The lectures at the Clock Tower are conducted in a manner where anyone who can keep up is welcome to attend.
Magecraft is almost entirely determined by lineage and talent, so there is no real need for serious instruction.
This was something Alaric realized only after successfully joining the Clock Tower a month later, after scraping together the tuition fees.
It wasn't that knowledge was lacking or that incorrect magical knowledge was being spread, but rather that there were no detailed explanations provided.
This is a world where talent reigns supreme.
Over this month, Alaric, with the tutoring of the young Waver Velvet and his understanding of magecraft, quickly passed the Clock Tower's entrance exam, and he managed to cover his tuition through intense, undocumented part-time work.
Two months had passed, and Alaric had already become a magi despite having no official identity.
Rather than calling him undocumented, it would be more accurate to say that he was able to enter the Clock Tower thanks to a guarantor.
In a neatly arranged office, Alaric sat upright on a cushioned sofa, smiling at the elderly woman in the main seat beside him. She was in her seventies, dressed in a striking green suit. Though her hair was completely white, she still exuded an air of vigor and charisma.
The room was filled with an antique fragrance that refreshed the mind.
Not only was there this faint yet pleasant aroma, but the surrounding layout also clearly reflected the status of its owner. Various magical tomes and artifacts were arranged in a manner reminiscent of a small workshop.
Enjoying this brief moment of tranquility, Alaric smiled and said, "I truly appreciate your help, Lady Inorai."
The elderly woman, whom Alaric addressed as Inorai, chuckled and replied, "After all, you are someone with talent. Wouldn't it be a shame if you were turned away?"
As a person with an unknown background, Alaric would have likely been rejected even if he passed the exam. While the Clock Tower and the world of mysticism it represents do not abide by the laws of human society, an unclear identity is suspicious anywhere.
A suspicious individual!
That was the impression the Clock Tower's Law and Politics Department had when reviewing Alaric—a highly suspicious, genius-level, first-generation magi.
Unless one advocated for the democratic ideal of opening the doors of magecraft widely and granting talented individuals their due status, the Clock Tower would never have accepted Alaric.
And indeed, things unfolded just as expected. Even though Alaric was an undocumented individual with an unknown background, his talent earned him a place at the Clock Tower. More surprisingly, a current Lord personally vouched for him.
Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, whom Alaric had met a few times, was one of the reigning Lords of the Clock Tower and a staunch proponent of aristocratic ideology. He firmly believed that magecraft should only be studied and refined by those chosen by their lineage, following tradition.
Even though Alaric's talent might have caught his eye, it wouldn't have changed his principles. He wouldn't have felt regret over Alaric's potential being wasted, nor would he have stepped in to help him enter the Clock Tower.
However, the woman sitting before Alaric, Inorai Valualeta Atroholm, was different. She was one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, and the head of the Department of Creation.
Inorai Valualeta Atroholm had mentored exceptional magicians such as Aozaki Touko, Araya Souren, and Cornelius Alba, making her a distinguished figure within the Clock Tower.
This was something Alaric only learned after coming into contact with her.
"Regardless, I am deeply grateful for your assistance, Lady Inorai. However, I do have a small request."
Alaric smiled slightly, gazing at the elderly woman before him.
Even after Lord Valualeta vouched for him, Alaric was not placed into her Department of Creation. Instead, he remained in the First Department – General Fundamentals.
The Mage's Association divides mysticism into twelve fields, with the General Fundamentals as the first. The others are:
Individual Fundamentals (II),
Spiritual Evocation (III),
Mineralogy (IV),
Zoology (V),
Heritage (VI),
Botany (VII),
Astrology (VIII),
Creation (IX),
Curses (X),
Archaeology (XI),
Modern Magecraft Theory (XII).
Each of these twelve departments is managed by one of the eleven Lords, except for Modern Magecraft Theory (XII), which is not governed by a Lord. It was only formally recognized as a department in the early 20th century.
Modern Magecraft Theory compiles recent magecraft from the past century, aiming for practical usability rather than deep mystical pursuit. It operates independently of the Lords' influence, allowing open discussion and even visual documentation—making it the domain of the New Age of magi.
Though these departments differ in form and direction, they all ultimately pursue the research of mystery.
Magus are beings who seek the Root (Akashic Records), so such a structure is only natural.
