Chapter 3 (2/2)

The mage tower was funded by the Lodge of Mages to assist Reed in its construction after he came to Grimm three years ago.

Reed could not help but shake his head after he understood the Progenitor Vampire’s history.

The Progenitor Vampire’s name was great enough, but the fact was, his background did not even come close to the second-rate nobles in Grimm.

At the very least, the nobles would not sneak into an enemy’s camp to learn magic just because they lacked resources.

In any case, the Progenitor Vampire’s efforts were now his.

When he walked out of the study, he saw gray walls made out of alchemical materials, and the faint aura of magical traps radiated from both the floor as well as the walls.

The mage tower was the lair of a mage and the most dangerous place for an outsider.

Based on Reed’s memories, there were no fewer than five hundred magical arrays inscribed all across the tower.

If an ignorant thief were to break in, the moment that poor soul triggered a single trap, he would be blasted into smithereens.

He followed the ash wood stairs to the seventh floor, which was the highest point of the mage tower.

It was also the place where Reed often conducted his magic experiments.

There was only a single room on the seventh floor, and it was very large with its entire floor made out of magic-proof oak.

Light shone through the huge stained glass windows on the left.

The surrounding walls were all made out of alchemical materials and inscribed with over a dozen defensive magic circles. Even a magical explosion from a failed experiment would not be able to destroy the tower.

Various magical materials were scattered across the room.

The head of a cyclops, the branches of a snow maple, the magic crystal ore of Olreia, poison vines that had yet to be ground into powder, and almost a hundred other materials were strewn around the place.

After he walked toward a glass window, which was carved with colorful patterns and said to be made by artistically gifted elves, he looked down.

Without admiring the work of the elves too much, he pushed open the colorful translucent glass window. For the first time, Reed saw the face of Grimm, the largest southern city in the Norland Empire, and its million-strong population.

It was too big to take in at a glance.

The 25-rhent-tall mage tower was an absolute high-rise in Grimm. The magical world had relatively low productivity, so even nobles could not afford such a tall building.

The entire panoramic scene filled his sight.

Many Medieval European-style buildings were erected all over the city, and all of the houses had domed or spired roofs. Their windows were painted with colorful patterns, mostly religious and divine in nature.

Atop the city’s wall was a stone statue of a human figure. He was a hero who had sacrificed his life for Grimm.

The spires above a tavern at a crossroad was towering, and drunkards were staggering out through the semicircular arches there.

The shops on both sides of the streets sold all kinds of goods, and nobles in gorgeous getups traveled on the streets, which were paved with bluestone, on unicorn horses. When the surrounding civilians saw them, they immediately backed away in fear.

Some coolies in short, shabby robes were carrying huge linen sacks and unloading cargo from a wagon at the command of a luxuriously dressed merchant.

A few beggars in ragged clothing were looking at the people on the street imploringly, the broken bowls in their hands already stained with muck.

A group of slave merchants was using chains to lead a group of tall, powerful orcs with sharp fangs. They walked proudly along the street, not balking even in the face of nobility on horseback.

A bunch of mercenaries who had just completed their mission walked past the group of beggars, their armor stained with dried blood. One of the beggars accidentally fell on the ground and hindered the mercenaries’ path.

The mercenary’s eyes were cold, and the giant blade in his sword was at least two-palms wide. He cut the beggar’s hand off, and the cacophonous street was instantly bloodied.

The beggar screamed and whined frantically because of the pain.

The nobility turned a blind eye to the scene, while the slave merchants laughed. None of the civilians dared to stand up to stop the departing mercenaries.

The wailing beggar was totally ignored by the crowd.

At last, a shop owner by the road could no longer bear to see the beggar suffer, and the owner came out with medication, as well as, food for the beggar.

Reed witnessed the scene in silence.

The cultural background there was similar to that of Medieval Europe, yet it was far more mysterious. It was a place where ignorance and knowledge coexisted, a place where the arcane and the divine went hand in hand.

There were nobles, slaves, orcs, elves, vampires…

It was a colorful but cruel world.

At the same time, it was also a world of magic.

Reed looked up.

Three soaring mage towers stood before him.

Those were mage towers built by the three most powerful mages in Grimm’s Lodge of Mages.

Each tower master was a Level 15 archmage.