Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 144 The Tower Sage (6000 words in two combined chapters)

On a snowy morning, Maggie, wearing a bright red cloak, came to visit Su Mu's home.

Although it is located in Longlet Castle, the Viscount Thorn possesses a magnificent mansion with a spacious courtyard, an elegant art room, a steamy bathhouse, a tranquil study, and a warm, thick fireplace.

This house was granted by Magee based on the Viscount's past achievements.

She came to chat with her best friend about tea ceremony and art, but upon entering, she found Valentine laughing and joking with a dozen or so ladies, seemingly telling an interesting story, their faces all flushed.

Upon seeing Miss Maggie arrive, Valentine waved his hand and said, "Miss Maggie and I need to discuss tea ceremony now. Our chat can continue next time. You should head back now!"

The ladies walked with graceful steps toward the door, bowing respectfully as they passed Maggie.

Most of them were wives of viscounts or daughters of earls, only in their early twenties and of high status, yet they behaved with utmost deference and subservience in front of Valentine. An outsider might have mistaken Valentine for some kind of noblewoman.

Maggie sat in her chair and glanced at the other person: "You're really putting on a show now, aren't you? Even upper-class nobles like Miss Euphemia and Mrs. Morris are coming to curry favor with you."

Valentine leaned back lazily in his chair: "They just want to fight for their father's and men's interests, inquiring about shops and trade markets. You, the Marquis's daughter, are very busy, and they can't possibly ask male nobles for advice, so they can only come here to visit and have a chat."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Su Mu has already told me what I should and shouldn't say."

Seeing Valentine's nonchalant expression, Maggie felt a slight dissatisfaction for some reason: "Yes, Baron Valentine is now in charge of both internal and external affairs, and his power is considerable."

Before, when I came, I would at least prepare some snacks and fruit. Now, instead, you act like a pampered lady, unwilling to even get up.

Hearing Maggie's teasing, Valentine covered his mouth and chuckled. He stood up unsteadily, leaning on the chair, moved to Maggie's side, and placed his soft fingers on Maggie's chest.

“How could I, my dear sister? You are the heir to Garfield, the sole master of Longleat Castle. How could a lowly servant like me have such thoughts?”

"Isn't it that guy you're always dreaming about, burning in the fireplace all day, making the room unbearably hot and disturbing my sleep? Do you think I'd be that tired?"

“Look at the bricks and earth around the fireplace, they’re almost cracked by the flames, and the chimney has widened a lot. What kind of exquisite house can burn fire like this?”

Why don't you help me out and let the lord have a good dream? I promise to prepare breakfast and drinks for you both in the morning, and serve you impeccably!

Feeling the fragrant breeze brushing past her ear, and her restless fingers tracing circles on her chest, Maggie blushed instantly. She had never experienced anything like this before, and hurriedly stood up and fled.

"I'm going to find Su Mu to discuss Beatrice's matter!"

Seeing Maggie's shy expression, Valentine let out a silvery laugh, but before she could be happy for long, she felt her long legs go weak and she leaned back in her chair and sat down again.

After grumbling for a while, the suggestion from before rushed into her mind again. This time, however, it wasn't a joke. Valentine was seriously considering the matter, otherwise she was afraid that one day she would fall apart.

When Maggie entered the study, she saw Su Mu reading Elton's historical documents. She sat quietly to the side, lowered her head, and remained silent.

"What's wrong with you today? Why is your heart beating so fast? Did you have another nightmare?"

Maggie's dream realm knowledge not only allows her to comprehend magic, but also grants her a degree of precognitive ability. After resolving the hidden dangers at the strongest swordsman's training ground in Kuraki Castle, she had another nightmare in which the Griffin Cliff of Langlit Castle was damaged. She immediately dispatched her subordinates to repair the buildings and stabilize the structures atop the cliff, taking preventative measures.

Although I couldn't meditate or learn new magic this month, I did receive some warnings, which is still a gain.

The Month of Calamity is a force of nature, one that even heroes cannot defend against. Maggie has informed the various castles in the Marquisate of this matter, urging the nobles to act with caution, yet news of damaged buildings continues to arrive, demonstrating the difficulty of prevention.

"Oh? No, nothing's on my mind."

“I think it’s a waste of food to keep Beatrice in the Magic Guild. It would be better to let Sederlos learn some knowledge from her, and perhaps he can become a hero.”

Sederlos is currently organizing the tomes at the Magic Guild and has not yet become a hero. However, this kid has an extremely profound understanding of magic, which has even surpassed that of many novice heroes.

