Chapter 42: Harrog's Legacy

  Listening to Ethan’s explanation, Wolf immediately grasped a crucial piece of information. He pressed on, "Since every tower master is extraordinary, are you familiar with this Mr. Bernardo?"

  Ethan barely paused. "Harrog Bernardo is a great Archmage of Elements, specializing particularly in the domain of water. If you’re interested, after we leave this place, I’d be delighted to tell you his story—but for now," his tone deepened slightly, "this is hardly the time for such discussions."

  Wolf nodded, his expression growing much graver. "I just wanted to confirm... the master of this tower isn’t an ordinary person, is he?"

  "No."

  "He’s a powerful Archmage, isn’t he?"

  "Yes."

  "And yet, even such a powerful Archmage has vanished without a trace... Don’t you find things are getting more and more interesting?"

  Everyone immediately understood his implication, their faces turning solemn.

  Wolf then turned back to Emma. "Alice mentioned that the Guild sent a special representative to oversee the progress here. Did you know about this?"

  "George told me," Emma replied, her voice a little distant. "His name is Ace. Although the tower had a room prepared for him, he rarely stayed here. After all... unlike the mages who have arduous magical tasks, he only needed to supervise that they weren’t wantonly squandering the funds the Guild provided to the tower, so he was quite... idle."

  "I see." Wolf responded, but his mind was racing. If Ace didn’t regularly stay in the tower, then perhaps he wasn’t involved when all the mages disappeared.

  "Let’s go to the fourth floor first," Emma suddenly stepped forward, her voice urgent. "My husband’s room is there! If anyone is still in the tower, they must be there!"

  "Please wait, Ms. Emma." Ethan immediately offered his suggestion. "I understand your feelings, but I recommend—we go to the top floor first."

  Before anyone could ask, he began to explain. "As I said before, a mage tower is essentially the private property of its master. All research projects conducted by mages here must first be applied for with the tower master. If any significant breakthroughs in magic research are made, or any unusual situations are discovered, they must be reported to the tower master first."

  "Mr. Harrog is a great Archmage. I believe he would carefully preserve daily data records. Moreover, the primary task of this mage tower is to monitor the mana environment data of the far northern region. Mr. Harrog also needs to regularly submit these overall data to the Magic Association."

  "Therefore, I believe the tower master is the person most knowledgeable about what happened in this tower. Even if some minor details were not personally noticed by the tower master, all data records would be preserved in the tower master’s laboratory. Even if we cannot precisely understand what happened in this tower, we can at least get a general direction, and then exploring other areas will be more targeted."

  "But..."

  "Ms. Emma, don’t forget, the fourth floor can only be reached by the magic elevator."

  Emma frowned slightly but said no more.

  Ethan continued to Wolf, "The top floor’s laboratory likely holds the most complete records of this tower. Even if we can’t reconstruct all the details, it can point us in the right direction. Afterwards, exploring other floors will be much more efficient."

  Wolf listened in silence, his gaze sweeping over the floating magic elevator in the center of the hall, then to the spiraling staircases on either side. "Let’s do that, go to the top floor first," he finally said, his voice low. "But is it really safe to use these magical devices?"

  "I’ve checked," Ethan frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled. "Indeed, as you said, the mana here is chaotic... but the magic elevator itself is functioning normally and can be used."

  Wolf weighed his options for a moment. "We’ll take the magic elevator. Mr. Ethan, please operate it—and be careful."

  The magic elevator ascended smoothly, faster than expected. Streams of light within the shaft, like fine threads, shone through the transparent walls onto their faces, alternating between bright and dim.

  "Generally, can a mage tower’s magic elevator go directly to the top floor like this?" Wolf asked, looking at the approaching shadows above.

  "Normally, no," Ethan replied, his gaze still fixed forward. "Tower masters usually set up barriers on the upper floors, and only those with permission can pass—however, such barriers are usually not very complex, and I’ve already disabled them."

  "Oh? Is it that simple?"

  "The barrier itself wasn’t designed to prevent people from going up," Ethan said calmly. "If an enemy truly invaded the interior of the tower, a single barrier wouldn’t be enough to stop them."

  "The purpose of the barrier is to prevent someone from secretly or unauthorizedly entering. If someone were to do so, the fluctuations caused by the barrier being triggered or broken would be enough to alert the tower master—that’s sufficient."

  He paused, then looked up at the massive crystal that was becoming clearer at the top of the shaft, a professional admiration flashing in his eyes. "And high-ranking Archmages visiting each other often don’t enter through the main entrance. They usually arrive by air, meeting the tower master directly."

  Wolf followed his gaze. The crystal floated at the highest point of the shaft, liquid light seemingly flowing slowly within it, surrounded by countless tiny glowing patterns—runes, like living vines, coiling and extending across the crystal’s surface.

