Chapter 121: Gloria’s Advancement
March 23, 2015
Author: Floating Tower
Tension.
Soren had experienced this emotion before, but it shouldn’t have been at this moment.
He didn’t know why his palms were slightly sweaty, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he quickly adjusted. The Wizard Tower before him was no different from what Soren remembered; it was not as magnificent as the one in the Shadow Plane, nor did it carry the weight of a long history, yet it still stood in the Northern Region, awe-inspiring. The very existence of the Wizard Tower symbolized a tremendous power.
Gloria.
After the initial tension faded, the thought of seeing this woman again brought a flicker of joy to Soren’s heart.
Few people in this world gave Soren a sense of recognition.
And Gloria happened to be one of the very few, making him feel a sudden urgency to see her right away. Soren hadn’t expected his emotions to change so radically in such a short time, so when he stepped into the Wizard Tower, he unconsciously took a deep breath and then entered with composure.
His performance skills had improved significantly!
The one responsible for welcoming Soren was not a human but a clay golem over two meters tall. Upon seeing Soren enter, it slightly bent down and then spoke in a deep voice: “Lord Soren. The master requests you at the Stargazing Platform.”
“Others may accompany me to the third floor of the Wizard Tower; those who came earlier have already been accommodated there.”
The interior of the Wizard Tower was vast.
In fact, most Wizard Towers had levels that increased in size, with each level possessing considerable space. If it were a legendary wizard who mastered semi-plane techniques, the internal space of the Wizard Tower might rival that of a city. Hence, Soren determined that he could not take the Tower in the Shadow Plane in a short time, as the internal space would likely be no smaller than that of a city’s underground ruins.
The clay golem before him resulted in great reverence from the pirates behind Soren.
Even with their strength, they could defeat it, but they still felt awe, as this was a magical creation of the wizard. The mysterious and fearsome Northern Witch instilled a natural sense of reverence in the pirates, a consequence of the longstanding prestige of spellcasters, despite the fact that they had never even seen the Northern Witch herself. The existence of spellcasters has always overshadowed other professions. Upon entering the Wizard Tower, even Soren’s most unruly subordinates became cautious.
Another clay golem stepped forward.
It led Soren’s subordinates toward the stairs on the other side, while the clay golem before Soren took him to the Stargazing Platform.
Golem manufacturing techniques.
Not all golems are of the same caliber, as the clay golem in front of Soren was evidently much more agile than the one that had just stepped out. If the previous golem was a stiff-bellied automaton that only repeated simple commands, then the one before Soren resembled a highly intelligent mechanical life, following certain rules and able to converse. This type of golem was quite difficult to create, requiring not only a substantial amount of money but also powers related to the realm of souls.
There were likely very few such golems within the entire Wizard Tower.
The clay golem before him appeared to have undergone “Soul Shaping”; it was akin to a highly intelligent robot.
Soren had always been intrigued by this alchemical spell.
Unfortunately, the requirements for mastery were too high, demanding an impressive level of spellcasting and alchemical skills, along with extensive related knowledge. Soren estimated that he couldn’t even create the simplest cleaning golem at this point.
This is the difference between a professional wizard and a half-baked one.
Strictly speaking, Soren was now a professional Wanderer, with a half-baked caster skill set; otherwise, a level-10 wizard should have the ability to make the simplest clay golem.
The realm of souls.
To grant alchemical puppets corresponding intelligence, or even directly bestow them life.
“Has Gloria touched the domain of a legendary wizard?”
Soren suddenly recalled something, causing his body to shake. A smile appeared on his face, for he realized that if this were true, his chances of inviting Gloria to the Overseas Islands were over ninety percent. Ascending through the Wizard Tower step by step, Soren saw many bizarre things—some magical devices he could not comprehend, various strange laboratories. This undoubtedly confirmed that his decision to invite Gloria was correct. Just the various devices within the Wizard Tower had left him feeling a bit dizzy.
The Wizard Tower required professional spellcasters to manage it.
Otherwise, Soren would have been clueless about the general layout of the areas, what laboratories were like, the arrangement of the Element Pools, etc.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
As Soren reached the sixth floor, he heard a sound reminiscent of a mouse.
Turning to look, he immediately saw three huge bats trapped in cages. Each bat was the size of a basin, looking somewhat hideous and frightening, with sharp fangs, and one of them could cast the spell ‘Color Spray’. These were the magic bats studied by wizards, a type of special magical life with various abilities and one of the most commonly encountered monsters in the Wizard Tower. They were standard killers for newcomers; encountering a magic bat in the wild would significantly increase the likelihood of death.
Most wizards were academic researchers.
Thus, Soren felt no surprise at the presence of contained magical creatures.
From the sixth floor upward, the guarding golems changed to iron golems, each weighing around half a ton, with some specially modified “Iron Golem +1” versions that weighed about two tons. These puppet golems had surfaces made of iron, with hardness comparable to modern steel, and also possessed alchemical enchantment resistance, making them challenge monsters of nearly legendary level. Under normal circumstances, even a legendary warrior would require considerable effort to dismantle an iron golem.
Once, a legendary monk described it this way:
“Dealing with iron golems always gives me a sense of sheer pleasure, like dismantling a tank with my bare hands!!!”
This saying spread widely at the time.
Unfortunately, later the legendary monk encountered a “Diamond Golem +1” and ended up kneeling right there.
Because of this,
The floating “Diamond Golem +1” was described as a ‘Gundam’.
…
In Gloria’s Wizard Tower.
Soren didn’t encounter any +1 puppet golems; these special modified construct lives only appeared in ruins such as the Arcane Empire, etc. However, as he neared the top of the Wizard Tower, a somewhat different iron golem about two meters high caught Soren’s attention. Its appearance was similar to the first one he had seen, but upon noticing Soren, it displayed a very unusual action: it bowed slightly to show respect.
