Li Mo's Disappointment

"Teacher, you said you were taking me to the Atlas Institute?"

Inside the Department of Lore, Li Mo looked at Brishisan in front of him with indignation, speechless.

Brishisan also had a grim expression, shaking his head and sighing, "Yes, although the other Monarchs have stated they won't make a move against you, they need me to investigate your origins at the Atlas Institute."

My origins?

Li Mo was speechless, recalling Brishisan's previous words. He inwardly resented, didn't he know his own origins?

But was this something that could be spoken aloud?

Although it was true that in this Type-Moon World, there were countless other Parallel Worlds, and worldlines often changed, ultimately, they had no connection to the main world Li Mo came from, right?

Yes, Li Mo referred to the world he came from as the main world.

In his conception, the main world was the most vast and central world. And this current world was merely one world within the cluster of Type-Moon Worlds that were dependent on the main world.

Yet, even the Second Magician, famous for observing and traveling through Parallel Worlds with the Second Magic, didn't dare claim to have visited all Parallel Worlds. How could he dare assume that an instrument created by the alchemical organization, the Atlas Institute, could uncover Li Mo's origins?

Li Mo was full of complaints but had nowhere to vent them. Moreover, some things truly couldn't be explained to Brishisan, which made him very indignant at the moment.

"Fine, Teacher Brishisan, did you say when we're going?

Give me a timeframe first so I can prepare. The New Year is almost here, can't a person be happy!"

Hearing this, Brishisan shook his head and chuckled, "There's no rush. Since you want to go after the New Year, it's fine if we go then."

Westerners don't really celebrate the New Year, but since the kid wanted to do it this way, he'd let him.

Actually, when Brishisan first brought Li Mo back to the Clock Tower, he did have the idea of taking Li Mo to the Atlas Institute to investigate his origins. But as time passed and their relationship grew, he gradually came to see Li Mo as his junior, and that thought was lost somewhere along the way.

Now, after going in circles, they had come back to it, and he couldn't avoid this trip.

Thinking of this, Brishisan's lips curved upwards. He looked at Li Mo, who was currently manipulating Magecraft formulas, with a smile and said, "Right, from now on, remember to call me Father in front of others. Don't call me Teacher anymore."

"Ah???" Hearing this, Li Mo, who was fiddling with a Magecraft formula, accidentally let it dissipate.

Suppressing the piercing pain in his hand, Li Mo looked at Brishisan in a daze, "Um, Teacher, what did you say? I didn't hear clearly, could you say it again?"

Brishisan smiled charmingly and said, "I said call me Father from now on. I told them you have 56 Magic Circuits, but that's already an unprecedented aptitude for Magecraft.

Do you think that's why they stated they wouldn't make a move against you, and didn't dare to mention a Sealed Designation?

It's because I said you were my adopted son, and the future Monarch of my Department of Lore!"

Li Mo was stunned, but Brishisan didn't let him off, his finger almost pointing at his head. He said irritably, "Is being my adopted son a disadvantage? You know, others want to be, but I'm not willing to accept them. And this position of Monarch, along with these things in my Department of Lore, will all be yours in the future!"

Brishisan was still rambling. In a daze, Li Mo seemed to see his grandmother, who had raised him from a young age in his previous world. Their faces kept overlapping, finally settling on Brishisan's face before him.

Li Mo hadn't felt this emotion in a long time.

Although he had felt good with Brishisan before, their bickering and warmth were very comforting, he had always thought it was just what existed between a teacher and student.

Since arriving in this world, he hadn't longed for these things anymore.

As for his family in that other world?

He couldn't think about them, and he didn't dare to.

Even the gods had vanished in this world. Who knew if he would even find a way back in the end?

Li Mo lowered his head, and a drop of crystal-clear water slipped onto the ground. "Father..."

Brishisan was taken aback. Looking at the silent boy with his head bowed, he finally broke into a smile and said, "Let's go, Mō-san. I'll show you the foundation of our Department of Lore!

It's time you knew why the Monarchs of the other eleven departments don't dare to act presumptuously in front of me, why our Department of Lore is known as the most mysterious department in the Clock Tower!"

Beneath the Department of Lore, the reason it was called the most mysterious and unfathomable stemmed from here.

Here were kept a small portion of the treasures passed down by King Solomon's disciples after his death, as well as remnants left behind by the gods after their retirement in the Divine Era. Of course, there were also mysterious items accumulated over the thousand years since the Clock Tower's establishment.

Why did the Department of Lore receive tens of percentage points in the Clock Tower's annual budget? These weren't small sums of money, and they weren't all spent on this.

The two finally arrived at a large door inscribed with mysterious patterns after passing through a long underground staircase.

"This is where our Department of Lore stores its mysteries. As I mentioned before, that ring left by our ancestor Solomon is also kept here." Brishisan turned to look at Li Mo. Seeing that his previous gloom had dissipated and he was curiously examining his surroundings, he nodded with satisfaction.

As Brishisan took out a key from his pocket to open the door, he said to Li Mo, "I'm bringing you here mainly to choose a couple of defensive items for you. Otherwise, I worry about you going on Mage Association missions alone.

Also, it's so you can understand the foundation of our Department of Lore and witness true power."

True power? Li Mo was speechless.

Seeing Li Mo stunned, Brishisan nodded and sneered, "You don't think you've achieved true power just like this, do you?

Mana is mana. Although the mana in your body is higher than mine, that doesn't represent power.

True power is something that can be completely controlled by someone. Like the Magecraft in the hands of us Magus, or the knowledge learned in our minds.

If it were just mana, wouldn't everyone just sit by a Ley Line and convert mana?

If you continue to be complacent with the mana within your body, you'll be taught a lesson by someone sooner or later!"

Alright, Li Mo said with a dejected expression, not daring to reply.

Heaven knows, he, Li Mo, never had such thoughts!

Lately, he had indeed been slacking off in his study of Magecraft, but that was because he felt the road back home was getting longer and longer.

There was no way around it; the deeper he delved into magic, the more despair he felt, and a genuine sense of confusion washed over him.

He couldn't find a way back home.

Before, he had been full of hope, but after consulting the ancient texts of the Clock Tower, he was disappointed. The gods had vanished. While this world still possessed alternative forms of Magecraft, could they truly allow him to return to another world?

From the initial high spirits to confusion about the future, it had all culminated in his current despair.

Why had he clung so stubbornly to Brishisan in the first place? Why had he come to the Clock Tower to study Magecraft?

To go home – Li Mo had never forgotten his purpose.

What was the point of Demon King Incineration of Humanity, or the destruction of the world by ORT, when compared to his own return home?

If he couldn't, then what was the use of continuing to study Magecraft diligently? To become a king or a conqueror in this foreign land?

Li Mo hadn't considered that.

He was still just a child under eighteen, a child who wanted to go home.

"Teacher, why do you study Magecraft?"

In the dim underground passage, Li Mo looked at Brishisan's face, which suddenly seemed to flicker in and out of visibility.

Li Mo's sudden question caught Brishisan off guard, and for a moment, he was stunned. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to utter a word.

Perhaps he didn't know how to explain?

"Study Magecraft?" Brishisan murmured to himself, his gaze towards Li Mo becoming distant and unfocused.

Had this child lost his way?