Chapter 131: Mage Tower

Naimi Xisi cleared his throat lightly and said, "How much?"

"Two hundred thousand gold coins!"

"How much?!"

"Nineteen hundred thousand?" Seeing the True Dragon's furious expression, the demon hag hesitated and quoted another figure.

"One hundred thousand gold coins! No more than that!" Naimi Xisi flatly refused.

The demon hag chuckled bitterly; she had seen many great dragons—some were foolishly generous, others were so stingy they wouldn't give a single copper more. The dragon before her was clearly the latter.

So, with her interest waning, she said, "One hundred seventy thousand is my bottom line. Excluding that burial jade, the guide itself is worth at least fifty thousand gold coins, plus my storage costs—no less will do."

The demon hag's stance was adamant; no matter how many times Naimi Xisi haggled or tried tricks, she wouldn't budge an iota. He could only sulk in silence, admitting his bargaining skills still needed improvement.

"Fine, give me the guide," Naimi Xisi said, his heart aching.

The demon hag quickly produced a fifty‑centimeter‑long, finger‑width‑thick "big brick," stamped with the words "Mage Tower Construction Guide."

In addition, the demon hag gave Naimi Xisi a ten‑centimeter burial jade, a massive green gem radiating a pure, soothing energy—the jade's ability to calm a spirit's emotions.

Naimi Xisi flipped through the book casually and had to admit that the "Mage Tower Construction Guide" is indispensable for anyone needing to build a Mage Tower.

A mage's Mage Tower is his home, his sanctuary, his research center, and his fortress.

For the overwhelming majority of mages, possessing a Mage Tower is a lifelong goal, so many construct tower‑like buildings—usually small towers two or three stories high, equipped with laboratories and living quarters.

But that cannot be called a true Mage Tower.

A true Mage Tower, like those of the great mages, can be seen from afar, surrounded by high walls, a soaring tower standing like a warrior's castle.

The difficulty of constructing such a Mage Tower is not comparable to that of ordinary buildings.

Every brick and tile in a Mage Tower bears specially carved magical runes; the "Mage Tower Construction Guide" details these runes and their placements exhaustively—this is just the basics.

Moreover, a Mage Tower is not merely a modest dwelling of labs and living quarters.

A complete Mage Tower must contain at least an Arcane Garden, a Binding Chamber, an Explosion Chamber, a Library, a Sensing Chamber, a Sealing Chamber, and a Laboratory.

The construction methods for these rooms are also recorded in the book.

Of course, the book also lists more luxurious and complete advanced options for Mage Towers, all of which demand enormous gold expenditures.

For example, a mana pool is a very rare Mage Tower feature, possessed only by the renowned great Mage Towers of the age; it is said that in the ancient Naiserui'er Empire's floating cities, each floating city had a mana pool linked to the Magic Net.

Modern Mage Tower mana pools allow a mage to store the day's inexhaustible Spell Slots within, releasing them via the Mage Tower when needed. Of course, the pool's storage consumption rate and capacity depend on the building materials. At minimum, a mana pool built with at least five hundred thousand gold coins of materials has a storage consumption rate of ninety percent, meaning only one‑tenth of the stored Spell Slots remain each day; the rest evaporates into the air.

Moreover, this lowest‑grade mana pool can store at most the Spell Slot count of five nine‑ring spells; storing lower‑level Spell Slots increases the quantity proportionally.

Besides mana pools, there are other options, such as a Spell Amplifier that requires an artificial gem called "Sun Mirror" worth at least eight million gold coins to construct (its effect can amplify a Mage Tower's spell power tenfold), and a Necromancy Chamber costing at least one million gold coins (linked to the Underworld, it can nurture and slowly evolve the Undead within), among others.

One could say the Mage Tower is a bottomless pit; the poor have their ways, the rich have theirs, and to build a perfect Mage Tower as described in the book would likely drain an entire kingdom.

This is why Naimi Xisi must go to the New Continent; without a fortune, he cannot even construct the most basic Mage Tower from the book.

Having obtained what he wanted, Naimi Xisi happily left Osweide's Curious Cottage and happened upon Gonde and Xia Nai, who had just finished strolling.

"How was the haul?" Naimi Xisi asked.

Xia Nai covered her mouth and laughed, "Very good, I snagged a Six‑Ring Transmuter's notebook; it contains many good spells."

A passing raven suddenly appeared on her arm; Xia Nai gently petted it and said, "From now on you'll have more spell protection."

Seeing this, Peng Peng sulked, perched on Naimi Xisi's shoulder in silence; his ruthless master always throws him out as a meat shield. Though he doesn't actually die, the wounds are still painful!

The ruthless Naimi Xisi completely ignored Xia Nai's antics; the dragon's vanity and pride would never make them reflect on themselves. For Naimi Xisi to glean a "should learn from this" hint from Xia Nai marks him as a relatively self‑aware dragon.

Beside him, Gonde felt a bit down; he had always thought his modest treasury was decent, but after a stroll through Deepwater City's commercial district, he realized his money was nowhere near enough to splurge here—the prices alone would scare a dragon to death.

"So, when exactly are we going to that… whatever continent?" Gonde said, his face full of boredom.

Naimi Xisi was also curious; while the Western Coast's splendor and luxury certainly attract dragons, his whole being was now drawn to the New Continent across the great ocean.

Xia Nai spread her hands helplessly and said, "One more thing."

She pointed to a striking black tower dozens of kilometers away, standing in the heart of Deepwater City, and said, "We must first find the city's hidden master—Kaierben Heizhang."

Naimi Xisi frowned; he had noticed that black tower ever since entering the city, each glimpse exuding a captivating menace. It was a genuine Mage Tower, not the crude replica he once lived in.

Living within such a Mage Tower, of course, was the continent‑renowned legendary mage, the half‑elf Kaierben Heizhang.

"Would someone of that caliber meet you?" Gonde sneered, having heard Kaierben's name.

Xia Nai was unperturbed, smiling, "Of course. Normally we'd be stopped by the knight guards at the entrance of the Black Staff Tower before even entering, but this time I come representing the Masked Mage Association."

"The Black Staff Tower has always been one of the forces backing the Masked Mage Association; this time an extra slot for the Deepwater City expedition to the New Continent was added, precisely what the Association fought for on behalf of the Black Staff Tower."

"My mission this time is to escort Kaierben's son—Saifaer Aoluosang—who represents the Black Staff Tower's faction, to Anmu."

(End of Chapter)