“I can’t believe they won’t let my avatar go!” the dungeon complained.

With Spok out at the duke’s castle working to make her grand announcement and Switches being conveniently busy at the city’s airshipyard, Cmyk was the only one left listening—something the minion only did begrudgingly.

Having the doors slam and furniture float about had become a common occurrence. Rarely had Theo been as furious as he was right now at the bureaucratic absurdity of circumstances. The Feline Tower had provided him with all the materials that might aid him in completing his task. Also, Spok had found an extremely useful spell that would allow him to obtain all the knowledge without individually reading every book. And yet, the cat council refused to let his avatar return to his main body to obtain that skill.

For the first time in his creation, his exaggerated reputation had come to bite him in the metaphorical ass. All the cats that mattered considered him a cunning, powerful entity, who was using the explanation as an excuse to flee the tower and never be seen again. The more Theo insisted that he only wanted to obtain his skill, only made the arch council more adamant in their stance. Even when he had tried to explain that they could reveal his secret should he not return, or even sick the hero guild on him, they had provided him with charts and formulas depicting where he could run off to with the current amount of magical energy he possessed.

As a result, the avatar had spent what was left of the day, and the night that followed, attempting to go through the books manually. At present, he was halfway through the second one and not an ounce smarter.

“Do I look like a scam artist to you?” Theo asked Cmyk in his main body. “Do you see me dropping everything I’ve achieved here, just to teleport to a hole in the ground who-knows-where?”

If the minion had the ability to talk, he definitely wouldn’t have. This was the epitome of a trick question if there ever was one. For one thing, the dungeon had already done that when threatened once before. Furthermore, given that a moment wouldn’t pass without Theo complaining about noise, adventurers, or something else, one had to wonder if this last quest didn’t end up being the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Treating me as a common criminal.” Several doors within the building slammed. “I ought to leave just to show them!”

“You’re doing no such thing, I hope, sir,” Spok said through her core pendant. Since the dungeon had agreed to her request, the spirit guide had once again returned to her normal duties. “Not with the announcement to be made in the next few minutes.”

“Of course not!” Theo grumbled. But I ought to, he added mentally.

Meanwhile, his avatar kept reading the same sentence over and over as he had been for the last ten minutes. The dungeon’s rickety train of thought was further wrecked by the sudden appearance of a fluff cloud a few feet away.

“How’s progress?” the archmage asked, using the cloud as a pillow. “Ready to take on the legendary tower?”

Ellis snorted while the two mage apprentices subtly leaned as far away from the dungeon’s avatar as they could. The girl and the large apprentice had been taking turns encouraging the baron in the hopes that would increase his reading speed. Considering the result, their efforts ranged between useless and counterproductive.

“Yes.” The baron closed the book he was reading. “Just refreshing my memory.”

“There’s no way he’d survive,” Ellis said unapologetically.

The avatar gave the small white cat an angry glare, but that only seemed to encourage her further.

“He doesn’t even know the sequence of Gregord’s favorite colors, let alone—”

“I see,” the old cat interrupted. “You raise a good point. It would be difficult to remember all the information after a single cram session.” The cloud circled the table, stopping just above the spot Ellis was curled up at. “It would be reckless to pin all our hopes on a single person, no matter how exceptional he is.” He paused for a few coughs. “You’ll join him.”

“What?” Ellis jumped to her feet as if the table beneath her had abruptly heated up.

“It’s only natural, since you’ve been constantly referring to yourself as the tower’s utmost Gregord expert.” The sarcastic note of disapproval was unmistakable.

“Grandpa! That was just talk! You know that I—”

“Tut, tut, tut.” The old white cat flicked his tail.

“Archmage,” Ellis quickly corrected herself. “Yva knows a lot more.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Unlike you, she’s a human. She could never pass as the baron’s familiar.”

With such an intonation, it wouldn’t have been out of place if the archmage broke out in a bout of maniacal laughter. However, he did the next best thing, which was to rush everyone to get prepared for the event.

Being dressed appropriately in the colors and symbols of the Feline Tower was, apparently, just as important as the event itself. Back in his main body, Theo would have taken less than a minute to magic on the appropriate attire. As usual, the arch council spent most of the time arguing about everything from color combinations to the location and order of the magical symbols.

Theo was honestly relieved once the portal to the mage tower finally emerged.

“Best of luck, valued benefactor,” Ilgrym said ahead of a large procession that accompanied him. “Remember, etiquette above everything else.”

