Chapter 118

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Chapter 118: Ancient Wizard Tower

The statue is ruined.

Inside the Mage Tower, the ceiling was shiny, the wooden walls were old-fashioned yet like new, and even the long-haired carpet looked freshly laid. Tasha felt the soft and warm carpet with her hand, it was comfortable, luxurious, and dust-free.

Time seemed to have stopped in the tower, frozen in time since the Tower Master left hundreds of years ago, everything waiting quietly for the owner to return. But the nearby statue was different, only half remaining, with rusty metal parts making it hard to tell if it was once a statue or just broken.

It was as if time in the whole tower was flowing only on this damaged statue.

Miranda took out another black candle and placed it next to the big hole, protecting it with a spell. The Undead Sorcerer controlled the corpse candle holder to continue forward, with the group of living people keeping a distance following towards the statue remains.

"Yes, this is the Casting Golem."

Gloria crouched beside the statue remains, taking out a pile of tools from her pouch that she didn’t understand, the Alchemist dismantling the statue like a forensic examination.

She pointed to the open chest cavity of the rusted golem, tapped on the empty part with her fingernail, and said, "Normally, this spot in a golem is filled with a mechanical core. The Casting Golem’s mechanical core also has a spellcasting central hub. During the Aryan Declaration period, the Casting Golem was being promoted between various Wizard Academies and Legendary Wizards. The spellcasting central hub is made of runed mithril. But before that, it is said that the earliest version of the Casting Golem used an unstable ‘Magic Spring’ as its power source."

The "Magic Spring" is a solidified spell. After the magical seals inside the golem are broken, that place becomes empty.

"This is the earliest Casting Golem," Miranda said. "Actually, the golems in this Mage Tower can be considered as the ancestors of all future Casting Golems. They have a central Magic Spring that is a hundred times more powerful than mithril runes, and their outer shell is made of moonsteel, which is a hundred times tougher than regular steel. Archmage Rasheil can directly activate the golem with a spell, without needing the runes as triggers… Imagine that! No need for long rune inscription times, just a wave of the hand can summon an army of spellcasters! They are immune to sickness, incredibly resistant, completely obedient. One volley is enough to make those weak wizards from the academies bow down, and even the brutish barbarians with sheer strength can’t do much against their steel bodies! Magic light shines in their eye sockets, harder to extinguish than soul fire. Undead puppets severely restricted by light-based spells can’t compare at all!"

As Miranda spoke, her excitement grew, a flush spreading over her waxen face, like someone who had drunk too much. Tasha thought to herself that this reclusive wizard’s poor social skills were not just due to her research focus. The Necromancers still looked like half-dead wanderers, Bruno from the academy wore a resigned expression, while his spirited young apprentice Laurien rolled his eyes.

"But even such a powerful Casting Golem was dismantled," Gloria blurted out, poking at the wreckage. "It couldn’t have collapsed due to poor quality, right?"

"I’m talking about an army of Casting Golems," Miranda said. "A lone golem might indeed be vulnerable to being divided and conquered— even Demon Lords acting alone can have missteps."

Dolores remained silent as her skeleton sentry, made of rat bones and not very combat-capable but quite fast, returned from scouting ahead while the corpse candle holder moved a few steps forward.

Within the furthest illumination range of the black candles, new golem wreckage appeared.

This time, the wreckage was not alone. They lay scattered together like rubbish blown together by a strong wind. The jumbled fragments and parts merged into one, making it hard to count how many there were. But to dismantle such a large pile of parts, there must have been more than just a few golems.

This is a pile of destroyed magical statues.

Miranda looked upset, and the others were serious, not mocking her. The scattered remains indicated that these magical statues, like the Fluid Guard outside, served as guardians of the Mage Tower. If the tower was intact, the first group of people who entered, including Tasha, would have to face these legendary Casting Golems, magical iron casters who were immune to disease, had great resistance, and could cast spells in a wide range. Even if they were to win, they would surely have to pay a price.

These powerful creations in Miranda’s opinion were now rusty and harmless, like a pile of discarded crab shells.

Who came here before them?

"The ‘door’ outside is incomplete, and the Fluid Guard are still lively. Why were the statues inside dismantled?" Tasha asked.