Beyond the First Department, the other eleven departments each have their academic campus, scattered across London's districts (such as Sla and Roxlot).
Each department's buildings are vastly different in structure and are disguised to conceal their magical nature, often surrounded by psychological and bounded fields to deter outsiders.
Additionally, there is a thirteenth department—Law and Politics, which differs from the other twelve. This department does not focus on magecraft but manages and operates the Clock Tower itself.
Its primary duty is to enforce the Clock Tower's First Principle: "Mystery must remain hidden."
Over time, this department was divided into three functions:
Protecting the Magical World,
Overseeing Magus,
Contributing to Human Society.
Alaric initially arrived at the General Fundamentals and also applied to the Law and Politics Department.
Before his official admission, he had already learned about Waver Velvet's lecture locations.
The large lecture halls have existed since the Clock Tower's founding, offering open education to all magi who pay their tuition.
Typically, new magi at the Clock Tower spend five years in General Fundamentals, learning core magical knowledge, before transferring to a specialized department.
However, this is not a strict rule and exceptionally talented magi often begin specializing or transferring much earlier.
For over two thousand years, since the beginning of the Western calendar, this vast world of magecraft had revealed just a fraction of itself to Alaric.
It was immense.
The overwhelming amount of magical knowledge showcased the accumulated wisdom of humanity.
Yet, despite all of this, Alaric still couldn't find what he truly sought.
Thus, he boldly sought out Lord Valualeta.
For Magus, the ultimate goal is to reach the Root (Akashic Records)—a pursuit passed down through generations.
For example, the Valualeta family seeks the "Ultimate Beauty" as their path to the Root.
But for Alaric, magecraft was not about reaching the Akashic Records.
He pursued only himself—to reach his own personal Root.
Apart from the fundamental disciplines, only the Astromancy Department, where Marisbury Animusphere was, and the Heritage Department could attract Alaric's attention. The other disciplines were unnecessary for him.
Therefore, Alaric had to confirm whether the Fuyuki Holy Grail War existed. However, traveling to Fuyuki personally was an immense challenge for someone currently penniless—after paying tuition, he could only rely on crashing at Waver Velvet's place for meals. Even if he replicated that undersea journey again, Alaric wasn't sure if he had enough magical energy to traverse more than half the planet to reach another country.
Rather than spending a vast amount of time and effort crossing the world, it would be more efficient to check the records in the Clock Tower.
Even a magical ritual held in a remote region for only a few hundred years would surely have been registered in the Clock Tower.
But as a mere freshman who had just enrolled, Alaric had no authority to access such records. This was why he set his sights on Lord Valualeta.
Once Alaric explained his purpose—wanting to retrieve records related to Heroic Spirits—
Spirit Summoning itself was a magecraft of the Clock Tower. However, when combined with the Holy Grail System constructed by the Einzbern, the fusion of these two elements enabled the successful summoning of Heroic Spirits.
Its effects even surpassed the summoning techniques of the Spirit Evocation Department.
If the Fuyuki Holy Grail War had ever existed, there must have been records of it—after all, actually summoning Heroic Spirits as Servants was nothing short of a miracle.
"I see—"
Lord Valualeta, who was savoring her tea, immediately understood Alaric's intention and smiled slightly.
She did not feel repulsed by Alaric, the magi apprentice from unknown origin. On the contrary, she highly appreciated his raw, unpolished magical talent.
To Lord Valualeta, Alaric embodied a form of "beauty"—not merely the beauty of a woman but a conceptual beauty. His masculine beauty also carried a certain charm, but what truly earned Lord Valualeta's admiration was his creativity.
His use of magical energy had reached the level of a true magus. Even with just basic Projection Magecraft, he could create remarkably high-precision replicas.
This was merely a glimpse of Alaric's talent. Having only noticed him after Kayneth did, Lord Valualeta expressed her admiration for Alaric's exceptionally high-level magic circuits.
Even though Alaric had been labeled as a "suspicious/dangerous individual," after observing him for some time, Lord Valualeta chose to vouch for him.
It would be a waste to let such talent go.
Though she had her doubts about Alaric's request, it was ultimately harmless.
While Heroic Spirit Summoning was a subject under the Spirit Evocation Department, the underground library was shared. Retrieving related books was a trivial matter for Lord Valualeta.
"And what do you plan to offer in exchange?"
