Chapter 38: The City of Astrology, Sgdel (III)

Before arriving at [The City of Astrology—Sgdel], Jiang Zhe had imagined it many times in his mind. Whether it was the city or that famous mage tower, he thought it was just a city and a tower—what was so special about them?
It was similar to when he first entered Rexx Academy; that ancient castle also didn’t seem particularly remarkable. To put it simply, it was just medieval Western architecture from his past life. But this time, Sgdel far exceeded Jiang Zhe’s expectations.
As for the houses in the city, there wasn’t much to say about them—just like the city where Rexx Academy was located and Vandor’s residential area, they were all old and dilapidated. Some had even collapsed due to neglect over the years. It seemed true what some said—that the mages of Sgdel didn’t live in their own houses.
Of course, once you entered Sgdel, you wouldn’t even notice those dilapidated houses, because your attention would be drawn to the colossal structure at the center of the city.
[The Mage Tower—Vandel], the legendary Tower of Thunder. But the question was: was it really a tower?
When thinking of towers, Jiang Zhe couldn’t help but recall the tall, spire-like structures he had seen in his past life—that’s what a true tower was. But the mage tower before him wasn’t like that. Rather than a tower, it resembled a small castle.
What was even more incredible was that this tower-like structure floated inexplicably in mid-air. Good heavens, this clearly violated the most basic law of gravity in the world!
Some might say that in a world of magical civilization, it wasn’t strange to have a floating tower.
But the problem was, magic didn’t arise out of nothing; it still had to follow the laws of the world. It was like someone turning water into oil or stones into gold and calling it magic… Please, that’s just sleight of hand!
At least Jiang Zhe had lived in this world for four or five years and had never seen or heard of such things.
Of course, as a student of Rexx Academy, Jiang Zhe wasn’t completely ignorant about such matters. He at least understood that gravity magic was involved, but as for the specifics, he had no idea.
It wasn’t surprising, though. In this world, gravity magic was originally a special type of magical application. Even ordinary mages, even if they learned it, wouldn’t know how to use it. Moreover, gravity magic itself wasn’t yet perfected—just like space magic, it was still under research.

It can be said that ordinary magicians hardly have any chance to come into contact with gravity magic. Don’t assume that just because some powerful magicians can float in the air, it must be gravity magic—actually, that’s just wind magic, such as [Feather Magic] or [Float Magic], which is by no means true gravity magic. Although they may seem similar, their essences are different. The characteristic of such wind magic is [levitation], meaning using atmospheric currents to lift one’s body and achieve floating. In contrast, the essence of gravity magic is [gravity], that is, [attractive force] and [repulsive force], and mastering it is far more difficult than mastering wind magic for levitation.

The mage tower before us utilizes the principles of gravity magic. Why am I so sure? Do you think wind can lift a small ancient castle built from large blocks of bluestone? More importantly, this tower floats very stably, hovering about a hundred or two hundred yards above the ground.

From a distance, the entire mage tower appears to be a combination of two cones—one pointing upward and the other downward. Naturally, the upper cone is the actual mage tower, while the lower cone is a huge rock as big as a mountain.

Looking at the huge lake beneath the mage tower, can we imagine that perhaps initially, it wasn’t floating in the air like this? Over the years, ancient dark magicians and astrologers used their knowledge of gravity magic to lift this tower along with its rocky foundation from the ground, creating this marvel.

Of course, this is not all that’s astonishing. Around the mage tower, there are also three white jade-like four-sided structures, also shaped like cones at both ends. These are another scenic feature of Vandel—pyramids.

The history of these three pyramids may be as long as Vandel’s itself. We no longer know who built them, nor what materials were used. All we know are their names and their purposes.

In the history of Sgdel, these three pyramids are named after Wind, Thunder, and Ice: The first pyramid, which appears somewhat hazy with a slightly bluish tint, is the Pyramid of Wind; the second pyramid, with intense electric currents swirling around it and constantly making crackling sounds, is the Pyramid of Thunder; and the last one, completely white as if covered in frost, is the Pyramid of Ice.

