Chapter 31
Tenth Floor, Library
Lu Xi pushed open the heavy door, the metal hinges letting out a faint creak.
There was no sign of the administrator Lilith in the spacious hall. Only a few jet-black mechanical iron crows stood like statues on the counter, their dark red gear-like eyes slowly rotating as she walked by.
Lu Xi was surprised to find someone in the reading area an elderly man in a black robe trimmed with silver.
He appeared to be around sixty or seventy years old, with deeply wrinkled eye sockets housing amber pupils. Judging by the color of his robe, he was an official apprentice.
The wizarding world had extremely strict rules regarding the robes of different ranks.
Trainee apprentices wore gray robes, official apprentices wore silver-trimmed black robes, and wizards wore gold-trimmed black robes.
Anyone causing misunderstanding due to improper attire would bear full responsibility for the consequences.
Under the watch of the tentacles hanging from the ceiling, Lu Xi began searching the first row of bookshelves.
This time, she intended to find a book about enchanted beasts and magical veins ideally an illustrated guide.
The deformed creatures sent by the anatomy lab always left her confused.
But she quickly found herself in a dilemma.
It wasn’t that the tower library lacked related books; on the contrary, there were too many. After all, both the Symbiotic Mutation Studies and Anatomy laboratories dealt with enchanted beasts.
With just a casual flip through, Lu Xi found four relevant books.
Two were illustrated guides and the other two were travelogues, all containing information on enchanted beasts.
“If you're interested in enchanted beasts, I recommend this one ‘Traveling with Migratory Birds.’”
Lu Xi was startled and nearly knocked over the bookshelf. She hadn’t noticed when the gray-haired old man had come to stand beside her and she hadn’t sensed him at all.
She quickly stood up and bowed.
“Sir.”
The old man waved his hand, the wrinkles on his face glowing with a strange radiance.
“This travelogue was written in the youth of a great Star Ring Wizard. It documents three hundred and twenty types of enchanted organs found along the northern migration route.”
Lu Xi looked down. The book the old man referred to, "Traveling with Migratory Birds," was one of the two travelogues.
She noticed that the mithril chain coiled around the spine had mostly broken off, clearly having been borrowed repeatedly.
It recorded over a hundred types of enchanted beasts and more than three hundred types of enchanted organs. However, it did not contain specialized knowledge such as magical vein diagrams or witchcraft models.
Of course, if it really did include so many enchanted organs, how could it possibly be placed on the outermost shelves for trainee apprentices to browse?
She opened the yellowed, half-detached cover, and on the title page was a signature written with a quill pen in a string of strange characters.
It was clearly not the commonly used continental “Common Wizard Script,” but rather a form of pictographic writing resembling inscriptions.
Not just the signature the entire book contained many technical terms written in this inscribed language.
“This is High Elvish Script.”
Before Lu Xi could ask, the old man began explaining, as if he had anticipated her question. “It’s an ancient anatomical school's dedicated medium for conveying information. Each Elvish character carries a semantic density dozens of times greater than that of Wizard Script.”
“To become a seasoned scholar, mastering High Elvish is a hurdle you can’t avoid.”
“Let me think…”
Without waiting for Lu Xi to speak, the old man reached out to a bookshelf and pulled down a leather-bound book as thick as a brick.
“I remembered there should be an introduction to High Elvish around here.”
With that, the five-pound (4.5 jin) High Elvish introductory dictionary landed squarely in Lu Xi’s hands.
By the time Lu Xi, clutching the two heavy parchment books in a fluster, came back to her senses, the old man had already vanished without a trace.
“What a strange person.”
Lu Xi muttered to herself, her hand brushing over the "High Elvish Introductory Dictionary."
Though she had never heard anyone mention Elvish characters before, it was clear that the old man's identity was not ordinary. And she had a faint feeling that this "Dictionary" might truly become useful in the future.
She carried the books to the front desk.
The mechanical iron crow let out a grating cry.
“…Gah, one magic stone… gah, seven days…”
The magic stone in Lu Xi’s hand was snatched away by a long tongue that extended from the iron crow’s beak.
