Lynn simply could not understand how Mages thought. With a displeased expression, he touched his younger brother's forehead. "Bards' healing spells may be mediocre, but they can at least assess someone's physical condition without any problem."
Leonard said softly, "Brother Lynn, I'm already being treated quite well. At least I can still choose my own assignments.
"And as a member of the Nature Tower, it's only natural for me to complete magical research assignments.
"Tell Liss that I could have avoided this, but then my future would have been completely ruined... Whether Elves or any other race, no Mage would accept a coward who left a Mage Tower because he did not want to complete magical research."
Lynn frowned. "At the Mage Academy, people's heads explode even when they voluntarily conduct research! And that isn't even high-level magic!"
"For Transcendent Mages like us, each person only needs to submit one usable eighth-circle spell model. The few of us all chose the simplest healing or growth spells. Only after completing that research assignment did I qualify to travel outside." Leonard revealed a sorrowful smile. "The hardest part is for those Mages who struggle to cross the Transcendent threshold. If they truly understood the laws that well, they would not be unable even to set foot on the Transcendent path."
"Do you know any Elves who turned into giant trees?" Edna, who knew a fair amount about Elven magic, asked.
Leonard nodded lightly.
Lynn looked at his unlucky younger brother, then at Edna. He clenched his teeth tightly before suppressing the urge to curse out loud... The reward for completing a life-threatening research assignment was being dragged onto the path of fate?
That forest lady of the Nature Tower was dreaming a little too beautifully, wasn't she?
Did she really think that,