Completed

As the mage tower rose higher and higher, Shane's days became full and busy. During the day, he had to help with construction; at night, he practiced steadily until midnight, finished his physical training, then slept until eight in the morning. The Eye of Truth woke him on time.

The main structure was progressing far faster than the installation of its functions. Shane was still embedding high-energy conduits on the fourth floor when the engineers had already finished building the observatory. The construction period had taken thirty days.

"Not bad, but still a little short of my record." The project supervisor bragged to Shane about his thirty-day record: three floors below ground and seven above.

"Since we took the council's money, we have to show efficiency. Otherwise, it won't be our turn next time." Before leaving, he drank quite a bit with his men and let Shane in on a few secrets. The council's payment was not particularly high, but nearly all the work involved arcane construction. Compared to making money, the chance to train the team was far more appealing. "My name is Talonikus. I look forward to working with you in the future."

Shane saw them off. Half the construction crew had left, and spurred on by them, the team responsible for building the internal facilities became much more motivated. After all, everyone missed the prosperity of Silvermoon City.

Several devices in the golem workshop had been installed and could operate normally. Shane had specifically requested an armor-forging station, so that golem Taigo would not need to return to Silvermoon City for future armor replacements. As long as they had cores, they could also produce other golems.

The first-floor hall was fifteen meters high and adopted the extravagant style favored by elves: crystal chandeliers, red carpets, gold-trimmed decorations, silk curtains, and several statues of elven maidens. Golem Taigo would be stationed here in the future. The second-floor mage quarters had only six suites, providing lodgings for subordinate mages or apprentices. They were about the same size as the place Shane had lived in at the Sun Sail Harbor library.

The third floor was the library. Bookshelves had been arranged neatly, forming four major sections, though they were all empty. They'll slowly be filled in the future, Shane thought. Whether a mage tower had any real foundation depended on its library. The fire prevention system consisted of several low-level spells designed into a cycle that could drain all the air from the library. It truly was fire's natural enemy. The fourth floor was divided into two sections: an alchemy laboratory and a magical item workshop.

The fifth floor was the chief mage's private quarters. It belonged to Shane, and it was empty. There was no warm bed, no soft curtains, no constant-temperature field, no reception room, no study—nothing. When he found an engineer, the man told Shane that the council had not paid for that part, so Shane would have to figure it out himself. The two clan mages wore expressions that said I knew it, then laughed at Shane.

From the observatory, his gaze crossed the sea of forest. He could see the distant road and, in the direction of Zul'Aman, the green mist hanging in the sky.

"That's miasma formed from accumulated hex stench." Shane sat on the base and adjusted the eyepiece and objective lens, drawing that patch of green clearly before his eyes. There was no visible movement of air within the miasma, as if it were dead. It gave off a rotten, lifeless feeling. The council had not generously thrown money at the observatory without reason.

The construction of the mage tower brought many changes to Windrunner Outpost. First, the ranger barracks were no longer the landmark building. The two clan mages were quite pleased with this change, saying, "Once it's completed, Windrunner will only be able to look up at us." Shane did not take the bait and merely smiled in response.

In Quel'Thalin, Alleria sent reinforcements to her younger sister: fifty elite rangers. Before long, rumors drifted into Shane's ears like the wind: We can't let Windrunner Outpost become Dawnblade territory. The rangers belonging to Windrunner entered a state of shared hostility. Dawnblade and Windrunner had yet to let go of their "old grudges," while "new hatred" seemed to be brewing.

With the number of rangers increasing, Sylvanas expanded the scale of her patrols. She divided her subordinates into three groups, keeping them close enough to support one another. Like the three prongs of a trident, they sealed off the border and swept through it again and again. Whenever she returned from patrol, she would sit in Shane's room for a while each evening, flipping through epic books to pass the time or chatting with him about her combat experiences. However, she did not try to seduce him again.

Her relationships with her subordinates were not so intimate, but they were very solid. For example, her relationship with her deputy, Lor'themar, was one of a lord's trust and a subordinate's devotion.

Shane guessed that differences in status originally came from upbringing.

Sylvanas led patrols every day and left the daily arrangements to her deputy, Lor'themar. Yes, Shane had finally remembered Lor'themar's name. For some reason, Shane felt that he had accomplished something remarkable.

Lor'themar's attitude toward him also changed with the construction of the mage tower, shifting from hostility to utter hostility.

"Why?" Shane asked Sylvanas when they were alone.

"A surname ruled by Windrunner is taught from childhood to remember three creeds." Sylvanas thought for a moment before saying, "Become a ranger, remain loyal to the race, and make trouble for Dawnblade."

Shane wanted to say, You Windrunners are really persistent, but Dawnblade would not miss any chance to surpass Windrunner either, so he decisively ended this topic that could spark another conflict. Perhaps the real reason had been lost to time—so long that everyone had forgotten it.

The mage tower's construction was gradually approaching its end. Only one final task remained; once it was completed, the tower could officially be put into use. Shane had to handle this step personally: setting the mage tower's permanent spells.

Under the principle of energy balance, the five-story mage tower could maintain five permanent spells. Shane set an alarm barrier on every floor of the mage tower. Whenever a living creature entered or left, it would trigger the barrier and notify Shane that someone had arrived. The visitor would be required to speak a passphrase, or they would be attacked by the golem. At present, there was only one golem: Taigo.

The second defensive spell reinforced the outer walls of the mage tower. Iron Armor strengthened the structure's durability. The third spell was also from the defensive school: Arcane Barrier raised a protective wall around the mage tower.

For the fourth spell, Shane chose a functional spell: Targeted Teleportation. Objects within the mage tower could be transferred to any floor through the magic array. For the fifth spell, he chose from all the spells he had mastered and ultimately selected Pyroblast to strengthen his means of self-defense.

The clan mages brought out five spell-storage cores and asked Shane to inscribe the spells with his mind. It was his first time inscribing spells outside his own mind. The moment his mental light entered a core, more than half of it was consumed, and even more dissipated during the inscription. Completing it was quite difficult.

"Mage Shane, this is one of the reasons mage towers have height limits. You will also need to maintain these five cores in the future. If your mage rank is not high enough, it will be very difficult. In the end, you will only waste resources and harm yourself," the clan mage explained kindly.

Shane could have the Eye of Truth assist him, but experience was often extremely important. Especially when facing difficulties, the experience gained by overcoming them far exceeded that gained from smooth sailing in every respect.

If once did not work, then twice. If twice did not work, then three times. The mental fatigue reminded Shane of the first time he had failed to practice Multicast, when the backlash of mental energy had knocked him unconscious.

The final step took twenty-five days. To reduce mental consumption, Shane worked hard to restrain his mind, making it more condensed and focused. He finally succeeded. When Shane looked in a mirror, his beard and hair resembled a bird's nest, and only his eyes still looked like those of a spellcaster.

The five cores were installed on the chief mage's floor, allowing for control and maintenance.

On the day of the official activation, arcane energy flowed from beneath the ground into the cores, then traveled through the arcane conduits to reach the entire tower. The blood vessels are pulsing. Shane placed a hand on the outer wall and felt the vibrations caused by the arcane energy circulating within. The mage tower had come alive as well. After completing one circuit, all the arcane energy gathered at the top of the tower. The illumination crystal bloomed with a blue radiance that spread all the way to the horizon, announcing its arrival to the inhabitants of this land.

"It's beautiful." Sylvanas stood beside Shane.

Only then did Shane realize that he had not seen her for twenty-five days.

"But I watched you every day." Sylvanas leaned close to Shane, her lips blowing warm air against his ear as she whispered mysteriously, "I know why Vereesa was attracted to you."