Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

The conversation with the Mage's Tower is also a conversation with the mage himself, even if he is no longer in this world and even his soul may not be left behind.

The only thing to be thankful for is that it seems that only this wizard is inclined to simplify the musical notation. Otherwise, Lunicia would not know how many "surprises" the owner of a wizard tower could prepare for her group just in this short process from pushing the door to taking the first step.

And now, pushing open this door that has not been opened for six hundred years and stepping into the territory that once belonged to an ancient wizard, it means that Lunicia and her companions have officially embarked on the unknown journey of "Exploring Hyperberyr" that no one has ever done before - they are also one step closer to the legend that has been buried in time.

Chapter 26: Cold Pavilion (Part 3)

"I was wondering...something, Ella."

This place is not solemn. This is the Mage Tower, not a religious place - a temple, an altar, a ritual site, which always gives people a solemn pressure. Even so, Lunicia's voice is still involuntarily lowered. Danger... at least the known and perceived danger, such a thing does not exist now, but she still does it, without any intention of raising the volume back to normal.

This is not the majesty brought by the clear existence of "God", but the weight of history, legends, stories, myths, those known or unknown, engraved here, solidified in the air, heavy, but it will lead people to immerse themselves in it, a limited unknown.

"what is it then?"

"As I said earlier, slaves and citizens of Hyperborius are basically divided according to bloodline, not ability..."

"Well, that's right."

"Even if the descendants of citizens have no talent, they can eventually gain power in a stable way, using the Hyperborean method. However, this will probably result in many slaves having talents, such as magic, martial arts, or other talents... Will the slave owners, or wizards, deliberately restrict the slaves from using their talents to grow?"

"As far as I know, basically not."

Out of kindness? —— How could it be? It was probably just some kind of inflated arrogance and pride at work. It was just that great wizards always had the capital to be arrogant, so there would be no problem. Slaves without talent were treated as untalented, and those with talent were generally not controlled in how they could freely perform. There might even be some wizards who would teach them and let them grow from "slaves with no talent" to "slave swordsmen" or "slave magicians."

This certainly does not mean some kind of extraordinary kindness. After all, it does not turn slaves from slaves into something else. This is the difference between Hyperborean slavery and Nasaran slavery: Although the Nasarans tried their best to use magical talent as a measure, artificially divided the two classes of magic-affinity and magic-free, deliberately carried out class segregation, concentrated the magic-free, and dominated them with the lowest possible living standards and strict management, but precisely because of this, they actually attached great importance to the magic-free. It seems that if they don't do this, they can't nail the magic-free as "the first-class existence than magicians."

But it seems like they believe deep down that the magicians and magicians are indeed not two different species, and they themselves cannot completely deny this fact.

And what about Hyperion?

In the eyes of the Hyperboreans, it seems that there is no slave class at all. In fact, they do not regard slaves as the same species as themselves, even if they have talents comparable to their own. It seems that they have never had the idea that "slaves can stand at the same level as themselves by exerting their talents". Even if a slave's ability can match that of the greatest wizard in Hyperborean, he is still a slave - does this sound incredible? But perhaps they really think so.

Imparting knowledge to slaves and allowing them to develop their talents is like making a tool more useful. Because they are arrogant enough, they will not deliberately suppress slaves, nor do they believe that powerful slaves will one day overthrow the kingdom.

"This wizard tower, at least for now, is basically undefended." Asheselyn took over the conversation. "Let's exclude the social issues about the Hyperboreans and Hyperborean slaves from our considerations. From a factual perspective, these slaves are not all weak, and they are not restricted in their use of magic. In other words, they can open this door as easily as Luna, and the owner of this tower has not strengthened the restrictions on the entrance on this basis. Is this -"

"—Is there a lack of tension?"

Lunicia brought the topic back.

"Anyway, it seems that the owner of this place has not considered the possibility of being invaded."

"Perhaps this isn't a problem for wizards."

Although the light from the lantern was inconspicuous compared to the ambient light here, as weak as a half-burnt candle on the corner of the table, Ella still raised it and looked back and forth at the upward path.

"When the wizard, the original owner of this place, was still alive, his existence itself was the best 'defense measure'. The slaves would not risk acting without permission, especially actions like entering the wizard's tower, which would be almost impossible to hide from the wizard's eyes. They would only stay where they were supposed to be, just as stipulated. Who would push open this door just to choose a more painful way to die?"

"Hmm...what about intruders? The real kind."

"Normally, this kind of thing shouldn't happen in Hyperborean, but if it does happen——"

Ella paused.

"If that really happens, it seems meaningless to do something on this door, after all, the other party can get here."

makes sense.

"In that case, there really shouldn't be anything to worry about. What should we do next, Ella? Go up the stairs around?"

"Ms. Luna, are you going to take my advice?"

