Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Felix’s seemingly rebellious movements only brought an even more passionate swell of instruments in chorus.

After the harp strings were swept back and forth a few times, the drum that joined in grew even more thunderous.

Felix let out a groan and rolled violently on the bed a few times; the not‑so‑sturdy iron frame creaked softly, ”creak, creak.” The sound was very faint, yet because he kept tossing and turning, it inexplicably merged into that rough, strange lingering melody.

-----------------

”Hm?” Russell, a little dazed, received a call request from Eldest Martial Sister Aislin of the Ruth Faction. ”Mage Aislin?

Our teacher...”

”I know Gilbert isn’t here. I’m looking for you.” Aislin said, not very politely. ”I’m going to borrow that secret passage your teacher has underground.

Of course I know the passcode. I’m just giving you a heads-up, so you don’t get spooked when you see movement in the monitoring Array.”

”Ah? Ah...” Russell was a bit stunned.

”The Isolation Array Gilbert modified after getting the Standard Runes is really quite good. Even the teacher can’t directly crack it without disturbing the control hub.” Aislin praised with a cheerful smile. ”He did give the teacher a copy of the rune analysis, but the teacher won’t be back for a while, and I don’t have that kind of skill myself.

So I can only borrow his place for now.

If you want to watch, that’s fine too—just don’t spread it around.”

”Of course I won’t.” Russell replied quickly, then only slowly added, ”Carpenter and I won’t be contacting the outside on our own before the teacher comes out.

The apprentice passage has been temporarily shut down as well.”

”Oh?” Aislin’s tone lifted slightly, then she suddenly asked, ”Having trouble with 1‑Circle Spells, Russell?”

”No, not yet.” Russell answered without hesitation. ”Before entering the Meditation Chamber, the teacher taught me for a long time—enough for me to seriously think, and properly study... for this whole year.”

Aislin chuckled. ”Is that so...”

She asked that, of course, to test whether Russell and Carpenter needed her to quietly advance them some resources... Since Russell had completely closed the apprentice passage, there was no way to formally certify his Mage status, and he therefore couldn’t collect his Mage resources here at the Tower of Dark Enigma.

On top of that, even Carpenter’s resources wouldn’t be accessible for now, since every time resources are issued, the apprentice has to personally perform a certification.

However, the Magic Tower does allow apprentices to change their resource collection frequency from once a month to once every three months, half a year, or once a year.

Only upon reaching the Mage stage can one choose to collect resources once every three years.

In other words, the Tower will only hold an apprentice’s resources for one year; if you still don’t show up after that, they naturally vanish.

This is because many High-level Apprentices, in order to become Mages, choose to go out and seek opportunities: while this world doesn’t have many dangerous Magical Creatures, the dangers encountered outside are far more terrifying.

Human beings are forever the cruelest creatures.

But once you manage to come back alive from the hands of those vicious bastards, the benefits you gain will be greater as well... Black‑on‑black may be risky, but if it succeeds, it’s also the most profitable.

Those hyena‑like, utterly inhuman types out there naturally know why these apprentices step out of their safe havens, yet even if the casualties are heavy every time, the ones who survive can obtain the supplies that keep them alive.

No matter how poor a High-level Apprentice is, the amount of food they carry is never small... Enough food to keep a Mage Apprentice well‑fed for one month can easily keep ten people alive for half a year.

So the outskirts mages of any Magic Tower are not to be underestimated: those eliminated from the Inner Ring still have some connections, and those who climbed up purely on their own are even more decisive and ruthless.

The reason the Magic Tower can maintain balance is because in the world of Mages, absolute strength isn’t something that can be suppressed by the petty scheming of small fry.

And in this world, even if you wanted to poison someone, it would be hard: food types are far too scarce; even a single oat grain isn’t something a Low-Level Mage can easily get their hands on.

Or rather, those without the capability don’t even have the qualifications to offer good things directly to the strong.

Aislin probed a few more times. Unfortunately, this was Gilbert’s student; she was just habitually testing the waters and never planned to touch that junior brother’s line of tolerance, so she quickly gave up.

There was no helping it—Gilbert was simply too sensitive. If she said a few more words, that guy might start thinking Aislin was trying to sniff out his stockpile.

If it were easy to find out, Aislin certainly wouldn’t mind... However, Gilbert has always been overly sensitive, and when he retaliates he’s completely lawless and gives no one any face.

So Aislin hardly dared go near that line, much less tug on it.

Still, after putting down the communication Strange Objects, Aislin couldn’t help sighing. ”The Hainarson Clan really is ridiculously lucky.

They produced Gilbert, and now there’s this Russell who’s not bad either.

Ah... just a bit troublesome.”

-----------------

Russell squatted on his chair, staring blankly at the speaker‑like communicator on the table that looked like a big loudhailer.

”Brother Russell, what are you doing?” Carpenter walked over, her steps turning slow and stiff. ”You do realize you look like you’re... squatting... over some kind of pit right now?

The kind you can’t... get anything out of.”

”Aren’t you supposed to be a lady?” Russell came back to himself and shot back.

”Once I entered the Tower of Dark Enigma, I don’t need to keep up that elegant, pretty, tragically brainless persona anymore~” Carpenter said with a grin. ”Who doesn’t want to live as they please?”

”Tonight, you’ll probably get to see what ’truly living as you please’ looks like.” Russell said a little wistfully. ”But I still don’t want your life to end up like hers.”

”Like what?” Carpenter asked curiously.

”Too overwhelmingly eventful, with a story every single day.” Russell summed it up simply.

Carpenter couldn’t help pressing her lips together, then smiled gently.

Her brother had always believed that the happiest life is the one nobody talks about.

Even if you become powerful, what outsiders need to know is only those two words—”very strong”—they don’t need to know the process of how you became strong... Lives that get talked about again and again by others have never been smooth sailing.

Those who hack a bloody path through a perilous life certainly deserve admiration, but people like them still hope to live a bit more quietly.

Carpenter patted Russell’s arm. ”So it’s Miss Aislin? What does she want?”

”Who knows?”

-----------------

Russell and Carpenter didn’t wait long at all; it wasn’t even the middle of the night as they had expected.

It was around ten in the evening.

By rights, in the Magic Tower this is actually when there are most people about, the time you’re most likely to attract attention.

When they sensed two separate groups triggering the warning Arrays, the siblings were both a bit surprised: although they’d split into two groups, the time difference between their entry was less than ten minutes.

Was there really any need to come separately?

”Aislin, I never thought that even with Gilbert away you’d still be able to borrow his territory... Heh, I always thought that Archmage was the least sensitive person in existence to your Charm!

It’s really—”

”Nanali, I didn’t come here to quarrel with you. You said there was something urgent—otherwise I wouldn’t lightly disturb Gilbert’s students.”