Chapter 179: You Think You're So Clever
[Under external attack, emergency increase to Defensive Magic Array intensity!]
[50% 60% 80%]
[Initiating Spell Turret. Initiation failed; Spell Turret completely destroyed!]
[Defensive Magic Array maximum energy output activated!]
In the midst of battle, Su Nan suddenly heard the mechanical voice of Meatball and frowned in confusion.
External attack? Who was it?
Those onlookers without any Key?
But judging by the words of the auxiliary intelligent life, the intensity of the attack seemed significant; those Second-Level Wizard Apprentices and Legendary Knights shouldn’t be capable of such a feat, right?
"Whatever, who cares? It’s actually beneficial for me anyway; I might as well let it consume more of Star Tower's energy."
In the hall, two Secret Puppet Girls were engaged in fierce one-on-one combat with two Deep Dark Golems. The two sides traded blows, appearing evenly matched.
Meanwhile, five Mithril Golems, leading dozens of Elite Steel Golems, were besieging a single Deep Dark Golem. Although they were somewhat at a disadvantage, it didn’t seem like they would lose anytime soon.
Su Nan himself was facing one Deep Dark Golem. To conserve Spiritual Power, he relied solely on his Magic Items and Bloodline Mark.
After unleashing a dense barrage of more than twenty Calamity Claws, the Deep Dark Golem was riddled with holes and covered in wounds.
Su Nan then activated the Air Blade Mark on his hand, and countless sharp blades of energy howled out, instantly tearing the Deep Dark Golem into pieces!
Compared to the Third-Level Wizard Apprentice with its numerous abilities, the Deep Dark Golems were relatively easier to handle.
Having finished off his opponent, Su Nan immediately moved to attack the second Deep Dark Golem. By defeating them one by one, all four Deep Dark Golems were eliminated in less than twenty minutes.
Once the Deep Dark Golems were vanquished, the Meatball projection in the distance fell silent, leaving no further comment.
Su Nan smiled wryly, knowing that the auxiliary intelligent life had run out of options.
"Strictly speaking, the defense forces of Star Tower were not weak.
With its eighteen Spell Turrets and numerous Golems, they could easily crush any Level Three Wizard Apprentice.
However, they just happened to encounter him, someone who defied the odds.
Perhaps even the Dark Throne who built Star Tower could not have imagined that such a situation would arise today.
Another stroke of luck was that the battle took place inside the tower.
If it had occurred outside, with the Defensive Magic Array in place, destroying the Spell Turrets would not have been easy, and it would have required paying a hefty price, possibly several times that amount, to overcome Star Tower's defenses!
As he pondered this, Su Nan suddenly felt the Rune Stone inside the lining of his robe begin to heat up.
He immediately recognized what it was and threw the Rune Stone away without hesitation.
Sure enough, the very next moment, the Rune Stone vanished from sight.
"Can't defeat me, so you wish to expel me?" Su Nan sneered. "You wish!"
The response from the automated voice echoed, "Wizard Apprentice, we will waive your trial fee. Please leave Star Tower immediately!"
Meatball's mouth opened and closed, producing sounds, but Su Nan ignored this primitive, low-level life form and began to scan his surroundings.
Given that Star Tower clearly had no way to deal with him, it was time to discover how to access the resources within.
He had paid a hefty price to overcome Star Tower's defenses; if he didn’t find a way to recuperate those losses, he would be at a significant disadvantage.
Activating the Levitation Spell on his Magic Robe, Su Nan lifted off the ground and flew toward the nearest Metal door. With a wave of his hand, more than a dozen Magic Missiles struck the door, shattering it.
However, behind the door lay only a Small Puppet Factory, likely the place where the Golems were maintained and charged.
Not deterred, Su Nan continued to explore the other Metal doors.
Most of them, unsurprisingly, led to Small Puppet Factories, but one large Metal door opened into a small hall.
On the floor, paved with White Jade Stone, lay a mysterious magic array.
After examining it for a few moments, Su Nan quickly determined that it was an Extradimensional Creature Summoning Array."
"That Goliath earlier must have been summoned using this magic array."
Seeing that there were no gains on this floor, Su Nan looked down, his mind shifting slightly. Metal Storm immediately swept out, slamming into the floor!
Boom!
Although the floor was inscribed with a Protection Magic Array, its hardness was even greater than that of magic mithril. Yet, under the full force of the Magic Pattern Core's attack, it held for just over ten seconds before shattering, creating a large hole.
Su Nan leaped into the hole, landing on the floor below.
