The plan was set, and there wasn't much time to waste.
Immediately, I marched towards the bathroom.
Choosing appropriate clothes to match the taste of trait Nobility (A) wasn't much of a problem since I just took the most simple and royal looking—an all black suit with matching shoes.
But what troubled me were the watches, and after much struggle, I picked up the one that suited my trait of nobility (A) the most.
"Not bad." I admired the beauty in my hands.
It was Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Reference 57260, an 8 million USD pocket watch, with its platinum chain attached to my waistcoat buttonhole, and the watch resting in its pocket.
All set, looking like a prince in a black suit from a fantasy romance, I left the room and saw Charlotte still standing in the hallway, managing tasks on call.
My exit from the room caught her attention, and she hung up the phone and turned to me.
"Master!"
In response to her salute and widening eyes at my gaze, I simply nodded.
"Has the bodyguard from the company arrived?"
I had just asked that, when suddenly, a mature woman with brown hair and an OL suit appeared in the hallway.
Step! Step!
Extra noise was made as women in high heels stomped on the marble floor.
"Ms. Sharon."
"A very pleasant morning to you, Young Master. How have you been?"
Sharon bowed with proper etiquette, and I nodded satisfactorily.
"You too... and let's not waste time on useless chatter, since it's you who came here, the rest of the work will be easy—"
Then I gave her instructions on how to "protect" Rachael, warned her not to let Rachael do anything foolish, and asked her to teach Rachael how to be a secretary.
Since Sharon was a woman of my mother's age and had grown up in the family's training program, her loyalty and competence were undeniable.
"Also, take care of Rachael's family, help them overcome their financial situation, and make sure that they know who solved their problem and why, let Rachael know about it in a natural way."
"Huh?"
"Any problems?"
"...No, just because you feel different."
"As it should be, people change."
I shrugged my shoulders and continued.
"Anyway, please tell my father that I had completed my awakening and my traits and stats are already assimilated... I will give him the desired result, soon."
Her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before returning to normal at my carefree, stoic, and proud demeanor.
Then, she hurriedly gave me a deep bow, not asking the thousand questions racing through her mind.
"Sharon will remember the Young Master's orders."
"Good... Also remove those heels from tomorrow, they make too much noise."
"Yes?"
Having said that, I ignored Sharon's questioning gaze and turned to look at the room Rachael was in.
My attitude caused Sharon's eyebrows to twitch comically, but she refrained from bringing up the subject further and instead stood outside Rachael's room, waiting for her to awaken and then tend to her needs.
Sigh!
As I watched everything settle smoothly, I also sighed inwardly.
'This much should solve the problems temporarily.'
Rachael was still sleeping, and at this point I was sure she was acting, but how long was she going to continue acting ignorant, and avoid me?
I was naturally curious.
Unfortunately, I had other important things to do.
Besides that, Sharon's presence was enough to manage the situation for the time being, and also make up for Rachael's family problems.
This was all to ease some of Rachael's worries that corroded her wounded heart in the novel, and forced her to take the suicide route.
When I thought about Rachael's family issues, I couldn't help but grumble to myself.
'My family is on the verge of falling apart, my sister is missing, depressed, and thinking of suicide, my mother is ill; and my father is drowning himself in alcohol to escape from reality, but I am playing hero in Dungeon Cracks.'
To me, the protagonist, Adam, was nothing more than that.
'A selfish, ignorant, ungrateful, unappreciative bastard.'
People might blame me for it, saying I was the one who wrote him like that, but was it really my fault?
'Isn't this reality? Shouldn't he be free from my will?'
Besides, who could say that it was really my intention to write this world in such a way?
What if I was secretly driven to write such a story from the very beginning by those goddesses?
Were they really like what the Villain Simulator told me?
A mountain of unanswered questions.
'Let's see them when the time comes, there's no point in wasting time when my future is on the line.'
Thinking as such and shrugging off the unnecessary thoughts, I turned to Charlotte.
"Let's go, Charlotte, go get the car out."
"Where are we going, Master?"
"Magic Tower."
* * * * *
Magic Tower.
One of the strongest forces in the Nexus World.
Even if all of the Players worked together to stop it, this was a force that could wipe out life on Earth in a matter of days.
