Under
This terrifying sense of majesty, along with the immense pressure — Ernest had only ever felt it from a scant few [High-ranking Wizards].
But now, it had appeared on Leylin's person!
"A H... High-ranking
Ernest slapped himself hard across the face, swelling it up red, but in the end still couldn't wake from this 'dream' and could only resignedly accept reality.
"A 7th-tier Sentient Activation spell?"
Leylin had previously chosen to conceal his own energy fluctuations, so with Ernest's level of perception, he naturally couldn't tell. Even other high-ranking priests hadn't noticed.
"This spell can illuminate the entire wizard tower, but the tower spirit it generates is only of the lowest grade, with hardly any intelligence — it can't serve as a capable assistant for a wizard... Besides, I didn't memorize this 7th-tier spell yesterday..."
A wizard's spell slots operated on a store-yesterday, use-today basis. Given that Leylin currently had only one 7th-tier spell slot, he naturally hadn't specifically stored [Sentient Activation] the day before.
However, with the numerous arcane templates at his disposal, Leylin had far better options.
"Rather than the 7th-tier [Sentient Activation], I think I'll go with the [
The [Arcanists] naturally had their own wizard towers as well, and had developed numerous methods of activating them. The tower spirits born from each method far surpassed current approaches by leaps and bounds, and Leylin easily found what he was looking for.
"In my name, Leylin Faolan! Activate!"
Leylin chanted silently as multicolored light flickered across his hands, quickly spreading outward through the crystal.
"This kind of energy fluctuation... it's definitely a 7th-tier spell... but it doesn't seem to be [Sentient Activation]!"
Ernest himself hadn't reached the level of a [High-ranking Wizard], so of course he couldn't distinguish between Leylin's use of arcane magic and standard spells.
In truth, aside from not going through the
Not just Ernest — it was likely that even other [High-ranking Wizards] would have been unable to tell the difference.
Blinding light first filled the entire core control room. Then it immediately began spreading outward in all directions.
The Four Elements Pools began to rumble and tremble, drawing energy ceaselessly from the Four Elemental Planes.
Floor by floor, the wizard tower lit up in succession. Powerful spell auras blazed like brilliant torches in the darkness, creating a spectacular sight across all of Morning Star Port!
This wave of energy was also sensed by many powerful individuals.
Whether they were temple priests or other extraordinary beings, they all simultaneously raised their heads to gaze in the direction of the wizard tower, their eyes filled with gravity.
"I never expected the Baron to have secretly recruited a [High-ranking Wizard] to serve as his protector! Congratulations to his Lordship! It seems the port security concerns we were just discussing can now be set aside..."
Bishop Zona of the Goddess of Wealth gazed at the distant wizard tower, a hint of surprise crossing her face before she quickly regained her composure.
"Not at all, not at all..." Baron Jonas wore a professional smile on his face, offering humble words. But inwardly, he was equally astonished.
"Where did Ernest find a [High-ranking Wizard] to serve as his ally? And without so much as a word to me beforehand?"
In the Baron's mind, he likewise did not believe that Leylin — still just a child — had any possibility of advancing to [High-ranking Wizard].
Meanwhile, the port was mostly filled with cursing crowds.
Numerous dark figures crept out from sewers, shadows, and even civilian homes, only to quickly vanish into the darkness beyond the port.
"Damn it! How did the Faolan family activate the wizard tower so quickly?! The intelligence was wrong!"
"Get out of here fast! The wizard tower's detection capabilities are no joke!"
Under the overwhelming power of the wizard tower, regardless of what schemes these people had previously devised, they had all now failed miserably.
......
Meanwhile, inside the wizard tower.
A hazy girl's face had already formed within the crystal. With a pair of watery eyes, she smiled gently at Leylin and said: "Master!"
Whichever wizard activated the wizard tower — to put it bluntly — was the one who planted the seed. An innate imprint had been deeply branded onto it, and transferring ownership afterward would prove extremely troublesome.
"Good. Report the current operational status of the entire wizard tower!" Leylin commanded.
"All defense arrays have been activated, the Four Elements Pools are operating normally, and 12.15% of energy has currently been accumulated!"
The tower spirit girl immediately reported in a formulaic tone.
"Enable the detection array! Cover the entirety of Dawnstar Port, with the Baron's residence and City Hall as priority targets. Report immediately if any energy fluctuation of tenth rank or above is detected!"
"Understood!" The tower spirit swiftly carried out Leylin's command.
