Surviving The Fourth Calamity

The only comfort West could find for himself was that, at least Archmage Ruth didn’t treat him as garbage that needed to be kicked out, otherwise, Gilbert, with his personality that usually hates trouble, would never have opened the door for him.

For matters truly important enough to require Gilbert’s attention and compliance, Master Ruth would certainly send a student older than Gilbert to personally inform him.

For these legitimate lineage of Tower Masters, everything else outside of that can be ignored. It’s West himself who needs to deal with the matter.

In those past years, faced with such situations, West would always send the legitimate mages a little gift according to the priority of the issues, with updates they might need to know... However, he hasn’t encountered this often.

The apprentices of the Tower of Dark Enigma have been lingering in a state of limbo for many years; otherwise, someone like him, with a middling status, wouldn’t occupy this position.

However, this time was completely different.

West could feel the tense atmosphere... The clearly returned Tower Master Nicholson and Ruth, who was still outside but had a strong presence, were evidently sparking some fireworks between them.

How could there not be a power struggle among the many factions within the Magic Tower? It’s just that the calmness on the surface has suppressed it beneath the waters... By the time everyone knows the result, the hidden undercurrents under the sea have already subsided.

Unfortunately, West’s only hope, his teacher’s teacher, Archmage Katmanta, seemed clearly intent on observing for a while.

He sat by, watching the tiger fight, while West was caught between the claws of these approaching tigers!

Originally, the apprentices he managed mostly ended up belonging to the outskirts mage, and those nominally under his management who reside in the teacher’s side tower—with them, he didn’t even have the authority to allocate resources.

But now, hasn’t the Tower of Dark Enigma implemented independent allocation of apprentice resources?

West was indeed happy the first moment he obtained this authority... He wouldn’t be foolish enough to skimp on anyone’s resources, but some materials, though seemingly only slightly different, can lead to drastically different outcomes by just being a bit better.

Then he fell into immense panic.

Mages with a bit of ability could understand how large a piece of juicy meat this position was... And a mage capable of replacing him certainly wouldn’t be slower to react than West, so recently, there were simply too many eyes on him.

So many that he dared not have any difference in even a fingernail-sized piece of iron.

For West, who had long given up on the path to becoming a higher mage, confirming that being a level 12 mage was his endpoint, he truly hadn’t worked this hard in years.

Although, to avoid regressing, West still meditated for two hours every day and took some time to practice common spells, but that’s not hard work, right?

Luckily, perhaps because neither side wanted to attract the other’s attention and alertness at this time, they both tacitly spared West.

As long as he didn’t make any obvious mistakes, he could probably stay here for some time, until the three tower masters all returned, when his position might change.

Originally, he could have earned some retirement money.

However, one of Tower Master Nicholson’s students seemed to find him very displeasing and actually demanded that he visit every mage with apprentices to ensure the resources in those apprentices’ hands hadn’t been taken away for some absurd reasons.

West was furious!

Mages who would do such a thing would either be greedy types among the tower masters’ legitimate lineage, who wouldn’t give West any face?

Or... The outskirts mages who are so poor they can only survive by depriving apprentice resources, those guys, thick-skinned and ruthless, might very well kill him if he said the wrong thing!

How could anyone be so malicious!

West certainly understood the few archmages authorized to speak for the tower master very well. From one glance, he knew it was the Nicholson Faction’s internal struggle implicating him... obviously preparing for what might follow.

If he didn’t do this task well, it would serve as the best excuse: someone who couldn’t even guarantee the basic living conditions of apprentices had no qualification to continue managing apprentices.

Great Magician Nicholson has always had a rule for the open and covert fights among his students: Whoever initiates a trick must take responsibility, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad, it’s all on that person; no one else can snatch it afterwards.

That’s why his students have ended up in absurd situations, losing their lives trying to win first place!

But this is just their own internal requirement, Archmage Ruth’s students wouldn’t follow Nicholson’s rules.

What West feared most wasn’t that Archmage Ruth’s side wanted to interfere... If assignments are made, he would do everything possible to pass the message, and it’s just a bit of suffering and hardship, which he can endure.

He feared that Archmage Ruth might choose not to interfere.

The apprentice affairs are just a bit fattened, after all.

But those resources, in the eyes of the ever-capable faction of Ruth, aren’t significant enough to affect their pursuit in spells.

Master Ruth there favors elite education, and might choose to watch the show upon discovering Nicholson’s faction actions.

After all, people with such eyes on even these meager benefits are actually somewhat degrading themselves in the eyes of high-level mages.

But what would he do if that happened?

He had already been degrading himself for decades!

Life is truly full of ups and downs, falling once means never rising again!

West sighed softly, stubbornly stepped inside the great gate, he should meet Gilbert first!

No need to notify this person in advance... notifying beforehand might prevent entry, and Gilbert might devise some kind of array to directly eject him from the Tower of Dark Enigma.

Gilbert’s done it before.

He dared to take action against people he disliked. After all, Master Ruth wouldn’t mind such minor hobbies, and it’s not killing anyone, just harmless jokes... ’A mage should have broad heart, what’s the big deal about not breaking the skin!’, those were the original words of Archmage Ruth when complaints reached him.

Though West wasn’t sure how other mages felt hearing this, he definitely didn’t want to become one of the people who could only use this phrase to console his damaged self-esteem.

Hill couldn’t help but sit up straight slightly, looking at the slightly open door... What was West doing outside?

Daring to say such things at his doorstep, this matter must have been conveyed by the Magic Tower, wasn’t West personally coming to trouble Hilbert, so why make such lengthy mental preparations?

Even if it would irritate Gilbert, he wasn’t truly crazy, with a temper aimed only at the real mastermind behind the scenes, right?

Why bother troubling a junior mage?

Though sometimes Gilbert would tease people, but those folks were intentionally poking at his sore spots, so even if he did create incidents, Ruth would step in to protect him... This phrase, ’the one who provokes first is disgraceful,’ can always be a shield among people of equal status.

Hill really appreciated Gilbert’s style of conducting himself in the world.

West slowly walked into the hall and respectfully saluted: ”Mage Gilbert, the Magic Tower hopes I can interact with the apprentices to make sure they’ve received their full resources.”

”Who did you offend?”