“Of course. Of course,” the avatar muttered. “Won’t any of you be joining us to the site?”

“The rules prohibit any mages other than challengers from being in the vicinity of the tower while it appears,” the black cap explained. “Thanks to your unique circumstances, you’re more than welcome to contact us should you require any assistance.”

“I thought that wasn’t allowed.”

“It probably isn’t, but there’s nothing wrong in trying.” Ilgrym’s whiskers twitched. “At least that way we’ll know for sure one way or the other.”

“Thanks…” Even after his death, Theo failed to escape the life of a corporate drone he’d been subjected to in the past.

“And you better be at your best behavior, Apprentice,” the black cat glanced at Ellis, who was seated on the avatar’s shoulder. “You’re not only representing the Feline Tower, but your family and the Archmage as well!”

“Yes, sir,” the white cat replied with the enthusiasm of an under-slept student before an exam.

Out of habit, Theo cast an identify spell on the portal.

SPACE PORTAL Level 7

Radius: 5 feet

A condensed aether portal, created by a proprietary high-level spell, that allows instant transport between two points, following the principles of the dimension carry items. Since the magic is self-contained, it cannot be negated.

The space portal must constantly be powered by an energy source in the immediate vicinity.

The level was impressively high, despite the small size of the shimmering circle. It was the last part of the description that caught Theo’s attention. The lack of visible energy source made it clear that it wasn’t the cats that had created the portal, but an external entity.

Once the avatar stepped through, he saw exactly how right he was. A tower hundreds of feet tall stood nearby, its very walls made entirely of magic.

The moment he set eyes on it, the dungeon’s nature kicked in, estimating the amount of energy and core points he could obtain should he consume it. Several attempts were made to identify the tower, but regardless of the persistence, there was no result. Clearly, Gregord wasn’t a legendary archmage only in name.

“Step aside,” Ellis whispered into the avatar’s ear. “You’re blocking the entrance.”

It was only at this stage that Theo noticed the less important elements of the scene, namely the people. There were several dozen of them, dressed in mage robes of various colors. Each had the symbol marking the tower they belonged to, none of which meant a thing to the dungeon. One thing that Theo was more than familiar with was the disdain in their eyes.

Doing his best to keep a low profile, the avatar walked away from the portal. Unfortunately, everyone’s glances followed him as he did so.

“Never thought I’d see your kind here,” a skinny man in orange and red attire said. The emblem embroidered on his short cloak depicted a crown surrounded by three circles. It was a safe bet that his tower had a very high opinion of himself.

Theo ignored him.

“Hey!” The other stepped up. “You think you can ignore me?” He smirked. “Everyone here knows exactly what you are, so don’t try to pretend.”

A sudden chill swept through the dungeon, lowering the temperature of Rosewind by one degree.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” the avatar said.

With so many mages in one spot, it was inevitable that at least some of them would figure out he was a dungeon. The threat hadn’t seemed significant since the cats had assured him that all memories made within the tower remained there. Yet, they had omitted to tell him that the trial began outside of it.

“Don’t you?” The crown crest mage stood up on his toes in an attempt to diminish the height difference between them.

Mentally, the dungeon swallowed.

“You’re unaffiliated!” The mage grinned with such glee that one would think he’d revealed a truly shameful secret.

Several people from those gathered let out a few judgmental laughs, while others pretended to ignore the whole thing.

“Everyone knows about the so-called Feline Tower. They haven’t had a human mage there since the last one died at this trial.”

“Oh…” Theo said in relief. “Guess you caught me. Really sucks to be me.”

“Huh?”

It was uncertain whether it was the phrasing or the avatar’s tone that put the crown mage off, but he took a step back. His face abruptly turned red, as two veins pulsed on the side of his temples.

“You think you’re a big shot, eh?” The mage stomped away, fists clenched. “I bet you won’t get to pass the first floor!”

“Ignore him,” Ellis whispered. “The old towers have always hated us.”

“Because you’re cats?”

“That too, but because we’re new.” The cat flicked her tail. “Old towers always hate new ones. They call it mage dilution—more certificates, less quality.”

“How can you tell which is which?” He examined the people gathered.

All the robes seemed equally expensive, falling squarely in the upper-mid range. No one had particularly flashy jewelry, weapons, or anything else that distinguished them from the rest. Two had familiars: a chameleon snake and a blue flying squirrel.