With no intention of rejecting Alaric, Lord Valualeta smiled and asked,
Magus never offered help for free; even mutual assistance had its limits.
Although Lord Valualeta could grant Alaric's abrupt request, she lacked a compelling reason to do so. Mere admiration was not enough.
Alaric was neither Lord Valualeta's student nor a member of her lineage—he was merely a freshman she had chosen to vouch for.
Being able to have a private conversation with Lord Valualeta today was already a privilege granted by her appreciation.
Hearing this, Alaric's lips curled into a faint smile, and he spoke with unwavering determination:
"Lady Enolai, can I go into debt?"
Alaric was as poor as a beggar, with no resources to negotiate or exchange—unless he sold Gram, the Holy Sword given to him by Gilgamesh.
Otherwise, Alaric would remain penniless for a long time.
However, after learning some basic magical knowledge, he had a bit of confidence.
I have no resources now, so I'll borrow from the future—by signing a contract, I can obtain access to the records.
And Alaric's confidence in signing a contract came from himself—his absolute self-assurance and talent.
Lord Valualeta was well aware of his abilities and would not think he was boasting.
"A contract, huh? That's acceptable."
Lord Valualeta set down her teacup and said,
"So, when do you plan to start?"
She wasn't surprised by Alaric's proposal—this was a common practice.
"As soon as possible!"
Alaric needed to confirm the existence of the Holy Grail. If it didn't exist, he would adjust his research direction—either by delving into soul studies with his magecraft or by locating the Einzbern workshop to uncover all records related to the Third Magic.
If the Fuyuki Holy Grail War did exist, then Alaric had to consider how to travel to Fuyuki and begin researching the Greater Grail System and the Third Magic contained within it.
Waiting until the Holy Grail War began before arriving in Fuyuki was not an option.
The conversation, which had not lasted long, ended here. After signing both an advance contract and a confidentiality agreement, Lord Valualeta led Liye to the underground Secret Archive of the Clock Tower.
This archive, which housed numerous magical tomes, was mostly restricted to Lords. Books on Heroic Spirit Summoning were particularly classified under the Spirit Evocation Department.
However, as a Lord, Lord Valualeta easily granted access to the Spirit Evocation section and retrieved the texts related to Heroic Spirit Summoning.
Among them, Alaric found—
A thesis left behind by a magus who once acted for justice and sought to save humanity. A thesis written over centuries by Makiri Zolgen on Heroic Spirits.
Alaric knew exactly who Makiri Zolgen was—or rather, he should be called Zouken Matou.
Alongside Tohsaka Nagato and Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, he helped construct the ritual known as Heaven's Feel.
Later, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou families became known as the "Three Founding Families."
They were the ones who created the Fuyuki Holy Grail System, with the Matou family specifically providing the Command Spell technology.
Zouken Matou, as a Worm Magus, transformed himself into a swarm of insects, parasitizing others to extend his lifespan—surviving for over two hundred years by embedding himself within his descendants' bloodlines.
Faced with the densely written thesis, Alaric remained expressionless and continued reading.
Even though much of Zouken's writing seemed like mere self-praise, Alaric could still discern the original sense of justice from the very beginning.
Two hundred years ago, Zouken Matou could have rightfully called himself a hero of justice. But as time passed, his soul decayed, and the fear of death eroded his reason—he was no longer a hero of justice, merely a rotting relic persisting to the present.
None of that mattered!
Suppressing his excitement, Alaric continued flipping through the documents. Their contents weren't particularly useful to him—his only takeaway was proof of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War's existence!
The First, Second, and Third Wars—
Every sixty years, the Fuyuki Holy Grail War has occurred three times so far!
Once the magical energy in Fuyuki's ley lines accumulated enough to activate the Greater Grail, the Fourth Holy Grail War would commence!
No matter the circumstances, Alaric would not miss this golden opportunity!
"The Holy Grail... should be mine."
Returning the thesis to its place, Alaric continued browsing other tomes. After spending over an hour in the Secret Archive, he left alone.
Lord Valualeta had already departed after granting him access, and she had only unlocked the Heroic Spirit Summoning section. If Alaric wished to read other restricted texts, his only option would be to use the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to "kill" the security enchantments and forcibly access them.
But that was entirely unnecessary.
For now, Alaric had to focus on his studies and save up enough funds to travel to Fuyuki.