"If reconnaissance is required, this machine can use its flight function to do so."

"I think it's better not to fly around here..."

Ella rejected Ashatherine's proposal in a rare serious manner.

No one knows what the attitude of this wizard tower is towards "unauthorized flying behavior". If it is a ruthless kill, the group might be immediately judged as heinous invaders and killed. No one knows what chain reaction will happen next. After all, "flying" is a very sensitive thing. Even if pushing the door has been proven to be safe, it is better not to try it lightly.

"After all, Ella knows more about Hyperborean wizards than Ash and I do, and the same is true for the Mage Tower. Although there is a chapter about exploring the Mage Tower in the textbook, its reference value is probably not as good as Ella's opinion."

After all, the person who wrote the textbook was not a Hyperborean wizard - but Ella Hepper was really a Hyperborean wizard.

"Your understanding of the Mage Tower... huh... I understand. I'll do my best."

Ella's answer was a little slow.

Obviously, being recognized by Lunicia should be a happy thing for her, but she didn't know which part of the conversation piqued her nerves and made her seem a little absent-minded.

"Hmm? If there's anything inconvenient, please tell me."

"Of course, it's okay to tell the machine. The machine can completely operate as an emotional trash can. After all, the machine will not be depressed because of being dumped with trash."

"No, well... no problem, but I don't know every wizard tower very well, so my experience and knowledge may not be useful."

"It doesn't matter? As long as it can be used as a reference, it's definitely better than nothing."

The platform on the first floor did not seem to be worthy of attracting people to stop and visit. It seemed that its only value was to serve as a lobby, pleasing guests with its pleasant scenery. Apart from this, the only room connected to the first floor looked like a cloakroom. At least Lunicia felt that it was like a cloakroom - the room temperature seemed to be maintained by magic. Although the temperature inside the tower was much warmer than the outside world, it still felt like an ice cellar. This room had the temperature of early spring in Muirand.

In addition, there were some ice closets with some dresses hanging on them, and some mannequins made of ice. Although the dresses had similar design ideas to the common evening dresses in the south, they were undoubtedly styles that Lunisia had never seen before. However, they were obviously in the extremely cold Hyperborean, and these dresses did not all look warm at first glance... It was the opposite. As for the mannequins, Lunisia took a dress to try it on, and when she hung the dress up, the dress disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where it went.

"Why do the clothes here look so... cool?"

Even if it was just a backless dress, it would look incredible here. At this point, Lunicia couldn't help but look at Ashlee twice more, but of course the latter had an expression that didn't know why she was looking at her.

"Or is this a kind of social etiquette in the north, showing the host's hospitality and friendliness by letting the guests suffer from the cold?"

"These garments have a thermal insulation effect."

"Is this a conclusion reached through analysis, Ash?"

"Some are - some are not. Some of them have fixed magical effects that should be for warmth and other purposes, while the rest are basically just ordinary clothes with special fabrics, not magical items. What this machine cannot understand is that contrary to what should be the case, the former are in the minority in terms of quantity, while the latter are the majority."

"I think this may be a natural and unconscious distinction."

"distinguish?"

"There are very few clothes that can keep you warm, which means that there are also very few people who need this kind of clothes. The citizens of Hyperborean are all wizards. Even if they don't need the clothes provided by the master, they should have various ways to ensure that they will not be troubled by the cold? But after all, there will be some guests who don't like to do it themselves, so there are also a few magical clothes as alternatives... I think so."

"Is that so? Hyperboreans are really hard to understand."

“It’s just a guess.”

Perhaps in such an extremely cold place, the idea that "only servants without ability need to rely on clothes to keep warm" and "the capable class does not need such primitive methods" also exists, and driven by this idea, the design of clothing also shows such a special tendency.

Then, the group came to the stairs again. They stepped on the steps and tested them a little... There seemed to be no problem. The stairs made of ice would not suddenly fall or break, and there were no signs of looseness. Of course, there were no traps on them that would burn people to ashes as soon as they stepped on them. It looked ordinary.

Fortunately, the owner of this wizard tower seemed to be a simple designer, using very traditional steps instead of other strange things, such as brooms, floors that fly back and forth in the sky, random teleportation arrays and other tricky facilities. Otherwise, it would probably take the group half a day just to climb up.

"Where should we go first, Ella—to the roof first?"

"This is the universal solution in the usual sense..."

As they continued to climb, Ella continued, "Generally speaking, the most important parts of a wizard tower are: the tower owner's master bedroom, the main laboratory, the library, the treasure library, and the main energy source. These areas are not only the most important, but also exist in every wizard tower. Although the treasure library is very valuable, it is the most difficult and dangerous to find. The energy area and the library are meaningless to us. Generally speaking, the most suitable first destination is the master bedroom."

“So we have to keep climbing?”

