Wizard Tower
Everything was happening in secret. The baron’s enemies were not so easily dealt with, and the person most qualified to do so was Leylin.
He now had control over the Scarlet Tigers and had even gotten rid of the Baltic archipelago. Baron Jonas had his suspicions about this, but the father and son maintained a tacit understanding and did not lay it bare.
“I understand!” Leylin nodded. In his opinion, the return of the Barbarians and the rise of the devils and demons was only to be expected. The period post calamity was a golden period for churches to expand, but so it was for demons and devils as well. The ripples caused by the Pirates’ Tide still hadn’t faded.
“And Cyric?” Leylin’s eyes shone. He had some things to settle with this church. What they had done before had left Leylin slightly discontent.
“I’d be at ease handing all this over to you. If there’s anything you need, do tell me. Prioritise your safety, I don’t want to lose an outstanding heir. Is that understood?” Baron Jonas spoke seriously.
“Yes, father!” Leylin nodded.
“Good! Go meet your Master Ernest. He has a surprise for you!” Baron Jonas had a smile on his face, “Spend more time with your mother now that you’re back. We can’t delay your wedding either…”
At the mention of this, Leylin felt a headache coming on. He found an excuse to leave the study room.
……
It was night, and Port Venus still had lights everywhere.
At the very least, there were huge torches burning at the pier, where ships hurried to unload their cargo. This would have been unimaginable in huge cities. With the labour and physical resources in the dark ages, the cost of illumination in the night was a huge burden.
Till now, Leylin had only seen one city capable of using lights to brighten the area, and that was Silverymoon. Port Venus was now added to that list. It was a pity that the port was several times smaller than Silverymoon, so it wasn’t comparable.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ernest watched the pier that seemed to glow with stars, his voice showing his awe.
“This is the result of the effort of father and everyone else!” Leylin spoke in a very humble manner. He could tell the delight and fondness in his master’s tone. Ernest probably treated this like his second home.
“The more prosperous Port Venus is, the more people will come. The crime rate here is now almost at a stage that even the guards can’t deal with it. The Mercenary Association and the Warriors’ and Thieves’ Guilds will definitely increase the pressure on public security, as will the requests of other churches…”
Ernest stated calmly, while Leylin listened close. He was controlling the situation from afar, and what he knew was surely less than what the wizard who had been staying here all this while did.
“That’s why we planned to build this, right?” Leylin looked at the main part of the huge wizard tower, a smile on his face, “Once the wizard tower is built, those mice in the sewers should stop…”
Ernest nodded in agreement. The two of them were on a mountain next to the Port Venus, one that had a clear view of the port. The general structure of a wizard tower had already been built at the top of the hill.
With the power of wizard towers, even the most low-levelled wizard would still be able to control Port Venus without trouble. It would also serve to intimidate others. After all, a wizard tower was comparable to a high-ranked wizard! This was a loyal slave that was fully controlled and knew no exhaustion.
“Thanks to the batch of resources you brought back and our investment later on, we’ve finally built the main body…” Ernest caressed the sturdy body of the tower, a smile on his face.
“Want to see her?”
“Of course!” Leylin smiled and nodded.
The construction of a wizard tower would require an investment of at least two million kronas. Some high-ranked wizards might not be able to amass so much wealth even if they worked hard for centuries. There were plenty who were willing to sell themselves for it.
If not for Leylin looting the Baltic archipelago and retrieving the materials meant for the wizard tower, as well as the Faulen Family’s investment from Port Venus, the wizard tower would not have been built so quickly.
“The main material for the wizard tower is granite and wizards’ alloy. It’s a total of 32 metres tall.” Ernest brought Leylin into the wizard tower, making introductions as they walked.
“The strengthening runes and defensive spell formation of the tower have been completed. The mithril and adamantine that you brought have been completely used up, and we’ve even had to buy a new batch. The tower itself has seven floors, with the basement, drawing room, storage room, laboratory, leisure room…” Ernest seemed to be very invested in the tower.
