Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 516 - 515: Daniel’s Past

That is one of the most powerful spellcasters in the Typhon Empire, the supreme ruler of the Royal Mage Association, the chief magic consultant to the Emperor, and a figure as esteemed as a Duke, Lady Windsor Maple.

She was much more ordinary than Mary had imagined.

Mary carefully and reverently glanced at the prominent figure standing by the desk. She expected the legendary powerful mage to be a more distinctive lady—perhaps dressed in a Starry Robe, an imposing elderly dame, or maybe a stunningly beautiful woman who used spells to alter her body’s age, but she was neither. Windsor Maple appeared to be just an ordinary middle-aged woman between thirty and forty. Although there was still an attractive charm in her eyes, the traces of time had already marked her face. She wore a plain purple magic robe, and her equally light purple long hair was casually tied up behind her head. She just stood there quietly, without any aura emanating from her.

Then Mary saw her mentor move. The old mage unhurriedly walked up to Windsor Maple with a somewhat disrespectful look, even a bit rude, in contrast to the young apprentice’s stunned gaze, the old mage nodded: "You’ve finally reached this position."

"You are still my mentor," Windsor Maple said with a complex expression, bowing to the old mage in Mary’s astonished and somewhat terrified gaze, "Always."

The old mage waved his hand: "But you are no longer my apprentice."

Mary suddenly took a deep breath—for a moment just now, she had been so shocked that she forgot to breathe, and her breathing sound attracted Daniel’s attention. The old mage beckoned to her: "Come over and greet Windsor Maple, she is the president of the Royal Mage Association."

Mary walked up dazedly, and before she could speak, the awe-inspiring lady glanced at her—as if she had only now noticed the stranger in the room: "Who is she?"

"My apprentice," Daniel chuckled, "Less gifted than you, but smarter."

It was the first time in Mary’s life that she heard praise of herself from Daniel’s mouth—even though it wasn’t directly addressed to her.

"Your... apprentice?" Windsor Maple said incredulously, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded to Mary, "Hello, I am Windsor Maple, Daniel’s first apprentice. Since you are also his apprentice, you don’t need to mind my position as president."

"I... my name is Mary," Mary said nervously, "It’s... an honor to meet you."

Windsor Maple frowned slightly, asking instinctively: "No surname? Oh, I didn’t mean to offend."

"I picked her up in the countryside, where would a surname come from," Daniel said dismissively, glancing at Mary with slight dissatisfaction and waved impatiently, "Not progressed—go stand aside, do not interrupt."

Mary immediately obeyed and retreated, though she had many questions, she tightly sealed her lips and dared not say a word.

And Windsor Maple took a deep look at Mary, who from all perspectives couldn’t be considered an excellent mage, with only a pitifully weak magical surge within her, then solemnly turned to Daniel: "Mentor, I’ve been looking for you all these years..."

"As the president of the Royal Mage Association, if you really wanted to find me, you would have found me long ago," Daniel let out a hoarse low laugh, "And what are you looking for me for? So I can continue enduring those moronic taunts? Or to invite the association members to visit a famous freak?"

Windsor Maple’s expression changed slightly, she immediately shook her head: "Mentor, you know what I mean, no one belittles your achievements in the field of magic, it’s just your neural interfacing magic..."

The president’s words suddenly halted halfway.

She stared, wide-eyed, at something in her sight—behind Daniel’s black robe, restless artificial nerve cords writhed, several slender, faintly electrified, twisted objects seemingly an amalgamation of flesh and metal extended from the hem of the robe, gently swaying in Windsor Maple’s view, like blind subterranean creatures, yet carrying a certain blasphemous aura.

The powerful spellcaster cried out in a low voice: "You... you succeeded?!"

"I failed, but also succeeded, those rigid fools probably won’t acknowledge my success, but I don’t care—the neural interfacing magic theory is ultimately meaningful, I broke through the limits of my talent, accomplishing what I couldn’t before," Daniel said in a low voice, "Windsor Maple, we are not here to talk about this today."

"... Yes, we’re not here to talk about this," Windsor Maple fell silent for a moment, then sighed slightly, "Mentor, when I received your letter, I could hardly believe it, but you really came—you are really willing to return to serve the Typhon Empire?"

Daniel snorted: "Humph, I will serve Typhon, but I have no interest in this association anymore, as far as I know, our Emperor hasn’t required recruited mages to join the association, right?"

"... That is indeed the case," Windsor Maple frowned, then adjusted her stance with a serious look at Daniel, "Your achievements in mathematics and Gondor Magic are unparalleled, even without my introduction, the Emperor has heard of your reputation, he will definitely be very pleased for a mind like yours to be willing to serve the Empire again. I will immediately have arrangements made for your lab and mage tower—they have been preserved by the association all these years."

"No need, I’m no longer accustomed to working among too many people—the folks in the Royal Mage District probably wouldn’t want to live on the same block as a modified freak," Daniel sneered, shaking his head, "I have already found a place to settle, and planned to rebuild a laboratory myself, you know my habit, I only trust the experimental environment I create, and I don’t want anyone to interfere or disturb."