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“See the group closest to the tower?” Ellis asked. “Those are the old towers. They usually stick together. That way, they can comment on everyone else.”

It was notable that the representatives of the common towers were standing as far away as possible from one another. The avatar moved casually towards a member of the cannonball-and-grapes crested tower, only to have the person move away before he even approached.

On Theo’s shoulder, Ellis scoffed.

“Good luck with that,” she said. “All of them are hoping to get invited to the group. Keeping away from others like them boosts their chances.”

More candidates kept on arriving through the portal. When they got beyond one hundred, Theo mentally commented that there were too many towers. If it wasn’t for the hatred between them, the mages could have taken the world ages ago.

At one point, the portal suddenly vanished, indicating the arrival of all candidates. Moments after it occurred, the whispers ended. All turned in the direction of the tower expectantly. The glow surrounding it changed color, turning from purple to light cyan.

“Welcome, candidates for knowledge,” a deep voice boomed from the structure. “All of you have come to follow in the footsteps of the Great Gregord and for that, you are to be praised.”

Smirks appeared on a few faces.

“In accordance with his will, representatives of all mage towers containing his spells or keys have been transported to the outside of his challenge, but only the worthy will be allowed to set foot inside.”

“You didn’t mention this,” the avatar whispered to Ellis.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with doubts. Several groups of mages were openly discussing the new development, just as surprised as he was.

“What’s the reason for this?” a tall blond woman in the old tower group asked. “The tests have always started within the tower.”

“What happens in the tower remains in the tower,” the voice boomed in reply. “When the Great Gregord constructed the tower, he only intended for eighteen hopefuls to partake in his trials: nine by skill and nine by luck. Up to today, your numbers were reasonable enough to allow the candidates to be filtered on the first floor. That is no longer the case.”

“See?!” someone shouted. “It’s all because of these new towers! They increased the mage pool to a breaking point!”

“It’s only fair that candidates are determined by chronological order,” a small old mage said. Looking at him, one could say that he was well over a century old, leaning against his staff for support. “That would be fair.”

“Sure, grandpa!” A young mage shouted at him, waving his fist. “How about we go with potential?”

“Actually, he’s right,” the blonde woman agreed. “Chronological order of the towers that the candidates are from. Towers that have existed for millennia should have preference over those that have been around for a decade or two.”

“You’re only saying that because you bought your tower!” A large man crossed his arms.

“Agreed upon magical merger is considered perfectly legal,” the blonde narrowed her eyes. “And accepted by the magical society at large.”

The bickering continued, with claims and counterclaims piling on. Spells flashed on and off, though more for show than actual threats. No one could come to an agreement, until the tower let out a flash of light, covering everyone with silence.

“Only the twelve strongest mages will be allowed to pass,” the tower continued, utterly ignoring everything said so far. “Thus, you’ll have to undergo the Great Gregord’s three-door-trial.” The door leading to the tower turned emerald green. “A check of strength, a check of speed, and a check of knowledge. Each of you will be given one chance and one chance alone, so give it your all.”

“What happens if less than eighteen people make it through the doors?” Theo’s avatar asked.

Everyone looked at him as if he were wearing shorts at a black-tie event.

“Once the three-door has appeared, only the worthy would be allowed,” the tower replied. “If all are proved wanting, only the lucky three last ones will be granted entry. Who will be first?”

An interesting loophole, or it seemed so. Theo could see through the deception. Already mages were considering how to game the system by being last, but that was nothing more than an illusion. If someone was so weak as to fail the easiest trial, there was no way they’d progress much further.

A confident man of the old tower group stepped up to the door.

“So, I just need to hit the door with my greatest spell?” he asked, cracking his fingers.

“The spell is not of importance, just the amount of effort,” the tower replied.

Without warning, a massive bolt of lightning shot out from his fingers, striking the door’s surface. The light was so bright that even Theo had to shield his eyes.

“Magni-Lightning.” Ellis leaped onto the baron’s head, intrigued by the display. “Eighth level. Was one of Gregord’s favorites during his early years. Most people need three years of dedicated study to learn and at least—”

The door turned red. “Rejected.”

“What?!” the mage shouted. “What do you mean rejected?! Didn’t you see the spell I used? Only a prodigy is able to cast a spell of such complexity!”

In response, a space portal formed on the ground beneath the man’s feet, causing him to drop out. If nothing else, mages were definitely strict with their rules and requirements.

