Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Absolutely neutral mages certainly exist.

Hill himself had witnessed it.

But such people would never choose to live in a place they cannot control... A three-legged situation like at the Tower of Dark Enigma is not impossible, but the one holding absolute initiative must be this seemingly neutral mage.

Balance is important, but most importantly, balance should be in one’s own hands.

If the possibility of war arises, a mage whose first reaction is to hide rather than try to control the situation cannot be truly neutral.

The impression left in Hill’s mind by Teraxil Mage Association’s President Draculus was truly unforgettable.

So, amidst West’s awkward display, he noticed the Kamente Tower.

He appeared to be adhering to so-called neutrality, but to Hill, who understood factions well, he clearly saw the traces of Hell.

This is what the Devils excel at... seemingly innocent, but entirely full of their tricks.

No wonder the Tower of Dark Enigma so readily handed over their guests from the Stellar Realm, Hill had thought these mages had lost their minds... In an unavoidable situation, studying them for a while would be the normal mage’s choice!

Yet when he entered the Tower of Dark Enigma himself, he found that the tower masters seemed fairly normal, not at all like brainwashed individuals.

But if one of the three tower masters is a lackey of Sia Tower, handing over the guests immediately would be the wisest choice.

As for whether the other two knew... Temporarily leaving out Nicholson, the Archmage Ruth from Gilbert’s memory was not only shrewd but also very sensitive and extremely suspicious.

Without Gilbert’s decisive personality, which made him act swiftly, he would never have had those comfortable years later... Ruth is clearly the kind who would suspect you for a lifetime after being deceived once.

As for Tower Master Nicholson... Hill pondered for a while and decided to observe closely for some time.

In the obviously problematic situation of the Kamente Tower, the fact that Nicholson, always vying for his faction’s interests and power, never crossed Ruth’s line, keeping the Tower of Dark Enigma in a balanced triad, is not something a truly power-driven person could achieve.

And those two hidden tower masters, is it really because they are lazy to mind things that they don’t come forward?

Or... Do they want to secretly restrain the Kamente Tower?

In a situation where they don’t want the Sia Tower to come to the fore because of Kamente Tower’s failure, the Kamente Tower itself can’t afford any issues.

So, previously seemingly important but actually meaningless positions, like managing resources and attributes of apprentices for West, are like this.

What’s the use of knowing an apprentice’s basic attributes?

Most of the self-reports from apprentices are just feelings, and outsiders assessing the apprentices’ qualifications can at most tell if someone is talented, but not to what extent, much less any specific attributes... Moreover, after becoming official mages, they generally undergo chaotic transformations.

Mages are people who can use their will to influence the Mental Sea.

If innate attributes define what you can learn, that’s called a magician.

Thinking of this, Hill couldn’t help but slightly frown... In the middle of a magician’s Mental Sea stands a small island firmly rooted due to bloodline, anchoring it firmly there, and it mustn’t be shifted lightly by anyone who doesn’t wish to perish.

While Hill’s innate attribute is a banyan tree with aerial roots spread throughout every drop of the sea.

The fact that he could accommodate some destructive spells in his Mental Sea was because Hill went through great pains to tightly bind the dense banyan roots together, leaving a bit of space.

Wanting more is simply impossible.

Though Hill doesn’t feel discontent for not being able to learn certain spells, occasionally he does feel a bit regretful... Who hasn’t had aspirations for pointing with a slight gesture and making countless enemies vanish in an instant?

Though his character can’t allow killing so many people at once, but... hasn’t everyone had a phase?

Hill sighed, shifting his attention back to the present.

If diverting attention from the Kamente Tower is the aim, then Hill had to rethink why Nicholson’s men caused trouble for West.

He certainly didn’t think the two troublemakers actually knew the truth.

Among Archmage Nicholson’s faction, there’s always an abundance of talent, both the wise ones and ’wise ones’.

Those two are the standard ’wise ones’.

Especially the son-in-law.

Truly, when Hill first learned that he had been supporting several beautiful apprentices at his parents’ home and had several well-known ’nephews’, he began to doubt whether the woman married to him was indeed the daughter.

Hmm... Now it seems really possible she’s not.

As for the nephew, well, if there’s an issue with the daughter, there’s no need to consider the nephew.

After all, these descendants emerged after the Tower of Dark Enigma handed over the Stellar Realm guests.

At that time, many speculated that due to being heavily injured in combat with the Stellar Realm guests, Nicholson could no longer ascend and so chose to return to the family.

He was always someone who valued family greatly; the most important students of his all came from within the family, making it not seem problematic from an outsider’s perspective.

Then, Hill reclined in the lounge chair, slowly accessing Gilbert’s memories, retracing the trajectories of Nicholson’s long past students.

However, it seemed that once they reached the Eighth Ring, they naturally vanished from the public eye.

The one impression he had was due to Gilbert’s keen nature and thorough actions, having collected a fair amount of information... At least he could confirm there were at least two Eighth Ring Mages among them.

Hill looked up at the sky... So, who are those two hidden tower masters who rarely mentioned their names?

No, if there are two on Nicholson’s side, Gilbert’s shrewd Master Ruth surely wouldn’t be without any.

Tsk, so the so-called two hidden tower masters wouldn’t be people from two factions taking turns coming out on duty... because both appear simultaneously, ensuring neither’s rights are harmed... right?

West absolutely knows nothing, as his flexible eyes are filled with various desires, but never reverence for the Kamente Tower.

He really doesn’t know what kind of ruthless figure his boss is.

So why do Ruth and Nicholson let the Kamente Tower feel that apprentices are important?

No wonder they harass West with such disgusting yet non-threatening means... If the Kamente Tower is willing to step out, even if West fails, or causes conflict with some High-level Mages, that’s a matter of a word from the Kamente Tower or high-ranking students.

West’s position seems precarious, yet it is actually as stable as a mountain.

So, do those at the Tower of Dark Enigma know something’s going to happen, and it’s related to the apprentices?

Is it true that many nobles are preparing to move with their entire families?

The nobles who’ve survived so tenaciously in this world until now must be not only strong but with complex identities, and all are heading towards the Sia Tower.

Then why would the Tower of Dark Enigma waste its energy sharing the burden for the Sia Tower?

Given they’re aware that Sia Tower has long harbored ill intentions towards them?

Hill suddenly couldn’t help but laugh... Even in such a malice-entrenched world, his luck remains quite good!

The Tower of Dark Enigma has always been preparing for his entry into the Sia Tower, possibly not because they have bad luck... but none of the archmages is willing to make their best effort.

Meteor Summoning requires an extremely high level of willpower; if there’s any wavering in the heart, it’s completely normal to summon very few meteors from a much too distant universe.

For these archmages, it’s better to consume the resources of others than to take large quantities to the Sia Tower... and then decide by observing the situation.

But, why do they believe they simply cannot resist?

The outcome of the Defense Tower is indeed frightening, but that was after discovering the Stellar Realm guests, wasn’t it!

What on earth did these two tower masters discover to make them feel utterly hopeless?

Hill was genuinely curious this time.