The three obelisks floated around the mage tower, connected by an unknown circular energy field. This was Vandel’s last and strongest line of defense. If those three obelisks were destroyed by the enemy, Vandel would essentially have no means left for defense.

Speaking of these three obelisks, it’s worth mentioning that some magicians, upon seeing them, believed they were built by dwarves. The evidence was that similar obelisks stood in dwarf settlements, and they were far larger than those in Sigdel.

Moreover, even these three obelisks, along with the floating mage tower Vandel, represented a level of craftsmanship that humans could hardly achieve even centuries ago, despite the brilliant magical achievements of the previous generation of dark magicians. Indeed, when you enter Vandel and see those dense arrays of magic circles and massive gears, it’s hard to believe that magicians from hundreds of years ago could have reached such heights.

Back to the topic, aside from those three obelisks, the most eye-catching feature were the dozen or so waterfalls that seemed to flow from nowhere. It’s hard to imagine that on almost every floor of the mage tower Vandel, there was a waterfall pouring water into the air, never stopping. Even more astonishingly, despite these waterfalls, the water level in the huge lake beneath the tower neither increased nor decreased.

The mist generated by these waterfalls caused three dazzling rainbows to appear almost constantly near the top of the tower, each with a different color and arrangement. These three rainbows formed a triangular pattern, reflecting off the lake and setting off the mage tower, leaving a group of children in awe—especially Lavia…

No wonder such a beautiful sight could never exist in the snow-covered Altak. But as beautiful as it was, the question remained: how could one get up there?

Seeing the distance of at least a hundred or two hundred yards, Jiang Zhe was puzzled. After all, not every magician mastered the magic of spatial displacement.

Just as Jiang Zhe was puzzled, Elder Jives perhaps sensed what the kids were thinking. He paused, smiled, and said, “Don’t worry, kids!” As he spoke, he raised his cane, but suddenly his movement stopped. Touching his long beard that trailed to the ground, he murmured, “What spell was it again? Monimoha… Asa? No, no… Scarech? That doesn’t seem right either…”

Watching Elder Jives muttering to himself, Allen nudged Scott with his hand and whispered, “Is this old man even capable?”

No sooner had he spoken than he felt a light tap on his head. Looking up, he saw Professor Hode. Professor Hode glanced at Elder Jives with respect and said softly, “Stop talking nonsense, Allen!”

“Yes… Professor…” Allen replied in a drawn-out tone. Though Elder Jives’ initial reaction had shocked him, it was hard for Allen to accept the sudden transformation of a powerful magician into a forgetful old man.

“That memory…” Perhaps hearing Allen’s words, Elder Jives shook his head with self-mockery and turned to the kids, “Don’t rush. I’ll think of it soon…” As he spoke, he gestured with his cane, reciting spell after spell, but sadly, nothing happened.

“Uh, this…” Allen interrupted with a sheepish smile, “Elder Jives, can’t you use the same magic that brought us into the city to take us straight to the tower?” He pointed at the Mage Tower Vandel in the sky above them.

“That won’t work, kids,” Elder Jives said with a smile, shaking his head. He then pointed at the Wind Pyramid and said, “Do you see that blue pyramid? That’s the Wind Pyramid. Any teleportation magic is ineffective in Vandel. Of course, this refers to going outside. That is, I can use displacement magic to leave Vandel, but I can’t use the same method to enter. To get into Vandel, there’s only one way…”

“What way?” Allen asked instinctively. Suddenly recalling the spell Elder Jives had been struggling with, he asked strangely, “May I ask? How long has it been since you’ve been out?”

