Chapter 250: The Forge (3)

Building 1, used as a warehouse for the Blaiver Tower’s assets, and Building 2, used for wizards’ research labs.

Building 3, for ancient manuscript storage and practical training areas. And Building 4, used as the wizards’ living quarters.

And even the Central Building, which stood at the heart of the Blaiver Tower, erected in the center of the four towers.

Gionis had opened all these facilities to the envoys from the two cities, but the most crucial secret place was still thoroughly hidden from their eyes.

Lennok looked up at the sky from the bridge connecting Building 2 and Building 3.

‘The top of Building 2, closest to the sky.’

Below the bridge, lava still boiled, and endless smoke and haze flowed in.

Even standing in the deepest part of the volcano, no heat reached Lennok.

However, outside the Tower’s barrier, ash, dust, and heat mingled, making it difficult even for Lennok’s mana sensing to work.

The flow of haze seemed to subtly obscure a specific part of the air.

The sky wasn’t clearly visible due to the turbulent current of ash and dust, but it was certain.

Something was hidden several hundred meters above the Central Building, precisely at the center of the five-pronged Blaiver Tower.

Whoosh!!

Lennok immediately cast a floating spell on his clothes to lift himself, then began to ascend several hundred meters into the sky.

[Reverse Gravity]

His body swayed back and forth in the hot air blowing from below. Once he also cast a reverse gravity spell, he managed to regain some balance.

As soon as he exited the barrier, he felt his breathing constrict, but stacking multiple shields mitigated the issue significantly.

Only after rising high enough to touch the clouds, well beyond the crater, could Lennok identify what had been hidden in the invisible air.

A massive stone slab, easily dozens of meters in radius.

It was likely that bedrock from near the volcanic zone had been quarried and used as a support for the secret place.

“They’ve cast a powerful illusion using the thermal winds and haze of the volcanic zone as a medium. Can existence truly be hidden from mana sensing by subtly utilizing environmental conditions like this…?”

Whoosh-

As he stepped onto the stone slab, the incessant noise from within the crater completely vanished, replaced by a strange wind sound.

In the night sky, above the clouds, another massive tower stood under the moonlight.

Though not as grand as the five towers inside the crater, it was easily more than five stories high.

Lennok didn’t hesitate and entered the tower.

Passing through the empty first floor and ascending a spiral staircase, he saw hundreds of books displayed on lavishly decorated shelves.

It was a cozy space, with carpets crafted from refined hides of rare beasts.

But what caught his eye first was that all the hundreds of books lining this spacious library exuded a dense aura of mana.

‘Grimoires.’

Books that merely contain magical theories don’t actually hold much value among wizards.

Knowledge contained in texts that, despite being directly recorded and specified, possess no power, ultimately holds little meaning.

However, books that not only cover truly high-level magical theories but also contain knowledge acquired through direct contemplation and research are different.

This phenomenon involves the authoring wizard’s will and intent dissolving directly into the book, transforming it into a powerful artifact.

It’s a type of spell-artifact that, over time, can become even more renowned or potent than its original author.

Lennok himself had only seen such artifacts directly in auction houses, Aris’s research lab, or the Cartel’s executive vaults.

Lennok, drawn as if enchanted, approached the library and pulled out a thick book within reach, letting out an exclamation of awe.

“An advanced one, containing knowledge on par with a Commander Wizard… It’s certainly worth keeping hidden.”

Lennok mumbled this, then quickly opened other books and began to devour them.

Some books explained theories assuming a wizard capable of elemental attribute transformation, a Level 6 or higher mage, as the reader, and naturally proceeded with theoretical explanations assuming the deployment of a Domain.

While all those theories discussed the application and developmental potential of fire-attribute unique magic, Lennok, having already completed his mastery in lightning-attribute spells through his own efforts, found them not difficult to understand.

Instead, he was simply busy confirming theories that had only been vague concepts in his mind, directly through the texts.

Of course, it might have been a realm Lennok could eventually reach if he diligently studied and used fire-attribute magic, researched it, and yearned for it in practice.

But what a precious opportunity it was to shorten that time and cost with just a few books.

They recorded the elemental attribute transformation of fire-attribute magic, precautions and anomalies during the casting of unique spells resulting from it, and left behind subjects for future research for later generations.

Cases of wizards who lived their entire lives confined to the volcanic zone, whose inner images of fire and lava became distorted, leading to their failure in Domain construction.

Conversely, records of great Archmages who embraced the formless image of fire in their hearts and reached the pinnacle of Archmage.

All this was the kind of knowledge Lennok had once yearned for above all else.

Objects that might have filled the solitude Lennok felt, who even found a faint sense of kinship with the wizards he faced as enemies, wondering how other wizards had grown, what worries and hardships they embraced to reach their respective pinnacles.

“…”

It was truly ironic.

That the very things he desperately desired had been out of reach, only to become accessible once he reached a certain level and somewhat alleviated his regret.

He wanted to stay there, continuously turning pages, savoring that time and those emotions… but Lennok let go of his regret and rose.

An alien smell had permeated the air since he first entered the tower.

A stench so foul that even Lennok’s sense of smell, which couldn’t even properly distinguish cigarette smoke, couldn’t ignore it, was emanating from beyond the library.

“Hmph…”

It was too alien to be a sign of life, yet too distinct to be nothing at all.

He took hold of a corner of the bookshelf and pushed it, and the shelf rotated lightly, revealing a hidden space beyond.

In a dimly lit solitary room, illuminated by moonlight, dozens of cots were arranged, and someone lay on every single one of them.

People stared blankly at the ceiling, slowly breathing.

Judging by the mana they exuded, they seemed to be high-level wizards, but most of their mana flow was tangled, suggesting they had been unconscious for a long time.

