Chapter 196: Plagiarism
"Matthew Merlin, are you trying to provoke a Title Archmage?" Kev's eyes narrowed slightly—a gesture familiar to those who knew this ninth-rank Title Archmage well. It was a sign of extreme anger, and for a moment, many present secretly worried for Leon.
After all, this young Grand Mage was brought here by Joey. If anything happened because he offended Kev, it would be a situation no one wanted to see.
"No, no, of course not..." Leon was completely unfazed. When he looked at Kev, even the smile on his face didn't change in the slightest. "I'm just curious—since your hearing is perfectly fine, Kev, why are you so quick to conclude that I'm not qualified to stand here?"
"Why?" Kev's eyes widened, his voice suddenly rising. "You want to ask me why? You've never proposed a widely accepted theory, you have no right to name any formula, you've never independently led any magical research—what do you think you are? What gives you the right to stand among Title Archmages?"
"Kev, you're losing your composure..." Leon shook his head with a look of regret, as if he truly pitied Kev's lapse. Then, with a wry smile, he asked, "But didn't you hear me say it was only temporary?"
"I heard you!" Kev was utterly furious, practically shouting the words.
"See? You say your hearing's fine, yet you shout even the simplest sentence. Kev, as a Title Archmage, you should know that if your ears are damaged, it's very detrimental to magical research—you might miss many subtle changes..."
"How I conduct my magical research is none of your business!" If Joey hadn't been standing there, Kev would have hurled a fireball just to shut that incessant mouth.
"How is it none of my business?" Now it was Leon's turn to protest. "I've already said, it's only temporary. You understand what 'temporary' means, right? It just means I didn't have it a moment ago..."
"So you're saying you have one now?" Kev was so angry he nearly laughed.
"You're truly clever, Kev." Leon nodded approvingly, his expression and mannerisms resembling an elder praising a junior.
Kev's forehead veins bulged again, nearly triggering a heart attack. For a mere fifth-rank Grand Mage to speak to a Title Archmage like this—if Joey weren't here, Matthew Merlin would have died ten times over!
Yet at this moment, Kev couldn't say much more.
From start to finish, aside from that one comment about his hearing, every word Leon spoke was courteous—and he even addressed Kev with formal respect. In such circumstances, Kev had no reason to make a move, even if he wanted to.
"Fine, fine, fine. No wonder you're the genius recommended by Joey. In just a few minutes, you've made such great achievements in magical research. Well, Matthew Merlin, why don't you take this opportunity to show everyone what astonishing accomplishments you've achieved in magic, so the crowd can judge whether you deserve to stand here."
"Certainly."
"Huh?" Kev was momentarily stunned. His words had been meant as sarcasm—every mage here knew magical research was time-consuming. Summarizing a brand new formula could take ten years. To achieve anything in magic in a few minutes was a joke.
In fact, forget a few minutes...
Even several years—or decades—wouldn't be enough!