Chapter Fifty-Four: Journey to the Mage's Tower

Mo Han was a member of the school's faculty, but did not teach any classes; his primary responsibility was to maintain the stability of this instance. His profession was that of a mage, revered by the Cross Fortress, and he was also part of the mage tower within the fortress.

Possessing certain privileges in the mage tower, he took Chu Cheng directly to the tower through teleportation.

“I’ll take you to meet the tower master shortly. Don’t wander off, and don’t touch anything,” he instructed.

“Alright,” Chu Cheng replied.

“Also, the so-called Void Source Infusion involves using an array to channel void energy. The extent to which your attributes are enhanced depends entirely on how much you can absorb. Specifically, it means…”

As they spoke, the two ascended to the third floor of the high tower. Flanking the ornate door stood two humanoid iron golems, each at level forty-five—a terrifying template.

“What power,” Chu Cheng muttered.

Mo Han pushed open the door and entered a lavish hall. At the entrance stood a girl dressed as a maid, who bowed respectfully to Mo Han and said, “The master is already waiting for you. Please follow me.”

Chu Cheng glanced at the girl and saw her attributes listed as: “Magical Puppet Maid (Terrifying): Level 48, 26,000 health.”

…

The girl led them around the screen at the back of the hall, through a corridor, and finally to another room. At the door shimmered a faint magical glow, and within the room was a small teleportation platform.

Guided by the girl, they passed through the glowing membrane into the room. Mo Han led him onto the teleportation platform, and with a flash of magical light, the space trembled slightly before settling down—they had been teleported to another location.

It was a vast and empty hall, surrounded by stone pillars carved with magical runes. In the center was a colossal magical array. Above, there was no ceiling, only the void, with countless stars glittering overhead.

“The Observatory!”

Though it was daytime, here it felt like night—no sun, only a sky full of stars.

Across the array stood a laboratory bench and various instruments. An old man in a mage’s robe was busy tinkering with something.

As they appeared via teleportation, the old man turned to them, revealing a face aged and crowned with white hair—an image that perfectly matched Chu Cheng’s stereotype of a high-level mage.

“My friend, you arrived just in time. I’ve just discovered a peculiar phenomenon—perhaps you’d like to take a look.”

Mo Han nodded, left Chu Cheng with a warning not to touch anything, and joined the old mage to study the discovery.

The two huddled together, engrossed in research and animated discussion, leaving Chu Cheng completely ignored.

He dared not act rashly; after all, he knew that in many instances, old mages were notoriously eccentric and could punish at the slightest provocation.

With nothing to do, Chu Cheng could only cast his gaze around.

This was the top floor of the mage tower—the observatory—dedicated to the study of void constellations. The abundance of star-gazing instruments made it clear that the tower master was an expert in astrology and divination.

At the center of the observatory was a massive magical array, its surface etched with complex runes. Though the array was inactive, magical light occasionally flowed along its patterns.

Unfortunately, Chu Cheng was not a mage, had never studied meditation, nor read any magical tomes; the array was utterly inscrutable to him.

After a brief glance, boredom set in. He discreetly opened his communication panel, hoping for conversation, only to find that the communication function was disabled within the mage tower.

“Well then,” he sighed, shrugging helplessly, and began to daydream.

He did not know how much time passed before a voice pierced his reverie: “Wake up!”

Returning to himself, he saw the two mages approaching, their conversation finished. The old mage scrutinized Chu Cheng with a calm gaze, while Mo Han introduced, “He has rendered great service to the fortress and is to be rewarded with a single infusion from the void source array. I ask that you carry out the procedure.”

The old mage nodded and said, “Let him enter the array. First, I will examine his mind to determine his capacity.”

Mo Han cast Chu Cheng a meaningful look, and Chu Cheng promptly stepped onto the central array.

The old mage waved his hand in the void, and streaks of magical light soared forth, causing the array to suddenly blaze; all its patterns lit up as if electrified, and a faint radiance enveloped Chu Cheng. Strands of light rose from the void and circled him.

“Hmm!” The old mage raised his head, curiosity in his eyes, and asked Mo Han, “His innate spirit and intelligence are exceptionally high. Why has he not become a mage?”

Mo Han was surprised and countered, “Is it really that high?”

“They have reached the human limit!” the old mage declared.

Mo Han immediately turned to Chu Cheng, “Your initial spirit and intelligence are so high—why haven’t you chosen the mage profession?”

Chu Cheng spread his hands and replied,

“No money. My father didn’t provide the certificate for an advanced profession.”

“Nonsense!” Mo Han snapped, mildly irritated. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but perhaps sensing it was not the right place, he finally held his tongue.

The old mage merely continued, “Prepare yourself. The void array will soon be activated.”

Mo Han also cautioned, “The void array will last at least a quarter of an hour. The more void source energy you can endure, the longer you last, the more free attribute points you’ll gain. Hold out as long as you can.”

“I will,” Chu Cheng answered.

As the old mage pressed his hand lightly, magic surged into the array, and Chu Cheng felt a suffocating pressure descend upon him.

“The array has been activated!”

He could distinctly sense the surrounding void shifting; the space seemed to… grow thinner?

No, more accurately, the activation of the array was shifting their location—from the mage tower to the edge of the domain, separated from the chaotic void by only a thin layer of crystal wall, which would vanish entirely once the array reached full power and began to draw in void source energy.

Though not a mage, Chu Cheng understood some basic principles of the Chaos Realm.

The so-called Chaos Realm was, in fact, a world composed of countless domains, large and small—much like the bottomless Abyss in the multiverse of the DND cosmology.

No, in truth, it was even more chaotic and disordered than the Abyss, with all domains crowded together.

Strictly speaking, the human main world was also part of the Chaos Realm—a domain within the chaos. When the Chaos Realm descended, the human world was captured by the chaotic domain, and humanity had dwelled in the Chaos Realm for ten thousand years, gradually integrating with it.

Now, the human main world was wholly a part of the Chaos Realm.

It was simply that the human main world was vast—its size and domain essence far surpassed the many subsidiary worlds they had entered.

According to the observations of sages and godlike beings over millennia, the human main world was not unique within the Chaos Realm; elsewhere in the chaos, there existed other main worlds and races favored by chaos itself.

They, too, could obtain the Mark of Chaos and awaken bodies governed by the laws of data.