"The top floor is usually where the observatory is located. Some wizards build their bedrooms together for convenience, so they only need to place the observatory equipment in the room or attic... Therefore, it can be said that the wizard's master bedroom is usually on the top floor of the wizard tower."

In other words, the highest point.

Astrology is a compulsory course for almost every wizard, so in most cases there is an observatory on the top floor of the wizard tower. Wizards who specialize in this would rather build an observatory large enough to install the equipment they need without leaving space for a bedroom. Under modern pollution conditions, amateur stargazing has become impossible, but mages will still prepare an observatory for themselves through various special equipment, either homemade or purchased.

"Why do you sound like an idiot?"

"Luna doesn't like heights?"

"Well, I can't say I don't like it at all... it just broadens my horizons!"

"I see. I understand."

"So, let's aim for the top floor first?"

"Yes, this is a safer option."

"Let's do that, then. But what are these rooms around here?"

Such a tall tower certainly cannot have only the first and top floors. A platform is also built with ice in the middle, connecting the four sides of the tower. Some ice doors can also be seen on the edge of the platform, leading to a room of unknown purpose.

“Not every room is actually useful.”

"is it?"

"After all, building the tower so tall should be just the tower owner's personal preference. In this case, it is normal to have many unused rooms."

This situation occurs because the purpose of all rooms was not strictly planned during the design process.

"I'm a little curious, is there any noise coming from the room next door?"

In response to Lunicia's remarks, Ashlee and Ella just looked at each other and shook their heads together.

"I'm sorry, Lady Luna, I didn't hear anything..."

"The machine's sensors didn't pick up the sound waves either."

But a paladin would not lie—and these two were not like her, with any special talents.

"I guess I heard it right. Could it be that there are survivors here?"

"It's not impossible. After all, it's safer inside the tower than outside. Although I don't know where the wizards here have gone."

"In that case, there is no reason not to give it a try."

After saying that, Lunicia asked the two to get ready behind her, then she put up her shield and pulled open the ice door beside her.

call out----!

A sharp knife also flew out and went straight to Lunicia's head.

Chapter 27: Cold Pavilion (Part 4)

when--!

There was no panic, no surprise - perhaps these emotions were not completely non-existent, but they undoubtedly did not affect Lunicia's actions. When the dazzling glimmer of light came into her eyes... no, when the sharp breath was captured by her skin, she instinctively raised her left hand and used her shield to block the trajectory.

As a crisp collision sound came from the other side of the shield, Lunicia also saw what was "attacking" her.

"kitchen knife?!"

To be more precise, it was an ice-carved kitchen knife. The handle was made of some kind of wood, and the metal parts, including the blade, were replaced by white ice. The sharp edge was now reflecting a cold light.

After being bounced off by the shield, the kitchen knife went straight to the door frame and then with a "ding" sound, it was firmly embedded in the door frame.

Before Lunicia could take any action, the next wave of attacks arrived.

when! when! when! when! when!

A series of collision sounds came one after another from the other side of the shield. Kitchen knives, boning knives, meat cleavers, fruit knives, scissors, graters, blender blades, spoons, table knives and forks, all made of ice, one after another, clanged heavily on the shield like bullets, bounced off, and finally landed in unexpected places.

What was this, an attack? Just when Lunisia was at a loss, Ella closed the ice door in front of her. With another round of ping-pong sounds, a dozen kitchen utensils were nailed heavily to the door panel - half of them stayed inside the door, and half of them were outside the door. After shaking for a while, they stopped moving again.

…It seems that although the form is a bit ridiculous, if you are really hit by these things, there will inevitably be some problems.

"Uh, what is this, a war museum?"

Lunicia couldn't help but say this as she stepped on the kitchen knife, which was trying to get up and try again, and broke it into two pieces.

"This unit thinks this might be a kitchen."

"It does look like that, but would the kitchen throw knives out to chop people?"

This is a good question.

"Maybe... an automatic defense function, or something like that?"

Now even Ella couldn't be sure.

After all, no matter how you think about it, a normal person would not install a push-the-door-death defense function at the kitchen door, otherwise this kitchen would probably be left unused... But looking at the kitchen utensils scattered all over the floor, what else could this be but a kitchen?

"I want to push the door again and see."

"Then please be safe, Lady Luna. I will be in charge of the rescue."

"This machine will be responsible for recording."

"That doesn't mean doing nothing!"

So, Lunicia once again held up the shield and pushed open the ice door beside her.

The kitchen knife, soup spoon, table knife and candlestick turned 180 degrees and pointed towards the door.

Ella closed the door without a second thought - accompanied by a series of ping-pong sounds, some new kitchen utensils appeared on the door panel. Although they looked unwilling, they were already nailed to the door. It seemed that these small tools had no way to help and could only give up the futile struggle.