costs was significant for Renock.

And the merit of participating in proper magic research under Aries far exceeded any financial gain.

Perhaps sensing Renock's wavering, Aries hesitated and spoke.

Revealing the small truth she had pushed aside with a good-sounding pretext.

"......I want to help you. You might think it's presumptuous, but...."

".........."

"You're in a difficult situation."

Only then did Renock fully believe what Aries was saying.

Given her character and actions so far, he knew she was sincere.

She was a rare person.

Especially in this cold and rigid city.

The only question was whether Renock was ready to accept her offer.

In the end, there was nothing else he could say.

"I need time to think about it."

Not much different from what he had said earlier.

But perhaps seeing something beyond Renock's gaze,

Aries' expression had become much softer than before.