novelraw Chapter 185: Iprahim Arcane Tower
Chapter 185: Iprahim Arcane Tower
Zen followed behind the old man quietly, his gaze wandering over the various crowds that formed in front of the magic tower.
To his right, there were still those who seemed to be waiting to enter the tower’s gateway.
To his left, there were crowds of apprentices that seemed to be discussing things about their lessons in class and various theoretical magic knowledge.
However, as he looked at them, Zen could not help but feel something was amiss.
’Is it just me, or do they seem to be ignoring us on purpose?’
This thought rose in his mind just as he and the old man were going through the crowds of people, who looked like they were intentionally giving way for them despite not sparing them a glance.
’Is this a skill... or maybe, magic?’
An idea rose in Zen’s mind as he carefully observed what was happening before his eyes.
He soon noticed that every time the old man was about to bump into someone, that person would shift their body at the last moment.
’Strange...’
Zen could not help but ponder in his mind, ’No matter how you think about it, everything I saw points to this old man being some kind of a grand mage or something...
Maybe he’s a professor or maybe even the owner of this tower? The way he spoke about those flights of stairs, like it was some kind of magical artifa—’
’Wait a minute...’ His pupils suddenly contracted at the thought, ’What if it was really a magical artifact of some sort? He called it the Flights of Eternity, right? This is really interesting!’
Amidst Zen’s excitement, he could not help but wonder, ’This makes me curious, though... I wonder who’s better at magic, this old man or Teacher?’
As they walked, they soon arrived in front of the grand doors of the sky-piercing Iprahim Arcane Tower.
’If I hadn’t seen these normal-sized people, I would have thought that these doors were made for giants... In fact, I’ll assume that everyone in this tower is a giant of some sort...’
Despite Zen’s thoughts, he still followed behind the old man with a relatively calm expression.
Though his wandering eyes betrayed any efforts of his to remain nonchalant.
Thud—!
The grand doors soon opened by themselves, revealing the tower’s interior.
Beyond the grand doors of the Iprahim Arcane Tower lay a space that felt both vast and sacred, like a cathedral built for knowledge.
There was no ceiling—only endless rows of towering bookshelves stretching upward into a warm, golden haze.
Countless books filled every inch, some faintly glowing, while soft lights drifted through the air like floating embers, casting a gentle, welcoming glow across the space.
At the center stood a quiet reception area, where robed scholars could be seen returning books, exchanging tomes, or speaking in hushed tones before dispersing once more into the sea of knowledge.
Floating platforms moved quietly between the shelves, where robed figures reached for distant books or skimmed through pages that turned on their own.
Below, scholars carried heavy stacks of tomes or sat at long tables covered in piles of books, fully absorbed in their reading.
Despite the subtle magic in the air, the place felt less like a tower of power and more like a vast library—one where knowledge was treated with quiet respect.
’Woah...’
Zen could not help but mutter, "I feel like I’m in Harry Potter..."
Just as he finished speaking, he let out a gasp and unconsciously covered his mouth with a surprised expression.
However, just like before, despite the number of robed mages strolling around the ground, no one paid him any attention.
"Haha... Is that something from your home world?"
For the very first time, the old man reacted to Zen’s words, making the latter surprised.
’He already knows that I’m not a native...’
Zen was not really hiding it, but he still felt surprised since he did not remember even showing or being too obvious that he was a player.
The old man glanced at him with a smile, "You don’t have to worry. No one here will be aware of us. Come."
"W-Wha—"
Before Zen could even pose a question, he saw the old man speeding up as he went to the side where a giant double door could be seen.
The old man pressed the button on the side, and a loud ting sounded afterwards.
Ting!
The giant double doors opened as the old man stepped in.
’An elevator?’
Zen could not help but be surprised once more, ’Well, they can build a literal teleportation gate, why not an elevator.’
Seeing him observing the ’elevator’, the old man gestured for him to enter with a smile.
"Oh."
Zen hurriedly entered the ’elevator’ with him.
Afterwards, he saw the old man reach for the buttons on the side once again.
However, instead of pressing a single button that seemed to indicate each floor of the tower, the old man pressed the buttons rhythmically in a strange order.
’Something like a secret code? I see those often in spy movies where you can only access a floor through special ways...’
Zen gave an inward nod of approval as he thought, ’Hmmm, I’m liking where things are going more and more...’
Ting!
’That fast?’
Zen felt surprised as it had not even been more than five seconds before the door to the ’elevator’ opened once again.
This time, the previous floor could no longer be seen.
Instead, what greeted his eyes was what seemed to be a study.
Of course, the number of books on the walls and ceiling of the room made it more like a library than a study.
’Are mages really obsessed with books?’
Just as Zen was thinking, the old man exited the ’elevator’ and sat on the sofa in front of the desk.
Patting the sofa he was sitting on, the old man nodded in satisfaction as he gestured towards the sofa on the other side, "Sit down, we need to have a talk."
"???"
Zen’s mind was filled with question marks, but he still followed and sat on the sofa across from the one the old man was sitting on.
In between them was what seemed like a coffee table.
"Would you like to drink anything? Coffee? Tea? Or even Listarte’s signature milk?"
The old man began speaking with a relaxed tone, his expression as carefree as the birds flying in the sky.
"No, thank you."
However, Zen was not in the mood to drink anything, feeling the questions that piled up on the way.
The old man gave a smile and said, "Alright, ask away."
"..."
An awkward expression immediately appeared on Zen’s face, ’If you say that so suddenly, I’ll have a mental block...’
Still, he remained composed and spoke, "First of all, who are you?"
’Alright, that should buy me some time.’ Zen added in his mind.
The old man leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs, the smile on his face widening slightly.
"My name is Zoltes. Zoltes Iprahim. The tower master of this Arcane Tower."
"As expected."
Hearing the young man’s calm reply in front of him, the old man Zoltes’s smile faltered involuntarily.
’This old man... likes showing off. Heh, two can play this game.’
Zen felt smug inwardly, but still remained composed, "To what do I owe the honor of meeting the Tower Master himself?"
"Well..."
Zoltes cleared his throat with a cough, successfully recovering from the earlier surprise.
"Well... hmm, where do I even begin? First, let me ask—what’s your goal in coming here?"
"..."
Faced with a sudden normal question, Zen momentarily did not know how to react.
’Hmm, I don’t think I should lie about it...’
Thinking so, he chose to answer honestly, "I wanted to inquire about the usage of the gateway..."
"Gateway? If you don’t mind me asking, why would an otherworlder require the usage of a gateway? You haven’t even been here for long, right?"
"Well, it’s not really a big deal. I just want to meet with my friends in Pendragon Kingdom, and I was told that the fastest way there is..."
"Through the gateways?"
"Right."
Since Zen had discovered that natives are familiar with the terms ’spawn’ and ’spawn points’ through his conversation with Ferd back in the carriage, he did not mind ’slipping’ some slightly ’modern details’ as he spoke.
Zoltes took a sip from his cup of coffee that appeared from nowhere and nodded, "So that’s it, huh? However, were you aware that to use the Arcane Gateway by yourself, you’ll need 1000 gold coins or anything of the same value?"
"!!!"
"G-Gold coins?" Zen could not help but mutter under his breath.
Though Arthur had left him with money and a sizeable amount at that, they were lits and not gold coins.
Zoltes nodded, "Yes, that’s why we recommend that when using the gateway, you either form your own group or join another one so you can split it among yourselves."
"Is that so..."
The old man’s words made Zen ponder for a while.