“Not long,” Elder Jives replied with a smile, shaking his head. Then he recalled, “I remember when your current dean, little Gret, came here, it was me who went out to meet him…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Professor Hodde’s expression changed slightly. He muttered to himself, “The dean hasn’t been here in almost ten years, right…?”
“Ten years?” Ravia stuck out her tongue exaggeratedly, her rare playful demeanor leaving Jiang Zhe stunned.
“Elder Jives, what about the last time?”
“The last time?” Elder Jives stroked his beard. Clearly, this question posed a challenge to him. After thinking for several minutes, he pointed at Professor Hodde and said as if suddenly realizing something, “That was when little Hodde came here!”
“That’s almost twenty years ago…” Professor Hodde shook his head with a wry smile. Back then, he must have been in a hurry to find his mentor. Hearing that his tutor seemed to have been to Sgeldel, he rushed here alone—only to find…
“Oh, I remember!” Elder Jives’ exclamation interrupted Professor Hodde’s memories. The old man excitedly raised his cane, pointed at the lake, and declared loudly, “Rykonisdir! Yes, it must be that!” As soon as he finished speaking, he added quickly, “It should be that phrase…”
Seeing Elder Jives’ expectant yet uncertain expression, Allen shook his head speechlessly. Just as he was about to say something, the lake suddenly churned violently. Then, under the astonished gazes of the children, a bubble the size of ten people slowly floated toward them.
Pointing at the giant bubble, Ravia said anxiously, “No… it can’t be…” Before she could finish, Elder Jives, showing no signs of his age, leaped into the bubble in one swift motion. Strangely, the bubble, whatever it was made of, didn’t burst despite the impact.
“What are you standing around for? Come on, everyone, come here…” Standing inside the bubble, Elder Jives waved cheerfully, habitually tapping the ground with his cane—no, rather, the edge of the bubble. The children were terrified, fearing that the bubble might burst and hurt the energetic old man.
Seeming to sense the children’s doubts, Professor Hodde smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it’s fine!” With that, he entered the bubble first and waved at the children.
“Interesting, so interesting!” After Professor Hodde, it was undoubtedly Allen—whenever there was something new, he was always the fastest to rush over.

After Allen, although Scott still doubted the bubble, he thought that with Professor Hode by his side and a magician of unknown prowess, nothing bad should happen. With that thought, he stepped in as well.
Only Jiang Zhe and Lavia were left.
As Jiang Zhe had expected, despite Lavia’s outward appearance, she was much more timid and weak inside. As soon as Jiang Zhe stepped into the bubble, Lavia rushed over, grabbed the sleeve of his magic robe, and stepped in right beside him, holding on tightly even after they were inside.
“Go up!” Elder Jives raised his staff, and the huge bubble obediently rose into the air at such a fast speed that it terrified Lavia, who turned pale and clung tightly to Jiang Zhe’s sleeve with closed eyes.
Not to mention Lavia, a girl, even the boys might not have been so composed. At least Jiang Zhe felt dizzy looking down, especially when he saw that the ground he stood on was just a thin layer of bubble, rising at such a rapid pace…
How fast exactly?
Reaching a height of a hundred or two hundred yards in about three seconds—what kind of speed is that?
The feeling of being pressed so hard that one can’t breathe is unbearably uncomfortable!
When the bubble reached the suspension bridge and burst, everyone except Elder Jives was gasping for breath.
Not to mention the kids, even Professor Hode looked shaken and said in confusion, “Elder, it wasn’t this fast when I came before.” He then looked at Elder Jives, who was standing motionless with his staff, and called out, “Elder?”
Elder Jives shook his head slightly and said with a trembling voice, “I’m dizzy…”
“If you’re dizzy, don’t move so fast…” Allen whispered to Scott, “Is this also magic?”
“Probably…” Scott shook his head uncertainly, clearly not sure.
While the two were talking, Elder Jives seemed to have recovered somewhat. But judging by his current state, it was obvious that the “harm” caused to him by this bubble was far worse than the “harm” caused by his instant teleportation magic earlier…
“Damn it… that little guy Jis.” Elder Jives walked toward the gate of the mage tower, one hand supporting his forehead and the other on his staff. He called out as he went, but his voice no longer carried the same energy as before.
“Come with me, kids!”

