A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 172 Visiting the Arcane Tower

Rorschach still had the scroll of communication with Cano, which meant he had memorized Cano's email address, and then he obtained a letter of introduction as quickly as possible.

This trip, which was originally scheduled for personal reasons to return home, turned into an academic visit to the Tower of Arcane Arts.

The guild staff specially provided two horses to take Rorschach on a half-day journey from Munnik.

"Don't we have any other way to get in?" As they walked up the mountain, Rorschach, who had been riding in carriages for a long time recently, was not used to the bumpy ride on horseback.

"I'm sorry, Mage Rorschach, this is your first time going to the Arcane Tower. The portal there will refuse you access, so we'll have to walk there this way."

"Thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all. You see, you'll see it once you're out of this forest."

To Rorschach's surprise, the Arcane Tower sat openly atop a rolling mountain range. Its classical style, from the spire to the base, was predominantly dark and somber, contrasting sharply with the lush greenery around it. It stood atop a hill, with a village nestled at its foot along a mountain stream.

"This doesn't match the name," Rorschach couldn't help but say. "I thought the 'Tower of Arcane Arts' wouldn't be shown to people easily."

"There is a large barrier, but it only hides the tower and the village below during special periods, and this is how it has been since I was a child."

"Are you familiar with this place?"

The staff member on horseback said with a complicated expression, "I was born in a village at the foot of the mountain. I was fortunate enough to awaken my spellcasting ability and enter the Tower of Mystic Arts to study."

But Rorschach glanced at him; the man wasn't wearing a mage's robe or a badge. Sensing Rorschach's questioning gaze, he continued, "But I graduated from my apprenticeship and chose to work for the guild, as do many other apprentices. Coming here with you today is a good opportunity to visit my hometown."

"That's fine too."

The Tower of Mystic Arts is known for its rigorous entry and even stricter exit requirements. When mages from the Tower of Mystic Arts recall their apprenticeship, they often tell others with tears in their eyes that the seven years they spent studying there were the most unforgettable fifteen years of their lives.

If someone asks if studying for so long makes me more powerful than other mages, they'll cry even harder: I didn't learn magic, I learned the mindset and skills to understand and transform the world! Do you understand? I certainly don't.

"Yes, it's good." The apprentice, who had given up in the ninth year of his seven-year apprenticeship, walked side by side with the young intermediate mage, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

The road ended and the magic tower was separated by a ravine, so they stepped onto a stone bridge.

"The Bridge of Immanuel, crossing it officially marks your entry into the realm of the Arcane Tower. Master Rorschach, I'm off now. You can use the teleportation array to return directly to the guild." The staff member turned his horse and galloped off along a side path towards his birthplace.

"Thank you." Luo Xia felt that he left in a bit of a hurry, almost as if he was fleeing.

Rorschach reached the door, where someone was already waiting. The lady who greeted him wore a wide-brimmed pointed hat, a fur cloak, and carried a tall staff. What a classic image of a mage! Against the backdrop of temperate continental mountains and classically styled towers, this scene, which could be used as a CRPG startup screen, stirred a sense of emotion within Rorschach.

Rorschach tightened the reins and dismounted. At that moment, a large dog darted out from behind the greeter's cloak, its wet nose nudging Rorschach's trousers, its tail wagging rapidly.

"He was my student, I watched him grow up." At first, the woman's gaze was still on the fork in the road leading to the village at the foot of the mountain. Perhaps the apprentice who gave up halfway did not want to see his teacher.

"Hello, I am Rorschach from the Tower of Stars." He was here on behalf of the Tower of Stars, hence this self-introduction.

"The Tower of Arcane Arts, Elizabeth Eugénie." Only then did Rorschach see the face under the brim of her hat. She was stunningly beautiful, with a dignified and noble smile, but her eyes, which were scrutinizing Rorschach, were exceptionally lively.

"Mistress Elizabeth, where have I heard your name before?" The combination of ladylike elegance and girlish charm reminded Rorschach of his former teacher, Caroline, and the name sounded familiar. Not the miserly daughter from a novel in his past life, but someone he'd heard Bart mention at some point.

"It seems you know something about the nobles of Bain." The two walked towards the Arcane Tower, while the horse was led away by a large dog, and they didn't know where it went.

"You're Princess Sophie's older sister!" Rorschach recalled the introduction of Bart's royal family members; before him stood Her Highness the Eldest Princess Sophie. Princess Sophie was forty-eight, which meant Elizabeth Eugénie was over fifty, yet she looked no more than thirty. He hadn't met Princess Sophie before and didn't know.

"Yes, but I have no connection with the Wittelsbach family anymore, and there is no princess here." Her voice was light and ethereal, and her whispers had a magical power that made people want to get closer to listen. When the big gray dog ​​returned, it circled around them happily.

In the center of the foyer stands a towering golden throne, upon which sits a dragon sculpture in human form, its majestic eyes gazing down upon those who approach. Its massive claws have become one with the ground, its scales ranging from iron black to rust-like dark red from bottom to top.

"It is the guardian beast, the last red dragon in Byrne."

"Is it a real dragon? Why can't I see its tail?" It's strange that the four-legged beast is sitting on the golden throne in a human-like posture. The back shouldn't be openwork either. Rorschach couldn't see its tail.

"Legend has it that long, long ago, a magical experiment at the Tower of Mystic Arts blew up the earth, releasing a demon imprisoned underground. The archmage Kasdemor subdued the demon that broke the seal and ordered his pet red dragon to plug the gap in the seal with its tail."

"With the continuous accumulation of magical rituals, the red dragon's will has become the tower spirit, while its physical body has become part of the entire tower. It can draw magic from the earth's veins to supply the entire tower; as long as the dragon exists, the tower exists, and as long as the tower exists, the dragon will never perish."

The seat had a hole—that was a golden toilet! Rorschach looked up in reverence, only to have the red dragon, now as still as a statue, speak: "Rorschach, Son of the Stars, if you wish to enter my protected land, you must answer three questions!"

Is there still a test?

Luo Xia tensed slightly as he heard a dignified voice echo in the front hall: "First, do you have a girlfriend? Second, what's your annual income? Third, when will you be promoted to Grand Mage?"

"Ignore it. Dragons are lustful, greedy, and snobbish." Mage Elizabeth walked straight inside.

I was terrified! I thought I'd traveled back in time and was having New Year's Eve dinner with all my relatives. "Can I beat this guy up?"

"Okay, then you can sit on it and become the new tower spirit and guardian beast. I don't know if there are any real demons under the Golden Throne, but you can try it. I'm personally quite curious." No, no, sitting on the Golden Throne means being responsible for supplying the entire tower with magic power. It would be terrible if I were sucked dry like a corpse.

After passing through the front hall, the true nature of the Tower of Mystic Arts was revealed.

Each floor has a U-shaped layout, and Rorschach, looking up, couldn't see the top; only magical lamps floated in the middle of the corridors. From the outside, it was clear that there weren't so many floors; even skyscrapers couldn't compare. It was obvious that, like the Tower of Stars, it had expanded its internal space, only extending upwards.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh—" Someone leaped from the hundredth floor, his scream echoing throughout the tower. However, just as his head was about to hit the ground, before Luo Xia could make a move, he was grabbed by two gargoyles with bat wings and dragged away like a dead dog.

After confirming that the apprentices' attempt had failed, Elizabeth apologized to Rorschach: "I'm sorry, the apprentices are under a lot of pressure, which is common in the tower. Well then, Mage Rorschach, what brings you to the Tower of Arcane Arts?"

(End of this chapter)