Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill hesitantly looked up.

Although this tower looked very similar to the Tower of Despair, Hill could somehow sense a feeling of decline.

Hill quietly meditated, calming his emotions to the most stable state before continuing to look up... it wasn’t because he had heard too much about this Magic Tower that he had an illusion.

This only proved that most people in the Tower of Dark Enigma had already lost faith in the future of the Magic Tower.

The sadness and decadence of humans are often reflected in buildings, let alone mages whose spiritual power is inherently stronger.

Hill let out a sigh of relief.

At least he hadn’t come to the wrong place.

Though time was still on his side... even if Heavenly Mountain was a mess, it wouldn’t collapse in just a few years, but Hill felt that the situation inside Sia Tower must be very complicated, so he’d better not waste time.

Sigh~

He was still a bit nervous.

After all, he had rarely had such an exciting adventurer experience before.

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It took Hill some time to find the Haisenal Family with the junior mage named Gilbert.

It might be because they entered the Tower of Dark Enigma relatively late, and indeed, Gilbert hadn’t done too well in the development of the Magic Tower, so although their family was also in the town, they were located more... not exactly on the edge, but close to the homes of ordinary people who weren’t doing well.

Not among them, but very close.

It was an interesting position.

If something happened to Gilbert, their family could certainly survive well, but if he couldn’t hold on... ha~ wasn’t it well known that his family had money?

After all, he was a famous apprentice bought back by the Tower of Dark Enigma.

If it were another Magic Tower, it would be fine, but with the Tower of Dark Enigma on the brink of collapse, no one knew when a revolt might occur.

Hill suddenly felt there was a chance his ideas might be realized.

Therefore, his most important task now was to observe the Haisenal family for a period, remember these people’s faces, and hopefully glean some information about Gilbert from their words.

Haisenal was a big family.

But apart from the clan leader, those with a clearly different status should be Gilbert’s family, and Hill could confirm this from some of their words.

Hmm, judging by age... that male mage with Jerry was also decades old, and someone of the same age as him definitely couldn’t be Gilbert’s father.

They couldn’t even be his older brother.

No matter how long the lifespan of ordinary people was, it was impossible to maintain youth for so long, especially in a place with no way to preserve it.

Poorly fed people naturally had shorter lifespans and aged faster.

So, this guy was either a brother born after he entered the Magic Tower or some nephew of his.

This might be why they aren’t the clan leader even though they’re from Gilbert’s family... hmm?

Hill suddenly came to a realization; if Gilbert supported them, even if his father died relatively early, his brother would naturally take the clan leader’s position.

Nobles are always realistic beings.

Yet Hill remembered what that male mage said.

Gilbert nearly lost his life for his family; how could such a person completely disregard his remaining family just because his parents were gone?

Someone who values emotions wouldn’t easily abandon their family.

And the nobles who depended on Gilbert for their existence, regardless of what they really thought, would outwardly show the utmost respect to him and his family.

Unless they had found new support.

But judging from their residence, they hadn’t.

Moreover, the few people from Gilbert’s family hadn’t shown any dissatisfaction; when the clan leader sought their advice as a sign of respect, they generally went along with the majority.

Gilbert was probably in a tough spot, and might have known from the beginning that his future wasn’t looking good, so he never attempted to seize control of the family.

He just hoped to protect his family’s lives and prevent them from becoming primary targets for attacks.

At the time, when Hill heard the male mage talk about this kid, he felt that Gilbert was quite smart. Had he not been forced, Gilbert probably could have led the family to do a bit better.

Moreover, this kid was quite stable at heart; the last frantic breakthrough he made would have caused anyone else’s mental sea to crack.

The Tower of Dark Enigma wasn’t foolish; they would have confirmed there were no fundamental issues before spending big money to bring him in.

As for other things... there was probably another reason, this kid must have his own style of defensive spells.

In a way, a Defensive Mage understands the Law of Gravity.

If the Tower of Dark Enigma was not good at handling Meteorite Fall type spells... after all, Gilbert’s family hadn’t been wiped out along with Sia Tower, then it proved that the spells they mastered were ones anyone could learn.

Hill touched the Defensive Magic Book at his waist and continued to listen intently to the conversations above.

