Mira's gaze fell on the crystal in Lance's hand. For a moment, she wished Lance was lying to her. If he were, she wouldn’t have to force herself to believe that her mentor was not what she had thought him to be.

But the truth was right before her. She had ruined dozens of such crystals, and as Lance had said, every one of them eventually turned to dust.

It wasn’t a natural property of the crystals. The crystals were destroyed because the energy they could filter reached its limit, triggering the built-in self-destruct mechanism.

Had she not known about the goblins, Mira might have thought this was a protective measure designed for the creations of the Magic Energy Nexus. But after hearing Lance’s explanation, she suddenly realized that it was a measure to prevent the true nature of the Nexus from being discovered.

The core technology of the medium crystals came from another intelligent race. And that race, which created the core technology, faced extinction because of the mages of the Magic Energy Nexus.

Mira didn’t need to think about the details of this. This alone was enough.

Her mentor...

Mira took a deep breath and took the medium crystal back from Lance’s hand.

"When the black market you mentioned begins, you can teleport me there," Mira said as she stood up.

"Lance, I have other things to do." She lowered her eyes, suppressing the flood of memories of being with her mentor, which kept surging up. "I still have some things to organize here. The dowry isn’t fully packed yet."

Lance tilted his head in confusion.

Mira’s words seemed like weak excuses.

She clearly needed some time to calm down.

After a moment of thought, Lance spoke again.

"Mira, if you want the scrolls, you can go to the right. Count to one hundred in your mind, then use a light spell. You’ll be able to see a rotating staircase that leads upward. Follow the stairs until you see the bookshelves, then step forward, and you’ll enter the library."

Mira listened to Lance’s voice. If her mind had been clearer, she would have been curious why the library didn’t have any guardians. But right now, she had no energy for such thoughts.

Her mentor’s situation made her feel sad.

Mira responded softly to Lance, grabbed her basket, and left the tower.

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In front of the tower was an open expanse of land. Bones from various parts of bodies lay scattered across the ground. Combined with the dark tower and the barren mountaintop, it felt like a hell on earth.

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Mira found a relatively clean spot and sat down, placing the basket at her feet.

Before her lay the dowry delivered by the escorting guards.

Smaller items had been brought inside the tower in batches, while the larger ones—those with no clear purpose or difficult to move—were left outside.

A four-poster bed made of solid gold, a two-meter-long carved wardrobe, a long banquet table like the ones in castles, and various decorative items. In short, every piece of the dowry was more expensive and extravagant than the last, all to please the magic dragons. The king had spared no expense.

Mira looked at these things and sighed.

She had many things to do, but her mind was a mess. She couldn’t organize her thoughts at all.

She told herself that she had left the Magic Energy Nexus and no longer needed to think about these things. Yet, they kept crawling into her mind like the eyes in the tower’s storage room, always escaping her control.

Perhaps she should sleep for a while. But she had just woken up.

Eat something? She had already eaten breakfast—bitter oatmeal from last night.

Mira stood up. She was going to see the library Lance had mentioned.

It was the same as when she was at the Magic Energy Nexus. Apart from her small room, the only place apprentices were not restricted from entering was the library of the Nexus.

Mira quickly turned her thoughts into action.

She returned to the tower and, following Lance’s instructions, walked toward the right, counting silently in her mind as she went.

Whether it was due to the tower sensing her intent, after a certain number, the surroundings truly began to change.

Mira couldn’t describe what it felt like, but she knew that she had left the bottom of the tower, where the furniture was stored, and entered another place—one filled with darkness but not so ordinary.

If Lance were here, he would explain it to her.

The tower was actually a complex structure with overlapping sections, built by magic. Inside, the space was far larger than the exterior. This was because magic twisted the space, creating many small, independent areas within the tower.

The storage room Mira had opened earlier was one such small room. Now, she had entered another corridor, and at the end of this corridor, hidden from view, was a staircase that led to the upper levels.

This was why the tower’s mages didn’t need to set up complex magical defenses outside the tower to prevent enemy intrusion.

The bottom of the tower was a magical labyrinth created by magic.

The master of the tower could sense the movements of life within the tower.

But as soon as Mira reentered the tower and headed toward the library, Lance had sensed her position.

He opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them again.

The library did have a secret passage to the top of the tower, but Mira didn’t know this secret.

With a crisp snap of his fingers, a bright flame appeared at the tip of Mira’s fingers.

She extended her hand, and under the light, the rotating staircase indeed appeared before her.

Mira gently touched the handrail, and the sharp sensation made her quickly retract her finger. She brought the light closer and noticed the exquisite carvings on the handrail.

She had just happened to rest her finger on the head of a giant dragon.

Mira bent down, examining the dragon sculpture up close.

Contrary to what she had imagined, this wasn’t an evil black dragon but a type of dragon she had never seen before. As the light drew nearer, the surface of the carving gleamed with a bluish-purple glow, as though magical energy was pulsing within it.

Mira couldn’t help but shiver. She stood upright, the flame moving horizontally, and as she did, she realized that the entire handrail of the staircase was covered in countless dragon sculptures—some standing, some lying, some curled.

Mira’s expression shifted from surprise to solemnity. She stepped onto the staircase and began to ascend.