"I thought the White Tower Wizard had used a Disjunction Rune to teleport into the tower in advance, so that the Mage Tower could be opened both from the inside and the outside, but it seems not to be the case…" Bruno frowned. "The targeted teleportation cannot accurately attack so many statues. There must have been a wizard, or someone with spatial talents, who came after the Tower Master left."

"It’s only because the Tower Master had left a long time ago," Miranda said bitterly.

"To ‘digest’ a Mage Tower, a ‘door’ leading to the tower must be created so that ordinary people can enter," Gloria explained to Tasha, "but for some individuals who can bend the rules, they don’t need a door; they can leap into the unowned Mage Tower, albeit with some risks."

"Can these individuals leave now?" Tasha asked again.

No one answered for a moment.

"Hard to say," Miranda said, "Archmage Rasheil is the god of this Mage Tower. Even though he’s gone, as long as the Mage Tower stands, the laws of this realm won’t disappear. Even the greatest warriors who come to the Mage Tower will be bound by these laws."

Outside the tower, legendary professionals are true legends, so they can enter the Mage Tower. But once inside, they will be weakened, like an Abyssal Demon coming to the Primary Material Plane, maybe coming in but unable to leave.

"There’s still hope," Gloria scratched her braided head, "The rules of the Tower Master are the rules of this domain, the wizard is the god here – but even gods have strengths and weaknesses, many gods have died in the Primary Material Plane. How strong are the arrivals in the tower? How strong are the rules left by the Tower Master? We don’t know, so we can’t judge for now."

From the traces on the wreckage, some spells that caused this situation can be barely distinguished. They saw the dismantled golems and knew they weren’t the first visitors, but that’s all. The Mage Tower preserved the battlefield, time flows strangely here, unable to determine when the Pathfinder arrived. The disabled golems may decay in a minute or quietly rust for hundreds of years.

There was only one thing they could be sure of.

The presence of the Pathfinder brought them great convenience.

"Let’s continue going up," Tasha said.

The skeleton sentry ran ahead, the corpse lantern followed, and the rest of the team maintained the same formation. Along the way, they came across several golem remains.

In the Mage Tower, you can’t use teleportation magic. Even if you can solve a group of Casting Golem’s Pathfinder, you still have to walk with your legs. The Pathfinder cleared the path, using the remains of the defending army, pointing out the way they walked with wreckage and bones.

This place is not a maze, it’s just very big.

Spiral staircases connect many small levels, large teleportation arrays connect separated large levels, countless rooms and corridors intertwine with each other. It’s not just a tower, it’s like a vertical city. Even with directions from previous adventurers, the journey is incredibly long.

This relatively intact Ancient Mage Tower is much less interesting than the recorded White Tower. There are no paintings on the walls, the corridors all look the same, and there are no signs at intersections. It seems unwelcoming to outsiders. The lower floors are where the apprentices lived, but as you go up, there are no entertainment or living facilities, making one wonder how the apprentices survived back then. Tasha stood here, imagining a group of silent, hurried figures in black robes.

On the other hand, the facilities for magic are plentiful… and luxurious.

The apprentice library is a standard feature of the Mage Tower. The Tower Master was generous in this regard, even just looking inside from the doorway, one can see the impressive collection occupying the entire floor. The library is much larger than the divided White Tower. The shelves are untouched by outsiders, with large ancient books and thin manuscripts neatly arranged together, protected by the Mage Tower and still in perfect condition after many centuries. From deep within the shelves, heavy magical fluctuations can be felt, likely holding remarkable spellbooks. The spellbooks crafted by ancient wizards contain their unique spells, each book is a legacy, each book is unique.

The wizards showed expressions like they had a toothache, as if thirsty people saw a cup of obviously poisoned water. They knew how useful the spellbooks of ancient wizards could be, and naturally understood that such a sacred place would have prohibitions, even if they couldn’t see anything. There were no signs of entry in the library, the Pathfinder passed by, seemingly uninterested.

