Coachman Marsh definitely didn’t like the Old Witch.

Though as an ordinary man, he had no right to voice such preferences, the master he had acknowledged had always treated him well.

It was just a pity—driving a carriage was all he could do.

And now, the one carriage he could still drive for Saul had been destroyed by the Old Witch.

That made him even angrier than when the Old Witch had planted him in a jar to harvest mushrooms.

The only reason he reached out to catch her just now was because she seemed to still be of some use to his master.

After dropping the Old Witch, Marsh hurried to check on Saul.

At that moment, Saul hadn’t paid any attention to the commotion behind him. Anyway, the Old Witch’s new body wouldn’t die even if it was thrown to the ground.

He had stepped back ten meters, just enough to avoid the zone of magic turbulence, and was observing the changes happening on the ground ahead.

However, what changed first weren’t the ground or the island, but the surrounding lake and the thick gray mist.

First, the mist thickened, constantly drawing inward.

Soon, anything beyond five meters was no longer visible.

Then came the lake water.

Although Saul could no longer see the lake hidden behind the dense fog, he could hear the bubbling sounds—gudu-gudu—like the entire Lake Rhine was being boiled.

Next, the air grew even colder. Frosty white crystals formed on the hems of their clothes.

Each breath they took became a white puff, quickly swallowed by the gray mist.

Amidst the boiling of the lake, Saul faintly heard a rumbling sound—as if a train had just roared past his ear and was now rumbling off into the distance.

When the magical fluctuations ahead gradually settled down, Saul took a step forward.

As he closed the distance, the massive structure buried in the gray fog slowly emerged with increasing clarity.

“What is that?” the Old Witch followed closely behind Saul.

She was very short at the moment, and had to crane her neck nearly 90 degrees to glimpse the massive thing behind the fog.

“Is that a wizard tower?”

What appeared before them was a pure white wizard tower.

To say it didn’t resemble Gorsa’s wizard tower would be an understatement—it was completely different.

Gorsa’s tower was grayish white, dark and desolate in tone, standing aloof from the world.

But the tower before them now was of an entirely different style.

Even in the thick fog, it glowed with a white radiance, like warm mutton-fat jade. Even its walls were smooth, adorned with faint, indistinct stone patterns.

Possibly due to a smaller foundation, the tower didn’t occupy much ground. It took up about two-thirds of the five-hundred-square-meter island at the center of the lake.

It looked more like a bell tower—just one without a bell.

Upon seeing this, the astonishment in the Old Witch’s eyes deepened.

“This… could it be the wizard tower of the Glare Family?”

“Yes. My master gave me this wizard tower.”

“Who is your master?”

Saul opened his mouth, then gave a wry smile. “Not convenient to say.”

Even though she didn’t get an answer, the Old Witch looked at Saul with growing wariness.

Several headache-inducing names flashed through her mind.

For a moment, she even felt a strange sense of relief—that it was Saul who had tricked her, and not the other way around. She was glad she hadn’t turned him into one of her experimental subjects.

Because the Glare Family… was infamous across all continents for their madness.

Looking at the young wizard before her, the Old Witch’s eyes flickered, and the thought she’d hidden in her heart—solve the pollution and then solve Saul—was now completely abandoned.

Though Saul didn’t look at her, his sharp senses picked up on her gaze.

“Looks like this last-minute ally might stay in the tower for a while… Hmm, but I’ll still need to keep things confidential.”

He thought to himself, “But if those two Third Rank wizards really find us, I’ll just hand her over.”

Setting the Old Witch aside for now, Saul asked internally, “Agu, why does my wizard tower look nothing like my mentor’s?”

Agu: The tower’s structure comes from a rock giant. And among the rock giant race, appearances are diverse—more colorful than the rainbow in the sky. That’s precisely why the Glimmering Light Family uses the bodies of rock giants for their wizard towers. They can change and grow according to the tower master’s mental power and magic.

Saul: “I remember my mentor once said this tower was originally built by a wizard named Camus. Back then, did the tower look different from Gorsa’s as well?”

Agu, who had witnessed three generations of tower masters: Yes, but the difference wasn’t as dramatic as yours compared to Tower Master Gorsa.

Saul nodded. “So it’s the traits of my mental power and magic that made the Black Iron Coffin choose a different growth pattern.”

He flew into the air, seeking out the tower’s peak.

This new wizard tower wasn’t as tall as Gorsa’s, and had no windows on its walls.

Its height was about fifteen to sixteen meters. Based on Saul’s intuition, it likely had five internal floors.

There might even be a basement level underground.

However, the top of the tower wasn’t a narrow spire, but a massive round platform.

The platform was about a meter thick. Probing it with his mental power, Saul determined it was solid inside.

Landing atop the disc, Saul felt a strange sense of déjà vu—like returning to his mental realm.

But this disc had no formations inscribed on it, nor was there a floating, dark red hardcover book above.

Saul reached out and touched the tower’s surface.

Though it looked smooth like jade, the rock had a slightly rough, matte texture to the touch.

“A mirror-like exterior with a matte feel? How did they do that?”

Just as Saul was considering whether to scrape off a bit of the surface rock to study it, the Old Witch’s voice called up from below.

“Hey! A door just opened down here—aren’t you going to check it out?”

Saul immediately flew down and saw Marsh and the Old Witch standing in front of a pitch-black doorway.

The Old Witch awkwardly crossed her short arms in front of her chest. “This is your wizard tower. No one else can enter without your permission. You’d better go take a look.”

Agu: Now that the main entrance has appeared, the tower’s initial growth is complete. To expand it further, you’ll need energy-rich materials—like soul fragments.

Thinking of the surrounding lake and the masses of wraiths beneath its surface, Saul nodded. “Well, we’re not lacking in that.”

He had followed the Old Witch this far mainly because of the abundance of wraiths in this area.

“I’m going in. You two wait outside for now.”

Saul stepped into the black doorway.

The moment he entered, his figure vanished.

It didn’t feel like stepping into a dark room—more like passing through an opaque barrier.

Seeing Saul enter the wizard tower, the mushrooms on Marsh’s face twitched. He ran to the far side of the tower base, closer to the lake, and began plucking off the mushrooms on his face one by one… and started planting mushrooms.

The Old Witch originally had no interest in this ordinary man, but his behavior was so bizarre that she couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you doing?”

Marsh grunted and reluctantly replied, “Building a house.”

“With mushrooms?” The Old Witch felt like she was only asking out of sheer boredom.

She sat down facing the white wizard tower’s entrance. She didn’t dare meditate, so she could only stare into space.

“Even though the tower’s complete, will that Dodge really come to launch a sneak attack?” The Old Witch scratched her deeply wrinkled cheek and uncomfortably twisted her neck. “Dodge has Clark’s Dream Bell in his possession. Would he actually get a Dreammaker to help him seize Lake Rhine?”

She was worried—but also amused.

“Heh, what kind of Third Rank wizard would bother with such a petty matter? He should be focusing on advancing to Fourth Rank by now.”

She began considering other possibilities.

“If it’s another Second Rank wizard, then this Glare Family tower should hold. Worst case, there’s still me… though I should avoid casting spells for now. If it really gets bad, I’ll just run first and come back after he wins.”

(End of Chapter)

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