Exchange Between Mages

Along the way, Shawn toyed with the Fine Iron Dagger in his hand from time to time, making it appear and disappear at will. This left Rick feeling heart-struck and jittery; he no longer dared to underestimate Shawn, and any ill-intentioned thoughts he might have harbored were completely extinguished.

By nightfall, the two set up camp by the roadside. Shawn replaced sleep with meditation, remaining vigilant throughout the night. This only further convinced Rick of Shawn's extraordinary nature, and his estimation of Shawn rose another notch.

Early the next morning, the Golem Factory was completed, and Shawn immediately checked its status.

Although the Golem Factory was finished and possessed a complete golem production line, the only type of golem it could produce remained the Harvest Golem.

While the Harvest Golem had a challenge rating as high as level 5, it could no longer satisfy Shawn's growing need for combat power. As for other golems, they required a certain amount of time and garrison resources to be researched before they could be produced.

The Golem Factory provided several options, including a prototype for the Reaper, the Mechanical Squirrel, and various other golems, but none satisfied Shawn. Only one type of golem made his eyes light up.

"Harvest Watcher, an upgraded version of the Harvest Golem. Possesses more powerful attack and defense, more flexible combat methods, and more complex intelligent programming. Challenge rating: level 7."

This new golem could perfectly meet Shawn's current needs. A challenge rating of level 7 was even higher than Shawn's own. And that was taking into account the golem's low intelligence; if judged solely by attack and defense, it might be even higher.

It would have been even more perfect if not for the 400-point garrison resource cost and the long seven-day wait.

Gritting his teeth, Shawn spent his remaining garrison supplies and selected "Research" for the Harvest Watcher.

At noon on the third day, Shawn and Rick finally arrived at the Tower of Azora.

Looking from afar, it was a seven-story tower standing in the forest, over 40 meters tall, towering above the surrounding trees.

The lower half of the tower was stone, while the upper half was wood. The middle section was relatively narrow, while the top and bottom were wider, unlike a traditional Mage Tower. In a sense, this tower did not look like a place for a focused mage's research, but rather like a defensive arrow tower.

Rick pointed to the Tower of Azora and introduced it: "It is said that the master of this tower was a high-ranking mage named Azora. However, the tower has been established for a long time, and no one knows where Azora went. A few years ago, to avoid the Stormwind City regime, Lord Theocritus came to the Tower of Azora. Later, many other mages arrived here one after another. Now, there are about twenty or thirty mages permanently stationed at the Tower of Azora, along with dozens of mage attendants and servants."

Shawn nodded silently.

Twenty or thirty mages was no small number. Two thousand eight hundred years ago, Stromgarde only trained 100 novice mages, and after joining forces with the elven mages of Quel'Thalas, they summoned sky-fire to incinerate an entire Troll army, turning the tide of the war.

It could be said that the Tower of Azora, with its twenty or thirty mages, was a powerful force in its own right. If they were to mobilize in full strength, even the Westbrook Garrison, which housed thousands of troops, might not be able to withstand them.

However, these reclusive, free-roaming mages were mostly focused on researching arcane energy and had no interest in combat. Otherwise, why would they have come here to avoid the Stormwind City regime?

Rick said: "Shawn, the person I am taking you to meet is Lord Theocritus, the leader of the Tower of Azora. Before he left Stormwind City, he and I had a good relationship; we were old friends. Of course, Lord Theocritus is a powerful mid-ranking mage, so you must be humble and polite when facing him. Do not provoke him. After all... he doesn't have the best temper..."

Shawn nodded and said: "It's fine, I have a good temper."

Upon arriving at the base of the Tower of Azora, Rick asked Shawn to wait where he was. He walked to the door alone, knocked, and exchanged a few words with the servant who opened it, though Shawn could not hear what was said.

The servant closed the door, presumably to report to Theocritus. After a few minutes, the door opened again, and the servant gestured for them to enter.

Rick signaled to Shawn that it was time to go in.

Shawn took his pack and followed Rick into the Tower of Azora.

This was Shawn's first time seeing a real Mage Tower, so he observed it carefully as they walked.

The Tower of Azora was a circular structure with a spiral staircase leading straight to the top. The wooden stairs were made of sturdy, comfortable timber, finely polished and stained, giving them a rustic and refined appearance.

Surrounding the spiral staircase were circular corridors, with rooms lining the outer edge. There were seven floors in total, each with about a dozen rooms.

"The first floor is the reception room, the second is for servants, the third for followers, the fourth for novice mages, the fifth for mid-ranking mages, the sixth is the laboratory, and the seventh is the rooftop. It is said that the most precious treasure of the Tower of Azora is kept up there, but I have never been up, so I don't know what it is."

Rick whispered as they walked. Even he seemed very cautious in the Tower of Azora. Shawn, on the other hand, was incredibly relaxed. While Theocritus, as a mid-ranking mage, was indeed worthy of respect and awe, Shawn had seen mages of even higher levels, which was why he remained so calm.

The servant leading them was very disciplined and did not say a single unnecessary word, so Shawn could not glean any information from him.

But that didn't matter; Shawn wasn't here to uncover secrets. He was here to get to know the mages of the Tower of Azora and conduct some trades. If possible, he hoped to gain some rare benefits, such as using the Eye of Azora once.

The Eye of Azora was the treasure kept on the seventh floor that Rick knew nothing about.

The servant brought Shawn and Rick to a room and asked them to wait for a moment, as Theocritus was in the middle of an important experiment that could not be interrupted, or all his efforts would be wasted.

Shawn expressed his understanding and took the opportunity to cast Eye of Insight on the servant. He was surprised to discover that although the servant was not a professional, he was proficient in various life skills like tailoring and cooking, though the levels of these skills were not high.

Clearly, Theocritus was a man who knew how to enjoy life.

After the servant left, Shawn closed his eyes to rest and wait for Theocritus to arrive.

Not long after, a sudden explosion shook the entire Tower of Azora, followed by a string of angry curses from the top of the tower. It was clear that someone's experiment had failed, and they were furious.

Shawn glanced at Rick, who gave a bitter smile and nodded.

Clearly, they had not chosen a good time to visit; Theocritus was certainly not in a good mood today.