The Tower of Stars - No Tower

Chapter 33 The Tower of Stars - No Tower

Rorschach and Kano left the Starlight Torch Tower. Mage Kano still needed to return to the Magic Guild. Kano's carriage was right outside; it had no family crest, only the emblem of the white tower under the starlight.

"The official vehicle of the Tower of Stars, and your mentor, well, I should say I brought you here, so I still have some status."

The entire journey was much faster with a horse-drawn carriage, and Rorschach felt that compared to caravan carriages and public wagons, this vehicle was so smooth that he could barely feel any vibration. It was even better than the shock absorption systems of his previous life; it was definitely not a mechanical structure.

"Actually, we don't need a driver or horses. This carriage can move on its own. We have two mages, so it won't take much effort." Kano leaned comfortably against the cushions.

"But this city, no, the whole kingdom, is so boring. The church is doing a great job of 'protecting' the people."

Luo Xia thought of his experience at the large vegetable market and the stagnant atmosphere after he cast the spell.

"Sir, we've arrived at the guild," the coachman said, knocking on the partition.

"Alright, let's go down."

Thank you.

Despite being such an important location as the kingdom's capital, the Magic Guild is still deserted, with not a single person in the golden hall.

When Cano and Rorschach came in, they heard a steady snoring sound.

"Heh heh heh."

Kano walked to the front desk with a dark expression, pulled out one ear, revealing a freckled, grotesque face that had been awakened by pain.

"Ouch, let go! That damned Mr. Kano!"

"Pascal! I gave you the chance to make up your credits and come here to work this shift, and you came here to catch up on sleep?"

Luo Xia felt that he needed to give the master and apprentice some space to talk, so he returned to the carriage first.

With three people crammed in, the comfortable carriage became a bit cramped.

Pascal yawned, "Junior Brother Rorschach, can you guess where to enter the Tower of Stars?"

Outside the window were neatly trimmed shrubs, as if we had arrived at a meticulously maintained garden. The carriage wound its way through the shrubs countless times before finally stopping in the center of the garden.

"A small maze, which changes in real time, can help us keep out uninvited guests without a wayfinding."

There is only one isolated door in the center of the maze.

"Come in." Pascal opened the door, which framed a dazzling display of light. Cano stepped in first, followed by Rorschach. Rorschach crossed the threshold but landed on the lawn opposite the door.

"What happened?" Pascal asked, still holding the door open for Rorschach. "Did the stargate's teleportation magic fail?"

It was as if an invisible hand reached out from the flowing colors, grabbed Rorschach, and pulled him inside.

"Follow me." It was Cano's voice. After Rorschach had completely gone inside, Pascal came in scratching his head and closed the door behind him.

"I don't know what's going on, but it seems the magic on the door didn't work on me when I went through it myself."

"This door is quite old, so it's normal for it to have some problems."

The hall above is a huge transparent dome, with tiny specks of starlight twinkling in the sky, enveloping distant planets and starlight spots, drifting slowly and shimmering with ever-changing rainbow light.

"Transmutation dust, according to records, envelops the stars and is a remnant left from the intersection of the divine kingdoms of the gods and our world."

The Tower of Stars has a vast starry sky, but no tower. A circular hall the size of a football field is surrounded by three layers of enclosures, each slowly and in a staggered manner. At the center of the hall is a three-sided black stone pillar engraved with flowing runes.

Pascal explained that this was the core of the "Tower" spirit: "Mage Rorschach, activate your mage badge and attach it to the core, and it will remember you. The Tower of Stars will then be officially open to you. You will join the Kano mentor group as a researcher, with the privileges of a faculty member."

Rorschach did as instructed, infusing magic to activate the badge. The runes on the pillar immediately began to flow, and after a while, a stiff, inhuman voice sounded: "Welcome to the Tower of Stars, Mage Rorschach."

Why broadcast? After the announcement from the tower spirit without a tower, everyone in the hall looked at Rorschach with curiosity and scrutiny.

Besides the lobby, there are many other public areas on the first floor:

"This is a restaurant where the chefs of the eight best restaurants in Valuana take turns cooking. My junior colleague is considered a faculty member and can eat for free."

"Senior brother, how many apprentices like you do you need?"

Pascal said painfully, "We pay by the academic year, a full forty gold coins!"

Rorschach nodded. Was the price expensive? In fact, he had looked at the Sky Restaurant in the Starry Tower, where main dishes could sell for three to five gold coins. The annual fee of forty gold coins was definitely far lower than the normal price of eight restaurants. However, forty gold coins was by no means cheap. Just the food expenses alone would require a worker or farming family to sell their possessions to pay in full at once.

Luckily, I got a free meal.

"This is the library on the first floor, open to everyone. The books on the second floor and above require a teacher's approval. Oh, damn it, I forgot again, junior brother, you don't need one."

Luo Xia heard the envy in Pascal's voice and smiled at him, saying, "Brother, what books do you need? I'll approve them."

Pascal gritted his teeth: "Thank you so much, my dear junior brother!"

The first floor also has some space that seems to be a shop, with a shelf displaying a cabinet full of purple potions.

Seeing what Rorschach had seen, Pascal explained, "These are our own alchemy products. Otherwise, why would we have such a whole cabinet full of them? But take my advice: if you don't want to damage your intelligence, stay away from them."

Just as Rorschach was about to ask what exactly the gentian violet was, the loudspeaker blared again. This time it was a real voice, distorted but somewhat familiar: "Hey? Hello? Mr. Rorschach, Mr. Rorschach, could you please come to the Chief Professor's office on the third floor? That Pascal apprentice doesn't need to come. Just go about your business."

Oh, by the way, watch out for the stairs. Make sure it stops completely before you go up or down. How do you use this? I've been wanting to try it for a while now. Wait a minute…

"Master Cano?" Rorschach asked uncertainly. Pascal looked around and saw that Cano was indeed gone, then nodded with a twitching expression.

Rorschach headed towards the stairs, and although all three floors were spinning, he noticed that other people would take the escalator to go upstairs.

The escalator initially comes to a standstill relative to the lobby floor. Once someone steps on it, it begins to move and catch up with the rotating second or third floor until the escalator, the person, and the floor come to a standstill again.

A door on the third floor suddenly emitted light, standing out conspicuously among the dark wooden doors.

"It's strange, but it's also quite thoughtful."

As soon as Luo Xia finished speaking, the light gate began to flicker, changing color with each flash: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The boy thought of the disco in his previous life, though like most engineering students, he had only ever seen it in videos.

Now, however, he has to walk into the "disco" with a sign that reads "Office - Chief Professor" under everyone's gaze.

The apprentices and mages in the hall simply stopped, all staring at the glittering door and Rorschach; Pascal was nowhere to be seen. The previously noisy environment fell into a silence even more terrifying than that of the bustling marketplace.

"Wow! You can do that? Damn, the radio was still on."

Thank you to reader "Confused Feather" for the monthly pass! This is the first time I've received one, thank you for the encouragement!

(End of this chapter)