What exactly was inside these mechanical constructs? She really wanted to cut one open with a scalpel and take a look.
The iron crow that had swallowed the magic stone suddenly felt an inexplicable wave of anxiety.
…
Top floor of the tower
The elderly man who had briefly met Lu Xi in the library pushed open the door.
The middle-aged wizard at the desk looked up and then stood, smiling brightly.
“Fernando, you're finally back!”
“Tower Master.”
The man called Fernando placed a hand to his chest and gave a slight bow with an expressionless face. “The magical energy fluctuations on you are becoming more and more distinct. It seems it won’t be long before I have to start calling you ‘Sir.’”
Derrick waved his hand at his old friend’s teasing.
“Advancing to high-level wizard isn’t that simple… but let’s not talk about that. Your return eases my burden significantly. Eternal Silence Blackthorn and Witch’s Cottage have already reached an agreement. If we fail to outshine these two wizarding factions at this year’s apprentice exchange, it’s very likely to escalate into a wizard war.”
At this, a look of gravity appeared on Fernando’s face.
He had originally been out tracking a particularly powerful enchanted beast, but upon receiving the Tower Master’s message, he had rushed back immediately.
He hadn’t expected the situation to have deteriorated to this extent.
There were three wizard organizations in the Principality of Kolo: the Tower of the Four Sages, Eternal Silence Blackthorn, and the Witch’s Cottage.
In terms of official wizard numbers, the Tower of the Four Sages had the upper hand, outmatching Eternal Silence Blackthorn’s three wizards and Witch’s Cottage’s two.
However, if the other two factions joined forces, the Tower of the Four Sages would be at a disadvantage.
“What about Madam Vine and Theodore?”
Fernando asked about the whereabouts of the other two wizards of the tower.
“Madam Vine is cultivating a symbiotic seed in the Elven Valley and should be back before winter. As for Theodore, he’s studying at the Star Law Institute. He wrote back saying he’ll try to return before the apprentice exchange.”
Upon hearing the Tower Master’s words, Fernando relaxed slightly.
Though the alliance between Eternal Silence Blackthorn and Witch’s Cottage was unsettling, the four official wizards of the Tower could still hold their own thanks to the fortress-like structure of the Tower itself.
As long as they could stall until the Tower Master advanced to high-level wizard, the other two wizard factions would have no choice but to submit without a fight.
Of course, if they could decisively outshine the other factions at the apprentice exchange, it would naturally deter them from initiating a conflict.
“So, among the recent batches of apprentices, is there anyone worth showcasing?”
The apprentice exchange was held once every three years. Each faction could send any number of apprentices, but participants had to be junior apprentices and could not compete more than once.
Winners not only received generous rewards but also earned the opportunity to study under the “Star Ring Wizards” of the Star Law Institute.
Tower Master Derrick gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
That was what troubled him most.
The Kolo Principality’s three-tower apprentice exchange had been held more than thirty times, but the last time the Tower of the Four Sages had taken the crown was twelve years ago when Tower Master Derrick’s disciple, Lilith, had won.
Since then, the Tower of the Four Sages had consistently come in last.
Although the alliance between the other two factions played a part, it was also an undeniable fact that the younger generation of apprentices at the Tower had thinned out.
The three official wizards had long been out collecting and studying abroad, and Tower Master Derrick, being preoccupied with preparing for his advancement to high-level wizard, had naturally eased up on nurturing the next generation.
Particularly Fernando despite being one of the four official wizards, he had not taken on a single direct disciple in all these years. The West Tower hadn’t produced a single wizard or peak-level apprentice.
At that moment, Tower Master Derrick suddenly remembered something.
“I recall you once said your criteria for taking in a disciple was a passion for anatomy.”
“Of course,” Fernando replied. “You know this passion is what drives people forward. Talent comes second.”
Back when the two had been apprentices at the same wizard tower, Fernando hadn’t been known for his talent. Many apprentices with greater aptitude had vanished along the path to becoming wizards, while he had made it this far.
At those words, Derrick instantly thought of the youthful figure he had seen in the tower that day. He turned to his old friend and said,
“There’s someone who might interest you.”
“Oh!”