"Do you think it’s possible that because the owner of this tower is so wealthy and doesn’t care about the library’s collection?" Gloria hesitated, "Maybe this is now a self-serve restaurant…"

No one answered, the other wizards took deep breaths, pushing away the plate of braised pork as if they were starving dieters.

"Since that’s the case, there must be something more important upstairs," comforted Tasha.

This kind of scene happened many times afterwards.

The upper floor of the library is a storage room for experimental materials. The temperature on this floor varies greatly, with some areas feeling like icy winter while others are hotter than summer. They were only outside most of the rooms. Many room doors were tightly closed, no one intended to open them rashly. Tasha peeked inside from a rare half-open door and saw various potions on shelves.

In the room that was so hot it made people sweat, most bottles and jars had dried up, probably because this pharmacy that had not been maintained for a long time had become ineffective. But in the middle, there was a wide-mouthed bottle with one-third of slightly simmering reddish liquid, something crimson was churning inside it.

Gloria gasped suddenly, "That couldn’t be…"

"Stop," Bruno bleakly interrupted her, "We won’t go in, can’t get it, stop talking."

Above was another layer of cells, nearly half of which were empty, while the other half stored the corpses of prisoners. Tasha could distinguish human skeletons – some obvious Orc, dwarf, and giant skeletons, as well as some animal skeletons, which specific type they belonged to was unknown. But Necromancers knew, now it was their turn to feel heartbroken. An apprentice who attempted to let the skeleton sentry pull out some bones was overturned by some unknown backlash, Dolores sighed and had another soldier carry away this reckless little greedy thing.

Above the entire layer of cells in the middle, several layers were all the same standard rooms. The text on the plaques at the doors was clear, but Miranda was not able to fully recognize these ancient runes, she could only translate some key words like "Abyss Seed", "Heavenly Realm Seed", "Elemental class"… and so on.

The spatial layout of the Mage Tower follows a fairly strict rule, at first they were suspicious of the sudden appearance of the cells, now seeing these room-like rooms, new confusion arose.

Two questions combined together, revealing the same answer.

Below is not a prison cell, above is not a guest chamber, both are of the same nature, they are all ancient wizard’s experimental materials.

The easy-to-handle primary materials are placed on the lower level, relatively open, allowing apprentices to feed and clean. The "high-level materials" from the Heavenly Realm and the Abyss require more advanced storage methods, with importance increasing from bottom to top, which suits the distribution pattern of the Mage Tower’s functional areas.

Expensive carpets cover the entire Mage Tower, rooms storing various currencies and precious metals are located above the apprentices’ living quarters, a multitude of gems ranging from affordable to causing unrest in small countries are haphazardly piled on the material layer. Ancient wizard’s spellbooks and various other books are placed in the library, while bones of various creatures are stored in the prison cells… Walking along the corridor, the treasures beside the passages are already moving enough to entice the wealthiest individuals, make wizards who are indifferent to worldly possessions envious, and now even Tasha feels a bit intrigued.

In rooms that appear to be in excellent condition, they may store intact Abyss or Celestial Beings.

The Mage Tower is like an amber containing ancient creatures, items and species from nearly a thousand years ago are preserved here. People from present-day Aryan coming here is like finding a massive refrigerator storing many species before the apocalypse, and that refrigerator has been powered on all along, protecting its contents from catastrophe.

Even the seemingly inconspicuous leftovers from the past have tremendous research value today, especially when they are powerful creatures that make one’s heart race. If Tasha were a regular dungeon, what kind of army could be produced by consuming these powerful creatures in these rooms? Even for an extraordinary dungeon like Tasha, just the idea of the materials that could be obtained from these things – dungeons are big business, with many research institutions eagerly waiting – and the extraction of essences, makes one feel excited, able to understand the feelings of the wizards just now.

If she could find the remains of the Demon Lord, her purpose for coming here might just be fulfilled.

However, these rooms are locked.

It’s not impossible to try, be fully prepared, and use all your skills to try to open a room. But the room is locked, indicating that the Pathfinder has passed by in a hurry again.

Whether it’s impressive to regular people, wizards, or even a dungeon… all the treasures seen so far have not impressed the unknown Pathfinder. He or she is determined, focused, rarely backtracking even when faced with wrong paths. This person (or creature) is unwavering, knowing exactly what they want since entering the tower.