He abruptly pulled a large door open. It was empty and very dry. “This is the storage room. It can hold enough rations to last two hundred people a year. There’s eternal warmth and maintenance spell formations, so the food won’t go bad. You can cultivate fruits and vegetables in the garden…
“Also, the spell formation connecting the four main elemental pools has been completed. Energy can be unceasingly drawn from the four elemental pools, and the pure water from the water elemental pool can create a water cycle…”
At this point, Ernest looked to be hesitating, but still spoke, “Also, based on what you said you wanted in the letter, the dimensional summoning spell formations and negative energy pools have been set up in the basement…”
As a traditional wizard, Ernest had a natural hatred for these things, but could not prevent this. Advancing from higher ranks to the realm of legendaries definitely required research in these two areas. He believed that Leylin knew to restrain himself and not deal with devils and demons, and was rather at ease.
“Of course, with your current strength and talent, you’ll be able to use these facilities within ten years…” Ernest spoke with confidence.
In his eyes, the strength Leylin displayed gave him a very good chance of becoming a high-ranked wizard within ten years. That speed alone would have been shocking.
After all, the advancement of wizards was not similar to other close combat professions or priests. There was a lot of accumulation required, which was also why many young wizards were weak.
“You didn’t call me here to discuss this, right master?” Leylin smiled. He had not placed his wizard ranking emblem at his chest. He hadn’t verified that he was rank 15 even in Silverymoon, so he was being treated like a rank 12 to 13 wizard. For Leylin’s age, that was already outstanding.
“Yes… uh… how do I explain this…” Ernest had a flush on his face.
“The structure of the tower has been completed. What’s next is vitalising the energy core and the constructing the tower genie…”
Ernest muttered, “You know that vitalising a tower requires at least a rank 7 spell, a high-ranked wizard is necessary… While we can discuss this after you’ve advanced, the safety of Port Venus is of immense importance. We have to activate it immediately…
“I think we should consider inviting a high-ranked wizard to cast an Activate Intelligence spell. Of course, they’d have to join the Faulen Family, sign an oath with the Styx and hand over the tower afterwards. However, that would only be used for observation for a while. This level of strength alone will arouse the interest of many high-ranked wizards, and can greatly increase the number of trump cards we have… After all, a wizard above rank 15 is a true high-ranked spellcaster!”
Ernest was very inarticulate at the beginning, but he spoke smoothly later. The control of a wizard tower was a sensitive subject, and anyone would hope for their own people to have it. Sadly, both he and Leylin were quite a distance away from meeting that requirement.
“While I’m still a low-ranked wizard, I never thought there’d come a day that a wizard’s tower would be right in front of me, yet I’d be unable to control it…” Ernest laughed wryly as he spoke.
“Bring me to the core room,” Leylin nodded calmly.
Upon hearing this, Ernest brought Leylin to the top floor and entered a narrow room, “Everything has been prepared. All that’s left is a high-ranked wizard who can cast a rank 7 spell…”
Ernest sighed, but it was followed by a look of surprise as Leylin walked to the core of the spell formation.
“Wha- what are you doing? Did you think you can start the tower?” Ernest was stunned as he watched Leylin place his hand on the core control crystal.
“While what you say makes sense, it’s too dangerous to let others control the wizard tower. Even with the restrictions from the oath, it can’t be guaranteed that the outsider won’t have their own methods. This could be fatal to the safety of the family’s land…” Leylin spoke.
While an oath to the Styx was binding, in his experience there were many ways to find loopholes. Of course, that would’ve been their course of action if left with a choice. However, he already met the requirements, so why would he give the control of the tower away?
“Alright, alright, little Leylin… I know you’re not resigned to this, but… I! Oh, god…” Ernest had been advising him while finding this hilarious, but then gaped immediately after.