Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1831 - 408: Targeting Carpenter

Hill wasn’t surprised when he found that the mages in this world were not completely ignorant, and that they were quietly resisting within their own limits.

Asmodeus’s calculations were indeed correct: even if mages knew something was wrong with this world, they would prioritize protecting themselves... Though a few might be willing to sacrifice for ordinary people, this isn’t a world that a hero can save.

Heroes emerge among mortals because there’s powerful support behind them... Whether from deities or the people, heroes actually just represent the will to resist; they are merely leaders.

A hero with no followers behind him will ultimately end up at the guillotine.

Similarly, mages can prevent a world from collapsing instantly... They will find every way to delay their escape until the last minute.

But when facing a terrifying enemy like the Lord of Hell, for such a nascent world, it’s really hard to say which option is better.

Hill couldn’t make a decision either, so he stayed in the basement, preparing steel plates: eventually, he would have to go to Sia Tower, and he’d need to prepare a suitable carriage.

For him, finding the right fit was the most troublesome part.

Hilbert was very glad he hadn’t casually taken materials from the warehouse; when he made a ring for Russell, he used materials that had fallen with the Meteor Shower from the meteors he casually caught.

Moreover, to showcase that the thing hadn’t been around for long, he hadn’t carefully sorted it, and basically used ore that was refined only once.

Really... It was fortunate that his casual refining was almost equivalent to the world’s top craftsmanship, just short by a tiny bit.

So, even wearing the ring on Russell’s hand wouldn’t attract too much attention; after all, the band was quite thin, and even with careful study, the gap with the storage rings from the Hainarson Family’s collection, originating from the Defense Tower, wasn’t that big.

Those, while not of great quality, were made with fine craftsmanship and looked similarly valuable.

Hill sat in a chair, looking somewhat troubled at the mound of iron ore piled on the ground.

The impurities in the steel here were extremely hard to remove, and even a High-level Mage could only produce the fine steel that an ordinary dwarf could.

Hill had to control his habit so as not to remove too many impurities at once.

He couldn’t help but sigh, rolled up his sleeves twice, and began to focus on production... Dammit, how did he make so much the first time?

Weren’t they supposed to be hard to remove?

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Russell diligently took a stroll around the Side Tower.

Although it seemed like routine patrol, in reality, he was just tired of reading.

Even though Carpenter had the same break time, he wasn’t interested in following his brother to walk around corridors... Walking a few times was fun, but walking every day was an abuse of the young lady’s delicate feet.

Although mages also trained their bodies, there was still a big difference between using a machine in the gym for an hour and running around wildly for several hours.

Russell could only wander around alone, escorted by a team of animal puppets of varied forms and craftsmanship... This world did have Magic Towers that specialized in crafting various puppet curios, but it seemed Gilbert chose to create them himself.

Russell felt that he and the teacher should get along well in this aspect: in one’s living space, try not to use the finished goods made by others, especially the magical curios used daily.

Although the magical puppets of the Alchemy Tower had been inspected by Archmages and had never had any quality issues, the lack of complaints worried Russell.

What can I say... Mages are sensitive creatures, even those at the Eighth Ring.

The absence of complaints could mean that those who had opinions have already been silenced.

Russell was a very cautious person; were it not for these puppets being clearly crafted by Master Gilbert, he would certainly inspect each puppet daily.

However, from these puppets, it was clear that Gilbert’s crafting techniques were improving; now constrained by his strength, once he further advanced, he estimated the puppets made could match the most famous large machines of the Alchemy Tower.

The thought of that made Russell happy.

After all, many things in the Side Tower are quite precious... Although they knew the world had some large storage tools, those were mostly owned by Magic Towers, and even Seventh Circle Mages had few, not to mention Gilbert... So if there were tools to help with transportation, many issues wouldn’t be a concern.

Having naturally assumed the role of the senior disciple and the manager of the Side Tower, Russell began to slowly ponder what items to take away, instructing the puppets responsible for sorting the warehouse to package ancient-looking items that probably won’t be used short-term.

Russell was a wise person; he could tell from Gilbert’s urgency to recover that the Tower of Dark Enigma couldn’t hold on much longer.

No, it wasn’t.

The young boy slowly opened each door in the corridor, inspected them one by one, then carefully closed them, while reflecting on the deeper meaning in Master Gilbert’s words: The Tower of Dark Enigma was clearly still in a stage of support, but Gilbert, who intended to mentor them for a longer period and let himself adapt to the newly revised magic runes, suddenly accelerated his entry into the Meditation Chamber.

No, it was almost impatient.

What that meant, Russell gradually understood during this time: the Sia Tower couldn’t wait.

Clearly, the Tower of Dark Enigma was likely planning to merge with Sia Tower... To be honest, many nobles might not choose to come here even if the Tower of Dark Enigma was as powerful as the Tower of Despair.

After all, the former lords still have some left from their heritage; if lands hadn’t become barren too quickly in recent centuries, the nobles wouldn’t be on the brink of survival.

This point is somewhat odd, Russell thought silently: If it’s certain that the accelerated barrenness of the land is due to that Stellar Realm visitor offered by the Tower of Dark Enigma long ago, that would be even more interesting.

He hadn’t really considered these matters initially, but with Master Gilbert’s obvious vigilance towards Sia Tower, how could he not grasp it?

Besides, why did Master Gilbert assert that if Sia Tower wanted, the Tower of Dark Enigma would have no resistance?

This isn’t normal.

Take Archmage Ruth, who has never given up on modifying the meteor summoning spell; how could he willingly give up decades of freedom and power to become a subordinate force?

Russell wasn’t blind to his teacher’s temperament, and for Archmage Ruth, who lived quite freely despite Gilbert’s poor health and volatile temper, how could he be someone easily suppressed?

He only loves freedom more than Master Gilbert, and his temperament is more unrestrained.

Gilbert definitely understands his teacher better than Russell, yet he showed no hesitation whatsoever.

Russell didn’t know how much was hidden inside the Tower of Dark Enigma, but there was certainly an issue among the three Tower Masters, and he could figure it out... On the first day of realizing this, he directly severed the link to the apprentice communication channel.

Russell deliberated over his advancement to mage for several days and didn’t notify West, who managed apprentices.

Though this would delay him months from receiving mage resources... Russell never intended to hide it completely.

Once the news of his teacher’s seclusion spread, most people could probably guess he had advanced.

But as long as he didn’t report it, the matter remained uncertain; mages always need some time for verification.

That time might not be long, but it’s adequate for Gilbert to recover his Mental Sea and advance.

Russell understood Gilbert’s confidence... His teacher would surely become a Sixth Circle Mage as swiftly as possible.

Needing a year was just Gilbert’s intention to advance to the Seventh Ring.

Russell gently closed the last door on the ground floor; even for a slight role, he was willing to temporarily relinquish his own interests.

’Bang! Bang! Bang!’ A rapid patter of footsteps echoed above him.

"Brother Russell!"

Why did Carpenter wear her high heels again? Even though the metal was thin, it was not without weight!

Who wears that at home!

"Why are you running? You’re about to match the noise of the cargo-moving puppets!"

"Russell!"

"Hmm? I’m here."

"Tsk~ You’re a really annoying brother.

West sent a message saying someone from the Hainarson Clan wants to meet me."

"Just you?"

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