Tasha had a feeling that it must be a more precious sight than anything seen along the way.

"Let’s go," she said.

Up ahead was a huge laboratory.

While other parts of the Mage Tower were dark, relying on self-lit black candles, this floor was different. There were glowing minerals embedded in the ceiling, efficiently arranged like everlasting lights, illuminating the entire floor.

Tasha almost felt like she was back on Earth, turning on the lights at night to see her office clearly. Everything under the light appeared bright, clean, efficient, but lacking a human touch. Maybe labs on Earth are like this too, just not as vast. Wouldn’t smaller labs be inconvenient?

"Each large section of the floor is movable. When the Tower Master and apprentices were here, the lab rearranged itself according to their needs. Magical barriers were raised at the edges of each experimental area for division, protection, isolation," Miranda said dreamily. "Look at them… I’ve only read about these devices in stories and records, thought to be long lost or mere legends. I can’t fathom how they were created or how the spells worked. They are here, still emitting faint magical lights, I can’t even begin to understand them…"

While she had been observing the guards and inexperienced apprentices along the way, now she had to watch the wizards. The wizards’ gazes were too intense, like they were beholding a rarely seen mesmerizing beauty in the laboratory, captivating and dizzying. Whether it was the soldiers lacking knowledge or Tasha who had knowledge but no interest, none of them could comprehend this passion.

"With the magic gods above, they are still running," Wild Wizard Rudolf murmured in disbelief, "This does not comply with the Law of Magic Conservation…"

Tasha thought to herself, for an outsider, the difference between logical "reasonable" magic and strange mysticism is so small that it is impossible to judge.

"The answer must be here, in some places we missed, the reason why Mage Tower has been running till now is right here," Miranda said, her eyes wide, her voice and expression quite frightening.

Quick-eyed Tasha grabbed the black-robed wizard as she unexpectedly dashed out of the corridor, heading towards the laboratory. Miranda’s struggle was surprisingly strong, even more surprising was her competing with Tasha using her hands and feet, as if she completely forgot she was a wizard who relied on her brains and mouth for a living.

"Let go!" Miranda hysterically said, "The answer is here! Where did those ancient wizards who moved mountains and seas get their knowledge and power from? What kind of heritage system did they use? How did they cast spells? How did they experiment? What enabled them to step by step create extraordinary Mage Towers in the subspace, creating so many spells, so many masterpieces, while the wizards now are just a bunch of uncreative copycats? We are here! Rasheil. Kliif, the last and greatest of the ancient wizards, and we can’t do anything in his tower! What’s the point?! Let me through! Even if I can’t get the answer, I am willing to die with the creators of ancient magic!"

Her voice trembled fiercely, both fanatical and helpless, despairing and hopeful, like a container filled with so many contradictions that it was about to explode. Finally remembering to cast a spell, Miranda was about to recite it when Tasha quickly covered her mouth, feeling wetness on her hand. It was truly surprising to see this grumpy middle-aged wizard crying.

The most serious wizard erupted, jolting the others awake. Despite their relationships, the other wizards looked at Miranda with a hint of understanding and pity in their eyes, to Tasha, it seemed like an expression of grief for a lost rabbit. It seemed as though someone wanted to say something, Tasha was about to speak words of comfort, but before any of them could, a voice from elsewhere spoke first.

The flapping of wings.

Like a very large moth, like a very large bat, like a bird… yet like nothing at all, sounding quite peculiar no matter how one listened. As the shadow fell upon the group, and the creature appeared before them, Tasha realized why the flapping of wings sounded so strange.

The sound of flapping wings from only one side.

It was a very big crow, with long slender claws and beak. At the top of its beak was a sharp curved hook, tinted dark red. Its body was shiny black, with feathers that looked like flowing metal. It had only one wing, but it flew incredibly smoothly, as if it didn’t really need its wings to fly. On the side without the wing, the bird’s head seemed to be missing half of it, with no feathers or flesh, no blood, only a shiny metal skull with one shining red eye.

"Tea-cher, look, look for you." said the strange bird in a stuttering voice, "Tea-cher, ask you to go up."