Beatrice is a hybrid of god, monster, and human, as is Sidelos. Moreover, Beatrice is the guardian of the Void God Cult's library, and she is extremely knowledgeable about the tower's layout. If Sidelos could learn from her, there would indeed be a high chance that he could break through his limits.

The only question is whether Beatrice is willing to teach the other party about magic, given that they are still adversaries.

Maggie explained, "Beatles is a special case. She is not an imperial noble, but a wandering librarian who is also cooperating with the Void Cult."

Negotiations are progressing smoothly, and Beatrice is likely to be released. If given some dignity, she would be happy to share her knowledge of the tower.

"Moreover, Cederos is a diligent and inquisitive magic apprentice, which suits the Tower Sorcerer's taste very well. The two have met a few times in the past few days and have had a good exchange."

After some thought, Su Mu agreed to the request. Sidelos was clearly a hero specializing in sorcery, and it would be better for him to be taught by a Tower hero. In a sense, Sidelos possessed the traits of a Tower succubus; any sorcerer with exceptional magical power would be interested in such a gifted individual.

"Let her take the Box of Emptiness and Wisdom back with her; consider it a gift for asking her to teach us knowledge."

This treasure requires a special building to power it; even if you steal it, it's useless. After a period of time, all the accumulated knowledge will be depleted, rendering it worthless. The only purpose of keeping it is to restrict Beatrice. If she loses this treasure, she will never be able to gain knowledge from the Wisdom Wall again, nor will she be able to refine new treasures, which is a form of permanent loss.

Even if there is a war with the Void Cult, they probably won't send Beatrice again. It's better to do her a favor and properly train a hero of the Tower.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Beatrice now."

After saying that, Maggie hurriedly fled the scene, heading towards the Magic Guild. Su Mu was stunned; he had never seen the Marquis's daughter so hasty before.

When Maggie returned to the Magic Guild, she found Beatrice already in class with Cedrus. Since the guild was shrouded in her dream, even void magic couldn't penetrate it. Here, Beatrice was just a weak woman, so there was no worry about her doing anything out of line.

But to her utter surprise, when Maggie got closer, she discovered that it was Cedrus telling Beatrice a story.

"The City of Eternal Cold is the capital of the ancient Snow Realm. Legend has it that it was built from ten thousand years of accumulated snow, without any human intervention. The sorcerers of the Snow Realm only used reinforcement magic to establish a permanent residential city here and nurtured the Giants of the Frost, which is the precursor to the Titans!"

Beatrice leaned against the bookshelf, listening intently to the story of the ancient snow realm, making no attempt to interrupt.

Beatrice was somewhat displeased by Maggie's arrival.

Maggie called Beatrice into the study and told her about teaching Cedrus, but to her surprise, Beatrice said she couldn't teach him.

"Sederos is a genius, a magical genius that may not appear once in a hundred years. He has the heart of a true sage and can hear the mysterious voice of magical history."

"You put me here, thinking that I'm just a weak woman because I've lost my magical power and my body is imprisoned. But actually, my knowledge of alchemy is my strongest weapon."

When I met Cedros, I wanted to embarrass him, so I deliberately let him touch the old magic book cover and the dark wood bookcase. According to the twenty-seventh law of the first chapter of Material Alchemy, magical dust, when amplified by static electricity, will amplify the static effect when it touches non-positive ordinary wood materials.

But do you know how it ends?

Beatrice wore an incredulous expression; she was still somewhat shocked.

"Sederos touched the different magical books in a special order, and moved in a certain direction, perfectly touching the bookshelf. The bookshelf opened with a thud, as if it were equipped with a magical lock."

He explained to me that current alchemy books have a flaw: if magical electric potential is cut along a certain trajectory, it will condense special energy. When stimulated by this energy, the ebony can automatically open its internal lock, thus effectively setting up a magical security measure.

This cabinet can only be opened by someone with the unimaginable magic of the Dream Realm, and only he could open it without damaging the lock.

"He really is a magic apprentice!"

It's clear how shocked Beatrice was. As a genius hero who had spent years studying alchemy and guarding the Tower Library, one can only imagine how she felt to discover that a magic apprentice was more talented than herself and many great alchemists.

As a hero of the tower, her thirst for truth and knowledge runs deep, which is why she was willing to humble herself and listen to Cedrus's lectures.

Although Maggie knew that the magic apprentice was extraordinary, she did not expect this kid to be so talented. It is indeed necessary to let the tower heroes train him.

"He has great potential, but talent cannot be converted into strength, and he is easily killed in the process of growing up. Knowledge needs to be transformed into wisdom, and the magic wand needs to be wielded. That is why I asked you to teach him."

Beatrice thought for a moment and did not refuse: "I can teach him the ritual to become a warlock, but alchemy is really powerless to help him. I will even teach him some special meditation techniques of the Void Cult."

