Chapter 98: Inviting the Northern Witch
2015-03-10
Author: Floating Tower
Under the gray sky.
Soren carefully led Vivian away, having mentally categorized the wizard tower before him as the highest challenge difficulty he faced, likely no easier than dealing with a divine saint descending into the mortal realm. On the first floor of the wizard tower, one could encounter a Diamond Golem; once inside, if faced with a mana-powered armor or a construct-like life form, Soren wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest. The challenge difficulty of this wizard tower was above level 25, with some aspects completely beyond Soren’s estimation.
He had never seen a wizard tower of such difficulty!
Unsurprisingly.
It was likely designed for the construction of a floating city, as only a floating city would require numerous Tower Spirits to maintain the operation of the floating fortress, while an ordinary wizard tower only needs one Tower Spirit. Tower Spirits are a special life form, akin to an interstellar AI, consisting of soul-type construct life, and possess a power level generally above level 21, capable of controlling various areas of the wizard tower and, if necessary, directing the entire operation in place of the wizard.
A high-level wizard tower’s signature characteristic is its possession of a Tower Spirit.
For instance, Gloria’s wizard tower lacked a Tower Spirit; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been ambushed by the Hand of Despair at that time, so her wizard tower could only be considered an incomplete low-level wizard tower.
…
On the open grassland, there were some fleeting shadows.
These shadows weren’t very aggressive; they were souls that had just transitioned to the Shadow Plane, possibly including indigenous people who had died by Soren’s hand. The affiliation of souls is filled with randomness; although the majority enter the River of Underworld for reincarnation, many souls still cross the planar barrier into other spaces, including beings from the four elemental planes, and many are composed of souls from the material plane. However, in such cases, their memories are almost entirely lost, leaving only elemental consciousness.
“Don’t mind them.”
Soren looked up at the sky, secretly calculating the time, then said, “We need to find an exit; otherwise, we’ll probably be trapped here all day until morning.”
Interplanar teleportation requires coordinates.
Vivian was at a disadvantage in this aspect since she had only recently started learning spells.
The two began to search for shadow rifts; nearby, some dark souls had been attracted over. But they were quickly dealt with by Soren’s blade. These newly birthed shadow life forms were quite fragile, providing very little Killing Experience; one only gave Soren 120 points. They walked around the area they had come from when suddenly they thought they heard something, and Soren immediately entered a stealth state, signaling Vivian to cast an ‘Invisibility Spell’ on him.
Thump thump thump!
It was hard to describe the sound, but it gradually turned into the massive whoosh of wings flapping. From the sound, the approaching beings were large and numerous; otherwise, the sound wouldn’t be so obvious and continuous. Soren took Vivian to a concealed corner, then both looked up at the sky as clusters of shadows appeared above them, slowly nearing the location of the wizard tower.
“It’s the Shadow Ravens!”
Soren’s expression was serious; after observing it for a moment, he explained to Vivian in his arms, “One of the species living in the Shadow Plane, possessing a certain level of intelligence. They are about as smart as gorillas. They are difficult monsters to deal with, living in various places within the Shadow Plane. They prefer to dwell in groups and can be found in large numbers; at times, they even dare to battle Shadow Dragons!”
Shadow Ravens.
What appeared before the two was a massive bird eight meters long with a wingspan exceeding six meters; from its appearance, it looked almost nothing like a crow. They are a special mutated life form, with their origins being untraceable, but surely related to the Arcane Empire, as many forbidden experiments at that time led to the emergence of numerous mutant species. Shadow Ravens possess sharp beaks and claws and live in large numbers in the Shadow Plane, making them apex predators here.
This was a mutated creature of biological level 16, and a group of Shadow Ravens would dare to confront an adult Shadow Dragon!
The scene before them was somewhat eerie.
The Shadow Ravens circled around the wizard tower but dared not approach above the Maze. They flew in circles, making the unpleasant croaking sound, and then quickly flew back in the original direction. This sight puzzled Soren, but he noted it down; Shadow Ravens wouldn’t come here for no reason; surely something had drawn them in. Additionally, he further confirmed his suspicions; there must be an anti-air mechanism near the wizard tower, possibly a mana crystal pulse cannon, which is why these Shadow Ravens circled the tower without daring to approach it.
“Brother!”
Vivian stretched out her pale little hand to tug at Soren, quietly saying, “I think I saw that thing once in a book; it’s said to be tamable as a flying mount. But they look so ugly; sitting on one isn’t intimidating at all!”
