The Extra's Rise

Chapter 159 Tower of Magic Conference (5)

Charlotte Alaric sighed dramatically, slumping against the plush chair in her office. The ceiling-high digital interface in front of her displayed the top-tier re

"I chose Arthur's paper, of course," she said, her tone light, as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb in the middle of the conversation.

Cecilia and Rose froze.

"It is the best by far," Charlotte continued, her green eyes gleaming. "And thus, I sponsor Arthur Nightingale."

I blinked. Once. Twice.

"Wait. Sponsor me?" I repeated, because I was pretty sure I had hallucinated that sentence.

"Oh, I guess you don't know," Charlotte mused, tapping her chin. "There's this new program where the Tower Master—aka me—chooses a promising talent in the research world and sponsors them. And that talent, this time, is you."

"You."

She pointed at me like I was some shiny artifact she had just found in the rubble of academia.

"So congratulations, you're now my personal research project!"

Cecilia's eyes widened in disbelief, while Rose just gaped, her brain clearly short-circuiting as she processed the fact that the most powerful spellcaster in the world had just claimed me as her personal student.

Charlotte, apparently having the time of her life, continued.

"Of course, this doesn't just mean financial backing," she said, waving a hand. "Money's easy. What you need is access. Resources. People. A place where you can push the boundaries of your field without being slowed down by red tape and bureaucratic nonsense."

She leaned forward, grinning.

"For future research, you'll do it in the Tower of Magic itself."

I barely had time to process the insane weight of those words before she delivered the final blow.

"And you are now my next disciple!"

Silence.

A long, awkward, deafening silence.

My brain stalled.

'Arthur, accept this.'

Luna's voice cut through my mental fog.

'This girl… she's more abnormal than that King of the North.'

I didn't even know what that meant, but I trusted Luna's instincts far too much to ignore her advice.

And, honestly, what was I going to do? Say no to Charlotte Alaric?

"I accept," I said.

"Wonderful!" Charlotte beamed. "Summer break, you're coming to the Tower of Magic. I'll treat you well."

She winked.

Then, as if she hadn't just flipped my entire life upside down, she warped out of existence, vanishing into thin air.

The room remained dead silent for a solid ten seconds.

Then, finally, Cecilia chuckled, shaking her head.

"Well, at least we're spending summer together," she said.