First Exploration

"This... this entrance's location." She pointed vaguely at the beginning of the blueprint, trying hard to recall.

"I seem to... have some impression. This place looks very much like somewhere I cleaned before. It should be in the area at the end of the east corridor on the first floor's main hall."

"I heard others say that it was an old evacuation passage that had existed since the Wizard Tower was first built. Later, due to structural changes in the direction of its exit and safety hazards, it was abandoned and sealed off long ago."

At her words, Li Ang suddenly understood.

No wonder it had looked familiar. Every time he went to the quest board, he passed through that corridor. He had indeed caught sight of a heavy stone door at its end. So that was the map's starting point?

"An abandoned evacuation passage..." Li Ang stared at the map, his heartbeat quickening slightly.

The notebook's owner was Lottie's grandfather, a Formal Wizard. Why had he recorded a map leading to an abandoned passage in such a secretive manner?

Li Ang's curiosity was thoroughly stirred.

But this map had been left to Lottie by her grandfather. Sneaking off to explore it without telling her? Li Ang couldn't do that.

Besides, if the two of them went together, they could watch each other's backs. If they found anything, they could divide it according to their contributions.

With that in mind, Li Ang asked solemnly, "Lottie, do you want to... go take a look here tonight? This is a map left in your grandfather's notebook."

"A map left by my grandfather?"

Lottie jumped in fright, her face instantly filling with nervousness. "N-now? Going to a place like that? Mr. Li Ang, th-this violates the tower rules, doesn't it? And that place was sealed long ago..."

"The map shows there may be another route." Li Ang pointed at an inconspicuous branching line and the marked point beside it. "Don't you want to know what your grandfather left behind?"

Lottie bit her lip, struggling fiercely inside. Her longing and curiosity for her grandfather tangled together with her fear of the tower's rules and her instinctive unease.

After a long silence, she first looked at the notebook her grandfather had left on the table.

Then she looked at Li Ang's calm eyes. Finally, she took a deep breath and made up her mind.

"Mm... all right. I want to see what Grandfather left behind too."

Having made their decision, the two did not begin exploring immediately in order to avoid drawing attention. Instead, they meditated together in the dormitory, waiting for deep night to arrive.

Time slowly trickled by in silence. When the clock reached two in the morning, Li Ang and Lottie opened their eyes at the same time.

Li Ang pressed himself against the door and listened for movement outside. Everything beyond was silent. It seemed everyone had already fallen into dreams. Now was the perfect time to explore.

"Let's go." Li Ang picked up the Magelight Lamp and beckoned to Lottie.

Lottie nodded nervously and instinctively straightened her robe.

The two slipped out of the dormitory without a sound, following the dim, quiet corridors downward until they reached the secluded corridor on the east side of the first floor.

At the end of the corridor, the heavy stone door sealed with metal strips and ancient runes looked even more sinister and terrifying beneath the faint glow of the Magelight Lamp.

The surroundings were deathly quiet, with only the soft sound of their breathing.

Comparing the map, Li Ang carefully examined the wall around the stone door. The hidden entrance marked on the map should be somewhere on the wall to the right of it.

He reached out and slowly felt along the rough stone bricks in that area, pressing them one by one.

Suddenly, when he pressed a stone brick above his head that looked no different from the others, it abruptly sank inward.

"Click..." An extremely faint sound, like turning gears, came from inside the wall.

Immediately afterward, a section of stone wall about a person's height away slid inward without a sound, revealing a pitch-black opening only wide enough for one person to pass through. A cold wind carrying the stale scent of decay rushed out from within.

Lottie was startled by the suddenly opening stone door. She clamped both hands tightly over her mouth, barely stopping herself from crying out.

Li Ang switched on the Magelight Lamp and shone it inside. Beyond the door was a narrow stone stairway descending downward. There were no lighting fixtures on the walls, and farther in lay nothing but darkness.

As expected of a Magelight Lamp designed around energy conservation. This brightness really was energy-efficient.

The Magelight Lamp only illuminated about five meters around them. If they wanted to know what was below, they could only go in and see for themselves.

"Stay close to me," Li Ang said in a low voice.

He turned sideways and squeezed in first. Lottie nervously grabbed the hem of his clothes and followed close behind.

The passage was terrifyingly quiet. They could hear only their own footsteps and breathing.

The stone stairs descended steeply. After walking down several dozen steps, the two entered a slightly wider corridor.

With it came an increasingly obvious feeling of suffocation...

"Uh... Miss Lottie, if you squeeze any harder, I might get strangled to death."

Li Ang helplessly reminded Lottie, who had gone from lightly clutching the corner of his clothes to gripping them for dear life, practically hanging off him.

Hearing Li Ang's words, Lottie seemed to wake from a dream. Embarrassed, she loosened her grip, but before long, she unconsciously looped her arm through his.

Fine. Let's just leave it like this. Li Ang accepted it helplessly.

As Li Ang felt her grip around his arm grow tighter and tighter, he couldn't help complaining inwardly. This little girl has quite a strong grip.

Thus, the two continued forward for a while. Within the range of the Magelight Lamp's glow, a half-open, rotten wooden door appeared.

They had finally arrived. Li Ang gently pulled his arm, already somewhat numb, from Lottie's embrace, then pushed open the wooden door and walked inside.

Beyond it was a small room that looked like a temporary rest area.

The room contained only a dust-covered stone table and two stone stools. In the corner stood a wooden rack holding food that had spoiled long ago.

The Magelight Lamp's light swept over the stone table, and Li Ang's gaze was instantly drawn to it. A yellowed letter lay conspicuously on the tabletop.

Lottie saw it as well. Her heart suddenly raced as an inexplicable premonition rose within her.

Li Ang stepped forward, carefully blew the dust off the envelope, and gently picked it up. The envelope was unsealed. He pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it.

Lottie leaned closer as well. By the lamplight, the writing on the letter came into view. The handwriting was vigorous and forceful, yet carried a trace of familiarity. It was her grandfather's handwriting.

To the descendant who discovers this letter:

Though I do not know who you are, if you can decipher the information in the notebook and find this place, it proves that your spiritual power has at least reached the level of a Formal Wizard, and that you can at least protect yourself.

I discovered this secret passage by chance. It appears to lead to an unrecorded area deep within the tower's foundations.

I once explored deeper inside, but was barred by two powerful puppet guards.

Though I am a Formal Wizard, I devoted my life's efforts to the path of potions. Combat spells are truly not my strength, so I could only retreat here and leave behind this letter.

The road ahead is fraught with extreme danger. If any descendant of the Lineage wishes to explore it, you must proceed with utmost caution. If your strength falls short, you may also leave it for the future.