"Don't worry too much. The knowledge in the tower is all for the pursuit of the true essence of magic. As the librarian, I have my own principles; otherwise, ruining such a talented sorcerer would curse his future path. To be honest, I think keeping Cedros at Longlet Castle is a waste of his talent!"

Maggie thought about Su Mu's governing skills and smiled confidently: "Nowhere else would be more suitable for Sederlos than here. Of course, sorcerers are good at traveling and acquiring new knowledge, so Sederlos might go to a larger city to study in the future."

But remember our promise, keep it a secret!

Dream Domain Academy allows for the signing of special contracts, which is Maggie's advantage. Since Beatrice agreed to the professor's request, the two successfully signed the contract.

However, Maggie told Beatrice some less-than-good news: "The Void Cult agreed to redeem you with resources, but refused to give you the Arcane Star Map. So we changed our materials and demanded the Philosopher's Stone. This is our bottom line. If the Orange Witch still doesn't agree, I'll think we're not sincere enough, and it will be difficult to complete the deal."

Beatrice cursed the witch in her heart, then hurriedly said, "The Arcane Star Chart is only useful when constructing void structures. The witch is probably afraid you'll target her. If it's the Philosopher's Stone, there's absolutely no problem. Even if she's unwilling to give it to you, I promise I'll get one for you when I get back. I mean what I say!"

As a prisoner, Beatrice was quite aware of her situation. She could tell that Su Mu and the others didn't want to make things difficult for her; they just wanted to exchange it for some resources. Although the Philosopher's Stone was extremely precious within the Tower's forces, it was still not as valuable as her own life, so she agreed first.

With the warlock's promise, Maggie felt relieved.

She has already sent a message to the envoy from the North, altering the materials, and the deal is likely to be finalized.

If there's really no other way, then we can only detain Beatrice and make her the administrator of the magic guild, teaching Cedros. That way, we can make the best use of her.

Over the next few days, Maggie and Sumu were busy preparing wood ash to purify the land polluted by the snow disaster and to replant crops.

We don't need too much, just enough to feed two million people for a year, so that even if future disasters become more severe, they will have enough food to cope.

Sedros, meanwhile, studied the ways of sorcerers under Beatrice in the Magic Guild. Alchemy was no longer taught much; the more important thing was how sorcerers used powerful spells to practice meditation and use magic.

Tower heroes are born with a strong aptitude for magic. After advancing to the rank of warlock, each time they comprehend an attribute, there is an 8% chance that they will gain either spell power or knowledge. This is a very specialized ability among all faction heroes.

However, considering the various powerful support buildings in the tower, and the synergy with a level 5 magic guild, the tower heroes are very skilled in magic.

Of course, every advantage has its disadvantages. If the tower encounters units or heroes that counter magic, it will often suffer a crushing defeat.

Cedros is very talented, especially in alchemy, magical attacks, and intellectual understanding, where he has a natural advantage.

After following Beatrice for only a few days, he successfully advanced to the rank of hero and displayed his unique magical power in the magic guild. Even Sumu and Maggie in the city immediately sensed his impressive magical fluctuations.

When they arrive at the guild, they will witness the birth of a new hero for the territory.

【Sedros (Sage): Attack 1, Defense 0, Spell Power 3, Knowledge 4.】

Loyalty: 75, Charisma: 82 (+10 affinity with Tower Heroes)
Features: A charming man in a tower, not easily swayed, on the path to becoming a great sage.

Novice Spellcaster: For every 5 points of Spell Power Knowledge a hero has, the mage (including upgraded units) gains 1 point of attack and 1 point of defense, and the hero gains a 15% increase in casting range and casting speed.

Basic Alchemy Wisdom: Enables mastery of all types of level 3-4 magic (can be learned even without elemental mastery), allows inheritance of alchemical knowledge within a magic guild, and enables the creation of corresponding magic scrolls.

Basic Water Element Mastery.

It is rare for a hero to gain two special skills immediately after promotion, but Cedros breaks with tradition and directly masters a powerful special skill.

Furthermore, Sederos demonstrated how to make magic scrolls on the spot, using a small amount of magic coins and resources to construct two ceramic jars filled with books imbued with magic power.

[Magic Scroll: This scroll is inscribed with powerful spells; heroes who equip it can use the magic within. It is unaffected by spells of wisdom.]

Evaluation: You discover a beautifully crafted jar inscribed with ancient script, inside which lies an ancient scroll. After taking out the scroll, you feel a surge of magical power.

