“I would be very careful, if I were you,” One-Ear said, looking uncharacteristically nervous. It wasn’t the first time Nick sensed such a thing from him, but he was usually much better at hiding it.

  Tonight, he was almost twiddling his thumbs and biting his lips, making it clear he’d learned something over the past few days. Something that wasn’t necessarily good news.

  Nick raised an eyebrow, leaning against the brick wall and gesturing with his hand for him to clarify. He’d been busy setting things up for his upcoming ritual, especially since he had to speed up the timeline, but he dropped everything when he received the message that his favorite information broker wanted to talk.

  One-Ear hesitated and looked around, prompting Nick to reassure him, “I’ve shielded us from scrying and spies. Speak freely.”

  With a sigh, the man did just that. “The war is spreading, and more resources are being poured north. The Circle of Pure Souls is more active now than it has been in decades. The religions are bringing countless priests from across the kingdom here to the west, a region they had mostly ignored so far. Everything points to a period of great instability, and this internal conflict within the Tower isn’t painting any rosier a picture.”

  “I knew that much, don’t tell me that was enough to spook you,” Nick replied. Although information about the Circle and the temples was mostly kept out of the common man’s reach, everyone with decent connections would know this.

  “No, though it still shouldn’t be underestimated,” One-Ear muttered. “What’s spooking me, as you said, is that I found even more troubling signs. The southern nobles, who are normally indolent and lazy, have begun mobilizing, gathering their troops, and responding to calls for help from their peasantry that they would have once ignored entirely. Recently, there was a rumor of a great mage visiting the depths of the Sunlands and doing something there to stem the tide of requests for more adventurers and soldiers.”

  Nick hummed. He hadn’t paid much attention to the news from the south, admittedly, since he'd been more focused on getting any information about what his father was doing up north. But this sudden mobilization didn’t happen without reason.

  “Another force attacking the southern border? I thought the countries there were too weak to cause us trouble,” he said, and One-Ear nodded.

  “They are. Ruins of once-great empires or barren wastelands barely holding their own territories. They are too afraid of attracting the King’s eye to risk launching raids, especially since the Sunlands’ population is highly concentrated in three cities, with the rest being poor villages. No, this threat is more natural in origin but no less dangerous. Yet, it also presents great opportunities.”

  Something about the way he spoke sparked a thought in Nick’s mind. He tilted his head, his eyes glinting in the dark, as he pondered the possibility before everything finally clicked into place.

  The Tower Master’s urgency to keep things under control, despite his unexplained long absence. Tholm’s cold anger apparently guttered out, only for their trip to suddenly have a new destination. Hone’s reckless actions.

  All those things, in isolation, could have been mere coincidences. Results of personal decisions made without external influence. However, when combined with the picture One-Ear had just painted, they all led to one specific outcome.

  “There is a new dungeon,” he murmured, feeling oddly conflicted.

  The dungeon in the Green Ocean had put his life at risk more times than he could count. He’d genuinely almost died, both at the hands of foes and friends, several times, and it was mostly luck he’d made it out intact.

  But it had also jump-started his growth, speeding up his progress in ways nothing else could have. Nick was self-aware enough to realize that no matter what kind of training he put himself through, he wouldn't be as strong today if he hadn't gone through the dungeon.

  Hell, he probably wouldn't have made it through the grassland trip with the girls without that extra strength.

  “It’s not confirmed,” One-Ear warned, “but it would explain everything. I know for a fact that the Royal Court wasn’t pleased that the Tower Master took a chunk out of the new crystal forest in your family’s lands for himself, so it would make sense for them to send him out to survey a possible new dungeon while prohibiting him from clearing it out.”

  “Yes,” Nick nodded, though his mind was racing. "And Tholm’s sudden decision to go south would also make sense. I don't doubt he’s still aiming to make Hone pay, but he can do that even more effectively by stripping his family of the resources a dungeon can provide."

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  And Bluetear’s sudden neutrality would also be understandable. He needs to act that way because he’s been warned by the Royal Court not to touch the dungeon, but if it resulted from a conflict between two other mages, a conflict he had openly tried to resolve, then no one could accuse him of anything, even if, in the end, things turned out exactly as he intended.

  It was a horrible, tangled mess of plots, interests, and chaotic opportunities, but now that he had the key, Nick was pretty sure he would be able to decipher the codex.

  Yet what did it mean for him?

  I really need to complete the focus. I don't want to go into another dungeon unprepared, and I seriously doubt I can sneak away while Tholm is watching to do it there, even though the materials I could gather there would be great additions.

  Clicking his tongue, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer. The ritual would have to happen tonight.

  He flicked a pouch of coins at One-Ear, who caught it instinctively, then walked away, his mind too preoccupied with his change of plans to notice the flicker of surprise as the gold glittered.