The individuals varied in age and gender, but some were particularly conspicuous in their attire.

Old men in ancient robes and muscular giants dressed as travelers. They were probably members of the Elder Council and the missing envoys from the Machine City.

Most of the unconscious people had lost an arm or a leg, and distinct bite marks were visible on their severed limbs.

Realizing what that implied, Lennok inhaled sharply.

“What’s going on here?”

A cold voice, like rolling ice, came from behind him.

“…”

Slowly turning his head, Lennok saw Gionis, leaning against the stairs with his arms crossed.

“I opened up the entire Blaiver Tower, but I never gave you permission to enter the hidden secret place.”

After saying that, Gionis picked up one of the books Lennok had laid open on the floor and read it.

“Consideration of Multi-Cast Deployment Order for Heat Flow Control… A nostalgic title.”

“…”

“There was a time when I, too, was buried in grimoires like these, dedicating myself to research and training.”

Gionis mumbled.

“Everyone said I would become the new Tower Master, that I might inherit my master’s tower someday.”

He said this, then chuckled as if he couldn’t help but find himself amusing.

“I foolishly believed those words at face value.”

Lennok gazed at Gionis, then slowly turned his head.

“Is that also why you couldn’t reach the Archmage realm?”

“…”

This time, Gionis fell silent.

The duel he had with Gionis in Building 3’s practical training area.

In that battle, which concluded simultaneously with the awakening of Lennok’s new Mystic Eye, Lennok had sensed that Gionis’s magic had some immature aspects.

Completing mastery was proof that a wizard had perfectly mastered all applications of the elemental attribute transformation they used.

It was also akin to having the qualification to project one’s firm mental image through spatial attribute transformation.

However, Gionis had not used any elemental attribute transformation during his duel with Lennok.

This was probably because Gionis himself couldn’t perfectly control the power of attribute transformation.

It was certainly not a phenomenon that a wizard who had reached Level 7 in an orthodox manner would exhibit.

The only plausible answer was…

“I’ve seen a few who forcibly elevated their achievements through restrictions or Geas.”

Lennok’s chilling gaze landed on Gionis’s chest.

“But it’s the first time I’ve seen a spellcaster who forcibly raised their actual level in such a way.”

“…Hah.”

Gionis exhaled a hot breath.

With trembling hands, he tossed off his monocle. His left eye, unlike what was visible through the lens, was completely devoid of light.

“I trusted my master.”

As if his greatest flaw had been exposed, he blurted out words uncontrollably.

“Even when I hit a wall at the cusp of Commander Wizard, I firmly believed the advice to first impose a restriction and overcome the wall. But it didn’t take long for me to realize,”

He clenched his fist.

“That imposing restrictions on oneself is a privilege only for monsters challenging ascension… and rashly shackling oneself is tantamount to destroying the very foundation of growth.”

“…”

“Thanks to that, I lost my left eye and became a cripple who couldn’t use magic unless I was near the Blaiver Tower. I wasn’t even a candidate for Tower Master. My master only thought of me as a watchdog!!!”

Was that why Gionis had been so strangely agitated when Lennok awakened his Mystic Eye in his left eye?

How must he have felt, looking at Lennok, who had conversely awakened a new possibility in the very eye that Gionis himself had permanently lost its light?

Lennok, who had been staring intently at Gionis as he screamed, unable to control his emotions, spoke.

“So you contacted Pandemonium.”

“…”

At Lennok’s casually thrown remark, Gionis stopped speaking.

It was simple when he thought about it.

Why members of Pandemonium could so easily seize control of the Forge.

Why other Elder Council members hadn’t appeared.

Where had the increasing number of missing persons from the Blaiver Tower gone?

Weren’t all the answers here?

Lennok knew well from the Cartel’s case that the security of a Blaiver Tower, which had lasted for hundreds of years, was utterly powerless against a knife from within.

All these events that had transpired so far could be absurdly simply established under one assumption.

Gionis Verbane had joined hands with Pandemonium.

His eyes, as he turned his head, gleamed chillingly.

“What a pity. I thought you, Van, would understand my feelings.”

“…”

“After gathering information from the Vulcan side, I became certain. The period when your activities ceased in the megacity coincided with Evelyn Marcia’s visit to the Blaiver Tower… and knowing how rare it is for a spellcaster of Commander Wizard level or higher to lend their power to an Agent.”

“Hmm.”

“I never imagined you had such profound expertise in ice magic… but seeing that you found this secret place, I was certain. Your sensitivity alone is unequivocally at the Archmage level. In that case, there’s only one answer.”

“You seem to have done a thorough background check.”

Lennok nodded, acknowledging it readily.

It had been Evelyn’s idea to conceal his identity right before visiting the Blaiver Tower.

Since he hadn’t even altered his mana pattern, it wouldn’t have been strange to be discovered at any time.

Gionis’s lips twitched at Lennok’s calm demeanor.

“Well, fine… It doesn’t matter who you are.”

Gionis slowly spread his arms.

The grimoire he held clattered to the floor.

“What matters is that you’re a skilled wizard, capable of even temporarily blocking the Forge’s heat. That alone is what matters.”

“…”

“Through my deal with Pandemonium, I gained the opportunity to remove the binding my master placed on me. They told me that if I brought them one specific item, they could break the Geas I imposed on myself.”

Only then did Lennok realize why Gionis had told him his story, and he frowned.

“Damn it, don’t tell me that item for the trade is…”

“Yes.”

Gionis’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“The Central Forge, where all the capital and technology of the Western Continent branch are said to be integrated… In exchange for the Blaiver Tower’s most precious treasure, I will reclaim my freedom.”