What he discovered was a hall identical to the one above, completely empty.
"Is this another trial location?"
Su Nan searched the area, but finding nothing, he continued to descend.
However, after exploring twelve consecutive floors and finding only empty halls, he felt a sense of increasing frustration.
When he tried to go deeper, he encountered a powerful resistance.
Observing carefully, he noticed that the surface of the floor was shimmering with a faint light.
"A Defensive Magic Array. So, this must be the bottom floor?"
Su Nan felt a tinge of disappointment. With no other choice, he turned his attention upward. He returned to the initial hall and used Metal Storm to blast through the ceiling.
It led to another trial hall.
This time, he traversed seven floors, and on the eighth, he finally reached a tower level that resembled a residential area.
Su Nan paused, staring at the hole below, deep in thought.
"By the looks of it, there should only be twenty floors of trial halls, which is roughly the same number of people who entered the Star Tower."
"But why is no one in these halls?"
Su Nan believed that his speed in clearing the trials was significantly faster than that of anyone else. Logically, everyone else should still be in the midst of their trials.
Recalling what the auxiliary intelligent lifeform had said earlier, Su Nan began to form a vague idea.
It was likely that the auxiliary intelligent lifeform had expelled everyone else from the Star Tower to mobilize all available energy to deal with him.
"No wonder the Star Tower suddenly faced heavy external attacks. It’s probably the Truth Council and the Scepter targeting the Defensive Magic Array."
Understanding this, a smile immediately appeared on Su Nan’s face.
"It's just as well. The auxiliary intelligent lifeform must be using most of its energy to maintain the Defensive Magic Array, so it probably doesn't have much power left to deal with him in the short term.
Snapping out of his delight, Su Nan resumed his exploration upward.
Although the Star Tower is primarily used for inheritance, it still contains basic facilities.
In addition to the trial hall, there are living quarters, a Cultivation Area, an Experiment Area, and a planting area, among other things.
However, the planting area likely lacked maintenance personnel, so there were no magical plants growing there.
After searching around, Su Nan found only a batch of well-preserved magical plant seeds.
The variety was quite rich, with nearly two or three hundred types and a remarkable quantity.
They were likely prepared for the 'Slave' bound by a Vow Contract, making it convenient for them to grow magical plants.
Su Nan unceremoniously collected all the seeds.
As he continued his exploration, Su Nan was pleasantly surprised to discover that the next floor up was actually a library.
Rows of bookshelves were neatly arranged, each filled with books—a dazzling sight to behold.
Su Nan was overjoyed. Starting from the first bookshelf, he quickly scanned the titles, and his smile grew wider with each one he read.
These books encompassed all basic subjects, from introductory knowledge like Magic Philosophy, World Principles, and Material Science, to applied knowledge such as Magical Plant Cultivation, Scroll Transcription, and Potionology.
They covered nearly all the essential knowledge required from First Level Wizard Apprentice to Level Three Wizard Apprentice, including over thirty types of Talent Crystal Models.
However, the vast majority were Lower Level Talent Crystal Models, with only three types of Intermediate Talent Crystal Models.
One of them was precisely the 'White Bone' that Su Nan had seen earlier.
Though there were only three types of Intermediate Talent Crystal Models, that is already quite a lot.
For many Level Three Wizard Apprentices, the highest level they can access is the Intermediate Talent Crystal Model.
Superior Talent Crystal Models are usually only available to core members, so they would naturally not be found in a place like this.
Additionally, some books contained knowledge accessible only after advancing to Wizard, including Potion-making, Spells, Wizard Artifacts, and high-level puppetry, among other things."
“Though their intentions may be impure, they are still quite generous when it comes to investing in cultivating ‘Slave.’”
“That’s right; Slave needs to possess enough power to generate even more profit for them.”
Su Nan smiled slightly, storing all the books into his Space Ring.
He had originally worried about how to access the knowledge of the Wizard stage after his advancement, but the books prepared by Star Tower conveniently solved most of his problems.
After confirming that he hadn’t missed anything, Su Nan blasted through the ceiling, directly entering the floor above.
This floor was a spacious and brightly lit hall, with rows of tightly shut metal doors embedded in the surrounding walls.
Above the various metal doors were plaques labeled ‘Metal,’ ‘Magic Plant,’ ‘Potion,’ ‘Gem,’ and so on.
Su Nan felt a surge of joy, immediately realizing that he had finally found his true goal.
This floor was precisely the Warehouse Area he had been seeking!
