Chapter 97: Master and Disciple

Viktor answered Igor’s question calmly. "Well, yes. I would not be opposed to accepting such a mission in the future, but not right now. If I attract too much attention, it could interfere with Nuoya’s activities. For the time being, I will simply focus on supporting him."

"You really go all out when it comes to Nuoya."

"Nuoya is my precious... beloved disciple, after all."

Beloved disciple...

That was exactly the word Qiu Nuoya had wanted him to use. If Viktor had tried to say anything beyond that, Qiu Nuoya probably would have stopped him with all his strength and yet, somehow, his heart still felt unsettled.

Qiu Nuoya himself had been the one to draw the line between them and decide that they were not lovers, but master and disciple.

Viktor had respected that decision, and even so, he continued to put Qiu Nuoya’s well being above everything else. But knowing that the feelings at the root of all that were connected to Qiu Tailang left Qiu Nuoya with complicated emotions that he could not hide.

Qiu Nuoya could not stop wondering just how important Qiu Tailang had been to Viktor.

The more he thought about it, the more it felt as though Qiu Nuoya himself was the one developing stronger romantic feelings for Viktor.

No. That’s not it. It isn’t.

He could not let himself be so easily swayed by words like I love you, words he had almost never heard before.

He had always liked women. He was certain of that.

If he allowed himself to become intoxicated by Viktor’s affection simply because someone had finally told him they loved him, he would surely suffer a painful reckoning sooner or later.

Qiu Nuoya was not Qiu Tailang and he could never become Qiu Tailang’s replacement.

That was why he could not allow himself to be deceived by those words. Besides, becoming independent was far more important to Qiu Nuoya right now than romance. There were still so many things he needed to learn in order to survive in this world. This was hardly the time to lose himself in romantic distractions.

"I want to learn the magic you showed me before, like Search and Crimson Circle!"

"Crimson Circle is an advanced fire spell, so you should start with its prerequisites, Flame Thrower and Crimson. As for Search, I believe you should be able to use it, Nuoya."

"Even if you say that so casually..."

If being told that he could use a spell meant he could simply cast it without any trouble, then there would be no need for a master in the first place!

"Search is an application of wind magic. You infuse the wind elementals with your own magical power and send them out in all directions. Since this is not an offensive spell, it does not require a particularly large amount of magical power. The wind spreads outward from you, and when it encounters a wall, it flows around it. Search works by sensing those movements through the magical power you have infused into the wind. The range depends on the caster’s skill, but in my case, I can cover a radius of about five kilometers in areas with few obstacles. In places with many obstructions, such as dungeons, the range is closer to one kilometer."

Qiu Nuoya remembered that when Viktor had used Search before, he had felt wind blowing around them. So Search really was wind magic.

"However, you need to be careful. If you infuse too much magical power into it, monsters that are sensitive to magic may flee. People with strong detection abilities may also find it unpleasant. In the worst case, they may interpret it as hostile intent and attack you."

"That sounds scary."

"It is not a problem as long as you do not overdo it. Inside dungeons and hunting grounds, everyone does the same thing, so even if someone notices it, they generally ignore it. It is only considered unpleasant when someone uses it during ordinary daily life. You would not like someone peeking into your private life either, would you, Nuoya?"

That was certainly true.

It would be safest to use Search only when necessary.

Convenient magic was only truly convenient when it was used while respecting the appropriate rules and etiquette.

There was certainly a lot more to it than Qiu Nuoya had expected.

Qiu Nuoya and the others decided to accept several group requests and begin exploring the dungeon from the tenth floor.

The teleportation magic circle gate was essentially like an elevator specifically for the dungeon, so they reached the tenth floor in no time.

Apparently, the tenth floor was equivalent to Adventurer Rank F, while the eleventh floor and beyond were considered Rank E. The reason they had started from the tenth floor was because it was the first floor with a dungeon boss.

If they could defeat the dungeon boss on the tenth floor, they would be considered capable enough to explore the dungeon safely from the eleventh floor onward. That was apparently why the tenth floor was being used as their test run.

Still, enjoy the dungeon?

Well, people did say that the dungeon in this city was practically an attraction, so perhaps they really were supposed to enjoy themselves.

But could this really be called a proper adventure?

Hmm...

Perhaps it was better to think of the dungeon as a place for training rather than a true adventure, and simply enjoy it that way.

The tenth floor of the dungeon was exactly what Qiu Nuoya would have expected from an underground labyrinth, with winding passages twisting in every direction.

Young adventurers who looked to be in their teens were fighting monsters here and there.

That made sense. After all, the people currently on this floor were probably adventurers around the same rank as Qiu Nuoya and his companions.

"All right. There’s no need to waste time fighting everything we come across, so let’s keep moving."

With that, Igor walked through the labyrinth without paying any attention to his surroundings.