I stopped cultivating when I heard Elaria moving very slowly and carefully so as not to wake Lila while getting up.
I opened my eyes and looked through the crack in the curtain and out the window. Based on the amount of sunlight, it was probably time to get up for the day.
Lila always sleeps with her head under the blankets, and I wondered what would happen if the sun shone on her face while she was sleeping, but figured that was an experiment for another day.
I massaged her fluffy ears but realized she was already awake. I guess as careful as Elaria was, Lila still woke up, probably from sensing someone moving away.
"Well, how do you both feel today?"
"Really good," Lila started moving closer while lightly touching my chest and changed her tone to seductive, "but I can always feel better."
I patted her head and got up while looking at Elaria.
"I feel better than usual master, thank you."
After Lila's usual throw the blankets off and "stretch," Elaria helped Lila dress, and we decided to eat at the restaurant across the street.
We checked out of the inn and walked across the street, pausing as a carriage rattled by on the cobblestone street.
I had thought it was a restaurant, but it turned out to be a bakery, Lila's eyes shone like stars when she saw this.
I smiled as I remembered our last visit to a bakery in Flamehaven.
We entered and went to the counter, this time I didn't bother with just one of a few things but rather ordered four of everything.
The young girl working the counter brightened up with the large order and quickly packed it.
We sat at one of the tables where Lila started stuffing the baked goods into her mouth. When she chewed, I was reminded of a chipmunk with puffed-out cheeks.
She wore a smile on her face and was making noises that my little brother thought were for him.
Elaria ate with much better manners.
When we finished, Lila leaned back, rubbing her belly, "So good."
She got looks from both of us saying, "Huh? Really? We couldn't tell."
I remembered I need to get some higher-level spells, "We'll stop by the magic tower today."
"Yes, master."
Lila nodded.
We left the bakery and headed towards the magic tower. It was quite obvious where it was, as it was a literal tower soaring into the sky above the city, not even shorter when compared to the royal palace.
When we entered, I headed straight to the desk as none of the books on the first floor would be for mages at the 6th circle.
There was a middle-aged man working the desk, wearing a mage's robe and thick glasses.
"Hello, welcome to the Ironguard magic tower. How can I help you?"
"I'm looking for spells for 6th circle mages."
"Are you a member of the tower?"
I shook my head, "No."
"Only some of the tower members are allowed to access our 6th circle spells. If you want to register, I'll be happy to help you."
"Alright, what do I need to fill out?"
"If all you want is to register, I can help you, but if you want to access the 6th circle spells, you'll have to talk to one of the managers."
"I'll do both then if I need to."
He slid a form in front of me, "Please fill this out, and I'll go get the floor manager."
He left, and I started filling out the form.
Name, Age, Gender, Number of Circles, etc. Normal, boring stuff.
I reached over the counter and pulled out two more forms for Lila and Elaria to also fill out.
When Lila filled hers out, she used a different last name, Adney like when entering Flamehaven. No way the person in charge of the tower won't look at the form filled out by an 18-year-old 5th circle mage. They also would probably know the last name of the Beastholm royal family.
The man returned with another, looking to be in his 60s who glanced at our forms and looked happy, like someone about to get a big raise happy.
"Hello, would you please come to meet the tower master? He can help you get access to 6th circle spells the fastest. It's not every day powerful young people walk in; he'd be delighted to meet you."
I nodded, "sure."
He led us over to an elevator and activated a magic circuit on the wall.
I'd never really thought about that elevators could also be made with magic.
When the doors opened, we stepped inside where he activated another circuit that would take us to the top floor.
When the elevator started going up, Lila started smiling and jumped like a little kid.
Elaria looked like she was writing her last will as it shook slightly.
The man saw her expression, "It's perfectly safe, even if a troll were to jump in here, it'd be fine."
She nodded but didn't seem to calm down, and I placed my hand over Lila's head, keeping her from jumping, which earned me a glare.
I just shook my head in amusement thinking I'd have to show her the elevators on Earth that she could ride as much as she wanted.
The doors opened, and we all stepped out, Elaria breathing a sigh of relief.
There were large double doors in front of us, which the man pushed open, motioning us to enter. After we entered, they squeaked shut behind us after the man left to go back down.
We were in a large office area that smelled of books; these books and scrolls could be seen lining most of the walls with some artifacts and potions mixed in and sealed under glass.