  The underground summoning chamber wasn’t a place you could reach by normal means, let alone be reserved by a mere apprentice. Not without their Archmage’s approval, at least.

  Nick had thought about using his connection with Lasazar and his past use of it to attempt it, but he knew that would fall on deaf ears.

  The Tower was filled with eager young mages hoping that a moment of attention from a master would be enough to earn them recognition. He’d be more likely to trigger alarm bells by recklessly bandying Lasazar’s name than to gain anything from it.

  Especially since Hone went out of his way to remove him from the board. If he believed his presence and support would be so valuable to influence a personal favor from a man of great standing, then he must be keeping an eye on this kind of thing.

  Which left him with only one option: doing the expected thing and asking Tholm for help.

  Nick mentally prepared himself, reviewing his case multiple times, from the need for complete magical isolation to the potential of the Tower’s usual fluctuations interfering with his experiments and ruining a valuable chunk of orichalcum.

  “Sure.”

  He opened his mouth, ready to argue back, but the words died on his lips as the agreement sank in. “I can just… go?”

  “Yes, Nicholas, you can go,” Tholm said, eyeing him with mild annoyance. He was clearly working on something but hadn’t rejected his request to speak, so it couldn’t have been that important. “Did you expect me to say no? Why would I? Every one of your fellow apprentices is doing something similar—refining their craft, forging something, or even just obsessively practicing a new spell. Using the underground chambers is a special request, but I already knew you used them with Lasazar before, and it’s not like they are used that often.”

  His mouth clicked shut. Had it always been this simple? Did I only need to ask?

  In a way, it made sense. Tholm’s occasional sessions on advanced topics were valuable on their own, and having access to the man’s library had been what motivated Nick to show off enough to be recognized in the first place, but it wouldn’t make sense for that to be all there was to an apprenticeship. Access to restricted parts of the Tower, protection, and resources were all things that set an Archmage’s apprentice apart from a regular student.

  He’d never thought to ask, preferring to handle everything himself.

  “Alright. Then I should just... go?”

  “Yes, you can go and use my name when you ask to be brought down. Unless you want me to take a quick look at your project?” Tholm asked, though his tone made it clear he’d prefer to be left alone, and Nick shook his head, scurrying out of the study.

  Having someone of his caliber review his plans would have significantly boosted his chances of success, but that would entail revealing too much, especially during a time thick with religious tensions. Using two divine relics and another artifact he was confident shared the same origin, along with all the materials in a ritual that would use a demon as fuel, would not cast him in a favorable light.

  Feeling like he should be doing something more, but having already completed every preliminary step he could think of, Nick stepped into the elevator.

  “Apprentice Nicholas Crowley, requesting access to the underground chambers with approval from Archmage Tholm," he said firmly.

  Silence greeted him before the same masculine voice that had replied to Tholm echoed out. “Authorization granted, apprentice. Which room?”

  “Three hundred and twelve,” he replied.

  There had been a ping in the wards, just faint enough to serve as confirmation that Tholm had manually acknowledged his claim. It made him wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t asked and still tried to access the underground floors, but he decided he didn’t want to find out.

  “The room has been reserved for your use for the next six hours,” the voice said neutrally, and Nick gave a brief nod. Six hours should be enough time for him to prepare everything.

  The trip down was as long as he remembered, even at the high speeds the elevator could reach, but soon enough, he was let out into the stone corridor he remembered from his sessions with Lasazar, and he did his best to ignore the rainbows of dimensional power exploding all around him.

  They pressed against him, more noticeable than anywhere else in the Tower, until he reached the familiar summoning chamber and stepped inside, letting the door thump shut behind him with a sigh, feeling the echoes fade into a tolerable hum.

  He looked around the room, feeling strangely nostalgic even though it hadn’t been that long since he last visited with his Battle Magic teacher, and his eyes landed on something he hadn’t expected.

  An Irvinic runic circle was carved into the stone floor with such precision and skill that it could only have come from Lasazar himself, even though it felt inert and almost lifeless to his senses.

  At the far end of the room, where the small resting area was, a letter was visible on the table. Once Nick had recovered from the surprise, he hurried over and opened it.

  Dear Student of mine,

  I hope this won’t be necessary, and if it isn't, you'll find nothing but ashes and smudges on the floor. However, if you need to use this chamber again to continue our practice before the month is over and I haven't returned, I've decided to do everything I can to ensure your safety.

  Remember to ask for help if you need it.

  Do not make me regret this.

  The letter wasn’t signed and was vague enough to be easily waved away, but Nick knew.

  Just how much did he figure out about my real powers and personality?

  The question was unlikely to be answered anytime soon, and eventually, Nick had to put it aside for more urgent matters.