When such a Magic Tower suddenly rose in the capital city of India, Delhi, the ripple effect that followed was hard to put into words.
Fortunately, the Magic Tower was a neutral NPC force whose sole purpose was to discover the limitless potential of Magic and reach new heights in their quest for the truth.
Only when something had to do with magic or threatened the Tower's very existence would they meddle in mundane affairs.
Nonetheless, there was no doubt that this was the safest and most luxurious location on the face of the planet.
From long-distance teleports to enchantments, to other facilities provided by the Magic Tower, they were sweets that everyone wanted to take a bite out of.
Subsequently, Delhi became a hotspot not only for players and guilds to settle down, but also for various billionaires and politicians.
However, the land around the Magic Tower was limited, and conflict was inevitable.
Predictably, not long later, a fight broke out between two powerful guilds, disrupting the Tower's tranquility and prompting the enraged Tower Master to wipe out both guilds by himself within minutes.
The news shook the whole world.
It made everyone realize the true horror of the Magic Tower.
Even the leaders of various countries came out together to apologize to the Tower Master personally.
In order to prevent this from happening again, the UN established several branches of the Tower in various significant cities around the globe that were directly connected to the Magic Tower via a Teleportation Portal.
This was done in cooperation with the Magic Tower and other important nations.
Obviously, the price tag for such structures was through the roof, and even now, different countries pay the Magic Tower a monthly fee to access the facility.
However, no one dared voice their displeasure in front of the Magic Tower, and everyone remained in tacit agreement.
Years had passed since that incident, and various things had changed.
Each year, in order to bring in fresh talent and cover for the ever-increasing workforce, the Magic Tower accepts new players as apprentices who exhibit exceptional talent and potential in the field of magic.
As for players, even though most of them could not even comprehend a single book on Magic, they still wanted to be a part of the Magic Tower.
It was not only due to the advantages one could obtain, such as access to different skills, artifacts, special enchantments, or connections with Tower Mages, but also due to their teachings.
The Magic Tower was a sanctuary for all Mages, and their teachings were said to have the effect of gaining experience and leveling up players with mage-type classes.
In addition, some of them could train in the Magic Tower, enroll in courses, or do research in the Library to improve the rank of their traits, the proficiency of their skills, or even learn new skills.
Of course, as the author of this world, I knew even more than that, not to mention that I have a Mana Affinity (A) that makes me a fish in the sea of knowledge.
'I am looking forward to this trip.'
I thought and sinisterly smiled inside my head.
Finally, I made it to the New York City branch of Magic Tower, which was essentially a massive stadium with a similarly colossal Teleportation portal in its center.
To me, these were just some side benefits; my real goal in going to the Magic Tower was not only Sylvia, but also a hidden piece.
A hidden piece obtained by Sylvia later in the novel, which made her "The Witch Of Calamity."
Anyway, putting that aside, I soon went inside with Charlotte.
Since I had already explained my intentions to her on the way here, without me saying anything, Charlotte spoke with the receptionist herself, took the form, filled it out for me, and submitted it.
"Master here, your entry number is 42, after passing the test here, you will be eligible to take the final test, which will take place in the afternoon at the real Magic Tower."
"I know."
I took the token from her and waited for my turn in the waiting lounge.
My turn came sooner than expected as I left for the testing room, saying goodbye to Charlotte.
"Put your hand here. This device will read your mana capacity and level."
The basic requirement for one to be an apprentice in the Magic Tower was for mana to be greater than 35, and level to not be above 10.
Following the simple instructions of the Tower Mage, I put my hands on the transparent sphere.
Immediately, I could see a golden stream of mana radiating out of it and then flowing through my hand, taking samples of my transparent mana and analyzing it.
To be completely honest, it wasn't just looking at my mana stats and level—it was also assessing my mana's status to check whether I had artificially increased it with a skill, an artifact, or a potion.
Within seconds, the results were out.
But the aloof mage couldn't help but finally lose his composure when he saw the result displayed on a holographic screen above the globe, rubbing his eyes and rechecking the results that remained the same.
——————
Adrian Vaiself
[Level 1] [Mana: 50]
Result: Passed
——————
"Fuck!"
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[A/N: Bonus chapter will be out in a few hours.]