In the middle, there were two leather couches facing each other with a short table between.
On the far end was a large desk with piles of papers on both sides and an old man seated behind. Behind him, I could see large glass windows with a door leading to a balcony on one side.
He smiled, "Welcome to the magic tower. I'm Hebert, the tower master. I'm pleased there is such great talents as you three in the younger generation." He sighed, "I really am getting old."
"Hello, sir. I'm glad I could meet the tower master; thank you for taking the time to invite us."
"I heard you are looking for 6th circle spells. When I saw your ages, I knew I had found some gems and wanted to give a proposal."
He stood and walked over to the couches, motioning us to sit opposite. We didn't keep standing and sat in the usual fashion with Elaria behind.
Lila leaned against me, and Hebert looked at her, seeming slightly jealous. I began feeling like I should start skinning him, but he shook his head, sighing.
"If only I could get a daughter-in-law as talented as you."
I calmed down a bit hearing that.
"As you can probably tell, I'm getting old and looking to retire soon."
If you're old, what does that make me with how long it takes to devour a bunch of multiverses? Ancient? Nah, I'm still young, for an immortal.
"I'm looking for someone talented to replace me as tower master, and you three are the most talented to date. My proposal is, I'll help you if one of you wants to become the next tower master with some of the resources that go to the tower master. Of course, the tower master has access to all the spells at the tower; there are even some no one else can access."
He's selling me on this with the exclusive spells.
Lila answered immediately, "Max can do it if he wants."
Elaria didn't say anything, but I knew her answer.
"Being the tower master sounds like a job I might like. What would you want exactly?"
"The tower master must be at least an 8th circle mage, like me, so when you become an 8th circle mage, I'll retire, and you take over."
Magic isn't only spells, and the magic tower should also have all kinds of stuff for the other fields of magic study, like alchemy and artifact refining.
"The magic tower has more magical things than just spells, right?"
"Yes, and the tower master has access to all of that also. Everything in the tower is under the jurisdiction of the tower master; even if another tower master comes to visit, they don't have that much access."
"So before becoming an 8th circle and becoming tower master, what would I need to do and what would I get?"
"I can give access to all the non-exclusive 6th and 7th circle spells and a couple of the exclusive ones. I would also need you to come visit for at least a day every week to teach you about being a tower master and the responsibilities that entails."
"What about mana crystals?"
He shook his head, "I can't give you mana crystals."
I nodded, "Well, I still like the deal, and being a tower master must give a pretty nice paycheck, so I'll agree."
Old man, I'm not so blind as to miss the piles of paper on your desk, but it's not like I won't just devour this world and quit when I'm done here though…
He grinned like the Cheshire cat, pulling out a gold card and handed them to me.
"This will allow you access to the floors where the 6th and 7th circle spells are; the card is tied to each person, so no one else can use it."
I nodded, "Can these two also come, and I just use my card?"
He shook his head and pulled out two more gold cards handing them to me, "They can if they have these."
I gave the cards to Lila and Elaria.
"What day should I come to the tower then? I'd like to look through the spells today."
"Sure! Sure! Explore the tower today and come by tomorrow."
I nodded, and we stood, after shaking hands, we left and went to the elevator going part way down the tower.
When we arrived on the 8th floor, we each used our card to unlock the magic circuit on the door and enter.
A huge library greeted us, towering bookshelves chock full of books went as far as I could see. Off to the side were a few tables and chairs.
"Alright, help me look for like two good defense, some attack, and any other spells that seem really useful, then we'll meet back here."
"Yes, master."
We parted ways and started browsing the titles.
A few hours later, we met back up and sat down at a table to sort through all the spells and pick the best ones to learn. Any I decided not to use went on the return shelf, where they were magically sent back to their proper place.
I decided to learn a new shield spell that could automatically counter-attack with magic spikes when attacked at close range.
I also picked out a new attack spell for each element that did single target as well as one attack spell that had a large explosion for many targets.
For other spells, I found a short range teleportation spell and a better spell for using mana to scan the surroundings further than I previously could. I also picked out a buffing spell for our speed that would allow us to get to and from the Dreadwood forest faster, and thereby, hunt longer.
By the time I had finished sorting them all and memorizing the ones I wanted, it was already dark, and we decided to go back to the inn for the night and pick out an apartment tomorrow.