Hazel cautiously walked around the top floor of the Tower Fort, minding each step she took. Because this floor had so much to offer, Hazel and Astrid agreed to explore the place a little more to try and see if they could find anything else that could be proven useful for them.

Hazel decided to stay on the fifth floor to check out any books that could be useful to them while Astrid went back down and investigated the second floor which was flooded with storage items. She believed that there could be something there that they could benefit from.

As for Nycteris, since he was Hazel’s familiar, he stuck by his master’s side. Almost acting like a bodyguard of sorts. Just not the kind Hazel intended, sadly.

Hazel continued to stroll around the study floor. While walking, she accidentally stepped over her dress, causing her to trip in the process. Hazel let out a yelp as she fell to the floor, but just before she collapsed, her familiar was there to save the day.

Nycteris wrapped his long-winged arm around his master, preventing her from falling as he pulled her closer. Once back on her feet, Hazel adjusted her dress with a heavy sigh, feeling relieved that she didn’t fall.

“Please…be careful…master,” The Nightwing urged with a low screech.

“T-thank you, Nycteris…” Hazel expressed her gratitude with a pale complexion.

It wasn’t because she was afraid of her familiar but the fact that if he hadn’t saved her, she would’ve tripped and injured herself. And she knew the reason why.

“This stupid dress…” Hazel grumbled, expressing her disdain toward her outfit. “If it wasn’t for the added features, I wouldn’t even be wearing this stupid thing.”

Despite how lovely and magnificent it looked; the Twilight Dress was a bit too difficult to maneuver around in. At least for Hazel. The only reason she hadn’t ripped this thing off was because its features were just too good.

Epic Item

A magic dress that grants the user more magical capabilities, making them a force to be reckoned with. Features include +25 Intelligence, +15 Wisdom, +10 Willpower, +30 Defense.

Hazel continued to ponder over this information before stumbling across the desk from before. The same place where she found the Telekinesis Grimoire Page. After finding the sheet, Hazel didn’t check the rest of the desk because she was so excited about learning another spell.

But now that she had time to investigate more, she decided to take another look at the desk to see if there was anything else she initially missed. Hopefully, she found something worthwhile.

Pulling out the leather rolling chair, Hazel sat down and examined the desk, picking up papers and books that were scattered all over the surface. They were mostly just schematics, notes, and what appeared to be financial reports regarding the status of the Tower Fort.

Hazel didn’t know much about the last part, so she didn’t bother reading them further. Moving on from the surface of the desk, she made her way down to the drawers. There were six of them, three on both sides.

Choosing the right side first, Hazel pulled the top drawer open. Immediately after, her eyes widened at what she was looking at.

Inside the drawer was a red leather-bound book with gold engravings on it. Taking the book out, she examined it further.

The book felt warm and soft like she was holding a somewhat firm pillow. As for the gold engravings, it was in the shape of a crescent moon hanging over a tower. A tower that looked surprisingly similar to the Tower Fort that Hazel was currently in.

“Maybe the owner made this thing when they obtained the tower…” Hazel mumbled to herself.

She couldn’t be sure, but after seeing the Tower engraving, it would be stupid to just dismiss it. More importantly…

“What kind of book are you…?”

Curious about the contents of the book, she soon opened it and went to the first page. And what she discovered was not something completely unexpected.

“It’s…a journal?”

Just by reading the first couple of seconds of the page, Hazel knew immediately that this red-leather bound book was a Journal. A book that contained the author’s inner thoughts and feelings regarding what happened in their lives.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

A good majority of the pages were either charred or ripped, so Hazel didn’t learn much from what the journal talked about. Regardless, Hazel decided to keep the journal to read the pages that were still legible.

Before she could continue her search, Astrid finally returned from the previous floors, possibly finished with her scavenger hunt already. Which was pretty evident from the new Quiver strapped to her back. It was green with gold plating on the top and bottom with a couple of arrows poking out the hole.

Hazel whistled after seeing Astrid’s new gear. “New quiver?”

“It is, actually,” Astrid replied while pulling her newly acquired quiver to show Hazel. “I found it on the second floor with all the other stored items. Try and identify it.”

Hazel did as the dark elf asked and used Identify on the item. And what she read surprised her a bit.

Rare Item

A quiver that never runs out of arrows. To replenish your projectiles, the user must imbue their mana into the item. By pouring more mana into the quiver, more arrows will be created.