After that, Leylin led Ernest out of the core control room, and layer upon layer of powerful radiance immediately shrouded the area.
Ernest felt a twinge of reluctance. He knew that once the tower spirit had been activated, this place had become the linchpin of the tower's defenses. From now on, aside from Leylin, virtually no one would be able to reach it.
"What on earth is going on? When did you become a High-rank Wizard?"
After they returned to the parlor, Ernest could no longer contain himself and finally burst out.
"Now that is a very long story…"
Leylin smiled faintly. The perceptive tower spirit immediately ordered several stone golem puppets to bring over cups of fresh water — drawn directly from the Water Elemental Plane, safe to drink without any treatment.
Since everything had only just been established, the rest of the daily supplies would not be moved in until tomorrow. But neither Leylin nor Ernest particularly minded.
"The stone golems are at most equivalent to fifth-level professionals — still a bit too weak. They can only serve as menial labor…"
Leylin took a sip of the purified water. It had a sweet, pleasant taste.
"All right! Isn't it about time you gave me an explanation?"
After gulping down the entire jug of cool water in front of him, Ernest finally seemed to calm down a little. However, his eyes remained fixed on Leylin like a pair of massive searchlights.
"Fine…" Leylin raised his hands in mock surrender with a wry smile and gave a simplified account of his experiences.
Naturally, he had omitted many things and even sprinkled in a few fabricated details — he had always been a gifted storyteller, after all.
Even so, many of the episodes he recounted were breathtaking enough on their own.
……
"So you're saying… my son has become a High-rank Wizard…"
Inside the Baron's study, in the presence of Baron Jonas and Tutor Ernest, Leylin had no choice but to grit his teeth and retell the story he had given the day before.
"Yes! He truly is a mage prodigy — I have not the slightest doubt about Leylin's ability to advance to [Legendary] rank in the future! Who would have thought that I, Ernest, could train a [Legendary] disciple? From now on, whenever people see Leylin, the first thing they'll think is: Oh! That's Leylin! The mage trained by Ernest…"
Ernest was clearly somewhat lost in his own fantasy, while Baron Jonas was far more practical.
"Excellent! I was never comfortable leaving the family's mage tower in the hands of outsiders, and now the situation is ideal…"
"Yes, Father! However, to keep this secret, I would ask that you announce you've invited a different [High-rank Wizard]!"
Leylin bowed slightly.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to resolve a few matters for the family all at once!"
"Go ahead and do it! You have my full support!" Baron Jonas found that there was really nothing left to say to Leylin.
From childhood to adulthood, this son had never given him cause to worry. Sometimes he truly wondered whether his child was a genius or a monster.
"Ever since the mage tower's monitoring began, the port seems to have quieted down considerably today…"
Leylin sighed.
"With the mage tower here, it's only natural that crime would drop!" Ernest shrugged.
"I plan to leave for a period of time soon, and I've already granted the tutor a portion of the mage tower's permissions — operating it temporarily shouldn't be a problem… We should also start recruiting mage apprentices on the estate…"
Leylin laid out his vision.
With the mage tower and a [High-rank Wizard], training apprentices on his own posed absolutely no pressure — even Ernest could handle the task capably.
"Relax! I've already spotted a few promising candidates before; they just lacked the resources and environment to be properly trained…"
Ernest's eyes were alight with excitement. Even a [High-rank Wizard] could use the mage tower to advance, so the benefit to a mid-rank mage like himself would be extraordinary.
One could say that the existence of the mage tower had even given him a chance to strive for [High-rank Wizard] within his lifetime!
"Mm! I also left some foundational and [High-rank Wizard]–level materials in the mage tower's library — you should go have a look, Tutor…"
Whether it was Ernest advancing further or a few more mage apprentices joining the estate, it all amounted to strengthening his own forces. Leylin was naturally happy to see either outcome.
"Mage materials…" Ernest's eyes blazed with excitement.
Leylin chuckled inwardly. Although no wizard organization would allow visiting mages to leak their advanced materials, what about Silver Moon City, which had already been destroyed? We'll see about that…
However, he still held back the legendary-level wizard materials. After all, those would be far too earth-shattering, and Leylin didn't want to attract too much attention.
"Mm! So which one do you want to deal with first? The barbarian pirates? The devils and demons? Or the Church? What kind of help do you need?"
Baron Jonas pondered for a moment.
"Pirates first!" Leylin thought for a moment, then tilted his head and said.