[Slowing Down Technique] [Earth and Wood Convergence]

This is a level 1 spell from Longletburg, among which Earth and Wood Magic is considered a relatively rare spell. The fact that Sederlos was able to create it successfully without mastering it shows how powerful his talent is.

Su Mu knew even more about alchemical scroll creation. If Sederos could master advanced elemental mastery and combine it with advanced alchemical wisdom, he might even be able to create automatically cast magic scrolls. Imagine, in every battle, magic would strike first—that would be a mage's paradise.

Moreover, the spellcasting speed of a Sage of Spells is also quite remarkable. If this value exceeds a certain threshold, it can even cast two spells simultaneously, which is quite abnormal.

As expected of a hero worthy of the title of Sage, Cedros has a bright future ahead of him.

However, Su Mu did not directly govern the other party. Such heroes who are focused on studying magic are sometimes unreliable. They need to be trained and experience more before they can be used effectively.

"Thank you, Lord Su Mu, and thank you, Miss Maggie!"

Although Cedrus was obsessed with magic, he was not stupid and knew who his benefactor was.

Maggie nodded: "Improving yourselves and returning after completing your studies is the greatest gratitude you can give us."

The Orange Witch has replied, agreeing to include the Philosopher's Stone in the deal, and Beatrice will soon be able to return to the Arcane Empire.

Su Mu made a decision: to let Cedros accompany Beatrice to the Tower area for study tours, so that he could learn more magic and improve his abilities.

The Tower faction is a magical sanctuary, always welcoming outstanding magical heroes from all over the world. From magical apprentices to legendary sorcerers, no one would resist visiting the library and the Wall of Wisdom.

Cedros is currently of low status and no one pays attention to him. The only one who knows about this, Beatrice, has signed a contract with Maggie and will instead help her eldest disciple. Since this opportunity exists, it would be better to let Cedros travel to the Mathematical Empire for a while. If the Marquis later acquires his own tower city, it won't be too late to recall him.

"6000 gold coins, 20 logs, and 5 various resources. These will serve as your starting capital for your study abroad journey. This time, you are not only required to learn magic, but also to understand the characteristics of the Tower faction in preparation for the future."

Don't worry, more resources will be sent over later. While you're cultivating, also make sure to befriend other sorcerers. Perhaps in the future, when conflicts arise with the Arcane Empire, you'll need to mediate.

Hearing that Su Mu not only sent him on his study tour but also bestowed upon him such a great fortune, Cedros felt deeply trusted. Even though he was naturally aloof, he now felt a sense of loyalty and humility.

"The most advanced magic tower is still waiting for you to build, and we hope you can collect all the magic in the world. Have a safe journey!"

Unexpectedly, the busy lord still remembered his naive joke from back then, and this time Cedros was really excited.

He had actually been a magic apprentice for a long time, and many mages had thought he had a good memory. However, he was too fixated on some ethereal things, inflexible in his actions, and unlikely to achieve great things. He was devoted to magic and alchemy and originally didn't care about external influences. However, with the two countries at war, even focusing on academic pursuits became a luxury.

At this time, Su Mu and Maggie appeared, giving him the greatest convenience and trust, and even hiring Beatrice as his mentor to help him become a hero. He was not naive, just somewhat indifferent to worldly affairs, but he would always remember this kindness.

Cedrus bowed deeply to the two of them, expressing his gratitude without uttering many words.

[Inspired and guided by the Qi Observation Technique, Cedros gains +10 Loyalty]

It seems they're not an ungrateful wolf; it's worth investing more in them.

After giving instructions to Cedros, she handed him over to Beatrice. Beatrice was genuinely happy to hear that her disciple would be accompanying her on her study tour to the Arcane Empire. She herself was not an imperial noble, but rather a traveling scholar, and naturally felt very gratified to have such a successor.

Although she knew that Sederlos was definitely closely connected to Longletburg, it didn't matter. Beatrice was confident that once Sederlos witnessed the towering mage tower and the great wall of wisdom, he would lose interest in all worldly power.

The only incident was that Beatrice, upon seeing Orling who had captured her, was quite unconvinced and said before leaving, "While your skills are powerful, your troop composition lacks variety. If you encounter a hero who possesses teleportation magic, you'll likely struggle to cope. If you meet me again, you won't be able to defeat me!"

Bound by a contract, Beatrice wouldn't leak the information, but she was somewhat unwilling to accept her defeat, so she wanted to regain face in front of her disciples and prove that heroes with mage specialties were superior.

Oling glanced at Cederos, but didn't refute her, which was giving her a way out.

As for what's on one's mind, that's another matter entirely.

"Once I get the Philosopher's Stone, I'll command the Arcane Prayers, and you'll be even less of a match for me then!"

(End of this chapter)