One hopeful aspect of this world for Hill was the earth’s rejection and dislike of humans who were on it, which sometimes slowly decomposed the spells on them.

Thus, no Isolation Array could exist for long underground.

This created the current situation; except near the grand Magic Towers, there were no underground arrays elsewhere.

This was also why this world lacked magic materials... everything related to the earth resisted magic but didn’t conduct magic.

Perhaps this was also why Asmodeus was determined not to let knights and similar professions appear in this world.

Knights are prone to form their distinct beliefs as a profession, while mages, due to their intelligence and self-preservation instinct, wouldn’t easily become enemies of the world.

After all, they only needed to eliminate the knights from the start... compared to mages, knights have a stronger dependence on their world.

When meat disappeared, and normal magic plants died, knights, even swordsmen, would naturally also vanish.

How could people who couldn’t even eat properly train their bodies!

But once they appeared, relying on the world’s distaste for spells, they could definitely take the upper hand... they wouldn’t need to worry about Meteorite Falls and could just use some decent rocks and metals to forge weapons and equipment.

If Hill himself weren’t the Son of the Earth, other mages staying underground for so long would have suffocated as their Mana dissipated completely.

That’s why mages in this world aren’t wary of ears from the underground.

”Ulrich, why haven’t we heard anything from Mage Gilbert for the past two months?

Have you contacted him recently?” The Chieftain of Haisenal asked the person beside him in as calm a tone as possible, ”I’m really a bit worried, the last time I saw him...”

”A few days ago, Uncle Gilbert told me that the Tower of Dark Enigma has now completely lowered the standards for recruiting apprentices... as long as you can become a Mid-level Apprentice before turning 16, you can pay a training fee to enter the Tower of Dark Enigma.

Uncle Gilbert didn’t want to be sent out to recruit people, so he planned to go into seclusion and meditate.

Didn’t he buy a bottle of Alchemy Potion last time?

He’s taking the opportunity to consume it to see if he can stabilize his Mental Sea and reach Level 12...”

”What?” The Chieftain of Haisenal didn’t seem pleased, but instead appeared frightened, ”How dare he consume such a potion?

Isn’t he gambling with his life?

Who knows if that stuff really is entirely composed of meteorite materials?

What if... it’s already so...”

”Uncle isn’t gambling with his life for the first time!” Ulrich raised his voice, ”What else can he do?

If a mage doesn’t reach Level 12, with the senescence phase approaching, there’s no hope left!

Our family, until now, only has two apprentices that money solves!”

”What can we do about it?” The Chieftain of Haisenal replied with a bitter smile, ”If our family had true talents, how could we have been spared?

Gilbert from back then, he was truly a gift to our family on the brink of death.”

”Never mind...” Ulrich felt a bit disheartened, ”Our family can’t even find a Mid-level one of its own.

Uncle Gilbert told me to bring the two apprentices to see him once I announce that news publicly from the Tower of Dark Enigma.

If there’s a bit of hope for them to become mages, then pay we shall.

It’s better to spend our family’s visible money sooner rather than later.”

”I understand.” The Chieftain of Haisenal spoke with a hint of gloom... he clearly understood the unease and despair in these words.

Is the Haisenal Family really on the brink of ruin?

He suddenly stood up, ”I’m going to check on those two kids!”

Hill followed behind, finding those two kids who were clearly about 15 years old, but already lacked much enthusiasm... a boy and a girl.

During this time, Hill had scarcely seen such healthy children, even among the noble families of the Tower of Despair.

It seemed the Haisenal Family really was desperate enough to try anything.

”Russell, Carpenter! What are you doing?” The Chieftain of Haisenal said somewhat unhappily, ”Even if you don’t get into the Magic Tower, wouldn’t you still find work in the town government?

When you get there, if you remain careless like this, I’ll be collecting your bodies in no time!”

”Chieftain!” The two dazed children hurriedly stood up.

”We are just a bit sad.” Russell quickly explained, ”About to turn 16, and we still have so much further to go.”

”You don’t need to worry about that.” The Chieftain of Hainarson said, frowning, ”Straighten yourselves up. In a few days, Ulrich will take you to see Mage Gilbert, and remember to perform well!

This is your only hope!”