After crossing the suspension bridge that served as the path to “landing,” there was a road of about a dozen yards long—well, it could also be called a square, as there was nothing there. Beyond this road, Jiang Zhe could already see the true appearance of the mage tower, Vandell, which was revered by countless mages.

To be honest, it did look quite magnificent from below, but once he climbed up, Jiang Zhe felt that this mage tower wasn’t much different from the tower in the library of the Riox Academy—maybe just a bit larger. However, this thought lasted only until Jiang Zhe reached the entrance of the mage tower…

Huh? Speaking of the entrance…

What was that ridiculous face on the iron door, carved with countless spells around it?

While talking, Allen curiously reached out to touch the face on the iron door. Just then, to the surprise of the kids, the eyes of that ridiculous face, which had been closed, suddenly widened in panic as it shouted loudly, “You, you, what do you want? Outsider!”

“You…” Allen, who was usually bold, was so shocked he couldn’t speak. Pointing at the face, he stammered, “Can you talk?”

“Of course I can talk. What’s wrong with that?” The ridiculous face on the iron door glanced at Allen sideways. Seeing his stunned expression, it smirked and said, “I see. You’ve never met a guardian as handsome as me before, have you?”

“Handsome?” Allen looked up at the ridiculous face, his eyebrows twitching. He asked strangely, “You’re a guardian? What’s a guardian?”

“You don’t even know that?” Allen’s reply seemed to anger the face, which widened its eyes in indignation and said, “Of course I’m a guardian of Vandell!” Then its expression softened, and it recalled sadly, “Kids these days… In the past, cute little ones would call me the handsome Gadian, the reliable Gadian, the strong Gadian…” It glanced at Allen again, seeing that the kid was still stunned, and shook its head in disappointment.

The… the iron door can talk?

Not only Allen but even Jiang Zhe found it hard to believe, let alone such a narcissistic guy…

As the kids secretly disdained this self-important fellow, Professor Hod smiled and greeted the iron door, “Long time no see, Gadian.” Then he explained to the confused kids, “Gadian is a very powerful guardian. What you see now isn’t his true form…”

“Mmhm!” Clearly, Guardian Gadian had also heard Professor Hode’s words and nodded in satisfaction.
“Really?” Allen found it hard to believe. He glanced at Gadian skeptically and said to Professor Hode, “Has the professor seen him… in his true form?” Allen used an ambiguous pronoun for “him,” as he really didn’t know whether to use “he” or “it.”
“Well…” Allen’s question left Professor Hode at a loss. To be honest, he had only heard others talk about it; he had never seen it with his own eyes.
“Mmhm? No whispering in front of the great Gadian!” Seemingly hearing Allen’s words, Gadian immediately grew displeased, which made Allen mutter in exasperation, “It’s only been a short while, and already you’re calling yourself great? You’re way too narcissistic.”
“What… what did you say?” Gadian glared at Allen angrily for a long time, then suddenly changed his expression and said self-pityingly, “These kids these days… Sigh! In the past, the cute little ones would call me the handsome Gadian, the reliable Gadian, the strong Gadian…” As he spoke, he puffed out his cheeks and glared at Allen angrily, saying, “Fine, let you see my true form…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Elder Jives.
“Hehehe, Gadian, do you want to destroy Vandel?”
“You old man, stop interrupting!” Gadian shouted angrily at Jives, then glared at Allen. After staring at him for a while, it seemed he thought of something. He turned to look closely at Elder Jives, his eyes suddenly widening in delight as he said, “J-Jives? Haha, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Where have you been?”
Elder Jives paused, holding his walking stick, and said puzzledly, “I haven’t gone anywhere. I’ve been in the tower the whole time.”
“Then why do I remember not having seen you for a long time?” Gadian also looked at Elder Jives in confusion.
Watching a seemingly powerful old magician discuss such a simple question with a mysterious door left everyone dumbfounded, even Professor Hode was at a loss as to whether to laugh or cry.
After discussing it for over ten minutes, Elder Jives and Gadian finally seemed to understand the answer.
“Jives, you’re still as stupid as ever. You haven’t come out in almost ten years. How could I possibly see you?”
“Oh, I see. Mmhm, I sometimes wonder where Gadian has gone…”
“Don’t call me Gadian. Call me the handsome Gadian…”