“Next,” the tower boomed as the door went back to being green.

None of the mages dared step forward. It wasn’t just that a mage from an ancient tower had been rejected, but a prodigy that had cast a spell that most of the present couldn’t dream to match. Seemingly, he had done everything correct: the spell was powerful, complex, and was created by Archmage Gregord. And still, that had been deemed insufficient.

Might as well go ahead, the dungeon thought. Normally, he’d view this as a means to get out of his deal with the Feline Tower, but unfortunately, his brief chat with the cat archmage had made it clear that anything less than a valiant attempt would be viewed poorly.

Surrounded by utter silence, the avatar approached the door.

“Spok,” the dungeon said through the core pendant. “Any thoughts on what might be considered a strong spell?”

On the surface, the correct solution was to use the open spell he had acquired through the consumption of Gregord’s key. A door was a door, after all. As it had been demonstrated, though, the obvious choices weren’t always correct.

“In what sense, sir?” the spirit guide asked. The slight change in intonation suggested that she didn’t appreciate being disturbed at present.

“Just strong,” Theo replied.

“That’s too vague to give an adequate answer, sir. It could be anything from destructive power to complexity. You’d have to provide additional details.”

Clearly it wasn’t complexity. Ellis had attested to that. Destructive power didn’t seem to be the answer, either. Lightning magic was among the more destructive… unless the show off hadn’t intentionally preserved his mana. After all, the tower had told them to give their all.

“Thank you, Spok,” the dungeon said as the avatar brought his hand to the green surface. Using a common fireball was tempting, but it ran the risk of ruining the baron’s clothes, so he chose to cast an ice spell instead.

Normally, he’d dedicate a hundred energy to the spell, but given that a lot of big shots were present, he chose to up the ante up to a thousand.

A freezing ray emerged from his hand, striking the door. There was nothing flashy about it. Most of the mages probably didn’t manage to get a glimpse. The thing no one could ignore was the door opening.

“Accepted,” the tower boomed. “As the first to dedicate over a hundred mana to a spell, you will be presented with one hint at a time of your choosing. Now, enter.”

So, it was mana, Theo thought as he casually made his way into the tower. The moment he crossed the threshold, the door slammed behind him.

“That wasn’t very smart.” Ellis said, moving down from the baron’s head back to his left shoulder. “You overdid it.”

“There’s a lot more mana from where that came from.”

“That’s not the point. Showing off early makes you a target.” The cat flicked her tail.

“Well, what’s done is done.” Theo’s thoughts were focused elsewhere. While his avatar proceeded to the second part of the entrance trial, the whole of Rosewind was witness to the greatest announcement of the last few decades: the planned union between Duke Rosewind and Baron d’Argent’s steward—Spok d’Esprit.

Other than being ridiculously loud, the event was a topic of gossip and conversation. Opinions varied, but for the most part, the general populace approved. If anything, it was the duke that they saw as being the lucky one.

Suddenly, the sky thundered with massive explosions. Three small airships burst into green flames, causing the local griffin population to fill the air with loud screeches. For a moment, it almost seemed as if the city was on the verge of another massive disaster, when the flames changed shape, spelling out the words “Congratulations, Spork!”

Spork? the dungeon couldn’t help but wonder. “Switches!” he shouted in that section of his main body that constituted the mechanic lab at the airshipyard. “Was that your idea?”

“Oops.” The gnome frowned. “I knew I added one too many r-devices. Don’t worry! I’ll get it right the second time!”

“No!” Theo sealed off all entrances. “No second time! Once was enough.”

“Are you sure?” the gnome asked in disappointment. “It’s really much better at night. The darkness brings out the letters’ true beauty.”

“There will be no more exploding explosions! And before you even think about doing anything of the sort, you pass it through me! Understand?”

“Alright…” the gnome looked at the floor, like a child who’d be denied dessert. “I’ll get back to working on the mechanic servants…”

Considering that fairly innocuous, Theo restored the shipyard’s entrances.

Meanwhile, his avatar was standing in front of the blue door.

“What’s wrong?” Ellis asked.

“Just a few things on my mind,” the avatar replied. “So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“To open the door, you must turn the handle,” the tower explained. “Touching the handle will trigger a series of attack spells that will test your reaction speed. If you’re fast enough to avoid their effects and pass through the door, you will continue to the final stage.”