  "Every time I see such a core crystal, it’s awe-inspiring," Ethan murmured, almost to himself. "Though it’s essentially just a massive energy storage crystal, under the harmonization of rune arrays, it can autonomously draw mana from its surroundings to maintain the operation of the entire tower. All the facilities in this tower function thanks to it!"

  He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to decipher the direction of the runes as they moved. "The core rune array of each tower is a top secret. It not only controls energy transmission but can also transform into a shield when necessary, providing mana to help the tower master deal with powerful enemies, and even unleash destructive magical energy beams. Understanding these runes means grasping the lifeline of this tower, and also means... finding a way to break it."

  Ethan’s voice dropped, as if he realized he was treading on forbidden ground. "Under normal circumstances, a tower master would never allow outsiders to observe the core like this. Normally, a tower master would not allow others like me to examine these runes; it’s extremely impolite, even aggressive."

  The magic elevator had begun to slow, already nearing the top floor. Yet Ethan still looked up, his gaze almost burning with concentration. "But an opportunity like this... is truly rare. To witness Mr. Harrog’s personally drawn rune array is indeed a very fortunate thing."

  The magic elevator silently came to a stop, reaching the tower’s highest floor. The layout of this floor unfolded around the elevator shaft as its center: an annular corridor formed the perimeter, beyond which the space was divided into two halves—one side lined with three tightly closed oak doors, and the other a semi-open-air garden.

  The garden was enveloped in a nearly invisible, soft magical glow, maintaining a spring-like warmth even at this extreme northern altitude. However, most of the plants in the garden had withered. Magic could sustain temperature, but not the care required for life—leaves curled, petals wilted, with only a few tenacious succulents clinging to a dull green. Wolf was the first to step out of the magic elevator, his gaze quickly scanning his surroundings. As Ethan and Emma had said, this floor was completely isolated from below, with no connecting stairs. The only exit was the magic elevator, or to leap from the garden’s edge—which would be suicide.

  "This way..."

  A soft female voice brushed against his ear without warning, and a breeze swept across his cheek, carrying a faint, elusive chill. Wolf felt his eyes dry slightly. Lia’s figure reappeared, translucent like mist in the morning light. She floated a step away from him, her eyes shining with barely suppressed excitement, pointing towards one of the doors. "It’s there! There must be knowledge that can revive me! I can feel it!!"

  Wolf quickly glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye—they seemed normal. Ethan was observing the withered plants in the garden, while Emma anxiously looked at the row of rooms. Indeed, only he could see her.

  "Mr. Ethan," Wolf maintained a steady voice, "did you notice any... unusual magical fluctuations just now?" Although he had already reached a conclusion in his heart, he still wanted to confirm whether the woman before him was truly a hallucination... or actually her soul?!

  Ethan withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "Everything here is unusual, but as for sudden magical changes—none."

  Wolf said no more, walking directly to the door Lia had indicated. The door opened at his touch, revealing a spacious study. Light streamed in from the window, supplemented by several floating illumination crystals, making the room clear and calm. Books filled the walls, parchment and heavy tomes occupying almost every available space, leaving only narrow passages.

  "This is—!" Ethan’s exclamation came from behind him, trembling with barely contained excitement. "These must be Mr. Harrog’s research manuscripts!" He disregarded his usual etiquette, practically running into the room, his fingertips brushing over an open notebook, then quickly grabbing another scroll, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter. Then, he stopped before a sheet covered in runes and diagrams, freezing as if solidified, only his eyeballs moving rapidly, greedily absorbing every line of text.

  The excitement on his face visibly transformed—it was a focus that gradually stripped away reason, his lips unconsciously curving upwards, his pupils slightly dilated. Wolf was familiar with this expression: it was like Mark’s face when he confronted the monster’s corpse in the morning. It was the final look of curiosity before it broke free from its restraints.

  Wolf, however, did not interrupt him.

  "He can help you interpret those obscure magic books!" Lia whispered, leaning on his shoulder. "He can help you, help us cast the magic to revive me!! What you need to do is find that spell!"

  Wolf quickly scanned the study, his gaze sweeping over the magical notes that were like an undecipherable heavenly script to him. Lia’s figure had floated to a bookshelf, her fingertip lightly touching a spot—

  "Here! It’s here!!"

  Wolf was about to reach out when a trembling voice called out to him. "Mr. Wolf... look at this."