Windsor Maple looked into Daniel’s eyes, though he had aged much more than she remembered, even to an abnormal extent, and his temper and nature seemed to have also undergone significant changes; yet the persistence and stubbornness in those eyes remained unchanged from her memory. She gave up trying to persuade him further, nodding slightly: "I understand, it will be arranged according to your wishes."

After saying this, Windsor Maple paused, and with a slight hesitation, she looked at Daniel and asked: "Mentor, where have you been living all these years?"

"Is this part of an investigation?"

Windsor Maple did not hesitate this time: "It’s my duty."

"Well answered—I have been in Typhon for these years, in the Southwest region, the Royal Mage Association is free to investigate, including anyone I have contacted, you can all investigate. Any more questions?"

Windsor shook her head: "No more."

"Good, then I’ll be leaving—this is not a comfortable place to stay."

Daniel called Mary, who was still dazed beside him, and turned to the door, but at that moment the president of the association suddenly spoke again: "Teacher, you really didn’t need to leave back then. Those who excluded and ridiculed you were just mediocre people. They are already..."

Daniel stopped, turned around, and looked at Windsor: "Because I was jealous of you."

Windsor Maple’s voice came to an abrupt stop. She stood there, a complex expression on her face, and after several seconds, she broke the silence: "Teacher, you know I don’t believe that."

"But it’s true—perhaps many mediocre mages would consider their apprentice’s rise to legendary status a matter of pride, but I never did, because I know that your rise to legendary status was only due to your talent, not due to my efforts. It cannot be compensated with hard work, cannot be changed by any post-acquired means, and has nothing to do with a mentor’s personal abilities. Any mediocre mage can help you reach legendary status, and even if the Goddess of Magic descended, I could not break through the powerful realm."

Daniel quietly said these words, then turned away, leaving the association president’s room without pause.

Windsor Maple quietly watched the old mage’s hunched figure disappear behind the door, not saying a word.

She knew that her former teacher was not truly jealous of her. What he resented was the ironclad rule of "talent decides all."

He did not mind that his apprentice could reach legendary status early or that his apprentice surpassed him in magical accomplishments. What he could not accept was that it was all decided by talent, could not accept that there was a boundary that no amount of effort could ever shake.

Windsor Maple sighed softly—perhaps even before she reached the powerful realm, before the mentor encountered his own talent bottleneck, he had already foreseen what was going to happen, which led him to start that heretical and fantastical research.

Neural Interfacing Magic theory.

Technology that transforms the human body through implants, neurosurgery, and lifelong enhancers.

The mentor who never believed in destiny chose to rebel against fate more than twenty years ago. At that time, everyone thought he failed, but fortunately, now he has returned.

Though he has changed greatly, though he said he transformed himself into a "monster" with surgery, everything will be better.

...

All the way, Daniel remained silent, and Mary could only follow quietly, keeping her mouth shut. She had many questions to ask since today’s happenings challenged her understanding, even challenged the worldview she had formed so far—the president of the Royal Mage Association was her mentor’s former apprentice? The youngest legendary female mage in Typhon’s history was her "senior"? Her mentor was such a significant figure?

Mary dared not imagine any of this!

Yet before her mentor allowed, she dared not ask a word.

This stifling state persisted for a long time until they left the Royal Mage Association, when Daniel finally broke the silence: "Quite a few questions?"

"Ah... yes," Mary was startled, then quickly nodded, "I... I never expected you were so... the president of the Royal Mage Association was your apprentice?!"

"Foolish question, needing to be asked again at this point," Daniel glanced at Mary, "She was indeed my apprentice, but she became president after I left, including her rise happened after that. When I left, she was just like me, merely an ordinary powerful mage."

"So you really left the association because of your research into neural modification? Now you’ve succeeded, those who ridiculed you must be terribly embarrassed..."

Mary spoke a bit hastily, but after saying it, she suddenly realized she had said something too daring: Daniel always disliked mentioning anything about his past with the Royal Mage Association, it’s a forbidden topic in any circumstance!

Poor girl immediately got tense, all her muscles tightening in nervousness.

Daniel sneered: "Success? If you consider these nerve cords a success, today I would place them on you."

Mary trembled slightly, but just as she thought she was doomed to such a terrible fate, she realized it was just a joke from the old mage—

"Look at yourself; you think I would have the patience to perform such modifications on you?" Daniel waved his hand, "Your talent is like a monkey’s, any modification would be a waste of resources."

Mary paid no mind to the mentor’s assessment of her talent; she simply felt greatly relieved, then sighed, "Others would never believe it, that Lady Windsor Maple was our predecessor..."

"You need not be so in awe of Windsor."

Daniel suddenly interrupted Mary’s sigh, then under her somewhat confused gaze, he lifted his head, looking at the misty streets of Aldernon.

"If you knew His power, you wouldn’t be in awe of anyone."

The old mage stepped forward, leading Mary further into Aldernon’s mist.

"Don’t waste the master’s time; we have much to do."