Listening to the conversation between the man and the door, Professor Hodde could hardly bear it any longer. Although he had long known that Elder Jives might be forgetful and less sharp-minded due to his age, and tended to get confused, it seemed this tendency had worsened after more than a decade apart. With no other choice, Professor Hodde finally spoke up to interrupt their conversation.
“Well… Elder, since you two have always lived together, maybe… we should go inside and talk?”
“Hm? Go inside where?” Elder Jives looked at Professor Hodde blankly before suddenly realizing what he meant. He slapped his forehead and said, “Look at my memory!” Then he turned to the guardian, Gadian, and said, “Gadian, open the door…”
“No!” Gadian seemed to remember what had happened earlier. Looking at Allen in a childish manner, he said, “If you want me to open the door, call me ‘handsome Gadian’ first…”
Before he could finish speaking, a cold snort came from somewhere, “Stop talking nonsense and open the door!” It was a woman’s voice.
“If you don’t call me… I won’t… won’t…” As he spoke, Gadian’s expression changed instantly. It might be hard to imagine what it looks like for an iron door to turn green, but the result was that the once arrogant Gadian suddenly became a well-behaved child, lowering his head and obediently opening the door.
With a loud noise, the iron door swung open. As it gradually opened, Jiang Zhe saw a woman standing inside…
Well, she seemed to be a female mage, around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, wearing a dark blue magic robe adorned with white star patterns. Each star was connected to one or two other stars by thin white lines, giving it a very unique appearance, different from ordinary magic robes.
Incredibly, once this female mage appeared, the once arrogant Gadian didn’t even dare to breathe, staring at the rocks below with his head lowered.
“Be careful—I might tear you apart!” The female mage glanced at Gadian indifferently and spoke in a threatening tone, while he didn’t even dare to lift his head.
Similarly, Professor Hodde also appeared uneasy after her appearance. He awkwardly tried to greet her, saying, “Are you alright…?”
“Alright? How could I be alright?!” The female mage cut him off with a sentence, her tone tinged with slight resentment.
“Hehehe…” Elder Jives laughed, leaning on his cane.

Suddenly, the female mage’s face tightened, and she said irritably, “And you too—leaving without even remembering the spell to enter…”
“Who said I didn’t remember?” Elder Jives paused, holding his staff with displeasure. “I’ve already remembered it. Otherwise, how would we have come up?”
“How did you come up?” the female mage sneered. “Some ‘Ricenisdil’? The spell is ‘Rinensisdil’. If not for me, could you have come up at all?”
“Well… um…” Elder Jives coughed awkwardly, leaning on his staff as he muttered and walked in. “One gets old… memory fades… It’s easy to forget many things. It’s not that I don’t want to remember…”
Was this the highly respected Elder Jives in the mage tower?
Seeing the atmosphere change instantly when the female mage appeared, Jiang Zhe was stunned. He turned to say something to Professor Hod, but then heard the female mage say, “You know what? You’ve made me wait impatiently, Hod!”
“Yes… yes…” Facing the surprised and incredulous looks of the young ones, Professor Hod felt his face burn.
“Hmph!” The female mage snorted coldly, expressionless. “I know why you’re here. My answer is no!”
“Huh?”
Watching Professor Hod’s embarrassed face, a hint of hatred appeared in the female mage’s eyes as she said coldly, “Don’t you understand? I’m living well here. I’ve been happy living here for over a decade. I definitely won’t go back to that place called Riox with you! If you understand, then go back!”
Glancing at Professor Hod and then at the seemingly fierce female mage, Allen nudged Scott and Jiang Zhe with his elbow, grinning and saying, “There’s going to be some good action…”