  His heart tightened. He turned to find Mary standing beside him, holding several scrolls and a thick notebook—and he hadn’t even noticed her approach. Had he also been unconsciously distracted? Mary looked up, confusion and unease intertwined in her eyes. The notebook she handed him had no title on its cover, only a simple line of numbers:

  Saint King’s Calendar, Year 570

  This was the current year. It seemed these were records archived by year. Wolf took the book, his thumb brushing over the rough cover. He quickly flipped through the inner pages, his gaze cutting like a knife through the dense handwriting, searching for possible clues between the paragraphs—

  February 14th

  Today is a day worth celebrating! The Lapsus Merchant Guild has finally agreed to invest in my research! This money is undoubtedly a godsend for me, and everyone’s enthusiasm has been ignited. I believe the research will proceed even more smoothly now. However, to supervise the use of funds, the Guild will send a person named Ace to confirm the use of the funds. I heard he is not a mage. I hope he won’t interfere too much with our research; magic is not as safe as those merchants imagine.

  February 28th

  Ace Noyes has been here for a few days now. He doesn’t seem to be adapting well to life here. He wanders around all day, seemingly uninterested in anything. I can understand; life in the Arctic is indeed dull. I hope he can integrate with us soon.

  March 15th

  Everything is proceeding in an orderly fashion. The arrival of the Guild’s representative hasn’t had much impact. It’s just that sometimes he still seems idle; I don’t know what he’s thinking. Never mind him; as long as he doesn’t hinder our work, it’s fine.

  April 10th

  Time flies; it’s already April. The Guild’s representative seems to be slowly adapting to life here. Although he still doesn’t participate much in our work, at least he no longer wanders around all day like he did at first. He rarely shows up in the tower either. I heard he often stays in Dragonwood Village. After all, he’s not my employee; what he does is his freedom. I suppose the Guild will decide the rest.

  May 25th

  Recently, the weather has started to warm up, and the polar day is approaching. Everyone needs to protect their eyes from the strong sunlight. There have been some abnormal changes in the mana of the far northern region recently, but they are all within controllable limits. Judging from the patterns of mana changes, it seems some mage outside the tower is experimenting with magic, perhaps? Occasionally, there are such individuals who believe they can create new magic and achieve fame. They come to these uninhabited border areas to conduct experiments.

  June 5th

  Today, I found that some apprentices’ eyes have started to itch and swell. This must be due to the strong sunlight of the polar day. These apprentices are just young; sunlight exposure makes the normally calm elements active. Don’t they even understand such basic principles?

  June 10th

  George has been making significantly more mistakes recently, which is unlike his usual self. He has always been a very serious and careful person. I told him to rest for a few days, hoping he can recover soon. It’s strange, though; I’ve also felt my eyes itching recently. Perhaps I’m just too tired.

  June 15th

  The situation is getting worse. Not just the apprentices, but the mages’ eyes, including George’s, are having problems. This is definitely not simple sunburn; it must be a new disease! This might be related to the changes in the Arctic mana environment these days, but it shouldn’t be a demonic corruption. In any case, I’ve reported the situation to the Association via message magic. I’ve decided to observe for a few more days. If the situation continues to deteriorate, we can only suspend research and work and temporarily leave here. I hope the Association takes my message seriously. It would be great if they could send someone to assist me in investigating these abnormal mana changes. But it’s strange; my communication magic can’t directly contact the Association, making real-time communication impossible. I can only report the situation here to the Association via message transmission.

  June 20th

  I couldn’t contact the Association! There was no reply from the Association either. The changes in the mana environment rendered both teleportation and communication magic ineffective. To be precise, it’s very strange; an invisible force seems to have isolated the entire far northern region. My magic is still effective internally, but I just can’t contact the outside world. A blizzard also started. We tried to leave, but quickly got lost in the blizzard. Neither flying nor using magical tools worked; as long as we had the thought of leaving, we would be trapped by the blizzard! Everyone couldn’t continue their research and could only hide in the tower, waiting for the mana environment to recover... if it ever would.

  July 5th

  The blizzard continues, and food in the tower is becoming scarce. Everyone is in low spirits; we don’t know how much longer this will last. I tried to contact headquarters again, but still no response. It’s strange; I contact the Association regularly. If the Association noticed I hadn’t reported on the situation in the far north as scheduled, they should have been alerted and sent someone to investigate. But five days have passed; have the investigating mages not arrived yet?

  July 15th

  The situation is getting worse. Everyone’s bodies are starting to show various problems. My eyes are getting itchier and itchier, almost unbearable. This is not some magic or curse, but rather a change more inclined to the body itself. I have tried advanced healing spells or purification spells, but they have had no effect. I don’t know how much longer we can last, but I hope the Association arrives soon. I don’t know why, but looking at everyone’s eyes, I always have an inexplicable urge, always feeling that they are not eyes but delicious fruits, surely sour and sweet, juicy... What am I writing? I must be too tired.

  August 1st

  ......

  The diary ends here, leaving only blank pages, with a single blurred line of text: "Lapsus Merchant Guild... Ace..."

  After that, the diary is messily filled with: Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Eyes... Delicious!