It was a sentient construct life!
Although not of a very high level of consciousness, it exceeded the basic intelligence level of golems.
—“Activated Construct Life!”
Someone had bestowed a spell close to legendary level upon it, transforming it into a complete life form.
It would gradually begin to gain consciousness.
Though its core commands wouldn’t change (similar to the three laws of robotics), other aspects were gradually aligning towards intelligent life.
This is how construct life forms come into being!
Soren hadn’t expected that there would be such one in Gloria’s Wizard Tower, although it seemed he hadn’t seen it last time he came. If this iron golem continued to evolve, it could become the “Tower Spirit” Soren had seen in the Wizard Tower in the Shadow Plane.
A type of special life of legendary challenge difficulty.
“It seems I didn’t come here in vain!”
Soren had not yet seen Gloria, but after roaming around the Wizard Tower and looking up from below, he felt a greater sense of assurance about exploring the Wizard Tower in the Shadow Plane. However, Soren also understood that this was because Gloria could show him the internal structure of the Wizard Tower; otherwise, these iron golems were usually stationed at specific positions. The golem puppets required the Element Pools of the Wizard Tower to supply energy; otherwise, they could only utilize some prohibitively expensive materials for energy.
This meant that in normal circumstances, less than one-tenth of the golem puppets in the Wizard Tower were operational!
A grand door appeared ahead.
As Soren approached the door, he found himself sweating uncontrollably, and he then directly pushed the door open.
A beam of sunlight shone through.
At first glance, Soren saw the sun in the sky, then the vast earth in the distance, and a city close to the mountains. Countless scattered villages, a winding river, and a dense forest even farther away. These were all part of Gloria’s domain, and the Wizard Tower stood like a skyscraper, overlooking everything. Even the white clouds in the sky seemed just within reach. This scene was incredibly stunning, evoking a thrill that made a man’s blood boil.
High up!
The tower symbolizing the power and status of spellcasters.
“You’re back.”
A gentle female voice sounded from the side of Soren.
When Soren turned to look at the lounge chair on the right side of the Stargazing Platform, he suddenly jolted. A look of amazement crossed his face. Before him lay a wide and comfortable reclining chair covered with soft white fur, and Gloria was lazily and alluringly lying upon it, still possessing the breathtaking beauty from his memories. She was the quintessential Northern beauty, with a tall and elegant figure, strong long legs, a slender and flexible waist, and a full bust—she was impeccable from every angle.
But that alone wasn’t enough to astonish Soren.
Because Soren was a man of considerable composure!
Yet in this moment, Gloria seemed to radiate an unusual charm that even the incredibly steadfast Soren found shocking, filling him with a sensation akin to being under a charm spell. At that moment, Gloria was wearing a flowing white nightgown that slightly parted below the waist, revealing smooth and shiny black stockings. This was a product of the Underdark, possibly only accessible to quite affluent women. Crafted from the finest spider silk, they were worth about as much as extraordinary equipment.
Stockings.
In such an era and world,
The once common stockings seemed to have become strikingly rare; this was the second time Soren had seen a woman wearing stockings, the first being Gloria’s mother, that bewitching woman. Soren had a certain wariness toward that alluring woman, his heart filled with a hint of hostility, so he hadn’t appreciated the sight of her wearing stockings. But now, with Gloria dressed like this, she was extraordinarily captivating, exuding an irresistible allure, especially with her legs stretched out lazily, her toes wrapped in silk, inciting an impulse within him to reach out and touch.
However.
That wasn’t enough; such a sight alone wouldn’t have been enough to astonish Soren.
For besides wearing an elegant white nightgown, Gloria also sported a fine pair of black-rimmed glasses atop her delicate, straight nose. This was a product of alchemy, having been used in this world for a long time; even ordinary people would buy relatively inexpensive single-framed glasses. However, Gloria’s were undoubtedly more exquisite and appeared to be enchanted extraordinary items. She cradled a thick book in her hands, the front pages imprinted with intricate runes. Before Soren entered, she had been slightly frowning as she read; upon his arrival, she closed the book, placing it gently at her waist.
Such a gentle and charming demeanor!
At a glance, she emitted an elegant atmosphere like that of a refined young lady.
At this moment, Soren even sensed a hint of an Eastern beauty emanating from Gloria!
As if noticing the intense gaze from Soren, a faint blush rose on Gloria’s beautiful face. She daintily curled her legs, using the hem of her nightgown to cover the black stockings, and slightly curled her pearl-like toes. She seemed a bit nervous under Soren’s gaze, her exquisite face showing an air of slight unease. Nevertheless, being the unique Northern Witch, Gloria simply smiled lightly, slowly lifting her fair fingers to tuck her long hair behind her ear, then teasingly asked, “Is it beautiful?”
A silky strand of hair was brushed back.
Among them, strands of silver were mingled; this silver hair did not diminish Gloria’s allure but instead added to her unique charm. Soren had noticed this silver hair long ago; although he didn’t ask Gloria what it was about, he could guess it was likely related to him and Vivian. Thinking of this, a soft part of Soren’s heart seemed to be touched. Even though he had always been a tough person, he now felt a surge of emotion, an indescribable sentiment bubbling within him.
He seriously nodded and said, “I almost thought I was under a charm spell; you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
A blush appeared.
Gloria seemed surprised that Soren would speak such frivolous words in such a serious tone, but she felt pleased after hearing it, a sense of secret joy filling her heart.
…
[Negotiation +10!]
(PS: I wrote this chapter all day, and as expected, emotional scenes are not my specialty. 4000 words. More updates tomorrow.) (To be continued ~^~)