Hazel’s eyes widened at the description. “You can make more arrows by pouring your mana into the quiver?”

Astrid nodded. “That’s right. Watch this.”

The dark elf closed her eyes for a moment as the quiver suddenly pulsed green. Suddenly, emerald particles materialized before joining together, molding into an arrow within the quiver. As soon as the quiver was created, Astrid stopped imbuing her mana into the item as the green light slowly faded.

Astrid looked at Hazel, who couldn’t believe her eyes after what she just witnessed. “How about that?”

“That was awesome! Now you won’t run out of arrows.”

With that new magic quiver, Astrid essentially possessed unlimited ammo now. Of course, there appeared to be a bit of a drawback.

“This quiver can only be replenished with my mana, which means I need to increase my Intelligence and Wisdom stat a little more.”

“Ah, right...”

Since Astrid had the Ranger class, she didn’t need to focus on her Intelligence and Wisdom all that much. There was her Piercing shot that required mana along with [Rapid Fire], but due to their cooldowns, her mana would have regenerated enough for her to use them again.

But her magic quiver was different. She needed to give the item a constant supply of mana to replenish her arrows. Which meant she needed to put more points into Intelligence and Wisdom.

“While there is a mana issue, at least I won’t have to forage for materials to make more arrows now. If anything, this is an improvement for me.”

“You do have a point there. Between making arrows manually or making them with magic, I would choose the latter.”

Astrid soon placed the magic quiver on her back once again while adjusting the strap that held it in place. Once she was done, she turned to Hazel.

“So, you got whatever you needed?” She asked.

“Yep,” Hazel nodded. “And you?”

“I looked around but didn’t find anything interesting other than the quiver. It’s not that big of a loss, though. Let’s head down the stairs and get out here then.”

Now that they were essentially done with the Tower, it was time for the group to move on. But just as Astrid was about to move, Hazel raised her hand.

“I got a better idea,” She suggested with a devious grin.

The dark elf saw her smile and looked a bit anxious. She even took a slight step back from Hazel out of fear.

“And what is it…?” Astrid asked cautiously.

“Instead of going down the stairs,” Hazel turned to look at the round stained-glass window. “How about we just go out the window?”

Astrid turned to look at the stained-glass window, her eyes wide with shock.

“You want us to go out the window? Why?”

Hazel shrugged. “Why else?” She glanced over at Nycteris. “After all, we have our new mode of transportation.” She got closer to her familiar and started petting him.

Astrid made a doubtful expression. “I don’t know…”

“Think about it. With Nycteris, we’ll be able to get to the City Island much faster than on foot. So why bother going down the stairs and waste time?”

Right now, their current goal was to head to the City Island and inspect the area while also getting Nycteris stronger. And since they wanted to get there as fast as possible, Hazel’s Familiar was their best option.

Astrid was hesitant, unsure if Hazel’s decision was both correct and safe. Mostly safe, considering how nervous she looked, staring at the window with quivering eyes.

However, after a moment of pondering, the dark elf let out a heavy sigh.

“Alright, fine,” She surrendered. “We’ll fly out of here.”

“Nice!” Hazel cheered, clapping her hands with joy.

Once Astrid gave in to Hazel’s plan, the mage turned toward the window. With her staff in hand, she pointed it at the stained glass and then fired a Mana Bolt. The spell broke through the window and shattered it to pieces.

As the shards of glass fell on the floor, Hazel began to climb on top of Nycteris. Once she was on, she reached her hand out to Astrid.

“Let’s get moving.”

Astrid stared at Hazel’s hand for a moment before sighing once again while grabbing it. Getting pulled up on the Nightwing, Hazel turned to face the window and pointed at it.

“Alright, Nycteris, let’s fly!”

“Understood…!”

Stretching his wings, Nycteris blurred toward the window, jumping through it in a single leap. Hazel and Astrid held onto the Familiar as they descended from the sky. A short moment later, Nycteris flapped his arms and soared through the purple space.

Hazel could feel the wind blowing against her face as she raised her head to stare at the stars blanketing the space. Turning around, she watched as they flew farther away from the Tower fort until it was around the size of an ant.

Looking forward, she could see the City Island in sight, getting closer by the second. The mage eagerly grinned as they were approaching their destination.

“Next stop, the City Island!” She shouted with a smile.