"Five of them?" William's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, five. Here's the transfer contract. Kindly sign," Rueel said, taking out a pre-prepared document from his desk and pushing a quill pen toward William.
"Lord Rueel Stani, I came to..." William began.
"I know why you're here," Rueel interrupted again. "Your daughter is indeed beautiful. But if she wishes to marry Lawrence, you'll have to provide two more shipyards as a dowry."
Losing seven shipyards would strip the Jona family of their status as the wealthiest family in Sailport.
William's position as the council chairman would surely be lost in the next civic election.
"I need to discuss this with my wife, Margaret," William tried to defer.
"As you wish," Rueel said with a smirk, "There are plenty of lovely ladies eager to marry Lawrence, all bringing generous dowries. For now, sign the transfer contract for the five shipyards."
Minutes later, Matthew, William, and a somewhat bewildered Miss Anna exited the Magus Tower. Rueel didn't even extend an invitation for them to dine.
"I wish anyone but Lawrence had awakened the Red Bloodline," Matthew lamented.
"Resign yourself to fate, priest. Destiny is often cruel and unjust," William said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Compared to Matthew's obligation to guard the Shadeveil Mountains fifteen days a month, William's loss was more significant.
He didn't manage to marry off his daughter and lost five shipyards in the process.
"I wonder if Margaret will break down when I get home," William said, a gloomy expression on his face.
Out of the blue, Matthew mused, "Maybe Lord Bairon can win the duel."
"That's impossible," William said, shaking his head.
Even though he wasn't a magus, he was well aware of the chasm between the Red Bloodline and ordinary ones.
Not to mention, Lawrence had the support of his father, the Chief Steward.
"Perhaps not," Matthew responded, "I've seen Bairon in the Shadeveil Mountains a few times. He's like... well, he's like a wolf in the wild, adept at tearing apart its prey."
"A lone wolf struggles to survive, Reverend. Only a pack can truly dominate the wilderness," William said as he escorted his daughter into their carriage, heading home.
...
In a two-story building on the outskirts of the Magus Tower.
Bairon placed a pill, designed to delay the effects of Greyscale, into a bowl.
He dissolved it in water and gently fed it to Evelyn, who lay bedridden.
"Are you ready?" Bairon whispered.
Evelyn nodded, putting on her newly-purchased Elf Queen mask.
Bairon opened a new storybook, selecting a fable about the Elf Queen, and began to read it aloud.
"Wearing the mask while listening to the story feels so different, brother," Evelyn remarked.
Soon after, under the influence of the medicine, she drifted into a deep sleep.
Upon finishing, Bairon closed the book, removed the mask from Evelyn's face, and placed them side by side on the bedside table.
He then checked her breathing with his index finger.
Assured by Evelyn's steady breaths, Bairon took out a magus ring, channeling a surge of Mindergy into it.
A wave of dizziness washed over him.
When Bairon opened his eyes, he found himself once again in the world of the Dark Tower.
"Welcome home, Intermediate Magus," the voice of Old John echoed from above. He seemed to be in high spirits, as if something delightful had occurred.
Bairon responded, "I'd be happy to call this place home, if I only knew where it was."
After using it multiple times, Bairon had concluded that the magus ring, which granted him access to the Dark Tower world, was a portal ring with only the Transport Magic Pattern.
If it was indeed transportation, then the Dark Tower world must be situated somewhere in their real world.
However, Bairon wasn't entirely sure if it was within the Röntgen Continent.
Legends spoke of powerful Spatial spells that could carve out and maintain a separate, eternal dimension.
Moreover, many myths depicted that, in ancient times, the Röntgen Continent had spatial rifts connecting it to other worlds.
"This is the Dark Tower world. It always has been and remains unchanged," Old John replied.
Bairon shrugged. The response seemed too evasive.
He resolved not to bring Evelyn into the Dark Tower world until he truly understood it.
Suddenly, a grave thought struck him.
With a solemn expression, he asked, "Who was the last person to enter the Dark Tower world before me?"
"He's right here, the Golden Knight," Old John replied.
Bairon's gaze shifted to the knight trapped in the marsh.
