"Why... why have the rules ceased to protect us... the dragons?"
The manifestation of the water dragon Perlina's power completely dissipated, but before it did, a deeply sorrowful voice echoed, leaving Owen somewhat puzzled.
The rules no longer protect the dragons... What does that mean?
In the original story, the dragon race wasn't described in detail.
The reasons behind the extinction of the dragons were never explained.
Hearing Perlina's mournful cry now made Owen feel a tinge of sadness.
But, after all, this was just a manifestation of power.
The real water dragon had been trapped in this Tower for who knows how many years; its physical body had long decayed, leaving only a skeleton.
With this in mind, Owen sighed softly.
He slowly extended his palm, and a single crystalline tear fell into his hand, gradually solidifying into a tear-shaped staff.
Just holding it, Owen could feel the intense mana fluctuations, greatly enhancing the power of water-based magic.
"I'll bring this back as a gift for Farms. He's been trying to break through to diamond-tier recently, and if he succeeds, this will be a perfect present."
With a thought, Owen stored the staff in his storage ring and walked out of the soon-to-collapse spatial fragment.
However, upon returning to the temple, he found himself face-to-face with members of Fenrir Academy.
Seeing Owen appear out of nowhere, Claire's face turned deathly pale.
"Owen! What are you doing here?"
"The treasures in this Tower belong to no one. Why wouldn't I be here?"
Owen coldly glanced at Claire, a knowing smile on his lips as he continued, "Why are you alone? Where's Lawrence? You're not working together?"
"Owen, I mean no harm. The earlier incident with Fox Academy happened only because I didn't know about Elaine's connection to you."
"Are you begging for mercy?"
Owen smirked and sneered, "Are you really that afraid I'll kill you?"
Claire's face turned red with shame. She hesitated to admit it, but it was true.
In this Tower, all the spellbeasts combined were less terrifying than Owen alone. No matter how strong a spellbeast was, it would eventually tire out.
They could wear it down through sheer attrition and eventually defeat it. But Owen was different.
In Claire's memory, she had never seen Owen exhaust his mana. His energy seemed endless, boundless.
Over the years in the Starlight Duel Tournament, Owen's strength could be summed up in two words:
Unbeatable!
Even if Lawrence were here, the two of them together might not be a match for Owen.
And now, Claire was alone.
If Owen wanted to, he could take her life at any moment.
Faced with such an invincible opponent, what choice did she have but to submit?
"Owen, killing me won't do you any good. But if you spare me and work with me, I can tell you a secret."
"A secret about what?"
"Naturally, a secret about the Tower."
Upon hearing this, Owen suddenly laughed.
Who in this world could know the Tower better than Owen?
As a key element in the early chapters of the original story, the Tower was where John's rise began.
The four elemental treasures, three forbidden magic scrolls, and a dragon egg were the treasures that allowed John to escape danger time and again, growing ever stronger.
"What do you mean by that?"
Noticing the mocking glint in Owen's eyes, Claire's expression darkened. "You don't believe me?"
"It doesn't matter whether I believe you or not. Don't worry; I won't kill you. As for your so-called secret... I don't mind hearing it."
As a key character in the early and mid-stages of the story, Owen certainly couldn't just kill Claire off.
After all, many plot developments relied on him.
On the other hand, Lawrence from Frostbane Academy wasn't as crucial.
After the Starlight Duel Tournament in a month, Lawrence would suffer a crushing defeat and lose his position as chief, making way for a young genius from Frostbane Academy, reputed to be a once-in-a-millennium talent.
"So, does that mean you're willing to work with me?"
"That depends on what secret you have. Have everyone else leave. If I wanted to kill you, they couldn't stop me anyway."
"Chief Claire!"
"It's fine. Do as Owen says. Leave the temple for now. I trust his word. If he says he won't kill me, he won't go back on it."
Thinking carefully, Claire realized that Owen had never sought trouble with them.
Perhaps it was because, in Owen's eyes, they were never considered real opponents.
On the contrary, it was Claire who had tasted defeat at Owen's hands time and again.
In fact, her mindset was somewhat similar to Glena's. Both had been hailed as geniuses, only to pale in comparison to Owen.
The difference was that Glena had chosen to accept reality, while Claire had grown to resent Owen for it.
"Go ahead, what's this secret of the Tower?"
"Owen, this information was something I accidentally learned from my family. I've never told anyone else, not even my mentor. You have to promise me you won't share it with anyone."
"Go on. I'm not one to break my word."
"There's a sage-tier dark magus sealed within the Tower. The entire Tower was built to keep him imprisoned. To this day, that dark magus remains alive inside the Tower."
Hearing this, Owen narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. "You say you learned this from your family. Where did your family get this information?"
"One of my ancestors participated in the Tower's construction. They left a message warning the family never to enter the Tower lightly and explained the reasons why. I can't vouch for its truthfulness, though. Believe it or not, it's up to you."
This revelation took Owen by surprise.
In the original story, the Tower was depicted as a place filled with hidden opportunities. As for a dark magus, either Owen had missed it, or the original story had never mentioned it at all.
"A sage-tier dark magus... What does that have to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with you. He's been sealed in the Tower for so long that even if he's still alive, how much power could he possibly have left? This might be our opportunity!
A sage-tier's treasures are priceless. Even just one could be worth a fortune! Owen, aren't you tempted?"
"Of course, I'm tempted. But no matter how valuable a treasure is, it's useless if you can't wield it. You also mentioned that he's a sage-tier. Even with just 30% of his power left, wouldn't he still easily defeat us?"
"Or, there's another possibility—what if he's already dead?"
Claire took a deep breath and continued, "The Tower was built to seal him, and now that the seal is weakening, this might actually indicate that the dark magus has long since lost all his mana over the centuries and is nothing more than a skeleton.
Owen, this is an opportunity. What do you say? Will you work with me?"
Facing Claire's fervent gaze, Owen frowned, falling silent for a moment.
Wasn't the Tower created to connect two dimensions?
Could his mentor's explanation have been false?
That's unlikely. In the original story, the arrival of the other dimension started with the Tower. There's no way Owen could have misremembered...
Should he agree to Claire's proposal?
It was still too early to tell. Perhaps this dark magus didn't even exist. Claire could have fabricated the story as a trap for him.
After a moment of thought, Owen finally exhaled deeply and said, "I need to think about this. Once I've made up my mind, I'll come to you with my answer."
"Take your time. There's no rush. But remember, I've never shared this information with anyone else. Owen, I hope you won't spread the word."
"Don't worry. I keep my promises."
With that, Owen activated Absolute Stealth and disappeared from Claire's sight. Seeing this, Claire sighed softly and said nothing more.
As Claire left the temple and rejoined her companions, someone immediately approached her with concern.
"Chief, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Owen didn't do anything to me. But from now on, do not target anyone or any group associated with Owen."
"But won't that go against the mission the principal gave us?"
"Is the mission more important than your lives? I'll deal with the principal."