That had to be the speed portion of the spell. It seemed straightforward. Theo didn’t see what the big fuss was. Since he was already in the tower, there was no need to hide his identity further. Everything would, supposedly, be forgotten. Although, to be on the safe side, maybe he should keep up the pretense for as long as possible.

“I know this one,” Ellis said from his shoulder. “Gregord loved speed games, so he devised many speed related traps. The trick is to make use of one hand casting. Just open the door with one hand and concentrate on the other to counter all resulting trap spells.”

The well thought out solution was utterly ignored by Theo. With his attention split between two places, he nodded to everything said, then cast a swiftness ultra spell. For an instant, time froze, allowing him to swiftly press down the handle without consequences, open the door, and step through.

Before the cat knew it, they were on the other side of the second trial. Behind them, the sound of spells triggering—far too late—could be heard. Whoever of the mages outside that was unfortunate enough to pass through the green door was going to have a rather unpleasant surprise. Then again, maybe that was for the better.

“Did you say something?” the avatar asked Ellis, as he made his way forward to a glowing white door.

“Show off.” The cat hissed, curling up on his shoulder. If Baron d’Argent was human, he would have felt four sets of claws sinking into his skin. In the grand scheme of things that didn’t even cause a wound worthy of a point of energy.

“To open the door of wisdom, you must simply place your hand on its surface and name the most important quality of a mage, according to the Great Gregord,” the tower said.

Finally, here it was—the first stumbling block Theo faced. If this were his previous life, he’d have tried to brute force the answer. With a few dozen swiftness spells, he could set off on a naming spree that had a good chance of eventually finding the word needed. Unfortunately, he was given just one answer.

“Ellis?” he said, after waiting patiently for several seconds. “Any ideas?”

“Oh, so now you’re asking for advice?” The white feline reacted in passive aggressive fashion.

Being who she was, she didn’t like being ignored, and any other time that would be understandable. Right now, the dungeon didn’t have either the time nor the patience for such games. Also, he had developed a method of dealing with such people thanks to his previous adventures.

“Then I’ll just guess,” he reached towards the door.

“No!” the feline leaped off his shoulder in panic. “Don’t you dare!”

“I take it you changed your mind?” The avatar looked down at her.

Ellis paused. The situation was humiliating. As any star pupil, she had always been rather easy going when things were in control. That quickly ended the moment she was reduced to a common assistant. Being designated a “technical familiar” was bad enough. Being actually treated as such was worse. Sadly, for the sake of the tower and her grandfather, she had to swallow her pride and do what needed to be done.

“Luck,” she said. “Gregord always considered luck to be the most important quality one could have. Strength, speed, intelligence helps a person to achieve the impossible, but only luck allows them to have a second try once they fail.”

“Luck?” That sounded naïve at best and stupid at worst. “Are you sure?”

“Gregord was a unique mage.”

“Apparently… But isn’t it just… a bit obvious?”

The cat didn’t answer.

“Alright.” The avatar placed his hand against the white door. “Luck,” he said.

The door dissolved before him, transforming into a space portal. There was no comment from the tower, no announcement that he had successfully passed the three-door trial, not even a word of encouragement. Curious and suspicious by nature, Theo cast an arcane identify spell.

EXPULSION PORTAL level 5

Radius: 5 feet

Well done, candidate! Most would have fallen for the trick and just continued. The answer you gave might have been right or wrong, but only the wise double check to make sure.

With this, you are officially welcome to the first floor of Gregord’s Tower.

Ellis seemed to find the portal’s presence more than enough, taking a step forward. Hardly had she done so when the portal dispersed, shifting back to a door. Only this time, it was open.

“Good job,” the avatar said. A lesser person might have rubbed her face in the mistake just for the sake of it. The dungeon, on the other hand, was a lot more mature, and also knew that he still required her assistance for the actual challenges. “I’ll count on you for the wisdom stuff.”

As both of them walked into the chamber of the tower, this was supposed to be the first joyous occasion of the day—a much needed drop of mirth in what was going to be two weeks of intenseness. Unfortunately, before happiness even got a chance to manifest, Spok appeared in the dungeon’s main building.

“Sir, we have a serious problem,” she said in a hurried voice.

All the furniture in Baron d’Argent’s mansion shook.

“What happened?” Theo asked. This was the first time he’d seen Spok concerned to such a degree.

“He’s coming here,” she said. “The duke is coming here, and he wants to have a word with you!”