Taming a raven?
That seemed like a feasible idea, similar to taming a Bipedal Dragon.
But that would be far too time-consuming and costly; unless there were some special inheritance, taming these creatures would be a losing proposition. In the orc nation to the northwest, even with a population of tens of millions, the number of tamed Bipedal Dragons was less than three hundred. These mounts could eat three sheep a day, and the costs associated with breeding them accumulated significantly over time. Soren hadn’t considered such matters; what was most important to him right now was assembling two fleets.
The two waited in place for a while.
Only after the group of Shadow Ravens had completely left did they continue searching for the shadow rift.
Soren spent nearly an hour locating the position of the shadow rift. These gaps are numerous and not very stable, unless a wizard establishes a stable teleportation array. The two quickly returned to the Material Plane. Before leaving, Soren took a deep look at the wizard tower, then turned and stepped into the shadow rift. Vivian also gazed at the wizard tower for a while before tightening her little fist, as if having made a silent determination.
In her mind, Lilian had been surprisingly well-behaved this time, not causing a fuss or shouting about how she could demolish the broken wizard tower at any moment.
Perhaps she also realized that this wizard tower posed a greater challenge than dealing with the Vampire Son! (Note: Lilian often shouts about wanting to eliminate the Vampire Son.)
…
The scene before them gradually transformed.
The grayness faded and became vibrant. After Soren returned to the Material Plane, he squinted as he adapted for quite a while, getting used to the change in colors around him. The sky in the Shadow Plane is all gray, so after being inside for some time, coming out brings a visual shock. At this moment, the sky had not yet brightened, probably around four in the morning. Soren ordered a few things to the loyal supporters waiting nearby, then took Vivian’s little hand to head back.
“Brother.”
The little girl, walking obediently behind, pondered for a moment before looking up seriously and saying, “This wizard tower seems really impressive! I’ve read a lot about wizard towers and never saw a Tower Spirit like that, plus the very bottom actually uses a Diamond Golem as a guard. If we could control it, there probably wouldn’t be anyone left to threaten us besides a deity!”
Vivian had also noticed.
She had indeed read many books, and since Gloria owned a wizard tower, she naturally also collected many books related to wizard towers.
Soren did not answer the question.
He couldn’t yet determine whether this wizard tower could challenge a deity, but he was very certain that given their current strength, even if Vivian was a Legendary Sorcerer, the chance of taking this wizard tower was less than one in ten. Even if they invited Gloria, their success rate would still be only about one in ten.
One could think of this wizard tower as a team challenge with a difficulty of level 25!
Soren’s mind was somewhat framed this way; he was a half-baked Wanderer, with all states activated barely equating to a Legendary Thief, while Vivian was a half-baked Legendary Sorcerer, plus a burst of divine power barely reaching the challenge difficulty’s standard.
Then there was no more to it.
The Legendary Warrior responsible for tanking in team challenge mode was still nowhere in sight, and the Legendary Wizard in charge of overall control was still not up to par. Finding a Legendary Priest to protect and heal, or to replace the second tanking role, was even more challenging. They currently couldn’t meet the standards to raid this wizard tower, and even if they managed to gather enough people, the success rate would only be fifty-fifty.
Vivian was right!
This might indeed be a wizard tower capable of rivaling a deity!
Soren’s brain was actively calculating, striving to recall certain important information, but the clues he could think of were still very few; in the end, he could only reach out and pat the little girl’s head, slowly saying, “Let’s talk about it when Gloria arrives!”
“With such a wizard tower present, she should be very willing to come and check it out.”
He had to invite Gloria over.
She was the true expert, a northern witch educated in formal wizardry, far superior to them half-baked ones.
“Um?”
Vivian looked up and responded, then said, “When will you invite Sister Gloria over? Can you take me with you?”
Soren hesitated for a moment when he heard this, then squatted down to gently pat the little girl’s head, saying softly, “I’m afraid this time won’t work.”
“I plan to go by sea in a couple of days, heading towards the northern region from the Shipwreck Bay route. Once I leave, someone will need to hold things down here; you might have to stay here to intimidate those guys.”
“Vivian!”
“Can you handle this matter?”
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of excitement and joy appeared on the little girl’s face, and she nodded vigorously, “Mm. Don’t worry, Brother. With me here, they’ll definitely behave themselves.”
She was quite happy.
Because she could finally help her brother like an adult, even though she had just turned nine this year.
… (To be continued ~^~)