He rushed toward the metal door labeled ‘Potion,’ manipulating his Magic Pattern Core to slice the door into pieces before striding inside.
What greeted him was a maze of densely packed metal shelves, with airtight transparent glass separating them, inside which were bottles of potions of varying colors, with an estimated total of no less than six hundred bottles.
Active Potion, Dragon Blood Potion, Endurance Potion, Clarity Potion, Illusory Potion.
Su Nan examined each one and found that even the least valuable were of First Order Potion grade, some of the more prized examples among them.
Among the second-order potions, there were even gems like the Illusory Potion that could enhance Spiritual Power.
It was when he reached the innermost metal shelf that he finally saw the Construct Potion.
Using his powerful Spiritual Power, he quickly counted the number of potions, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve upwards.
A full eighty-six bottles!
He had struck gold!
“With so many Construct Potions, I should have more than enough to synthesize the Super Talent Crystal Model!”
Su Nan was filled with elation.
Just the Construct Potions alone made all of his efforts worthwhile.
Returning to his senses, Su Nan collected all the potions and then began to explore the other warehouse rooms one by one.
The three warehouses labeled "Metal," "Magic Plant," and "Gem" were, as expected, filled with materials corresponding to their names. However, in the warehouse marked "Other," Su Nan discovered more than a dozen Spirit Beads.
After a thorough looting session, Su Nan's Space Ring was nearly full. Looking at the dazzling array of spoils inside, he felt completely satisfied. The total value of these items was immeasurable; many of them could not even be quantified in Gold Coins. For instance, the Construct Potion was truly priceless!
This time, he had undoubtedly made a substantial profit!
Returning to the central hall, Su Nan soared upward, breaking through the ceiling to reach the next level. What greeted him was still the boundless starry sky of the Galaxy, the White Jade Stone floor beneath his feet, and not far away, an Elemental Pool with a familiar Meatball hovering beside it.
Observing this familiar scene, Su Nan immediately understood that this level was clearly the control center of the Star Tower.
【Other: Wizard Apprentice, you have caused significant losses to Star Tower. According to regulations, you will be placed on the organization's wanted list!】
【Please leave Star Tower immediately, hand over all looted supplies, and voluntarily enter the Confinement Zone to await the organization's personnel for judgment!】
"Oh?" Su Nan laughed disdainfully and casually asked, "When will they arrive?"
【The specific time is unknown; it depends on the recovery status of the Plane Barrier!】
The recovery status of the Plane Barrier? Su Nan raised his eyebrows in confusion. What was going on now?
"What’s the situation with the recovery of the Plane Barrier?"
However, the auxiliary AI did not answer his question but repeated its previous statement.
"Since you can’t provide me with any valuable information, then you are no longer of any use."
Su Nan raised his hand, and a lightning bolt struck the Meatball, instantly turning it to cinders. Unlike the Tower Spirit, which could exist in a non-physical form, this type of auxiliary AI usually had a physical body. For example, the Crystal Ball at the top of Dragon Bone Tower served as the body of Butler Number 1. The Meatball was the body of the Star Tower's auxiliary AI.
With its death, the auxiliary AI of the Star Tower also perished.
"Even without the auxiliary intelligent life, Star Tower could still maintain its basic operations according to its pre-set program.
The good news was that Su Nan no longer had to worry about the auxiliary intelligent life bothering him.
"This Elemental Pool is a bit larger than the one at Long Lin; it’s a pity I can’t take it with me."
Su Nan felt a twinge of envy toward Star Tower, but he knew it was destined to be beyond his control.
After all, he didn't possess the secret core of this tower, and he wasn't sure if Dark Throne had left behind any contingency plans.
However, the tower itself had good materials.
If he wanted to build his own Wizard Tower in the future, he could dismantle Star Tower and use its materials.
"Constructing a Talent Crystal Model here is faster than doing it at Dragon Bone Tower."
After considering it for a while, Su Nan decided he might as well construct the Talent Crystal Model right here.
After all, Star Tower was no longer a threat to him. All its combat forces had been defeated by him, leaving only the Extradimensional Creature Summoning Array and the Defensive Magic Array.
For the former, he simply needed to send a Secret Puppet to guard near the Extradimensional Creature Summoning Array and eliminate any intruders.
The latter had now become his protection.
Star Tower would automatically repel all intruders outside.
Unless someone could exhaust the energy of Star Tower and breach the Defensive Magic Array, as long as he stayed here, he wouldn’t have to worry about being disturbed.
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