Library

There were no enemies.

Soren cautiously surveyed his surroundings, pushing his godlike senses to their limits, but there seemed to be no enemies on this floor either.

He crept toward a bookshelf. The moment he touched one of the books, it was as if the power of time had been unleashed. The book crumbled to powder, sending dust everywhere. Every book on the shelf turned to dust, and most of those on the neighboring shelves followed. Once so many had crumbled away, the few books left unchanged stood out.

They were all magic books, or books protected by spells.

Even wizards lacked the time to cast spells on every book. They would set up a large magic circle to protect a library from damage, but time had erased even that. Only the important books that had been individually enchanted remained. Many books were ruined beyond saving, crumbling at the slightest touch. The intact ones all bore a faint spell aura.

It looked as though there were no enemies.

Soren relaxed a little and signaled to the others below. Goria and the rest soon came up.

Meanwhile,

on the top floor of the Wizard Tower, three constructed lifeforms made entirely of strange metal watched them.

"Tower Spirit 1!"

One of the tower spirits, whose lower body was a swirl of air like an Elemental Genie's, spoke in a deep voice. "The intruders have reached the fifth floor. Why haven't you activated the Arcane Guards?"

Tower Spirit 1 looked ordinary, which made it all the more unusual. A virtual image before its eyes showed Soren and the others entering the fifth floor. After a moment's thought, it said slowly, "The fifth floor holds our master's books. They're all very important."

"If a battle breaks out, it could easily destroy this place."

"Our