A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 638 Between the Stars

Richard apologized like a forgetful old man, even though in Alec's eyes the count looked only in his forties or fifties. So when he heard the count jokingly say that "Vorg is almost like my nephew," he felt very strange.

The Count secretly used forbidden magic to allow the affected residents to be discharged from the hospital ahead of schedule. Alec couldn't understand why such powerful magic was listed as a forbidden activity, nor could he understand why the Count was unharmed after using it.

Alek's life has undergone a dramatic change in the past few days, just like it has in his territory.

Frequent monster invasions and earthquakes seemed to foreshadow impending disaster, and the fact that the Astral Ones had almost stopped descending from the sky further indicated that the situation was dire. Panic began to spread, but some stubborn individuals chose to hold on.

Prices were thrown into chaos and skyrocketed. Some scoundrels took the opportunity to cause trouble and commit crimes. It was also said that cultists were secretly active. Almost every day and night, police sirens could be heard on the streets, approaching and then receding.

Fortunately, the inhabitants of the borderlands are tenacious. They have held the northern frontier of the empire for decades, gradually developing from a small town on the snowy plains into the city it is today, which can even be said to be the largest city in the existing prime plane.

Therefore, after the panic subsided, order returned. Alek and Voge arrived at the airport again, but this time they came to the Sky Ladder terminal.

Beneath the towering archway, one can see a tangled web of cables, each one incredibly thick. This is the territory's lifeline; every so often, supplies from the heavens are delivered here via the celestial ladder system.

This time, however, three enormous starships were docked in front of the Sky Ladder. The huge dock was free of snow, with ground crew coming and going, transporting cargo, and even more so, people queuing to board the ships.

The starship was so enormous that the two stepped into its shadow. Walker was terrified; he had practically nothing for Alek to take, not even a change of clothes, relying entirely on the Earl's relief. Finally, the dwarf pulled a wad of cash from his inner pocket: "Take this; it's Alliance currency, usable even in the sky."

"You keep it."

"Why would I keep it? Let me tell you, the boss has found a good customer for that wine jug, and I'll be making a fortune. Don't concern yourself with the adults' business."

After hesitating for a while, Alek finally accepted the money under the impatient urging of the staff. He walked step by step toward the huge hatch, and finally couldn't help but turn back: "I'm leaving, Dad, take care."

When Vogel first heard Alek call him "Dad," he froze, staring blankly as the hatch closed.

"Please evacuate all personnel and vehicles on the ground to a safe area immediately."

"The Sky Ladder System is ready;"

"The 'Seed of First Flame' starship's engine has entered warm-up mode and is operating normally."

"Ready to launch."

The countdown rang in everyone's ears. Alek had arrived at the cabin, surrounded by boys of similar age. They were crammed into a windowless cabin converted from a cargo hold, waiting for launch in a state of claustrophobia and fear.

What if the launch fails or it explodes? This fear wasn't just felt by Alek; it was a fear that lingered in the minds of many people who were traveling in an interstellar spacecraft for the first time, and then it festered silently.

The shaking intensified, and to their horror, they saw a curtain of light pierce through the starship's cross-section, hurtling towards them. In their attempts to avoid the light, a stampede ensued, and the announcements urging passengers not to panic or move were completely ignored.

Fortunately, the light curtain advanced extremely quickly; in fact, it was the starship that was teleporting. Alek waited blankly as similar light curtains passed by several times, then suddenly found his body becoming lighter and lighter.

Their personal belongings and loose jewelry were packed up by the staff. Alek had none of these, and he floated up alone. His small excitement made him try to move his limbs and explore what weightlessness was like.

Unfortunately, the gravity trap was activated not long afterward, and they slowly landed under the protection of the stasis field.

Then, the broadcast stopped, with only occasional acceleration. Some people in the cabin started talking to each other and looking for acquaintances, but Alec didn't want to do that and had no desire to communicate. He simply waited quietly during the boring journey.

"Who is Alek of Dalberg?" The door suddenly opened, and a man who looked like a mage rushed in and asked.

"I am." Alek felt all eyes instantly turn to him, and the others made way for him, ordering the mage to lead him out of the cabin.

They wandered through the corridors, and Alec lost track of how long they walked before finally arriving at the stern of the starship. To his surprise, there was a small spacecraft, about the height of a three-story building, parked inside the starship.

Standing outside the hatch was Lord Richard Dahlberg.

"Alex, you will be going directly to the Magic Tower to study, you won't be going with the others. And I happen to be taking Jonas there as well."

"He is."

"He's my only son, a year younger than you."

Alec was filled with questions. The Earldom had been established for over sixty years, yet the Earl still looked very young, and his only son was even younger than himself! He felt completely unable to understand it, but he didn't dare to ask.

After boarding the Earl's private vehicle, Alec's travel conditions improved significantly. Richard introduced the young man to his wife, and then led him to the waiting room with portholes on the top floor of the spaceship, where Jonas sat on the sofa, giving him a lukewarm welcome before quietly reading a book.

Richard lingered for a moment, waiting for the spaceship to detach from the starship and become independent. Outside the window were giant buildings floating in the air, extremely busy, with various aircraft taking off, landing, and flying by. In addition to streamlined ships, there were even large oak ships resembling sailing ships docked in the starport.

"This is the Kepler space station. It was originally the first observation station in history, and now it is the largest interstellar port. Almost all ships from different dimensions dock here."

"It is also the location of the Magic Guild."

"The Magic Guild?"

"Yes, it's the organization that tested your magical talent when you were in elementary school."

Alek had some vague memories, bad ones, of not having enough magical talent, which saddened him for a long time.

Suddenly, a colossal ship appeared—no, it was an enormous, shimmering tree! Alek stared intently at the colossal tree floating in the astral plane, first revealing its crown and branches, then its incredibly thick trunk. He tried to imagine that if this tree stood on earth, it would be far more majestic than the towers of Dalberg Airport.

"Jonas, this is the 'Breath of Nature' I told you about! The flagship of the Forest Tower!" Richard called to his son, telling him to stop reading. Alex couldn't bear to look away. He heard an awkward "Oh," and the sound of the book slamming shut.

He suddenly thought of a question: "You mean I should go directly to the magic tower to learn? Like the Forest Tower?"

"Yes," Richard explained, "You enrolled with Jonas. The thirteen most important members of the Magic Guild are the Tower of Source Water, the Tower of Atmosphere, and the Tower of Primordial Earth."

"Storm Tower, Thunderstorm Tower, Forest Tower;"

"The Tower of the Sky, the Tower of Time, the Tower of Stars;"

"The Tower of Light, the Tower of Darkness, the Tower of Arcane Arts."

"You only said twelve, Father."

"That's right, none of the above are our destination. You will be entering the thirteenth, and best, Tower of All Arts. It was created by Archmage Rorschach in Byrne."

"Excuse me for interrupting you, sir." Alex was pale and sweat beaded on his forehead. "There must be some mistake. My magical talent test results from when I was a child clearly showed that I had no magical talent."

He certainly couldn't enter the magic tower to become an apprentice or a mage, let alone go to what was supposedly the best magic tower in the world. What would happen to him? Would the count, in a fit of rage, exile him to some harsh and difficult plane of existence?

Alec was mistaken. Richard simply smiled and said, "I know, that's why you can only go to Rorschach's magic tower. Jonas, like you, is a child without magical abilities."

(End of this chapter)