Edmund Stanley, the Golden Knight and the last duke of the Montagne Empire, had last been mentioned in historical records around twenty-seven hundred years ago.
He had led the final army of the old empire in a decisive battle against the imperial rebels.
Ultimately, the Golden Knight was defeated by the Legendary Magus Soros.
His army was decimated, and he vanished without a trace.
"So, no one has come in recently?" Bairon inhaled deeply.
He had found the magus ring, which transported him to the Dark Tower world, on the body of a Dark Magus.
If Old John was telling the truth, it meant that this Dark Magus had never entered.
This realization only made things more complicated.
"It seems I've stirred up quite the hornet's nest," Bairon remarked with a wry smile.
Ever since Bairon had joined the Sailport Magus Tower, Chief Steward Rueel had assigned him the duty of guarding the entrance to the ruins in the Shadeveil Mountains.
These so-called ruins were essentially sites of massive military conflicts.
Here, both warring factions would employ Chanting Magus, unleashing vast, potent, and diverse spells that would intertwine, leading to the creation of a highly distorted spell field.
This terrain was extremely perilous for the average person.
Yet, for Dark Magus practicing Soul spells, it promised unexpected gains.
To prevent the proliferation of evil, the Magus Tower guild mandated that the nearest Magus Tower dispatch a sworn guardian to watch over the primary path leading to the ruins, colloquially referred to as "gatekeeping."
That was Bairon's duty.
It's worth noting that the war which forged the ruins of Shadeveil Mountains was the very conflict between the Golden Knight, Edmund, and the Legendary Magus Soros, determining the fate of the empire.
The clash between two Legendary Magus, augmented by over seventy thousand Chanting Magus, ensured that the spell field of the Shadeveil Mountains remained active even after two thousand seven hundred years, occasionally attracting Dark Magus looking to "strike gold" within.
"I do enjoy a grand spectacle," Old John remarked.
"It's a grand mess, not a grand spectacle," Bairon responded, massaging his temples.
"According to the Magus guild's rules, any gear or spells from a slain Dark Magus who ventured into the ruins must be handed over to the Magus Tower. But, given the challenging nature of gatekeeping, sometimes magus might keep a few prized possessions for themselves."
"However, there are things one shouldn't take, like objects the Dark Magus brings out of the ruins. This would attract scrutiny from higher powers," Bairon continued, pausing with realization.
Could his encounter earlier that evening with Ajani Phillip, the Son of the White Tower, be related to this investigation?
"Is there a way to make the ring appear as a normal one?" Bairon inquired.
"You don't need to hide. When you wish for the Ring of the Dark Tower to be a mere magus ring, it will appear so," Old John replied. "Additionally, if you wish to pass it on to someone else, you can. The Dark Tower is never stingy when it comes to fulfilling desires."
So, its name is the Ring of the Dark Tower... Bairon looked up with a smile, querying, "Can the Dark Tower erase my name from parchment?"
"Of course, it can," Old John responded.
Bairon asked again, "Is there a price to pay?"
"Take a guess," Old John replied.
Probably floating in the sky like you... Bairon mused silently.
The conversation provided Bairon with a mix of relief and caution.
The relief stemmed from not having to worry about the secret of the Ring of the Dark Tower being discovered.
Yet, he felt cautionary, keen not to overly rely on the Dark Tower; he had no wish to become one of its denizens like Old John, Charlotte, or the Golden Knight Edmund.
Lifting his hand, Bairon suddenly levitated.
He then flew along the dirt path, stopping in front of the grand gates of the Dark Tower.
With a swift hand movement, a blade of wind instantly shot out.
The wind blade flew straight, disappearing into thin air after twenty meters.
"Can someone explain why my new spell is aero-based?" Bairon questioned.
"Your Magic Circuit has a strong affinity with the wind element," Charlotte, sitting on the steps, answered.
"What does that mean?" Bairon probed further.
"There are roughly three methods for a magus to acquire new spells," Old John elucidated from above.
"First, through Legacy Scrolls; second, existing spells evolve into new ones as the magus advances in rank; and third, upon leveling up, the most harmonious Magic Circuit within the magus, influenced by the awakening of the Bloodline, will naturally manifest a new spell."